A Pokémon live-action series is coming to Japan, but it’s not of the Detective Pikachu variety. No, the next Pokémon live-action project will be a drama about a woman trying to find adventure in her life through playing Pokémon, rather than it being set in the Pokémon universe.
The first episode of Pack Your Pocket With Adventure (abbreviated to PokéTsume) is set to premiere in Japan on October 19. It follows Madoka Akagi, a young woman who starts working for an advertising agency in an effort to expand her resume and pivot into content creation, but is hit with the same realizations we all have about capitalism: Working for others sucks, as you feed your body, mind, and soul to the beast. But then she receives a package from her mother containing some of her old stuff, including a Game Boy and a copy of Pokémon Red.
Madoka wasn’t like the rest of us who started playing Pokémon at a young age and then never stopped. She hasn’t played Pokémon since she was very young, so going back is pretty nostalgic for her. From the looks of the first trailer, the show will frame a lot of key moments and relationships through her playing Pokémon Red, such as one scene where she’s shown entering a battle with a character made to look like her boss.
Check out the trailer here, courtesy of Serebii:
Pack Your Pocket With Adventure is one of a few TV projects Pokémon has right now. On top of the new anime series starring Liko and Roy, The Pokémon Company has also partnered with Netflix for a stop-motion series called Pokémon Concierge set to premiere in December. The series will follow a young woman named Haru working at a resort alongside her partner Pokémon Psyduck. Actress Rena Nōnen says she hopes the show will be therapeutic for long-time fans.