Pokemon Evolutions Release Dates Revealed For 8-Region Free Series

The Pokemon Company International announced a celebratory release of a new episodic animated series this week. They've titled it Pokemon Evolutions, and it's set to celebrate the Pokemon franchise's 25th anniversary. Unlike basically every other Pokemon show ever released, this 8-episode series will include "all known regions of the Pokemon world explored in the core video game franchise."

A trailer for this series can be found below. This new series will be released one episode at a time, starting on the 9th of September. The rest of the episodes will be released at odd times throughout the next several months. The first episode goes by the name The Champion.

In The Champion, the series starts in the Galar Region. This series will not play out in the same order the original games were released. If it did, Kanto would be first! What we're seeing here instead is a REVERSE chronological order – if we're looking at the dates each core series game was released. That's Galar, Alola, Kalos, Unova, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto – backward!

"Each region has been a touchstone for new generations of Pokémon Trainers as the brand has grown, and we wanted 'Pokémon Evolutions' to pay homage to that legacy while also being innovative and contemporary," said Colin Palmer, vice president of marketing for The Pokémon Company International. "It's a new adventure and familiar all at once."

This series was animated by OLM Studios, the same group that animated the main Pokemon anime series (Pokemon the Series, テレビアニメ「ポケットモンスター」シリーズ)!

You'll find each episode released in September, October, (skipping November), and December. The full schedule can be found below:

• Thursday, Sept. 9: "The Champion" featuring the Galar region

• Thursday, Sept. 23: "The Eclipse" featuring the Alola region

• Thursday, Oct. 7: "The Visionary" featuring the Kalos region

• Thursday, Oct. 21: "The Plan" featuring the Unova region

• Thursday, Dec. 2: "The Rival" featuring the Sinnoh region

• Thursday, Dec. 9: "The Wish" featuring the Hoenn region

• Thursday, Dec. 16: "The Show" featuring the Johto region

• Thursday, Dec. 23: "The Discovery" featuring the Kanto region

This series will premiere on the official Pokemon YouTube channel (click the YouTube video above to reach said channel) and will be available on Pokemon TV starting on September 9, 2021. Pokemon TV is an app on mobile devices, smart TV devices, and Nintendo Switch – it, and the content within it, are entirely free for all users.