It looks like the reports about Pokemon turned out to be true. The franchise has been preoccupied as of late with its newest series. The title, which debuted late last year, aimed to bring a new kind of anime to life for Ash Ketchum. But due to the ongoing pandemic, it turns out the Pokemon 2020 series will be heading on hiatus ASAP.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Recently, the PR team behind Pokemon confirmed the news with a simple post on Twitter. Thee group shared a brief message which altered followers to the fact that Pokemon: The Series will be postponed indefinitely its latest this weekend.
“[We are under] a State of Emergency due to the spread of the new coronavirus. In order to keep safety in mind, we have decided to temporarily halt work on [future episodes] as a result. Starting next week, Pokemon will begin airing reruns from here on out,” the page shared.
๏ผ็ช็ตใใใฎใ็ฅใใ๏ผ
โ ใขใใกใใใฑใใใขใณในใฟใผใๅ ฌๅผ (@anipoke_PR) April 19, 2020
ๆฐๅใณใญใใฆใคใซในใฎๆๆๆกๅคงใซใจใใชใใ็ทๆฅไบๆ ๅฎฃ่จใใฎ็บๅบใๅใใ
ๅฎๅ จใซๅๅ้ ๆ ฎใใไธใงใฎ็ช็ตๅถไฝใ่กใใใใ
ไธๆ็ใซใไธ้จใฎๅถไฝไฝๆฅญใ่ฆๅใใใใใจใซใใใใพใใใ
ใใใซไผดใใๆฅ้ฑไปฅ้ใฎใใใฑใใใขใณในใฟใผใใฏๅๆพ้ใจใชใใพใใ
Without any warning, it seems that Pokemon is the most recent series to bow down before the pandemic. The novel Coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the entertainment industry, and anime is no exception. The sphere has gone mostly untouched but the recent measures which Japan has taken to slow the spread of the virus has crippled anime creators. And for shows like Pokemon which have very few episodes saved in the bank, it was inevitable that this would happen.
At least netizens did get a brief heads up about this turn last week. The actress behind Ash Ketchum, Rica Matsumoto, informed fans she was not recording these days. The Pokemon star took to Twitter to discuss her interest in going on vacation, and it turns out Ash will be joining her on their solo outing while fans wait for the anime to come back on air.
Are you surprised to hear about this sudden Pokemon schedule shift? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCBto talk all things comics and anime!