Pokemon X and Y is just around the corner, and the anime to go along with the mega-release is about to premiere on October 19!

With a few teasers and trailers, plus a handful of official promo images for the Pokemon X and Y anime, we have some new photos showcasing the characters of the Kalos region.

As fans can see in the photos above, the Pokemon X and Y anime includes several new characters, including gym leader Clemont, his sister Bonnie, and an old friend of Ash named Serena.

In addition, some familiar faces will also make their return in the Pokemon X and Y anime, including Giovanni and Team Rocket.

Check out some of the photos showcasing the characters of the anime above!

Meanwhile, Game Freak director Junichi Masuda has revealed to Digital Spy that the simultaneous worldwide release has taken seven years to realize and streamline.

"We knew we wanted to do this global, simultaneous release but we had to make some structural changes and we had to work with Nintendo and the Pokemon Company to really change how we localize the games," says Junichi.

"Originally we would have Japanese versions then localize in English, and then from English, we would localize into French, Italian, German, Spanish, all these other languages. What we decided to do was create a localization structure that we could localize directly from Japanese into all these different languages."

The process of hastening localization, according to Masuda, began around Diamond and Pearl, and in Pokemon X and Y, it has finally been achieved.

"Finally, with Pokemon X and Y, we got to point where we were efficient enough - we had the tools in place, the teams in place - to be able to finally release them all at the same time."