Pokémon in South Asia

Pokémon in South Asia
Flags of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Languages	Hindi Tamil Telugu Bengali English
Continent	Asia
Original animated series airdates
EP001	May 12, 2003 May 19, 2014
AG001	May 9, 2006 September 16, 2015
DP001	November 9, 2009 November 16, 2009 November 12, 2018
BW001	June 17, 2013 November 3, 2014 July 3, 2021
XY001	May 9, 2015
SM001	August 19, 2024
JN001	2021 October 29, 2021
HZ001	March 8, 2024 May 25, 2024

The Pokémon franchise (Hindi: पोकेमॉन (formerly पोकेमोन), Tamil: பொகெமொன், Telugu: పోకీమాన్, Bengali: পোকেমন, Urdu: پوکيمون) made its debut in the Indian subcontinent in 2003, with the broadcast of the first animated series episode in both English and Hindi on Cartoon Network India and Cartoon Network Pakistan. CN India and its sister channels also dubbed the animated series into Tamil and Telugu.

Since 2014, a second production of new Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali dubs has aired on Hungama TV and its various sister channels. These dubs are also available on the official Indian YouTube channels.

Localization

Main article: List of Hindi Pokémon names

The Pokémon games are mostly available in English. Pokémon Smile, Pokémon UNITE, and Pokémon GO are the only Pokémon games to be localized into Hindi. With the launch of Hindi-language support in Pokémon GO on September 15, 2023, many Pokémon were given new localized names, rather than simply writing the English names in Devanāgarī script as had been done previously.

The Pokémon animated series has undergone dubbing primarily into Hindi, with the same dub being used for the Urdu feed as both languages are phonetically very similar, with modern vocabulary and grammar overlapping extensively. Additional dubbing has taken place in Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali. Furthermore, the English dub of the animated series is also accessible. The Hindi dub of the animated series which was produced before the games were localized uses the English names for Pokémon. However, all the local dubs inconsistently switch between the English names and direct translations for other Pokémon-related terminology, such as names of moves, abilities, and items. The Hindi dub of The Journey of One Dream was the first animated work to use the localized Hindi names for Pokémon, with Pokémon Horizons: The Series being the first main series season to do so. The Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali dubs continue to use the English names for Pokémon.

Most official Pokémon merchandise is available in English, as it is imported from Europe or the Americas rather than being localized.^{[citation needed]}

Pokémon video games

Pokémon games and some Pokémon merchandise, as well as other Nintendo products such as consoles and games, are available on online retail stores.

In the past, most games in Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka were sold by the Japanese Nintendo division (and by extension Nintendo of America). In Afghanistan, Nintendo Europe dealt with sales until 2021, when distribution halted in that country due to the invasion of Kabul.

Samurai Electronics sold NES in India from 1987 to 1994 under the name Samurai, with support from Active Boeki. Next Nintendo consoles like SNES, Game Boy or Nintendo 64 were distributed in India by authorized distributor networka created by Active Boeki, but with smaller effort and big competition from gray market and clones. Around mid-2000s, they began to care more for Indian markets, starting from Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance. From September 30, 2008, Wii and Nintendo DS were supposed to be released by Samurai Games and HCL but it is unknown when exactly they were released due to conflicting information from different sources. Sunder Electronics, delivered the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS in 2012. Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were available in India just a week after its release in the United States. Sunder ended operating in 2017 and Nintendo Switch wasn't released in India but third-party publishers have distributed games officially for this platform in this country. Nintendo has reportedly stated Bureau of Indian Standards regulations as reason for not entering the Indian market.

Pokémon animation

The Pokémon animated series is available in the following South Asian territories: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Seasons

Season	Debut	Network
Pokémon: Indigo League	May 12, 2003	Cartoon Network India
	May 19, 2014	Hungama TV
Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands	Late 2003	Cartoon Network India
	September 11, 2014	Hungama TV
Pokémon: The Johto Journeys	2004	Cartoon Network India
	October 30, 2014	Hungama TV
Pokémon: Johto League Champions	2004	Cartoon Network India and Pakistan
	January 2, 2015	Hungama TV
Pokémon: Master Quest	May 18, 2005	Cartoon Network India and Pakistan
	March 31, 2015	Hungama TV
Pokémon: Advanced	May 9, 2006	Cartoon Network India and Pakistan
	August 31, 2015	Hungama TV
Pokémon: Advanced Challenge	November 6, 2006	Cartoon Network India and Pakistan
	February 15, 2016	Hungama TV
Pokémon: Advanced Battle	2008	Cartoon Network
	May 7, 2018	Disney XD
Pokémon: Battle Frontier	November 2008	Cartoon Network
	November 12, 2018	Disney XD
Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl	November 9, 2009	Cartoon Network Pakistan
	November 16, 2009	Cartoon Network India
	November 12, 2018	Disney XD
Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension	2010	Cartoon Network India
	May 13, 2019	Marvel HQ
Pokémon DP: Galactic Battles	Early 2011	Pogo
	August 1, 2011	Cartoon Network Pakistan
	July 8, 2019	Disney International HD (English only)
	November 2019	Hungama TV
Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors	October 3, 2011	Pogo
	February 1, 2012	Cartoon Network Pakistan
	September 2, 2019	Marvel HQ
Pokémon: Black & White	June 17, 2013	Pogo
	November 3, 2014	Cartoon Network Pakistan
	July 3, 2021	Marvel HQ
Pokémon: BW Rival Destinies	September 18, 2021
Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond	June 3, 2022	Disney Channel India
Pokémon the Series: XY	May 9, 2015	Hungama TV
Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest	May 2, 2023	Super Hungama
Pokémon the Series: XYZ	April 29, 2024
Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon	August 19, 2024
Pokémon Journeys: The Series	2021	POP
	October 29, 2021	YouTube (Hindi)
	January 14, 2022	YouTube (Tamil/Telugu/Bengali)
Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series	November 25, 2022	YouTube
Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series	August 25, 2023
Pokémon Horizons: The Series	March 8, 2024	YouTube (English)
	May 25, 2024	Hungama TV (Hindi/Tamil/Telugu) and YouTube (Hindi)
	July 19th, 2024	YouTube (Tamil/Telugu/Bengali)

Cartoon Network and Pogo TV

Cartoon Network India and Pakistan logo

Pokémon: Indigo League premiered on Cartoon Network India on May 12, 2003 as a part of its Toonami block. Following the first season, Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands made its Indian debut in late 2003 and ended its run in mid-2004. In the same year, Pokémon: The Johto Journeys and Pokémon: Johto League Champions premiered on Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network sold DVDs of Pokémon in Hindi dub middle in 2004. A separate Cartoon Network feed affiliated with Cartoon Network India was launched for the Pakistani audience in 2004, and was also later made available in Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Due to this affiliation, both channels broadcast the animated series simultaneously. With Pokémon: Master Quest, Cartoon Network India introduced two additional dubs, Tamil and Telugu. The original series concluded its first complete run in mid-2005.

The first two seasons of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, Pokémon: Advanced and Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, made their South Asian debut in 2006. While 2008 marked the first run for Pokémon: Advanced Battle and Pokémon: Battle Frontier in the respective territories. Unlike its predecessors, the ninth season aired on Cartoon Network Pakistan two weeks after its Indian debut.

Furthermore, Cartoon Network introduced a one-hour block, Dastaan-e-Pokémon, that aired reruns from the first seven seasons.

The first season of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl premiered in Pakistan on November 9, 2009, making it the first season to air on the network before its debut on Cartoon Network India, which aired it a week later. Cartoon Network Pakistan skipped 23 episodes, from O'er the Rampardos We Watched! to A Stand-Up Sit-Down!, due to unknown reasons and wrapped up the season in mere five weeks. However, the episodes were aired in their correct order during reruns. In early 2011, after an eight-year run on Cartoon Network India, the channel dropped Pokémon animated series after finishing Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension's first run.

Pogo TV logo

Later on, the animated series was picked up by Cartoon Network India's sister channel, Pogo. The channel aired Pokémon DP: Galactic Battles and Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors in 2011. However, The Fleeing Tower Of Sunyshore! and Teaching the Student Teacher! were skipped and aired later during reruns. After Pokémon Season 13's first run pogo removed tamil audio feed in Pokémon in October 25, 2011. In 2013, Pogo premiered the fourteenth season of the animated series and some creative changes were made along with it, including new voice actors for the narrator and Delia Ketchum and several moves retained their English names. The Dragon Master's Path! and Cilan Versus Trip, Ash Versus Georgia! were skipped, but they were later broadcast during reruns.

Alternate logo for the BW series

On June 27, 2014, Cartoon Network India announced through its official Facebook page that Pokémon would be returning to Cartoon Network. The channel began airing Pokémon: Black & White until Meowth's Scrafty Tactics, from July 2 to August 6, 2014. Pokémon: Black & White premiered on Cartoon Network Pakistan in the same year. During 2014, Cartoon Network India introduced several blocks like PokéHours, Poké-New Year, Karo Haasil to promote Pokémon: Black & White to audiences. It later finished the season's run by airing it at a late-night time slot. CN India also introduced an alternate logo for the series, which was used for promos but not within the episodes themselves.

Disney India

Hungama TV logo

Around the beginning of 2014, Disney bought the rights to the Pokémon animated series. However, Disney did not acquire the rights for the previous dubs, so the animated series was re-dubbed. The re-dubs have more Hinglish words and sentences that the Cartoon Network dub, mirroring the recent trends in spoken Hindi in urban India.

Red Pokémon logo used for some seasons

With Pokémon, I Choose You!, Hungama TV began airing the original series on May 19, 2014. Unlike Cartoon Network and Pogo, since Hungama TV has no English audio feed, the animated series aired only in Hindi. Starting with the second season, the channel began to include the Who's That Pokémon? segment in episodes. As with the Cartoon Network airings, several episodes were skipped or aired out of order. Starting from the third season, the channel also started using a red logo for Pokémon, instead of the yellow one used internationally. Some episodes of the third season were aired with additional Tamil and Telugu dubs, but not all episodes were dubbed in those languages until Johto League Champions started. From Two Hits and a Miss to The Joy of Water Pokémon, Hungama TV often skipped parts of the episode before the title card, which were later restored during reruns on Disney XD. With the fifth season, Hungama TV aired the animated series continuously until You're a Star, Larvitar in June 2015. Disney XD began airing reruns of episodes that had already aired on Hungama TV with the first 10 episodes of Pokémon: Indigo League on August 7, 2016.

Disney XD logo

The remaining original series episodes would later be aired as part of the sixth season starting on August 31, 2015, while the Hoenn portion of Pokémon: Advanced aired on Hungama TV from September 16, 2015 to November 18, 2015. From February 15, 2016 to April 28, 2016, episodes from Pokémon: Advanced Challenge premiered on Hungama TV. In addition, throughout the show's run on Hungama, a number of new blocks were introduced that were dedicated exclusively to the series, including PokéThon, PokéVaar, and PakdoThon. Although Disney XD India had previously aired the first seven seasons after Hungama TV, new episodes moved to Disney XD India with episodes of Pokémon: Advanced Battle until Like a Meowth to a Flame from May 7, 2018 to May 31, 2018. Although Disney XD has an English audio feed unlike Hungama, the animated series aired in Hindi on both the English and Hindi audio feeds. The channel later completed the season's first run in October 2018.

Marvel HQ logo

On May 24, 2017, Prasad Barve announced that he will reprise his role as Ash for the tenth season. Disney XD aired episodes from two new seasons, Pokémon: Battle Frontier and Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl starting from the same day, November 12, 2018. Disney XD wrapped up both the seasons together in just one week, skipping Home is Where the Start Is! which was aired later during reruns. The tenth season had a complete cast change comprising of completely different voice actors in the Hindi version while the Tamil and Telugu versions continued using their old cast. In spite of the changes to the cast, every main character except Ash has been voiced by similar-sounding actors in the re-dubs and the Cartoon Network dub. Beginning on January 20, 2019, Disney XD was rebranded as Marvel HQ in India and although the channel's main focus was on Marvel-related content, it continued to air the Pokémon animated series. From May 13, 2019 to May 24, 2019, Marvel HQ aired episodes from the eleventh season Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension until Fighting Fear with Fear, from where they used their old voice actors in the Hindi dub and changed the voice actors in the Tamil and Telugu dubs. Starting from this season, the channel stopped using the red logo for Pokémon and shifted onto the original yellow logo. The season re-aired on Hungama TV from August 10, 2019 to August 30, 2019, thus marking the return of the animated series on the channel since 2016, and it completed the remaining episodes of the season, which didn't air on Marvel HQ.

Disney International HD logo

On July 8, 2019, the English dub of the twelfth season, Pokémon DP: Galactic Battles, started airing on Disney International HD, while Hungama TV and Marvel HQ continued to air the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubs of the previous seasons of the animated series. The thirteenth season, Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors, aired on Marvel HQ from September 2, 2019 to September 13, 2019, in all three regional dubs. From November to December 2019, Hungama TV aired the Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu versions of Pokémon DP: Galactic Battles till A Rivalry to Gible On. The season re-aired on Marvel HQ from October 31 to November 27, 2020, and the remaining episodes, which didn't air on Hungama TV, were completed in the overnight slot.

Super Hungama logo

The fourteenth season, Pokémon: Black & White, aired on Marvel HQ from July 3, 2021 to July 4, 2021 by airing episodes back-to-back on the "Pokémon Overnight" programming block and started reruns of the season weekdays in the morning slot from 5 July. The title card and Who's That Pokémon? segments of all episodes were skipped, which were later restored during reruns on Super Hungama. Pokémon: BW Rival Destinies premiered for the first time in South Asia on Marvel HQ on September 18, 2021. Unlike previous seasons, this time the English dub aired on the English audio feed and the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubs on their respective audio feeds; although initially, this was the case only till The Mighty Accelguard to the Rescue, the remaining episodes of the season were also aired in English audio during reruns on Super Hungama. Title cards were aired this time but not Who's That Pokémon? segments. The season resumed airing on the channel with the remaining episodes from September 27, 2021 and completed its initial run on October 28, 2021. In the mid of the season run, Marvel HQ introduced a block, Pokémon Season, in which they promoted, the reruns of the previous seasons in the morning and evening slots named as Super Mornings and Super Evenings respectively, the airings of the fifteenth season as New Episodes and also teased the upcoming movie premieres on the channel, like the seventeenth and the eighteenth movies.

Disney Channel India logo

On March 1, 2022, Marvel HQ was rebranded to Super Hungama and the channel continued to air the animated series. Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond premiered on Disney Channel on June 3, 2022. The channel continued airing the season from June 10, 2022 and completed its initial run on July 14, 2022. The season started re-airing on Super Hungama from August 15, 2022 to October 14, 2022. Starting from November 2022, the English dub of some episodes of the previous seasons aired in the English audio feed of Super Hungama.

Pokémon XY logo used in India

The first two episodes of Pokémon the Series: XY, Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin and Lumoise City Pursuit, debuted on Hungama TV on May 9, 2015 without a prior announcement. The network announced more new episodes from Pokémon the Series: XY, which later aired alongside the channel's first run of the earlier seasons. Similar to previous instances, the episode title cards were skipped and a new logo was used for the series. After a month-long hiatus, Hungama TV resumed airing new episodes on August 1, 2015, skipping A Conspiracy to Conquer and Breaking Titles at the Chateau which were aired later during reruns on Marvel HQ. It completed the initial run of the season on November 14, 2015. The season re-aired on Marvel HQ from March 20 to March 31, 2021, and some of the episode titles cards were restored during the re-runs.

Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest premiered on Super Hungama on May 2, 2023 and completed its initial run on July 14, 2023. Pokémon the Series: XYZ premiered on Super Hungama on April 29, 2024, and completed its initial run on 12th July 2024.

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon aired from August 19, 2024 and completed its initial run on September 15, 2024 by airing the remaining episodes back-to-back on September 14 and 15 on Super Hungama.

On April 30, 2024, Pokémon Horizons: The Series was announced to premiere on Hungama TV through a press conference held by the Pokémon Company and Hungama TV in Mumbai. The conference also announced original opening and ending soundtracks by composers Vishal–Shekhar and vocalists Armaan Malik and Shirley Setia. The Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu dubs of the season premiered on May 25, 2024, with two episodes airing each weekend. This season was the first to use the localized names of Pokémon in the Hindi dub, marking a major shift from the usual English Pokémon names. The channel stopped airing the season in the midway.

POP

POP logo

The English dub of Pokémon Journeys: The Series began airing on Mondays, Thurdays, and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. on POP in Pakistan starting in 2021.

Voot/JioCinema

Voot logo

In India, the Disney dubs of the animated series episodes and the first 21 movies were available on Voot, a streaming service by Viacom 18, making it the first time the animated series has been available through a streaming service in India. Episodes from the first and second season were available in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu; while episodes from the third to eighth seasons were only available in English and Hindi. The Hindi dub of the last episodes of the eighth season premiered on the service before it aired on Disney XD. Scenes such as recap of previous episodes, Who's That Pokémon? and Pokémon Trainer's Choice segments and "To Be Continued" shots are skipped, although the scenes deleted during TV airings are restored on Voot. In November 2019, Voot split its children content from the main service into a separate service called Voot Kids, which requires a separate subscription and has only kids content and additional parental control features. A number of titles, including the Pokémon animated series, were available on Voot Kids.

Voot Kids logo

Earlier, only the first eight seasons were available to stream on Voot Kids. However, starting from October 15, 2021, episodes from the ninth, tenth and eleventh seasons were also made available on Voot Kids in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Starting from April 2022, seasons three to eight are also made available in Tamil and Telugu audio feed in Voot Kids with few episodes one by one every few days.

JioCinema logo used until 2024

In September 2023, Voot announced that the Voot and Voot Kids services will be merged with the Viacom 18 and Reliance Industries-owned platform JioCinema. All the Voot Kids content, including the Pokémon animated series, is now streaming exclusively on JioCinema. In November 2023, JioCinema announced that it will start streaming new season every Thursday. The platform has all episodes of animated series till Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest.

YouTube

YouTube logo

The English dub of Pokémon Journeys: The Series was released on the Pokémon Asia ENG YouTube channel on Feb 19, 2021, which is available in the South Asian territories, and also other Asian territories such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines. The English dubs of Pokémon the Series: XY and Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl were also released on the same YouTube channel on April 4, 2021 and May 23, 2021, respectively.

The Hindi dub of Pokémon Journeys: The Series premiered on the Pokémon Asia Official (Hindi) YouTube channel on October 29, 2021, which was previously named as Pokémon India. The original cast from the Disney production was mostly retained. However, voices of many of the appearing Pokémon were redubbed from the English dub for the first few episodes. Additional dubs in Tamil, Telugu, and for the first time in the franchise's history, Bengali, of Pokémon Journeys: The Series premiered on their respective YouTube channels, Pokémon Asia Official (Tamil), Pokémon Asia Official (Telugu), and Pokémon Asia Official (Bengali), on January 14, 2022.

The Disney dubs of Pokémon the Series: XY, Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest and Pokémon the Series: XYZ were released on the Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu YouTube channels on September 30, 2022, September 6, 2023, and August 7, 2024 respectively.

Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series and Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series premiered in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali on the respective channels on November 25, 2022, and August 25, 2023, respectively.

The English dub of Pokémon Horizons: The Series premiered on the Asia ENG YouTube channel on March 8, 2024. This particular release is unavailable in territories other than Afghanistan.

The Hindi dub of Pokémon Horizons: The Series was released on the Disney India YouTube channel, with each episode being uploaded after its premiere on Hungama TV. The Disney India channel stopped uploading episodes after Nemona and Brassius and... while the series continued to air normally on Hungama TV. On July 16, 2024, it was announced that the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali dubs of the season would now be released weekly on their respective Pokémon Asia Official YouTube channels from 19th July, 2024. This makes it the first release of the series' Bengali dub anywhere, as well as the first digital release of Tamil and Telugu dubs. A new channel was also launched, Pokémon South Asia Official (ENG), which releases the English dub in the remaining South Asian territories on the same schedule as the rest of the local dubs.

Prime Video

Prime Video logo

The first five seasons are available on Amazon Prime Video in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.

Pokémon movies and specials

On November 14, 2006, Cartoon Network India aired Mewtwo Returns as a part of its Children's Day programming.

Cartoon Network began airing Pokémon Chronicles on June 11, 2009. That year, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew also premiered on both Cartoon Network India and Pakistan. Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea premiered on Cartoon Network Pakistan in 2009, but would not debut on Cartoon Network India until the following year. Cartoon Network India has aired several Pikachu shorts; however, they were not aired alongside their accompanying movies. Christmas Night and Kanga Games were aired together as Pikachu's Winter Vacations. Winter Games and Pikachu & Pichu were also aired together.

In 2011, Cartoon Network and Pogo TV aired The Rise of Darkrai. Starting in 2014, the movie was available on the brodcaster Tata Sky's on-demand service CN+. That year, Cartoon Network Pakistan also aired Giratina and the Sky Warrior and Arceus and the Jewel of Life, as well as Zoroark - Master of Illusions in 2012. However, these dub versions have not been released in India, with those three movies being aired later as a part of the Hungama/Marvel HQ dub run.

Hungama TV and its sister channels Super Hungama (formerly Disney XD India and Marvel HQ) and Disney Channel India have aired the first twenty one movies except Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea and White—Victini and Zekrom, while its counterpart was dubbed and aired. Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction was the first to premiere on Marvel HQ before Hungama. Many scenes, including the opening and ending themes, are often skipped. Despite the fact that Hungama TV airs material provided by TPCi for the animated series episodes, the Hindi dub for the first eight movies used footage from the Japanese version. While Cartoon Network and Pogo used to keep the name of the movie the same as the English dub, Disney India came up with dub names and logos for the movies.

Mega Evolution Special I aired on November 21, 2015 on Hungama TV and on March 30, 2021 on Marvel HQ as part of the seventeenth season. Mega Evolution Special II, Mega Evolution Special III and Mega Evolution Special IV aired on Super Hungama on July 19, 20 and 21, 2023 respectively, as part of the eighteenth season.

I Choose You! was listed for released in Indian cinemas in 2019, which would have made it the first animated Pokémon movie to be released in theaters in India. However, it was ultimately not released in Indian theatres. Its Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubs eventually premiered on Voot Kids on October 2, 2022 and then on Hungama TV on March 18, 2023.

Starting from October 15, 2021, the first 21 movies of Pokémon animated series were made available for streaming on Voot Kids. The first through eighth and tenth movies were available only in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, movies eleventh through eighteenth were available in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu while the ninth and the nineteenth through twenty-first movies were available only in English. The Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubs of the eighteenth movie premiered on the service even though the movie was yet to be premiered on TV at that time. All the deleted scenes, including the opening and ending themes from the earlier movies, are restored. Following the merger of Voot Kids and JioCinema, the 21 movies of the Pokémon animated series previously available on Voot Kids are now streaming exclusively on JioCinema.

POKÉMON Detective Pikachu was released in Indian cinemas in both English and Hindi on May 10, 2019.

Netflix logo

Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution released on Netflix India on February 27, 2020 in English, Hindi, and Japanese making it first time a Pokémon movie premiered on a streaming service. The Hindi dub of the movie used the Disney dub voice actors.

Secrets of the Jungle premiered on Netflix India on October 8, 2021 in English and Hindi. It was removed from the Netflix library sometime around September 2023. The English dub of the movie received a special screening in Mumbai at PVR ICON Infiniti Andheri, on February 11, 2024.

Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles was released on the official Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali Youtube channels on August 18, 2023, as a special episode of Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series.

To celebrate the release of Pokémon GO in the Hindi language, the Chinese animated short The Journey of One Dream was released in India on YouTube in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali, on September 15, 2023, before its Japanese or English debut. The Hindi dub of the short is the first animated work to use the localized Hindi Pokémon names; the Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali dubs continue to use the Pokémon's English names.

Detective Pikachu & the Mystery of the Missing Flan was released on YouTube on October 25, 2023, the same day as its worldwide release.

Pokémon Concierge was released in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu on Netflix on December 28, 2023, alongside the worldwide release.

The Chinese New Year short Homecoming was released on all four YouTube channels on February 9, 2024.

The Project Snorlax short The Adventures of Snorlax & Cubone was released on all four YouTube channels on February 14, 2024,

• 

  Mewtwo Ka Badla

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  Ash Pikachu aur Lugia in Danger

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  Unown ka Tehelka

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  Khatre Ka Jungle

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  Soul Dew ka Raaz - Latias and Latios

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  Jirachi Ka Wonder

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  Deoxy aur Tori ki Story

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  Lucario ki Toofani Shakti

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  Darkrai - Dost ya Dushman

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  Giratina aur ek Mahaa Yodhha

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  Arceus Aur Jeevan Ka Jewel

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  Zoroark - Mayajaal Ka Ustaad

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  Victini aur Reshiram

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  Kyurem ka Muqabala

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  Genesect Aur Mewtwo - Ek Shaandar Kahani

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  Dabang Diancie Aur Diamond

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  Hoopa And The Magic Rings

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  Volcanion Ki Kahani

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  Aap Selected Ho!

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  Mewtwo Ka Hamla - Evolution

• 

  Jungle Ka Raaz

• 

  Detective Pikachu

Movie	Debut	Network
Mewtwo Strikes Back	April 18, 2015	Hungama TV
The Power of One	August 22, 2015
Spell of the Unown: Entei	April 16, 2016
Celebi: The Voice of the Forest	May 28, 2016
Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias	July 31, 2016
Jirachi: Wish Maker	November 6, 2016
Destiny Deoxys	January 22, 2017
Lucario and the Mystery of Mew	2009	Cartoon Network India and Pakistan
	July 9, 2017	Hungama TV
Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea	2009	Cartoon Network Pakistan
	2010	Cartoon Network India
	October 15, 2021	Voot Kids (English only)
The Rise of Darkrai	2011	Cartoon Network and Pogo TV
	September 29, 2017	Hungama TV
Giratina and the Sky Warrior	2011	Cartoon Network Pakistan
	December 23, 2018	Hungama TV
Arceus and the Jewel of Life	2011	Cartoon Network Pakistan
	November 17, 2019	Hungama TV
Zoroark: Master of Illusions	2012	Cartoon Network Pakistan
	January 25, 2020	Hungama TV
Black—Victini and Reshiram	June 20, 2020
Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice	June 27, 2020
Genesect and the Legend Awakened	November 7, 2020
Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction	October 15, 2021	Marvel HQ
Hoopa and the Clash of Ages	October 15, 2021	Voot Kids
	November 4, 2021	Marvel HQ
Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel	October 15, 2021	Voot Kids (English only)
	October 2, 2022	Voot Kids (Hindi/Tamil/Telugu)
	January 8, 2023	Hungama TV
I Choose You!	October 15, 2021	Voot Kids (English only)
	October 2, 2022	Voot Kids (Hindi/Tamil/Telugu)
	March 18, 2023	Hungama TV
The Power of Us	October 15, 2021	Voot Kids (English only)
	April 14, 2024	Hungama TV (Hindi/Tamil/Telugu)
Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution	February 27, 2020	Netflix
Secrets of the Jungle	October 8, 2021
	February 11, 2024	Limited theatrical release (English only)
POKÉMON Detective Pikachu	May 10, 2019	Theatrical release
Special	Debut	Network
Mewtwo Returns	November 14, 2006	Cartoon Network India
Pokémon Chronicles	2009
Mega Evolution Special I	November 21, 2015	Hungama TV
Mega Evolution Special II	July 19, 2023	Super Hungama
Mega Evolution Special III	July 20, 2023
Mega Evolution Special IV	July 21, 2023
Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles	August 18, 2023	YouTube
The Journey of One Dream	September 15, 2023
Detective Pikachu & the Mystery of the Missing Flan	October 25, 2023
Pokémon Concierge	December 28, 2023	Netflix
Homecoming	February 9, 2024	YouTube
The Adventures of Snorlax & Cubone	February 14, 2024

Cast and crew

Hindi dub

Main Characters	Voice actor
	CN dub	Disney dub
Ash	Prasad Barve	Nachiket Dighe (S01 - S09, S11 - present) Prasad Barve (S10)
Pikachu		Sonal Kaushal (some episodes)
Misty	Neshma Chemburkar (S01 - S04) Radhika (S05 - present)	Rucha Dighe
Brock	Prithvi Sankhala	Uplaksh Kochhar
Jessie	Nandini Sharma	Shagufta Baig (S01 - S09, S17) Natasha John (S11 - present, M23)
James	Kishore Bhatt	Rajesh Shukla
Meowth	Damandeep Singh Baggan (S01 - S02) Sandeep Karnik (S03 - S14)	Saumya Daan (S01 - S09, S17) Sanchit Wartak (S11 - present)
Tracey	Sumeet Pathak (S02) Nachiket Dighe (Chronicles)	Anshul Chandra
May	Urvi Ashar	Neshma Chemburkar
Max	Prachi Save Sathi Tirthankar Mitra (some episodes)	Amit Diyondi
Dawn		Neshma Chemburkar (S10) Sayuri Haralkar (S11 - present)
Iris		Merlyn James
Cilan	Saumya Daan	Ketan Kava
Serena	—	Sayuri Haralkar
Clemont	—	Viral Shah
Bonnie	—	Nilufer Middey Khan
Lillie	—	Nisha Pasad
Mallow	—	Ayushi
Lana	—	Avani Dama
Kiawe	—	Farhan Patel
Goh	—	Lohit Sharma
Liko	—	Apala Bisht
Roy	—	Arush Nand
Supporting Characters	Voice actor
	CN dub	Disney dub
Narrator	Darpann (S01) Anup Shukla (S09 - S12, S14) Sanjay / Sourav (S13)	Vinod Sharma (S01 -S19) Manikant Sarbhoy (S23 - S25)
Pokédex		Rajesh Kava
Nurse Joy		Sabina Malik Mausam
Officer Jenny		Sabina Malik Mausam
Gary		Rajesh Kava
Mewtwo		Sanket Mhatre (M01) Arvind Mehra (M22)
Trip	—	Harsh Joshi
Bianca	—	Sayuri Haralkar
Burgundy	—	Neshma Chemburkar
Sawyer	—	Ketan Kava
Professor Kukui	—	Dixaon Shah
Chloe	—	Sanchari Bose
Professor Cerise	—	Manikant Sarbhoy
Leon	—	Ish Thakkar
Rose	—	Ish Thakkar
Koko	Lohit Sharma (M23)
Dot	—	Mahima
Friede	—	Aniket Khadye
Orla	—	Pragati Kothari
Mollie	—	Rinki Singhvi
Amethio	—	Mohit Sinha
Zirc		Manikant Sarbhoy
Onia	—	Renu Sharda
Ann	—	Ayushi
Detective Pikachu	Sanket Mhatre (movie)
Tim Goodman	Pushkar Vijay (movie)
Opening theme singer	Allwyn D'souza (S01)	Sumeet Pathak (S01)

Tamil dub

Character	Voice actor
	CN dub	Disney dub
Ash	Raghuvaran	Kathir Gani Khan (S01 - S10, S17, M11) Sai Abjith (S11 - present)
Misty		Yojishwari
Brock		Sathya Dhanraj
Tracey		Bharani
May		Sowmya
Max		Bharani
Dawn		Monica
Iris		Jai Sri
Serena	—	Yamuna
Clemont	—	Bala Krishnan
Bonnie	—	Sowmya
Goh	—	Prasanna
Jessie		Sulochana (S01 - S10) Anjali (S11 - present)
James		Karthikeyen
Meowth	Kannan Ruthrapathy	Shyam Kumar (S01 - S09, S17) Dinu Vairapathi (S10 - present)
Supporting Characters	Voice actor
	CN dub	Disney dub
Narrator		Sathish
Opening theme singer	Karthik (S05-S08)

Telugu dub

Character	Voice actor
	Disney dub
Ash	Sai Venkat (S01 - S10, S17) Sai Teja (S11 - present)
Brock	Raja
Dawn	Bhavanambika
Iris	Satya Vaani
Bonnie	Prasanna
Jessie	Anjali
James	Banu Chander (S01 - S10, S17)
Meowth	Vishweshwar Rao
Supporting Characters	Voice actor
	Disney dub
Narrator	Raju
Delia Ketchum	Udaya Sri (S01 - S10, S17) Priyanka (S11 - present)
Professor Oak	Krishna Kumar (S01 - S10, S17)
Paul	Banu Chander (S10 - S11) Siva Prasad (S11 - S13)

Bengali dub

Character	Voice actor
	Disney dub
Ash	Sumit Bera

Music

Main articles: List of Hindi Pokémon themes, List of Tamil Pokémon themes, List of Telugu Pokémon themes and List of Bengali Pokémon themes

Like most dubs based on the English dub, the Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu dubs under both Cartoon Network and Disney generally dub the original English openings into the respective language. Some songs used in episodes have also been dubbed.

From the middle of the second run of the season, Cartoon Network replaced the opening Black and White with an original Hindi opening named Pokémon: Black & White Song Video. Cartoon Network and Pogo also created original songs for promos.

Hungama TV used an original Hindi PokéRap as the ending theme for the initial seasons and movies. Similar PokéRaps were also created as promos for upcoming seasons, including four live action raps made to promote the show as a whole.

Hungama TV normally skips the opening and ending themes of the movies entirely. In a few instances, the instrumental version of the theme is retained; for example, a portion of Battle Frontier (Movie Version) on a loop served as the opening theme for the dub of the eighth movie and an instrumental version of This is a Beautiful World as the ending theme to the eleventh movie.

For the release of the first 21 movies on Voot Kids on October 15, 2021, all deleted scenes, including the opening and ending themes from the earlier movies, were restored. Since some movies under Disney use the Japanese version as the source instead of the English version, the themes for those movies are based on the Japanese themes instead. The Japanese openings and endings of the first and second movies were dubbed into Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, while the themes for the remaining movies are all left undubbed, with some of them using an instrumental version of the respective themes, and others keeping the Japanese or English vocals intact.

The Hindi version of the seventeenth movie released on Voot Kids used the Hindi versions of We Will Be Heroes, Battle Cry - (Stand Up!) and We Will Carry On! as the opening theme, while the Tamil and Telugu versions used an instrumental version of Pokémon Theme (Version XY) as the opening. However, the version of the movie aired on Marvel HQ had an instrumental version of Pokémon Theme (Version XY) as the opening theme for the Hindi dub as well.

For the Hindi dubs of movies released on Netflix, the the twenty-second movie had the themes dubbed into Hindi while the the twenty-third movie had themes left intact in English. The Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali dubs of Pokémon Journeys: The Series released on YouTube left the English opening themes intact as well.

For the dubs of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, original soundtracks were composed by the duo Vishal-Shekhar with vocals by Bollywood artists Armaan Malik for the opening theme Let's Get Started and Shirley Setia for the ending theme Boom Kaboom. Since it's release on the YouTube from 19th of July, 2024, the ending theme song has got a Bengali dubbed version of Boom Kaboom, making it the first time, a theme song has been dubbed for the animated series in Bengali.

The Pokémon Kids TV YouTube channel has released Hindi versions of various Pokémon songs aimed at younger children.

Pokémon manga

English-translated Pokémon manga was distributed in India by Chuang Yi. It is also available on online stores such as Amazon.

Starting in September 2020, English versions of the Pokémon 4Koma Plaza comic strips are posted on the Indian Facebook account weekly. Starting March 2024, they are also posted on the Instagram account.

Pokémon merchandise

• Pokémon was an instant hit in India and was one of the number one kids shows on TV. Due to its huge popularity, many pirated Pokémon products are sold in India.
  • In fact, a popular belief among fans in the early 2000s was that original trading cards are not available in any store in India.
• Pokémon Rakhis were available in India, with Pikachu and the first partner Pokémon of Unova region.
• Pokémon Tazos collectibles were available for free in Cheetos snack packs.
• On the Toonami block, Cartoon Network hosted a contest titled "Toonami-Game On Video Game Championship" in 2006, with Pokémon merchandise given out as prizes.
• Pokémon toys were available as toy gifts of McDonald's Happy Meals. These toys were spoons featuring Pikachu and other first partner Pokémon. Different set of small figures of Pikachu, Meowth, Psyduck, Torchic, Totodile, Squirtle, Magikarp, and Vulpix were made available in Happy Meals in November 2018. Unlike the previous promotion, it was advertised by McDonald's.
• Pokémon Black and White merchandise was available in India from Reliance Home Video and Games.
• Pokémon XY merchandise is launched in India by Dreamtheatre, available in physical stores and online sites such as Flipkart and Snapdeal.
• Pokémon merchandise like books, toys, etc are available on on-ground shops as well as online sites.
• Holi Pichkaris (Water Guns) were available during 2014 and 2015.
• Pokémon Kites were available for sale.
• A Pokémon contest was held by Hungama TV in 2015, which gave out Pokémon merchandise as prizes.
• Pokémon XY Products/toys with the original logo were distributed by Funskool India.
• Pokémon Evolution Cards and 3D figurines of Pikachu, the Kanto first partner Pokémon, and Jigglypuff were distributed with the breakfast cereal Chocos.
• Pokémon cards and cutouts are distributed with Cadbury Gems and other products.

Events

• A Pokémon Mela (lit. Pokémon Fair) was held in various cities starting in 2023:
  • The first Mela was held in Delhi on three occasions: November 17–19, December 2–3, and December 9–10, 2023. The events included a Pokémon quiz and dance show, Pikachu meet and greet, a photo panel with Pokémon Christmas tree decorations, a coloring and craft corner, a screening of the Pokémon animated series, and a Pokémon GO rally and PvP area. Free goodies were also given out at the events, including sunvisors, Pokémon Funbooks, and stickers. Additionally, a social media campaign included plushies of Pikachu, Eevee, Riolu, and Yamper as prizes.
  • The second Mela was held in Pune from May 17-19, 2024. The events included a Pokémon Go Booth, Pikachu Dance Performance and Meet & Greet, Photo Zone, Kids Activities and Craft Corner, a Pokémon Quiz, and more.
  • The third Mela was held in Mumbai on two occassions: May 31 - June 2, and June 7-9, 2024. The events included Pokémon Quiz, Pikachu dance show, Pokémon Meet & Greet, Pokémon content screening, games, photo booths, goodies, and more. For the Pokémon Mela held June 7-9, the official Instagram account held a giveaway campaign for a Captain Pikachu keychain.
• A Pikachu Meet & Greet event was held at TATA Mumbai Marathon 2024, during the Mirchi Get Active Expo. The events included meeting Pikachu, challenging games, and Pokémon GO activities.
• Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle had a special screening in Mumbai at PVR ICON Infiniti Andheri, on February 11, 2024. The movie had four showtimes and was screened only in the English dub. Moviegoers could participate in a "meet-and-greet" with Pikachu, and received special goodies.
• Pokémon India was announced as one of the official partners of the Indian Premier League cricket team Mumbai Indians for the 2024 season on March 19, 2024.
  • On March 28, 2024, it was revealed that Pikachu would be making appearances at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during all 7 home games of the Mumbai Indians for this season.
  • On April 18, 2024, a Social Media Giveaway campaign was held on the official Pokémon India Instagram account (@_pokemonofficialindia), for tickets to the MI matches at Wankhede Stadium on May 3, 6, and 17.
  • On April 25, 2024, a second Social Media Giveaway campaign was held on Instagram for a chance for three winners to receive a signed Mumbai Indians jersey.
• The Pokémon Company and Hungama TV announced the premiere of Pokémon Horizons: The Series on Hungama TV on May 25, 2024 via a press conference held on April 30, 2024 at the JW Marriot Hotel in Juhu, Mumbai. The event also unveiled original opening and ending themes by esteemed composer duo Vishal-Shekhar and sung by Armaan Malik and Shirley Setia. Kenjiro Ito, Chief Business Officer of The Pokémon Company, and Susumu Fukunaga, Corporate Officer of The Pokémon Company, were present as special guests.
• Various Meet & Greet events for Pokémon Horizons: The Series were held at various locations, including Gurugram (June 15-16), Chennai (June 22-23), and Hyderabad (June 29-30).
• To celebrate the release of Pokémon Horizons: The Series in India and Indonesia, a special event was held in Pokémon GO from June 15 to July 14, 2024, where Pikachu wearing Cap's hat were available in the wild and characters from the animated series would appear when taking snapshots.

• 

  Pokémon Mela

• 

  Pikachu wearing a Mumbai Indians jersey

• 

  Pokémon Horizons event in Mumbai

External links

• The official Pokémon Website in India
  • Pokémon India on Facebook
  • @_pokemonofficialindia on Instagram
  • Pokémon Asia ENG on YouTube
  • Pokémon Asia Official (Hindi) on YouTube
  • Pokémon Asia Official (Tamil) on YouTube
  • Pokémon Asia Official (Telugu) on YouTube
  • Pokémon Asia Official (Bengali) on YouTube
  • Pokémon South Asia Official (ENG)
• The Hindi Pokédex on the official Pokémon Website in India
• Pokémon animated series on JioCinema
• Cartoon Network India official website
• Cartoon Network India official Facebook page
• Pogo TV official website
• Disney India official website
  • Disney India on YouTube

References

This article is part of Project Globe, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon franchise around the world.