Anime · in order
Pokemon Anime Watch Order
The Pokemon TV anime spans 9 series and 28 English seasons: the eight-series Ash saga (1997-2023, dub Seasons 1-25, 1,234 episodes) and the ongoing soft reboot Pokemon Horizons (from 2023, Seasons 26-28, about 143 episodes aired as of July 2026). The Ash saga plays in release order; newcomers can start Horizons cold.
Pokemon Anime Watch Order: complete list
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Why this order?
The Pokemon ordering problem is packaging, not sequence. The Ash saga (1997-2023) is one continuous story told across eight Japanese series, and release order equals story order with no divergence anywhere. But English packaging hides those eight series behind dub Seasons 1 to 25, with the finale mini-series folded invisibly into Season 25, and MyAnimeList fragments the same run into 12 database entries (Black & White alone is four), so it is genuinely hard to tell where anything begins or ends. The saving grace: every era boundary is a designed jump-on point with a new region, new companions and a partial reset, so starting at Indigo League is optional, not required. A popular highlight route is Original Series, then XY, then Journeys.
The question that matters in 2026: no, you do not need 25 years of homework. Ash defeated Leon in Journeys to become World Champion in late 2022, got an 11-episode farewell in Aim to Be a Pokemon Master, and left the show in 2023. Pokemon Horizons is a full soft reboot with new leads Liko and Roy that requires zero prior viewing. Its own trap is Netflix numbering: Season 3, Rising Hope, is the 28th season overall, matches no Japanese arc name, spans Japanese episodes HZ090 to HZ136, and has landed in three parts so far (January 6, March 20 and June 26, 2026) with the final batch still to come. It also opens with the franchise's first timeskip, roughly one year.
On filler and scope: Pokemon is anime-original, so filler flags mean skippable side stories, not canon violations. The Original Series carries 79 flagged episodes out of 276, while XY is nearly filler-free, so a skip list matters most in Kanto and Johto. There is no remake or remaster of the TV show to substitute, and Pokemon Origins, Evolutions and Generations are game-canon retellings, optional extras only. The 24 movies, including the alternate-continuity block of the last four films, are covered at /order/pokemon-movies/, and the games at /order/pokemon-games/; this page is the TV continuities only.
How many episodes is Pokemon?
Pokemon has 1372 episodes across the 9 series entries tracked in this guide. 145 of them are marked filler, leaving 1227 canon episodes, and 6 recap episodes are flagged too.
See how Pokemon compares on the Anime Filler Index →
- Pokemon: The Original Series 276 episodes 1997-2002
- Pokemon: Advanced Generation 192 episodes 2002-2006
- Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl 191 episodes 2006-2010
- Pokemon: Best Wishes! (Black & White) 142 episodes 2010-2013
- Pokemon: XY and XY&Z 140 episodes 2013-2016
- Pokemon: Sun & Moon 146 episodes 2016-2019
- Pokemon Journeys: The Series 136 episodes 2019-2022
- Pokemon: Aim to Be a Pokemon Master 11 episodes 2023
- Pokemon Horizons: The Series 138 episodes 2023-2026
Timeline 1997-2023
Every entry by release year: rows that share a year are a cluster, and the long droughts are called out on the rail.
- 1997 The Original Series
- 5-year gap
- 2002 Advanced Generation
- 4-year gap
- 2006 Diamond and Pearl
- 4-year gap
- 2010 Best Wishes! (Black & White)
- 2013 XY and XY&Z
- 2016 Sun & Moon
- 2019 Journeys: The Series
- 4-year gap
- 2023 Aim to Be a Pokemon MasterHorizons: The Series
Where to play it today
- Pokemon Horizons is Netflix-first in the US (Rising Hope Parts 1-3 dropped January 6, March 20 and June 26, 2026), and the Journeys-era seasons are long-standing Netflix originals; availability rotates, so check current listings
- Indigo League streams on Netflix and joins Hulu and Disney+ on August 7, 2026; select episodes of Seasons 1-22 run on the free Pokemon channel on Pluto TV and official YouTube, while mid eras (Advanced through Sun & Moon) mostly require digital purchase
Availability changes often and varies by region - links search each platform for Pokemon.
Frequently asked questions
How many Pokemon anime series and episodes are there?
Nine series across 28 English seasons and roughly 1,377 episodes as of July 2026: the eight-series Ash saga (1997-2023, 1,234 Japanese episodes including the 11-episode finale mini-series) plus the ongoing Pokemon Horizons (about 143 aired). Dub totals run slightly short because a few episodes, including the banned 1997 Porygon episode, were never localized, and MyAnimeList splits the same shows into 13 entries.
Do I have to watch 25 years of Pokemon before starting Horizons?
No. Horizons is a full soft reboot with new leads Liko and Roy, and legacy content appears only at cameo and reference level. It requires zero prior viewing, and it is the series currently airing, so a newcomer or a lapsed fan can start at Horizons episode 1 today.
How does Ash's story end, and did he really leave the show?
Yes. Ash defeated Leon in Journeys episode 132 (November 2022) to become World Champion, the payoff of the entire 1997-2022 continuity, then got an 11-episode farewell mini-series, Aim to Be a Pokemon Master, reuniting Misty and Brock. His final episode aired in March 2023, and Horizons replaced him with new leads. In the US the finale is folded into Netflix's Ultimate Journeys packaging, so many viewers never realize it is a distinct series.
Is Ash coming back in 2026 for the 30th anniversary?
No return is confirmed or dated. The only substance is executive director Kunihiko Yuyama's undated remark that a return is 'a matter of time', paired with his caveat that he sees Ash as forever 10 years old. The viral 30th-anniversary trailer showing Ash facing Liko and Roy is self-declared fan-made, and the February 27, 2026 Pokemon Presents contained no anime return announcement. Treat any 'Ash returns' date you see as fabricated.
What is Netflix's Rising Hope season, and why does the numbering feel wrong?
Rising Hope is Netflix's name for Horizons Season 3, which is the 28th season overall, and it matches no Japanese arc name. It spans Japanese episodes HZ090 to HZ136, opens with the franchise's first timeskip (roughly one year), and has released in three parts so far (January 6, March 20 and June 26, 2026) with the final batch still to come.
Can I skip Pokemon filler episodes?
Yes, freely. Pokemon is anime-original with no manga source, so community filler flags mean skippable side stories, not canon violations. The Original Series carries the most (79 of 276 episodes flagged, about 29 percent), while XY is famously near filler-free, so a filler-skip list is most valuable in Kanto and Johto.
Where do the Pokemon movies, games and spin-offs fit?
The 24 movies have their own guide at /order/pokemon-movies/, including the alternate-continuity block of the last four films, and the games are covered at /order/pokemon-games/. Pokemon Origins, Evolutions and Generations are game-canon retellings, optional extras rather than parts of this show, and stop-motion spin-offs like Pokemon Concierge and Aardman's Pokemon Tales (coming 2027) sit outside both TV continuities.
Last verified · Sources: en.wikipedia.org, bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net, myanimelist.net, animenewsnetwork.com, pokemon.com, netflix.com, gonintendo.com
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