Aardman’s New Pokémon Series Officially Confirms Project Size

1 week ago 14

Published Aug 30, 2026, 4:53 PM EDT

Hannah has been writing about horror, sci-fi, and all things nerdy since 2021. At Collider, she covers news and conducts interviews, along with contributing features that dive deep into genre storytelling and why it works. If there’s something lurking in the shadows, she’s probably already writing about it if she's not too busy watching a tape from her VHS collection.

Pokémon fans got their best look yet at Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu during Pokémon XP this weekend, but it turns out Aardman still had one pretty major detail about the upcoming stop-motion series left to reveal. The new series will send Sirfetch’d and Pichu across the Galar region on a quest to help Pokémon in need, although, in true Aardman fashion, those good intentions rarely mean things actually go according to plan. We already knew that their adventure would bring together Aardman’s unmistakable stop-motion style with one of Pokémon’s most visually distinctive regions, but Collider can now confirm just how much time we’ll actually get to spend with the unlikely duo.

Aardman has confirmed that Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu will consist of 21 individual episodes, each running seven minutes. That gives the series a total runtime of 147 minutes, or just under two and a half hours of stop-motion Pokémon adventures, which is staggering considering Aardman also noted during a behind-the-scenes panel at Pokémon XP that one week of work from its animators typically results in an average of 13-seconds of footage.

‘Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu’ Will Have 21 Episodes

It also gives us a much better idea of the scale of the project Aardman has been working on since its collaboration with The Pokémon Company International was first announced. The series centers on Sirfetch’d, an aspiring knight determined to become the greatest in Galar, and Pichu, his much more playful squire. During the panel, director Tom Parkinson described the pair as the foundation of a “funny, heartfelt odd-couple story,” with Pichu frequently serving as the voice of reason while Sirfetch’d’s attempts at heroism don’t always work out quite as intended. Their journey will take them across Galar as they attempt to help and protect other Pokémon, encountering new allies, rivals, and plenty of trouble along the way. The first teaser has already shown off several familiar Pokémon, while also offering a closer look at how Aardman has translated the world of Pokémon Sword and Shield into physical sets, puppets, and environments.

The episode count is especially exciting considering just how much work goes into producing even a few seconds of stop-motion animation. Aardman creatives showed off that process throughout Pokémon XP, including the tiny interchangeable parts, elaborate puppets, and practical sets being used to bring Galar to life.

Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu will debut on Disney XD and stream exclusively on Disney+ worldwide in 2027.

Release Date 1997 - 2023-00-00

Network TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC

Directors Shigeru Omachi, Koji Ogawa, Fumihiro Ueno, Hideki Hiroshima, Maki Kodaira, Makoto Ooga, Ayumi Moriyama, Keitaro Motonaga, Shigeru Ueda, Fumihiro Yoshimura, Minoru Ohara, Yoshitaka Makino, Kiyoshi Egami, Makoto Sokuza, Bjarne Heuser, Naoki Murata, Kenichi Nishida, Tomoe Makino, Masahiko Watanabe, Hiroaki Takagi, Tazumi Mukaiyama, Ryohei Horiuchi, Yoshihiro Oda, Hiromichi Matano

Writers Junki Takegami, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hideki Sonoda, Yukiyoshi Ôhashi, Yuka Miyata, Takeshi Shudo, Shouji Yonemura, Shinzo Fujita, Michihiro Tsuchiya, Deko Akao, Reiko Yoshida, Aya Matsui, Junichi Fujisaku

Franchise(s) Pokemon