Pokémon Watch Order: When to Watch Every Season & Movie

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Plus, find out where you can watch the show & movies

Co-authored by ThePokéRaf and Devin McSween

Last Updated: February 25, 2026 Fact Checked

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Main Series Order

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Main Series + Movies Watch Order

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Horizons Watch Order

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Where to Watch

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Extra Content

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Whether you're new to the franchise or returning after a long time away, you may be wondering how to watch Pokémon: The Series in order. There are 25 seasons following Ash Ketchum, Pikachu, and a recurring cast of friends and enemies (hello, Team Rocket!), plus 20 movies that take place during the seasons! While that’s certainly a lot of content, the best way to watch the show is in the order of release. To help you out, we put together watch order guides for the main series (plus the movies) as well as the new Horizons series. We’ll also explain where you can watch the shows and movies. Keep reading to get watching!

What is the correct order to watch Pokémon?

Watch Pokémon: The Series in the order it was released, starting with Indigo League (season 1) and ending with Ultimate Journeys (season 25). Most of the movies are set during the main series, so watch them in between the seasons. Then, start the new series, Pokémon Horizons: The Series, which has 3 seasons.

Section 1 of 5:

How to Watch Pokémon: The Series in Order

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Pokémon: The Series follows Ash Ketchum and his sidekick Pikachu as he travels across the various regions in the Pokémon universe in hopes of becoming a Pokémon Master. The series began in 1997, spanning 25 seasons, with Ash’s journey finally ending in 2023. While the series is certainly expansive, watching it is actually pretty easy—just watch it in release order from season 1 through season 25!^{[1]
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- Pokémon: Indigo League (episodes 1-52)
- Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands (episodes 1-60)
- Pokémon: The Johto Journeys (episodes 1-41)
- Pokémon: Johto League Champions (episodes 1-52)
- Pokémon: Master Quest (episodes 1-64)
- Pokémon: Advanced (episodes 1-40)
- Pokémon: Advanced Challenge (episodes 1-52)
- Pokémon: Advanced Battle (episodes 1-52)
- Pokémon: Battle Frontier (episodes 1-47)
- Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl (episodes 1-51)
- Pokémon: DP Battle Dimension (episodes 1-52)
- Pokémon: DP Galactic Battles (episodes 1-52)
- Pokémon: DP Sinnoh League Victors (episodes 1-34)
- Pokémon: Black & White (episodes 1-48)
- Pokémon: BW Rival Destinies (episodes 1-49)
- Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond (episodes 1-45)
- Pokémon the Series: XY (episodes 1-48)
- Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest (episodes 1-45)
- Pokémon the Series: XYZ (episodes 1-48)
- Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon (episodes 1-43)
- Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon — Ultra Adventures (episodes 1-48)
- Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon — Ultra Legends (episodes 1-54)
- Pokémon Journeys: The Series (episodes 1-48)
- Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series (episodes 1-42)
- Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series (episodes 1-54)
- A note on episode counts: Some episode guides list Indigo League as having 80 episodes. In Japan, 80+ episodes were released as part of season 1. But, for US serialization, TV providers decided to split Indigo League into 52 episodes (and removed a few episodes). The leftover episodes were added to the beginning of Orange Islands, which was increased from its original 35 episodes to 60 episodes.

Section 2 of 5:

Pokémon: The Series + Movies Watch Order

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Besides the main series, 20 animated Pokémon movies have been released between 1998 and 2016. These movies are considered canon, as they’re set during the seasons and continue to follow Ash and his friends. While they’re not totally necessary for understanding the show, they do add depth to it (plus, they give you lots of fun easter eggs to catch). Here’s the release order for the movies and when to watch them between the seasons:^{[2]
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- Pokémon: The First Movie (1998)
  - Watch after: Adventures in the Orange Islands episode 11
  - Or, watch Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution (2019), which is a remake of The First Movie
- Pokémon: The Movie 2000 (1999)
  - Watch after: Adventures in the Orange Islands episode 49
- Pokémon 3: The Movie (2000)
  - Watch after: The Johto Journeys episode 39
- Pokémon 4Ever (2001)
  - Watch after: Johto League Champions episode 48
- Pokémon Heroes (2002)
  - Watch after: Master Quest episode 46
- Pokémon: Jirachi, Wish Maker (2003)
  - Watch after: Advanced episode 34
- Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (2004)
  - Watch after: Advanced Challenge episode 45
- Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (2005)
  - Watch after: Advanced Battle episode 41
- Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (2006)
  - Watch after: Battle Frontier episode 38
- Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (2007)
  - Watch after Diamond and Pearl episode 39
- Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior (2008)
  - Watch after DP Battle Dimension episode 34
- Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009)
  - Watch after: DP Galactic Battles episode 30
- Pokémon: Zoroark — Master of Illusions (2010)
  - Watch after: DP Sinnoh League Victors episode 27
- Pokémon the Movie: White — Victini and Zekrom or Pokémon the Movie: Black — Victini and Reshiram (2011)
  - Watch after: Black & White episode 37
  - Both movies are virtually the same, so you can just choose one to watch.
- Pokémon: Kyurem vs the Sword of Justice (2012)
  - Watch after: BW Rival Destinies episode 33
- Pokémon: Genesect and the Legend Awakened (2013)
  - Watch after: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond episode 25
- Pokémon: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction (2014)
  - Watch after: XY episode 37
- Pokémon: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages (2015)
  - Watch after: XY Kalos Quest episode 32
- Pokémon: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel (2016)
  - Watch after: XYZ episode 34

Section 3 of 5:

How to Watch Pokémon Horizons: The Series in Order

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While Ash’s journey might be finished (for now), that doesn’t mean Pokémon is over! As Pokémon and anime expert ThePokéRaf explains, the newest series, Pokémon Horizons: The Series, sets up a new era and follows new characters (plus, it may even be in a different timeline!).^{[3]
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ThePokéRaf
Pokémon and Anime Expert

Expert Interview} Starting in 2023, Pokémon Horizons follows main characters Liko and Roy, and there are only 3 seasons so far:^{[4]
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- Pokémon Horizons: The Series (episodes 1-45)
- Pokémon Horizons: Season 2 — The Search for Laqua (episodes 1-44)
- Pokémon Horizons Season 3 — Rising Hope (episodes 1-11)
  - Note: Only the first half of Season 3 has been released outside of Japan. The full season has 36 episodes, which will likely be released later in 2026.

Section 4 of 5:

Where to Watch Pokémon

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Pokémon: The Series is available on YouTube and various streamers. Unfortunately, there is no single streaming service that hosts all 25 seasons ofPokémon: The Series. Instead, the seasons are spread out over several different sites, like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu (and require a subscription). Some seasons are available to stream for free on YouTube and Hoopla, too. This is the current breakdown of where to watch the show:
- YouTube (via Pokémon TV): Indigo League, Orange Islands, Johto Journeys, Master Quest, Advanced, and Advanced Challenge
- Hoopla: Advanced Advanced Challenge, Advanced Battle, Battle Frontier, Diamond and Pearl, DP Battle Dimension, DP Galactic Battles, and DP Sinnoh League Victors
  - These seasons are available through Hoopla’s Binge Pass, which allows you to borrow the content for 7 days if you have a participating library card.
- Netflix: Indigo League, XY, Journeys, Master Journeys, and Ultimate Journeys
- Amazon Prime: Indigo League (called The Beginning), Johto Journeys, Johto League Champions (called Gold & Silver Season 4), Master Quest (called Gold & Silver Season 5), Diamond & Pearl, Black & White, Journeys, and Master Journeys
- Hulu: Sun & Moon and Sun & Moon — Ultra Adventures
- Tubi: Black & White, BW Rival Destinies, BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond, XY, XY Kalos Quest, XYZ
- Roku: Diamond and Pearl, DP Battle Dimension, DP Galactic Battles, and DP Sinnoh League Victors, XY, XY Kalos Quest, XYZ, Sun & Moon, Sun & Moon — Ultra Adventures, Sun & Moon — Ultra Legends
  - Roku also has a Pokémon channel that streams live episodes of Pokémon: The Series.
- Pluto.TV: Some of DP Battle Dimension, DP Galactic Battles, and DP Sinnoh League Victors
  - Pluto.TV also has a Pokémon channel that streams live episodes of Pokémon: The Series.
- Note: Due to different licensing agreements, what seasons each streamer has is likely to change.
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All 3 seasons of Pokémon Horizons: The Series are available on Netflix. Luckily, watching Horizons is much simpler! Netflix streams all 3 seasons of the series (though part 2 of Season 3 is still on the way).
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The Pokémon movies are available on different streaming services. Like Pokémon: The Series, the movies are spread out among various streaming services. Here are which movies the major streamers currently have available (note: some may require a subscription):
- Amazon Prime (requires a Pokémon subscription): Pokémon: The Movie 2000, Pokémon 3, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, Giratina & The Sky Warrior, Arceus and The Jewel of Life, Zoroark: Master of Illusions, Black and White, Kyurem and the Sword of Justice, Genesect and the Legend Awakened, Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction, Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel
- Hulu: The Rise of Darkrai, Giratina and the Sky Warrior, Arceus and The Jewel of Life, Zoroark: Master of Illusions
- Roku: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction, Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel
- Tubi: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction, Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel
- Most of the other movies are available to rent or purchase on Amazon.

Section 5 of 5:

Extra Pokémon Content

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Specials There are several special episodes and mini series that are tied to Pokémon: The Series, but aren’t formally a part of any of the seasons. You definitely don’t have to watch any of these, but they are fun accompaniments to the show!^{[5]
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- Mewtwo Returns (watch in between Johto League Champions)
- Pokémon Chronicles (the various episodes take place between Master Quest through to Advanced Battle)
- The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon (watch after Advanced Battle)
- Mega Evolution Special (watch during XY)
- The Arceus Chronicles (watch after Master Journeys)
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Alternate universe movies There are 3 additional Pokémon movies that follow Ash, but are considered retellings of his story and take place in an alternate timeline. The first movie is loosely based on the same events as the first season of the show, and the following movies are sequels.^{[6]
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Research source} These movies are fun to watch, but aren’t really related to the show.
- Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! (2017) — A loose retelling of Ash’s journey through Kanto
  - Available on Netflix and Amazon Prime (with Pokémon subscription)
- Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us (2018) — Sequel to I Choose You!
  - Available on Netflix and Amazon Prime (with Pokémon subscription)
- Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle (2020) — Sequel to Power of Us
  - Available on Netflix and Amazon Prime (with Pokémon subscription)
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Spin-offs There are countless Pokémon stories that don’t follow Ash (or the new characters in Horizons). These are definitely fun options if you simply want more of the Pokémon universe! Below are some of the most popular mini-series and movie spin-offs:
- Pokémon Generations
  - Available on Pokémon’s YouTube channel
- Pokémon: Twilight Wings
  - Available on Pokémon’s YouTube channel
- Pokémon: Evolutions
  - Available on Pokémon’s YouTube channel
- Pokémon: Hisuian Snow
  - Available on Pokémon’s YouTube channel
- Pokétoon
  - Available on Pokémon’s YouTube channel
- Pokémon Origins
  - Available on Amazon Prime (with Pokémon subscription)
- Pokémon Concierge
  - Available on Netflix
- Pokémon Detective Pikachu
  - Available to rent or buy on Amazon