New Pokémon Short Anime Directed by Shingo Yamashita Released

A new POKÉTOON short anime titled Wartortle and the Continuation of Summer premiered on the official Pokémon YouTube channel on August 12. Shingo Yamashita directed the short, with animation production by Studio Chromato and Studio Colorido.

Shingo Yamashita is known for his opening direction on JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 1, Chainsaw Man Season 1, and URUSEI YATSURA. He was also the director of Pokémon: Twilight Wings in 2020, as well as one of the 2021 POKÉTOON episodes “Yume no Tsubomi.” Both of those were also animated by Studio Colorido.

Yamashita recently made his directorial film debut with Cosmic Princess Kaguya.

The story follows Rikuto, a boy who visits his grandmother on an island near the end of summer. While there, he encounters an unusual Wartortle whose tail is a different color from the one in the Pokédex and whose shell has become covered in moss.

Rikuto spends his days playing in the water with Wartortle and the island’s wild Pokémon, eventually discovering that the long-lived Pokémon has a connection to his own family. Wartortle was apparently friends with Rikuto’s father when he was a child 30 years earlier.

The cast includes:

• Ayaka Senbongi as Rikuto
• Kana Hanazawa as Wartortle
• Tasuku Hatanaka as Gaku
• Akiko Hiramatsu as Shuri
• Natsumi Haruse as Leafeon
• Michiyo Murase as Bellsprout

The main staff includes:

• Director: Shingo Yamashita
• Storyboard / Episode Director: Glens Sou (Miyazaki Sou)
• Script: Aya Satsuki
• Character Design / Chief Animation Director: 三浦莉希
• Prop Design / Animation Director: Yoshifumi Hagano
• Art Director: Kunihiko Inaba
• Color Design: Natsuko Otsuka
• Director of Photography: Junko Sakai
• Sound Director: Akane Maeda
• Music: 加川狂介
• Animation Production: Studio Chromato / Studio Colorido

Wartortle and the Continuation of Summer is now streaming through the official Pokémon YouTube channel as part of the POKÉTOON animated short series.

Pokémon revealed its Generation 10 games and starters during this year’s Pokémon Day, presented during the Pokémon Presents livestream on February 27, 2026. The games are titled Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves and will release exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027. 

The franchise previously revealed numerous special anime shorts, including an anime for World Earth Day and a Dragonite-focused short by CoMix Wave Films on Pokémon Day in 2025.

Source: Official YouTube
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