Pokémon (TV series)
abbreviated from the Japanese title of and branded in English as and Pokémon Horizons: The Series, is a Japanese anime television series, part of The Pokémon Company's Pokémon media franchise, which premiered on TV Tokyo in April 1997.
The anime franchise consists of eight sequential series in Japan, each based on a main installment of the Pokémon video game series. In the international broadcasts, these series are split across 28 seasons. The show originally followed Ash Ketchum, a young trainer of fictional creatures called Pokémon. Joined by his partner Pokémon Pikachu and a rotating cast of human characters, Ash goes on a journey to become a "Pokémon Master", traveling through the various regions of the Pokémon world and competing in various Pokémon-battling tournaments known as the Pokémon League. Starting with the 26th season, a new cast is featured, centering on protagonists Liko and Roy.
The anime series is accompanied by spin-off programming, including Pokémon Chronicles, a series of side stories, and live-action variety and Pokémon-related news shows, such as Pocket Monsters Encore, Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station, Pokémon☆Sunday, Pokémon Smash!, Pokémon Get☆TV, Meet Up at the Pokémon House? and Where are we going with Pokémon!?
The Pokémon television series played a major role in increasing anime's worldwide popularity, especially in the United States and Asia, where many Pokémon films are among the highest-grossing anime films. It is also considered to be one of the first anime series on television to reach this level of mainstream success with Western and Asian audiences, as well as being credited with allowing the game series to reach such a degree of popularity and vice versa. Pokémon is regarded as the most successful video game adaptation of all time, with over 1,300 episodes broadcast and adapted for international television markets, concurrently airing in 192 countries worldwide and being one of the most widely watched shows on Netflix as of 2016.
Plot
''Pokémon the Series'' (1997–2023)
Pokémon the Series primarily follows Ash Ketchum, a young boy from Pallet Town who dreams of becoming a Pokémon Master. After receiving his first Pokémon, Pikachu, from Professor Oak, Ash embarks on a journey across various regions, including Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar, where he challenges Gym Leaders, competes in regional Pokémon Leagues, or other competitions, and meets a variety of companions who support him in his goal.These companions include Misty, Brock, May, Dawn, Serena, Lillie, Goh, and others, each pursuing their own unique goals, such as becoming a top Pokémon Coordinator, becoming a skilled Pokémon Breeder, or seeking to catch Mew. Ash also forms rivalries with several recurring characters across the series, such as Gary, Paul, and Trip, many of whom he faces in League tournaments or other competitions. Ash and his friends frequently encounter the villainous Team Rocket trio, Jessie, James, and Meowth, who persistently attempt to steal rare and powerful Pokémon throughout the series.
Over the course of his journey, Ash achieves several milestones, including becoming the first-ever Champion of the Alola League, where he also attended Pokémon School, and ultimately defeating Leon to become Monarch of the World Coronation Series. After reaching this peak, Ash continues his travels with Pikachu to meet and befriend new Pokémon in order to achieve his goal of becoming a Pokémon Master.
''Pokémon Horizons: The Series'' (2023–present)
Pokémon Horizons: The Series follows Liko, a girl from the Paldea Region with a mysterious pendant, and Roy, a boy from Kanto with an ancient Poké Ball, as they join the Rising Volt Tacklers, a group of adventurers traveling the world. They learn their items are linked to the legendary adventurer Lucius and his six Pokémon, the "Six Heroes". While searching for them, Liko, Roy, and Dot briefly attend Naranja Academy to study the Terastal phenomenon. After encountering Lucius and fighting the villainous Explorers, the series shifts to a one-year time skip, where the group sets out to expose the Explorers, clear the Rising Volt Tacklers' name, and destroy Laquium.Characters
;Ash Ketchum;Team Rocket#In the anime
;Misty
;Brock
;Tracey Sketchit
;May and Max
;Dawn
;Iris
;Cilan
;Serena
;Clemont and Bonnie
;Lillie
;Kiawe
;Lana
;Mallow
;Sophocles
;Goh
;Liko
;Roy
Episodes
In Japan, the Pokémon anime is currently broadcast as eight sequential series, each based on an installment of the main video game series. The series is aired year-round continuously, with regular off-days for sporting events and television specials. In its international broadcast, Pokémons episodes have currently been split up into 28 seasons as of 2025, running a fixed number of episodes, using a specific opening sequence and sporting a different subtitle for each new season.Specials
In addition to the main series and the movies, the anime series has also had various full-length specials and TV shorts. Many of these specials center around legendary Pokémon or one or more of the main characters that are separate from the main cast during its corresponding series, while the sporadically made later side story episodes typically air as special episodes.Films
, there have been 23 animated films and one live action film based on the Pokémon franchise. The first nineteen animated films are based on the television series, with the original film being remade into the 22nd. The 20th, 21st and 23rd animated films are set in an alternate continuity to the anime. The films are variously produced by the animation studios OLM, Production I.G, Xebec, and Wit Studio, and distributed in Japan by Toho, with various studios distributing the films in North America. They were directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and Tetsuo Yajima, and written by Takeshi Shudo, Hideki Sonoda, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Shōji Yonemura, Eiji Umehara, and Aya Takaha.Spin-off
''Pokémon Chronicles''
Pokémon Chronicles is a label created by 4Kids which is used for a collection of several as yet undubbed specials, which were first broadcast in English between May and October 2005 in the UK, and in the US between June and November 2006. The vast majority of the episodes making up Chronicles were taken from what was known in Japan as Pocket Monsters Side Stories, which aired as part of Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station. The remaining portions of Chronicles consisted of a TV special called The Legend of Thunder, and installments from Pikachu's Winter Vacation, originally released on video.Japanese variety shows
''Pocket Monsters Encore''
Pocket Monsters Encore was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 19, 1999, to September 17, 2002. It ran during the second part of the original series. Pocket Monsters Encore is a variety show featuring reruns of old episodes, including Japanese and English audio tracks, except for EP035 and EP018, which were broadcast in stereo. EP022 and EP023 broadcast together. EP018 was taken out of sequence and inserted between Holiday Hi-Jynx and Snow Way Out!, which were broadcast in the place of EP038 and EP039. EP052 aired between EP047 and EP048 and EP053 between EP057 and EP058. The ending song is the English version of Type: Wild performed by Robbie Danzie, and it was produced for Pocket Monsters Encore and aired.Pokémon de English was a segment at the end of Pocket Monsters Encore used to teach Japanese children simple English words and phrases. All of the segments where later compiled into three volumes and later released.
Pokémon de English uses a mixture of unedited Japanese and painted-over English video. New English lines were also recorded for this release by the original voice actors from both Japan and the United States. Pokémon de English was later released as rental only VHS and DVDs in 2002 and 2007, respectively, including English audio, as well as closed captioning in both English and Japanese.
On September 17, 2002, it was replaced by Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station.
''Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station''
Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station is a closely related spin-off series that aired during the final part of the original series, and continues during the beginning part of Pokémon: Advanced Generation. The show was presented as an animated variety show, and showed clip shows, reruns of Pokémon episodes, television airings of the Pokémon movies, cast interviews, and live action footage, in addition to the previously mentioned Pokémon side story episodes. The hosts were Mayumi Iizuka as Kasumi and Yūji Ueda as Takeshi. They were regularly joined by Kaba-chan, Manami Aihara, Bernard Ackah and Rex Jones as the comedy team "Shio Koshō", Megumi Hayashibara as Musashi, Shin-ichiro Miki as Kojirō, and Inuko Inuyama as Nyāsu. The show ran from October 15, 2002, to September 28, 2004, when it was replaced by Pokémon☆Sunday.''Pokémon☆Sunday''
Pokémon☆Sunday was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 3, 2004, to September 26, 2010. The show is the successor to the Pocket Monsters Encore and the Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station. It ran from the second part of Pokémon: Advanced Generation to Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl. Like the shows before it, Pokémon☆Sunday is variety show featuring reruns of old episodes as well as a number of 'Research' episodes involving live-action elements. Regular guests include Golgo Matsumoto and Red Yoshida of TIM; Hiroshi Yamamoto, Ryūji Akiyama, and Hiroyuki Baba of Robert; Becky, and Shoko Nakagawa.''Pokémon Smash!''
Pokémon Smash! is the successor to the Pokémon☆Sunday series. It aired from October 3, 2010, to September 28, 2013. Like its predecessors, Pokémon Smash! is a variety show that features live-action segments and reruns of old anime episodes. It ran during Pokémon: Black and White. The theme song is "Endless Fighters" by AAA. Regular guests include Golgo Matsumoto and Red Yoshida of TIM; Shoko Nakagawa; and Hiroshi Yamamoto, Ryūji Akiyama, and Hiroyuki Baba of Robert.''Pokémon Get☆TV''
Pokémon Get☆TV is the successor to Pokémon Smash! It aired from October 6, 2013, to September 27, 2015. Shoko Nakagawa remains as a host, and is joined by Yukito Nishii and comedy team Taka and Toshi. Just like its predecessors, it is a variety show featuring reruns of previous anime episodes and special live-action segments. It ran during the first part of Pokémon: XY.''Meet Up at the Pokémon House?''
Meet Up at the Pokémon House?, more commonly known as Pokénchi or Pokémon House, is the successor to Pokémon GET☆TV, it aired from October 4, 2015, to March 29, 2022. It is hosted by Shōko Nakagawa, Rinka Ōtani, Hyadain, and Abareru-kun, making it the first variety show not to have reruns of previous anime episodes, unlike its predecessors. It ran during Pokémon: XY, Pokémon: Sun & Moon and Pokémon Journeys.''Where are we going with Pokémon!?''
Where are we going with Pokémon!?, more commonly known as Poké Doko, is the successor to Meet Up at the Pokémon House?, which premiered on April 3, 2022, during Pokémon Journeys and Pokémon Horizons. It is hosted by Shoko Nakagawa, Ryōgo Matsumaru, Abareru-kun, and Hikaru Takahashi, and it focuses on their travels.Airing and production
Pokémon premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 1, 1997. The series is broadcast on the TX Network family of stations first on Thursday evenings; it is then syndicated throughout the rest of Japan's major broadcasters on their local affiliates as well as on private satellite and cable networks on various delays. Production in Japan is handled by TV Tokyo, MediaNet, and ShoPro. Kunihiko Yuyama served as the series' chief director up until the 2023 episode, "To Be a Pokémon Master". The anime made millions of dollars in Japan when it first aired. An average Pokémon episode costs about $100,000 to make.Internationally, The Pokémon Company handles production and distribution of the anime with Iyuno Media Group and Goldcrest Post with publication by VIZ Media, which was formerly VIZ LLC but merged with ShoPro. The anime currently airs in 192 countries. In the United States, the anime aired on Kids' WB as a Saturday morning cartoon starting in February 1999. In its first week under the Kids' WB umbrella, Pokémon would manage to hit a 3.9 rating, reaching viewers by September, and resulting in Nielsen stating that "half the boys watching TV are seeing Pokémon" by that November.
Beginning in 2020, Netflix gained the exclusive rights to stream new episodes of the series in the United States; the twenty-third season, titled Pokémon Journeys: The Series debuted on June 12, 2020 and ended on March 5, 2021, with its fourth twelve episode batch. It continues with the twenty-fourth season, titled Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series, which debuted on the service on September 10, 2021. The series has previously aired in syndication, with new episodes premiering on Kids' WB, Cartoon Network, and Disney XD. In the U.S., library episodes also aired on Cartoon Network in the Kids' WB years starting in 2002 and Boomerang in the Cartoon Network years starting in 2010 and have aired in Spanish on TeleXitos and Discovery Familia.
Pokémon was originally licensed in the United States by 4Kids Entertainment, which produced a localized English adaptation that was syndicated by The Summit Media Group. The localized version premiered in first run syndication on September 8, 1998, twenty days before the North American release of Pokémon Red and Blue. Pokémon was distributed on VHS and DVD by Pioneer Entertainment and Viz Video, which sold 25million units of the series in 2000. Following the eighth season in 2006, the series' dub production was taken over by The Pokémon Company. Beginning with twelfth film, 2009's Arceus and the Jewel of Life, DuArt Film and Video took over as the lead production studio, which lasted until the twenty-second season in 2018.
OLM, Inc. handles animation production. Until episode 259, during the fifth season in 2002, the series was animated using cel animation. Beginning with episode 260, titled "Here's Lookin' at You Elekid!", all subsequent seasons are digitally animated.
In a 2018 interview, the creators of Detective Pikachu, which features a talking Pikachu, revealed that the original intention for the anime was to have the Pokémon talk, but OLM, Inc. was unable to come up with a concept that Game Freak, developer of the mainline games, were accepting of.
The following table lists the annual content revenue from Pokémon anime media in Japan, as reported by market research firm Hakuhodo.
| Year | Content revenue in Japan | |
| 2013 | ||
| 2014 | ||
| 2015 | ||
| 2016 | ||
| 2017 | ||
| 2018 | ||
| 2019 | ||
| 2020 | ||
| 2021 | ||
| 2013 to 2021 | + |
Streaming and digital
Pokémon is currently available for streaming on Netflix in 216 regions and countries with different dubs and subtitles; all countries have at least English audio. Pokémon is globally one of the most widely watched shows on Netflix, as of 2016. It is also available on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Jiohotstar. From when the series made began airing on Disney XD, as much as every in-circulation episode was available on Watch Disney XD and later DisneyNOW in the United States until February 2022. Netflix removed the Sun & Moon series, I Choose You!, and The Power of Us at the end of March 2022, leaving only the first season and the seasons and movies released exclusively to the platform. Content was also available on the Pokémon TV app and website until January 2024, when it was shut down. Starting on December 6, 2024, episodes begin to be uploaded on the Pokémon TV YouTube channel every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.Reception
Critical reception
In a February 2008 review for IGN, Jeffrey Harris gave the Indigo League series a score of 2 out of 10, saying: "Ultimately, the show's story is boring, repetitive, and formulaic. The show constantly preaches about friendship and helping others.... Nearly every episode features Ash, Misty, and Brock on a trip. Team Rocket tries the latest scheme to catch Pikachu or whatever else, and fails miserably." He concluded: "at the end of the day, this franchise feels more like crass marketing trying to preach the importance of friend and companionship." In an April 2008 review, Common Sense Media gave the series 3 out of 5 stars, saying: "Over the years, the energetic, imagination-filled, Japanese-inspired fantasy series has cut across cultural, gender, and age barriers to captivate a global audience of girls, boys, and even adults", but added: "Folks may also find the franchise's massive commercial appeal disturbing, especially since the show is mainly geared towards kids."Carl Kimlinger, in an August 2008 review of the Diamond and Pearl series for Anime News Network, gave the dubbed series an overall grade of C. He wrote: "The formula has been set in stone … Ash and buddies wander around, meet a new or trainer, fight, make friends, and then use their newfound Power of Friendship to stave off an attack by the nefarious Team Rocket", and added: "even the tournaments are a relief, a blessed pause in the cerebrum-liquefying formula as Ash and company square off against destined rivals for an episode or two." However, he stated that it would be enjoyed by its target audience, saying: "It's colorful, silly and lively " and added: "Parents will appreciate the absolute lack of objectionable content and the series' impeccably PC message of friendship, cooperation and acceptance". He criticized the series' soundtrack as "tin-eared" and "bad video game music".
Kevin McFarland, in a 2016 binge-watching guide of the Indigo League series for Wired, described the series as "a kids program that emphasizes the value of hard work, the importance of family and close friendship, and the ideals of love, trust, and honor. But it's also a largely silly show with slapstick comedy and colorful battle sequences, making Ash's Sisyphean task to become the world's best Pokémon trainer continually entertaining."
In TV Asahi's poll of the "Top 100 Anime", Pokémon came in 38th. Paste ranked the series at 44th place in its October 2018 list of "The 50 Best Anime Series of All Time", with Sarra Sedghi writing: "To the joy of '90s kids everywhere, Pokémon helped solidify anime in the West". She added: "Pokémon may not be high artistry, but the show's pervasiveness is a testament to the power of nostalgia." IGN ranked the series at 70th place in its list of "Top 100 Animated Series", saying that the series "had clever writing and a golden marketing formula designed to spread Nintendo's Pokémon videogames into new, lucrative territory."
Controversies
The series has had several episodes removed from rotation in Japan or the rest of the world for various reasons. The most infamous of these episodes was "Dennō Senshi Porygon", aired in Japan on December 16, 1997. The episode made headlines worldwide when it caused 685 children to experience seizures and seizure-like symptoms caused by a repetitive flash of light in the episode. Although the offending sequence was caused by Pikachu's actions, the episode's featured Pokémon, Porygon, has rarely been seen in future episodes, with appearances limited to one brief cameo appearance in the film Pokémon Heroes and in one scene-bumper later in season 1. Its evolutions Porygon2 and Porygon-Z have only appeared in a brief part of the opening sequence of Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice. Several other episodes have been removed from broadcast in Japan due to contemporary disasters that resemble events in the program; the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and the 2014 Sinking of MV Sewol, all have caused cancellations or indefinite or temporary postponements of episode broadcasts. In the United States, the September 11 attacks in 2001 as well as 2005's Hurricane Katrina led to the temporary removal of two episodes from syndication.On September 1, 2006, China banned the series from prime time broadcasting, as it did Western animated series such as The Simpsons, to protect its struggling animation studios. The ban was later extended by one hour.
On August 18, 2016, the XYZ episode "Kalos League Victory! Satoshi's Greatest Decisive Battle" faced criticism from fans when Ash lost the Kalos League against Alain. The fans specifically criticized the episode due to the misleading name and trailers that suggested that Ash would win the battle and because Ash had lost all of the Pokémon Leagues in past seasons. Fans also disliked the outcome because they believed Ash's Greninja had many advantages over Alain's Charizard, including the fact that Water-type Pokémon resist Fire-type Pokémon attacks, and that the rare Bond Phenomenon Ash's Greninja was subject to was said to be far more powerful than a conventional Mega Evolution. Several animators of the series also expressed disappointment that Ash had lost. TV Tokyo's YouTube upload of the teaser of the next episode received an overwhelming number of dislikes as a result of the outcome.