In the fantastic world of Pokémon, kids are permitted to become Pokémon trainers -- and the best of them may some day become Pokémon masters! That's the dream for Ash Ketchum, our young hero who embarks on his journey with a secret that gives him an edge: his special love for these amazing creatures helps him beat incredible odds and makes seemingly impossible things happen! To become a great Pokémon trainer, Ash must catch as many wild Pokémon as possible. But it's not easy, because each of the Pokémon possess special powers and abilities.

To catch one, he must first challenge it in a match with a Pokémon of his own. If Ash plays it just right, the wild Pokémon will find itself captured in a PokéBall -- and part of Ash's team. Professor Oak, a leading authority in all things Pokémon, gets Ash started with his first Pokémon, the lovable Pikachu, an electric Pokémon with truly "shocking" abilities. Misty and Brock, fellow Pokémon trainers, join them with some tricks of their own. Ash can use all the help he can get, because the notorious Team Rocket has taken notice of Pikachu's powers. They'll stop at nothing to steal Pikachu to please Team Rocket's boss and help him fulfill his diabolical plan for total domination! It's an incredible adventure that takes our heroes around the world, underground and across the sea -- all the while discovering new and amazing things about everyone's favorite creatures – Pokémon!

Pokemon is based on the popular games created by a Japanese game maker named Satoshi Tajiri. After first coming up with the idea for Pokémon in 1990, Satoshi worked hard for almost six years on the original game. He based the game on his childhood interest in bugs when he lived in Machida, a west Tokyo suburb. Most of his ideas for Pokémon are based on the nature of the bugs that he watched. The techniques that he used to catch these bugs were different from his friends, hence explaining his interest in bugs. The rival in the game, Shigeru is named after Shigeru Miyamoto, the famous game designer at Nintendo who did Donkey Kong and Super Mario Brothers and also more importantly, the teacher that told him about gaming.

Pokemon first aired on April 1st, 1997 in Japan and later aired in the US for the first time on September 7th, 1998. For some reason they first showed "Battle aboard the St. Anne" in the US instead of the first episode, go figure! Pokemon is probably the most popular anime ever, but all good things must come to an end. Pokemon's ratings originally skyrocketed beating out the Today Show and Good Morning America in their morning time slots, but Pokemon has been going downwards ever since. Hopefully Pokemon can be some what revived when Pokemon Advance is released, but only time will tell.

INDIGO LEAGUE
It all begins with the Indigo League where Ash gets his first Pokemon, Pikachu and his travelling buddies Misty and Brock. Ash and his friends travel through the towns/cities in Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow trying to get all eight badges to compete in the Pokemon League. It isn't as easy as it sounds since Ash must try and out do his rival, Gary and try to learn as much as possible about the world of Pokemon. Team Rocket also tries to stop Ash by taking his Pikachu, so Ash has to beat them many times over again. Ash eventually makes it to the Pokemon Leagues where he ends up losing to Richie, finishing in 16th place. Ash takes it hard, but when he sees how well Richie handles losing, he is inspired and decides to become a Pokemon Master no matter what.

ORANGE LEAGUE
After losing at the Pokemon League, Ash decides to try out a more unique league that isn't just about battling, but also skills. Before he starts out though, Brock decides to leave the gang to help out Prof. Ivy on Valencia Island. Ash and Misty are alone for a short time, but they are joined by a Pokemon watcher called Tracey. The Orange League isn't that easy to access, but thanks to the help of Lapras, Ash travels from island to island collecting badges and making new friends. Ash eventually gets all four badges and is able to compete in the Orange League where he defeats Drake and wins the Orange Trophy. Before Ash goes though, he releases Lapras back into the wild. When they make it back to Pallet, they find out that Brock is there. Since Tracey is such a big fan of Prof. Oak, he decides to stay with him as Ash, Misty and Brock move onto the Johto League.

JOHTO LEAGUE
Our heroes travel to the new land of Johto, which features 100 new Pokemon and all of the towns/cities that are featured in Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal. There Ash must compete in the Johto League and try to get all eight badges. Along the way Ash ends up getting all the new starting Pokemon and a few other new ones, but he also loses some old friends like Squirtle and Charizard. The Johto League takes a lot longer than any other league because, it is spread out over 3 seasons: Johto Journeys, Johto League Champions and Master Quest. Ash also meets up with new friends like Casey and old ones like Duplica and Todd. Can't forget Team Rocket who continues to follow the twerps around hoping to get lucky and grab Pikachu for the boss. Later on in Master Quest, Ash meets some new Pokemon that will be featured in Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire.