Netflix has announced that the last 12 episodes of Pokemon Journeys: The Series will be released in March. The twelve episodes will include the return to the Alola region, the animation of the animation of the Pokémon Sword and Shield storyline along with a showdown with the legendary Pokémon Mewtwo. Pokemon Journeys: The Series follows protagonist Ash Ketchum and his new travel companion Goh as the duo travels through the Pokémon world researching Pokémon, participating in the prestigious World Coronation Series competition and trying to capture the famous Pokémon species. This is the fourth series of new episodes to be released on Netflix, bringing the total number of episodes to 48.
Today’s announcement, however, received some confusion and anxiety, as Netflix and The Pokemon Company noted that it was the “last installments” of Pokémon journey. Netflix is unlikely to cancel their deal with The Pokemon Company, as the platform became the primary home of new Pokémon episodes just over a year ago. However, we’ll probably see a “remake” of the Pokémon anime series, similar to how the final season of Pokémon series: sun and moon was called Pokémon Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends are listed separately from the other episodes of Pokémon series: sun and moon despite being a direct continuation of the series. Oddly enough, while The Pokemon Company’s official press release of the new episodes noted that it was the “last” episodes of Pokémon Journey, there was no mention of it in any Pokémon social media posts.
There are more regions to explore, Pokémon to capture and battles to win with Ash and Goh!
📅 Mark your calendars, trainers – more # PokemonJourneys: The series arrives in the USA @Netflix at 3/5! pic.twitter.com/miwMx7sEs9
– Pokémon (@ Pokemon) 5 February 2021
We’ll note that The Pokemon Company added a URL for ‘legends.pokemon.com’ earlier this year, which many believe is linked to the anime series. That may mean we’ll see the announcement of a “Pokemon Legends” animated series, which makes sense because Goh recently acquired the Legendary Pokemon Suicune in episodes aired in Japan.
It is clear that the end of Pokémon Journey is a big deal for Pokémon fans, even if it’s only a temporary measure. We’ll have to see if there’s any interruption in Netflix’s broadcast of Netflix, or if it’s just leading to another brand of the TV series in the United States.