"Pokémon Theme" (also known as "Gotta catch 'em all!")[1][2] is a song written by John Siegler andJohn Loeffler and performed byJason Paige. It is the originaltheme song for thefirst season of theEnglish adaptation of thePokémonanime. Since its release, the song has been virtually synonymous with thePokémon franchise because the line "Gotta catch 'em all!" has become its official Englishslogan; it is derived from the Japanese ポケモンGETだぜ! ("Pokemon [getto]da ze!").[3]
The song is sung in first person by an aspiring Pokémon trainer. He is determined to become the very best, "like no one ever was". To do this, he intends to travel far and wide, catching new Pokémon. He exhorts the listener (a Pokémon) to follow him, knowing they will encounter a lot of challenges, but promising to surmount them all together, and that they will learn a lot of new things along the way.[4]
John Siegler and John Loeffler wrote the lyrics to the song. Siegler produced the track, also playing keyboards, bass, and programming drum machines. David Rolfe, the vocalist for later themes of the series, played the guitar while Jason Paige provided the vocals.[3] Kati Mac, Loeffler, Ken Cummings and Louis Cortelezzi provided background vocals.[5] The song was written inG minor.[6] Siegler initially felt the show's concept was "incomprehensible" but decided it had potential after viewing its debut episode.[7] Jason Paige recorded the original theme song in four hours.[8] Paige initially received a "standard, three-figure flat fee" for the recording, but did not receive any royalties from the song. He received a one-time payment "in the mid-five figures" for the song in 2000.[8][9] Paige claimed that he "didn’t really know much aboutPokémon" when he did the demo, other than ascene in the animated series that caused bouts ofepileptic seizures in Japan.[8] The theme song premiered on the debut episode "Pokémon, I Choose You!" on September 8, 1998. In 1999, Paige recorded an extended version of the theme song for the albumPokémon 2.B.A. Master.[3]
According toNorman Grossfeld, the then-president of4Kids Productions, the line "Gotta catch 'em all!" was created as a "tagline for marketing purposes that would also be included in the theme song". It is derived from the Japanese tagline "(ポケモンGETだぜ!, Pokémon getto da ze!)". One other contender for the tagline was "Catch 'em if you can", which was used in an earlier version of the theme song.[7]
In 2015, the song was voted to be part of the annual DutchTop 2000 radio marathon, after a call-for-action onFacebook went viral within the country.[10][11] It peaked at number 115 in 2018.[12]
In July 2016, after the release of themobile gamePokémon Go, the song had a 382% increase in listeners onmusic streaming platformSpotify.[13][14] There were instances ofpolice cars playing the song through loudspeakers while driving nearPokémon Go players, as well as groups of people singing the song in public.[15][16][17][18][19] The same month, after rising up to 1,079% in sales, the song hit number four onBillboard's Kids Digital Songs chart after initially peaking at 10 in 2010.[20] Due to the popularity ofPokémon Go, Jason Paige released a re-recorded version of the theme.[21]
In November 2005, theinternet comedy duoSmosh recorded a lip-dubbed video for the song onYouTube. It briefly became themost viewed video on the site in March 2006 before being surpassed by "The Evolution of Dance" that May.[42][43][44] In June 2007, Smosh's video was removed on YouTube due to a copyright notice. In 2010, Smosh recreated the video with altered lyrics that criticized the original video being taken down.[44][45] In 2016, the original vocalist Jason Paige performed a parody of the song featuringDwayne Johnson as well as YouTube starsMatPat andAli-A.[46]
During theEurovision Song Contest 2021, the Norwegian representative,Tix, sang a parody of the theme song as a love serenade to the Azerbaijani representative,Samira Efendi, whom Tix had shown an affection for since the beginning of the contest.[47]
On September 22, 2025, theDepartment of Homeland Security used the song in a video of allegedillegal immigrants getting captured by officers, intercut with footage ofAsh Ketchum throwing Poké Balls. The video ends with Pokémon cards featuring some of the arrested individuals.[49][50] It was also posted by the officialWhite HouseTikTok account.[51] Two days later,the Pokémon Company released a statement in response to the videos, noting that "permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property."[52][53]
