Disney and The Pokémon Company International have reached a distribution deal bringing both a new stop-motion series and a classic Pokémon show to Disney+ and Disney XD. The agreement was announced Friday at Pokémon XP, a fan convention held in San Francisco.
The centerpiece of the deal is Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch'd & Pichu, a stop-motion series set for a 2027 premiere on both the Disney+ streamer and the Disney XD cable channel. The show is being made by Aardman, the studio known for Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, in partnership with The Pokémon Company. Aardman's team on the project includes director Tom Parkinson, creative director for IP development Nat McKay, and model making creative lead James Young. The series will follow Sirfetch'd and Pichu as they travel through the Galar Region, working to help and protect the Pokémon who live there.
The deal also brings Pokémon the Series: The Beginning — the original animated series featuring Ash, Pikachu and the rest of the franchise's foundational characters — into the Disney fold. That show is already streaming on Disney+ and began airing on Disney XD earlier in August.
"Pokémon has that rare ability to mean something to longtime fans while continuing to feel completely relevant to young audiences today," said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Kids & Family. "Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch'd & Pichu brings Aardman's signature stop-motion artistry with a bold, playful new perspective to this beloved world, giving audiences a fresh way to experience the characters they know and love."
Phil Rynda, Pokémon's director of original animation, praised Aardman's approach to the material. "These stories, full of adventure and heroism, all told from the perspective of Pokémon is made even more exciting through the lens of the incredible filmmakers at Aardman," Rynda said. "Audiences will be delighted getting to know the Sirfetch'd & Pichu, and wonderful cast of Pokémon, featured in this series. Aardman has brought Galar to life in a way that makes you feel like you can smell the air, touch the tree bark, and want to adventure alongside our series heroes."
