New Pokémon Anime Reveals 4 More Cast Members

The Pokémon Company revealed four more cast members on Friday for the new anime in the Pokémon 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 (in order of appearance in the above video, character name spellings not confirmed)

• Ayane Sakura as Orio, who likes mechanical things (partner Pokémon: Metagross)
• Kenta Miyake as Murdock, who is good at cooking (partner Pokémon: Iwanko/Rockruff)
• Kei Shindou as Molly, a medical specialist (partner Pokémon: Lucky/Chansey)
• Ikkyuu Juku as Randoh, who appears to be a fisherman

©Nintendo・Creatures・GAME FREAK・TV Tokyo・ShoPro・JR Kikaku ©Pokémon

The anime will star Minori Suzuki as Liko and Yuka Terasaki as Roy. Additionally, Taku Yashiro will voice Friede, and Ikue Ōtani returns as Captain Pikachu.

Saori Den (Mirage Queen Prefers Circus) is directing the anime, and Daiki Tomiyasu (Pokémon 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 Itō 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 Pokémon 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 Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet video games, and will also feature the Legendary Pokémon Rayquaza in its Shiny form. The anime will also feature the new characters Friede and Captain Pikachu, who are a Pokémon professor and Pokémon partner duo who will battle alongside protagonists Liko and Roy.

Pokémon Journeys: The Series premiered on TV Tokyo and its affiliates in Japan under the title Pocket Monster in November 2019, two days after the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon 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, Pokémon Journeys: The Series, has 48 episodes. Pokémon: Master Journeys: The Series continued with Pocket Monster's 49th episode, which premiered in Japan in December 2020. Netflix began streaming Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, the Pokémon anime's 25th season, on October 21.

Pocket Monster Mezase Pokémon Master (Aiming to be a Pokémon Master), a collection of 11 special episodes to conclude Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, premiered in Japan on January 13. The series is the "final chapter" for Ash and Pikachu.

Sources: Pokémon's YouTube channel, Animate Times