Fifty-two episodes of the classic Pokemon anime is now available in high definition. The Pokemon Company announced that high definition versions of the first four “seasons” of the anime are now available for purchase on the Apple App, Google Play, and Amazon digital stores.
Each episode is 13 seasons long and can be purchased for $21.99 or $2.99 per episode.
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The episodes cover the earliest episodes of Ash Ketchum’s adventures with Pikachu, Misty, and Brock. The episodes first aired in Japan in 1997 and helped launched the first wave of the Pokemon craze when aired in the US in the fall of 1998.
Not only do the episodes show Ash’s first meeting with Pikachu, they also include the episodes in which he caught Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, and Pidgeotto.
Ash’s first six gym battles are also included, as his first meeting with Jigglypuff, who would follow him for several years.
The episodes were previously available for purchase in standard definition. The entire first anime series can also be streamed in SD on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
While the re-released episodes are definitely a higher quality than the standard definition episodes currently available on Netflix, the episodes weren’t truly “remastered” as they’re only in 480p. However, the new HD episodes remain in their original 4×3 formatting and weren’t cropped or stretched for widescreens.
You can check out a trailer for the remastered episodes above and check out the improved quality for yourself.
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