Nostalgic for Pokémon? These Animated YouTube Shorts Are a FamilyFriendly Gold Mine Jack SmartOctober 31, 2025 at 11:45 PM 0 Pokemon/YouTube 'Pokétoons' Pokémon's official YouTube channel houses tons of original animation expanding the franchise's style and reach Those familiar with the Pokémon anime series may be surprised by Pokétoons, Evolutions and even funny original songs Here are the most fun videos and miniseries nostalgic fans should check out Pokémon has become the world's biggest media franchise thanks to its video games, trading cards, toys, merchandise and, of course, a beloved an...
- - Nostalgic for Pokémon? These Animated YouTube Shorts Are a Family-Friendly Gold Mine
Jack SmartOctober 31, 2025 at 11:45 PM
0
Pokemon/YouTube
'Pokétoons' -
Pokémon's official YouTube channel houses tons of original animation expanding the franchise's style and reach
Those familiar with the Pokémon anime series may be surprised by Pokétoons, Evolutions and even funny original songs
Here are the most fun videos and mini-series nostalgic fans should check out
Pokémon has become the world's biggest media franchise thanks to its video games, trading cards, toys, merchandise and, of course, a beloved anime series.
But Ash Ketchum's journey and the ongoing Netflix series Pokémon Horizons are only the tip of the animation iceberg. An altogether different corner of the Poke-verse is showcasing the limitless possibilities of that art form: the Official Pokémon YouTube channel.
Much like Star Wars' animated anthology Visions and Marvel's What If...? and X-Men '97, Japan's The Pokémon Company has turned to animation to expand the reach of its intellectual properties. From glimpses of the wondrous Horizons, the franchise's first post-Ash Ketchum show now gearing up for a third season, to whimsical, weird original short films and mini-series, there's a veritable gold mine of family-friendly content for fans of anime and Pokémon alike — all free and available for bingeing pleasure on YouTube.
Courtesy of Netflix
'Pokemon Horizons S2: The Search for Laqua'
Take Pokétoons, the original net animation series that features filmmaking styles so wildly different from what diehard Poké-fans would expect. Posted first on Japan's Pokémon Kids TV YouTube channel, they're each slice-of-life depictions of many of our favorite critters and their trainers, as well as bona fide short films.
Following a beginner who dreams of catching her own starter Pokémon, "Blossom's Dream" takes place firmly in the animated world we know — except for its dynamic camera movements and distinct color palette, welcome changes to a format fans instinctively know. The same goes for "Help! I've Turned into a Gengar," a cutesy ghost story, and "Jigglypuff's Song," which gives the iconic crooner (and Super Smash Bros. character) a fetching new haircut.
Other Pokétoons crank the stylistic dial to 11. "Snorunt's Summer Vacation" is radically unrecognizable as a Pokémon property at first, with its painterly computer animation. The sepia-toned musical "Wait for Me, Magikarp" often looks strikingly like a Studio Ghibli film from Hayao Miyazaki.
Nowhere is the potential for the franchise's new direction more apparent than the first Pokétoon, released stateside in 2022. The dialogue-free "Scraggy and Mimikyu" is depicted in the style of a 1940s Western animation so convincing, it feels like Bugs Bunny might join the dueling duo at any moment.
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But that's just some of the hidden gems in this particular YouTube wormhole. Who needed an original reggae song about derpy Slowpoke? This writer did. Or how about "Detective Pikachu & the Mystery of the Missing Flan," a pure CGI somewhere between anime and Pixar? It may not include Ryan Reynolds' voice after his starring role in 2019's Detective Pikachu, but it's enough to root for an ongoing series.
PokemonCoJp/Youtube
A 'Pokétoon' Short
Meanwhile, the games-inspired Twilight Wings is a proper limited series with surprising scope in its world-building. Similarly, Evolutions upped the epic factor with visuals rivaling the most intense action-fantasy anime.
And the best of the original series living on Pokémon's YouTube page is Pokémon Generations, "bite-sized adventures" depicting scenes familiar to fans of the video games. If you're nostalgic for bygone times of curling up with a Game Boy console and catching 'em all, this anime feels like both a blast from the past and a sign of exciting Pokémon content to come.
More English-language Pokétoons will land on the channel following their debut on the Japanese YouTube page, but impatient fans can check them out there. Pokémon Horizons, meanwhile, will begin airing its third season on Netflix Jan. 6, 2026.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: October 31, 2025 at 06:09PM on Source: EVENING MAG
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