Hidden details in every movie and series: 144 in total. Tap a poster to see its eggs. Titles you haven't marked as seen stay locked so nothing gets spoiled.
On 12/16/1997, a Porygon episode aired in Japan with a stretch of rapidly flashing red and blue lights, and many viewers suffered photosensitive seizures. The anime went off the air for four months, the episode never aired in the West, and Porygon all but vanished from the series.
source ↗In Japan, Ash is named Satoshi, after Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri, and his rival Gary is Shigeru, a nod to Shigeru Miyamoto. In English, the surname Ketchum is a pun on the slogan "Gotta catch 'em all!".
source ↗At the end of episode 1, Ash sees a golden Pokémon fly across a rainbow. It was Ho-Oh, a second-generation Legendary that had not even been released in the games yet, and the Pokédex can't identify it. This comes back later.
source ↗Writer Takeshi Shudō drew on The Phantom of the Opera to create Mewtwo, especially after learning his Japanese voice actor, Masachika Ichimura, had played the Phantom on stage. That's why Mewtwo's castle looks like an opera house.
source ↗The American theatrical version cut much of the prologue about Mewtwo's creation in the lab. Western audiences only got the full sequence later, on home video.
source ↗In theaters, the film came with the short Pikachu's Vacation, where Ash's Pokémon play on their own at a park with no humans on screen.
source ↗Brock stays behind as Professor Ivy's assistant. When he rejoins the group, just hearing her name makes him curl up and beg everyone not to mention it. What happened at her lab was never explained.
source ↗The Orange Islands and the Orange League were made for the anime and are not a region in the main games. When it premiered in the US, the season was branded "Pokémon: Orange Island Adventures".
source ↗"Holiday Hi-Jynx" was pulled from rerun rotation over the controversy around Jynx's design. Two other episodes of the season met the same fate.
source ↗Takeshi Shudō created Lugia specifically for this script and said he was surprised when it later showed up in the games.
source ↗The English dub rewrote the prophecy and made Ash "the Chosen One." In the Japanese original, the message was about everyone depending on each other. Ash wishing his name were Bob is also dub-only.
source ↗This is the only movie with Tracey Sketchit in the main trio. Brock only shows up in a cameo, the first time he isn't at the center of a film.
source ↗Ash hands the GS Ball to Kurt in Azalea Town, and the story stops there. It was originally meant to hold Celebi, but the plan was shelved once Celebi became the star of the fourth movie.
source ↗Just like Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle in Kanto, Ash collects all three Johto starters this season: Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile.
source ↗The Noctowl Ash catches is a shiny, with different colors from a normal one. It's the first rare-colored Pokémon on his team.
source ↗Takeshi Shudō's first draft was about a dinosaur fossil running loose across Kanto. The producers found it too risky and asked for another story. It was the last Pokémon movie he wrote.
source ↗In Japan, Professor Spencer Hale's return plays during the credits. The US version moved the scene into the film itself so audiences wouldn't walk out early.
source ↗In the English dub, Entei speaks with an echo, like telepathy, and gets extra lines tying it to Molly's father. In the Japanese original, its voice is normal.
source ↗Ash loses to Whitney on his first try and only earns the Plain Badge in the rematch. It's a nod to Whitney's Miltank in Gold and Silver, notorious for stopping a lot of players.
source ↗Photographer Todd Snap, the hero of the game Pokémon Snap, reunites with the group in Johto and travels with them for a few episodes.
source ↗This season's English opening is "Born to Be a Winner." The season runs from Goldenrod to Cianwood, where Ash beats Chuck for the Storm Badge.
source ↗It was the first movie to keep the original Japanese score in the English version, a practice that lasted through the 16th film. It was also the first released by Miramax in the US.
source ↗The English dub added three newly animated scenes, including an ending that makes it clear young Sam is Professor Oak.
source ↗The film's events were later tied into the show: in a Johto episode, Ash recognizes Suicune by name because of what happened here.
source ↗"The Ice Cave!" was skipped in the English dub because of the controversy around Jynx, who features heavily. That's why the season jumps over an episode.
source ↗At the Silver Conference, Ash defeats Gary in a full battle. It's the symbolic end of the rivalry that began in Pallet Town in episode one.
source ↗Harrison, from Littleroot Town, knocks Ash out with a Blaziken, a third-generation Pokémon not yet in the games. He tells Ash about Professor Birch and a region full of new Pokémon. This comes back later.
source ↗Director Kunihiko Yuyama visited Venice to design Alto Mare. Hence the canals, the "ciao" and names like Bianca and Lorenzo.
source ↗Latios sacrifices himself to save the city, the first permanent Pokémon death in one of the movies. In the end, Latias says goodbye to Ash.
source ↗It was the last Pokémon movie released in theaters outside Japan until 2011.
source ↗May is the anime version of the female hero of Ruby and Sapphire, daughter of Gym Leader Norman. Unlike Misty, she chooses to be a Coordinator and enter Contests.
source ↗Hoenn brings Team Magma and Team Aqua, the series' first villains besides Team Rocket. They show up bit by bit, each chasing a Legendary. This comes back later.
source ↗Early in Hoenn, Jessie and James leave Arbok and Weezing in the wild to protect herds of Ekans and Koffing from a poacher. Both had been with Team Rocket since year one.
source ↗It was the first Pokémon movie released straight to home video in the US, skipping theaters. It was also the last with a Pikachu short in the American version.
source ↗The villain Butler is a former Team Magma member, the same team showing up on the TV series at the time. It's the first time a villain team other than Rocket appears in a movie.
source ↗The film was still animated with hand-painted cels rather than digitally. Treecko and Mudkip are on the cover but not in the story.
source ↗Just like in Ruby and Sapphire, Norman, May and Max's father, runs the Petalburg Gym. Ash takes on his friends' dad this season.
source ↗Misty drops in during the Mirage Kingdom arc. There, Togepi evolves into Togetic and stays behind to protect the place.
source ↗Professor Oak visits Hoenn with the Kanto starters, and May leaves with a Bulbasaur.
source ↗Director Kunihiko Yuyama's team visited Vancouver, Canada, in 2003 to build the high-tech LaRousse City.
source ↗The opening shows Pokémon from earlier films, like Mewtwo, Suicune, Celebi and Jirachi, tying the movies into one line.
source ↗Munchlax debuts here, the first fourth-generation Pokémon to appear, years before Diamond and Pearl. This comes back later.
source ↗An episode with Whiscash causing tremors never aired: days earlier, strong earthquakes hit Niigata Prefecture in 2004, and the episode order was changed.
source ↗When Teams Magma and Aqua awaken Groudon and Kyogre, the one who helps end the crisis is Lance, the Johto and Kanto Champion from the games.
source ↗It was the last season dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment and the last to air on Kids' WB! in the US.
source ↗In the English dub, Lucario is voiced by Sean Schemmel, the English voice of Goku in Dragon Ball.
source ↗Lucario, Bonsly, Mime Jr. and Weavile make their anime debut in this film, before Diamond and Pearl hit stores.
source ↗It was 4Kids Entertainment's final Pokémon release. Cameran and its palace follow a European Renaissance look.
source ↗With the change of dubbing studio, nearly the whole English cast changed this season. Veronica Taylor handed Ash's voice over to Sarah Natochenny.
source ↗The Battle Frontier comes from Pokémon Emerald, where it sits in Hoenn. The anime moved the challenge to Kanto, with Ash chasing the Frontier Brains' Symbols.
source ↗This season Ash enters a Pokémon Contest for the first time, May's turf.
source ↗It was the first Pokémon movie dubbed into English by The Pokémon Company International instead of 4Kids.
source ↗In the original, Pokémon Ranger Jackie Walker is voiced by Kōichi Yamadera, one of Japan's best-known voice actors.
source ↗Manaphy debuts here: the egg hatches and the baby bonds with May as if she were its mother. Its Heart Swap move switches the minds of everyone nearby.
source ↗Dawn is the anime version of the female hero of Diamond and Pearl. A rookie, she starts her Coordinator career following in her mother's footsteps.
source ↗Paul, the new rival, treats Pokémon like tools. At the end of the season he releases his Chimchar, and Ash takes it in. This comes back later.
source ↗Gary Oak, now a researcher, turns up in Sinnoh. The season also introduces Pokémon Hunter J and Team Galactic.
source ↗It's the first fourth-generation movie and opens a trilogy tied to Dialga, Palkia and what lies behind them. This comes back later.
source ↗The Darkrai handed out at Japanese theaters knew Roar of Time and Spacial Rend, the signature moves of Dialga and Palkia, its co-stars.
source ↗The opening montage recalls earlier films and features Misty, Molly Hale and May.
source ↗May comes back to compete in the Wallace Cup, and the final is her against Dawn. The winner takes the Aqua Ribbon.
source ↗Ash trades his Aipom for Dawn's Buizel: Aipom loved Contests, and Buizel wanted to battle.
source ↗Team Galactic steals the Lustrous Orb and Adamant Orb, items tied to Palkia and Dialga in the games. This comes back later.
source ↗The movie ties into the then-unreleased Pokémon Platinum and shows the Reverse World, Giratina's home.
source ↗Shaymin switches from Land Forme to the flying Sky Forme when it touches Gracidea flowers. That drives much of the trip.
source ↗The Pichu Brothers make a cameo, and Regigigas appears in a movie for the first time.
source ↗Just like in Diamond and Pearl, Team Galactic boss Cyrus summons Dialga and Palkia at the Spear Pillar.
source ↗Ash and Paul have their first full six-on-six battle at Lake Acuity. The result weighs on the rivalry. This comes back later.
source ↗Unlike earlier ones, this season started with no break after the previous one and brought the opening "Battle Cry (Stand Up!)".
source ↗The directors visited Greece in 2008, including the Acropolis, Mycenae, Delphi and Meteora, to build the setting of Michina.
source ↗Ash's friends had time-traveled before, but this is the first time for Ash himself. The film closes the trilogy that began with Darkrai.
source ↗In the film, an eclipse heralds Arceus' awakening. Days after the Japanese premiere, the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century took place.
source ↗At the Lily of the Valley Conference, Ash faces Paul in a full battle, the payoff of the rivalry built across Sinnoh.
source ↗Ash's run ends in the top four against Tobias, a Trainer who uses Darkrai and Latios, a rare sight in a League.
source ↗At 34 episodes, it's the shortest completed dub season, and the first entirely in widescreen.
source ↗Zorua and Zoroark debuted in this film in July 2010, ahead of Black and White, which launched the fifth generation.
source ↗Raikou, Entei and Suicune appear as Crown City's guardians and fall for Zoroark's illusions.
source ↗The end credits show many Gym Leaders, Elite Four members and rivals from the Diamond and Pearl era.
source ↗The "Who's That Pokémon?" segment returned after a 344-episode absence.
source ↗Two episodes were postponed because of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, and the dub season skipped both.
source ↗Right after arriving in Unova, Pikachu loses to Trip's Snivy, a rookie Trainer's Pokémon. Ash starts over with a whole new team.
source ↗It came out in two versions: in White, Zekrom sides with Ash; in Black, it's Reshiram. It was the first time the series did that.
source ↗The White version got a limited US theatrical run in December 2011, the first Pokémon movie on American big screens since 2003.
source ↗The story is set in Eindoak Town and centers on the ancient Kingdom of the Vale and the barrier Victini has kept up for a thousand years.
source ↗Dawn reunites with Ash in Unova, travels with the group for a while, then leaves for the Wallace Cup in Johto.
source ↗Giovanni pulls Team Rocket out of Unova and brings everyone back to Kanto, ending the trio's serious phase.
source ↗Landorus, Thundurus and Tornadus appear in a two-part arc, retelling their legend from Black and White.
source ↗At 72 minutes, it's the shortest Pokémon movie. It came with the short Meloetta's Moonlight Serenade, the first Pikachu short in years.
source ↗Keldeo reaches its Resolute Form in the climax. Keldeo and Meloetta were handed out at Japanese theaters.
source ↗Jessie, James and Meowth only pass through and have no lines in the film.
source ↗It's the first season where Ash earns no Badge or Symbol. The subtitle changed midway, with the trip to the Decolore Islands.
source ↗Team Plasma tries to awaken Reshiram, and Looker arrests Ghetsis and Colress, echoing the games' plot.
source ↗In the Decolore Islands, Alexa joins, a reporter from the Kalos region who owns a Noivern. This comes back later.
source ↗This Mewtwo isn't the one from the first movie: it has a female voice, Reiko Takashima in Japan and Miriam Pultro in English. It even got a TV prologue episode.
source ↗New Tork City is based on New York, and Pokémon Hills on Central Park. The director wanted the ancient Genesect against a city packed with technology.
source ↗The Genesect group has five members: a red shiny leader and four others, each with a different Drive.
source ↗Kalos debuted a new art style with taller, leaner characters, and Ash got spikier hair and a redesigned face. Battles gained "VS" screens like in the games.
source ↗Serena met Ash as a kid at Professor Oak's summer camp, when he tied a handkerchief around her scraped knee. She kept it all these years.
source ↗The series came with the Mega Evolution specials, starring Trainer Alain. His story runs in parallel with Ash's.
source ↗Mega Diancie debuted here before Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. The film also features plenty of other Mega-Evolved Pokémon.
source ↗Director Kunihiko Yuyama scouted Canadian locations to capture Xerneas and Yveltal's cycle of life and death.
source ↗Wikstrom of the Kalos Elite Four makes a cameo, the first by an Elite Four member in a movie.
source ↗This season, Ash doesn't lose a single battle against a Trainer. He wins four Badges along the way.
source ↗The Pokémon Showcases Serena competes in exist only in the anime. She wins her first Showcases this season.
source ↗The "Kalos Quest" name never appears in the episodes: it was only added later for iTunes.
source ↗The team went to Dubai to scout for Dahara City, the desert city where the movie is set.
source ↗The film packs in 13 Legendary Pokémon, more than any earlier movie. Hoopa debuted here.
source ↗The score samples and remixes music from earlier films, like the Lugia, Latios and Latias, and Arceus movies.
source ↗The Ash-Greninja form debuts in the anime and later reached the games: a Greninja with Battle Bond came from the Sun and Moon demo.
source ↗Ash reaches the Lumiose Conference final and faces Alain, the Trainer from the Mega Evolution specials.
source ↗It was the last season to air on Cartoon Network in the US before the anime moved to Disney XD.
source ↗It's the last movie set in the TV series' continuity. The ones after it tell other versions of Ash's story.
source ↗It's the first movie with two Mythical Pokémon in starring roles: Volcanion and Magearna.
source ↗Magearna is the only seventh-generation Pokémon to appear in the anime before the Sun & Moon series.
source ↗In the first episode, guardian Tapu Koko hands Ash a Z-Ring and flies off. This comes back later.
source ↗Ash's Rockruff evolves into Dusk Form Lycanroc, which didn't exist anywhere yet. It reached the games about three months later in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
source ↗The Pokémon School class takes a field trip to Kanto, and Ash reunites with Brock and Misty, who meet his new classmates.
source ↗Ash's Z-Crystal turns into Pikashunium Z and unleashes 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt, the Z-Move exclusive to Pikachu in a cap.
source ↗Professor Kukui announces his plan to create Alola's first Pokémon League. This comes back later.
source ↗The dub season skips SM064, which was never dubbed. It was the first main-series episode, recaps aside, left undubbed since "The Ice Cave!".
source ↗Ash wins Alola's first League Conference at Manalo, beating Gladion in the final. It's his first regional League title after more than two decades on the air.
source ↗Ash catches a Meltan, a Pokémon introduced in 2018 through a mystery in Pokémon GO. During the League it evolves into Melmetal.
source ↗The episode after the victory premiered in the US on 2/29/2020, the first in the anime to air on a leap day.
source ↗The first episode flashes back to show Pichu evolving into Pikachu, Pichu's first on-screen evolution, and how it ended up at Professor Oak's lab.
source ↗In the US, this series' dub premiered on Netflix, the first time an anime episode debuted on streaming.
source ↗As a kid, Goh sees Mew at a camp and decides he'll catch it one day. This comes back later.
source ↗Ash's Lucario gains Mega Evolution with the Lucarionite and Mega Glove. It's a nod to the Lucario of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.
source ↗Iris returns as Unova League Champion and battles Ash in the World Coronation Series rankings.
source ↗Dawn returns in a two-part story, and Ash also crosses paths with Cynthia, Sinnoh's Champion.
source ↗Ash beats Leon in the Masters Eight final and becomes Monarch and World Champion. Pikachu's final hit on Charizard recalls Volt Tackle.
source ↗The final battle episode brings together every human main character in the series, 20 in all, the most in a single episode.
source ↗Goh, who saw Mew as a kid, finally meets it on Faraway Island, and the Project Mew team disbands.
source ↗For Ash's farewell, Misty and Brock travel with him again, just like the early years.
source ↗The final episode echoes the first: Ash wakes up late and races to Professor Oak's lab.
source ↗The final episode uses Shinji Miyazaki's music from the original series, and the closing arrangement recalls the Red and Green title screen. Instead of "to be continued," it promises a new beginning.
source ↗Horizons is the first anime series without Ash as the lead since the April 1, 1997 premiere. Liko and Roy take his place.
source ↗This series' Pikachu is Captain Pikachu, Friede's partner, who leads the crew of the airship Brave Olivine.
source ↗Before Liko heads to Indigo Academy, her grandmother Diana gives her a pendant and says it will matter. The Explorers want it. This comes back later.
source ↗Diana reveals the Explorers were founded a century ago by Lucius, Rystal and Gibeon, and that Liko is Lucius and Rystal's great-great-granddaughter.
source ↗To reach Laqua, the group descends into Area Zero, the crater from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, after facing Geeta, Paldea's Top Champion.
source ↗During Tera training at Naranja Academy, Liko faces Katy and Grusha, Gym Leaders from Scarlet and Violet.
source ↗The group trains at Blueberry Academy from The Indigo Disk DLC and meets Director Cyrano and Elite Four members Drayton and Lacey.
source ↗A flashback arc shows Roy training in Kalos a year earlier, bringing Mega Evolution back to the anime. The season picks up one year after the last one.
source ↗Nemona, Geeta, Clavell, Penny and Jacq, characters from Scarlet and Violet, show up this season.
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