Pokémon Delivers One of Its Top Anime Episodes in English After a Yearlong Wait

While the Pokémon Horizons series is currently the go-to monster-taming anime airing overseas and on Netflix in the U.S., the most beautifully animated and heartwarming Pokémon tales can actually be found elsewhere. The series’ YouTube channel showcases some truly remarkable limited series and short stories that pop up every year. One standout is the 15-minute short “Dragonite and the Special Delivery,” which debuted in February 2025 to celebrate the series’ 29th anniversary, though it was initially only available in Asian languages. That has changed now.

The English dub of “Dragonite and the Special Delivery” is now streaming on Pokémon’s YouTube channel. It follows a young girl named Hana, who is inspired by a Dragonite that delivers mail to the residents of Scarlet and Violet’s Paldea region. Hana dreams of working at the post office when she grows up. Starting off sorting mail, she takes the initiative to track down the sender of a mysterious letter that lacks an address, leading her and her Fuecoco on a journey that rekindles her passion for her future career.

This short is a delightful story filled with the emotional highs that many of Pokémon’s limited animated series are known for. Visually, it’s stunning, with one of my favorite scenes featuring Hana and her Pokémon friends soaring through various regions of the Pokémon world, offering plenty of nods to other settings, even if you’re not familiar with Paldea.

I’m a bit behind on Pokémon Horizons, but even if you’re not keeping up with the weekly episodes, I highly recommend exploring Pokémon’s limited animated series. There are some real treasures on that channel, like Pokémon Evolutions and Twilight Wings, which often explore the universe in a more relatable, human way, moving away from the competitive sport storylines that have dominated the anime for years. In “Dragonite and the Special Delivery,” we see many interactions between humans and Pokémon in everyday life, such as a Litwick using its flame to warm wax for sealing an envelope, and these small moments really enrich the world.