Pokémon: Path to the Peak

This article is about the animated miniseries. For the location, see Path to the Peak.

Pokémon: Path to the Peak (Japanese: PATH TO THE PEAK 頂へのきずな Path to the Peak: Bonds to the Peak) is a short animated series and the first to be based on the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The series takes place in a world where Pokémon as creatures do not exist, but Pokémon as a multimedia franchise does.

Japanese poster

It was announced in the Pokémon Presents released on August 8, 2023. The first episode premiered on YouTube on August 11, 2023, during the week of the 2023 Pokémon World Championships. A screening of the entire 4-episode series was also held at the Championships itself.[1]

On January 11, 2024, it was announced that the series has been nominated for an Annie Award for Best TV/Media – Limited Series.[2] On April 10, 2024, Pokémon: Path to the Peak was nominated for the Webby Awards in the Video – Animation category.[3]

Blurb

Ava feels out of place at her new school until she discovers the Pokémon Trading Card Game in this four-part animated series.

Plot

After moving and needing to attend a new school, Ava has trouble finding new friends. However, she learns about and joins the school's Pokémon Club, where the members are avid players of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

From there, Ava hones her skills at playing the TCG, and rises through the ranks of the Regional, International, and World Championships in her quest to reach the top.

Episodes

Code Screenshot English title Japanese title US broadcast Japan broadcast Time between
PTP01 The Club The Club 第1話
Episode 1
August 11, 2023 August 14, 2023 3 days
PTP02 Regionals Regionals 第2話
Episode 2
August 16, 2023 August 18, 2023 2 days
PTP03 Internationals Internationals 第3話
Episode 3
August 23, 2023 August 25, 2023 2 days
PTP04 Worlds Worlds 第4話
Episode 4
August 30, 2023 September 1, 2023 2 days
This concludes Pokémon: Path to the Peak.

Cast

Cast
Ava Nyara Afshar
Joshua AJ Beckles
Celestine Abby Espiritu
Dad Mick Lauer
Mom Nazia Chaudry
Tonio Kevin Andrew Rivera
Edgar Troy Caleb Yen
Pikachu Abby Espiritu

Staff

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Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.

Gallery

For more artwork, please see Pokémon: Path to the Peak images on the Bulbagarden Archives.

Characters

Posters and logos

Trivia

  • Despite featuring several cards from Scarlet & Violet-era TCG expansions, as well as banners with Generation IX Pokémon on them, no cards of Generation IX Pokémon appear in the series.
  • A total of 9 cards featured in this series did not exist in the real TCG at the time: Oddish (SVP Promo 102), Ava's Vileplume, Ava's Bellossom ex, Ava's Spoink, Ava's Darkrai ex, Ava's jungle stadium, Celestine's Mismagius ex, Team Falinks' Falinks ex, and Edgar's Groudon.
    • The Oddish card was designed specifically for the show's narrative, and was not originally intended to be made into a real TCG card.[4]
  • This is the first short animated series to be dubbed into Polish.

In other languages


See also

References

  1. Pokémon's new animated series Path to the Peak is a charming introduction to the trading card game - Dicebreaker
  2. https://twitter.com/CartoonEmpire_/status/1745485760151626238
  3. https://twitter.com/Pokemon/status/1778152525503603179
  4. Miranda Branley: i[sic] did not imagine that when i first designed a fun, simple Oddish card to fit our story narrative in Path to the Peak that it'd eventually become a REAL physical card.Twitter

External links

Project Anime logo.png This article is part of both Project Anime and Project TCG, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Anime and TCG, respectively. Project TCG logo.png