Pokémon in Canada

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Pokémon in Canada

Flag of Canada
LanguagesEnglish andQuebecFrench
ContinentNorth America
Original animated series airdates
EP001September 1998
AG001January 2004
DP001September 7, 2007
BW001August 5, 2011
XY001December 7, 2013
February 15, 2014
SM001December 31, 2016
March 18, 2017
JN001May 9, 2020
HZ001March 2, 2024

ThePokémon franchise first reachedCanada in late 1998 with the release ofPokémon Red and Blue Versions and airing of theanimated series began at the same time. Canada is divided into English- and French-speaking regions (the latter consisting mostly of the provinces ofQuebec andNew Brunswick), with Pokémon being marketed accordingly. While the English adaptation of the franchise largely shares the same materials and translations asthe United States, theQuebec French adaptation of the franchise had a mix of its own French translations and the English translation during its early days (with a small amount of material fromFrance), which was eventually phased out in favor of almost entirely importing European French material with a few exceptions such as thePOKÉMON Detective Pikachu film.

Contents

Pokémon video games

In English Canada

All Pokémon games that have been released inthe United States have also been released in Canada, with the exception of thePokémon mini. New games are always released on the same day that they are released in the United States. Pokémon games sold in Canada are direct imports of the American versions, so spelling variations such ascolor andcenter are not changed tocolour andcentre for the Canadian releases. As in the United States, most Pokémon species names are completely localized from Japanese into English, with some exceptions such asPikachu. Despite this, some Canadian materials, such as game packaging/manuals and the official Canadian site forPokémon Black and White Versions, use Canadian spellings in addition to the metric system for Pokémon height and weight stats. Unlike with the U.S. releases, English Canadian games untilGeneration VI have featured bilingual (English/French) packaging and manuals, both to comply with federal regulations and in order to market both the English and French versions to Francophone Canadians. A few games have trilingual packaging, with Spanish as a third language forLatin America.

In French Canada

Unofficial era

While Canadian law requires bilingual packaging and instruction manuals to be included with the sale of all video games in Canada, Pokémon games were available in English only in the French-speaking province ofQuebec up until 2010, starting with the samePokémon Red and Blue release as English Canada. Unlike how French-language games and related material fully translate all terms and names usingFrance's localizations, French material related to English games localizes some terms but leaves all proper nouns the same, with France's equivalent provided in brackets for some lesser terms ("Trainer" is translated as "Dresseur", but "Feraligatr" is used instead of "Aligatueur" andCastelia City is referred to as "la ville Castelia City" instead of Volucité City). This continued even as games began to release in French in Quebec, resulting in players being able to choose games in either language, and ended withPokémon X and Y due to their single multilingual release. To tie in to the game releases more effectively, the version of the French dub of thePokémon animated series released in Quebec was redubbed to use the English names for characters and Pokémon, with it ending its run in 2004.

Official era

French edition of Pokémon HeartGold released in Canada; the actual product features aPEGI "3+" rating rather than theESRB rating seen here.

In 2010,Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver were the first games to received a French release for the province Quebec of in addition to the regular English release. This was due to an agreement between Quebec's government and major video game publishers requiring any video games in Quebec to be offered in French if available in that language elsewhere in the world.

In addition to the regular English-language release with bilingual packaging,Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver and allGeneration V games received separate French-language releases in Quebec, which can also be found somewhat rarely in other provinces. These releases contain exactly the same content as those fromFrance, with the packaging in French only and slightly modified to include elements such as a "Play in French" logo (upper-left corner), although they retain theirPEGI ratings rather than changing them to those of theESRB. As they are from France, the games are incompatible with some North American features, such asPal Park with North AmericanGeneration III games andPoké Transfer andPokémon Dream Radar with North American copies ofDiamond, Pearl, andPlatinum. Despite the content of the games being almost identical to that of the releases from France, the Canadian French versions of the games for Nintendo DS have their own country code in the serial numbers, CDF (instead of USA for English North America, or EUR for Europe, etc.). With some exceptions such asPikachu, most of the Pokémon species, character and location names are completely localized into the French language. For more information on these translated names, seelist of French Pokémon names.

TheVirtual Console re-releases ofPokémon Red and Blue andPokémon Yellow are available in separate English and French versions (along withSpanish), unlike with the initial Canadian release.

AsPokémon X and Y feature multilingual support, the need for separate English and French Game Cards fromGeneration VI onward appears to have been eliminated, as players may choose their preferred language at the beginning of the game. Most spin-off games include multiple language options, including French and Spanish.Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate are a unique case, as their North American French translations are separate from that of France due to the series being a Nintendo crossover, although most Pokémon characters still use European French names and voices to reflect how the games' translations are imported from or identical to those of France.

Event Pokémon

A poster in an EB Games store advertising the shiny legendary beasts event, the second in-store event distribution in Canada

Canadian players have had access to all Wi-Fi event distributions since theSecret Key in early 2009. The first in-store distribution was theToys "R" Us Mew in 2000. InGeneration III, Canada had noevent Pokémon distributions. There were no in-storeevent Pokémon distributions again until the 2011 release of theshiny legendary beasts atEB Games andGameStop stores. Following this, other events have been distributed at EB Games and GameStop stores as well as inToys 'R' Us stores. Events are available to all game languages, although they were initially only available to English games followed by English and French only.[1]

So far, allNorth American Wi-Fi events from Generation VI have been accessible to Canadian players. In-store distributions at EB Games have resumed with the release of theOctober 2014 shiny Gengar andDiancie.

Pokémon animation

In English

Cartoon Network's logo, in use from 2023 - current

The English dub of thePokémon animated series and thePokémon movies airs in Canada onCartoon Network (previously known asTeletoon). The series previously aired onYTV from September 1998, whenPokémon - I Choose You! debuted in Canada, through August 30, 2014.Corus Entertainment had obtained full ownership of Teletoon in 2014. Since Corus Entertainment had also owned YTV, they decided to shift some of their programming from YTV to Teletoon in the summer and fall of 2014, including the movement of Pokémon from YTV to Teletoon on September 2, 2014. In 2023, as part of an broader programming agrement between Corus andWarner Bros. Discovery, Teletoon would be rebranded into a new Canadian version of Cartoon Network while the exisiting Teletoon-run CN channel, would become a version ofBoomerang, the changes occured on March 27th of that same year.

Currently, Cartoon Network airsPokémon Horizons: The Search for Laqua every Saturday at 12:00 PM ET/PT, while YTV airs it every Saturday at 3:00 PM ET/PT.

DayTime (ET/PT)
Saturday12:00 PM (Cartoon Network)

3:00 PM (YTV)

Airing history

This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: Needs history fromPokémon: Battle Frontier
YTV's logo from when Pokémon was aired

While some episodes such asThe Tower of Terror,Tentacool & Tentacruel, andHoliday Hi-Jynx were aired and later banned inthe United States, they had not been banned from YTV's schedule. However, YTV had not aired any episodes which were also never aired in the United States, such asEP035 andEP250.

When the episodesswitched to ahigh definition format, YTV'sstandard definition channel hadletterboxed the episodes to maintain theaspect ratio of the image. When YTV introduced its HD feed on January 11, 2011, Canadian viewers were able to watch all HD episodes of Pokémon without it ever being letterboxed.

In some areas of Canada,The WB (nowThe CW) is available on cable. With this, Canadians were able to watch the newest English-dubbed episodes on Kids' WB! before they aired on YTV. Since the US version of Cartoon Network became the USA's provider of the Pokémon animated series in 2006, Canadians had to wait until the dubbed episodes aired on YTV to watch them due to the fact that the American version of Cartoon Network is exclusive to the United States. There had been rare occasions however in which YTV had aired content on the same day as the US, such as the airing ofKyurem VS. The Sword of Justice.

When YTV was airing the animated series, they also aired newPokémon movies during the weekends (with the exception of Movies 8 through 11). Pokémon was very well received by YTV's viewers. At the time of the last airing, Pokémon was YTV's longest running television show and YTV had aired the animated series longer than any other English television network. YTV had also held a number of contests related to the Pokémon franchise (especially the main series games), with the most recent promotion related toPokémon Black and White Versions andits Canadian tour. YTV is currently wholly owned byCorus Entertainment.

Original series

When the animated series debuted on YTV in September 1998, it aired on weekdays at 4:00 PM. WhenPokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands debuted in the U.S., YTV continued to air Indigo League episodes untilPokémon Double Trouble aired onKids' WB!. This was due to YTV's general practice of not airing new episodes until there was a substantial amount of new dubbed episodes to air five days a week for the weekday timeslot until the end of the season. Back around this time, Pokémon sometimes scheduled blocks of "back to back to back to back" specials. The first time this occurred, the block was called "Pokemania". On September 22, 2000 YTV had finally begun to air episodes ofPokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands.

Pokémon: The Johto Journeys

YTV started broadcastingPokémon: The Johto Journeys episodes on October 25, 2000, at 5:00 p.m. The journey continued on October 8th, 2001, with the debut ofPokémon: Johto League Champions.Pokémon: Master Quest aired its first episode on November 11, 2002, at 3:30 p.m, with its time changing from 5 to 3:30. However, on November 28, 2002, YTV temporarily stopped airing the Pokémon series. The series resumed on January 1st, 2003, when YTV delighted viewers with the much-anticipated "Animenia" event, wherePokémon: Master Quest aired it’s next episode on 9:38 a.m. On January 8, 2003, YTV resumed the broadcast ofPokémon: Master Quest at 4:00 p.m.

Advanced Generation series

Pokémon: Advanced first aired on YTV on March 6, 2004, with episodes airing weekly until April 26, 2004. Where, YTV began airing episodes daily. From August 21, 2004, to September 4, 2004, YTV aired two episodes per day. Following a brief break,Pokémon: Advanced Challenge premiered on September 18, 2004, and aired weekly until January 15, 2004. On that day, four new episodes were broadcasted. YTV continued to air new episodes weekly.Pokémon: Advanced Battle debuted on September 17, 2005, and aired episodes weekly until May 27, 2006. It then resumed airing daily from August 1, 2006, to August 31, 2006.

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

YTV began airingnewPokémon: Diamond and Pearl episodes on Saturdays in September 2007. A 3:30 PM weekday timeslot starting withFollowing A Maiden's Voyage was added to YTV's schedule on April 7, 2008. Eventually, these 3:30 PM episodes surpassed the timeline of the Saturday episodes, starting withBuizel Your Way Out Of This!. Thus, Canada started getting five new episodes per week. The last episode ofPokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl,Smells Like Team Spirit!, aired on Tuesday, June 17, but the series wasn't finished until October 2008, meaning thatPokémon Diamond & Pearl: Battle Dimension should have started on the next Wednesday or possibly Saturday. However, this did not happen, as YTV began rerunning season 10 from the beginning. This is due to YTV's episode policy as stated above.

Pokémon Diamond & Pearl: Battle Dimension briefly appeared for three weeks, airing on Fridays at 8:00 AM starting November 7, 2008. At one point, YTV was constantly changing their schedule around fromPokémon: Battle Frontier and Diamond and Pearl episodes at the times of 3:30 PM and 8:00 AM. On Monday, March 2, 2009, YTV began to air Battle Dimension regularly and only airedPokémon: Diamond and Pearl episodes on Saturdays. On Wednesday, June 3, 2009, YTV aired thelast episode of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl: Battle Dimension however the full series didn't finish until October 2009.

On Saturday, October 10, 2009, YTV began airing episodes ofPokémon Diamond & Pearl: Galactic Battles until spring 2011. On the same day, they airedPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness at 12:00 PM, and alsoPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness at 12:30 PM (just one day after the US airing). On November 20, 2009, YTV stopped airing episodes ofPokémon Diamond & Pearl: Battle Dimension and began to air onlyGalactic Battles. On November 28, 2009, YTV aired the Canadian premier ofArceus and the Jewel of Life. Beginning in late December 2009 until March 2010, YTV reverted to airingPokémon: Advanced Battle episodes on weekdays. Only onenew episode of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl: Galactic Battles aired on Saturday at 12:00 PM. YTV later on switched back to airing episodes of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl: Galactic Battles six days a week. With the airing ofGotta Get a Gible! On Tuesday, May 18, 2010, YTV closed the gap between the US air date and the Canadian air date down to just three days, which was rare to happen on YTV. This gap however, was widened again as YTV aired fromGet Your Rotom Running! on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 but all of the episodes weren't fully aired in Canada until March 2011.

On Saturday, November 6, 2010, YTV started to air episodes ofPokémon Diamond & Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors on their Saturday time slots starting fromRegaining the Home Advantage! while still airing episodes of Galactic Battles on weekdays. YTV had finished the Galactic Battles weekday run on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 and on Wednesday they started to air a run of Pokémon: Battle Frontier starting fromFear Factor Phony. After this run had concluded, YTV had gone back to episodes of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl: Galactic Battles until fall 2011. YTV started Pokémon Diamond & Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors on their weekday time slot on March 7, 2011 and was concluded by the end of October. On Saturday, March 12, 2011, YTV surprisingly airedZoroark: Master of Illusions without prior advertisements or TV listings, making most fans miss out on the movie airing.

Pokémon the Series: Black & White

YTV began to airPokémon: Black & White on weekdays starting on Friday August 5, 2011. YTV airedBlack—Victini and Reshiram on January 14, 2012. On April 7, 2012, YTV began to air episodes ofPokémon Black & White: Rival Destinies on their Saturday timeslot as the first season in Canada to be aired in the spring instead of late summer/fall. Pokémon Black & White: Rival Destinies replaced Pokémon: Black & White weekday run on August 13, 2012. YTV airedKyurem VS. The Sword of Justice on December 8, 2012. This was the first time sincePokémon movie theatrical releases in which Canada has had the same premiere date as the US. On March 23, 2013,Pokémon Black & White: Adventures in Unova had replaced the Saturday timeslot. On December 7, 2013, YTV had airedGenesect and the Legend Awakened.

Pokémon the Series: XY

Pokémon the Series: XY first premiered on Saturday, December 7, 2013 on YTV with the airings ofKalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin! andLumiose City Pursuit!. These initial airings of the seventeenth season did not replace Saturday airings ofPokémon Black & White: Adventures in Unova, but were simply aired as a sneak peek. Continual airings ofPokémon the Series: XY began on February 15, 2014, though the sneak preview versions ofXY001 andXY002 were aired instead of the regular versions. On September 2, 2014, YTV concluded the airings of the Pokémon animated series and YTV's sister station, Teletoon, picked up where YTV had left off. On November 9, 2014, Teletoon had airedDiancie and the Cocoon of Destruction.Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest was first aired in April 2015, while thePokémon the Series: XYZ was first aired the following year.

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

Teletoon first airedPokémon the Series: Sun & Moon on December 31, 2016 airing the sneak preview episodes ofAlola to New Adventure! andThe Guardian's Challenge! alongsideVolcanion and the Mechanical Marvel. Teletoon then began airing the season in its original order from March 18, 2017 to January 6, 2018.

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon—Ultra Adventures premiered on Teletoon from March 10, 2018 to February 2, 2019. The last four episodes of the season aired on YTV on February 27, 2019 in commemoration ofPokémon Day, marking Pokémon's return to the channel after its move to Teletoon in 2014.The Power of Us aired on the channel on May 10, 2019, the same day thatPOKÉMON Detective Pikachu premiered in North American theatres. On June 28, 2019, and later on November 8, 2019, YTV surprisingly aired select episodes ofPokémon the Series: Sun & Moon—Ultra Legends, though the reasoning is unknown. On January 10th, 2020, YTV aired a marathon consisting of two episodes of Ultra Legends andMewtwo Strikes Back.

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon—Ultra Legends premiered on Teletoon on March 2, 2019 to March 28, 2020. On May 8, 2020, YTV aired a marathon consisting of the final two episodes of Ultra Legends andThe Power of Us.

Pokémon Journeys

Pokémon Journeys: The Series premiered on Teletoon on May 9, 2020. Later in September, YTV aired four episodes of Journeys as part of an event called the "Pokémon Catch-Up Marathon". On November 11, 2020, YTV aired another four episodes from 1-3 p.m. under the same "Catch-Up Marathon" event. YTV aired yet another mini-marathon on June 4, 2021, from 12:00 - 1:50 p.m. .

Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series premiered on Teletoon on June 12, 2021. Once again, YTV aired a "Catch-Up Marathon" on Friday September 17, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. , consisting of the most recently dubbed episodes, and another marathon aired on Friday December 10, 2021.

Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series premiered on Teletoon on May 22, 2022. YTV has aired "Catch-Up Marathons" for the season on Friday, September 16, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. , on Friday, April 28, 2023 from 12:35 - 1:15 p.m. , and on Friday, July 7, 2023 from 11:05 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. , the latter covering the final stretch of episodes.

Pokémon Horizons: The Series

Pokémon Horizons: The Series premiered on Cartoon Network on March 2, 2024. YTV aired "Catch-Up Marathons" for the season on Friday, July 5, 2024 from 11:05 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and on Friday, July 12, 2024 from 11:05 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.[2]

Pokémon Horizons: The Search for Laqua premiered on Cartoon Network and YTV on February 8, 2025. This was the first season to air on YTV regularly again, after Corus Entertainment moved Pokémon the Series: XY to Teletoon 10 years earlier. YTV also aired "Catch-Up Marathons" for the season on Friday, May 16, 2025 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:40 p.m.[3], on Friday, July 4, 2025 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:40 p.m.[4], and on Friday, September 12, 2025 from 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.[5]

Pokémon movies

Cover of thePokémon Legends boxed set

As in the United States, the first threePokémon movies were distributed by Warner Bros.

The next four movies,Celebi: The Voice of the Forest,Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias,Jirachi: Wish Maker andDestiny Deoxys, were distributed in Canada byAlliance Atlantis Communications, Inc., which was last known asAlliance Films prior to its absorption intoEntertainment One in 2013. In 2010, Alliance Films released a boxed set of those four movies exclusively in Canada, titledPokémon Legends. The boxed set consists of four discs and contains all the same bonus features as previous standalone releases of the movies. All four movies in the set are available in both English and French.

Pokémon movies have been distributed in Canada byVIZ Media following their takeover of the movie distributions fromLucario and the Mystery of Mew onward in the United States. Subsequent Pokémon movies that received a theatrical release in the United States were also released in Canada viaCineplex, including the wide-releasePOKÉMON Detective Pikachu film.

YTV On Demand

YTV Anime On Demand logo used at the time Pokémon was offered.
Bionix On Demand logo

In 2005, YTV launched anon demand anime channel simply namedYTV Anime On Demand. The channel contained new and old programs, including series that do not air on the normal YTV. The Pokémon animated series was also available on this service. In 2008, YTV renamed its on demand service toBionix On Demand. In December 2009, YTV cancelled Bionix On Demand[6] and returned to the YTV On Demand service, which no longer offers Pokémon in its lineup.

In Quebec French

Original series

Logo of Télétoon used from 1997-2005, used when Pokémon was aired

The original Quebec dub of Pokémon is actually a modified version of the dub fromFrance. While the Canadian dub used most of the same dialogue as the European French version, all of the character names in the show (including in the localizedKanto Pokérap) were changed to match the names used in the English version (for example, "Misty" is used instead of "Ondine" and "Charmander" instead of "Salamèche"), with the lines redubbed appropriately by the cast. Despite the changes to character names, other proper names such as the names of cities remained the same as in the European French version (for example, "Carmin sur Mer" is used instead of "Vermilion City" or a translated equivalent such as "Ville de Vermilion"); additionally, most episode titles were retranslated completely.

Volume 1 of the Pokémon animated series distributed in Canadian French by Imavision Distribution Inc

The Quebec dub aired onTélétoon starting in the Fall of 1999, a French-language children's network based inMontreal. Starting in January 2000, the show was also broadcast onTQS[7]. The Quebec specific dub of Pokémon was cancelled in 2004, after which the French dub, with French Pokémon names, was used. Télétoon stopped airing Pokémon after the completion ofPokémon: Johto League Champions. Following this,Pokémon: Master Quest was partly aired on TQS. Télétoon then broadcast the show until 2023. The Quebec dub was released on VHS and DVD by Imavision Distribution Inc., but their license to distribute the series has expired and their Pokémon titles have gone out of print.

Unlike the series, thePokémon movies were fully redubbed in Quebec with a local cast by the dubbing companyCovitec. They were distributed on VHS and bilingual DVD (with both French and English audio tracks) byWarner Bros., although no movies have been released to Canadians in French sinceVIZ Media took over the distribution of the films.

Unlike the fandom in France, a significant portion of the French-speaking adultPokémon fandom in Quebec grew up with English names and terms thanks to these dubs (and the English-language games, to a lesser extent). As a result,France's localized names tend to become a point of debate, particularly regarding early-generation nostalgia; English-languagePokémon games and merchandise are sold alongside their French-language counterparts and remain successful with older fans, and some Francophone Canadians continue to use the English names in conversation[8], with casual use of the French names not being as widespread or universal as in other French-speaking parts of the world.

Cast and crew

For the European French cast of the animated series, seethe corresponding article.

Many voice actors and actresses contributed to the Quebec version of thePokémon movies. Notable voice actors includedSébastien Reding, who provided the voice ofAsh Ketchum,Kim Jalabert, who providedMisty's voice,Martin Watier, who providedBrock's voice, andJoël Legendre, who providedTracey's voice. Ash's mother,Delia Ketchum, was voiced byNathalie Coupal.

Jessie was voiced byChristine Séguin,James was voiced byAntoine Durand, andMeowth was voiced byFrançois Sasseville. Their boss,Giovanni, was voiced byDaniel Picard.

Professor Oak was voiced byAlain Sauvage. AnotherPokémon Professor,Professor Elm, was voiced byPierre Chagnon.

Other notable voice actors of the Canadian French dub includeJulie Burroughs, who provided the voice forNurse Joy, andCamille Cyr-Desmarais, the voice ofOfficer Jenny.

Pokémon the Series: XY

In November 2014, Pokémon finally returned to Télétoon withPokémon the Series: XY, following the channel's English counterpart. Unlike its previous airing on the network, the dub currently airing on Télétoon is not modified for Quebec and uses France's names and terms, in keeping with all other French-languagePokémon material in Canada simply consisting of Europe's translations.

Currently, Télétoon airsPokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest at the following times:

Time (EST)
Monday7:00 AM, 3:30 PM
Tuesday7:00 AM, 3:30 PM
Wednesday7:00 AM, 3:30 PM
Thursday7:00 AM, 3:30 PM
Friday7:00 AM, 3:30 PM
Saturday12:00 PM

Pokémon Horizons: The Series

On March 2, 2024, Pokémon Horizons debuted on Télétoon airing it day-and-date with the Canadian CN channel in English outside of Quebec.[9]

Pokémon movies

The first sevenPokémon movies were available to Canadians in French. There were two versions made of the first movie,Mewtwo Strikes Back — one with dialogue based on the European French version, which aired on Télétoon; and one which was dubbed from scratch in Quebec, which was released theatrically and on home video.

The last Pokémon movie to be released to Canadians in French on home video wasDestiny Deoxys. After this,VIZ Media took over distribution of the movies, and they have not included French language options on their home video releases. However,Netflix and Télétoon occasionally air the European French dubs of various Pokémon movies.

In 2019, the moviePOKÉMON Detective Pikachu was the first piece of Pokémon media to get a full dedicated Canadian French dub for Quebec since 2003, albeit using European French Pokémon names for consistency with the rest of the franchise.

Music

Cover artwork forPokémon: Le plus grand maître Pokémon
Main article:List of French Pokémon themes

Imavision released one French language Pokémon music CD in Canada, a translation ofPokémon 2.B.A. Master titledPokémon: Le plus grand maître Pokémon. It is nearly identical to the CD release from France, though it has a different title and different cover artwork. Some song titles were changed to be accurate to the Quebec French dub of the animated series (for example,Misty's Song is titled as "La chanson de Misty" rather than "La chanson d'Ondine"), however, any spoken dialogue in the CD continues to refer to the proper names from the European French dub (including Ash addressing "Pierre" and "Ondine" at the beginning of Misty's Song). The exception to this isthe PokéRAP, which uses the English names for each Pokémon instead of France's localised names. Unlike France's CD, this version does not contain the PokéRAP video.

Netflix

Beginning on March 1, 2014, the Pokémon animated series became available onNetflix, a subscription-based on demand service available worldwide.

In Canada, all Pokémon content is currently available for streaming with English or French subtitles and audio. The French audio and subtitles are from theEuropean French version. As with other regions,Pokémon the Series: XYZ addsEuropean Spanish,German andItalian audio and subtitles.

When Pokémon initially debuted on Netflix, episodes ofPokémon: Indigo League andPokémon: Black & White were available to subscribers, as well as the moviesPokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram and Pokémon the Movie: White—Victini and Zekrom. The episodes ofIndigo League initially available were from the first broadcast season, which included the first 52 dubbed episodes. The second broadcast season, containing the end ofIndigo League and the beginning ofAdventures in the Orange Islands was added later.Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice andGenesect and the Legend Awakened were formerly available as well, but have since been removed.

As of April 2017, Pokémon content available to Canadian subscribers is the same as worldwide which includesPokémon: Indigo League,Pokémon the Series: XY,Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest,Pokémon the Series: XYZ, the movieDiancie and the Cocoon of Destruction, and the movieHoopa and the Clash of Ages.

Pokémon manga

In English

All Pokémon manga which has been published byVIZ Media inthe United States has been concurrently available in English in Canada. Volumes can be found at most retailers where manga is sold.

In French

A French version ofThe Electric Tale of Pikachu, titledL'aventure électrique de Pikachu, was published by Imavision Distribution Inc, the same company that released the Pokémon animated series on VHS and DVD in French-speaking regions of Canada. The French release includes the first fourmonthly issues and is directly based onVIZ Media's translation, including the reversal in the publishing order ofET02 andET03.

In addition to this, some of the newer French manga translations published inFrance by Kurokawa, such asPokémon Noir et Blanc (the French translation of theBlack & White arc ofPokémon Adventures), have been available in Canada through online retailers such asAmazon.ca andIndigo Books & Music.

Pokémon Trading Card Game

Cards for thePokémon Trading Card Game have been sold in Canada since the introduction of theBase Set. English-language cards are imported fromthe United States to be sold in Canadian stores. In Quebec, only English-language cards were originally available, but many French-speaking parents felt this was unfair to their children, who also did not have a French-language Pokémon video game. As a result,Wizards of the Coast, which had recently started selling Pokémon cards inFrance, began to import these French-language cards for sale in Quebec; however, distribution of French cards became less widespread after a few early sets, as the French cards were not as sought-after by collectors as their English and Japanese equivalents. Today, both English- and French-language cards are recognized as tournament legal inofficial tournaments.

English-language cards are sold nationwide. In Quebec, French-language cards are sold alongside the English ones (somewhat less commonly), mostly at retailers such asWal-Mart and independent gaming stores such asLe Valet d'Coeur that import games directly from France; the four McDonald's TCG promotions in the province have also been in French.

Pokémon merchandise

A bilingual Event card from thePokémon Master Trainer board game

In general, Canada receives most of the same Pokémon merchandise that is available inthe United States, such as plush toys andfoods. Per national laws[10], all Pokémon toys and other merchandise come with bilingual packaging and instructions. Most Pokémon merchandise prior to 2013 had specialized Canadian packaging that only used the English localized names in both official languages, whileTakara Tomy's merchandise from 2013 onwards uses the same multilingual (7-language) packaging as the United States and Europe (which includes localized French names for the French portion). After the onlinePokémon Center opened its sales to Canada, much of its merchandise has been bilingually labeled inAmerican English and Canadian French regardless of region. This includes all character, Pokémon, move and location names as well as any inserts, certificates and copyright/serial information printed on the items themselves, despite the website not being available in languages other than English. Other items instead use trilingual packaging, withEuropean French andGerman alongside English, with corresponding country-specific copyright/serial/disposal information. Almost all other merchandise in North America uses American English, and may variously use European or Canadian French depending on the distributor and/or manufacturer.

All fourBurger King promotions (1999,2000,2008 and2009) were available in Canadian restaurants. All fourMcDonald's promotions (2011,2012,2014 and2015) were available in Canada as well. Although the 2014 promotion appeared months later than in the United States, the Canadian version contained two cards per toy instead of only one like in the United States.

Several Pokémon books that have been released in English in Canada and the United States have been translated into French by Le Groupe Syntagme Inc for sale in French-speaking regions of Canada. Examples include many books from thePokémon Chapter Books, thePokémon Adventure Series (Pokémon Collection Adventure),Pokémon Pop Quiz (Pokémon Questions-pièges) andExtreme Pokémon: The Guide for the Ultimate Fan (Extrêmes Pokémon: Le guide ultime des vrais mordus). As of the 2010s, most of the Pokémon books and manga that has been available to Canadians in French has been imported from France rather than locally translated from materials that were originally available in English, such asHachette Jeunesse'sseries of novels based on the animated series. Some French-language books are produced and/or translated locally, such as the activity books byImagine Publications.

All Pokémon board games released in the United States, such asPokémon Master Trainer andPokémon Yahtzee Jr., have been released in Canada in fully bilingual versions.

Canadian exclusive items

In 1999, a series of bilingualPokémon Game Tip Cards were given away in packages ofKellogg's cereal, exclusively in Canada. These cards contained tips forPokémon Snap andRed, Blue, andYellow Versions. Canadian exclusive game tip cards were also given away withBlack Diamond cheese andDanone yogurt.

In the year 2000, YTV featuredPokémon Theme on their firstBig Fun Party Mix CD.[11]

Community

The Pokémon fandom in Canada consists of both English-speaking and French-speaking sectors, each with slightly different norms.

The English-speaking sector is closely tied tothe American fandom due to the geographic proximity and similar dialects of English between both countries, as well as the fact that almost all English-language Pokémon media in Canada comes from the United States. As such, most English-speaking Canadian fans consult the same fansites as those in the US, includingSerebii.net andPokéBeach.

The French-speaking sector is mostly distinct fromthe fandom in France due to the differences between early Canadian French and European French Pokémon media (particularly the use of English names), as well as general differences between their respective dialects and cultures. As such, a significant portion of the French-Canadian fandom is bilingual; English games, TCG cards and other media continue to be popular (especially among older and longtime fans), and the community occasionally interacts and overlaps with the English-Canadian fandom. However, due to the fact that current French-language Pokémon media is imported from France, the French-Canadian fandom has begun to overlap slightly more with the European French fandom, particularly among younger fans and newcomers to Quebec. French-Canadian fans do not have many dedicated fansites, and have traditionally used a combination of English and European French fansites for information.

Pokémon fandom has an active presence on the Canadian convention circuit; in particular, Montreal'sOtakuthon anime convention regularly hosts aPokémon-themed sub-event known as "Pokéthon". The show's voice actors are frequently featured as guests at events. As in the United States,Veronica Taylor andSean Schemmel are particularly prolific, and have been regularly invited toFan Expo Canada (Canada's largest fan convention held in Toronto), in addition to other events. Conventions in Quebec may also invite French voice actors, such as Sébastien Reding (Ash's French-Canadian movie voice actor) and Aurélien Ringheim (Ash's universal European French voice actor).

Events

ThePokémon 2000 Stadium Tour made a few stops in Canada. There were no promotional tours throughoutGeneration III andGeneration IV.

In February 2011, in conjunction with thePokémon Black and White Sampling Tour inthe United States, two similar events were held in Canada, one inBurnaby,British Columbia and the other inMississauga,Ontario. At these events, players were invited to try a demo ofPokémon Black and White a month before it was released in Canada. There were other activities such as photo opportunities, face painting, and colouring pages.

The2013 World Championships were held in Vancouver, British Columbia from August 9 to 11, 2013. This is the first time that the World Championships have been held outside of the United States.

On October 11, 2013, a launch party forPokémon X and Y was held inToronto. This launch party included game demos, contests and free giveaway items.

On November 8, 2014, an event was held inToronto, Ontario commemorating the upcoming launch ofPokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire[12]. The event, known as Canada's Pokémon Video Game Event, offered attendees the chance to try out thePokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Special Demo Version andPokémon Art Academy. Other activities were held including colouring pages and photo opportunities withPikachu. Attendees were offered posters of theHoenn region and codes to download the Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Special Demo Version at home — each card came with two codes, with the second one intended to be shared with a friend of the recipient. At the end of the event, attendees who stayed were shown a free screening ofDiancie and the Cocoon of Destruction, which features many settings based on locations in Canada.

So far, there have been four performances ofPokémon: Symphonic Evolutions in Canada. The concerts were performed in Vancouver on July 22, 2015; in Toronto on August 28, 2015; in Montreal on August 30, 2015; and in Toronto on May 6, 2017.

  • A photo of the BW Sampling Tour stop in Mississauga, Ontario
    A photo of the BW Sampling Tour stop in Mississauga, Ontario
  • Canada's Pokémon Video Game Event logo
    Canada's Pokémon Video Game Event logo

Trivia

External links

References

  1. ↑Image of bilingual Zoroark distribution cart @ GameSniped (retrieved April 9, 2012)
  2. ↑https://web.archive.org/web/20240706061706/ytv.com/schedule
  3. ↑https://web.archive.org/web/20250515214156/https://www.ytv.com/schedule/
  4. ↑https://web.archive.org/web/20250703233011/https://www.ytv.com/schedule/
  5. ↑https://web.archive.org/web/20250913083132/https://www.ytv.com/schedule/
  6. ↑Bionix On Demand cancelled (retrieved February 18, 2010)
  7. ↑[1], Consulted on December 18th, 2025.
  8. ↑Le Journal de Montréal French-language review of X and Y
  9. ↑https://qfq.com/spip.php?article99427
  10. ↑Official Languages Act (retrieved February 18, 2010)
  11. ↑Big Fun Party Mix: Big Fun Party Mix: Amazon.ca: Music (retrieved February 18, 2010)
  12. ↑Canada's Pokémon Video Game Event - Nintendo.com (archived August 13, 2018; retrieved April 9, 2020)
  13. ↑Scott Ramsooair Biography @ AnimeCons.com (retrieved February 18, 2010)

Related articles

ThePokémon franchise around the world
Africa:South Africa
The Americas:Brazil •Canada •Latin America •United States
Asia:Hong Kong •Indonesia •Japan •mainland China •Malaysia •Philippines
Singapore •South Asia •South Korea •Thailand •Taiwan •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 ofProject Globe, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon franchise around the world.