Pokémon TV app axed, leaving episodes scattered between paid streaming services

eurogamer.net:

Pokémon TV, the app and website that let you watch episodes from the long-running Pokémon anime for free, has been removed from app stores.

For years, Pokéfans have been able to follow the saga of Ash Ketchum — and beyond — without needing to subscribe to a streaming service. But now Pokémon TV is no longer able to be downloaded, and the service itself will go dark for good on 28th March.

The situation highlights the fact that if you do want to go watch the Pokémon series in order, you'll need access to multiple streaming services and a couple of paid subscriptions.

An official guide to watching episodes of the Pokémon anime provided by Pokémon.com notes that different seasons of the long-running show are shared between Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Here in the UK, you can also watch select seasons on Sky Kids and BBC iPlayer.

For example, the original season of the Pokémon anime is a Netflix exclusive. But you'll then need to sign up to Prime Video to watch season two, all the way up to season 22 (the end of the Sun and Moon saga). From there, it's back to Netflix for seasons 23 to 25.

Here in the UK, you'll then need to head to BBC iPlayer to watch Pokémon Horizons, the all-new Pokémon anime series without Ash Ketchum. Six episodes are currently available at the time of writing.

Over in the US, Pokémon Horizons is a Netflix exclusive and it doesn't turn up there for another month — on 23rd February.

It's a little complicated, then, but for a show with 1268 episodes (and counting), it could also perhaps be worse.

Eurogamer's Lottie Lynn sat down to watch the opening episodes of Pokémon Horizons last month and found they were a welcome escape from the series' previous formula.