Pokémon has dropped a stunning new animated commercial from Your Name studio CoMIX Wave Films.
The promo advertises the upcoming Pokémon World Championships event, which gathers fans from across the globe to participate in tournaments for Pokémon Go, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon Unite and the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The brief animation showcases a fast-paced gauntlet of Pokémon battles featuring many iconic monsters, including Shaymin, Lugia and Miraidon, among others. The Pokémon World Championships will be held at the Pacifico Yokohama Convention complex in Japan from Aug. 11-13.
In addition to Your Name, CoMIX Waves Films has produced several other iconic works, including The Garden of Words, Weathering With You, and Japan Sinks: 2020. Its latest hit, Suzume, became Japan's third highest-grossing film of 2022, earning over $13 million over the course of three days and becoming Director Makoto Shinkai's highest-earning film to date. The Pokémon World Championships 2023 commercial was directed and storyboarded by Asuka Doukai, who previously served as an Animation Director for Geinin Anime Kantoku, a special featuring shorts from prominent comedians.
The Future of Pokémon
Maho Takagi assisted Doukai as both Chief Animation Director and Character Designer for the commercial. Takagi previously served as a Key Animator for Suzume and Weathering With You. Maika Yoshida provides the voice for the main female character. Ikue Otani, who has voiced Ash Ketchum's Pikachu since the anime's debut, also voices the Pikachu that appears in this promo. The music was composed by Conisch, who has provided compositions for numerous Pokémon projects, including Pokémon: Twilight Wings, Pokémon: Hisuian Snow and the latest mainline anime series, Pokémon Horizons. This show shifts the focus from decades-long protagonist Ash Ketchum to two new characters named Liko and Roy.
The franchise recently spotlighted Horizons at Pokémon's first-ever Comic-Con panel. During an event titled, "Pokémon: Bringing Iconic Animation to Global Audiences," fans got a special 10-minute sneak peek at Horizons' debut episode, which focuses specifically on Liko. Pokémon also unveiled a new English-language trailer for Horizons which showcases other members of the cast, including Roy, Captain Friede and his partner, Captain Pikachu. It also alludes to a new Pokémon organization called "Explorers", which some speculate may become a stand-in for Team Rocket. As of July 21, 13 episodes of Horizons have aired in Japan. However, Pokémon still hasn't confirmed an international release window.
Pokémon World Championships 2023 will announce streaming details in the near future. Pokémon Journeys and its follow-up seasons are available on Netflix.
Source: YouTube
