Pokémon (ポケモン,
Pokemon?), abbreviated from Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター, Poketto
Monsutā?), is a children's TV anime series, which has since been adapted for
the international television markets. It is based on the Pokémon video game
series and a part of the Pokémon franchise.
Originally
a single series, Pokémon, it has since been made into four series, the original
series, then Advanced Generation, subsequently Diamond and Pearl and Best
Wishes, which sequentially continue the story of Pokémon, while its spin-off
Pokémon Smash! (formerly Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station and Pokémon
Sunday) has broadcast a series of stories revolving around some of the
recurring characters, Pokémon Chronicles or, as it is known in Japan, Pokémon
Side Story. The series are further divided into seasons, which currently
consists of fifteen.
Summary
The
series follows Ash Ketchum and his friends (human and Pokémon) that he makes on
the way as he travels the world catching new Pokémon, battling Pokémon
trainers, winning Gym Badges to enter tournaments, and thwarting the attempts
of criminal organizations. The anime adapts a fair amount of video game logic
from the original games, such as multiple lookalike characters in different
regions and Ash being unable to carry more than six Pokémon with him at a time.
Seasons
1-2 (original series)
Ash
Ketchum (Satoshi (サトシ?)) has just become a Pokémon
trainer in the Kanto region. He picked Pikachu as his starter because, after
breaking his alarm clock, Ash was late for his appointment and all the
conventional starter Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle) were gone. He
has a childhood rival, named Gary (Shigeru (シゲル?)). Ash
accidentally destroys a bike belonging to a girl, named Misty (Kasumi (カスミ?)); she
starts to follow him to get her bike back, but soon becomes his friend. Misty
endeavors to be a great water Pokémon master. Shortly thereafter, Ash battles
Brock (Takeshi (タケシ?)), the leader of the Pewter City gym. Ash
initially loses to Brock's Onix, but wins the Boulder Badge in a rematch. Brock
then turns over his Gym Leader duties to his estranged father and accompanies
Ash and Misty on their journey with the goal of becoming the world's greatest
Pokémon Breeder.
Ash's
journey in the Kanto region culminates with him collecting the necessary eight
badges to compete in the Indigo League Pokémon Tournament held annually in the
Indigo Plateau, near Viridian City. He passes through all qualifying matches,
and qualifying for battling in the Indigo Stadium. There, he loses in his fifth
match to Richie, a new rival and friend, who happens to use many of the same
Pokémon as Ash, including a Pikachu named "Sparky".
After the
Indigo League, Ash returns briefly to Pallet Town before setting out on a new
journey to the Orange Islands, where he will compete in the Orange League.
Brock eventually parts company with Ash and Misty to pursue Pokémon research
with Professor Ivy. At this point, a new character, Tracey Sketchit (Kenji (ケンジ?)) joins
Ash. Ash collects four badges and competes against the Orange League champion,
Drake, an experienced trainer who uses a Dragonite. Drake's first 5 Pokémon do
not cause much trouble to Ash, the battle coming down to 4 Pokémon for Ash and
Drake's Dragonite. However, Dragonite defeats Ash's Charizard, Squirtle and
Tauros. The battle comes down to Drake's Dragonite and Ash's Pikachu. After a
short battle, Pikachu knocks out Dragonite with a devastating Thunder attack,
giving Ash the victory and earning him a spot in the Orange League Hall Of
Fame.
Seasons
3-5 (original series)
Victorious
in the Orange League, Ash again returns to Pallet Town where he and Misty are
reunited with Brock, who earlier left to Professor Ivy's lab to take care of
Pokémon. Tracey decides to stay in Pallet Town to work with his idol, Professor
Oak, while Ash, Brock, and Misty head west to the distant land of Johto.
Pokémon: The Johto Journeys marks the introduction of a new series of Pokémon
beyond the original 151 named and frequently seen throughout the Kanto and
Orange Islands regions.
In the
fifth season, after Ash collected the 8 required badges from Johto, he competed
in the Silver Conference. He made it through the qualifying matches, getting
into the Victory Tournament. He made it to the Top 8, defeating his childhood
rival Gary in the way, but lost to a trainer named Harrison from the Hoenn
region. Ash decides to head there next after a brief visit home. Before
arriving in Pallet Town, Misty receives a message from her sisters requesting
that she return to Cerulean City to take over the Gym Leader duties. Brock then
decides that he has been away from home too long and must return to help his
father take care of his many brothers and sisters.
Seasons
6-8 (Advanced Generation series)
Back to
Pallet Town, Ash receives a more modern-looking outfit from his mother and sets
out for the Hoenn region with only Pikachu, choosing to leave his other Pokémon
with Professor Oak, like Gary, going for a "fresh start".
In Hoenn,
Ash meets May (Haruka (ハルカ?)) and her younger brother Max
(Masato (マサト?)), who join him on his journey. May is excited by
the Pokémon Contests that take place in Hoenn, while Max joins the group to
gain experience so that one day he will have his own Pokémon and become a Gym
Leader like his father Norman, the Gym Leader of Petalburg City. Having solved
his family issues, Brock returns to accompany Ash. This season, Gary leaves his
promising career as a Pokémon Trainer to become a Pokémon researcher, like his
grandfather. Misty shortly visits the group and takes Ash, Brock, May and Max
to the Togepi Kingdom. Meanwhile, Team Rocket has been sent by their boss to
try to establish a branch of the organization in Hoenn. Along their journeys,
Ash and his friends also come into contact with the villainous teams that are
in Hoenn, Team Aqua and Team Magma. Finally, Ash participates in the Hoenn
League and May in the Grand Festival.
Also, in
Season 8, after Ash completes the Hoenn League and places in the Top 8, he
returns home to Pallet Town, as do May and Max to Petalburg City and Brock to
Pewter City. Ash meets up with Misty, Tracey, Professor Oak, and his mother at
his homecoming celebration. Professor Birch and Max arrive in Pallet Town that
same evening, and May and Brock arrive the next day. Ash and May learn of the
Battle Frontier and the new contests in the Kanto region and decide to travel
together again to compete. Brock, Max, and Misty decide to join them on their
new journey. Season 8 ends with Ash, May, Max, Brock, and Misty setting off to
participate in the Battle Frontier.
Season 9 (Battle Frontier)
After
passing Mt. Moon, Misty returns to Cerulean Gym to continue training. Ash, May,
Max, and Brock travel around the Kanto region, with Ash defeating 7 Frontier
Brains and May competing in the Kanto Pokémon Contests.
After Ash
defeats the Battle Pyramid Frontier Brain, Brandon, and declines the offer of
becoming a Frontier Brain, May reveals that she and Max are returning to Hoenn,
but she decides to travel to the Johto region for the Johto Pokémon Contests
alone.
Seasons 10-13 (Diamond & Pearl series)
May and
Max have left the group, and Brock returns to Pewter City, leaving Ash alone
again. Ash learns of a new region called Sinnoh, where he embarks on a new
journey. Ash planned to bring only Pikachu, but his Aipom snuck on the boat.
Brock comes back a few days later in Sinnoh and they both meet Dawn (Hikari (ヒカリ?)), a new Trainer who hopes to
become a great Pokémon Coordinator, like her mother. Ash meets a new rival,
Paul (Shinji (シンジ?)), who
prefers to capture the strongest Pokémon, leaving the weak who are released, in
strong contrast to Ash's methods. During the journey, Ash encounters the Elite
Four of Sinnoh in different places respectively, he carries on battles with
them, and also receives their instructions about battle techniques. Ash, Dawn,
and Brock encounter Ash's old rival Gary several times throughout the series,
and even run into May, who are visiting Sinnoh, at the Wallace Cup competition.
Ash and his
friends also come in contact with Team Galactic, an evil organization that
wants to control the Pokémon universe. Team Galactic has also recruited an evil
Pokémon Hunter, known only as J, to help them capture powerful Legendary
Pokémon to advance their goals. With the help of the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia,
as well as a detective named Looker, Ash, Dawn, and Brock manage to defeat
Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic.
After the
Sinnoh League, the gang prepares to go their separate ways; Brock is returning
to Pewter City to become a Pokémon Doctor, Dawn is returning to Hearthome City
to model Buneary in a photoshoot, and Ash has decided that to become a Pokémon
Master, he will continue training and someday enter the Champion League, and
become the Champion Master. Ash and Brock wave goodbye to Dawn and Piplup as
they take a ship home to Kanto. When reaching the familiar crossroad, Ash and
Brock shake hands one last time, and split up; Brock goes back to Pewter City,
and Ash goes home to Pallet Town.
During
the airing of the Best Wishes! series, there are two special episodes focusing
on Dawn and Brock respectively. Dawn is seen continuing her journey to become a
top Pokémon Coordinator in the Hoenn region and Brock's younger brother Forrest
is officially made the Pewter City Gym Leader to allow Brock to continue his
studies to become a Pokémon Doctor.
Seasons
14- (Best Wishes! series)
As with
both the Advanced Generation and Diamond & Pearl series before it, Dawn and
Brock have left the series, and the Best Wishes! series begins with only Ash,
at his hometown in Kanto. He then headed off to the Unova region, located far
away from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, with his Pikachu, his mother, and
Prof. Oak. After he meets up with the new Trainer and rival Trip (Shooty (シューティー, Shūtī?)) and the region's
Professor Juniper, he gains new traveling companions; Iris (Iris (アイリス, Airisu?)), a girl from a town
known for its Dragon Pokémon, and Cilan (Dent (デント, Dento?)), a Pokémon Connoisseur and the Grass
Pokémon specialist of the three Striaton City Gym Leaders.
Media
TV series
Main
article: List of Pokémon episodes
Like many
anime metaseries, Pokémon: The Original Series, Pokémon: Advanced Generation
Series and Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Series episodes are split up into smaller
season for the English release, usually to denote the areas and adventures
going on. Because of this, seasons are identified by the opening animation used
for the episode, rather than a run of a fixed number of episodes. In certain
places, the different seasons are considered different shows altogether,
although they involve the same storylines and characters. To date, there are 15
total seasons, 14 of which have finished airing in the United States. The 14th
season began the Best Wishes series.
On
September 23, 2010, a new series, based on the Pokémon Black and White video
game series, began airing in Japan,with the Japanese title of Best Wishes! (ベストウイッシュ, Besuto UIsshu?). The first
season of this series, known as the Black & White season started airing in
the United States on February 12, 2011.
Specials
See also:
List of Pokémon special episodes
Except
main series and movies, the anime has also shown various specials and TV
shorts. In English-language broadcast, these have been played or are playing as
the Pokémon Chronicles or Pokémon Sunday series, alongside The Legend of
Thunder! special and several Pikachu shorts, Many of these specials centered
around legendary Pokémon or one or more of the main characters that is separate
from the main cast during its corresponding series, while the sporadically-made
later side story episodes typically air as special episodes. Another 8
additional OVAs were broadcast on numbered All Nippon Flights, as well as sold
by DVD exclusively. In addition, two 3D shorts were shown during the tour of
Japanese theme park Poképark.
Full-length
TV specials
The Birth of Mewtwo / The Origin of Mewtwo (ミュウツーの誕生, Myūtsū no Tanjō?)
An
animated adaptation of the "Birth of Mewtwo" radio drama, which was
later attached to the beginning of the first movie for the Japanese video
release. A small 3 minute heavily edited version was released on the US version
DVDs, while the full uncut version was made available on the Mewtwo Returns
DVD.
Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns / Mewtwo! I Am Here (ミュウツー! 我ハココニ在リ, Myūtsū! Ware wa Koko ni Ari?)
A made for television special that followed up
on Mewtwo after the events of the first movie.
The Legend of Thunder! (ライコウ 雷の伝説, Raikou: Ikaduchi no Densetsu?)
A made
for television special that showcased the legendary Raikou, as well as brand
new trainers. It became the first three episodes of Pokémon Chronicles. This
was based on the release of Pokémon Crystal and is called as such in the
Japanese title.
Normal-length
TV specials
The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon / The
Terrifying Mirage Pokémon (戦慄のミラージュポケモン, Senritsu no Mirāju Pokemon?)
An hour-long TV special commemorating the
tenth-anniversary of Pokémon in the United States.it aired on Kids' WB the
sister station of Cartoon Network that Had It features a variety of Pokémon as
artificial and stronger "mirages", including a supposedly "most
powerful" Pokémon creation. Pokémon shown to be mirages were Mew,
Kabutops, Omastar, Armaldo, Aggron, Aerodactyl, Houndoom, Absol, Mightyena,
Machoke, Machamp, Ursaring, Magnemite, Entei, Articuno, Zapdos, and Mewtwo.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out
Of The Gate! (ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 出動ポケモン救助隊ガンバルズ, Fushigi
no Danjon: Shutsudō Pokemon Kyūjotai Ganbaruzu!?, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon:
Pokémon Rescue Team Ganbarus on the March!)
A special anime based on the new video games
which was shown on Cartoon Network in the USA September 8, 2006. The main
characters in this special are a boy who was turned into a Squirtle, who formed
a team with a naturally born Charmander and Chikorita.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time
& Darkness (ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 時の探検隊・闇の探検隊, Pokemon Fushigi no Danjon: Toki no Tankentai -
Yami no Tankentai?)
A sequel to the anime special based on the new
video games prior to the Japanese release. The English version was shown on
Action Stations! in the UK on July 18, 2008. The USA airing was on September 1,
2008 (Labor Day in the U.S.) on Cartoon Network. This special opens with
Grovyle stealing a Time Gear - a circular object that controls time. The story
then switches to the main characters Piplup (who is really a boy turned Pokémon)
and Chimchar. Together with Chimchar, they become the exploration group Poképals
and work at helping Pokémon who are in need of rescue along with exploring
dungeons for treasure. After completing their first mission, to help a Shinx's
sister who is very sick, the show ends with an announcement that the Time Gear
has been stolen again. Piplup decides to stay with the team in order to help
rescue other Pokémon; recover the Time Gear; and find out why he has been
turned into a Pokémon. The last scene includes the message "to be
continued", as do all other episodes of Pokémon. Which seemed as if it was
implying there would be a full series, but such a series was never created.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky
Beyond Time & Darkness / Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Sky Expedition ~The Final
Adventure Surpassing Time and Darkness~ (ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 空の探検隊～時と闇をめぐる 最後の冒険～, Pokemon Fushigi no Danjon: Sora
no Tankentai ~Toki to Yami o Meguru Saigo no Bōken~?)
A follow-up to Explorers of Time &
Darkness, this anime special sees the Poképals teaming with Grovyle to battle
with Dusknoir in the Hidden Land to save the world. This was available with the
DSi game on a DVD for advance purchases at GameStop in the USA, and also
premiered on October 9, 2009 on Cartoon Network in the USA and the following
day on YTV in Canada.
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs (ポケモンレンジャー 光の軌跡, Pokemon Renjā Hikari no
Kiseki?)
A set of five-minute-long special episodes
based on the DS game Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs which aired as part of
Pokémon Sunday, it divided into two parts (Part 1 was aired on February 28,
2010, and Part 2 was aired on March 7, 2010). It shows in Oblivia Region, a
Pokémon Ranger named Natsuya, receives a mission of head for the archipelago to
stop a villainous team - Pokémon Pinchers' misdeeds from poaching and selling
Pokémon which tasked by Professor Hastings. During his mission, he meets
Ukulele Pichu and captures it.
Winter Vacation
Pikachu's Winter Vacation (ピカチュウのふゆやすみ Pikachū no Fuyuyasumi) is a series of winter themed Pikachu-centered shorts that went directly to video. The first two were part of the Pokémon Chronicles series. This was the only Pokémon DVD not released by Viz Video but rather 4Kids' normal way of releasing DVDs, being released by 4Kids and Funimation.ANA flights shorts
- Pikachu's Summer Festival (ピカチュウのなつまつり Pikachū no Natsumatsuri)
- The first short premiered on ANA flights on August 1, 2004.
- Pikachu's Ghost Carnival (ピカチュウのおばけカーニバル Pikachū no Obake Kānibaru)
- The second short premiered on ANA flights on August 1, 2005.
- Pikachu's Mischievous Island / Pikachu's Island Adventure (ピカチュウのわんぱくアイランド Pikachū no Wanpaku Airando)
- The third short premiered on ANA flights on August 1, 2006 and was released in the Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea DVD in the USA.
- Pikachu's Exploration Club (ピカチュウたんけんクラブ Pikachū Tanken Kurabu)
- The fourth short premiered on ANA flights on August 1, 2007.
- Pikachu's Great Ice Adventure (ピカチュウ 氷の大冒険 Pikachū Kōri no Daibōken)
- The fifth short premiered on ANA flights on August 1, 2008.
- Pikachu's Great Sparking Search (ピカチュウのキラキラだいそうさく Pikachū no Kirakira Daisōsaku)
- The sixth short premiered on ANA flights on August 1, 2009 and was released in the Pokémon Ranger: Locus of Light DVD in Japan.
- Pikachu's Strange Wonder Adventure (ピカチュウのふしぎなふしぎな大冒険 Pikachū no Fushigina Fushigina Daibōken)
- The seventh short premiered on ANA flights on August 1, 2010.
- Pikachu's Summer Bridge Story (ピカチュウのサマー・ブリッジ・ストーリー Pikachū no samā burijji sutōrī)
- The eighth short premiered on ANA flights on August 1, 2011.
3D shorts
- Pokémon 3D Adventure: Find Mew! (ポケモン3Dアドベンチャー ミュウを探せ! Pokemon 3D Adobenchā: Myū o Sagase!)
- The first Pokémon 3D short that was shown as the PokéPark in Japan in 2005.
- Pokémon 3D Adventure 2: Pikachu's Big Undersea Adventure (ポケモン3Dアドベンチャー2 ピカチュウの海底大冒険 Pokemon 3D Adobenchā 2: Pikachū no Kaitei Daibōken)
- The second Pokémon 3D short, shown when PokéPark was in Taiwan in 2006.
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