Pokemon to Introduce Galar’s Other Champion in New Anime Episode

A couple months ago, Pokemon fans entered a brand-new world thanks to the series’ latest region. Pokemon Sword and Shield let gamers explore the world of Galar, a region based on the United Kingdom and its rich history. Still, fans wanted more, and the anime was happy to oblige. Now, it seems the show is ready to drop new details about the region, and that means a new Galar Champion is about to make their debut.

So if you weren’t a big fan of Leon, do not fret! Pokemon has another regional hero at hand, and Dande may make the former Galar champion a mere joke.

Recently, Pokemon: The Series put out a slew of episode titles and synopses for upcoming releases. It was there fans learned episode 12 of the series will introduce Dande thanks to the Pokemon World Championships.

“Professor Sakuragi has given [Ash] and Go tickets to the finals of the Pokemon World Championships, the tournament that decides the best Pokemon Trainer in the world,” the user Arkeus88 shared with fans on Twitter.

“The finals [are] between Wataru, the winner of the Elite Four Cup in the Kanto region, and Dande, whose undefeated record in the Galar region keeps growing. Just how skilled is this undefeated man, Dande?”

In a matter of hours, fans will get to experience this story for themselves as Pokemon: The Series is debuting the episode tomorrow. Dande will become the second Galar champion to hit the franchise as Pokemon Sword and Shield introduced Leon. For fans like Comicbook’s own Christian Hoffer, Leon was a bit much to handle given all his eccentricities, but Dande sounds like a more grounded champion. That is, unless this new guy ends up being a simple mirror to Leon in anime form…!

Are you excited to meet this new champion…? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Pokemon: The Series, is now airing new episodes weekly in Japan, but unfortunately is still not officially licensed for an English language release as of this writing. Staff confirmed for the new series include Daiki Tomiyasu serving as chief director for OLM, Maki Odaira as series director, and Kunihiko Yuyama as creative supervisor.