New Pokémon Stop-Motion Series Set at Disney+

Disney+ and sibling cable channel Disney XD have picked up a stop-motion series called Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu for a 2027 premiere. Disney and The Pokémon Company International have struck a distribution deal that will bring both a new and a classic animated series to Disney+. They announced the deal Friday at Pokémon XP, a fan convention in San Francisco.

The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu will follow the two characters through the Galar Region as they seek to help and protect the Pokémon living there.

Included in the deal are the rights to Pokémon the Series: The Beginning, the first animated series featuring Ash, Pikachu and the rest of the foundational Pokémon characters. That series is now streaming on Disney+ and began airing on Disney XD earlier in August.

There are only one or two companies in the world with enough production background to handle a stop motion series like this. One of them is Laiki Studios of Hillsboro, Oregon, but they’ve been pretty busy working on their own stuff and don’t really do outside contracts. The other studio is Aardman, the acclaimed studio behind Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, and they’re making The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu with The Pokémon Company. Aardman’s team for the show includes director Tom Parkinson, creative director — IP development Nat McKay and model making creative lead James Young.

“These stories, full of adventure and heroism, all told from the perspective of Pokémon is made even more exciting through the lens of the incredible filmmakers at Aardman,” said Phil Rynda, Pokémon’s director of original animation. “Audiences will be delighted getting to know the Sirfetch’d & Pichu, and wonderful cast of Pokémon, featured in this series. Aardman has brought Galar to life in a way that makes you feel like you can smell the air, touch the tree bark, and want to adventure alongside our series heroes.”

There is no official release date yet. Watch this space.