What happens when one of the world’s most recognisable Pokémon characters meets one of Indonesia’s most treasured cultural traditions? The answer is Poke Wayang, a new collaboration bringing Pokémon characters into the world of Indonesian wayang.
Introduced in Jakarta on 14 September 2026, the project brings together The Pokémon Company, the Indonesian government and local cultural stakeholders. The collaboration aims to introduce wayang to new audiences while giving a globally recognised entertainment property a distinctly Indonesian twist.
What Is Poke Wayang?
Poké Wayang is a performance project that combines the visual language and storytelling traditions of wayang with characters from the Pokémon universe, including Pikachu.
Rather than replacing traditional wayang characters with Pokémon, the project creates a new performance featuring familiar Pokémon characters within a wayang-inspired format. The story follows Pikachu and other Pokémon characters, while incorporating themes such as friendship, teamwork and helping one another.
The project is also supported by Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Creative Economy, alongside The Pokemon Company and the National Secretariat of Indonesian Wayang. The Indonesian government has welcomed the collaboration as a way to help introduce the country’s cultural heritage to younger audiences and international communities.
One of the most interesting elements of Poke Wayang is the way Pokemon is being presented through Indonesian artistic traditions.
The performance incorporates traditional gamelan instruments, with Pokemon music rearranged to work with the sounds of Indonesian traditional music. This creates a mix of familiar Pokémon melodies and the distinctive sound of gamelan.
The collaboration also highlights the versatility of wayang itself. Indonesia has numerous forms of wayang, including Javanese wayang kulit, wayang Suket and wayang Sasak from Lombok. Wayang was recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.
When Will Poke Wayang Debut?
Poke Wayang is scheduled to make its first public performance during the World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) in Jakarta in October 2026. Government sources have said the event will take place from 21 to 23 October, with the Pokemon wayang performance planned during the conference.
Following its debut, the performance is also planned to visit primary schools in Indonesia as part of an educational tour. The idea is to use Pokémon as a familiar entry point for children to discover wayang and Indonesian cultural heritage.
For The Pokemon Company, the project is also part of its wider plans for Indonesia in 2026 and 2027. The company has noted growing interest in Pokemon among Indonesian fans, covering areas such as games and anime.
For Indonesia, meanwhile, Poke Wayang offers another example of how traditional culture can be presented through contemporary popular culture. By putting Pikachu on the wayang stage, the project hopes to make an age-old Indonesian art form feel more familiar to a new generation while introducing it to Pokémon fans around the world.
