'Pokemon' news: New anime feature teaser released

The new Pokemon Anime feature will be released in Japan in July next year. Pokemon Movie official site

Fans of the Pokemon franchise will have another thing to look forward to, as the first teaser for a new Pokemon anime film has been released.

In the short trailer, the camera first pans into the ocean before revealing Ash and Pikachu on top of a cliff. Something seemed to go out of the water, blowing Ah's hat off his head. Then, a blonde girl picks up a Pokeball and holds it out, her eyes widening at something in front of her.

The onscreen text reads "This is the beginning of everyone's story." It's not yet clear whether the franchise's main cast aside from Ash and Pikachu will appear (such as Misty and Brock), but the unnamed blond girl in the teaser looks like she is going to be an important member of the cast.

Aside from the teaser, details are scarce on what the new Pokemon feature is all about. However, it seems that the anime feature is a follow-up to the franchise's latest movie release.

It's also unclear whether what species of Pokemon (aside from Pikachu) will appear in the film. But, based on the preview, it looks like another legendary Pokemon will be making an appearance in the latest film of the franchise.

The movie also released a new poster, which can be seen on the official Pokemon movie site.

OLM is still in charge of the upcoming anime feature, but in the latest franchise, it's revealed that they are also working alongside the animation studio Wit Studio. The studio is responsible for top-notch animations like "Attack of Titan," which is why the animation in the teaser is stunning.

Behind the scenes, Kunihiko Yuyama steps down as a director to be the film's animation supervisor, with Tetsuo Yajima taking the helm. Yajima is known to co-direct the Pokemon XY series as well as the anniversary film "Pokemon: I Choose You." Meanwhile, Shizue Kaneko serves as the film's character designer.

The film will hit the theaters in Japan on July 31, 2018.

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