The Pokemon Company revealed four more cast members on Friday for the new anime in the Pokemon franchise. The new characters are part of the "Rising Volteckers" group that Professor Friede leads. The group uses an airship as their base.
The new cast includes Ayane Sakura as Orio, Kenta Miyake as Murdock, Kei Shindou as Molly, and Ikkyuu Juku as Randoh, who appears to be a fisherman.
The anime will star Minori Suzuki as Liko and Yuka Terasaki as Roy. Additionally, Taku Yashiro will voice Friede, and Ikue Otani returns as Captain Pikachu, reports Anime News Network
Saori Den (Mirage Queen Prefers Circus) is directing the anime, and Daiki Tomiyasu (Pokemon Sun & Moon, Pocket Monster Mezase Pokémon Master) is serving as creative director.
Dai Sato (Eureka Seven, Wolf's Rain, Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop) is overseeing the series scripts. Tetsuo Yajima is the action director, Rei Yamazaki is the character designer, and Kyōko Ito is the sub-character designer. Masafumi Mima is the sound director and Conisch is composing the music.
The anime will premiere on April 14 and will have a one-hour first-episode special. The show will air on Fridays at 6:55 p.m.
The Pokemon Company previously stated in its English press release that the anime will premiere in 2023 "and beyond."
The anime will feature Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly from the Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet video games, and will also feature the Legendary Pokemon Rayquaza in its Shiny form.
The anime will also feature the new characters Friede and Captain Pikachu, who are a Pokemon professor and Pokemon partner duo that will battle alongside protagonists Liko and Roy.
Pokemon Journeys: The Series premiered on TV Tokyo and its affiliates in Japan under the title Pocket Monster in November 2019, two days after the Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield games shipped worldwide.
The first 12 episodes of Pokémon Journeys: The Series debuted in the United States on Netflix in June 2020, and the service added new episodes quarterly. The anime also premiered on the Canadian television channel Teletoon in May 2020.
The localized title of the anime, Pokemon Journeys: The Series, has 48 episodes. Pokemon: Master Journeys: The Series continued with Pocket Monster's 49th episode, which premiered in Japan in December 2020.
Netflix began streaming Pokemon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, the Pokemon anime's 25th season, on October 21.
Pocket Monster Mezase Pokemon Master (Aiming to be a Pokemon Master), a collection of 11 special episodes to conclude Pokemon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, premiered in Japan on January 13. The series is the "final chapter" for Ash and Pikachu.
