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Pokémon the Series

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The English logo for Pokémon the Series

Pokémon the Series is an animated TV series that follows the adventures of Ash Ketchum, a Pokémon Trainer from Pallet Town, and his journey toward his ultimate goal of being a Pokémon Master; as well as his many friends, and most especially his Pokémon, whom he considers his partners and friends. Though it is ultimately based upon the games 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 of the Pokémon animated series, and is succeeded by Pokémon Horizons: The Series.

In the West, it consists of 1,224 episodes across 25 seasons, and has spawned a number of movies and other related media. It premiered on September 7, 1998 with the broadcast of Battle Aboard the St. Anne in syndication in the United States, and concluded on July 29, 2023 with the broadcast of Distant Blue Sky! on Cartoon Network in Canada (later released on September 8, 2023 on Netflix in the United States).[1] In Japan and Asia, Pokémon the Series corresponds to the first seven series of the Pokémon animated TV series (with The Beginning and Gold and Silver being combined as one series), which originally aired on TV Tokyo from April 1, 1997 to March 24, 2023.

Terminology

In the United States, the TV show was initially shown under the title Pokémon. The term Pokémon the Series was not introduced until 2013, with the debut of Pokémon the Series: XY. While Pokémon the Series was initially synonymous with the Pokémon animated series as a whole, they have diverged since the release of Pokémon Horizons: The Series. The Pokémon Company International considers Pokémon Horizons: The Series to be a separate animated series, and defines Pokémon 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 Japan and Asia, there is no official term that corresponds to the term Pokémon 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 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 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 first partner Pokémon. Instead, Ash was given the only Pokémon Oak had left to give, a Pikachu that did not enjoy being inside his Poké Ball. 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 the first eight of the regions that appear in the core series Pokémon games, as well as the Orange Islands, a region he visited before 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, just like the players of the core series games, to compete in the regional Pokémon League—however, the League is a championship tournament rather than five battles straight against the Elite Four and Champion. In Kanto, he has also once competed for Symbols while challenging the Battle Frontier. 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 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 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.

Photographs of Ash and all of his friends

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 Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto, 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 Islands 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.

Episodes

In the West, the episodes of Pokémon the Series are divided into 25 seasons across eight series. These series divisions were introduced starting in 2013 with the debut of Pokémon the Series: XY, with the episodes from the prior 16 seasons being retroactively grouped into five series in certain home video and video-on-demand releases. In Japan and Asia, the episodes corresponding to Pokémon 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 the Japanese and English 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

While Pokémon 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 featuring Ash and his friends as the protagonists was released in theaters annually, most often focusing on a Legendary or Mythical 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.

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.

In Japan, the first 16 movies are branded as part of their respective series, replacing Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター) in the series title with Pocket Monsters the Movie (劇場版ポケットモンスター, lit. Pocket Monsters: Movie Version). The Pokémon the Series: XY movies instead begin with the phrase Pokémon the Movie XY (ポケモン・ザ・ムービー　ＸＹ). Unlike the previous movies, the trilogy consisting of I Choose You!, The Power of Us, and Secrets of the Jungle take place in an alternate continuity involving Ash Ketchum, and do 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 for Pokémon Journeys: The Series.

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

Specials

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

A number of special episodes have been produced that relate to Pokémon 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 released direct-to-video near Christmas each year from 1998 to 2000 as part of the original series. In the West, these episodes were also released on home video or as part of Pokémon 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 to Mewtwo Strikes Back. In the West, it was combined into a direct-to-video movie.
  • The Legend of Thunder! is a special featuring Jimmy, Marina, and Vincent 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 of Pokémon Chronicles.
  • Pichu Bros. in Party Panic is a special episode featuring the Pichu Brothers that was released as part of the Nintendo GameCube video game Pokémon Channel in 2003.
  • The ANA specials are a series of special episodes focusing on Pikachu and other Pokémon characters that were originally shown as in-flight entertainment on ANA 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, only Pikachu'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 the Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station from 2002 to 2004 as side stories of the original series. In the West, they were dubbed as part of Pokémon Chronicles.
  • The planetarium 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 celebrate Pokémon's 10th anniversary in 2006.
  • The Arceus Chronicles is a series of four special episodes that were released on Prime Video in 2022 as part of Pokémon Journeys: The Series. In the West, it was combined into a movie and released on Netflix.
  • A Ripple in Time is a short that was released in 2022 as part of a collaboration between Pokémon and Daniel Arsham.

Availability

Main article: Pokémon animated series → Availability

In the United States, Pokémon the Series initially premiered in first-run syndication beginning with the broadcast of the 15th episode Battle Aboard the St. Anne on September 7, 1998, with new episodes being aired every weekday starting from the first episode Pokémon - I Choose You! on the following day. The last 12 episodes of the first season and all episodes from then until the end of season eight premiered on the Kids' WB programming block of The WB Television Network. Seasons 9–19 premiered on the cable channel Cartoon Network, while seasons 20–22 premiered on the premium cable channel Disney XD. Starting with season 23, new episodes of Pokémon the Series left cable in favor of the streaming service Netflix, 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 to Pokémon the Series were broadcast nearly every week on TX Network stations, beginning with Pokémon - I Choose You! on April 1, 1997 and ending with The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master! on March 24, 2023, with the exception of a four-month hiatus after the Porygon incident and a seven-week hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Episodes have been made available on demand on various platforms including Netflix, Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play, Hulu, and YouTube, though availability differs by region.

Staff

Main article: Pokémon animated series → Staff

In other languages

Language Title
France Flag.png French Pokémon, la série
Germany Flag.png German Pokémon – Die TV-Serie
Italy Flag.png Italian Serie animata Pokémon originale
Brazil Flag.png Brazilian Portuguese Pokémon, a série
Spain Flag.png Spanish Serie Pokémon

References

  1. ↑ Ash Ketchum’s 10 Most Iconic Traveling Companions | Pokemon.com
  2. ↑ Pokémon Brand Sheet (August 2023) (archived)
  3. ↑ Pokémon Parents Official Website | Pokémon Animation
  4. ↑ Celebrate the Best of Pokémon the Series on Pokémon TV | Pokemon.com

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