'Pokémon Generations' anime debuts today for free on YouTube. Pictured: Contestants compete during the 2016 Pokemon World Championships on August 19, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Photo : Getty Images/ Justin Sullivan)
The first two animated shorts series in the new "Pokémon Generations" are up free on YouTube. This follows the Pokémon Company announcement of free "Pokémon Generations" to be availed weekly starting today, Sept. 16.
"Pokémon Generations" will be a new animated series to debut every week that aims to give a peek into an untold story from every generation within Pokémon franchise since 1996. In the first availed full episode, the international police tracks mysterious Team Rocket leader Giovanni to the Viridian City gym. Technically this is the second episode of the new animated series with the first also released today showing more of timeline of the series, Kotaku reported.
The three-minute premiere episode is a perfect outline of the entire Pokémon franchise, from the Kanto region of the Game Boy games to the latest gen of games, "Pokémon X and Y." The first minute of "The Adventure" may catch viewers off guard at first with how familiar it is to those with fond memories of "Pokémon Red," but once it kicks off, it is a lovely, Pikachu-led journey past some of the best sights of every mainline game.
Episode two shows a completely different kind of story, one centered on a more up-to-date addition to the franchise's cast. Detective Looker, whom is met at the end of "Pokémon X and Y" for a brief side quest, stars in "The Chase". In this short, he is looking for Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket. It is a nice way to get the old-school games connect with the newest generation, even if the story is over in just four minutes.
According to Geek, in a Pokémon, a "generation" accounts for a group of games launched within the same time frame, like the original "Pokémon Red", "Pokémon Blue" and "Pokémon Yellow," making up the first gen. Each episode will focus on the Pokémon, timeline, and location of that generation, but not necessarily on the usual protagonist.
The Pokémon Company for sure has been barraging fans with a slew of exciting games, series, products and spin off franchises this year as they celebrate their 20th anniversary. The announcement of "Pokémon Generations" surely is not the last big news fans should expect to hear this season from the company. A lot is expected from the company with the win of "Pokémon GO," the "Pokémon Sun and Moon" game coming out later this year, as well as the tie-in anime series.
"Pokémon Generations" will see new episodes released every week through Dec. 23 2016 on their official Pokémon YouTube channel. The content will cover the entirety of the Pokémon franchise, although it is not yet clear if that includes the upcoming Pokémon Sun and Moon just yet.
Watch "Pokémon Generations" Episode 1: "The Adventure" here:
