Pokémon in South Asia
| Pokémon in South Asia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Language | Hindi Tamil Telugu English | |||
| Continent | Asia | |||
| Original anime airdates | ||||
| EP001 | May 12, 2003[1] May 19, 2014 August 7, 2016 | |||
| AG001 | May 9, 2006 September 16, 2015 December 31, 2017 | |||
| DP001 | November 9, 2009 November 16, 2009 November 12, 2018 | |||
| BW001 | June 17, 2013 July 2, 2014 November 3, 2014 | |||
| XY001 | May 9, 2015 | |||
| SM001 | ||||
| JN001 | ||||
| HZ001 | ||||
.
The Pokémon franchise (Hindi: पोकेमोन, Tamil: போகிமொன், Telegu: పోకీమాన్, Urdu: پوکيمون) made its debut in the Indian subcontinent in 2003, with the broadcast of the first anime episode in both English and Hindi on Cartoon Network India, after which it was moved to several channels. Since 2016, it has aired on Marvel HQ (formerly known as Disney XD India). In Pakistan, the anime aired on Cartoon Network Pakistan.
Pokémon games
Pokémon games and some Pokémon merchandise, as well as other Nintendo products such as consoles and games, are available on online retail stores.
In the past, most games in the region were sold by the Japanese Nintendo division. The exception is Afghanistan where Nintendo Europe dealt with sales.[2]
In India, the distributor from the 1987 was Samurai, which was best known for the release of the Samurai console which was NES console. The last console they sold was the Wii which was on the market until 2010.[3] Sunder Electronics delivered from 2012 to 2015 Wii U from Maxsoft.[4]
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were available in India just a week after its release in the United States.[5]
Pokémon anime
The Pokémon anime is available in the following South Asian territories: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
| Country | Channels |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan Bangladesh Pakistan |
Cartoon Network Pakistan |
| Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Sri Lanka |
Cartoon Network India Pogo TV Hungama TV Marvel HQ (formerly Disney XD India) Disney International HD Disney Channel India |
TV series
| Debut | Season |
|---|---|
| May 12, 2003*[1] May 19, 2014* August 7, 2016* |
Pokémon: Indigo League |
| Late 2003* September 11, 2014* December 19, 2016* |
Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands |
| 2004* October 30, 2014* April 4, 2017* |
Pokémon: The Johto Journeys |
| 2004* January 2, 2015* July 23, 2017* |
Pokémon: Johto League Champions |
| May 18, 2005*[6] March 31, 2015* October 2, 2017* |
Pokémon: Master Quest |
| May 9, 2006* August 31, 2015* December 31, 2017* |
Pokémon: Advanced |
| November 6, 2006*[7] February 15, 2016* February 12, 2018* |
Pokémon: Advanced Challenge |
| 2008* May 7, 2018* |
Pokémon: Advanced Battle |
| November 2008* November 12, 2018* August 31, 2019* |
Pokémon: Battle Frontier |
| November 9, 2009* November 16, 2009* November 12, 2018* |
Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl |
| 2010* May 13, 2019* August 10, 2019* |
Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension |
| Early 2011* August 1, 2011* July 8, 2019* November 2019* |
Pokémon DP: Galactic Battles |
| October 3, 2011* February 1, 2012* September 2, 2019* |
Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors |
| June 17, 2013* July 2, 2014* November 3, 2014* |
Pokémon: Black & White |
| May 9, 2015* | Pokémon the Series: XY |
Cartoon Network and Pogo TV
Pokémon: Indigo League premiered on Cartoon Network India on May 12, 2003 as a part of its Toonami block. Following the first season, Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands made its Indian debut in late 2003 and ended its run in mid-2004. In the same year, Pokémon: The Johto Journeys and Pokémon: Johto League Champions premiered on Cartoon Network. A separate Cartoon Network feed affiliated with Cartoon Network India was launched for the Pakistani audience in 2004, and was also later made available in Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Due to this affiliation, both channels broadcast the anime simultaneously. With Pokémon: Master Quest, Cartoon Network India introduced two additional dubs, Tamil and Telugu. The original series concluded its first complete run in mid-2005.
The first two seasons of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, Pokémon: Advanced and Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, made their South Asian debut in 2006. While 2008 marked the first run for Pokémon: Advanced Battle and Pokémon: Battle Frontier in the respective territories. Unlike its predecessors, the ninth season aired on Cartoon Network Pakistan two weeks after its Indian debut. Furthermore, Cartoon Network introduced a one-hour block, Dastaan-e-Pokémon, that aired reruns from the first seven seasons.
The first season of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl premiered in Pakistan on November 9, 2009, making it the first season to air on the network before its debut on Cartoon Network India, which aired it a week later. Cartoon Network Pakistan skipped 23 episodes, from O'er the Rampardos We Watched! to A Stand-Up Sit-Down!, due to unknown reasons and wrapped up the season in mere five weeks. However, the episodes were aired in their correct order during reruns. In early 2011, after an eight-year run on Cartoon Network India, the channel dropped Pokémon anime after finishing Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension's first run.
Later on, the anime was picked up by Cartoon Network India's sister channel, Pogo. The channel aired Pokémon DP: Galactic Battles and Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors in 2011. However, The Fleeing Tower Of Sunyshore! and Teaching the Student Teacher! were skipped and aired later during reruns. In 2013, Pogo premiered the fourteenth season of the anime and some creative changes were made along with it, including new voice actors for the narrator and Delia Ketchum and several moves retained their English names. The Dragon Master's Path! and Cilan Versus Trip, Ash Versus Georgia! were skipped, but they were later broadcast during reruns.
On June 27, 2014, Cartoon Network India announced through its official Facebook page that Pokémon would be returning to Cartoon Network. The channel began airing Pokémon: Black & White until Meowth's Scrafty Tactics, from July 2 to August 6. It later finished the season's first run by airing it at a late-night time slot. Pokémon the Series: Black & White premiered on Cartoon Network Pakistan in the same year.
Disney India
Around the beginning of 2014, Disney bought the rights to Pokémon. However, Disney did not acquire the rights for the anime's previous dubs, so the anime was re-dubbed.
With Pokémon, I Choose You!, Hungama TV began airing the original series on May 19, 2014. Unlike Cartoon Network and Pogo, since Hungama TV has no English audio feed, the anime aired only in Hindi. Starting with the second season, the channel began to include the Who's That Pokémon? segment in episodes. As with the Cartoon Network airings, several episodes were skipped or aired out of order. Starting from the third season, the channel also started using a red logo for Pokémon, instead of the yellow one used internationally. Some episodes of the third season were aired with additional Tamil and Telegu dubs, but not all episodes were dubbed in those languages until Johto League Champions. From Two Hits and a Miss to The Joy of Water Pokémon, Hungama TV often skipped parts of the episode before the title card, which were later restored during reruns on Disney XD. With the fifth season, Hungama TV aired the anime continuously until You're a Star, Larvitar in June 2015. Disney XD began airing reruns of episodes that had already aired on Hungama TV with the first 10 episodes of Pokémon: Indigo League on August 7, 2016.
The remaining original series episodes would later be aired as part of the sixth season starting on August 31, 2015, while the Hoenn portion of Pokémon: Advanced aired on Hungama TV from September 16, 2015 to November 18, 2015. From February 15, 2016 to April 28, 2016, episodes from Pokémon: Advanced Challenge premiered on Hungama TV. In addition, throughout the anime's run on Hungama, a number of new blocks were introduced that were dedicated exclusively to the series, including PokéThon, PokéVaar, and PakdoThon. Although Disney XD India had previously only aired the first seven seasons which had premiered first on Hungama TV, new episodes moved to Disney XD India with episodes of Pokémon: Advanced Battle until Like a Meowth to a Flame from May 7, 2018 to May 31, 2018. Although Disney XD has an English audio feed unlike Hungama, the anime aired in Hindi on both the English and Hindi audio feeds. The channel later completed the season's first run in October 2018.
On May 24, 2017, Prasad Barve announced that he will reprise his role as Ash for the tenth season.[8] Disney XD aired episodes from two new seasons, Pokémon: Battle Frontier and Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl starting from the same day, November 12, 2018. For unknown reasons, Disney XD wrapped up both the seasons together in just one week, skipping Home is Where the Start Is! which was aired later during reruns. The tenth season had a complete cast change comprising of completely different voice actors in the Hindi version while the Tamil and Telugu versions continued using their old cast. Beginning on January 20, 2019, Disney XD was rebranded as Marvel HQ in India, although the channel continues to air the Pokémon anime. From May 13, 2019 to May 24, 2019, Marvel HQ aired episodes from the eleventh season Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension until Fighting Fear with Fear, from where they used their old voice actors in the Hindi dub. Starting from this season, the channel stopped using the red logo for Pokémon and now uses the original yellow logo. The season re-aired on Hungama TV from August 10, 2019 to August 30, 2019, marking the return of the anime on the channel since 2016, and completed the initial run of the season.
On July 8, 2019, the English dub of the twelfth season, Pokémon DP: Galactic Battles, started airing on Disney International HD, while Hungama TV and Marvel HQ continued to air the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubs of the previous seasons of the anime. The thirteenth season, Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors, aired on Marvel HQ from September 2, 2019 to September 13, 2019, in all three regional dubs. From November to December 2019, Hungama TV aired the Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu versions of Pokémon DP: Galactic Battles till A Rivalry to Gible On.
The first two episodes of Pokémon the Series: XY, Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin and Lumoise City Pursuit, debuted on Hungama TV on May 9, 2015 without a prior announcement. The network announced more new episodes from Pokémon the Series: XY, which later aired alongside the channel's first run of the earlier seasons. Similar to previous instances, the episode title cards were skipped and a new logo was used for the series. After a month-long hiatus, Hungama TV resumed airing new episodes on August 1, 2015 with A PokéVision of Things to Come!. It completed the initial run of the season on November 14, 2015.
Voot & Voot Kids
In India, the Disney dubs of the first eight seasons are available on Voot, a streaming service by Viacom 18, making it the first time the anime has been available through a streaming service in India. Episodes from the first and second season are available in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu; while episodes from the third to eighth seasons are only available in English and Hindi. The Hindi dub of the last episodes of the eighth season premiered on the service before it aired on Disney XD. Scenes such as recap of previous episodes and "To Be Continued" shots are skipped, although the scenes deleted during TV airings are restored on Voot. In November 2019, Voot split its children content from the main service into a separate service called Voot Kids, which requires a separate subscription and has only kids content and additional parental control features. A number of titles, including the Pokémon anime, are now available only on Voot Kids.
Pokémon movies and specials
On November 14, 2006, Cartoon Network India aired Mewtwo Returns as a part of its Children's Day programming.[9]
Cartoon Network began airing Pokémon Chronicles on June 11, 2009. That year, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew also premiered on both Cartoon Network India and Pakistan. Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea premiered on Cartoon Network Pakistan in 2009, but would not debut on Cartoon Network India until the following year. Cartoon Network India has aired several Pikachu shorts; however, they were not aired alongside their accompanying movies. Christmas Night and Kanga Games were aired together as Pikachu's Winter Vacations. Winter Games and Pikachu & Pichu were also aired together.
In 2011, Cartoon Network and Pogo TV aired The Rise of Darkrai. Starting in 2014, the movie aired on Tata Sky's CN+ service. That year, Cartoon Network Pakistan also aired Giratina and the Sky Warrior and Arceus and the Jewel of Life, as well as Zoroark - Master of Illusions in 2012. However, that dub has not been released in India, with those three movies being aired later as a part of the Hungama/Disney XD dub run.
Hungama TV has so far aired the first eight movies and the tenth through fifteenth movies. Many scenes, including the opening and ending themes, are often skipped. Despite the fact that Hungama TV airs material provided by TPCi for the anime episodes, the Hindi dub for the first eight movies used footage from the Japanese version. Marvel HQ (formerly Disney XD India) and Disney Channel India also airs the Hungama dub of the Pokémon movies. Zoroark: Master of Illusions was due to air on Hungama TV on December 22, 2019, with promos for the Hindi dub being aired, but the premiere was cancelled for undisclosed reasons. The movie, however, later premiered on the channel on January 25, 2020.
Black—Victini and Reshiram premiered for the first time in South Asia on Hungama TV on June 20, 2020. Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice premiered on Hungama TV on June 27, 2020.
Mega Evolution Special I aired on November 21, 2015 on Hungama TV.
I Choose You! was said to be released in Indian cinemas in 2019, which would have made it the first animated Pokémon movie to be released in theaters in India. However, it was ultimately not released in Indian theatres.[10]
Detective Pikachu was released in Indian cinemas in both English and Hindi on May 10, 2019.
Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution was released on Netflix India on February 27, 2020 in English, Hindi, and Japanese, making it the first time a Pokémon movie was released on a streaming service in India. The Hindi dub of the movie used the Disney dub's voice actors.
- Mewtwo Ka Badla.png
Mewtwo Ka Badla
- Ash Pikachu aur Lugia in Danger.png
Ash Pikachu aur Lugia in Danger
- Unown ka Tehelka.png
Unown ka Tehelka
- Khatre ka Jungle.png
Khatre Ka Jungle
- Soul Dew ka Raaz Latias and Latios.png
Soul Dew Ka Raaz: Latias and Latio
- POKEMON MOVIE 6 HINDI LOGO.png
Jirachi Ka Wonder
- Deoxy aur Tori ki Story.png
Deoxy aur Tori ki Story
- Lucario ki Toofani Shakti.png
Lucario ki Toofani Shakti
- Darkrai - Dost ya Dushman.png
Darkrai - Dost ya Dushman
- Giratina aur ek Mahaa Yodhha.png
Giratina aur ek Mahaa Yodhha
- Arceus Aur Jeevan Ka Jewel.png
Arceus Aur Jeevan Ka Jewel
- Zoroark Mayajaal Ka Ustaad.png
Zoroark Mayajaal Ka Ustaad
- Victini Aur Reshiram.png
Victini Aur Reshiram
- Kyurem Ka Muqabala.png
Kyurem Ka Muqabala
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
| Debut | Movie |
|---|---|
| April 18, 2015* May 4, 2016* |
Mewtwo Strikes Back |
| August 22, 2015* May 4, 2016* |
The Power of One |
| April 16, 2016* June 5, 2016* |
Spell of the Unown: Entei |
| May 28, 2016* April 19, 2017* |
Celebi: The Voice of the Forest |
| July 31, 2016* April 19, 2017* |
Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias |
| November 6, 2016* April 19, 2017* |
Jirachi: Wish Maker |
| January 22, 2017* April 19, 2017* |
Destiny Deoxys |
| 2009* July 9, 2017* August 15, 2017* |
Lucario and the Mystery of Mew |
| 2009* 2010* |
Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea |
| 2011* September 29, 2017* October 22, 2017* |
The Rise of Darkrai |
| 2011* December 23, 2018* |
Giratina and the Sky Warrior |
| 2011* November 17, 2019* November 24, 2019* |
Arceus and the Jewel of Life |
| 2012* January 25, 2020* August 26, 2020* |
Zoroark: Master of Illusions |
| June 20, 2020* | Black—Victini and Reshiram |
| June 27, 2020* | Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice |
| May 10, 2019 | Detective Pikachu |
| February 27, 2020 | Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution |
| Debut | Special |
| November 14, 2006* | Mewtwo Returns[9] |
| 2009 | Pokémon Chronicles |
| November 21, 2015* | Mega Evolution Special I |
Cast and crew
Hindi dub
| Character | Voice actor |
|---|---|
| Ash | Prasad Barve (Cartoon Network dub - S01 to S14 and Disney dub - S10) Nachiket Dighe (Hungama TV and Disney dubs - S01 to S09, S11 to present) |
| Misty | Neshma Chemburkar (Cartoon Network dub - S01 and S02) Rucha Dighe (Hungama TV dub) |
| Brock | Uplaksh Kochhar (Hungama TV dub) |
| Tracey | Nachiket Dighe (Cartoon Network dub) Anshul Chandra (Hungama TV dub) |
| May | Neshma Chemburkar (Hungama TV dub) |
| Max | Amit Diyondi (Hungama TV dub) |
| Dawn | Neshma Chemburkar (Disney dub - S10) Sayuri Haralkar (Disney dub - S11 and S12) |
| Serena | Sayuri Haralkar (Hungama TV dub) |
| Clemont | Viral Shah (Hungama TV dub) |
| Bonnie | Nilufer Middey Khan (Hungama TV dub) |
| Jessie | Nandini Sharma (Cartoon Network dub) Shagufta Baig (Hungama TV dub) |
| James | Kishore Bhatt[11] (Cartoon Nework dub) Rajesh Shukla (Hungama TV dub) |
| Meowth | Damandeep Singh Baggan (Cartoon Network dub - S01 and S02) Sandeep Karnik (Cartoon Network dub - S03 to S14) Saumya Daan (Hungama TV dub) |
| Pokémon Theme singer | Sumeet Pathak (Hungama TV dub) |
Tamil dub
| Character / Role | Voice actor |
|---|---|
| Ash | Raghuvaran (Cartoon Network dub) |
| Brock | Sathya (Hungama TV dub) |
| Opening theme singer * | Karthik[12] (CN dub) |
Music
- Main article: List of Hindi Pokémon themes
- Main article: List of Tamil Pokémon themes
- Main article: List of Telugu Pokémon themes
Like most dubs based on the English dub, the Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu dubs under both Cartoon Network and Disney generally dub the original English openings into the respective language. Songs used in episodes have also been dubbed.
From the middle of the second run of the season, Cartoon Network replaced the opening Black and White with an original Hindi song.
Hungama TV has made a Pokérap as an ending theme for the anime series and the movies. They also made Pokéraps for the Orange Islands, Johto, and Hoenn arcs to promote upcoming seasons of Pokémon.
Although Hungama TV normally skips the Japanese opening and ending themes of the movies entirely, a few seconds from the instrumental version of バトルフロンティア （映画バージョン） Battle Frontier (Movie Version) were used on a loop, serving as the opening theme for its dub of the eighth movie. An instrumental version of This is a Beautiful World was used as the ending theme to the eleventh movie.
Pokémon manga
English-translated Pokémon manga was distributed in India by Chuang Yi. It is also available on online stores such as Amazon.
Pokémon merchandise
- Pokémon was an instant hit in India and was one of the number one kids shows on TV. Due to its huge popularity, many pirated Pokémon products are sold in India.[13]
- Pokémon Rakhis were available in India, with Pikachu and the starter Pokémon of Unova region.
- Pokémon collectibles were available for free in Cheetos snack packs.[14]
- On the Toonami block, Cartoon Network hosted a contest titled "Toonami-Game On Video Game Championship" in 2006, with Pokémon merchandise given out as prizes.[7]
- Pokémon toys were available as toy gifts of McDonald's Happy Meals. These toys were spoons featuring Pikachu and other starters.[15] Different set of small figures of Pikachu, Meowth, Psyduck, Torchic, Totodile, Squirtle, Magikarp, and Vulpix were made available in Happy Meals in November 2018. Unlike the previous promotion, it was advertised by McDonald's.[16]
- Pokémon Black and White merchandise is available in India from Reliance Home video and games.
- Pokémon XY merchandise is launched in India by Dreamtheatre, available in physical stores and online sites such as Flipkart and Snapdeal.
- Pokémon merchandise like books, toys, etc are available on on-ground shops as well as online sites.
- Holi Pichkaris (Water Guns) were available during 2014 and 2015[17].
- Pokémon Kites were available for sale[18].
- A Pokémon contest was held by Hungama TV in 2015, which gave out Pokémon merchandise as prizes.[19]
- Pokémon XY Products/toys with the original logo are distributed by Funskool India.[20]
- Pokémon Evolution Cards and 3D figurines of Pikachu, the Kanto starter Pokémon, and Jigglypuff were distributed with the breakfast cereal Chocos.
- Pokémon cards and cutouts are distributed with Cadbury Gems and other products.
External links
- The Pokémon Company official website (India)
- Cartoon Network India official website
- Cartoon Network India official Facebook page
- Pogo TV official website
- Hungama TV official website
- Voot
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cartoon Network to increase viewer cachet with Pokemon - Indian Television
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20080304201947/http://www.nintendo.com/corp/distributors.jsp
- ↑ https://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/sep/16wii.htm
- ↑ https://gadgets.ndtv.com/games/features/buy-the-nintendo-switch-in-india-you-need-to-read-this-first-1650812
- ↑ Pokemon Fans Helpless in India as Nintendo Keeps Away - NDTV Gadgets
- ↑ Cartoon Network to kick off 'Pokemon - Master Quest' in Tamil & Telugu - Indian Television
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cartoon Network to host 'Toonami: Game On, Video Gaming Championship'; re-freshed Toonami block starts 6 November - Indian Televison
- ↑ Prasad Barve's return to Pokémon anime
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Cartoon Network to join 'Barbie' and 'Pokémon' on Children's Day - Indian Television
- ↑ Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You - PVR Cinemas
- ↑ Dubbing a success story - Indian Television
- ↑ Karthik, singing sensation of South India, lends his voice to Pokemon's title track on Cartoon Network - Afaqs
- ↑ Pirates make a killing out of Pokemon craze - Indian Television
- ↑ Shh... it's Pokemon time - The Hindu Business Line
- ↑ Pokemon BW Movie Version《电影版：神奇宝贝－超级愿望》 - Toysaffair.com
- ↑ Happy Meal Toy - McDonald's India - Facebook
- ↑ Modi, Kejriwal pichkarais flood markets - Nyooz.com
- ↑ Modi-Obama kites to dot the Jaipur skyline - Times of India
- ↑ Pokemon Contest Entry Terms - Hungama TV (archived)
- ↑ Pokémon Products - Funskool India (archived)
| The Pokémon franchise around the world | |
|---|---|
| Africa: | South Africa |
| The Americas: | Brazil • Canada • Latin America • United States |
| Asia: | Greater China • Indonesia • Japan • Malaysia • Philippines • Singapore • South Asia • South Korea • Thailand • Vietnam |
| Europe: | Albania • Belgium • Bulgaria • Croatia • Czech Republic • Denmark • Finland • France • Germany • Greece Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Netherlands • North Macedonia • Norway • Poland Portugal • Romania • Russia • Serbia • Slovakia • Spain • Sweden • Ukraine • United Kingdom |
| Middle East: | Arab world • Israel • Turkey |
| Oceania: | Australia • New Zealand |
|
This article is part of Project Globe, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon franchise around the world. |
