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Pokemon Complete Watch Order Guide | 24 Pokemon Series In Order

pokemon complete watch order

Want to restart Pokemon? Here’s the Pokemon complete watch order for you to binge watch the Pokemon series and movies. Check it out!

Pokemon might be the only franchise out there that anime enthusiasts can’t get enough of. The Pokemon franchise began in the late 1990s and is still the most anticipated and loved anime franchise in the whole world. 

What makes Pokemon so special? There are so many reasons why Pokemon is special and one of those reasons is the unique storyline and the adventurous journey of seeking rare Pocket Monsters.

Since the Pokemon franchise is enormous there are chances that starters to the fandom might lose their way in the series. Hence, we have made it convenient for you by preparing a detailed list of the complete watch order of Pokemon.

Pokemon Complete Watch Order: Quick Summary

Pokemon Series Watch Order by SeasonEpisodesInitial Release
Season 1: Indigo League1 – 82April 1997
Season 2: Adventures in the Orange Islands83 – 118January 1999
Season 3: The Johto Journeys119-159October 1999
Season 4: Johto League Champions160-211August 2000
Season 5: Master Quest212-276August 2001
Season 6: Advanced 277-316November 2002
Season 7: Advanced Challenge317-368September 2003
Season 8: Advanced Battle369-421September 2004
Season 9: Battle Frontier421-468October 2005
Season 10: Diamond & Pearl469-520September 2006
Season 11: Diamond & Pearl: Battle Dimension521-572November 2007
Season 12: Diamond & Pearl: Galactic Battles573- 625December 2008
Season 13: Diamond & Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors626-659January 2010
Season 14: Black & White660-707September 2010
Season 15: Black & White: Rival Destinies708-756September 2011
Season 16: Black & White: Adventures in Unova757-781October 2012
Season 16, Part II: Black & White: Adventures in Unova & Beyond782-801April 2013
Season 17: XY802-849October 2013
Season 18: XY: Kalos Quest850-894November 2014
Season 19: XYZ895- 941October 2015
Season 20: Sun & Moon942-984November 2016
Season 21: Sun & Moon: Ultra Adventures985-1033October 2017
Season 22: Sun & Moon: Ultra Legends1034-1087October 2018
Season 23: Journeys1088-1135November 2019
Season 24: Pokemon Master Journeys1136-1173 (till present date)2020 
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Overview

Before we get into the watch order it’s best to mention that there are 24 seasons of the Pokemon anime series and 23 anime films that connect to the anime series as well as 1 live-action movie. In addition, there are several spin-off series that don’t relate to the anime series. Hence, we’ve only discussed the content that relates to the main series.

Firstly let’s dive into the Pokemon anime series, its seasons, and storylines. To make it convenient we have categorized the anime seasons into their rightful arcs.

Pokemon Complete Watch Order Guide 

Kanto Arc

Pokemon Indigo League 

The first Pokemon season introduces the protagonist Ash Ketchum and how he dreams of being a Pokemon Master. To receive his first Pokemon he visits Professor Oak who hands him Pikachu, the electric Pokemon. 

Ash goes on to partake in the Indigo Plateau’s Pokemon League where other Pokemon trainers use their Pokemon to compete against one another.

Pokemon Indigo League

Adventures in the Orange Islands

This season focuses on Ash and Pikachu attempting to collect Gym Badges in the Orange Islands to compete in the Orange League tournament.

Adventures in the Orange Islands

Johto Arc

After facing defeat in the Pokemon League, Ash traveled to the Johto region where he can acquire new Pokemon and Gym Badges to partake in the Johto League. The Johto Arc comprises 3 seasons such as The Johto Journeys, Johto League Champions, and Master Quest.

Johto Arc
Johto Arc
Johto Arc

Hoenn Arc

Ash and Pikachu leave for Hoenn Brock and are accompanied later by May and Max. The 4 seasons that are in the Hoenn Arc are Advanced, Advanced Challenge, and Advanced Battle, and Battle Frontier.

Hoenn Arc
Hoenn Arc advanced challenge
Hoenn Arc advanced battle
Hoenn Arc battle frontier

Sinnoh Arc/ Diamond & Pearl

Right after their experiences in the Hoenn region, Ash, Brock, and Pikachu head to the Sinnoh region where they meet a young Pokemon Coordinator called Dawn. This arc consists of 4 seasons such as Diamond and Pearl, Diamond and Pearl: Battle Dimension, Diamond and Pearl: Galactic Battles, and Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors.

Sinnoh Arc/ Diamond & Pearl
Sinnoh Arc/ Diamond & Pearl battle dimension

Unova Arc

In this arc, the storyline of the Pokemon anime series took a turn. After Ash and Pikachu left the Sinnoh region, both Brock and Dawn decided to split up. However, Ash was later accompanied by other Pokemon trainers such as Iris and Cilan.

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In the Unova Arc, there are 3 seasons such as Black and White, Black and White: Rival Destinies, and the third season was divided into 2 segments as Black and White: Adventures in Unova and Black and White: Adventures in Unova and Beyond.

Unova Arc black and white
Unova Arc balck and white rival destinies

Kalos Arc

Ash and Pikachu make their way into a new region called Kalos where they meet new people like Serena, Clermont, and Binnie. In addition, this is the first Arc to introduce Mega Evolutions. The 3 seasons that comprise this arc are XY, XY Kalos Quest, and XYZ.

Kalos Arc kalos quest

Alola Arc

This arc is focused on Ash and Pikachu traveling to the Alolan Islands without any of their friends. In addition, the Sun and Moon video games were a base for this arc. This arc consists of 3 seasons such as Sun and Moon, Sun and Moon: Ultra Adventures, and Sun and Moon: Ultra Legends.

Galar Arc

The latest Pokemon anime season is named Pokemon Journeys: The Series and is focused on a new region called Galar. Ash and Pikachu are joined by a new mate called Goh and the storyline centers on them traveling through all the eight regions such as Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar. Currently, the first season of this arc has 48 episodes.

Pokemon Movies Watch Order

Now that we’ve covered the order of the Pokemon anime series it’s time to move on to the Pokemon anime films that are partly connected to the main storyline.

Pokemon Anime FilmDurationRelease Year
Pokemon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back75m1998
Pokemon: The Movie 2000- The Power of One1h 49m1999
Pokemon: The Movie- Spell of the Unknown1h 33m2000
Pokemon 4Ever: Celebi Voice of the Forest1h 15m2001
Pokemon Heroes: Latios and Latias1h 20m2002
Jirachi Wish Maker1h 24m2003
Destiny Deoxys1h 50m2004
Lucario and the Mystery of Mew1h 43m2005
Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea1h 55m2006
The Rise of Darkrai2h 8m2007
Giratina & the Sky Warrior1h 50m2008
Arceus & the Jewel of Life1h 38m2009
Zoroark- Master of Illusions1h 36m2010
Black Victini and Reshiram & White Victini and Zekrom92m each2011
Kyurem vs the Sword of Justice1h 39m2012
Genesect and the Legend Awakened1h 36m2013
Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction1h 35m2014
Hoopa and the Clash of Ages1h 19m2015
Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel1h 35m2016
I Choose You1h 52m2017
The Power of Us1h 40m2018
Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution1h 38m2019
Secrets of the Jungle1h 40m2020
  1. Pokemon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back: Connects to episodes 64-74 of Indigo League.
  1. Pokemon The Movie: The Power of One: Connects to episodes between 86-115 of the Adventures in Orange Islands season.
  1. Pokemon 3: The Spell of the Unknown: Connects to episodes 156-165 in the Johto Journeys and Johto League Champions.
  1. Celebi: Voice of the Forest:  Connects to episodes between 200-210 in the Johto Challenges season.
  1. Latios and Latias:  Connects to episodes 247-257 in the Master Quest Season.
  1. Jirachi Wish Maker:  Connects to episodes between 280-323 in the Advanced and/or Advanced Challenge seasons.
  1. Destiny Deoxys: Connects to episodes between 334-342 in Advanced Challenge season.
  1. Lucario and the Mystery of the Mew: Connects to episodes 358-384 of Advanced Challenge and/or Advanced Battle seasons.
  1. Pokemon Ranger & the Temple of the Sea: Connects after episode 424 of Battle Frontier season.
  1.  The Rise of Darkrai: Connects to episodes 506 and 523 of Diamond & Pearl or Battle Dimensions. 
  1.  Giratina and The Sky Warrior: Connects to episodes 553-568 of Battle Dimension.
  1.  Arceus and The Jewel of Life: Connects to episodes between 603-631 in Galactic Battles and/or Sinnoh League Victors.
  1.  Zoroark Master of Illusions: Connects to the entire Sinnoh arc after episode 639.
  1.  Black Victini and Reshiram: Connects to episodes 683-736 of Black & White seasons.
  2.  White Victini and Zekrom: Connects to episodes 683-736 of Black & White seasons.
  1.  Kyurem vs the Sword of Justice: Connects to episodes after 736 in Rival Destinies and after episode 775 in Adventures in Unova.
  1.  Genesect and the Legend Awakened: Connects to events occurring after episode 775 in the entire Unova arc.
  1.  Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction: Connects to episodes 838-853 of XY season.
  1.  Hoopa and the Clash of Ages: Connects to episode 868 in Kalos Quest and 901 in XYZ. 
  1.  Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel: Connects to episodes 911-927 in XYZ season.
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The Pokemon anime movies I Choose You, The Power of Us, Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution, and Secrets of the Jungle don’t fall under any of the arcs and have an alternative storyline from the original Pokemon anime series.

What is the order of Pokemon shows?

  • Season 1- Indigo League
  • Season 2 – Adventures on the Orange Islands
  • Season 3 – The Johto Journeys
  • Season 4 – Johto League Champions
  • Season 5 – Master Quest
  • Season 6 – Advanced
  • Season 7 – Advanced Challenge
  • Season 8 – Advanced Battle
  • Season 9 – Battle Frontier
  • Season 10 – Diamond & Pearl
  • Season 11 – Diamond & Pearl: Battle Dimension
  • Season 12 – Diamond & Pearl: Galactic Battles
  • Season 13 – Diamond & Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors
  • Season 14 – Black & White
  • Season 15 – Black & White: Rival Destinies
  • Season 16 – Black & White: Adventures in Unova
  • Season 16. Part II – Black & White: Adventures in Unova and Beyond
  • Season 17 – XY
  • Season 18 – XY: Kalos Quest
  • Season 19 – XYZ
  • Season 20 – Sun & Moon
  • Season 21 – Sun & Moon: Ultra Adventures
  • Season 22 – Sun & Moon: Ultra Legends
  • Season 23 – Journeys

Pokemon Complete Watch Order: FAQs

Where do I start if I want to watch Pokemon?

It’s best to start to watch Pokemon right from the beginning. Season 1 of Pokemon is called Indigo League which was released in April 1997 and has 82 episodes. From then onwards you can continue watching the rest of the seasons to familiarize yourself with the storyline.

Where can I watch the entire Pokemon series?

You can watch the first few seasons of the Pokemon series on Youtube and you’ll find the Sun & Moon episodes on Netflix. There are also Pokemon DVDs available on Amazon that contain all the episodes of the seasons.

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