The Pokemon Season 25 anime TV series will be released internationally on Netflix on May 28, 2022. Pokemon Ultimate Journeys will be a direct sequel to the 24th season, Pokemon Master Journeys.
The announcement was made on the official website on May 11, 2022. Pokemon Season 25 will also be available on Corus/TELETOON in Canada.
On July 7, 2021, a press release on the official website for the Pokemon series confirmed that the 2021 Pokemon Master Journeys “features approximately 42 episodes” in total.
Typically, since the 2010 Black & White, the Pokemon seasons have ranged between 43 to 54 episodes long. So, Pokemon Master Journeys will be slightly shorter than average for the anime franchise.
Since Pokemon Journeys: The Series had 48 episodes, that means the two seasons combined will have approximately 90 episodes.
With that information in hand, it’s possible to predict the approximate Pokemon Season 25 release date in Japan.
This article provides everything that is known about Pokemon Season 25 (Pokemon Ultimate 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 Season 25 release date in Japan was in late 2021
The exact Pokemon Season 25 release date in Japan was actually fairly early in comparison to the Netlifx USA release.
The Pokemon Master Journeys Episode 42 (Pokemon Journeys Episode 90) release date in Japan was on December 10, 2021. Based on the prior press release, that should have been the ending of Season 24.
Typically, the Pokemon anime TV series rolls over into a new season without any major delays. Sometimes there will be a small broadcasting break.
In this case, Pokemon Journeys Episode 91 was considered the first episode of Pokemon Ultimate Journeys. That means the Pokemon Season 25 release date in Japan was retroactively considered to be December 17, 2021.
The total number of episodes for Season 24 was also approximate. But even accounting for these potential hiccups, Pokemon Season 25 began December 2021, and then the new title was announced in Spring 2022.
The overall series will be up to Pokemon Journeys Episode 96 by February 4, 2022. Four of the episodes released in early 2022 are part of a story arc designed to coincide with the release of the Pokemon Legends: Arceus video game.
Keep in mind that COVID-19 related delays are possible. Japan has gone through multiple waves in the pandemic and the anime industry has been forced to adjust accordingly.
Anime studios’ schedules have suffered from cascading effects due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the mitigation efforts by all nations. For example, Pokemon Journeys Episode 23 was delayed in 2020 by seven weeks in total by the pandemic.
That’s Japan. What about the rest of the world?
Pokemon Season 25 Netflix release date in May 2022
Netflix is unlikely to give up exclusive streaming rights for one of the biggest anime TV series in the world.
As Netflix users know, the streaming giant likes to set up audiences for binge-watching rather than releasing episodes weekly. That means Pokemon Season 25 will come out long after the episodes initially aired in Japan.
On July 7, 2021, it was confirmed that the Pokemon Master Journeys Netflix U.S. release date would be on September 10, 2021.
The first 12 episodes of Pokemon Master Journeys Part 1 (Pokemon Journeys Part 5) would be released on that day. From thereon, every quarter more episodes will release internationally on Netflix “approximately every three months for the duration of the season”.
The release schedule was delayed a little since Pokemon Master Journeys Part 2 (Pokemon Journeys Part 6): Episodes 61 through 72 were released on January 21, 2022 (not December 2021). Then Pokemon Master Journeys Part 3 (Pokemon Journeys Part 7): Episodes 73 through 84 will release in March 2022.
Pokemon 2022 extends the Pokemon Journeys title again
Based on history, Pokemon Season 25 (or Pokemon 2022) should be part of Generation 8 of the overall series. It might essentially be treated like Pokemon Journeys Season 3. As such, the title for Pokemon Season 25 was extended to include the new focus for the years 2021 to 2022.
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.”
So, the question then becomes how Pokemon Season 25 might extend the theme of Pokemon Master Journeys.
In Episode 65, Ash battled Iris in a World Coronation Series match and won, bringing his rank to 99 and advancing him to the Ultra Class. By Episode 86, Ash was up to Rank 36. Ash’s goal is to become a Pokemon Master, which consists of 8 trainers called the Masters Eight.
Based on the title of Season 24 it’s probably safe to assume Ash will become a member of the Masters Eight by the end of Pokemon Season 25. But the real question is if he will become the vaunted Monarch by beating Leon, the current championship titleholder.
It’s possible that becoming the Monarch or at least having a title battle will become Ash’s newest goal. If that’s the case, could the championship title provide a hint about the Pokemon Season 25 title?
While Pokemon Master Journeys: World Coronation has a good sound to it, it was eventually decided that the newest series would be called Pokemon Ultimate Journeys. Stay tuned!