Pokémon Journeys: The Series and Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series are the latest animated Pokémon shows. These newer series focus more on the creatures and regions featured in the Pokémon Sword and Shield games. They also mix in a lot of elements found in the popular Pokémon GO mobile game. We find Ash away from home (again) learning about Pokémon and making new friends—like rival turned BFF, Goh.
Netflix has released episodes of Journeys on a quarterly schedule, giving us only little bits at a time. This might be for the best, so we can watch some and still have future episodes to look forward to. The last drop happened in late May. For our next adventure, Pokémon and Netflix announced a special four-part series of the show titled The Arceus Chronicles.
Release Date
The series originally premiered in Japan in early 2022 to coincide with the release of the Pokémon Legends: Arceus game. This game differed from previous Pokémon games because it transported the player back in time to the historic Hisui region (later known as the Sinnoh region). It focused on the lore surrounding the ultra-powerful Pokémon named Arceus.
As with most Pokémon-related titles, we had to wait a little longer for it to be released in America. The new episodes will stream on Netflix on September 23rd. Luckily the 23rd lands on a Friday—so my family can binge the entire thing over the weekend.
Trailer
The official trailer, while only a little over a minute long, gives hints about the plot of Arceus Chronicles. Ash and Goh travel to the Sinnoh region and meet up with some of Ash’s friends, Dawn and Cynthia. They go to a new area that takes place in the historic Hisui region, like in the Arceus game. Which also means Pokémon from the Hisui region will be making their animated debut, such as the adorable Hisui form of Growlithe.
Old Friends, New Pokémon
One thing I really enjoy about the Journeys series is the incorporation of previous shows and games into the episodes. Instead of just starting fresh (as the animated series has done before), they add new characters without tossing old favorites out. Plus, continually adding new Pokémon doesn’t hurt either. As the trailer showed, Dawn and Cynthia return from the previous series, along with original show regular Brock (oh sweet, wonderful Brock).
It also looks like villainous Team Galactic are back to cause trouble. For the Sinnoh-based games (Diamond and Pearl), Team Galactic were the baddies to defeat, not the classic Team Rocket. They may have altered a Heatran because there is no way that will end poorly. But it also seems their poor choices will bring out the legendary Arceus.
And of course, Pikachu will be there, so no matter what, the series will be great.
(feature image: The Pokémon Company)
