The Pokemon Season 24 release date in Japan is confirmed to be scheduled for Summer 2021!
The official title for the continuation of the anime TV series is Pokemon Master Journeys. It’s also been confirmed that the new Pokemon season will have “approximately 42 episodes” in total.
The Pokemon Master Journeys Netflix release date is scheduled for September 10, 2021.
A new Pokemon Master Journeys trailer was released in early July 2021.
Pokemon Season 24 (or Pokemon Journeys Season 2) has anime fans looking forward to the continuation of Ash Ketchum and Goh’s adventures in new regions of the world.
The goal of the new Pokemon series is for Ash to travel to all of the various regions of the Pokemon world from Kanto to Galar. This includes regions revealed only in the video games.
Goh’s goal is literally to catch them all, including the legendary Mythical Mew. With over 800 Pokemon in the Pokedex, you know that this significant accomplishment will take many years worth of anime episodes.
Although he’s already battled Mewtwo, Ash’s new goal is to actually catch Mewtwo!
“With Pikachu, Cinderace, and their other Pokémon beside them, our heroes continue to travel all over the world to research Pokémon for Cerise Laboratory. Along the way, Ash climbs higher in the World Coronation Series rankings, and Goh adds more Pokémon to his Pokédex in his quest to catch Mew. Meanwhile, Chloe takes her first steps as a Pokémon Trainer when she meets a mysterious Eevee. New friends, returning rivals, and exciting adventures await—as the journey continues!”
Under normal circumstances, the anime series jumps to the next season without taking any major breaks, so the Pokemon Season 24 release date should immediately follow the last episode of Pokemon 2019 (Pokemon Season 23).
But the year 2020 was hardly normal due to the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus pandemic.
In April 2020, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a national state of emergency, which was expanded into the summer. Japan has gone through multiple waves in the pandemic and the anime industry has been forced to adjust accordingly.
The Pokemon anime series did not escape the virus’s reach. OLM, Inc., the animation studio responsible for making the Pokemon anime series, is located in Tokyo, which struggled to contain the viral spread.
Anime studios’ schedules have suffered from cascading effects due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the mitigation efforts by all nations.
Many studios outsource parts of the production process to contractors located in South Korea and China. Sometimes compositing is outsourced entirely, and these companies handle multiple projects at the same time.
Thus, based on the current news, it goes without saying that the Pokemon Season 24 premiere was pushed back, as well.
- Updated July 8, 2021: Added Pokemon Master Journeys Netflix release date and number of episodes. Added Pokemon Master Journeys trailer.
- Updated May 6, 2021: Pokemon Master Journeys anime officially confirmed as Pokemon Season 24.
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Updated April 19, 2021: Added Netflix Part 6 info and Pokemon Journeys Episode 66 release date.
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Updated February 22, 2021: Added Netflix Part 5 info and Pokemon Journeys Episode 60 release date.
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Updated August 20, 2020: Added Pokemon Journeys Part 2 release date on Netflix U.S.
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Updated June 1, 2020: Pokemon Journeys Episode 23 release date announced.
This article provides everything that is known about Pokemon Season 24 (Pokemon Master Journeys) and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Pokemon Master Journeys anime extends the title theme of Pokemon Journeys: The Series
With over 1,000 episodes in total, Ash Ketchum has been on a long, long, long journey. This story has been divided up into generations that share a common theme. Ash Ketchum is usually the main protagonist, but often the series will switch up his friends.
Based on history, Pokemon Season 24 (or Pokemon 2021) is part of Generation 8 of the overall series, and it is essentially being treated like Pokemon Journeys Season 2. As such, the title for Pokemon Journeys was extended to include the new focus for the year 2021.
For example, Pokemon Season 14 through 17 was Generation 5, and it was called Pokemon: Black and White. Season 15 extended the title with “Rival Destinies” and Season 16 added “Adventures in Unova”.
Similarly, Pokemon Season 17 through 19 was Generation 6, and it was called Pokemon: XY, while Season 19’s title was extended Pokemon: XYZ).
Pokemon Season 20 through 22 was Generation 7, and it was called Pokemon: Sun and Moon, with the title being extended with “Ultra Adventures” and “Ultra Legends.”
Thus, it makes sense to call the direct sequel Pokemon Master Journeys considering how Ash is focused on his quest to become a Pokemon Master.
Note: This article was updated once the actual title for the Pokemon Journeys Season 2 anime (Pokemon Season 24) was announced.
Pokemon Season 23 Episode 23 release date was delayed until June 2020 by the pandemic
The Pokemon Season 23 Episode 23 release date was originally scheduled for April 26, 2020. But anime studio OLM temporarily halted production on the Pokemon Journeys: The Series anime due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan.
The release date for Pokemon Journeys Episode 23: A Massive Panic! Sakuragi Park!! was pushed back to June 7, 2020.
The Pokemon Journeys anime is just one of several major anime that have suffered delayed. That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime Season 2, The Seven Deadly Sins Season 4, Haikyuu!! Season 4, The Promised Neverland Season 2, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Season 3, The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2, Re: ZERO Season 2, Sword Art Online: Alicization Final Season, and No Guns Life Part 2 have all been pushed back to later dates. Like Pokemon, the Black Clover anime’s delays could impact the Black Clover Season 4 release date.
Pokemon Master Journeys release date in Japan in Summer 2021
As of the last update, OLM, Inc., or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the exact Pokemon Master Journeys release date in Japan. The production of a Pokemon Season 24 sequel was announced by the official website on May 6, 2021.
But it’s possible the premiere would have been in 2021 regardless since Pokemon Journeys has been unusually long. Typically, since the 2010 Black & White, the Pokemon seasons have ranged between 43 to 54 episodes long.
Japanese Pokemon Journeys Episode 60 already released on March 19, 2021, and Pokemon Journeys Episode 75 is scheduled for July 30, 2021. That means there are now enough episodes for Netflix’s Pokemon Journeys Part 6.
Since we don’t know if Pokemon Journeys 75 is the ending, it’s currently uncertain when exactly Pokemon Season 24 Episode 1 will come out. Assuming Pokemon Journeys Episode 75 is the ending, Pokemon Master Journeys Episode 1 could come out on August 6, 2021.
But the announcement specifically says Summer 2021, which in the anime industry typically means July through September.
That could mean the first part could end Pokemon Journeys in late August 2021. If that’s the case, the Pokemon Master Journeys release date could in September 2021, the last month of the Summer 2021 anime TV season.
Pokemon Season 24 Netflix U.S. release date with English dub in September 2021
While Japan is receiving Pokemon Master Journeys in Summer 2021, the Pokemon Company International has confirmed that additional markets will receive the new episodes later this year in 2021.
It’s also been confirmed that Netflix is keeping its exclusive rights for streaming Pokemon Master Journeys. The first 12 episodes will release on September 10, 2021. More episodes will release approximately every three months for the duration of the season.
The Pokemon Journeys English dub for America was a Netflix Original exclusive that was streaming only on Netflix U.S. in the United States. The Pokemon Journeys Netflix U.S. release date for the first 12 episodes was scheduled for June 2020 (other countries like the UK are premiering the Pokemon Journeys dub in May 2020).
Every three months, 12 more episodes were released on Netflix U.S. It’s unlikely that coronavirus delays will be enough to disrupt Netflix’s plans.
That meant Pokemon Journeys Part 4: Episodes 37 through 48 came out in March 2021.
Unfortunately, as of the end of June 2021, Pokemon Journeys Part 5: Episodes 49 through 60 were in limbo on Netflix. The episodes were not released based on the previously announced schedule and no new announcement was made about how the anime would continue to be distributed internationally.
It’s possible that Netflix’s Pokemon Master Journeys will start with Episode 49. If that’s the case, then Netflix’s Pokemon Journeys Part 5 release date would be in September 2021. Then Netflix’s Pokemon Journeys Part 6 release date would be in December 2021, ending with Episode 72.
Let’s just be glad the wait for the Pokemon Master Journeys release date is not too long. Stay tuned!