General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Pokémon Evolutions

Pokémon Evolutions (Japanese: ポケモンエボリューションズ) is an eight-episode animated web miniseries planned and produced by The Pokémon Company International to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, with each episode retelling a story from one of the eight regions of the core Pokémon video game series in reverse order of their introduction¹^•². The series premiered worldwide on September 9, 2021, with episodes released on Pokémon TV and the official Pokémon YouTube channel³. Unlike the long-running television anime, it follows the scenarios of the games rather than the anime's own storyline, presenting memorable scenes from the perspectives of characters other than the main protagonists, such as powerful enemies standing in the protagonist's way and companions who support the journey¹.

Key fact	Detail
Format	Eight standalone episodes, each approximately 7–11 minutes long, one per core-series region⁴
Occasion	Produced to help celebrate 25 Years of Pokémon³
Premiere	September 9, 2021, on Pokémon TV and the official Pokémon YouTube channel³
Region order	Galar, Alola, Kalos, Unova, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto, Kanto, in reverse order from which the regions were first explored in the games²
Run	September 9 to December 23, 2021⁵
Series position	Third web-based Pokémon anime series, following Pokémon Generations and Pokémon Twilight Wings⁶
Current availability	Pokémon TV ended on March 28, 2024; the series is not available on any streaming service at the moment⁷^•⁸

Spoilers

Episodes

The eight episodes were released every few weeks, with a gap between October and December³:

"The Champion" (Galar), September 9, 2021
"The Eclipse" (Alola), September 23, 2021
"The Visionary" (Kalos), October 7, 2021
"The Plan" (Unova), October 21, 2021
"The Rival" (Sinnoh), December 2, 2021
"The Wish" (Hoenn), December 9, 2021
"The Show" (Johto), December 16, 2021
"The Discovery" (Kanto), December 23, 2021

The first episode centers on Leon, the Champion of the Galar region, and his fight with Eternatus, one of the story elements the series retells¹². The final episode, "The Discovery," puts the Trainer Green in the spotlight as she continues her quest to capture a powerful Legendary Pokémon in Kanto; it was released just before Christmas 2021¹³^•¹⁴.

Concept and production

The series was created as part of the franchise's 25th-anniversary celebrations, which in 2021 also included a Katy Perry music video, an anniversary album, the midyear hit game Pokémon Unite, and Nintendo Switch remakes of 2006's Pokémon Diamond and Pearl⁹. According to The Pokémon Company, each episode is built around memorable scenes from the game titles, presented with a cinematic style intended to convey the emotions and motivations of the human characters and Pokémon in vivid detail¹. The Japanese-language announcement of the series noted that the production company and staff had not been disclosed, though Hiroyuki Kato of the animation studio OLM, which works on Pokémon animation, publicly commented on the project on Twitter¹⁰.

A connecting thread of a Pikachu leads viewers on their voyage through the regions, and each episode features familiar characters and Pokémon alongside fresh perspectives on known locations³. The official trailer, published on September 2, 2021, described the series as featuring different Trainers around the Pokémon world as they grow and evolve with their Pokémon¹¹.

Place in the Pokémon web series

Pokémon Evolutions is the third in a line of short web anime series released on official Pokémon channels, after Pokémon Generations (2016) and Pokémon Twilight Wings (2020)⁶. Like Generations, it draws directly on the video games rather than the television anime continuity, and its episodes are standalone stories¹⁵. Commentators have described it as the spiritual successor of Pokémon Generations, with an episode based on each region of the main series and retellings of story elements including Leon's fight with Eternatus and Barry fighting Team Galactic at Lake Acuity¹².

Where Generations consists of 18 episodes, with three dedicated to each region that existed in 2016, Evolutions gives one episode to each of the eight regions from Galar back to Kanto¹⁶. Because both anniversary series were made to commemorate the franchise's 20th and 25th anniversaries and rely heavily on nostalgia, coverage has noted that they may not make much sense to viewers who have not played the games they adapt¹⁶.

Availability

The series was distributed globally through Pokémon TV and the official Pokémon YouTube channel³. The Pokémon TV app and website were later sunset: beginning January 8, 2024, fans could no longer download the app from the App Store, Google Play, Roku Channel Store, Amazon Appstore, Nintendo eShop, and Pokemon.com, and the service ended entirely on March 28, 2024, with The Pokémon Company directing fans to other distribution platforms for its animated content¹⁷^•⁷. As of recent listings, Pokémon Evolutions is not available on any streaming service⁸.

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Anime and manga › Anime series, episodes, and franchises › OVAs, ONAs, and streaming-original anime

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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