Back in 2017, the Pokemon anime moved away from Cartoon Network and premiered Pokemon Sun and Moon — its 20th season — on Disney XD. And here the anime stayed to premiere all of its subsequent Sun and Moon installments.
However, after Sun and Moon's finale came and went in English, Disney didn't give fans any indication on when it would be airing Pokemon (2019), which is the Sun and Moon follow-up that's currently airing in Japan. But as of today, Netflix has gone ahead and given a reason as to why Disney didn't.
Pokemon (2019) — now internationally dubbed as Pokemon Journeys — will stream exclusively on Netflix. The streaming platform made the announcement today with a tweet displaying a teaser for the upcoming English dub of the season. Fans looking forward to viewing the season in English will be delighted to know that the tweet also mentioned a premiere date: June 12, 2020.
The season will start with 12 episodes when it arrives. Netflix usually releases new episodes of a show by premiering the entire season at once, but that won't be the case with Pokemon Journeys. Instead, the streaming service has stated that it plans to give the season 12 new episodes every "quarter," which means every three months.
However, the coronavirus may force Netflix to change these plans a little. A 12 episode release schedule every three months implies that the streaming service expects the show to be on episode 24 by September. But as of right now, Japan has only aired up to 22. And in an attempt to combat the coronavirus, it's decided to postpone airing new Pokemon episodes indefinitely. While a September release does give the pandemic nearly six months to calm down, there's no guarantee that it will.
Beyond that, though, Pokemon Journeys' English premiere is excellent news, as it means that one of the most popular seasons in the anime's history will soon be available to a broader audience.
For those unfamiliar with it: Pokemon Journeys has allowed Ash to do things previous seasons didn't, such as catching multiple Pokemon. Normally, Ash caps out at around six per region, and the sixth doesn't happen until near the end of that region's story. But this isn't the case with Pokemon Journeys. Not only is Ash focusing more on catching Pokemon, but he's catching all sorts of fan-favorites. He even has a Dragonite now.
Overall, the season has been interesting, and should definitely be worth the watch once it premieres in English.
Pokemon Journeys will travel to Netflix on June 12, 2020.