The Pokémon anime’s Arceus Chronicles special is headed to Netflix

Following the debut of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, it was only a matter of (apologies) time before the Pokémon anime started focusing on stories about the Sinnoh region’s distant past when it was first settled by humans. While animated shorts like Hisuian Snow have delved a bit into the Sinnoh region’s history by introducing new characters, the mainline anime’s about to give Ash Ketchum yet another crash course in dealing with the legendary pokémon whose power shaped the land.

Today, The Pokémon Company announced that the English dub of Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles, a new animated special, is making its way to Netflix this September after first premiering at the 2022 Pokémon World Championships in London this August. Originally released in Japan as four episodes of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, The Arceus Chronicles tells the story of how Ash and a number of his companions from over the years reunite in present-day Sinnoh for a festival dedicated to celebrating the Hisui region and its pokémon. Like Arceus the game, The Arceus Chronicles will explore the relationships between its titular legendary creator pokémon and the land it lords over as well as how some villainous humans foolishly attempt to harness Arceus’ power for themselves.

Though The Arceus Chronicles is being billed as a special event, Ash already has firsthand experience interacting with many of the legendaries set to appear in the story, which likely borrows a number of plot points from the games it’s inspired. But Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles speaks to how comfortable the Pokémon anime’s become broaching topics like what the god of pokémon gets up to in its free time, which is exactly the sort of wild energy the franchise needs right now.

Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles his Netflix on September 23rd.