Running for almost 24 years now,Pokemon’shugely popularanime is without question one of the most iconic of all time, withAsh Ketchum’s adventure to catch em' allremaining treasured by many who watched it during their childhood. Over time, the show has amassed 23 seasons and counting, taking its central character through various regions where he’s met a variety of friends and foes.
For many, their central method of watching the seminal anime is through Disney’s archive, catching the show on either DisneyNOW or Disney XD on Demand. Unfortunately, it seems that won’t be a viable way to keep up with the past adventures of Ash and Pikachu much longer, withDisneyrecently dropping the vast majority of the show’s seasons from both channels.
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Viewers can still accessPokemonseason 22 on DisneyNOW and Disney XD on Demand, but seasons 1 - 21 have officially vanished. No word has been shared on why the show has been pulled, with some even theorizing they’ll be ported to Disney Plus, but it seems likely that they won’t be coming back anytime soon. In the meantime, there’s still a solid amount ofPokemoncontent on Netflix, with the streaming service getting the exclusive rights to distributePokemon Journeysin America. Perhaps the removal will see the site port over the older seasons of the show now that fans can’t access them through Disney’s archive.
As it stands,Pokemonis currently undergoing a resurgence in the public eye, both inside and outside of the gaming space.Pokemon Journeyshas acted as a fun, nostalgic slice of anime for fans, bringing back old regions and even Ash’s ex-nemesis Gary, whilePokemoncards have become a fixture of social media as of late, with internet celebrities buying lucrative packs and cards. Meanwhile,New Pokemon Snapis slated to debut in April and current rumors are circling the idea of aPokemon DiamondandPearlremake or perhaps a new entry in theLet’s Gospin-off series during 2021 as well.
Hopefully, the original show can crop up somewhere new and allow players to revisit it whilePokemonremains a hot commodity. It wouldn’t be the only gaming-related TV show to hit streaming services, however, with Netflix recently announcing a newSonic the HedgehogTV show titledSonic Prime.The service is also planning to turnTomb Raiderintoa new anime, while it will also be adaptingCyberpunk 2077, The Witcher,andDevil May Cryin the format as well.
