This is Niche Culture. In this column, we regularly cover anime, geek culture, and things related to video games. Please leave feedback and let us know if there’s something you want us to cover!

The next series of the Pokemon anime will not just be taking place in the new Gar region from Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield, instead utilizing the entire Pokemon world.

With the above teaser noting new information would be revealed on September 29th, the trailer also mentions “A story that heads out into the entire Pokemon world.” 

For those unfamiliar, the anime typically takes place in the newest game’s “region” (akin to a country or nation) with Ash Ketchum travelling roughly the same path players would in the game (with many additional towns and cities).

The only exceptions to this have been the Orange Islands (an archipelago exclusive to the anime), the Battle Frontier (taking place across the Kanto region rather than an island near Hoenn), the Decolore Islands (another anime-exclusive archipelago), movies, and televised specials.

With Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield launching on November 15th for Nintendo Switch, many expected the next series of the anime to begin airing around that time- set in the new Galar region. Some have begun to speculate whether the Pokemon Masters app has offered some inspiration- as the game allows players to interact and battle with classic trainers across the franchise’ history.

How exactly this will work is currently unknown. The regions in total include (from the mainline games) Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar. We will keep you informed as we learn more.

In recent news, Ash Ketchum finally became a Pokemon Champion in the anime.