The Pokémon Company has launched the first two videos in the new Pokémon Generations series of short cartoons on YouTube. It’s part of a celebration of the $45 billion franchise’s 20-year history.
The Japanese company, which is part-owned by Nintendo, is wasting no time in taking advantage of the popularity of Pokémon Go, which has been downloaded more than 500 million times in two months and has generated an estimated $500 million in revenue. The company released the videos on the same day that the Pokémon Go Plus device goes on sale for $35 in stores.
The first episode, The Adventure, roams the territory from the Kanto region of the Game Boy games to the latest generation of games, Pokémon X and Y. More episodes will air weekly through December 23. That will generate more excitement for Pokémon Go as well as Pokémon Sun and Moon, which debut on November 18 on the Nintendo 3DS.
Episode two, The Chase, introduces Detective Looker, who is searching for Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket. His team tracks Giovanni to a gym, where a a search takes place.
Here’s the video of Pokémon Generations Episode 1: The Adventure.
And here’s the second episode below.