Pokémon the Series

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The English logo forPokémon the Series

Pokémon the Series is ananimatedTV series that follows the adventures ofAsh Ketchum, aPokémon Trainer fromPallet Town, and his journey toward his ultimate goal of being aPokémon Master; as well ashis many friends, and most especiallyhis Pokémon, whom he considers his partners and friends. Though it is ultimately based upon thegames and draws heavily from them, many concepts which are only touched on in the games are spun in a unique way, and expanded on. It is the first animated series within the greaterPokémon animated series, and it is succeeded byPokémon Horizons: The Series.

The series is referred to informally in the West as theAshime orAshnime, a portmanteau of "Ash" and "anime".

In the West, it consists of 1,224 episodes across 25seasons, and has spawned a number ofmovies andspecials. It premiered on September 7, 1998 with the broadcast ofBattle Aboard the St. Anne insyndication inthe United States, and concluded on July 29, 2023 with the broadcast ofDistant Blue Sky! on Cartoon Network inCanada (later released on September 8, 2023 onNetflix in the United States).[1] In Asia (including Japan),Pokémon the Series corresponds to the first sevenseries of the Pokémon animated TV series (withThe Beginning andGold and Silver being combined as one series), which originally aired onTV Tokyo from April 1, 1997 to March 24, 2023.

Terminology

In the United States, the TV show was initially shown under the titlePokémon. The termPokémon the Series was not introduced until 2013, with the debut ofPokémon the Series: XY. WhilePokémon the Series was initially synonymous with the Pokémon animated series as a whole, they have diverged since the release ofPokémon Horizons: The Series.The Pokémon Company International considersPokémon Horizons: The Series to be a separate animated series, and definesPokémon the Series as the preceding animated series consisting of the 25 seasons featuring Ash and Pikachu; both of these animated series are still part of the Pokémon animated series, however.[2][3][4]

In Asia (including Japan), there is no official term that corresponds to the termPokémon the Series as used by TPCi. Instead,Pokémon Horizons: The Series is treated as merely the eighth series of the Pokémon animated series.

Plot

Ash and Pikachu

From thefirst 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 hisjourney have shown him what being a Pokémon Master really is. Unlike most Trainers from Pallet, and unlike players ofPokémon Red, Green, andBlue andPokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Ash did not start his journey withBulbasaur,Charmander, orSquirtle, as he arrived late toProfessor Oak'slab to receive hisfirst partner Pokémon. Instead, Ash was given the only Pokémon Oak had left to give, aPikachu that did not enjoy being inside hisPoké Ball. From there, Ash learned to treat his Pokémon as partners, earning Pikachu's trust by keeping him safe from a flock ofSpearow he angered.

Since then, Ash has journeyed across the first eight of the regions that appear in thecore seriesPokémon games, as well as theOrange Islands, a region he visited beforeJohto until it was closer in time to the real-world release ofPokémon Gold and Silver. In the regions outside ofGalar, he battles against the localGym Leaders for theirBadges, just like the players of the core series games, to compete in the regionalPokémon League—however, the League is achampionship tournament rather than five battles straight against theElite Four andChampion. InKanto, he has also once competed forSymbols while challenging theBattle Frontier. While his initial strategy was to continue using the same party over the course of hisjourney, letting some Pokémon go when they were required to do something or wanted to train, he eventually changed this strategy starting with his journey in Hoenn. From then on, he has used only those Pokémon which he has caught in the region, alongside Pikachu, to battle against Gym Leaders, with his explanation toDawn being that he wants to prove to the young, unevolved Pokémon he meets in each new region thatthey can win if they try.

Photographs of Ash and all of his friends

Over the course of the series, Ash has had severalfriends 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 fromCerulean City in the games, joins him in Kanto, theOrange Islands, andJohto, as doesBrock,Pewter City's Gym Leader, in Kanto, Johto,Hoenn, andSinnoh.Tracey Sketchit, an amateurPokémon Watcher, joins Ash during his Orange Islands journey, but leaves him on Ash's return to Pallet to become anassistant to Professor Oak, his hero.May andDawn, rookieCoordinators, join Ash for the duration ofPokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire andPokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, respectively; in these he mentors them much as Brock and Misty did him, whileMax, May's brother who is too young to own Pokémon, looks up to Ash for the duration ofPokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire.Iris andCilan travel with Ash inPokémon the Series: Black & White. InventorClemont, his sisterBonnie, and Ash's childhood friendSerena travel with Ash inPokémon the Series: XY. Like Max, Bonnie is too young to own Pokémon, but cares for her brother'sDedenne. InPokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, Ash attends thePokémon School instead of traveling around theAlola region. As such, his new friends—Lillie,Mallow,Kiawe,Lana, andSophocles—are not traveling companions but classmates. InPokémon Journeys: The Series, Ash's sole new traveling companion isGoh, a Trainer who aims to catch every Pokémon species in theworld, with his ultimate goal being to catch theMythical PokémonMew.

Arcs and seasons

In the West, the episodes ofPokémon the Series are divided into 25seasons across eightseries. These series divisions were introduced starting in 2013 with the debut ofPokémon the Series: XY, with the episodes from the prior 16 seasons being retroactively grouped into five series in certainhome video andvideo-on-demand releases. In Asia (including Japan), the episodes corresponding toPokémon the Series are divided into seven series, with some of these series themselves being divided into smaller arcs.

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

Pokémon the Series: The Beginning

Pokémon the Series: Gold and 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 & Moon

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Related media

WhilePokémon the Series specifically refers to the television show, several other animated works take place within the show's continuity and world. These works can generally be identified by the presence of characters who have interacted with Ash Ketchum or his friends at some point.

Movies

Poster for the first movie
Main article:Pokémon movie

From 1998 to 2020, a tie-in Pokémon movie featuringAsh andhis friends as the protagonists was released in theaters annually, most often focusing on aLegendary orMythical Pokémon. These films were initially a large success worldwide, with all 23 films having received wide releases in Japan, the first three movies receiving wide releases internationally, and later films occasionally receiving limited releases outside of Japan.

In Japan, the first 16 movies are branded as part of their respective series, replacingPocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター) in the series title withPocket Monsters the Movie (劇場版ポケットモンスター, lit.Pocket Monsters: Movie Version). ThePokémon the Series: XY movies instead begin with the phrasePokémon the Movie XY (ポケモン・ザ・ムービー　ＸＹ). Unlike the previous movies, thetrilogy consisting ofI Choose You!,The Power of Us, andSecrets of the Jungle takes place in an alternate continuity involving Ash Ketchum, and does not connect directly to the events of the television series airing at the same time; the logo design that was initially created for these movies was later used forPokémon Journeys: The Series.

The movies have also received tie-in media of their own. They primarily focus onAsh's Pikachu or other Pokémon and characters from their corresponding movie, rather than on Ash himself.

Specials

Poster forThe Legend of Thunder!
Main article:List of animated series specials

A number of special episodes have been produced that relate toPokémon the Series, but are not considered part of the TV series proper. In Japan, these are often branded as part of the series that was airing as of their release, but are not listed with other episodes of the series or counted towards the total episode count.

  • Clip shows are compilations of video clips from already-released episodes or movies, usually with the purpose of recapping a story arc that spanned several episodes. They are also used to commemorate special occasions, such as anniversaries or holidays. Clip shows generally do not offer new narrative content, instead acting as retrospective overviews of previous episodes. Seven of the clip shows were aired during the series' regular timeslot in Japan, and are thus officially considered as regular episodes that are part of the animated series. In the West, these episodes were not dubbed.
  • Pikachu's Winter Vacation is a series of special episodes primarily focusing on Pokémon characters that were releaseddirect-to-video near Christmas each year from 1998 to 2000 as part of theoriginal series. In the West, these episodes were also released on home video or as part ofPokémon Chronicles.
  • Mewtwo Returns is a series of three special episodes that were broadcast on TV Tokyo in 2000 as part of the original series, serving as a sequel toMewtwo Strikes Back. In the West, it was combined into a direct-to-video movie.
  • The Legend of Thunder! is a special featuringJimmy,Marina, andVincent that was broadcast on TV Tokyo in 2001 as part of the original series. In the West, it was split into three episodes as part ofPokémon Chronicles.
  • Pichu Bros. in Party Panic is a special episode featuring thePichu Brothers that was released as part of theNintendo GameCube video gamePokémon Channel in 2003.
  • TheANA specials are a series of special episodes focusing on Pikachu and other Pokémon characters that were originally shown asin-flight entertainment onANA flights during the month of August each year from 2004 to 2011, and were later released on home video as part of their respective series. In the West, onlyPikachu's Island Adventure was dubbed.
  • Pocket Monsters Side Stories is a series of special episodes focusing on recurring side characters that were originally broadcast during theWeekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station from 2002 to 2004 as side stories of the original series. In the West, they were dubbed as part ofPokémon Chronicles.
  • Theplanetarium specials are a series of special episodes released from 2004 to 2020 made to be projected on the interior of an overhead dome, usually allowing for a wide simulated view of the sky or stars. These specials were shown exclusively at planetariums and museums in Japan, and the subject matter of each tends to focus on the sky or stars. They are branded as part of their respective series. These episodes have not been released outside of Japan.
  • The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon is a special that was made to celebratePokémon's 10th anniversary in 2006.
  • The Arceus Chronicles is a series of four special episodes that were released onPrime Video in 2022 as part ofPokémon Journeys: The Series. In the West, it was combined into a movie and released onNetflix.
  • A Ripple in Time is a short that was released in 2022 as part of a collaboration between Pokémon andDaniel Arsham.

Availability

Main article:Pokémon animated series → Availability

Inthe United States,Pokémon the Series initially premiered infirst-run syndication beginning with the broadcast of the 15th episodeBattle Aboard the St. Anne on September 7, 1998, with new episodes being aired every weekday starting from the first episodePokémon - I Choose You! on the following day. The last 12 episodes of thefirst season and all episodes from then until the end ofseason eight premiered on theKids' WB programming block ofThe WB Television Network.Seasons 9–19 premiered on the cable channelCartoon Network, whileseasons 20–22 premiered on the premium cable channelDisney XD. Starting withseason 23, new episodes ofPokémon the Series left cable in favor of the streaming serviceNetflix, where the final batch of 12 episodes was added on September 8, 2023. Internationally,Pokémon the Series was aired on various local broadcasters.

In Japan, the episodes corresponding toPokémon the Series were broadcast nearly every week onTX Network stations, beginning withPokémon - I Choose You! on April 1, 1997 and ending withThe Rainbow and the Pokémon Master! on March 24, 2023, with the exception of a four-month hiatus after thePorygon incident and a seven-week hiatus during theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Episodes have been made available on demand on various platforms includingNetflix,Prime Video,iTunes,Google Play,Hulu, andYouTube, though availability differs by region.

Staff

Main article:Pokémon animated series → Staff

In other languages

LanguageTitle
FrenchPokémon, la série
GermanPokémon – Die TV-Serie
ItalianSerie animata Pokémon originale
Brazilian PortuguesePokémon, a série
SpanishSerie Pokémon

References

External links

The Beginning (list)Indigo League •Adventures in the Orange Islands
Gold and Silver (list)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 •The Search for Laqua •Rising Hope
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 •Series arcs in Japan and South Korea •Movies
Story arcs of thePokémon animated series in Japan and South Korea
Pocket Monsters (list)Pocket Monsters •Episode: Orange Islands •Episode: Gold & Silver
Advanced Generation (list)Advanced Generation •Battle Frontier
Diamond & Pearl (list)Diamond & Pearl
Best Wishes! (list)Best Wishes! •Season 2 •Episode N •Decolora Adventure!
XY (list)XY •XY&Z •Special Episode: The Strongest Mega Evolution
Sun & Moon (list)Sun & Moon
Pocket Monsters (2019)JP /
Pocket Monsters WKR (list)		Pocket Monsters •Arceus, the One Called God •Aim to Be a Pokémon Master
Pocket Monsters (2023) (list)Liko and Roy's Departure •The Sparkling of Terapagos •Terastal Debut •Rayquaza Rising •Mega Voltage •Episode: Mega Evolution •Rising Again
Complete list •Seasons in the English dub •Movies
This episode article is part ofProject Anime, aBulbapedia project that covers all aspects ofPokémon animation.