Pokémon

Pokémon is an anime television series animated by OLM that began on TV Tokyo in April 1997. Satoshi Tajiri created the original Game Freak video game franchise, and Kunihiko Yuyama directed the television adaptation.

Ten-year-old Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town wakes up late on the day he is scheduled to receive his starter creature from Professor Oak. Ash receives an unruly Electric-type creature named Pikachu because the standard starter choices have already been taken by rival trainers. Pikachu refuses to enter a Poké Ball and dislikes Ash at first, forcing the boy to pull the creature along by a rope. A flock of wild Spearow attacks them during a thunderstorm, prompting Pikachu to defend Ash with a powerful lightning bolt that cements their mutual friendship.

Television broadcasts of Ash Ketchum's adventures spanned 25 seasons with 1,232 episodes between April 1997 and March 2023. The original run expanded across multiple story chapters, including the Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, and Alola arcs. OLM also animated 23 theatrically released films, starting with Pokémon: The First Movie in 1998 and Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle in 2020. Shinji Miyazaki composed the background instrumental score for the anime, while Sayuri Ichishi designed the characters. Rica Matsumoto voiced Ash Ketchum in Japanese, and Ikue Ōtani provided the voice for Pikachu.

Syndicated television stations across the United States first aired the English version in September 1998. The series received an Excellence Award in the Animation Division at the 1998 Japan Media Arts Festival organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Television Tokyo reported that broadcast viewership reached a peak rating of 18.6% in the Kanto region in November 1997. International distribution brought the anime to more than 160 countries in over 30 languages. A brand-new television anime named Pokémon Horizons began in April 2023 with protagonists Liko and Roy replacing Ash.