Canon

If you were looking for the move whose Japanese name can be translated as Canon, see Round (move).

Canon refers to all official and undeniable information within a general series. Originally a religious term used to refer to which scriptures written "counted" in a religion, the term has expanded to have meaning in fictional series as well.

In the Pokémon franchise, notably, there are several canons, sharing several things among them, most notably the existence of Pokémon. Aside from this and the interrelation of the various species of Pokémon (such as by evolution), these worlds can vary from one another in canon and storyline either very little or very greatly.

Canon is different from fanon in that, while fanon things may be mutually agreed upon by most, and possibly all, fans, they are never officially stated.

List of canons

Games

The canon of the main series considers the following:

• Events occurring in the main series versions are the ultimate canon.
• Player choices such as the hero's gender and starter Pokémon are generally not standardized within the canon, with the exception of Red in the Generation I games and their remakes.
• In the case of conflicts between versions of a game, the later one such as a third version or remake, supersedes. As such, Pokémon Yellow Version canonically supersedes Pokémon Red and Blue Versions, while Pokémon Platinum Version is canon instead of its paired counterparts Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Versions. If equally new versions, such as paired versions, conflict, the canonical one is generally not standardized.
• Content from games related to the main series is canon unless it conflicts with events in the main series games, while content from unrelated spin-offs is generally non-canon.
• Canonical material via other forms of media, like animated trailers, manuals or merchandise, may exist depending on each case.

Anime

The canon of the Pokémon anime considers the following:

• The events of each and every episode are canon, and occur in chronological order with the exception of EP052, which takes place before EP049.
• All movies are canon, and usually act the same as "filler" episodes, as Ash and his friends do not obtain, evolve, or release any Pokémon, and do not get any Badges or Ribbons. The episodes a movie premieres between in Japan are the episodes that precede and follow it in chronological order, except in the case of Mewtwo Strikes Back, which occurs between EP067 and EP068 (but premiered between EP054 and EP055) and The Power of One which occurs between EP105 and EP106 (but premiered between EP104 and EP105), among a few others.
• The Japanese version of the anime is thought by some to supersede any and all other dubs if there is conflict between them. If something is said in the translated versions that is not mentioned in the original, some may not consider it to be truly canon.

Manga

The canon of the various Pokémon manga considers the following:

• Each manga series is a separate canon, except in instances of sequels, such as Pokémon Chamo-Chamo ☆ Pretty ♪, which follows from Magical Pokémon Journey.
• Pokémon Adventures chapters and rounds follow chronologically from one another, rather than having the Ruby & Sapphire and Emerald arcs occur contemporaneously to the Red, Green & Blue and Yellow arcs as the storylines of the games they are based on do. The same applies to Diamond & Pearl and Platinum arcs which do not occur simultaneously with the Gold, Silver & Crystal arc. The exception to this rule is HeartGold & SoulSilver arc, which occurs between Emerald and Diamond & Pearl. Although the rounds of a chapter follow chronologically from one another there are few exceptions to this: for example, Buzz Off, Butterfree! (round 152) takes place simultaneously with Slugging It Out With Slugma (round 117).

Differences between canons

Characters that are well-known in the Pokémon franchise can have vast differences between the various canons. For example, in the games, Brock is a well-known Gym Leader, the toughest Trainer in the area of Pewter City, and remains as the leader of its Gym between the time of Red/Leaf's journey and Ethan/Kris/Lyra's. In the anime, however, while he is a tough Trainer, his true calling is as a Pokémon Breeder (and later on, a Pokémon Doctor), and he took the mantle of Pewter Gym Leader only because both of his parents left on their own Pokémon journeys, leaving him in the care of the Gym and their rather large family. Differences can go much further than that, with Sabrina being a kind shrine maiden in The Electric Tale of Pikachu, a misguided young woman due to the development of her powers in the anime, and a Team Rocket member in Pokémon Adventures.