Pokémon anime: Difference between revisions

The '''Pokémon {{wp|anime}}''', often referred to as just "the anime" by [[Pokémon]] fans, is a collective term referring to currently {{formatnum:{{#expr: {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Original series episodes}} - 2 + {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Advanced Generation series episodes}} - 1 + {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Diamond & Pearl series episodes}} - 2 + {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Best Wishes series episodes}} - 4 + {{PAGESINCATEGORY:XY series episodes}} - 6 + {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Sun & Moon series episodes}} + {{PAGESINCATEGORY:New series episodes}} - 1 - ({{PAGESINCATEGORY:Anime seasons}} - 1) - 6}}}} main series episodes, {{#expr: {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Movies}} - 8}} movies, and a number of side stories, all focusing on {{OBP|Pokémon|species}}. The great majority of these focus on [[Ash Ketchum]], a [[Pokémon Trainer]] from [[Pallet Town]], and his journey toward his ultimate goal of being a [[Pokémon Master]], {{ashfr|his many friends}}, and most especially {{cat|Ash's Pokémon|his Pokémon}}, whom he considers his partners and friends.

The anime has aired in 169<ref>https://www.pokemon.co.jp/corporate/en/services/</ref> {{cat|Pokémon around the world|different countries and regions}}, many times being [[dub]]bed into other languages for different locales. It is available on [[Netflix]] in 217 countries with different dubs and subtitles, and all countries except Japan have at least English audio.<ref>http://unogs.com/video/?v=80088367</ref> [[The Pokémon Company International]] usually refers to the anime as the "Pokémon animated series" or "Pokémon television series", while some [[event Pokémon]] based on Pokémon from the anime have their location set as "the Pokémon cartoon" in the English version of the games. It is also referred to formally as '''''Pokémon the Series''''' (Japanese: '''テレビアニメ「ポケットモンスター」シリーズ''' ''TV Anime "Pocket Monsters" Series'').

From the [[EP001|very 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 {{pkmn|journey}} have shown him what being a Pokémon Master really is. Unlike most Trainers from Pallet, and indeed, unlike players of {{game2|Red|Green|Blue}} and {{game|FireRed and LeafGreen|s}}, Ash did not start his journey with {{p|Bulbasaur}}, {{p|Charmander}}, or {{p|Squirtle}}, as he arrived late to {{an|Professor Oak}}'s [[Professor Oak's Laboratory|lab]] to receive his [[starter Pokémon]]. Instead, Ash was given the only Pokémon Oak had left to give, a {{AP|Pikachu}} that did not enjoy being inside his {{i|Poké Ball}}, and from there Ash learned to treat his Pokémon as partners, earning Pikachu's trust by keeping him safe from a flock of {{p|Spearow}} he angered.

Since then, Ash has journeyed across all seven of the regions that appear in the [[core series]] [[Pokémon games]], as well as the [[Orange Archipelago]], a region he visited before beginning his journey in [[Johto]] until it was closer in time to the real-world release of {{game|Gold and Silver|s}}. In each, he battles against the local [[Gym Leader]]s for their [[Badge]]s, as do Trainers in the core series games, to compete in the regional [[Pokémon League]], a [[Pokémon League Conference|championship tournament]], rather than five battles straight against the [[Elite Four]] and {{pkmn|Champion}}. While his initial strategy was to continue using the same party over the course of his {{pkmn|journey}}, letting some Pokémon go when they were required to do something or wanted to train, he has, since his journey in Hoenn, changed strategy, and now uses 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.

Over the course of the series, Ash has had several {{AP|friends}} who travel with him, typically across one region, who assist him in his journey as much as he assists in theirs. {{an|Misty}}, the Gym Leader from [[Cerulean City]] in the games, joins him in the [[original series]], as does {{an|Brock}}, [[Pewter City]]'s Gym Leader, in [[Kanto]], [[Johto]], [[Hoenn]], and [[Sinnoh]]. [[Tracey Sketchit]], an amateur [[Pokémon watcher]], joins Ash during his Orange Archipelago journey, but leaves him on Ash's return to Pallet to become an assistant to Professor Oak, his hero. {{an|May}} and {{an|Dawn}}, rookie {{pkmn|Coordinator}}s, join Ash for the duration of the {{series2|Advanced Generation}} and {{series|Diamond & 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 the ''Advanced Generation'' series. {{an|Iris}} and {{an|Cilan}} travel with Ash in the {{series|Best Wishes}}. {{an|Clemont}}, his sister {{an|Bonnie}} and Ash's childhood friend {{an|Serena}} travel with Ash in the {{series|XY}}. Like Max, Bonnie is too young to own Pokémon, but cares for her brother's {{p|Dedenne}}. In the {{series|Sun & Moon}}, Ash attends the [[Pokémon School]] instead of traveling around the [[Alola]] region. As such, his new friends—{{an|Lillie}}, {{an|Mallow}}, {{an|Kiawe}}, {{an|Lana}}, and {{an|Sophocles}}—are not traveling companions but classmates.

The anime is produced in Japan by [[OLM Incorporated|OLM]] in association with [[Shogakukan|ShoPro]] and [[JR Kikaku]] and airs on [[TV Tokyo]] nearly every week. Until the [[EP038|Porygon incident]], the show aired every Tuesday at 7 PM. The show returned afterwards at the same time on Thursdays. From April 7, 2016, to September 13, 2018, it instead began five minutes earlier at 6:55 PM on Thursdays. Since October 7, 2018, the show airs each Sunday at 6 PM. Many fans consider the dialogue and events mentioned in the Japanese version to be the "true canon", while the various dubs are regarded to be overridden if something stated in them differs from something said in a Japanese episode.

In Japan, the anime is divided into seven [[series]]: ''[[Original series|Pocket Monsters]]'', ''[[Advanced Generation series|Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation]]'', ''[[Diamond & Pearl series|Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl]]'', ''[[Best Wishes series|Pocket Monsters Best Wishes]]'', ''[[XY series|Pocket Monsters XY]]'', ''[[Sun & Moon series|Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon]]'', and ''[[New series|Pocket Monsters]]''. Outside of it, it has been divided into seven series: ''[[Original series|Pokémon the Series: The Beginning]]'', ''[[Original series|Pokémon the Series: Gold & Silver]]'', ''[[Advanced Generation series|Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire]]'', ''[[Diamond & Pearl series|Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl]]'', ''[[Best Wishes series|Pokémon the Series: Black and White]]'', ''[[XY series|Pokémon the Series: XY]]'', and ''[[Sun & Moon series|Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon]]''. The episodes are also further divided into [[season]]s spanning roughly 52 episodes, and currently {{cat|Anime seasons|numbering {{#expr: {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Anime seasons}} - 1}}}}. This concept of a television season was first embraced by the Japanese source with the inclusion of an explicitly second season to ''Best Wishes''.

==={{series|Advanced Generation}}===

| rowspan="5" style="background: #FFF; {{roundybl|5px}}" | [[File:Advanced Generation series logo.png|150px|Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation]]<br>[[Advanced Generation series|Pocket Monsters<br>Advanced Generation]]

==={{series|Diamond & Pearl}}===

| rowspan="4" style="background: #FFF; {{roundybl|5px}}" | [[File:Diamond and Pearl Series logo.png|150px|Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl]]<br>[[Diamond & Pearl series|Pocket Monsters<br>Diamond & Pearl]]

==={{series|Best Wishes}}===

| [[File:Pokemon Best Wishes Series.png|166px|Best Wishes]]<br>[[Best Wishes series|Pocket Monsters<br>Best Wishes!]]

| [[File:Best Wishes 2 logo.png|166px|Best Wishes]]<br>[[Best Wishes series|Pocket Monsters<br>Best Wishes! Season 2]]

| [[File:Best Wishes Season 2 Episode N logo.png|166px|Best Wishes N]]<br>[[Best Wishes series|Pocket Monsters Best Wishes!<br>Season 2: Episode N]]

| style="background: #FFF; {{roundybl|5px}}" | [[File:Best Wishes Season 2 Decolora Adventure logo.png|166px|Best Wishes Da!]]<br>[[Best Wishes series|Pocket Monsters Best Wishes!<br>Season 2: Decolora Adventure]]

==={{series|XY}}===

| rowspan="3" | [[File:XY series logo.png|150px|Pocket Monsters XY]]<br>[[XY series|Pocket Monsters XY]]

| style="background: #FFF; {{roundybl|5px}}" | [[File:XY & Z logo.png|150px|Pocket Monsters XY&Z]]<br>[[XY series|Pocket Monsters XY&Z]]

==={{series|Sun & Moon}}===

| style="background: #FFF; {{roundybl|5px}}" rowspan="4" | [[File:SM series logo.png|150px|Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon]]<br>[[Sun & Moon series|Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon]]

===[[New series]]===

| style="background: #FFF; {{roundybl|5px}}" | [[File:Pocket Monsters new series logo.png|150px|Pocket Monsters]]<br>[[New series|Pocket Monsters]]

| style="background: #FFF" | [[File:SS001.png|166px|SS001]]<br>[[SS001]]

| style="background: #FFF" | <!--[[File:Season 23 logo.png|150px|TBA]]<br>[[S23|TBA]]-->TBA

| style="background: #FFF" | <!--[[File:OPE23.png|166px|TBA]]<br>[[TBA]]-->TBA

| style="background: #FFF; {{roundybr|5px}}" | <!--[[File:SS001.png|166px|SS001]]<br>[[SS001]]-->TBA

==={{series|Advanced Generation}}===

==={{series|Diamond & Pearl}}===

==={{series|Best Wishes}}===

==={{series|XY}}===

==={{series|Sun & Moon}}===

| style="background: #FFF" | [[File:M22 key art.png|150px|Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution]]<br>''[[M22|Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution]]''

===[[New series]]===

| style="{{roundybl|10px}} background: #FFF" | [[File:M23 teaser poster.png|150px|Coco]]<br>ココ<br><small>''Coco''</small>

| style="background: #FFF" | July 10, 2020

| style="background: #FFF" | January 15, 2020 - Summer 2020

| style="{{roundybr|5px}}; background: #FFF" | January 15, 2020 - Summer 2020

* During the early episodes of the {{series|original}}, Japanese text was seen quite frequently on signs and buildings as well as objects. This usually resulted in the English dubbed version (and thus, foreign dubs based on it) painting out the text or converting it to English.

** During the [[Johto]] saga, the animators acknowledged the practice of painting out the Japanese text in the English dub, so they used made-up symbols slightly similar to the Latin script instead of Japanese text, so it would be universal to all languages and would not have to be edited for the English localization.

** During the {{series2|Advanced Generation}} and {{series|Diamond & Pearl}}, the animators used a new style of symbols that appear to be blocky letters without a resemblance to any alphabet. However, most of these were still edited out for the English dub until ''[[S09|Pokémon: Battle Frontier]]''.

** From the {{series|Best Wishes}} and onward, a full writing system was specifically created for the anime. This language consists of three different fonts: a font used for titles, big signboards, etc.; other font used as less remarkable text accompanying the title font; and other font used only occasionally as a minor text filler. Each font has 26 unique symbols, and each one of those symbols represents a letter from the modern Latin script.

* Fingernails are not consistently drawn on characters, with the exception of the {{series|XY}}. Some characters have fingernails in the {{series|Sun & Moon}}.