Pokemon

***Pokémon*** is a Japanese anime series that started in 1997 and still airs to this day. It is based off of two video games

    released in Japan known as *Pokémon Red* and *Pokémon Green* in 1996, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The show has been a critical/commercial success, and spawned many spin-off movies.

## Plot

After he turns 10 years old, Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in Japan), is allowed to start his journey in the world of Pokémon and dreams of becoming a Pokémon master. On the day he is to receive his first Pokémon, Ash wakes in a panic, having overslept. Professor Oak, the local Pokémon researcher, has already given away the three Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle) he entrusts to new Pokémon Trainers when Ash finally reaches Oak's Lab. The only Pokémon that he has left is a Pikachu, that he gives to Ash. Determined to make it on his journey, Ash does his best to befriend Pikachu, but it does not trust him and will not even return to its PokéBall, even attacking Ash with its unique electric powers. It is only after Ash protects Pikachu from a group of angry Spearow that Pikachu realizes how much Ash cares, leading it to save Ash. Afterwards, they both see a mysterious and unidentifiable Pokémon that spurs both of them to work towards Ash's goal.

Along the way, Ash makes many human and Pokémon friends as he works his way through the ranks of the world's many Pokémon Leagues. Through the Kanto Region, Ash befriends Water Pokémon trainer and erstwhile Cerulean City Gym Leader Misty (Kasumi) and Pewter City Gym Leader and Pokémon Breeder Brock (Takeshi), and all the while thwarting the plans of the Team Rocket trio Jessie, James, and Meowth, who want to steal Ash's Pikachu and any other rare Pokémon they come across. When the group travels to the Orange Islands, Brock decides to stay with the local professor, leaving Ash and Misty to continue travelling together. After a while, they meet and begin traveling with Pokémon Watcher and artist Tracey Sketchit (Kenji). Once the trip is completed, Brock rejoins the group as they travel back to Kanto. Once they reach Pallet Town, Tracey decides to stay with Professor Oak. With this news, the trio continues on their way to the Johto region.

When Ash heads for the Hoenn Region in the *Advanced Generation* series, Misty stays behind to become the full-time Cerulean City Gym Leader. However, Brock follows him to Hoenn and he gains new companions in Pokémon Coordinator May (Haruka) and her younger brother Max (Masato), and together they face off against the rival teams, Team Magma and Team Aqua.

After returning to Kanto and participating in the Battle Frontier challenge, Ash battles with his rival, Gary. After seeing a Pokémon he has never seen before, Ash decides to travel to the Sinnoh region. At the beginning of the next season, Ash travels with Brock, one final time, to the Sinnoh Region, with May and Max going on their own paths. Ash and Brock meet Dawn (Hikari), another Pokémon Coordinator, who travels with them as they go through Sinnoh where they must defeat Cyrus and his Team Galactic.

In the *Best Wishes!* series, Ash, his mother and Professor Oak take a holiday to the far-off Unova Region, where he meets and travels with would-be Dragon Master Iris and Striaton City Gym Leader, Pokémon Connoisseur, and sometimes detective Cilan (Dent). During their journey, they discover the evil plans of Team Plasma, a criminal organization that wants to free Pokémon from people's ownership so that they can rule the world unopposed. After winning all eight Unova badges, Ash, Iris, and Cilan travel throughout the eastern side of Unova to prepare for the Unova Pokémon League Tournament, after which they meet N, who is instrumental in defeating Team Plasma. After this, Ash, Iris, and Cilan travel through the Decolore Islands before Ash makes his way back to Pallet Town and the meet the investigative reporter Alexa (Pansy) who is from the distant Kalos Region. Having arrived back in Kanto, Iris and Cilan travel to Johto whilst Ash and Alexa head to Kalos soon after Ash reunites with his mother and receiving a new outfit from her.

In the *XY* series, Ash and Alexa arrive in the Kalos region and Ash is itching to get started in earning his Gym badges. But after Alexa informs Ash that her sister, a Gym Leader, is currently absent, Ash travels to Lumiose City where he meets boy-genius Clemont (Citron) and his younger sister Bonnie (Eureka), unaware that Clemont is, in fact, Lumiose City's Gym Leader - a fact he tries his best to hide. Ash also reunites with Serena, a girl from Vaniville Town whom Ash had met in his childhood at Professor Oak's Summer Camp in Pallet Town. During that time he helped her during a predicament, and she has had feelings for him since that time. After traveling with them to prepare for the Kalos Pokémon League Tournament, Ash competes and advances all the way to the final, where he loses to Alain (Alan), a member of Team Flare due to them misleading him. Once he discovers their true intentions, however, Alain reforms and joins Ash and his friends to stop Team Flare's plans. Bidding farewell to his friends in Kalos, Ash once again returns to Pallet.

In the *Sun & Moon* series, Ash, his mother and Mimey, their Mr. Mime, are on vacation in the Alola region when Ash has an encounter with one of the local guardian Pokémon, who presents him with the Z-Ring, a device that, when paired with a special crystal, allows a Pokémon to unleash a powerful move when synchronized with its trainer. This leads him to stay in Alola and enroll at the local Pokémon school. When he decides to undertake the trials necessary to master the power of the Z-Ring, Ash's new classmates Lana (Suiren), Mallow (Mao), Lillie (Lilie), Sophocles (Māmane) and Kiawe (Kaki) decide to assist him; and also battle with Alola's Team Skull. Team Rocket, with James being more decisive and leader-like than in the previous series, is also in the Alolan Islands, and a running gag is that they have become "adopted" by a Bewear (Kiteruguma) that appears and carries them off back to its cave just as they are being defeated, instead of the traditional "blasting off" conclusion.

## Why it Rocks

1. Follows the source material very faithfully, to the point where Ash can be considered an anime version of Red.
2. Very solid and detailed animation, plus the designs of the Pokémon are highly imaginative and colorful.
3. Lots of funny moments.
4. Likable characters.
5. The trainers sometimes use clever Pokemon battling strategies that also work in the game if fans want to try them.

## Bad Qualities

1. The anime has used Ash Ketchum as the protagonist for far too long now without ever letting him win a regional league (save for the non canon Orange League). Because of that the series has gotten very repetitive with every season playing out more or less the same.
2. The "Electric Soldier Porygon" incident that caused over 650 Japanese people to have epileptic seizures.
3. The English dub of *Pokémon Sun & Moon* is pretty terrible.