Pokemon launches “insane” online short from Chainsaw Man animators

The Pokemon Company has released a web-exclusive animated short all about a young boy and his Primeape. While Pokemon is no stranger to cartoon adaptations, this one is garnering some attention from fans online for its quality and the caliber of talent behind the animation.

Pokemon’s official Japanese YouTube channel shared the video, officially dubbed a “PokeToon” by the company and the latest in a line of animations under that moniker.

This particular one shows a young boy with a Primeape take on an opponent with a Houndoor and a Baxcalibur, the latter of which is a Dragon and Ice-type Pokemon that heralds from Pokemon Scarlet & Violet‘s Paldea.

A snippet of the PokeToon was shared online by Pokemon content creator Lewchube on X, and at the time of writing, the clip has over 30k likes with hundreds of Pokemon fans piling into the comments to praise the animation.

Lewcube shared the clip with a comment calling the animation “gorgeous” and saying it was the ” best these two designs have ever looked.”

They also mentioned that the PokeToon “features animation staff from CHAINSAW MAN, Castlevania and Shadowverse” and a look at the credits confirms it.

The short was animated by Seishirou Nagaya, who has credits including a Key Animator on Chainsaw Man, and Battle Concept Design on Shadowverse. Meanwhile, Art Director Tanioka Yoshio has previously worked on Bleach, and even Neon Genesis Evangelion Rebuild.

Fans flooded the comments underneath the viral post with praise, such as one saying “PRIMEAPE HAS NEVER LOOKED AS COOL AS IT DID HERE!!!!” Then, another comment adds, “As a huge fan of both Pokemon, this made me so damn happy to see.”

A lot of people also mention how Baxcalibur has never looked better, with some mentioning that the games haven’t quite done it justice yet. One comment says, “Baxcalibur is a bosssss” while another adds, “Let’s go more Baxcalibur redemption.”

There are even more of these cartoons on the official PokeToon website, so if you’re in the mood for some Pokemon animation with an extra professional touch, check them out.