VIZ MEDIA PREVIEWS A PAIR OF NEW POKÉMON HOME MEDIA RELEASES TO START 2016

POKÉMON THE SERIES: XY Set 2 DVD Available Now And POKÉMON: THE MOVIES STEELBOOK BLU-RAY COLLECTION Debuts Next Month

San Francisco, CA, January 20, 2016 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, expands its POKÉMON catalog for anime fans as it announces a pair of new home media releases.

Inspired by the latest generation of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y video games, Pokémon THE SERIES: XY Set 2 is available now on DVD. POKÉMON: THE MOVIES 1-3 STEELBOOK BLU-RAY COLLECTION contains a trio of full-length POKÉMON feature films and will be available February 9^th. Both are rated ‘TV-Y7’ for viewers ages 7 and older.

POKÉMON THE SERIES: XY DVD SET 2 · MSRP: $26.95 U.S. / $31.98 CAN · Available Now

In the latest home media set inspired by the new generation of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y video games, Ash Ketchum and his friends venture ever deeper into the Kalos region! Ash takes to the skies in a wing suit in his first aerial battle, and the group explores exciting new areas like the majestic Kalos Canyon, the mysterious Cave of Mirrors, and Professor Sycamore’s Pokémon summer camp. Meanwhile, Miette and Serena’s rivalry over Ash heats up, and Team Rocket flummoxes everyone with clever disguises and Pokémon-nabbing schemes! And of course, everyone’s after the secrets of Mega Evolution—but will anyone get a handle on its consequences? The new set contains 3 discs featuring 24 episodes (25-48), presented with dubbed English dialogue.

POKÉMON: The MOVIEs 1-3 Steelbook BLU-RAY COLLECTION · MSRP: $39.99 U.S. / $46.99 CAN · Available February 9^th     

A special 3-disc Steelbook set featuring three complete POKÉMON feature films— POKÉMON: THE FIRST MOVIE, POKÉMON THE MOVIE 2000, and POKÉMON 3: THE MOVIE. Films are each presented with dubbed English dialogue.

In POKÉMON: THE FIRST MOVIE, the adventure explodes into action with the debut of Mewtwo, a bio-engineered Pokémon created from the DNA of Mew, the rarest of all Pokémon. After escaping from the lab where it was created, Mewtwo is determined to prove its own superiority. It lures a number of talented Trainers into a Pokémon battle like never before—and of course, Ash and his friends are happy to accept the challenge!

In POKÉMON THE MOVIE 2000, just one person can make a difference… In the Orange Islands far south of Kanto, a Trainer named Lawrence is on a sinister quest: catching the Legendary Pokémon Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres in an attempt to awaken Lugia, guardian of the sea! When Ash and friends arrive, the islanders ask him to gather three elemental orbs from different islands. As the weather across the world goes out of control, it becomes clear that the capture of the legendary trio has thrown the environment out of balance! With Lugia’s help, can Ash find the orbs, restore the balance, and be the “chosen one” that everyone turns to?

In POKÉMON 3: THE MOVIE, a crystal catastrophe is unleashed upon Greenfield, and Ash, Pikachu, and friends must figure out how to undo the damage to the once-beautiful town. But the unthinkable happens when Ash’s mother is kidnapped by the powerful Entei, a Pokémon thought to have existed only in legend. Now Ash must go to her rescue, uncertain of what he’ll uncover when he unlocks the real secret power behind the unbelievable turn of events: a young girl whose dream world is being turned into a nightmarish reality by the mysterious and unstoppable Unown! 

POKÉMON is one of the most successful international entertainment franchises of all time. More than 275 million POKÉMON video game titles and over 21.5 billion Pokémon Trading Cards have been sold in more than 74 countries in addition to substantial publishing and merchandise sales. VIZ Media is the official North American distributor for a wide variety of POKÉMON home media releases including animated series and films and also publishes a variety of POKÉMON manga graphic novel series including POKÉMON ADVENTURES X•Y, POKÉMON ADVENTURES, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: DIAMOND AND PEARL, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: HEART/GOLD & SOUL/SILVER, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: BLACK & WHITE.

For more information on other Pokémon manga and anime titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and ONE PIECE, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family- friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

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