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.
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Pokemon Complete Watch Order: Quick Summary
| Pokemon Series Watch Order by Season | Episodes | Initial Release |
| Season 1: Indigo League | 1 – 82 | April 1997 |
| Season 2: Adventures in the Orange Islands | 83 – 118 | January 1999 |
| Season 3: The Johto Journeys | 119-159 | October 1999 |
| Season 4: Johto League Champions | 160-211 | August 2000 |
| Season 5: Master Quest | 212-276 | August 2001 |
| Season 6: Advanced | 277-316 | November 2002 |
| Season 7: Advanced Challenge | 317-368 | September 2003 |
| Season 8: Advanced Battle | 369-421 | September 2004 |
| Season 9: Battle Frontier | 421-468 | October 2005 |
| Season 10: Diamond & Pearl | 469-520 | September 2006 |
| Season 11: Diamond & Pearl: Battle Dimension | 521-572 | November 2007 |
| Season 12: Diamond & Pearl: Galactic Battles | 573- 625 | December 2008 |
| Season 13: Diamond & Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors | 626-659 | January 2010 |
| Season 14: Black & White | 660-707 | September 2010 |
| Season 15: Black & White: Rival Destinies | 708-756 | September 2011 |
| Season 16: Black & White: Adventures in Unova | 757-781 | October 2012 |
| Season 16, Part II: Black & White: Adventures in Unova & Beyond | 782-801 | April 2013 |
| Season 17: XY | 802-849 | October 2013 |
| Season 18: XY: Kalos Quest | 850-894 | November 2014 |
| Season 19: XYZ | 895- 941 | October 2015 |
| Season 20: Sun & Moon | 942-984 | November 2016 |
| Season 21: Sun & Moon: Ultra Adventures | 985-1033 | October 2017 |
| Season 22: Sun & Moon: Ultra Legends | 1034-1087 | October 2018 |
| Season 23: Journeys | 1088-1135 | November 2019 |
| Season 24: Pokemon Master Journeys | 1136-1173 (till present date) | 2020 |
- Related: List of Japanese Pokemon Names
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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 Film | Duration | Release Year |
| Pokemon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back | 75m | 1998 |
| Pokemon: The Movie 2000- The Power of One | 1h 49m | 1999 |
| Pokemon: The Movie- Spell of the Unknown | 1h 33m | 2000 |
| Pokemon 4Ever: Celebi Voice of the Forest | 1h 15m | 2001 |
| Pokemon Heroes: Latios and Latias | 1h 20m | 2002 |
| Jirachi Wish Maker | 1h 24m | 2003 |
| Destiny Deoxys | 1h 50m | 2004 |
| Lucario and the Mystery of Mew | 1h 43m | 2005 |
| Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea | 1h 55m | 2006 |
| The Rise of Darkrai | 2h 8m | 2007 |
| Giratina & the Sky Warrior | 1h 50m | 2008 |
| Arceus & the Jewel of Life | 1h 38m | 2009 |
| Zoroark- Master of Illusions | 1h 36m | 2010 |
| Black Victini and Reshiram & White Victini and Zekrom | 92m each | 2011 |
| Kyurem vs the Sword of Justice | 1h 39m | 2012 |
| Genesect and the Legend Awakened | 1h 36m | 2013 |
| Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction | 1h 35m | 2014 |
| Hoopa and the Clash of Ages | 1h 19m | 2015 |
| Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel | 1h 35m | 2016 |
| I Choose You | 1h 52m | 2017 |
| The Power of Us | 1h 40m | 2018 |
| Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution | 1h 38m | 2019 |
| Secrets of the Jungle | 1h 40m | 2020 |
- Pokemon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back: Connects to episodes 64-74 of Indigo League.
- Pokemon The Movie: The Power of One: Connects to episodes between 86-115 of the Adventures in Orange Islands season.
- Pokemon 3: The Spell of the Unknown: Connects to episodes 156-165 in the Johto Journeys and Johto League Champions.
- Celebi: Voice of the Forest: Connects to episodes between 200-210 in the Johto Challenges season.
- Latios and Latias: Connects to episodes 247-257 in the Master Quest Season.
- Jirachi Wish Maker: Connects to episodes between 280-323 in the Advanced and/or Advanced Challenge seasons.
- Destiny Deoxys: Connects to episodes between 334-342 in Advanced Challenge season.
- Lucario and the Mystery of the Mew: Connects to episodes 358-384 of Advanced Challenge and/or Advanced Battle seasons.
- Pokemon Ranger & the Temple of the Sea: Connects after episode 424 of Battle Frontier season.
- The Rise of Darkrai: Connects to episodes 506 and 523 of Diamond & Pearl or Battle Dimensions.
- Giratina and The Sky Warrior: Connects to episodes 553-568 of Battle Dimension.
- Arceus and The Jewel of Life: Connects to episodes between 603-631 in Galactic Battles and/or Sinnoh League Victors.
- Zoroark Master of Illusions: Connects to the entire Sinnoh arc after episode 639.
- Black Victini and Reshiram: Connects to episodes 683-736 of Black & White seasons.
- White Victini and Zekrom: Connects to episodes 683-736 of Black & White seasons.
- Kyurem vs the Sword of Justice: Connects to episodes after 736 in Rival Destinies and after episode 775 in Adventures in Unova.
- Genesect and the Legend Awakened: Connects to events occurring after episode 775 in the entire Unova arc.
- Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction: Connects to episodes 838-853 of XY season.
- Hoopa and the Clash of Ages: Connects to episode 868 in Kalos Quest and 901 in XYZ.
- Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel: Connects to episodes 911-927 in XYZ season.
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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