Pokémon Is Making a YouTube Series, and So Far It’s Pretty Good

Pokémon Generations, a new animated series from the Pokémon Channel on YouTube, has launched its first and second episode. According to the channel, new episodes will be uploaded weekly until Christmas. The series seems to be inspired by all the Pokémon nostalgia going around, with 2016 being both the 20th anniversary of the series and the launch date for Pokémon Go, perhaps its biggest hit since the original craze.

The first episode starts out with a faceless trainer as the old familiar Red and Blue sprite, moving through a patch of thick grass. He encounters a Pikachu, and instead of using his Bulbasaur (although in my humble, yet well-versed, opinion, that’s the worst of the three original starters) goes straight for the Pokéball. He manages to snag the Pikachu, and immediately sets it loose on a Caterpie.

The episode transitions from that battle with the help of the legendary Zapdos, and moves to Johto. The second generation of Pokémon, with Gold, Silver, and Crystal, Pikachu has gotten stronger and attacks a group of Woopers, forgetting they’re also ground type. (In case you clicked on this article on accident and aren’t a Pokémon master, electric attacks don’t work on ground type Pokémon.)

The episode continues to go through generations, transitioning through legendary Pokémon like Lugia, Regigigas, and lastly Complete Form Zygarde, as Pikachu makes his way past Pokémon like Zen Form Darmanitan, and battles Vigoroth, Probopass, Volcarona, and Noivern.

If this all sounds like nonsense to you, episode two has a more human drama, as a team of police tries to capture Team Rocket leader Giovanni, who acts like a mob boss. Though it’s hard to judge from such a small sample size, it seems like each episode will tell a different story from a different perspective.

Surprisingly, this is the first time Pokémon has ventured into the web series format, though earlier this week the Pokémon Channel released the first episode of the new anime series on YouTube. Like everything else Pokémon, it’s sure to be wildly popular.

What do you think? Are you excited for a new Pokémon series? What generation are you looking forward to exploring? Let us know in the comments or @WhatsTrending on Twitter!