The contents of this page have been suggested to be split into Pokémon the Series: The Beginning and Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver. Please discuss it onthe talk page for this page.

If you were looking for the series of thePokémon Trading Card Game, seePokémon Trading Card Game → Original Series.

Pokémon the Series: The Beginning andPokémon the Series: Gold and Silver, collectively referred to asPokémon (Japanese:ポケットモンスターPocket Monsters), asPokémon the Series: The Beginning in Asia,^[1] as (Korean:오리지널 시리즈original series) inSouth Korea,^[2][3] and by fans as theoriginal series (Japanese:無印編(むじるしへん)unnamed saga), are the firstseries of thePokémon animated series in Asia (including Japan) and the first and second series ofPokémon the Series in the West. The series is based on the events of thecore seriesGeneration I andIIPokémon games, respectively. It was succeeded byPokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire. It ran from April 1, 1997 to November 14, 2002 in Japan and from September 7, 1998 to October 25, 2003 inthe United States. They were not given English names until after the release ofPokémon the Series: XY.

During the original series, rookieTrainerAsh Ketchum begins hisjourney in theKantoregion, leaving hishome ofPallet Town with the onlyfirst partner Pokémon thatProfessor Oak had left to give: a reluctant and moodyPikachu. Ash's quest begins in earnest to defeat all of theGym Leaders and get to thePokémon League as soon as he has gained Pikachu's trust, and he is joined by two mentors,Misty andBrock.

After competing in theIndigo Plateau Conference and not performing as well as he had hoped, Ash journeys to theOrange Islands to receive theGS Ball fromProfessor Ivy, as it cannot be transported to Professor Oak byPC. During his time there, Ash competes in another Pokémon League, theOrange League, and meets a newfriend namedTracey Sketchit. When Oak cannot figure out how to open the GS Ball on Ash's return to Pallet, the Professor sends Ash toJohto to give the specialPoké Ball toKurt. While there, Ash again competes in a Pokémon League, theSilver Conference.

Episodes in the original series are numbered withthe prefixEP onBulbapedia. For a complete episode listing, see thelist of original series episodes.

Blurb

It’s Ash Ketchum’s tenth birthday, and he’s ready to do what many 10-year-olds in the Kanto region set out to do—become a Pokémon Trainer! Things don’t go exactly the way he planned when he ends up with a Pikachu instead of a standard first Pokémon, and winning Gym Badges turns out to be much tougher than he thought. Luckily, he’s got former Gym Leaders Brock and Misty at his side, along with a bevy of new Pokémon friends, including Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander.

Arcs and seasons

In Japan, the original series is officially divided into three chapters; their titles were officially rendered in English inPocket Monsters Film Comic. These chapter titles are not used within the episodes themselves, but were retroactively titled as such in later releases, includingVHS and DVD releases. The Japanese logos were subsequently used on the official site from2002 to2020, though the color of the text underneath has changed over the course of several site redesigns. The 2020 site redesign replaced the individualEpisode: Orange Islands andEpisode: Gold & Silver logos with the generic logo.

The sale-only VHSGym Battle Complete Pack: Masara Town Arc, the rental-only VHSPocket Monsters TV Special: Masara Town Arc Recap, andpromotional material for theEpisode: Gold & Silver VHS and DVD release retroactively titled the first chapter asPocket Monsters:Masara Town Arc (ポケットモンスター マサラタウン編(へん)). In reruns onKids Station and on VOD services such asPrime Video andHulu,Mewtwo Returns is included as three special episodes betweenEP178 andEP179. These special episodes were not made availible on any other streaming services likeYouTube,Netflix, andTubi.

When the series wasdubbed into English and other languages, it was divided between fiveseasons. The titles for the first two seasons are not used within the episodes themselves, but were retroactively titled as such in later releases. On televised airings, Region 4 home video releases, and previously onPokémon TV, the last 12 episodes ofPokémon: Master Quest are counted as part ofPokémon: Advanced.Prime Video additionally divides it instead into two distinctseries:Pokémon the Series: The Beginning, consisting of theKanto andOrange Islands episodes; andPokémon the Series: Gold and Silver, consisting of theJohto episodes.

The following table summarizes the Japanese titles, the English titles, and theJapanese andEnglish opening themes used during the series. Seasons follow the digital release definition.

Japan				United States
Title	Opening theme	First episode		Title	Opening theme	First episode
Pocket Monsters	Aim to Be a Pokémon Master	EP001		Pokémon: Indigo League	Pokémon Theme	EP001
				Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands		EP052
Pocket Monsters Episode: Orange Islands	The Rivals	EP081			Pokémon World	EP084
Pocket Monsters Episode: Gold & Silver	OK!	EP117		Pokémon: The Johto Journeys	Pokémon Johto	EP117
	Aim to Be a Pokémon Master (Whiteberry Version)	EP192		Pokémon: Johto League Champions	Born to Be a Winner	EP158
	Ready Go!	EP239		Pokémon: Master Quest	Believe in Me	EP210

Movies

• Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back
• Pokémon the Movie 2000: The Power of One
• Pokémon 3: The Movie - Spell of the Unown: Entei
• Pokémon 4Ever - Celebi: The Voice of the Forest
• Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias

Home video releases

North American home video releases

• List of English language Indigo League home video releases (Region 1)
• List of English language Adventures in the Orange Islands home video releases (Region 1)
• List of English language The Johto Journeys home video releases (Region 1)
• List of English language Johto League Champions home video releases (Region 1)
• List of English language Master Quest home video releases (Region 1)

Australian home video releases

• List of English language Indigo League home video releases (Region 4)
• List of English language Adventures in the Orange Islands home video releases (Region 4)
• List of English language The Johto Journeys home video releases (Region 4)
• List of English language Johto League Champions home video releases (Region 4)
• List of English language Master Quest home video releases (Region 4)

Japanese home video releases

• List of Japanese language original series home video releases

Gallery

For more images, please seeartwork from the original series on theBulbagarden Archives.

Logos

• 
  Pokémon the Series: The Beginning logo
• 
  Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver logo

Posters

• 
  Japanese teaser poster
• 
  Japanese teaser poster
• 
  Japanese poster
• 
  Japanese poster
• 
  Episode: Gold & Silver poster
• 
  Pokémon Asia poster

Main characters

• 
  Ash Ketchum
• 
  Pikachu
• 
  Misty
• 
  Brock
• 
  Tracey Sketchit
• 
  Team Rocket

Rivals

• 
  Gary Oak
• 
  Ritchie

Supporting characters

• 
  Professor Oak
• 
  Nurse Joy
• 
  Officer Jenny

Trivia

• Originally, thisseries was meant to last for a year and a half, approximately as long as theKanto saga would have lasted, had theEP038 incident not happened.
• This is the only series ofPokémon the Series in whichAsh'sjourney is based on two differentgenerations of thecore seriesPokémon games, being based on bothGenerations I andII.
  • This is also the only series ofPokémon the Series where Ash places in the Top 16 of aPokémon League Conference, his lowest placing to date.
• This is the only series in which:
  • All of itsdub seasons are dubbed by4Kids Entertainment.
  • Episodes are animated traditionally or by using cels.
  • No CG animation is used outside ofmovies.
  • NoMythical Pokémon appear outside of movies, although there werelater-scrapped plans for aCelebi to appear during theJohto saga.
  • At least one movie does not feature any Mythical Pokémon at all.
• At 274 episodes, this is theanimated series's longest series.
  • This series also features:
    • the most movies and dub seasons, with five each.
    • the mostbanned episodes, with a total of seven.
    • the mostPokémon from an upcoming generation.
    • the mostcharacters of the day, withPokémon the Series: Gold and Silver still at the top if counted separately.
• The first 40 episodes were originally aired insyndication in the United States in 1998 before moving toKids' WB in 1999 for the remaining 12 episodes ofPokémon: Indigo League.
• Throughout the English dub version ofPokémon the Series: Gold and Silver, thenarrator refers to the group as being "On the road to Johto". Though it would be more correct to say "On the roadthrough Johto", he could have just been referring to the Johto League.
• The name of the Kantoregion is never mentioned in this series.
• In thePokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl episodeA Marathon Rivalry!, Ash andBrock mention having heard ofPokéathlon during their travels in Johto, despite the competition only being introduced inGeneration IV and consequently never shown duringPokémon the Series: Gold and Silver.
• ExcludingPrimeape, all the Pokémon Ash catches inPokémon the Series: The Beginning would later go on to gain aMega Evolution, aregional form, and/or aGigantamax form for their current or later stages.

In other languages

References

External links

• Pokémon the Series: The Beginning PV
• TV Tokyo (Japanese)

Related articles

This article is part ofProject Anime, aBulbapedia project that covers all aspects ofPokémon animation.

• Candidates for splitting
• Series of the Pokémon animated series