Fans of the Pokémon anime are going to have a tougher time catching their favorite episodes. The official Pokémon TV service with all of the anime and specials is no longer available for download as of today. And what’s worse, the service will be discontinued completely on March 28.
On Jan. 8, the official Pokémon website put out a statement regarding this announcement. As of now, Pokémon TV will no longer be available to download on any platform, including the App Store, Google Play, Nintendo eShop, and Pokemon.com. The statement also confirms the “sunset” of the Pokémon TV app and website on March 28.
What this means is that the service is only usable now to those who downloaded Pokémon TV before Jan. 8, as those who haven’t can’t even access the experience. As a consolation, the Pokémon team offered a handy list of other streaming platforms where fans can watch their favorite episodes and specials.
Most of the content can be found on Netflix and Amazon Prime. But the anime series is chopped up and split among many different platforms, so it might prove difficult for fans getting into the series to view it all in one place. For example, season one is currently available only on Netflix, but season two will require fans to migrate over to Prime Video.
The Pokémon movies are also split across the many streaming platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hoopla, and Google Play. It might be worthwhile for fans to research the movies that most interest them before committing to a streaming platform.
As someone who used to spend hours watching season one of the anime on Pokemon.com and reliving my nostalgia, this really feels like the end of the era. Pokémon fans will no longer be able to enjoy the simplicity of all their favorite content in one free, easy-to-access location. This may very well detract fans from finding ways to immerse themselves in the world of Pokémon.
