Pokémon Concierge, a creation of The Pokémon Company, Netflix, and Dwarf Studios, came in at the end of 2023 and proved to be one of the most delightful animations of the whole year. The show followed an anxiety-prone woman named Haru (Karen Fukuhara) who managed to net herself everyone’s dream job: that of a concierge at a Pokémon resort!
Once Haru learns to relax, she befriends an adorable Psyduck, sees a Magikarp evolve, and helps a shy Pikachu find its confidence. Along the way, she meets plenty of other Pokémon, too, including Dragonite, Snorlax, Metagross, and Bulbasaur.
Pokémon Concierge is stop-motion (and most of the Pokémon were created from felt!) so understandably, the episodes were short and sweet. Many people assumed that there would be no more Pokémon Concierge after the first four episodes dropped, because of the sheer amount of time and effort it clearly took to create. But, to the delight of Pokéfanatics everywhere, it’s just been announced that there’ll be more!
Pokemon Concierge season two is coming soon
Pokémon Concierge director and Annie Award nominee Iku Ogawa told Variety in a statement, “I am happy to let you know that we are now working on the new episodes for ‘Pokémon Concierge!’ Life at the Pokémon Resort continues. Please look forward to it! Let’s see which Pokémon will come visit as a guest this time!”
The official Pokémon X account tweeted the announcement as well, alongside an adorable drawing of Haru making a Psyduck toy while her real Psyduck looks on.
The image says “Now in production” but it’s probably fair to say it’ll be quite some time before new episodes actually drop on Netflix. Variety interviewed Iku Ogawa and Hidenaga Katakami of the Pokémon Company back when Pokémon Concierge first came out, and they revealed that each animator on the show made just four to five seconds of footage per day. Make no mistake: Stop-motion takes patience!
When Dwarf Studios was first offered the Pokémon Concierge job, they gave a timeframe of two to three years. We can probably expect a similar wait before the new episodes.
What new Pokemon might we see in season two?
It was an absolute joy seeing so many Pokémon brought to life in the first season of Pokémon Concierge, but which ones out of the current 1,025 (!) will make the cut for season two? Well, in speaking with Variety, Ogawa did give us a little hint about what to expect. He said:
Because [the show is set] on an island and we are near water, there are a lot of water-type Pokémon that appeared. In the future, maybe we’ll have some more water-type Pokemon, but at the same time, maybe it’ll be interesting if you do the opposite. For example, electric-type Pokemon are not really good near water, but maybe it’s interesting if you bring them to a water-rich environment and see how they react.
So if you’re a fan of—to name just a few—Electabuzz, Shinx, Mareep, Jolteon, or Joltic, you’re in luck!
But we can’t wait to check back into the Pokémon Resort, no matter which Pokémon will be there.
(featured image: Netflix)
Published: Feb 20, 2024 12:23 pm