There is no shortage of anime options when watching Pokemon and the best series is one of the most underrated. The official Japanese Pokémon YouTube channel has been releasing titles under the title “PokeToon,” and it's a wonderful series that I truly believe every fan needs in their life. It has a wide range of lengths and styles, allowing you to have a variety for every type of trainer.
So far, there are sixteen PokeToons. There are some that last just a minute, while several others range between four and eighteen minutes. The first half was uploaded between two and three years ago, with the resurgence of releases occurring in October of this year. Eight PokeToons have been released this year alone, hopefully with many more to come. Having a variety of options and many more ways to get new Pokémon content into my life is essential to me.
Pokémon Gives Fans a Surprisingly Awesome Short
On X, Lewtwo – a YouTuber and Pokémon archivist – shared a snippet from the latest episode of PokeToon, which is currently available to watch on YouTube. Included in the post are credit notes, mentioning that the team working on Dandadan and Urusei Yatsura were included in the animation process of this short. The preview shows a glimpse of a battle between an Armarouge and a Ceruledge, with a Grimmsnarl hilariously getting caught up in the action unintentionally. Even with just this small glimpse, the quality already seems to be far beyond where Pokémon started.
At the time of writing, the episode has 2.7 million views, on a channel with 3.29 million subscribers. On the other hand, the English version of the channel has 6.11 million subscribers, which means that more than half of Pokémon fans subscribed to YouTube are not currently tuned in.
My love for Pokémon began around the same time as many other American gamers, shortly after the video game's release. I was four years old and immediately started watching the anime whenever I could as my parents encouraged my obsession by playing the anime themselves. I watched the show in English, but I also watched an episode on a local Spanish-language TV station, just to have an extra Ash and Pikachu adventure each day. I haven't stopped since and have been watching every Pokémon animation I can get my hands on as quickly as possible. PokeToons expands the hit franchise's offerings on YouTube, but with some significant improvements that longtime fans need to see.
This Charcadet-centric story is everything Pokémon fans need
Pokémon returns to its storytelling roots, focusing on heartwarming friendship
The title of this PokeToon roughly translates to “Charcadet childhood friend“, which perfectly reflects the story told in the short. Two Charcadet are best friends, living and surviving together in the wild. One day, a trainer loses his Pokedex near them, resulting in the braver Charcadet engaging in battle and being chosen as As This, the quieter Charcadet tries to help his friend by picking up a berry, but ends up losing sight of his friend. This begins a period of separation that eventually culminates in an incredibly impressive reunion battle.
This short, about the length of an almost standard anime episode, does a great job of establishing a friendship worth caring about without using too many words to do so. There are some occasional spoken phrases, which can be translated from Japanese with readily available subtitles, but even without them, the story arc is clear. I couldn't help but shed a single tear as I watched, completely emotionally invested in where the Charcadets' journeys would take them. I was excited to get to the battle, especially since the action is rendered so crisply. The battle starts dramatically, has intense moments, and is one of the most exciting battles outside of the main anime.
PokeToon deserves more recognition and attention
Previous animated offerings on YouTube have included animated learning videos on Pokémon Kids TV, Paldean Winds, Path to the Peak, Fun Times on Monpoké Island, Twilight Wings, and Pokémon Generations. I particularly liked Generations and also enjoyed the recent Netflix series, Pokémon Conciergebut the latest PokeToon has so much heart that it easily surpasses other animated and short series on its own. At the time of writing, the episode has 2.7 million views, on a channel with 3.29 million subscribers. On the other hand, the English version of the channel has 6.11 million subscribers, which means that more than half of Pokémon fans subscribed to YouTube are not currently tuned in.
PokeToon's latest episode maintains a classic anime style like the rest of the series, but the battle rivals some of Ash's best matches. In fact, it's even more impressive than several of its most important season 1 battles. Pokémon. Many of Ash's gym battles ended in a draw or were never completed, such as in the case of the Cerulean City gym or the fight against Sabrina. While this isn't a gym battle, it has a lot of emotion and intensity, which makes it a much more exciting match in many ways.
PokeToon is the animated Pokémon series fans need to watch right now
Featuring a smooth animation style not even seen in some previous seasons of the main Pokémon anime, the latest episode doesn't feature any familiar heroes. No prior knowledge is required to enjoy the short, making it especially accessible to fans of all generations. It's worth watching and deserves much more recognition than it currently receives. As a longtime Pokémon fan, I can't recommend Ceruledge and Armarouge's touching PokeToon episode enough. If PokeToon continues to deliver shorts of this caliber, it will take the crown of the best – and most affordable – Pokemon series on air.
Source: Lewtwo