On October 3th, 2004, TV-Tokyo debuted a program called Pokémon Sunday (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ポケモン☆サンデー). The show, which airs on TV-Tokyo Sundays at 8:00am, is the successor to the Pocket Monsters Encore and Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station (Shuukan Pokemon Housoukyoku) series that preceded it. Like the shows before it, Pokémon Sunday is a sort of variety show featuring reruns of old episodes as well as a number of 'Research' episodes involving live-action elements.

Unlike the Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station, the live action episodes of Pokémon Sunday actually have a sort of common structure among them. Pokemon Sunday features a group of people called the Pokémon Research Team. During each non-rerun episode, the team goes out and investigates questions submitted to them through the show's website.

Pokémon Sunday was also used to help promote PokéPark 2005 in Japan. The second Pokémon Sunday opening has similar rides in the background to rides at PokéPark and Becky's Hello! Thank you! is blatant advertising with lyrics stating "HAPPY COMECOME POKéPARK".

Opening animations

Synopsis

The original opening animation was about 24 seconds long and only lasted a few episodes. It featured Ash throwing a Poké Ball which would then transition into two film strips showing episode clips. Pikachu stands on the horizontal film strip with pom-poms and acts like a cheerleader. Plusle and Minun then replace the cheerleading Pikachu. It then transitions to clouds and the Pokémon Sunday logo.

The Second opening was a lot more elaborate and completely done in CGI. It was slightly longer then the original opening, clocking in at approximately 26 seconds. It starts off with the announcer shouting, "Are you ready?" and what looks to be the Kanto region in the background. The Pichu Brothers Rascal Railway PokéPark locomotive crosses the screen and it then transitions to a Pikachu ride with one of the positions as a car. Pikachu, Wobbuffet and Treecko are in the car which motors off the screen and then transitions to another ride. A ferriswheel and three hot-air balloons featuring Skitty, Mudkip and Pichu are shown while the train reappears and crosses the screen again. Finally, it transitions to clouds and the Pokémon Sunday logo.

The third variant of the Pokémon Sunday intro debuted in EP053. It starts off with a crowd shouting, "Let's Go!" and then the announcer stating that Pokémon Sunday is about to begin. This is the shortest intro ever used for any Pokémon related television show and only lasts 8 seconds. It is a mix of traditional animation and CGI. A bunch of Pokémon are standing on balloons in the sky and are dancing and cheering. The Pokémon Sunday logo appears and quickly transitions to the title card or research episode. The shortened intro was introduced to allow for more research content and more preview/commericals at the end of the show. A title card is shown twice in the later Pokémon Sunday anime rerun episodes, one introduced by the Pokémon Sunday announcer and the standard episode title card usually announced by Ash.

Characters

Human

• Ash Ketchum

Live Action

Pokémon Live Action

• Wobbuffet
• Treecko

Original Opening

• Pikachu
• Plusle
• Minun

Second Opening

• Wobbuffet
• Treecko
• Charmander
• Bulbasaur
• Meowth
• Totodile
• Treecko
• Torchic
• Squirtle
• Loudred
• Chikorita
• Ludicolo
• Whismur
• Skitty
• Pichu

Third Opening

Trivia

• The structure of the Research episodes:
  1. Opening theme
  2. Part A
  3. Sponsor listing & commercials
  4. Part B
  5. Ending theme
  6. Next Pokemon Sunday episode teaser
  7. Next AG episode preview
  8. Pokémon Trivia Quiz question
  9. Pokémon Trivia Quiz answer
  10. Sponsor listing & commercials

• The structure of the anime reruns episodes:
  1. Opening theme
  2. Title Card (Pokémon Sunday Title Card introduced in later episodes)
  3. Anime Episode Part A
  4. Title Card
  5. Sponsor listing & commercials
  6. Anime Episode Part B
  7. Pokémon Trivia Quiz question
  8. Next Pokemon Sunday episode teaser
  9. Next AG episode preview
  10. Next reseach episode teaser
  11. Ending theme
  12. Pokémon Trivia Quiz answer
  13. Sponsor listing & commercials

Closing animations

Variants