Pokémon,[a] abbreviated from the Japanese title of Pocket Monsters,[b] and currently branded in English as Pokémon the Series,[c] is a Japanese anime television series, part of The Pokémon Company's Pokémon media franchise, which premiered on TV Tokyo in April 1997.
The anime franchise consists of eight sequential series in Japan, each based on a main installment of the Pokémon video game series. In the international broadcasts, these series are split across 26 seasons. The show originally followed Ash Ketchum, a young trainer of fictional creatures called Pokémon. Joined by his partner Pokémon Pikachu and a rotating cast of human characters, Ash goes on a journey to become a "Pokémon Master", traveling through the various regions of the Pokémon world and competing in various Pokémon-battling tournaments known as the Pokémon League. However, by the 26th season, a new cast is featured, with new protagonists Liko and Roy.
The anime series is accompanied by spin-off programming; including Pokémon Chronicles, a series of side stories; and the live-action variety and Pokémon-related news shows; such as Pocket Monsters Encore, Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station, Pokémon☆Sunday, Pokémon Smash!, Pokémon Get☆TV, Meet Up at the Pokémon House? and Where are we going with Pokémon!?
The Pokémon anime series was largely credited for allowing anime to become more popular and familiar around the world, especially in the United States and Asia, where many Pokémon films are among the highest-grossing anime films.[2] It is also considered to be one of the first anime series on television to reach this level of mainstream success with Western and Asian audiences, as well as being credited with allowing the game series to reach such a degree of popularity and vice versa. Pokémon is regarded as the most successful video game adaptation of all time,[3] with over 1,200 episodes broadcast and adapted for international television markets, concurrently airing in 192 countries worldwide and one of the most widely watched shows on Netflix, as of 2016.[4][5]
