Pokémon the Series

Early anime frame from EP093

The Pokémon anime, often referred to as just "the anime" by Pokémon fans, is a collective term referring to currently 1,264 main series episodes, 23 movies, and a number of side stories, all focusing on Pokémon. The great majority of these focus on Ash Ketchum, a Pokémon Trainer from Pallet Town, and his journey toward his ultimate goal of being a Pokémon Master, his many friends, and most especially his Pokémon, whom he considers his partners and friends.

Though the anime is ultimately based upon the games and draws heavily from them, many concepts which are only touched on the games are spun in a unique way, and expanded on.

The anime has aired in 169 different countries and regions in over 30 languages. It is available on Netflix in 217 countries with different dubs and subtitles, and all countries except Japan and South Korea have at least English audio. The Pokémon Company International usually refers to the anime as the "Pokémon animated series" or "Pokémon television series", while some event Pokémon based on Pokémon from the anime have their location set as "the Pokémon cartoon" in the English version of the games. It is also referred to formally as Pokémon the Series (Japanese: テレビアニメ「ポケットモンスター」シリーズ TV Anime "Pocket Monsters" Series).

Overview

From the first episode, Ash has been the central character, making his goal of becoming a Pokémon Master known to all he meets. Though initially, he only became a Pokémon Trainer with the goal of beating his rival, Gary Oak, the many Pokémon Ash has met over his journey have shown him what being a Pokémon Master really is. Unlike most Trainers from Pallet, and indeed, unlike players of Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Ash did not start his journey with Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle, as he arrived late to Professor Oak's lab to receive his starter Pokémon. Instead, Ash was given the only Pokémon Oak had left to give, a Pikachu that did not enjoy being inside his Poké Ball, and from there Ash learned to treat his Pokémon as partners, earning Pikachu's trust by keeping him safe from a flock of Spearow he angered.

Since then, Ash has journeyed across all seven of the regions that appear in the core series Pokémon games, as well as the Orange Archipelago, a region he visited before beginning his journey in Johto until it was closer in time to the real-world release of Pokémon Gold and Silver. In the regions outside of Galar, he battles against the local Gym Leaders for their Badges, as do Trainers in the core series games, to compete in the regional Pokémon League, a championship tournament, rather than five battles straight against the Elite Four and Champion. While his initial strategy was to continue using the same party over the course of his journey, letting some Pokémon go when they were required to do something or wanted to train, he has, since his journey in Hoenn, changed strategy, and now uses only those Pokémon which he has caught in the region, alongside Pikachu, to battle against Gym Leaders, with his explanation to Dawn being that he wants to prove to the young, unevolved Pokémon he meets in each new region that they can win if they try.

Over the course of the series, Ash has had several friends who travel with him, typically across one region, who assist him in his journey as much as he assists in theirs. Misty, the Gym Leader from Cerulean City in the games, joins him in the original series, as does Brock, Pewter City's Gym Leader, in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Tracey Sketchit, an amateur Pokémon watcher, joins Ash during his Orange Archipelago journey, but leaves him on Ash's return to Pallet to become an assistant to Professor Oak, his hero. May and Dawn, rookie Coordinators, join Ash for the duration of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire and Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, respectively; in these he mentors them much as Brock and Misty did him, while Max, May's brother, who is too young to own Pokémon, looks up to Ash for the duration of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire. Iris and Cilan travel with Ash in Pokémon the Series: Black & White. Inventor Clemont, his sister Bonnie, and Ash's childhood friend Serena travel with Ash in Pokémon the Series: XY. Like Max, Bonnie is too young to own Pokémon, but cares for her brother's Dedenne. In Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, Ash attends the Pokémon School instead of traveling around the Alola region. As such, his new friends—Lillie, Mallow, Kiawe, Lana, and Sophocles—are not traveling companions but classmates. In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Ash's sole new traveling companion is Goh, a Trainer who aims to catch every Pokémon species in the world, with his ultimate goal being to catch the Mythical Pokémon Mew.

The anime is produced in Japan by OLM in association with ShoPro and JR Kikaku and airs on TV Tokyo nearly every week, with the exception of a four-month hiatus after the Porygon incident and a seven-week hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Until the Porygon incident, the show aired every Tuesday at 7 PM. The show returned afterwards at the same time on Thursdays. From April 7, 2016, to September 13, 2018, it instead began five minutes earlier at 6:55 PM on Thursdays. Since October 7, 2018, the show airs each Sunday at 6 PM. Many fans consider the dialogue and events mentioned in the Japanese version to be the "true canon", while the various dubs are regarded to be overridden if something stated in them differs from something said in a Japanese episode.

In Japan, the anime is divided into seven series: Pocket Monsters, Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation, Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl, Pocket Monsters Best Wishes, Pocket Monsters XY, Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon, and Pocket Monsters. Outside of it, it has been divided into eight series: Pokémon the Series: The Beginning, Pokémon the Series: Gold & Silver, Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, Pokémon the Series: Black & White, Pokémon the Series: XY, Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon, and Pokémon Journeys: The Series. The episodes are also further divided into seasons spanning roughly 52 episodes, and currently numbering -1. This concept of a television season was first embraced by the Japanese source with the inclusion of an explicitly second season to Best Wishes.

The show is mainly aimed at children, and as such, mature topics such as death are not often brought up, though sometimes they appear in some episodes, and most notably in movies. Many Pokémon that are implied to be violent or sinister in the games are also made to be less aggressive. There are generally some references meant for adults, though these are kept to a minimum especially outside of Japan.

Television series

Original series

Japan				United States
Season	Theme song	First episode		Season	Theme song	First episode
Pocket Monsters	Aim to Be a Pokémon Master	EP001		Indigo League	Pokémon Theme	EP001
Pocket Monsters: Episode Orange Archipelago	The Rivals	EP081		Adventures in the Orange Islands	Pokémon World	EP081
Pocket Monsters: Episode Gold & Silver	OK!	EP117		The Johto Journeys	Pokémon Johto	EP117
	Aim to Be a Pokémon Master	EP192		Johto League Champions	Born to Be a Winner	EP158
	Ready Go!	EP239		Master Quest	Believe in Me	EP210

Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

Japan				United States
Season	Theme song	First episode		Season	Theme song	First episode
Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation	Advance Adventure	AG001		Advanced	I Wanna Be a Hero	AG001
	Challenger!!	AG070		Advanced Challenge	This Dream	AG041
	Pokémon Symphonic Medley	AG105		Advanced Battle	Unbeatable	AG093
	Battle Frontier	AG135
	Spurt!	AG166		Battle Frontier	Battle Frontier	AG146

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

Japan				United States
Season	Theme song	First episode		Season	Theme song	First episode
Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl	Together	DP001		Diamond and Pearl	Diamond and Pearl	DP001
				Battle Dimension	We Will Be Heroes	DP053
	High Touch!	DP096		Galactic Battles	Battle Cry - (Stand Up!)	DP105
	The Greatest - Everyday!	DP158		Sinnoh League Victors	We Will Carry On!	DP158

Pokémon the Series: Black & White

Japan				United States
Season	Theme song	First episode		Season	Theme song	First episode
Pocket Monsters Best Wishes!	Best Wishes!	BW001		Black & White	Black and White	BW001
Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! Season 2	Be an Arrow!	BW085		Rival Destinies	Rival Destinies	BW049
Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! Season 2: Episode N	Be an Arrow! 2013	BW109		Adventures in Unova	It's Always You and Me	BW098
Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! Season 2: Decolora Adventure	Summerly Slope	BW123		Adventures in Unova and Beyond		BW123

Pokémon the Series: XY

Japan				United States
Season	Theme song	First episode		Season	Theme song	First episode
Pocket Monsters XY	V (Volt)	XY001		Pokémon the Series: XY	Pokémon Theme	XY001
	Mega V (Mega Volt)	XY029
	Mad-Paced Getter	XY055		Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest	Be a Hero	XY050
Pocket Monsters XY&Z	XY&Z	XY094		Pokémon the Series: XYZ	Stand Tall	XY094

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

Japan				United States
Season	Theme song	First episode		Season	Theme song	First episode
Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon	Alola!!	SM001		Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon	Under The Alolan Sun	SM001
	Aim to Be a Pokémon Master	SM030
	Future Connection	SM061		Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon—Ultra Adventures	Under The Alolan Moon	SM044
	Your Adventure	SM091		Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon—Ultra Legends	The Challenge of Life	SM093

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Japan				United States
Season	Theme song	First episode		Season	Theme song	First episode
Pocket Monsters	One, Two, Three	JN001		Pokémon Journeys: The Series	The Journey Starts Today	JN001

Side stories

Japanese name	Japanese run	English name	English run
Pocket Monsters Side Stories	December 3, 2002 — September 28, 2004	Pokémon Chronicles	June 3, 2006 — September 30, 2006

Movies

Main article: Pokémon movie

Since 1998 in Japan, and since 1999 in the US, a Pokémon movie has been released annually, most often focusing on a Legendary or Mythical Pokémon. These films are almost always a large success in Japan, and remain at least somewhat successful in the United States and other countries, having been aired on television as a special since the ninth movie, with the first five movies receiving wide releases and later films occasionally receiving limited releases.

The movies are not considered by all people to be canon to the show, with some preferring to think of them occurring in an alternate timeline. This theory comes from the fact that Ash and his friends do not seem to be profoundly affected in the show by the events of the movies, which tend to have a lot of peril and drama. Others, however, see the movies as being akin to filler episodes, as none of their parties change, and no Gym Leaders are defeated nor Pokémon Contests won. This is presumably the correct interpretation, as not only have most of the events of the movies been referenced at least peripherally in the show, but also, several of the events of even major episodes have been forgotten by the writers of later episodes.

Original series

Japan		Pikachu Project	US
Japanese title	Release date		English title	Release date
ミュウツーの逆襲 Mewtwo's Counterattack	July 18, 1998	Pikachu Project 1998	Mewtwo Strikes Back	November 12, 1999
幻のポケモン　ルギア爆誕 Phantom Pokémon: Lugia's Explosive Birth	July 17, 1999	Pikachu Project 1999	The Power of One	July 21, 2000
結晶塔の帝王爆誕 Emperor of the Crystal Tower: Entei	July 8, 2000	Pikachu Project 2000	Spell of the Unown: Entei	April 6, 2001
セレビィ時を超えた遭遇 Celebi: An Encounter Through Time	July 7, 2001	Pikachu Project 2001	Celebi: The Voice of the Forest	October 11, 2002
水の都の護神 ラティアスとラティオス Guardian Gods of the City of Water: Latias and Latios	July 13, 2002	Pikachu Project 2002	Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias	May 16, 2003

Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

Japan		Pikachu Project	US
Japanese title	Release date		English title	Release date
七夜の願い星 ジラーチ Wishing Star of the Seven Nights: Jirachi	July 19, 2003	Pikachu Project 2003	Jirachi: Wish Maker	June 1, 2004
裂空の訪問者 デオキシス Sky-Splitting Visitor: Deoxys	July 17, 2004	Pikachu Project 2004	Destiny Deoxys	January 22, 2005
ミュウと波導の勇者 ルカリオ Mew and the Wave-Guiding Hero: Lucario	July 16, 2005	Pikachu Project 2005	Lucario and the Mystery of Mew	September 19, 2006
ポケモンレンジャーと蒼海の王子 マナフィ Pokémon Ranger and the Prince of the Sea: Manaphy	July 15, 2006	Pikachu Project 2006	Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea	March 23, 2007

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

Japan		Pikachu Project	US
Japanese title	Release date		English title	Release date
ディアルガVSパルキアVSダークライ Dialga VS Palkia VS Darkrai	July 14, 2007	Pikachu Project 2007	The Rise of Darkrai	February 24, 2008
ギラティナと氷空の花束 シェイミ Giratina and the Sky's Bouquet: Shaymin	July 19, 2008	Pikachu Project 2008	Giratina and the Sky Warrior	March 31, 2009
アルセウス 超克の時空へ Arceus: To a Conquering Spacetime	July 18, 2009	Pikachu Project 2009	Arceus and the Jewel of Life	November 20, 2009
幻影の覇者ゾロアーク Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark	July 10, 2010	Pikachu Project 2010	Zoroark: Master of Illusions	February 5, 2011

Pokémon the Series: Black & White

Japan		Pikachu Project	US
Japanese title	Release date		English title	Release date
ビクティニと黒き英雄ゼクロム Victini and the Black Hero: Zekrom	July 16, 2011	Pikachu Project 2011	White—Victini and Zekrom	December 3, 2011
ビクティニと白き英雄レシラム Victini and the White Hero: Reshiram			Black—Victini and Reshiram	December 10, 2011
キュレムVS聖剣士ケルディオ Kyurem VS the Sacred Swordsman: Keldeo	July 14, 2012	Pikachu Project 2012	Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice	December 8, 2012
神速のゲノセクト ミュウツー覚醒 Extreme Speed Genesect: Mewtwo Awakens	July 13, 2013	Pikachu Project 2013	Genesect and the Legend Awakened	October 19, 2013

Pokémon the Series: XY

Japan		Pikachu Project	US
Japanese title	Release date		English title	Release date
破壊の繭とディアンシー The Cocoon of Destruction and Diancie	July 19, 2014	Pikachu Project 2014	Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction	November 8, 2014
光輪の超魔神 フーパ The Archdjinni of the Rings: Hoopa	July 18, 2015	Pikachu Project 2015	Hoopa and the Clash of Ages	December 19, 2015
ボルケニオンと機巧のマギアナ Volcanion and the Mechanical Magearna	July 16, 2016	Pikachu Project 2016	Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel	December 5, 2016

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

Japan		Pikachu Project	US
Japanese title	Release date		English title	Release date
キミにきめた！ I Choose You!	July 15, 2017	Pikachu Project 2017	I Choose You!	November 5, 2017
みんなの物語 Everyone's Story	July 13, 2018	Pikachu Project 2018	The Power of Us	November 24, 2018
ミュウツーの逆襲 EVOLUTION Mewtwo's Counterattack Evolution	July 12, 2019	Pikachu Project 2019	Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution	February 27, 2020

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Japan		Pikachu Project	US
Japanese title	Release date		English title	Release date
ココ Koko	TBA	Pikachu Project 2020	TBA	TBA

Other anime series

As the franchise progressed, other animated features, set outside the main series' canon, have been produced. These are often made to promote a new generation or game.

Miniseries

Feature	Japanese run	English run
Pokémon Origins	October 2, 2013	November 15 - 22, 2013
Pokémon Generations	December 9, 2016 - February 2, 2017	September 16 - December 23, 2016
Pokémon: Twilight Wings	January 15 - August 6, 2020	January 15 - August 6, 2020

Mystery Dungeon episodes

Feature	Japanese debut	English debut
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate!	March 23, 2007	September 8, 2006
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness	September 9, 2007	September 1, 2008
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness	April 12, 2009	October 9, 2009

Animated trailers

Feature	Japanese debut	English debut
Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 Animated Trailer	May 17, 2012	August 8, 2012
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Animated Shorts	November 1, 2012	March 26, 2013
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Animated Trailer	November 16, 2014	November 20, 2014
Pokémon Masters Animated Trailer	June 27, 2019	June 27, 2019

Variety shows

These are Pokémon variety shows that air on Japanese television.

Japanese name	Run
ポケットモンスター アンコール Pocket Monsters Encore	October 19, 1999 — September 17, 2002
週刊ポケモン放送局 Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station	October 15, 2002 — September 28, 2004
ポケモン☆サンデー Pokémon Sunday	October 3, 2004 — September 26, 2010
ポケモンスマッシュ！ Pokémon Smash!	October 3, 2010 — September 29, 2013
ポケモンゲット☆TV Pokémon Get☆TV	October 6, 2013 — September 27, 2015
ポケモンの家あつまる？ Meet Up at the Pokémon House?	October 4, 2015 — present

Trivia

Serena drawn with fingernails

• Animator Masāki Iwane 岩根正明 once stated that the series was originally slated for a 1½-year run, which corresponds approximately to the length of the Kanto region saga (had it not been delayed due to the Porygon incident). Due to its popularity during the run, however, the show was extended and continues to be one of the longest running video game-based anime series.
• During the early episodes of the original series, Japanese text was seen quite frequently on signs and buildings as well as objects. This usually resulted in the English dubbed version (and thus, foreign dubs based on it) painting out the text or converting it to English.
  • During the Johto saga, the animators acknowledged the practice of painting out the Japanese text in the English dub. As a result, they used made-up symbols slightly similar to the Latin script instead of Japanese text, so it would be universal to all languages and would not have to be edited for the English localization.
  • During Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire and Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, the animators used a new style of symbols that appear to be blocky letters without a resemblance to any alphabet. However, most of these were still edited out for the English dub until Pokémon: Battle Frontier.
  • From Pokémon the Series: Black & White and onward, a full writing system was specifically created for the anime. This language consists of three different fonts: a font used for titles, big signboards, etc.; other font used as less remarkable text accompanying the title font; and other font used only occasionally as a minor text filler. Each font has 26 unique symbols, and each one of those symbols represents a letter from the modern Latin script.
    • This text usually has meanings, as the symbols converted from the Latin script are written as romanized Japanese; sometimes its meanings are related to the context in which it is used, but sometimes the text contains hidden messages, like mentioning Wobbuffet in a magazine seen in BW001.
    • This writing system would start being used occasionally in the games as part of the scenario, starting from Pokémon Sun and Moon.
• Fingernails are not consistently drawn on characters, with the exception of Pokémon the Series: XY. Some characters have fingernails in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon.

In other languages

Language Title European French Pokémon, la série German Pokémon – Die TV-Serie Italian Serie animata Pokémon European Spanish Serie de dibujos animados Pokémon

Related articles

• Staff of the Pokémon anime
• Timeline of events in the anime
• Differences between the games and anime

External links

• Pokémon TV Tokyo website (Japanese)
• Official Pokémon website (Japanese)
• Official Pokémon website (English)

On Bulbagarden forums

• Pokémon anime discussion forum

Series and seasons of the Pokémon animated series Original series (list) Indigo League • Adventures in the Orange Islands The Johto Journeys • Johto League Champions • Master Quest Ruby and Sapphire (list) Advanced • Advanced Challenge • Advanced Battle • Battle Frontier Diamond and Pearl (list) Diamond and Pearl • Battle Dimension • Galactic Battles • Sinnoh League Victors Black & White (list) Black & White • Rival Destinies • Adventures in Unova and Beyond XY (list) XY • Kalos Quest • XYZ (Mega Evolution Specials) Sun & Moon (list) Sun & Moon • Ultra Adventures‎ • Ultra Legends Journeys (list) Journeys • Master Journeys • Ultimate Journeys (The Arceus Chronicles) Horizons (list) Horizons Specials (list) Pikachu's Winter Vacation • Side Stories • Pokémon Chronicles Planetarium specials • Pikachu shorts Mewtwo Returns • The Legend of Thunder! • Pichu Bros. in Party Panic The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon • A Ripple in Time Complete list • Movies

This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.