Pokémon Is Killing Off Its Free Anime Streaming App

Pokemon TV key art

For over a decade, The Pokémon Company has offered Pokémon fans a way to watch free episodes of the Pokémon anime through its Pokémon TV streaming app. After launching in 2010, the company has now announced that it will be shutting down in just a couple of months.

The Pokémon Company announced in a news post yesterday that the Pokémon TV app would be removed from digital storefronts immediately, and new viewers would no longer be able to download it. Those who’ve already downloaded the app will be able to continue watching anime in it for the time being, but on March 28, 2024, the app will go offline forever.

In an FAQ accompanying the announcement, the company said that it was sunsetting the app so it could “explore other distribution platforms that make it even easier to access the ever-expanding library of Pokémon content.” The Pokémon Company did not specify what those distribution platforms would be.

Pokémon TV first launched as a web app in 2010, before subsequently being released on Android and iOS in 2013, and Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, and Nintendo Switch in subsequent years. It offers a selection of episodes and story arcs from the Pokémon anime, and in recent years has offered select movies and entire seasons.

It was offered without ads and without needing to pay anything, with even logins not required for basic watching of episodes and movies. Viewers could optionally log into their Pokémon Trainer Club accounts to save viewing history across different devices, but the app would save that data locally, too. Logging into Trainer Club accounts will be removed from the service on January 15.

It’s unknown at this stage if Pokémon TV’s replacement will offer free viewing or if it will be a standalone service. The Pokémon anime is available on Netflix in most regions, although in most cases it comes months or even years after a local airing, and obviously is not free.

The next series of the Pokémon anime, Pokémon Horizons, had its US release date announced late last year, with the series set to premiere on Netflix in late February. The series follows two new protagonists, Liko and Roy, as they investigate an ancient mystery and a shiny Rayquaza.

We reviewed the first story arc of Horizons after it wrapped up in Japan in October, and while we found it started strong, it did lose its way pretty quickly, with messy, unfocused storylines. It’s made a very strong recovery in its second arc, though, which is still ongoing.