Summary:

Will is the 3rd opening theme for the Pocket Monsters 2023 anime and it is the first original Japanese song by Korean 6-member girl group IVE. Will is the first Japanese Pokémon theme to be dubbed into Korean.


"Will" is IVE's very first anime tie-in song, and is a song themed around friendship and adventure, filled with a sparkling feel similar to that of Pocket Monsters. Japanese member Rei said with great joy that she's been very close to this anime ever since she was little, so she was extremely happy to hear they were doing an opening theme for it, and that all the members were really excited about it.

Wonyoung was visibly moved as she talked about how very happy and honored to get to sing the opening theme for an anime as extremely famous as Pocket Monsters, which she's a big fan of herself as well, having loved Pikachu since childhood and having wanted to live with Pokémon in real life back then.


A new trailer that shows what to expect from the beginning of the new chapter "Terastal Debut" was released on March 29th, 2024, where you can hear part of IVE's "Will". The full song was released on April 1th, 2024 on the official IVE YouTube channel.

Variants:

Variant 1: PM2023 46 to PM2023 52
Variant 2: Roy's Taikaiden replaces Roy's Kaiden - PM2023 53


Variant 3: Liko's Tebrim replaces Liko's Mibrim - PM2023 54 to PM2023 59


Variant 4: Dot's Welkamo replaces Dot's Kuwassu - PM2023 60 to PM2023 67

YouTube Clip - Pocket Monsters Anime Terastal Debut Starts in Friday, April 12th, 2024

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShQdAO_1aa0

YouTube Clip - IVE - Will

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwy3f3GZ_UA

Official Concept Art:

On April 5th, 2024, the official Japanese Anime PR Twitter account posted a tweet with this artwork piece featuring Liko, Roy and Dot. The tweet said: Only 7 days remain until the new Pokémon anime opening! We'll be presenting key frames from the new opening for the new chapter Terastal Debut! Today we'll show you a scene featuring Liko, Roy and Dot! Their eyes are shining with an honest look.


On April 6th, 2024, the official Japanese Anime PR Twitter account posted a tweet with this artwork piece featuring Liko. The tweet said: Only 6 days remain until the new Pokémon anime opening! We'll be presenting key frames from the new opening for the new chapter Terastal Debut! Today we'll show you a scene featuring Liko in her Sekiei Academy uniform, smiling brightly


On April 7th, 2024, the official Japanese Anime PR Twitter account posted a tweet with this artwork piece featuring Roy. The tweet said: Only 5 days remain until the new Pokémon anime opening! We'll be presenting key frames from the new opening for the new chapter Terastal Debut! Today we'll show you a scene featuring Roy. The Orange Academy uniform looks really good on him, don't you think?


On April 8th, 2024, the official Japanese Anime PR Twitter account posted a tweet with this artwork piece featuring Dot. The tweet said: Only 4 days remain until the new Pokémon anime opening! We'll be presenting key frames from the new opening for the new chapter Terastal Debut! Today we'll show you a scene featuring Dot, where you can catch the tiniest glimpse of her bright smiling eyes!


On April 9th, 2024, the official Japanese Anime PR Twitter account posted a tweet with this artwork piece featuring Captain Pikachu giving a thumbs up. The tweet said: Only 3 days remain until the new Pokémon anime opening! We'll be presenting key frames from the new opening for the new chapter Terastal Debut! Today we'll show you a scene featuring Captain Pikachu. As you'd expect, it has a dependable look on its face!


On April 10th, 2024, the official Japanese Anime PR Twitter account posted a tweet with this artwork piece featuring Liko, Roy and Dot lying on the ground. The tweet said: Only 2 days remain until the new Pokémon anime opening! We'll be presenting key frames from the new opening for the new chapter Terastal Debut! Today we'll show you a scene featuring Liko, Roy and Dot. Pay attention to their continuous growth!


On April 11th, 2024, the official Japanese Anime PR Twitter account posted a tweet with this artwork piece. The tweet said: The new Pokémon anime opening finally premieres tomorrow! We'll be presenting key frames from the new opening for the new chapter Terastal Debut! Today we'll show you a scene featuring Liko. Check out how she looks as she Terastallizes!

Comments from IVE:

Yujin:
I'm very honored and very happy to be singing the opening theme for the Pocket Monsters anime. This is a very fun song, so I had fun recording it as well. My favorite Pokémon is Eievui, and I always keep an Eievui plushie I got from Rei in my room. I want all you viewers to listen to "Will" as soon as you can, and I'm truly grateful for all the constant support we've been getting.

Gaeul:
I've been a huge fan of Pokémon since I was a child, so I'm really happy I get to sing one of its opening themes. Pokémon is of course a famous anime everyone in Japan knows, and this is also the case in Korea, so I was really honored to get this assignment and knew I had to do my absolute best. There was a huge Pocket Monsters card game craze back when was in elementary school, so I played that a lot with my cousins, and also collected cute Pokémon menko in all kinds of colors. I sang this song with all my might in order to fill it with the kind of cheerfulness and energy that's so unique to the Pocket Monsters anime, so please look forward to it!

Rei:
I've been very close to this anime ever since she was little, so I was extremely happy to hear we were doing an opening theme for it. All the members were really excited about it, and couldn't believe they were actually doing the opening theme (smile). When I was little, I would always be sitting in front of the TV on the days the anime was airing, looking forward to learning what kind of adventure we'd be getting that day (smile). I'd be really happy if I could share all the dreams, courage and sparkling memories I gained from watching the anime back then with you all. Please look forward to seeing IVE alongside Pokémon.

Wonyoung:
I'm very happy and honored to get to sing the opening theme for an anime as extremely famous as Pocket Monsters, which I'm a big fan of myself as well. I've loved Pikachu since childhood and wanted to live with Pokémon in real life back then, so I'm very happy to get to sing the opening theme. We'll be singing a cheerful song that will make you happy as you watch the show!

Liz:
I've enjoyed the anime ever since I was a child, and also played the video games a lot and collected a ton of Pokémon cards, menko and plushies together with my little brother, so I was extremely honored when I learned we were singing the opening theme. It made me so excited and happy I can't even put it in words. Since I was so excited about this song, I did my absolute best when recording it as well! I hope you guys are all excited for it as well, and would be really happy if you'd root for us a lot!

Leeseo:
It was like a dream come true to learn we were getting to sing this song. We've been graced with the wonderful opportunity it is to get to sing an anime opening theme, so I really wanted to do a good job with it. I regularly have fun collecting the "Decochara seal" stickers that come with Pokémon Pan pastry, and would put the stickers featuring my favorite Pokémon on my cell phone. I did my absolute utmost singing "Will", so it'd make me happy if lots of people liked it.

Episodes: