A New Live-Action Pokémon TV Show Is Coming, But Not In the Way You’d Think

Yes, we’ve had Detective Pikachu, and Netflix is about to get into the TV business of Pocket Monstering with Pokémon Concierge, but another new TV adventure is on the way for the iconic gaming franchise—although not exactly ni the form of adaptation.

Anime News Network reports that TV Tokyo and the Pokemon Company today announced Pocket ni Bōken wo Tsumekonde, a new original drama series staring Nanase Nishino that is about the original Pokémon games, Green and Red. The title translates as “Fill Your Pocket With Adventure.”

Instead of being an adaptation of the Pokémon world itself, the series is set in our own world, and will follow Nishino’s protagonist Madoka Akagi—an aspiring creative who finds herself turning to her childhood favourite game, Pokémon Red, as she struggles trying to make a career for herself after moving to Tokyo. Presumably a lot of heartwarming paeans about the connective cross-generational power of Pokémon will ensue, as will liberal shots of Nishino playing a yellow Game Boy like the first-release image above.

It’s an interesting direction for Pokemon to go into as the series broadens its adaptive aims across film and TV. Between things like Detective Pikachu, Concierge, and of course the recent evolution of the long running Pokémon anime earlier this year after it retired original protagonist Satoshi/Ash Ketchum—a drama that is about the series itself instead of adapting it directly fits into a unique spot. 

Pocket ni Bōken wo Tsumekonde will begin airing in Japan on October 19, and stream on U-Next. There’s no word on whether or not a subtitled or even dubbed version will release outside the country just yet.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.