Press Release from Pokemon Company International
BELLEVUE, Wash. - June 2, 2010 - The Pokemon Company International and Cartoon Network announced that the 13th season of the Pokemon animated series, Pokemon: DP Sinnoh League Victors, will debut Saturday, June 5th at 7 a.m. EST/PST. The new season introduces Pokemon never before seen in the animated series and marks the final chapter of the Pokemon Diamond & Pearl storyline.
To promote the eagerly anticipated new season, Cartoon Network will kick off a marketing campaign featuring on-air promo spots and launch an action-packed movie marathon running shortly after the premiere from 11:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. EST/PST.
"Pokemon is a truly global brand with legions of fans spanning the television, film, trading card game, and video game markets," said J.C. Smith, The Pokemon Company International's director of consumer marketing. "This is an amazing year for the Pokemon franchise and we're excited to work with Cartoon Network to bring Pokemon fans the newest adventures in the animated series."
In the upcoming episodes, Ash, Dawn, and Brock are nearing the end of their journey across the Sinnoh region and must prepare to face its final challenges. Team Galactic has been vanquished, allowing Ash to focus on training to battle for the 8th Gym Badge he needs to qualify for the Sinnoh League. Meanwhile, Dawn attempts to win the final Contest Ribbon, which will allow her to participate in the Grand Festival. As the action heats up, our heroes must turn to freshly evolved or newly captured Pokemon for all the help they can deliver.
Pokemon is aired every day of the week on Cartoon Network, with original episodes airing on Saturday mornings and repeat episodes on Sundays. The show also appears Monday through Friday, on Boomerang at 8 a.m. EST/PST.
Pokemon animation appears around the world in more than 30 different languages. In addition to Pokemon's partnership with Cartoon Network in the U.S., other major broadcast partners include YTV in Canada, RedeTV in Brazil, Cartoon Network Latin America, Gulli in France, RTL2 in Germany, K2 in Italy, CITV in the United Kingdom, and Disney XD across much of Europe.
The launch of the 13th season of the animated series follows the video game releases of Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver Versions for the Nintendo DS family of video game systems. The two games have sold more than 8.4 million copies worldwide to date, with more than 2.2 million copies sold in the U.S. since March 2010. (The NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service, through April 2010.)
Pokemon is one of the top children's franchises in history. The Pokemon video game series has sold more than 200 million units worldwide since its inception 14 years ago. Additionally, the best-selling collectible Pokemon Trading Card Game is sold in more than 30 countries across the globe and to date there have been more than 14 billion TCG trading cards produced worldwide. Pokemon films and DVDs continue to reach fans in amazing numbers, ranking at the top of the box office in Japan while JAKKS Pacific's Pokemon toy line includes all new figures and plush featuring Pokemon found in the Johto region, the location of the Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver Version video games.
For more information about Pokemon, visit www.pokemon.com [1].
About Pokemon
The Pokemon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokemon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokemon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokemon website. Pokemon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children's entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com [1].
Links:
[1] http://www.pokemon.com