The official Pokémon movie website has updated. Translations follow:

The "Oha Suta" Episode Airing Monday December 11th Will Have the World Premiere of the Latest Pokémon Movie News!

The "Oha Suta" (airs on the TV Tokyo Network Monday through Friday at 7:05am) episode airing Monday December 11th
will have the world premiere of a grand reveal of the latest news on the Pokémon movie premiering Summer 2018!
What kind of adventures will you be able to see in the next movie? Make sure not to miss "Oha Suta" Monday December 11th!

Official Oha Suta website: https://www.ohast.jp/

Source: http://www.pokemon-movie.jp/news/?p=3151

GOODSMILE ONLINE SHOP and the Japanese Pokémon Center Online have announced that pre-orders for a Lana Nendoroid (ねんどろいど スイレン) will be open from Friday, December 1st, 2017 at 14:00JST until Thursday, January 11th, 2018 at 12:00JST for GOODSMILE and from Friday, December 1st, 2017 at 14:00JST until Wednesday, January 10th, 2018 at 21:00JST for the Pokémon Center, Pokémon Store and the Pokémon Center Online. High resolution pictures of the Nendoroid have been added to an Imageboard thread.

GOODSMILE ONLINE SHOP Pre-Order Bonus

Those that purchase the Lana Nendoroid from the GOODSMILE ONLINE SHOP will receive a Waterium Z-Crystal Base as a bonus!

Pokémon Center, Pokémon Store & Pokémon Center Online Pre-Order Bonus

Those that purchase the Lana Nendoroid from the Pokémon Center, Pokémon Store or the Pokémon Center Online will receive a Dive Ball as a bonus!

Product Details:

Product Name: Nendoroid Lana
Series: Pokémon
Manufacturer: Good Smile Company
Price: ¥4,444 (Before Tax)
Release Date: 2018/06
Specifications: Painted ABS&PVC non-scale figure with stand included. Approximately 100mm in height.
Sculptor: Shichibee

Sources: http://www.goodsmile.info/en/product/6851/Nendoroid+Lana.html and https://www.pokemoncenter-online.com/?p_cd=4580416904599

On Saturday, November 11th, 2017, a special event was held at Sunshine City Fountain Square to celebrate 1000 episodes of the TV animation series "Pocket Monsters". Various stage events were held throughout the day and Fountain Square was crowded with many Pokémon fans!

Learn "Pose" with Kiteruguma

Guest's Kei Shindo (Lilie VA's), Hitomi Kikuchi (Suiren VA's) and Fumiko Takekuma (Māmane VA's) entered and appeared on stage and were challenged to strike fully powered poses. Kiteruguma was then called on stage as the master to help the three struggling guest! The audience's eyes were locked on Kiteruguma as it performed some poses. Not to be outdone, the guests intensely practiced the poses: "Fire", "Electric", "Ghost" and "Fighting" with the fans in the audience. When they began to strike poses to the Pocket Monsters Sun and Moon Ending Theme "Pose", the audience applauded!

1000th Episode Celebration - Rica Matsumoto SPECIAL LIVE

Satoshi's voice actor Rica Matsumoto appeared on stage! With her partner Pikachu on stage with her, she sang the opening theme to Pocket Monsters XY&Z; "XY&Z" as well as the opening theme for Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon; "Alola!!".

Pokémon Ga-Olé Special Stage

Ga-Olé Leader's Ren & Kazuki introduced Z-Moves using the Pokémon Z-Power Ring! Special guests Hideaki Takatori, Aya Ikeda and Tatsuyuki Kobayashi then sang the theme song of Pokémon Ga-Olé and livened up the stage.

Let's! PokéProblem!

In addition to Rica Matsumoto (Satoshi's VA), Kei Shindo (Lilie's VA), Hitomi Kikuchi (Suiren's VA) and Fumiko Takekuma (Māmane's VA), Keiichi Nakagawa who voices Professor Kukui joined the event on stage. Reina Ueda, Mao's voice actor also arrived. The Pocket Monsters segment PokéProblem is very popular and a quiz was conducted there on stage at the event. Those in the audience that correctly answered the quiz question from among the four options could raise their hand and they were given a special original tin badge! Children that got the badge directly from the guests were holding the badge with a joyful look.

Fully Powered! Pokémon School Finale Stage

Following "Let's! PokéProblem!" with the five guests, Kaito Ishikawa, Kaki's voice actor surprisingly appeared on stage!

At the end of the live event, Rica Matsumoto sang the theme song to this year's movie "Aim To Be A Pokémon Master - 20th Anniversary"!


Source: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/pokemon1000/#171116

The Pokémon Company International has announced a special Pikachu plush will be available at select retailers to commemorate the 20th movie Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!. 6 special TCG cards will also be distributed to those that spend at least $25 on TCG products starting on November 8th, 2017.

Commemorate Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! with Pikachu!

Pikachu sports Ash’s iconic hat on Pokémon TCG cards and as a special plush available at select retailers.

To celebrate the release of the 20th Pokémon film, Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, we've teamed up with select retailers to bring fans a fantastic new plush and cool Pokémon Trading Card Game goodies.

Starting November 8, 2017, Pokémon devotees will receive a pack of three random Ash's Pikachu promo cards for each $25 spent on Pokémon TCG products (tax and shipping not included). In all, there are six different promo cards to collect! This Pokémon TCG promotion will be offered at the following retailers:

Online Only:

• PokemonCenter.com
• Target.com
• Toysrus.com
• Toysrus.ca
• Walmart.com
• Walmart.ca

In Stores Only:

• GameStop
• EB Australia
• EB Canada

If Pokémon plush are more your speed, you won't want to miss the Pikachu Wearing Trainer Hat Poké Plush appearing at select retailers. This plush of the beloved Pikachu is 16 inches tall and features a detachable version of Ash's iconic hat that fits most teens and adults! You'll find this adorable plush at the following retailers:

Online Only:

• PokemonCenter.com
• Target.com

In Stores Only:

• Nintendo NY
• Toys“R”Us
• GameStop
• EB Australia

These wonderful tributes to the 20th Pokémon film won't be around forever, so don't miss out on your chance to collect these truly special Pikachu items.

Source: https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/commemorate-pokemon-the-movie-i-choose-you-with-pikachu/

Special Offer! Free Pokémon TCG promo pack containing 3 Ash’s Pikachu cards

Yours when you spend $25 or more on Pokémon Trading Card Game products from Pokémon Center

Celebrate Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! with this special offer from Pokémon Center! For every $25 you spend on Pokémon Trading Card Game products, you will receive a Pokémon TCG promo pack containing three Ash’s Pikachu cards. Each card features an illustration of Pikachu with one of the hats worn by Ash during the pair’s adventures in the Pokémon animated series.


Details:

• While supplies last, receive one 3-card promo pack per $25 spent on Pokémon TCG products at PokemonCenter.com. For example, a customer who purchases $75 worth of Pokémon TCG products from PokemonCenter.com will receive three 3-card promo packs (9 cards total).
• Calculation of $25 minimum order of qualifying Pokémon TCG products excludes tax and cost of shipping.
• Promotion will be automatically applied to qualifying Pokémon TCG orders. No code is necessary. You will not see a separate line item for the promotion in your shopping cart.
• Promo card packs will be shipped separately from qualifying orders. Please allow approximately two weeks for delivery.
• Promo card pack contents are random; PokemonCenter.com cannot guarantee any specific packaging or contents.

Source: https://www.pokemoncenter.com/ashspikachu

MangaUK has announced that a DVD and Blu-ray of the 20th movie Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! will be released in 2018. The DVD will be released on February 12th, 2018 while the Blu-ray Steelbook will be released on April 30th, 2018.

Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! is coming to DVD & Blu-ray

We are very pleased to announce that Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! will receive a UK home entertainment release in 2018!

A standard DVD edition of the film will be released on 12th February to coincide with February half term, and a Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook is in planning for release on 30th April. Artwork is currently to be confirmed, so keep an eye on our social media channels for final images once they become available.

Both versions of the film will include English audio only.

Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! is an origin story highlighting Ash & Pikachu’s first meeting and their adventures as they search for the legendary Pokémon Ho – Oh. The iconic pair encounter familiar faces along the way, new characters including Trainers Verity and Sorrel, and even a mysterious new Mythical Pokémon, Marshadow. Challenges and epic Pokémon battles abound in this unique story about the beginning of one of the most beloved friendships in popular culture.

Source: http://www.mangauk.com/pokemon-movie-i-choose-coming-dvd-blu-ray/

Fathom Events and The Pokémon Company International have posted on the Fathom Events website that they have added two more dates to the theatrical release of the English dub of Pocket Monsters: I Choose You!. Those who attend the showings on November 11th, 2017 and November 14th, 2017 will only get to see the film. No Pikachu TCG promo card will be distributed on those dates.

Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! - In Theaters Nov 5, Nov 6, Nov 11, Nov 14

Fathom Events and The Pokémon Company International bring the highly anticipated new animated feature film Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! to movie theatres on November 5, 6, 11 and 14.

This special event explores Ash and Pikachu’s first meeting and their adventures as they search for the Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh. The pair encounter familiar faces along the way, new characters including Trainers Verity and Sorrel, and even a mysterious new Mythical Pokémon, Marshadow.

November 5 and 6: Cinema audiences who attend the showings on November 5 and 6 will have a chance to receive a never-before-seen card for the Pokémon Trading Card Game featuring Pikachu wearing its Trainer’s hat. (while supplies last, quantities are limited).

November 11 and 14: Cinema audiences who attend the showings on November 11 and 14 will see the film only (no card available).

Source: https://www.fathomevents.com/events/pokemon-the-movie

The following Opinion Editorial was written by JolteonJordan, a regular visitor of this site. It discusses the English dub release of Pocket Monsters: I Choose You! and why it is lacking in overall production value. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of PocketMonsters.net.

YouTube Clip - 5 Reasons You Shouldn't Watch Pokémon: I Choose You! Dubbed

Opinion Editoral - 5 Reasons You Shouldn't See Pokémon I Choose You Dubbed

In honor of the Pokémon anime’s 20th anniversary, OLM released the commemorative movie Pocket Monsters: I Choose You!—a reimagining of the beginning of Satoshi’s adventure with Pikachu. In a surprising twist of fate, the film will be having a limited theatrical premiere in theaters across America as Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! on November 5th and 6th. The Pokémon Company International has not given Pokémon films a theatrical premiere since Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon. While the movie gives off a nostalgic appeal, there are a number of reasons to skip this theatrical screening due to some drastic changes to the handling of the series’ dub over the years.

It should be made clear that not all anime dubs are inherently bad and it is entirely possible for them to be adapted well—with English adaptions of anime such as Cowboy Bebop commonly being commended for being superior to its original Japanese counterpart. The overall treatment of anime dubs has improved in recent years, following closer to the original material and working off bigger budgets. Yet even anime that depart from their original source material such as the cult hit Samurai Pizza Cats and the notorious Ghost Stories are successful in their own rights. Sadly, the current treatment of the Pokémon anime does not improve upon the original but rather waters down the experience.

To fully understand this, let’s look over five reasons why investing into an overly hyped theatrical release isn’t worth the price of admission.

The Theatrical Release Itself

While this issue isn’t really a problem with the dub, it does lie as a problem with its distribution outside of Japan. When it was announced this movie was going to be a limited screening, the word “limited” was not to be underestimated. The initial listing of theaters participating consisted of about 100 nationwide. While the numbers have since increased, there isn’t an exact number available, with no single list of all participating theaters. Rather, consumers have to look up the nearest location through zip codes or city names and hope a participating theater is nearby.

Not only are the locations limited, but rather than show the film for a few weeks, Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! will only be running for just two days—one day being a Monday. The distribution of screenings also lacks balance, with the state of Hawaii having a single participating theater and other major cities having up to six theaters screening the movie.

Even Pokémon Heroes in 2003—the last Pokémon movie to have a major theatrical release, opened with 200 theaters and remained in theaters for nearly two months. With The Pokémon Company International reaching retail sales of $3.3 Billion in 2016, lack of finances isn’t a proper excuse for having such a poor and limited release.

While people who see the film will receive a serial code for the special I Choose You! Cap Pikachu for the upcoming Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon video games as well as a rather cheap promotional trading card, these extras simply aren’t worth seeing a poorly put-together dub with locations being so few and far between.

Even when its theatrical run ends, the film will likely only see a DVD release and perhaps a digital distribution over online stores such as iTunes. However, Japan has continued to release its latest Pokémon films on Blu-ray without hesitation and simply shows how the distribution of the Pokémon anime internationally goes out of its way to cut as many corners as possible.

The Inevitable Editing

Any dub of any anime will inevitably run into changes, be it through the script or sometimes paint edits, usually the former. That’s just how localization works—direct translations from Japanese to English can either lead to jokes or references that don’t make sense to an outside audience or stilted and boring dialogue. There is no “pure” way to translate certain works into different languages.

However, the Pokémon anime dub, especially in its 4Kids days, saw lots of script and paint edits, such as forced moral messages in the film Mewtwo Strikes Back and paint-editing riceballs into sandwiches or even calling them “jelly-filled donuts”. While the current dub of the Pokémon anime handled by DuArt Film and Video usually doesn’t make as many changes to force the show to be more “Americanized”, they certainly don’t do a much better job.

Much of the staff from TAJ Productions, responsible for the dub of the Pokémon Battle Frontier series and earlier episodes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl moved to work with DuArt. This is apparent with the dub’s often childish scripts, forcing modernized lines like calling Ash a “noob” and rewriting Team Rocket to advertise the then-upcoming Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl in the movie Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea. The writing team is also incapable of being consistent with titling episodes, sometimes using puns, making strange pop culture references, or even accurately translating Japanese episode titles.

Though 4Kids Entertainment was notorious for its extreme and painfully obvious paint edits, DuArt Film and Video instead chooses to take the lazy route. In Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, any and all special Z-Move text from the Japanese version is completely removed and not replaced with any sort of proper English text to even attempt mimicking the source material of the video games. Additionally, while Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! had already prepared a proper English logo in Japan, The Pokémon Company International opted to put together a logo with bland white text when simply editing in Japan’s English logo would have not only been easier but much more appealing to the eye. While these edits seem minor at first glance, it’s these poor choices that will likely be reflected in the film’s presentation and script.

The Music

Starting around Pokémon the Series: XY, the dub began to heavily cut the show’s original music and replaced it with its own original music. The also applied to all of the movies of the XY series. This replacement music has since been composed by a man named Ed Goldfarb.

Ed Goldfarb not only composes music for the Pokémon anime dub, but has taught at Foothill College, is part of a band called The Sad Truth, and has composed for a number of nature documentaries as well as obscure films such as Hard Scrambled. While it’s clear he is a passionate musician, his compositions simply don’t compare to the original works of Shinji Miyazaki.

The Pokémon anime dub is no stranger to replacing soundtracks, with 4Kids replacing the soundtracks of the first three films and occasionally throughout the show, but nowhere near to the degree DuArt Film and Video has in recent years. 4Kids has managed to not only keep most of the show’s music throughout its run and began to retain the musical scores of films starting with Pokémon 4Ever, the company managed to license full English songs from the original source material such as “Secret Garden” from Pokémon Heroes and kept half of the Japanese ending theme for Jirachi: Wish Maker, “Chiisaki Mono” and adapted it into its own song, “Make A Wish”. In comparison, DuArt failed to license an entirely English song for The Rise of Darkrai known as “I Will Be With You (Where the Lost Ones Go)” and replaced it with two original songs known as “I’ll Always Remember You” and “Living in the Shadow”.

The Japanese musical score of Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! is particularly important due to its heavy reliance and basis on past compositions of songs in the Pokémon anime, especially from the Indigo League series. Many of these songs are nostalgic and well-known by fans across the world and work off of the film’s intent to give off nostalgic vibes—an intent that will be completely lost by using Goldfarb’s original music, which was already confirmed by a post on his Twitter account. In a time where more obscure anime receive exposure from both children and adults and still manage to keep their original soundtracks, it’s simply inexcusable for The Pokémon Company International to cut down costs on the anime and replace this music other than to be lazy and cheap while having little to no respect for the original work.

The Voice Acting

In 2006, The Pokémon Company International—known as Pokémon USA at the time—decided they would begin dubbing the Pokémon anime in-house and that 4Kids Entertainment would no longer hold the rights. This included replacing nearly the entire original voice cast that had been working on the dub for nearly a decade and were then replaced with what the company called “sound-alikes”.

The general consensus of whether or not the actors from the 4Kids dub were good or not is a muddled subject, but many agree that the actors that replaced them with TAJ Productions are worse—with the SOVA (Save Our Voice Actors) movement that ran rampant during this transition. It’s entirely possible that fans held up high expectations for these actors when first entering their roles, yet despite that these voice actors have now been in position for some characters longer than their 4Kids counterparts, their performances and their voice direction continues to be quite poor. Many voices for characters come off as passable at best, but typically bland and otherwise insufferable at worst. Actors such as James Carter Cathcart makes the famous Professor Oak sound like a senile old man, while Sarah Natochenny continues to strain her voice as Ash Ketchum to painfully obvious degrees.

Once DuArt Film and Video took over for TAJ Productions, this allowed for some actors from 4Kids Entertainment to participate in the dub, but most did not return to their more notable roles. Despite the notorious reputation 4Kids Entertainment has, many of its actors are beloved by fans of the series, with many voicing their disappointment of The Pokémon Company International failing to recast them for Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! on social media. With actors like Veronica Taylor not reprising her role as Ash, the intended nostalgic appeal of the upcoming movie is lost for many long-term fans.

Even ignoring the nostalgia factor, the anime dubs for other Pokémon anime series such as Pokémon Origins and Pokémon Generations—while not universally loved—clearly have a higher production budget with many more well-known anime actors and directors involved. But when it comes to the main anime series The Pokémon Company International goes out of its way to promote, the amount of budget and care put into it is far inferior and would simply be unbearable for an hour and a half long film.

You May Not Even Like This Movie

This is a prevalent issue with Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!—regardless of whether choosing to watch the original Japanese version or the English dub. With the way the film has been promoted as well as some false assumptions by internet outlets before the film’s release, many assumed the Pokémon anime’s 20th anniversary film would be a remake of the original anime series, complete with close retellings of certain episodes and the inclusion of Misty and Brock. But that’s simply not what Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! is trying to be.

The film’s director, Kunihiko Yuyama, confirmed that the movie is meant to be a parallel universe from the original anime series, where instead one of Ho-Oh’s feathers falls and Ash pursues a different adventure. This includes him meeting new friends along the way such as Verity and Sorrel, as well as the new Mythical Pokémon Marshadow.

While Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! tries to be a different story, it does still have many nods and pays several homages to the main anime series, with multiple characters across multiple generations making cameo appearances, the aforementioned use of older songs from the Indigo League series of the anime, and the return of familiar characters like Ash’s Charmander and Butterfree.

It’s true that many would have wanted a retelling of the original Indigo League series rather than a reimagining, but at the same time the film would have still been inferior to the original series due to it simply being impossible to squeeze over 80 episodes into a feature length film. There was also word of the film involving an all-star cast of Ash’s past companions from previous seasons, but fitting so many characters into one movie could have led to a complicated and chaotic plot with a poor balance that would fail to satisfy all fans of the series.

Whether or not Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! is a good film is completely subjective to one’s tastes. However, based on the past history of DuArt’s work with lazy editing, poor script writing, poor voice direction, and heavily replacing the show’s original score, it’s not difficult to see that the English dub will be a second-rate product that simply won’t compare to the original source material. It isn’t worth anyone’s time or money, and having a theatrical release certainly isn’t any promise of quality.

TV Tokyo has launched a mini-website called the: TV Anime "Pocket Monsters" 1000 Episodes Broadcast Celebration (テレビアニメ「ポケットモンスター」1000回放送記念). SM49 marks the 1000th aired episode of the main series Pocket Monsters anime. Translations of the first news post follow:

TV Anime "Pocket Monsters" 1000 Episodes Broadcast Celebration Special Event

To celebrate the TV Animation "Pocket Monsters" 1000th broadcast on Thursday, November 9th, 2017, on Saturday, November 11th, 2017, Sunshine City will hold a special event! Rica Matsumoto, the voice of Satoshi will appear as a special guest! Other guests will also be announced.

■ Date: Saturday November 11th, 2017
■ Venue: Sunshine City Fountain Square (Alpa B1)
※ We will post detailed information, such as event holding time, in the future.

Source: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/pokemon1000/#171012_b

The official Pokémon movie website has updated. Details are also available in our DVD/Bluray database. Translations follow:

The "Pocket Monsters the Movie: I Choose You!" Blu-ray & DVD go on Sale Wednesday December 20th!

The release details for the blu-ray and DVD for the 20th anniversary movie,
"Pocket Monsters the Movie: I Choose You!", have already been determined! They will go on sale Wednesday December 20th!

*Blu-ray, limited edition: 6480 yen + tax (price including tax: 6998 yen)
*Blu-ray, regular edition: 4980 yen + tax (price including tax: 5378 yen)
*DVD, regular edition: 3980 yen + tax (price including tax: 4298 yen)

Content:
*The feature film "Pocket Monsters the Movie: I Choose You!" (with Japanese subtitles)
*Creditless opening
*Creditless ending
*Collection of reference illustrations
*Collection of idea sketches
*Visuals gallery
*Collection of trailers

Limited edition bonus material:
*Episode 1 of the "Pocket Monsters" anime TV series: Digitally remastered version
*Special giant-size post card set
*New version of the miniature theater pamphlet
*Special 20th anniversary slipcase

Sales agency: Shogakukan
Distributor: Sony Music Marketing

Source: http://www.pokemon-movie.jp/news/?p=3146

Japanese voice actor Ryūji Saikachi (槐柳二) died on September 29th, 2017 at age of 89 due to congestive heart failure. He was best known for his roles as Matthew Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables and Rafiki in the video game Kingdom Hearts II.

He was best known to Pocket Monsters anime fans as the Japanese voice of the Merriep Farmer who appeared in Hellgar and Togepi!.


Source: http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2098240/full/