'Pokémon' Anime Series Faces Uncertainty Amid COVID-19 Pandemic: What Fans Should Know

In recent months, the spread of COVID-19 has disrupted a variety of TV shows, ranging from "Jeopardy!" to "Good Morning America." Now, the novel coronavirus has also affected the anime industry, forcing the production of "Pokemon: The Series" to be changed for the foreseeable future.

According to ComicBook.com, the latest Ash Ketchum-led show, which debuted in late 2019, is now gearing up for an upcoming hiatus. The newest episode in the new series is set to air this weekend.

The PR team behind the show, Anipoke, confirmed the news on Twitter. "In order to keep safety in mind, we have decided to temporarily halt work on [future episodes] as a result," part of the post read, as translated by ComicBook.com. The original tweet can be seen below.

However, it appears as though the break may not have been completely unexpected due to the fact that Rica Matsumoto, the actress who voices Ash Ketchum in Japanese, recently revealed that she hasn't been recording lately. ComicBook.com also reports that is the first hiatus for the popular anime show since the Porygon episode, so fans are likely both surprised and saddened by the news.

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Those who tune in have since expressed a bit of hope since hearing the news, as the Twitter account for a Pokemon league looked back on the last time the animated show took an extended break, which can be seen in the tweet below.

Aside from the aforementioned break that the show is facing, the franchise has stayed in the news for a variety of reasons over the course of the past year. Not only did Pokemon Day 2020 crown a new Pokemon of the Year, but a "Detective Pikachu" star also recently spoke out about his hopes for a sequel to the 2019 Ryan Reynolds movie. Additionally, a specific group of cards from 1999 also sold at auction for over $100K, which is the highest price a set has ever received at auction.