Since the airing of Pokemon’s first season in 1997, many have became hooked to the adventures of Ash Ketchum as he travels across regions with one goal in mind: to become a Pokemon master.
This guide will be your Pokedex to navigating the Pokemon anime, helping you decide how to watch Pokemon in order.
As a vital part of the franchise, the Pokemon anime series helped a lot in keeping the Pokemon fanbase alive by releasing a new season every time a new game comes out.
Whether it’s for invoking feelings of nostalgia or simply delving deeper into the lore of Pokemon, watching the anime is a mark of a true Pokemon fan.
If you’re planning to binge watch the entire series, you have a long road ahead of you. Here is a complete guide on how to watch Pokemon in order, including the movies.
About Pokemon the animated series
Pokemon follows the story of a young boy from Kanto region named Ash Ketchum, where he and his partner, Pikachu, explore a world full of curious creatures known as Pokemon.
Unlike real-life animals, every Pokemon species can be captured and trained for various purposes, such as battling.
Both humans and Pokemon take pride in the sport, leading to the establishment of Pokemon Leagues: organizations in charge of hosting tournaments for the most competitive Pokemon trainers.
Ash dreams of becoming a Pokemon master, so he travels to different regions of the Pokemon world and participates in sanctioned tournaments.
Throughout Ash’s journey he learns important life lessons, makes new friends, and even loses battles along the way.
How to watch Pokemon in order? Here are all seasons and movies of Pokemon anime in order
| POKEMON SERIES AND MOVIE TITLE | RELEASE DATE | NO. OF EPISODES |
| Indigo League | April 1, 1997 | 82 |
| Pokemon: The First Movie (movie) | July 18, 1998 | — |
| Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution (movie remake of Pokemon: The First Movie) | July 12, 2019 | — |
| Pokemon Detective Pikachu (live action movie) | May 2, 2019 | — |
| Adventures in the Orange Islands | January 28, 1999 | 36 |
| Pokemon: The Movie 2000 (movie) | July 17, 1999 | — |
| The Johto Journeys | October 14, 1999 | 41 |
| Pokemon 3: The Movie – Spell of the Unown (movie) | July 8, 2000 | — |
| Johto League Champions | August 3, 2000 | 52 |
| Pokemon 4Ever: Celebi – Voice of the Forest (movie) | July 7, 2001 | — |
| Master Quest | August 9, 2001 | 65 |
| Pokemon Heroes: Latios and Latias (movie) | July 13, 2002 | — |
| Advanced | November 21, 2002 | 40 |
| Jirachi – Wish Maker (movie) | July 19, 2003 | — |
| Advanced Challenge | September 4, 2003 | 52 |
| Destiny Deoxys (movie) | July 17, 2004 | — |
| Advanced Battle | September 9, 2004 | 53 |
| Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (movie) | July 16, 2005 | — |
| Battle Frontier | October 6, 2005 | 47 |
| Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (movie) | July 15, 2006 | — |
| Diamond and Pearl | September 28, 2006 | 52 |
| The Rise of Darkrai (movie) | July 14, 2007 | — |
| Diamond and Pearl: Battle Dimension | November 8, 2007 | 52 |
| Giratina and the Sky Warrior (movie) | July 19, 2008 | — |
| Diamond and Pearl: Galactic Battles | December 4, 2008 | 53 |
| Arceus and the Jewel of Life (movie) | July 18, 2009 | — |
| Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors | January 7, 2010 | 34 |
| Zoroark – Master of Illusions (movie) | July 10, 2010 | — |
| Black & White | September 23, 2010 | 48 |
| White – Victini and Zekrom/ Black – Victini and Reshiram (movie) | July 16, 2011 | — |
| Black & White: Rival Destinies | September 22, 2011 | 49 |
| Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice (movie) | July 14, 2012 | — |
| Black & White: Adventures in Unova and Beyond | October 11, 2012 | 45 |
| Genesect and the Legend Awakened (movie) | July 13, 2013 | — |
| XY | October 17, 2013 | 48 |
| Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction (movie) | July 19, 2014 | — |
| XY: Kalos Quest | November 13, 2014 | 45 |
| Hoopa and the Clash of Ages (movie) | July 18, 2015 | — |
| Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel (movie) | July 16, 2016 | — |
| XYZ | October 29, 2015 | 47 |
| Sun & Moon | November 17, 2016 | 43 |
| Sun & Moon: Ultra Adventures | October 5, 2017 | 49 |
| Sun & Moon: Ultra Legends | October 21, 2018 | 54 |
| Journeys | November 17, 2019 | 48 |
| Master Journeys | December 11, 2020 | 42 |
| Ultimate Journeys | December 17, 2021 | 57 |
| Horizons | April 14, 2023 | 48 |
Ash Ketchum concluded his part of the story in the 25th season of the series, Ultimate Journeys. Horizon, the latest season, features two new protagonists, Roy and Liko.
Additionally, take note that Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution contains the same story as Pokemon: The First Movie, but in CGI animation.
For the live-action film Pokemon Detective Pikachu, we highly recommend watching it after Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution, since its writers confirmed that it’s canon to the first Pokemon movie.
All non-canon Pokemon movies in order
The following movies are set in an alternate timeline, although Ash remains the main character:
| POKEMON MOVIE TITLE | RELEASE DATE |
| I Choose You! | July 15, 2017 |
| The Power of Us | July 13, 2018 |
| Secrets of the Jungle | December 25, 2020 |
There you have it, all Pokemon anime shows in order.
We hope this series is long enough to keep you occupied for months as you witness how Ash Ketchum makes his way to become the world’s best Pokemon trainer. And that concludes our article on how to watch Pokemon in order.
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