Original series

First original series logo

The original series of the Pokémon anime (Japanese: ポケットモンスター Pocket Monsters) is the first series of the Pokémon anime. Unlike later series, the name of the original series comes only from the need to differentiate it from the three later series. It ran from April 1, 1997 to November 14, 2002 in Japan and from September 7, 1998 to October 25, 2003 in the United States.

During the original series, rookie Trainer Ash Ketchum begins his journey in Kanto, leaving his home of Pallet Town with the only starter Pokémon that Professor Oak had left to give: a reluctant and moody Pikachu. Ash's quest begins in earnest to defeat all of the Gym Leaders and get to the Pokémon League as soon as he has gained Pikachu's trust, and he is joined by two mentors, Misty and Brock.

After competing in the Indigo Plateau Conference and not doing so well, Ash journeys to the Orange Archipelago to receive the GS Ball from Professor Ivy, as it cannot be transported to Professor Oak by PC. During his time there, Ash competes in another Pokémon League, the Orange League and meets a new friend named Tracey Sketchit. When Oak cannot figure out how to open the GS Ball on Ash's return to Pallet, the Professor sends Ash to Johto to give the Ball to Kurt. While there, Ash again competes in a Pokémon League, the Silver Conference.

A poster for the series, featuring Ash, Misty, Brock and some of their Pokémon.

Dub seasons

When the anime was dubbed into English and other languages, the series was divided into five "seasons":

• Pokémon: Indigo League (EP001–EP081)
• Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands (EP082–EP116)
• Pokémon: The Johto Journeys (EP117–EP157)
• Pokémon: Johto League Champions (EP158–EP209)
• Pokémon: Master Quest (EP210–EP274)

Episodes in the original series are numbered with the prefix EP on Bulbapedia. For a complete episode listing, see the list of original series episodes.

Other logos

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  Second original series logo

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  Third original series logo

Trivia

• Originally, this series of the anime was only to have lasted a year and a half, approximately as long as the Kanto saga lasted.
• At two hundred seventy-four episodes, this is the anime's longest series. This is because it adapted the games from two generations, I and II. The following series are adaptations of games of only one generation each.
  • Minus the 81-episode Kanto saga, which covered the storyline of Generation I, the series contains 193 episodes, only two more than the Diamond & Pearl series and only one more than the Advanced Generation series.

In other languages

This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.