Long-awaited reunion between the Pokémon anime’s original trio of friends is finally happening.

Ash, or Satoshi, as he’s called in Japan, is clearly the protagonist of the Pokémon anime franchise, as no matter where the long-running story goes, he’s always in the center of the action. However, the Pokémon TV series pretty quickly sets him up with two travelling companions, as Ash meets Misty/Kasumi before the first episode is even over, and they encounter Brock/Takeshi in episode five.

But while Ash’s journey still continues on a weekly basis in the currently airing Pokémon Sun and Moon arc of the anime, it’s been a long time since viewers have seen Brock or Misty. Ash parted ways with the other members of the series’ initial core cast several seasons ago, and while Brock and Misty have made cameos and shown up sporadically in flashbacks, neither one has been seen on-screen since the start of the Pokémon XY arc, something that happened in 2013, almost 200 episodes ago. The pair were even scrubbed from the retelling of Ash’s Pokémon Trainer origin story in this summer’s I Choose You theatrical feature.

That’s about to change, though, as a promotional announcement retweeted by Japanese Twitter user @karubiimunomono reveals that Brock and Misty will be appearing in episodes of Pokémon Sun and Moon scheduled to air next month!

https://twitter.com/karubiimunomono/status/902051056112197633

Like the video games of the same name, the Pokémon Sun and Moon anime is set in the Hawaii-like Alola Region. As part of an extracurricular activity, though, Ash returns home to the Kanto Region, where he reconnects with his old pals. The announcement promises glimpses of Brock’s Mega Steelix and Misty’s Mega Gyarados in action, as well as Kanto and Alola versions of overlapping Pocket Monster species meeting each other for the first time.

Unfortunately for old-school fans, the announcement specifically mentions that these stories will be taking place during Pokémon Sun and Moon’s September 14 and 21 episodes, and so it doesn’t sound like the gang will once again be heading out on the road for another years-long journey together. Still, it’ll be good to see Brock and Misty again…unless you just can’t stand the new arc’s character designs.

Source: Twitter/@karubiimunomono via Otakomu