Pokemon anime to retire Ash and Pikachu as central characters, new series to begin soon

The Pokemon anime is all set to end the story arc of trainer Ash Ketchum and his loyal pokemon Pikachu after 25 years. The iconic characters have existed since the beginning of the franchise in 1997. The final arc, which wraps up the journey of Ash and Pikachu, will consist of 11 episodes and will start airing on Friday.

A new series with new protagonists and an entirely new set of characters will begin airing on 13 January in Japan. The new series will be set in the Paldea region which was previously featured in the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet video game. The protagonists of the new Pokemon series will be Riko and Roy, the character introduction posters for Riko and Roy have already leaked online but an official poster is yet to release.  

Even though it is currently unknown when the series will air outside of Japan, speculations state that the series will arrive sometime in April 2023. Based on Nintendo’s video game franchise, the Pokemon anime series became one of the most widely popular animation franchises in the world, spawning several sequels, spinoffs, and countless merchandise.