- Updated on: July 26, 2022
- by Ernie
One of the most unforgettable aspects of our youth was Pokémon, a world full of fresh creatures, characters, and adventures. In it were characters we could identify with, people we aspired to become, and Team Rocket, the greatest comedic evil trio ever.
The majority of us, however, quit watching Pokémon and went on to other interesting shows. In any case, we are occasionally forced to reminisce, and while doing that, a major roadblock seems to stand in our way.
Table of Contents
One which is as long as 1000 episodes. Even when we stopped watching it, Pokémon never truly stopped. Despite this, Pokémon is still a lot of fun to watch and constantly has something fresh to offer.
What began in 1997 with the first episode called Indigo League now has 23 seasons, 20 films, and 1110 episodes. This has always posed a question to some fans who don’t know just what Season or Episodes to watch first and which one to move to. But your questions just got answered, as here is a list of the seasons in the series, as they precede each other upon release
Listed below is the sequential order of the seasons in the Pokémon series:
Table of Content
Quick Watch Order
- Season 1: Indigo League (1997–99)
- Season 2: Adventures on the Orange Islands (1999)
- Seasons 3-5: Johto League (2000-2002)
- Seasons 6-8: Advanced Generation (2002-05)
- Season 9: Battle Frontier (2005–06)
- Seasons 10-13: Diamond and Pearl (2006-10)
- Seasons 14-16: Black & White (2010-13)
- Seasons 17-19: X & Y (2013-16)
- Seasons 20-22: Sun & Moon (2016-2019)
- Season 23: Pokémon Journeys: The Series (2019–present)
- Season 24 Pokémon Journeys: The Series (2021-present)
Season 1: Indigo League (1997–99)
Episodes: 1-82
After oversleeping on the day, he is to receive his first Pokémon, Ash Ketchum awakens in fright and runs into Gary Oak, who will become Ash’s adversary in the world of Pokémon. Upon Ash’s arrival at Professor Oak’s Lab, he found that the Professor had already handed away three of the Pokémon he trusts to new Pokémon Trainers (Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle).
Pikachu is the only Pokémon he has left, which he presents to Ash as a gift. When Ash tries to become friends with Pikachu to help him on his trip, it refuses to trust him and even attacks him with its electric abilities. Just as Pikachu begins to understand how much Ash cares, Ash steps in to save him from a bunch of furious Spearows.
As he progresses through the ranks of the various Pokémon Leagues across the globe, Ash meets many Pokémon and human friends. As he travels through the Kanto region, he makes friends with Misty, a Water Pokémon trainer and former Gym Leader of the Cerulean City, and Brock, a Pewter City Gym Leader and a Pokémon Breeder, and also ruining the plans of Team Rocket’s Meowth, James, and Jessie in their attempt to steal Pikachu and all other scarce Pokémon they see.
The Leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni, presented Raticate, Butch, and Cassidy, three new members who are of high rank in Team Rocket who seek to abduct Pokémon so they may learn their abilities. For Ash to participate in the Indigo Conference League, he must earn eight badges from Gym Leaders in the Kanto area of Japan.
A fourth-round loss knocks Gary into the Top 32. Ash makes it to the Top 16 but loses to Ritchie in the fifth round of the competition. The Top 8 is rounded out by Ritchie’s defeat against Assunta in the sixth round.
Season 2: Adventures On The Orange Islands (1999)
Episodes: 83-118
Upon their arrival at the Orange Islands, Ash lets go of his Pidgeot, and Brock chooses to remain with the local professor, Ivy, allowing Misty and Ash to continue their journey together. They eventually meet and travel with Tracey Sketchit (an artist and Pokémon Watcher).
Ash beats four Gym Leaders at Orange Islands and is crowned Orange League champion. When they arrive in Kanto’s Pallet Town, Tracey chooses to remain by Professor Oak’s side, and Brock re-joins the party. Before leaving the Kanto area, Ash loses against Gary. Lapras is released by Ash. Following that, the group begins to travel to the Johto region.
Seasons 3-5: Johto League (2000-2002)
Episodes: 119-276
Ash embarks on new experiences in the Johto region with Brock and Misty in the second instalment of the Original Series. Kurt, the creator of Capricorn Poké Balls, receives the GS Ball from Ash. Ash’s mission is to beat the eight Johto Gym Leaders and attend the Silver Conference. Jessie from Team Rocket gets a new companion in the form of a Wobbuffet.
Ash defeats Gary for the first match in the Silver Conference, advancing him to the Top 16, but Ash is defeated by Harrison in the semi-finals, dropping him to the Top 8. However, Harrison loses against Jon Dickson in the semi-finals, dropping him to fourth place. Finally, Ash made his return to the Kanto area to go on a voyage to the Hoenn region. Misty also returned to the Cerulean City in Kanto to take on the position of full-time Gym Leader of Cerulean City, and she repaired her bike, which was damaged at the start of Ash’s journey.
Seasons 6-8: Advanced Generation (2002-05)
Episodes: 277-421
With Ash’s one and only goal in his mind, Pokemon Advanced Generation revolves around Ash Ketchum’s goal to collect all the gym badges just so he can participate in the Hoenn Competition. While Ash is slowly getting near to his goal, he meets his new fellows named May, Brock, and Max. May is a very friendly girl who tends to become friends with everyone but at the same time, she’s quite cold. Meanwhile, May’s brother is Max who looks like a kid but is actually pretty smart to be called one. Brock is a twisted guy whose eyes can’t be seen throughout the anime. So, that’s what you know about these characters now. If you haven’t watched Pokemon Advanced, you’re missing out on a lot. Personally, this season is my most favorite season of all time! What about you guys?
Brock accompanies Ash on his journey to Hoenn, where he meets two new friends: a Pokémon Coordinator named May and her little brother named Max, with whom he embarks on an adventure. May gathers five ribbons in preparation for the Grand Festival held at Hoenn and the Grand Festival at Kanto.
Misty reappears and subsequently frees her Togepi, which has evolved into Togetic. Ash beats all eight gym leaders at Hoenn and competes in the Ever Grande Conference, but he lost in the quarterfinals against Tyson (Tetsuya), putting him among the Top 8.
Season 9: Battle Frontier (2005–06)
Episodes: 421-468
On their approach to another Battle Frontier site, Ash, the Battle Pike, and his companions come across an enraged Elekid who assaults every Pokémon that gets in his path. May’s egg gets caught between Elekid’s horns after it assaults Max, May, Brock, and Ash and it flees. Team Rocket runs into the Elekid from before and becomes split up from Mime Jr. Brock notices the Elekid had sucked up the power from surrounding storms and recommends that Pikachu imitate him so they may fight to drain the Elekid.
During the fight between Pikachu and Elekid, Team Rocket intercedes, and James notices Mime Jr. with May, while May notices James is in possession of her eggs. After switching places, Team Rocket resumes their attempt to take Elekid and Pikachu. Phanpy fights Team Rocket while Elekid tears down Team Rocket’s robot with Pikachu’s combined strength, then Elekid relaxes. Team Rocket attacks Phanpy, and the fight transforms Phanpy and Donphan into shooting hyper beams at Team Rocket.
Here, in Kanto, Ash collects seven frontier emblems and wins the Battle Frontier. He, however rejects the title of Battle Frontier Brain and chooses to resume his Pokémon adventure. Following that, Ash goes toe-to-toe with his adversary, Gary. Ash chooses to go to Sinnoh after spotting Electivire, a Sinnoh area Pokémon he hasn’t seen before, and Brock accompanies him.
Seasons 10-13: Diamond And Pearl (2006-10)
Episodes: 469-659
The games follow the exploits of a rookie Pokémon trainer as he tries to become the Pokémon League Champion via the collection and training of Pokémon. Diamond and Pearl, like the other games in the series, include eight Pokémon Gyms headed by Gym Leaders, professional trainers who specialize in a certain Pokémon kind. Gym Leaders act as bosses and award competent trainees with Gym Badges, which are essential to the plot’s progression.
As in previous core games, the protagonist must foil the plans of a criminal organization, in this instance, Team Galactic, who want to utilize Pokémon to build a new world for themselves while destroying the existing one.
When Brock and Ash arrive in Sinnoh, they encounter Dawn, a different Pokémon Coordinator who joins them on an adventure across the Sinnoh region. Dawn obtains five ribbons to compete in the Grand Festival at Sinnoh. He is defeated by Zoey, making her the runner-up. Ash beat all eight Sinnoh gym leaders to compete in the Lily of the Valley Conference, but he lost in the semi-finals against Tobias, placing him among the Top 4.
Seasons 14-16: Black & White (2010-13)
Episodes: 660-801
Pokemon Black and White revolve around Ash training to become the best Pokemon master of all time. While he’s getting near his dreams, he’s faced with a very evil team known as the Team Plasma that can hurt everyone and in fact, they look like knights! That sounds intense now, will Ash be able to achieve his dreams amidst this chaos? What do you guys think? Also, have you guys played the game called “Pokemon Black and White”? Do let us know in the comments down below!
Following that, with Delia, his mother, Ash and Professor Oak went on a vacation to the distant Unova region, where he meets and travels with Iris, the would-be Dragon Master and Unnova Gym Leader of Striaton City, Pokémon Connoisseur, and also goes by the identity of detective Cilan.
Iris, Ash, and Cilan travel across eastern Unova to prepare for the Vertress Conference after earning all eight badges of Unova and defeating the evil Team Plasma, but Ash falls to Cameron in the quarterfinals, putting him among the Top 8. Cameron, on the other hand, loses to Virgil at the semifinal stage, dropping him to the Top 4.
Following that, Iris, Ash, and Cilan journey through the Decolore Islands until Ash returns to Pallet Town and meets Alexa, an investigative reporter, who hails from the distant Kalos Region. After returning to Kanto, Cilan and Iris went ahead to Johto, while Alexa and Ash travelled to Kalos.
Seasons 17-19: X & Y (2013-16)
Episodes: 802-941
Alexa and Ash come on the scene in the Kalos area, and Ash is eager to begin collecting Gym badges. However, when Alexa tells him that a Gym Leader who is also her sister, is presently away, Ash goes to Lumiose City, and here he encounters Clemont, a boy genius, and Bonnie, his younger sister.
A fact that is unknown is that Clemont is, in fact, the Gym Leader of Lumiose City, a fact he attempts to conceal. Ash also reconciles with a girl from Vaniville Town, Serena, whom he met as a kid. Serena obtains three keys to take part in the event, Pokémon Showcase. Aria beat Serena, and she ended up as the runner-up.
Ash participates and proceeds all along with the levels to the finals after his journey with Bonnie, Serena, and Clement to prepare for the Conference at Lumiose by conquering all the eight gym leaders of Kalos. He lost to a temporary member of the evil Team Flare, Alain, after the team misled him.
When he later finds out their true aspirations, Alain repents and teams up with Ash and friends in a bid to put an end to Team Flare’s plans. Ash returned to Pallet Town after saying his goodbyes to his pals in Kalos.
Seasons 20-22: Sun & Moon (2016-2019)
Episodes: 942-1087
Pokemon Sun and Moon revolve mainly around Ash and his friends at his school. Also, Ash’s progress in the island challenge. Ash had to collect the Z-Crystals and also had to be qualified as a Z-Move user.
When Delia, Mr. Mime, and Ash went on a vacation to the Alola region, he meets Tapu Koko, the protector Pokémon of Melemele, who gives him the Z-Ring, a gadget that, when combined with a unique crystal, enables a Pokémon to discharge a strong attack when synced with its trainer.
As a result, he decides to remain in Alola and sign up at the Pokémon School in the locality. When Ash chooses to undergo the tryouts required to control the vigour of the Z-Ring. Sophocles, Lana, Lillie, Kiawe, and Mallow, his new students, decide to join him.
Ash participates in the island trials, and for the first-ever time in his journey, he loses a fight against the members of Team Rocket: Meowth, James, Wobbuffet, and Jessie. Later, though, Ash achieves his first official league win at the Conference at Manalo.
Season 23: Pokémon Journeys: The Series (2019–Present)
Episodes: 1089-1110
In this season, Pokemon Journeys focus on eight areas, which includes Galar, which serves as the backdrop for the Pokémon Sword and Shield games. Pikachu’s history as a Pichu, as well as Ash’s backstory as six years old and went away from Professor Oak’s camp. Goh’s history begins when he was also a six years old child and attended Professor Oak’s camp, where he met Mew
It follows Pikachu and Ash as they visit each area, followed by Goh and Goh’s Scorbunny, which develops into Raboot and eventually into a Cinder ace. A girl that’s pretty attached to the Yamper owned by her father, called Chloe Cerise, is now in the supporting role in “Pokémon Master Journeys; The Series“. Dracovish, Sirfetch’d, Lucario, Gengar, Dragonite, and Pikachu are currently in Ash’s squad. Chloe attaches herself to Goh and Ash on their journey with her freshly captured Eevee, which is powerless of developing a single hypothesis and is unsure which route to choose.
Season 24: Pokémon Journeys: The Series
(2021 - Present)
Episodes: On-going
In the big big world of Pokémon, we find Ash and Goh catching the Pokémon from Kanto all the way to Galar. With Pikachu and their respective Pokémon, they continue their journeys as official researchers and Pokémon masters. They travel all around the world for their research. Ash and Goh have joined hands with the Cerise Laboratory. In the world of Coronation, Ash keeps climbing higher and higher. On the other hand, Goh adds more Pokémon in his Pokédex. He aims to catch Mew which is a very rare Pokémon.
They also get to meet Chloe who’s a newbie and is new to all this Pokémon world. She aims to become a Pokémon trainer. That’s where she meets her new friend named Eevee. New friends, new rivals, and a journey of excitement await Ash and his friends.
The story starts at Vermillion City where they study Eevee. Eevee tries to imitate the other evolved Eevees. I know this might sound confusing to you. Anyways, Yamper is one of the Pokémons of Chloe which has seemingly become a lot friendlier with Ash and Pikachu. Two lab assistants chase after Eevee and that’s when Chloe’s Pokémon runs to her old school. Chloe asks for Goh’s help to stop the professors while she’s saving Eevee.
Eevee becomes attached to Chloe and she owns that Pokémon now. As the story continues, Ash and Goh were requested to help in the research on fossils in the Galar Region. Ash and Goh agree, however, when they arrive at the location, they meet Bary and Cara. All of them together dig up the fossils that are restored as Arctovish and Dracozolt.
When Ash is in the middle of a training session, he’s told that there’s an outbreak of Geodude near the Rock Tunnel. Goh catches one Geodude with the help of Ash’s Pokémon. A trainer of the World Coronation Series appears named Dozer. He’s ready to face Ash and is determined to defeat his Pokémon. After this trainer loses, another trainer appears named Rinto, however, this Ash lost this battle.
Moving on, we get to see the shipment full of vegetables arriving at the Cerise Lab. These vegetables were sent by Laxton. He’s a former student of Professor Cerise. He became a farmer and his Pokémons take care of the crops. That sounds pretty wholesome, right?
A legendary Pokémon named Suicine is traveling all around the world to get rid of pollution. Professor Cerise, as always, asks Ash and Goh to find out and investigate a little bit about this Pokémon and how it is different from other Pokémons? Ash and Goh try to catch it but they can be arrested for this as well.
As the story proceeds, Ash and Goh visit a place where movies were being filmed. There, Goh’s Pokémon gets inspired by another Pokémon and that’s when Goh decides to train both of them together. On the other hand, Chloe comes across a book that tells us about some mysterious Pokémon. She becomes curious and decides to find those Pokémon named Ponyta and Raidash.
Ash and Goh arrive at the Castle of Chivalry for further training. Will they be able to get stronger than ever? What do you guys think? I mean, they make their Pokémon train in an intense way! Isn’t that right?
On one cold evening, Chloe comes looking for Professor Cerise only to find out that he’s leaving. Ash and Goh also leave to find an ice-type Pokémon. That’s when Chloe decides to spend a girls’ night at Chrysa’s apartment. Unfortunately, Ash and Goh couldn’t find any ice-type Pokémon.
Further in the story, we get to see the involvement of Team Rocket and the troubles they cause in Vermillion City. Will Ash and Goh be able to stop Team Rocket from making trouble for everyone in the city? And just like that, Ash and Goh along with other friends, go through a lot of events including battling their rivals, their friends, and going through rough times together. The whole story of season 24 is very nice since it includes many unique aspects like the evolution of Pokémon in different forms and whatnot! If you’re behind in Pokémon and haven’t caught up to this season, I recommend you to watch it!
Will you watch Pokemon?
Aside from the main series and movies, the anime has also shown several full-length specials and TV shorts. Many of these specials are focused on legendary Pokémon or one or more of the major protagonists who are distinct from the main cast throughout their respective series, while subsequent side story episodes are usually shown as special episodes.
