This New Pokemon Show Takes Two Years To Create One Episode

In 2024, The Pokemon Company announced that it would be working with Aardman Animations, the legendary stop-motion team behind Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, for a future project. The following year, Pokemon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d and Pichu was revealed.

During Pokemon XP in San Francisco, show director Tom Parkinson, creative director Natalie McKay, and creative lead James Young shared some behind-the-scenes details regarding the upcoming stop-motion project alongside a new teaser.

The show follows Sirfetch’d and Pichu as the two explore the Galar region from Pokemon Sword and Shield. Sirfetch’d, armed with a leak and leafy shield, plays the role of a gallant knight with Pichu as his loyal squire. The duo will encounter many Pokemon in their travels, but the team at Aardman Animations intends to primarily feature Pokemon that reside in the Galar region. One particular Pokemon they mentioned in the panel was Obstagoon, the final evolution of Galarian Zigzagoon. Young said it’s the biggest puppet in the show and is roughly twice the size of Sirfetch’d.

Each and every puppet is handmade and can be articulated any which way in order to fulfill what the scene and action calls for. Additionally, the crew created multiple sizes of each of the key puppets to make certain shots feel grander. The audience at the panel got a firsthand look at some of these puppets and their various sizes.

The Aardman Animations team went on to say that The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d and Pichu will have no dialogue and no human characters, largely relying on slapstick humor between Pokemon. Given the team’s previous work with Shaun the Sheep, the team is well-equipped to tackle a comedy without dialogue.

According to McKay, one episode takes roughly 110 weeks to complete. Of course, the team isn’t working on one episode at a time. Multiple are in production at once as the team creates puppets, builds out sets, and adds visual effects.

At the end of the panel, Parkinson announced that Pokemon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d and Pichu will come to Disney+ in 2027.