pokemon

Pokémon (animation)
ポケットモンスター
(Pocket Monsters)
Genre Adventure, Fantasy, Kodomo
TV anime
Director Masamitsu Hidaka (1997-2006)
Norihiko Sudo (2006-present)
Studio OLM, Inc.
Licensor 4Kids Entertainment (1998–2006)
Pokémon USA (2006-present)
Network TV Tokyo
English network Syndication (September 1998–January 1999)
Kids' WB! (February 1999–September 2006)
Cartoon Network (September 2006–current)
Boomerang (2005-Present)
[show]Other networks:
Flag of Canada YTV
Flag of the United Kingdom Sky1, CITV Channel, Cartoon Network, Cartoon Network TOO, Jetix
Flag of Australia Channel Ten, Cartoon Network
Flag of Brazil Cartoon Network
Flag of France Fox Kids, Gulli
Flag of Italy Italia 1
Flag of Portugal SIC
Flag of the Philippines GMA 7' Cartoon Network
Flag of South Korea Tooniverse
Flag of the People's Republic of China YoYo TV
Flag of the Republic of China Yoyo TV
Flag of Poland Polsat, TV4, Jetix
Flag of India Flag of Pakistan Cartoon Network
Flag of the Arab League MBC, Spacetoon, TRT, New TV
Flag of Russia Channel One, TNT, Jetix
Flag of Ukraine Inter, 1+1, NTN
Flag of Poland Jetix
Original run April 1, 1997 – ongoing
Episodes 588


Anime and Manga Portal

Pokémon (abbreviated from Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター ,Poketto Monsutā?) in Japan) is an ongoing Japanese animated series, which has since been adapted for the North American and European television market. It is somewhat 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 three series, including Pokémon: Advanced Generation and subsequently Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, which continue the story of Pokémon, while its spin-off Pokémon Chronicles or, as it is known in Japan, Pokémon Sunday (formerly Shūkan Pokémon Hōsōkyoku) is a series of stories revolving around some of the recurring characters.
Conte

Introduction Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in the original japanese) just becomes a Pokémon trainer. He Starts of in the Kanto Region. He is stuck with Pikachu. He has rival named Gary. Ash accidentally destroys the bike of girl named Misty. Misty starts following him to get her bike back.

In the Johto League, Ash is defeated by a Pokémon trainer from the Hoenn region, thus beginning his new journey into the region. Misty leaves Ash's side to take care of the gym along with her sisters, and Brock, who also returns home to resolve some family issues. Ash changes his outfit before heading to the Hoenn region with only Pikachu.

In Hoenn, Ash gets to know May (Haruka in the original japanese) and her younger brother Max (Masato in the original japanese), who join in his journey. May is excited by the Pokémon Contests that take place in Kanto and Hoenn, while Max joins the group to gain experience so that one day he will have his own Pokémon and become gym leader like his father Norman, the gym leader of Petalburg City. Having solved his problems, Brock who also changed his attire, is back with Ash and new friends to continue his dream of becoming Pokémon Breeder. This season, Gary leaves his promising career as a Pokémon Trainer to become Pokémon researcher.

After Ash becomes the winner in the Battle Frontier, May goes to Johto. Max returns to Petalburg City and Brock returns to Pewter City. Ash finds a new region called Sinnoh, where he embarks on a new journey. Brock comes back and they both meet Dawn, a new trainer who hopes to become a great Pokémon Coordinator, like her mother. Ash meets a new rival, Paul who prefers to capture the strongest Pokémon leaving the weak who are released.

[edit] Characters
Main article: List of Pokémon anime characters

[edit] Current main characters
The main characters from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl series (from left to right) Brock, Ash and Dawn

Ash Ketchum, known in Japan as (サトシ ,Satoshi?)
The main character, or protagonist, of the series, Ash dreams of being the greatest Pokémon Master in the world.
Pikachu (ピカチュウ ,Pikachū?)
Ash’s very first Pokémon and best friend. He has always stuck to Ash through thick and thin.
Dawn, known in Japan as (ヒカリ ,Hikari?)
New heroine of the series when Ash comes to Sinnoh, dreams of being a great coordinator like her mother.
Brock, known in Japan as (タケシ ,Takeshi?)
Former Pewter Gym leader, he dreams of being the world’s best Pokémon breeder. He also falls in love with most girls he sees.

[edit] Former Main Characters

Misty, known in Japan as (カスミ ,Kasumi?)
One of Ash’s travelling friends through Kanto, the Orange Islands and Johto. Misty loves water Pokémon and is currently the Cerulean City gym leader. She was the first female protagonist on the show. Her dream is to be the world's greatest Water Pokémon Master.
Tracey Sketchit, known in Japan as (ケンジ ,Kenji?)
One of Ash’s traveling friends through the Orange Islands, Tracey is a Pokémon watcher, and is currently Professor Oak’s assistant.
May, known in Japan as (ハルカ ,Haruka?)
One of Ash’s travelling friends through Hoenn and the Kanto Battle Frontier, is currently in Johto competing in the contests there. She appears in several Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Battle Dimension episodes as a minor character.
Max, known in Japan as (マサト ,Masato?)
May’s little brother, Max is a very smart (and often annoying) little boy, and is now back with his parents in Petalburg City, where he will begin his own journey.


[edit] Team Rocket

Team Rocket (ロケット団 ,Roketto Dan?) is an evil organization led by Giovanni. They have operations in Kanto and Johto. However, they have not set up permanent operations in Hoenn and Sinnoh, meaning Jessie, James and Meowth are the only operatives there. They have been present in nearly every episode of the Pokémon saga.

[edit] Media

[edit] Anime series

The first series tells the story of Ash Ketchum (known as Satoshi in the Japanese version, he is named after Pokémon's creator, Satoshi Tajiri), his friends, and his quest to become a Pokémon Master, as well as their quests. However, unlike in the video games, he is given a Pikachu as his first Pokémon under unusual circumstances. Much of the series focuses on the friendship between Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Brock, May, Max, Tracey, Dawn and the various Pokémon and Trainers along the way. Joining Ash on his adventures are Brock (known as Takeshi in Japan) who wants to become the world's best Pokémon breeder and Misty (Kasumi in Japan) who wants to be a water Pokémon master (Brock and Misty were gym leaders in the original Pokémon games, and were in the anime too but were able to travel with Ash due to different circumstances).

The other two series continue to follow the adventures of Ash and his friends. However, starting with the Advanced Generation series a new main character named May (Haruka in Japan) travels with Ash, Brock and also her little brother Max (Masato in Japan) through the Hoenn region replacing Misty, and competes in Pokémon Contests, which are set up in a similar manner to Pokémon Gyms (many throughout the region, and ending with a large tournament), although immensely different.

Throughout the run of the show the subject matter changes. In the original series, the show is more comical and whimsical (light and airy). It uses "goofy" humor (or "cute" humor when it comes to Pikachu, who does wacky things in between important scenes). In the Advanced Generation series as Ash becomes more of a mature and leader-type character, the main course of the show becomes more serious, as it deals with love and death, and its previous comical nature (for the most part) changes into comic relief, attributed mostly to Team Rocket and Brock's love of girls, though the Diamond and Pearl series seems to have returned to using the original comical nature (mostly Ash being the straight man to his Pokémon's antics and Dawn taking the role of the naive beginner).

[edit] Series names

Like many anime metaseries, Pokémon: The Original Series, Pokémon: Advanced Generation Series and Pokémon: Diamond And Pearl Series episodes are split up into smaller series for the English release, usually to denote the areas and adventures going on. Because of this, series 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 series are considered different shows altogether, although they involve the same storylines and characters. To date there are 11 total series completed, ten of such have aired in the United States. One is currently being aired. Another series is currently in production and will finish the confirmed trilogy of Sinnoh.