My Pokémon Journey: It’s still super effective!
ポケットモンスター, the updated version of My Pokémon Story, including the current Journeys
Differences between the new version and the original from late 2017
- No YouTube links at all (with a few exceptions, since the videos may be blocked in your country when clicking on the YouTube links).
- Most of the images in this post are still from Bulbapedia Archives.
- All series dates start with the original air date in Japan (North American air dates are in parentheses).
- Pokémon Live! will not be mentioned at all (Wikipedia link, Wayback Machine link).
- Voice actors in both languages will still be mentioned, if the character(s) have the same voice actress, it will use “his/her/their Japanese/English voice actor/actress is the same as <character name> pre-/post-season 9” and “please see <character name> for this character’s previous/current voice actor”, regardless of sexuality.
- Original Japanese names for each character are included.
- The star emoji (⭐) denotes non-binary (X-gender) or genderfluid voice actors (they/them, may also be used for he/they or she/they pronouns).️
- The tombstone emoji (🪦) denotes that the voice actor is deceased.
- The cherry blossom (sakura) emoji (🌸) denotes that the voice actor is retired.
I started watching the Pokémon anime series before my older half-brother got married and before my nieces were born. It first aired on the now-closed Kids’ WB as we traveled with Ash Ketchum (Satoshi; Rika Matsumoto/Veronica Taylor → Sarah Natochenny), Misty (Kasumi; Mayumi Iizuka/Rachel Lillis 🪦 → Michele Knotz), and Brock (Takeshi; Yuuji Ueda/Eric Stuart → Bill Rogers). Team Rocket, which consists of Jessie (Musashi; Megumi Hayashibara/her English voice actresses, both pre-and post-season 9, are the same), James (Kojiro; Shin-ichiro Miki/Ted Lewis for the first seven episodes → his English voice actor is the same as Brock pre-season 9 → Jimmy Zoppi 🌸), and a talking Meowth (Nyarth; Inuko Inuyama/Nathan Price → Maddie Blaustein 🪦 → his post-season 9 English voice actor is the same as James), has appeared in every episode, including the first three films, as children would parody Team Rocket’s mottos, including the original motto.
The Pokémon Boom and the original series (OS; Kanto → Johto)
Note: Pokémon: Indigo League will leave Netflix next year
The first order of business is the original series. It first aired on the now-closed Kids’ WB as we traveled with Ash, Misty, and Brock. The series ran from April 1, 1997 to November 14, 2002 (September 7, 1998 to October 25, 2003 in North America).
In the first episode, Ash Ketchum is allowed to start his journey in the world of Pokémon and dreams of becoming a Pokémon master, but on the day he is to receive his first Pokémon, Ash oversleeps and wakes up in a panic, running into Gary Oak, who becomes Ash’s rival. Professor Oak, the local Pokémon researcher, has already given away the three Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle) he entrusts to new Pokémon Trainers when Ash finally reaches Oak’s Lab. The only Pokémon that he has left is a Pikachu, which he gives to Ash.
We’ve seen Gary Oak (Shigeru Okido in Japan), who is Ash’s first rival (later Goh’s rival since JN) teasing Ash a lot, though he doesn’t anymore.
Kids would recite Team Rocket’s mottos a lot, but I don’t want to list their mottos on Medium, so use this link for the original and current mottos.
Brock temporarily left the group for Tracey Sketchit (Kenji), possibly due to some racial remarks from Masamitsu Hidaka, one of Pokémon’s then-storyboard artists. Tracey himself did not last long (though he appeared in the AG arc once); he was replaced with Brock. For most of the series (except for AG, including the 2018 remakes of the first game and Masters EX), Misty did not wear anything else other than her yellow tank top that bares her midriff, short jean shorts held up by red Larry King-inspired suspenders, and red, yellow, and white Chuck Taylor-inspired sneakers.
I didn’t own an N64 myself, but I did play on a friend’s N64, where there was Pokémon Stadium, Pokémon Snap, and Pokémon Stadium 2. There were Pika-7 (Volkswagen Beetle) everywhere, and I’ve seen one as a kid, even YouTuber Mewisme700 restored a Pika-7 to its original condition!
When I first watched Pokémon: The First Movie (Pocket Monsters the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back! in Japan) as a child, which was released in late 1999 (summer 1998 in Japan), pictured here, I would rent the VHS via the now-closed Blockbuster video rental store. The song in the film features Blessid Union of Souls’ “Brother, My Brother”, though the song is absent in the CGI reboot. Then I would rent Pokémon: The Movie 2000 (Pocket Monsters the Movie — Mirage Pokémon: Lugia’s Explosive Birth) from the same now-closed Blockbuster video rental store. The third film, titled Pokémon 3: The Movie (Pocket Monsters the Movie: Emperor of the Crystal Tower — ENTEI), which wasn’t rented, aired on traditional television, where a talking Entei steals Delia Ketchum (Hanako; Masami Toyoshima/Please see Ash Ketchum for the character’s previous and current voice actresses in the dub), the (possibly single) mother of the Pokémon anime series’ main protagonist Ash Ketchum.
Pokémon Advanced Generation (Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire; Hoenn)
In the series (which is titled ポケットモンスター アドバンスジェネレーション Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation in Japan), Ash gains new clothes, and Misty is replaced with May and Max (Haruka and Masato; older sister and younger brother, respectively), and this is the first time that Ash travels with siblings, and Max (Fushigi Yamada/Amy Birnbaum → Kayzie Rogers, though credited as “Jamie Peacock” 🌸) is the first not to own any Pokémon because of his young age, and the first to wear glasses (the second being Clemont). May (KAORI 🌸/Veronica Taylor → please see Kasumi/Misty for the character’s current voice actress in the dub) is also the first female companion to wear headgear (in that case, a bandana; and she is the only one to wear gloves, albeit they’re not fingerless gloves). The series ran from November 21, 2002 to September 14, 2006 (November 1, 2003 to March 3, 2007 in North America). In this series, Brock follows Ash to Hoenn and Ash gains two new companions, a Pokémon Coordinator May, and her younger brother Max. Together, they go on another adventure.
May later becomes the first female character to have a rival — Shu/Drew, Saori/Solidad (both friendly), and Harley (unfriendly). Misty did make a return but with a different outfit. This is the only series in which Ash doesn’t possess any new rivals.
4Kids Entertainment went under fire as their licensing rights to dub the Pokémon anime has been expired in 2005. On March 21, 2006, it was discovered that The Pokémon Company International (then Pokémon USA) was going to recast the voices for the English dub of the Pokémon anime from season nine onwards. TPCI began looking for ways to cut costs on the production of the English adaptation of the series and decided to find a new partnering company that could produce the English adaptation for less money. Kids’ WB announced that all non-WB-related shows would be dropped from the lineup and the anime has moved to Cartoon Network (now owned by WB Discovery since 2019). Several Japanese seiyuu (including Ikue Ohtani) remained in the dub.
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (Sinnoh)
The next one up is Diamond and Pearl, as Ash and Brock meet Dawn (Hikari; Megumi Toyoguchi/Emily Bauer; later appeared in Black and White (without Brock) and Journeys), another Pokémon Coordinator, who travels with them as they go through the Sinnoh region in another adventure. Dawn is the first female character who wears a lot of pink (specifically, her scarf, the bottom of her dress, and her knee-high boots), as opposed to other female companions, who do not wear pink in their clothing (though Iris does, specifically, the trims of her shirt, her skirt, and her tennis shoes).
The arc ran from September 28, 2006 to September 9, 2010 (June 4, 2007 to February 5, 2011 in North America).
Pokémon Best Wishes!/Black and White (Isshu/Unova)
Black and White (Best Wishes! in Japan) give us Iris (Aoi Yuuki/Eileen Stevens, later replaced by Anaris Quiñones ⭐ in JN), a Dragon Master and the first female companion to retain her Japanese name, and to wear pants (well, technically, leggings), and Cilan (Dent; Mamoru Miyano/then-Sonic voice actor Jason Anthony Griffith), a Pokémon Connoisseur (Pokémon Sommelier in Japan, though the dub does not use the word sommelier since words related to alcohol beverages are not allowed in the dub) who has two brothers Chilli (Pod; red) and Cress (Corn; blue). Afterward, Ash, his mother Delia, and Professor Oak take a holiday to the far-off Unova Region, where he meets and travels with would-be Dragon Master Iris and Striaton City Gym Leader, Pokémon Connoisseur, and sometimes detective Cilan. In this series, Ash’s high-top sneakers are Air Jordan 1-inspired, and his jeans are baggy than the previous series. Iris doesn’t own a bike herself, as opposed to Misty, May, and Dawn, who all had their bikes destroyed by Pikachu. Bianca (Bel; Shizuka Ito/Erica Schroeder) is Ash’s first female rival.
Before the series, in which we have Cassidy and Butch (Yamato and Kosaburo, respectively), we get the kick out of the whole thing: mispronouncing Butch’s name, such as “The name is Butch! It’s not Butcher!!” And also, Stephan (Kenyan; initially pronounced steh-FON) with “The name’s Stephan (steh-FON), but whatever…” There’s been some hatred of Iris, who calls Ash a “(little/littler) kid” a lot.
It ran from September 23, 2010 to October 3, 2013 (February 12, 2011 to December 7, 2013 in North America). This also marks the first of the series without Brock, and the first to hire some of the then-4Kids voice actors.
Pokémon XY (Kalos)
XY ran from October 17, 2013 to November 10, 2016 (January 18, 2014 to January 28, 2017 in North America). Ash and Alexa (Pansy) arrive in the Kalos region and Ash is itching to get started in earning his Gym badges. But after Alexa informs Ash that her sister, a Gym Leader, is currently absent, Ash travels to Lumiose City where he meets boy genius Clemont (Citron; Yuki Kaji/Michael “Mike” Liscio, Jr.) and his younger sister Bonnie (Yurika/Eureka; Mariya Ise (original), Mika Kanai (temporary)/Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld), unaware that Clemont is, in fact, Lumiose City’s Gym Leader; a fact he tries his best to hide. Ash also reunites with Serena (Mayuki Managuchi/Haven Paschall), a girl from Vaniville Town (Asame Town in Japan) whom Ash had met in his childhood.
For most of the series, Clemont wears a jumpsuit (though I don’t wear a jumpsuit myself, and I don’t wear glasses myself), and his glasses shine multiple times. This is also the first time to have an equal number of the main cast (two boys and two girls). Serena is the second character to keep her Japanese name, and the first to permanently change her outfit (see images below for comparison).
Her first outfit looks like a mix of 1950s clothing with a modern twist. Maybe she’s stuck in the — oh, I don’t want to spoil it. Trust me.
Her current outfit is a little better, making it less 1950s-esque, though the games still use her original outfit when the player selects a female avatar.
Seven years ago, I won a copy of Pokémon Y from the now-closed Game Boy Crammer podcast, and still, it is the first and only game to use my actual given name (Chester). In November 2016, all hell broke loose as Cartoon Network’s rights to air the Pokémon anime series expired. The Pokémon Company International allowed Disney XD to finish airing the remaining episodes of XY.
Pokémon Sun & Moon (Alola)
This will be the first time that Ash does not wear fingerless gloves or jeans, or travel around the region as he did in the previous five arcs. Instead, he goes to school (in both fiction and real life). Ash, Delia, and her Mr. Mime are on vacation in the Alola region when Ash has an encounter with Tapu Koko, the guardian Pokémon of Melemele Island, who presents him with the Z-Ring, a device that, when paired with a special crystal, allows a Pokémon to unleash a powerful move when synchronized with its trainer. This leads him to stay in Alola and enroll at the local Pokémon school. When he decides to undertake the trials necessary to master the power of the Z-Ring, Ash’s new classmates Lana (Suiren; Hitomi Kikuchi/Rosie Reyes), Mallow (Mao; Reina Ueda/Jessica Paquet → Emily Cramer since JN), Lillie (Lilie; Kei Shindou/Laurie Hymes), Sophocles (Maamane; Fumiko Takekuma/please see Bonnie for the character’s voice actress in the dub) and Kiawe (Kaki; Kaito Ishikawa/Marc Swint) decide to accompany him.
Lana is the first female companion (so far) to ever wear pants. The series ran from November 17, 2016 to November 3, 2019 (May 12, 2017 to March 7, 2020 in North America), and is the last of the arc to be aired on television before Netflix acquired the licensing rights.
Pokémon Journeys and Twilight Wings (Galar)
Note: Pokémon Journeys will leave Netflix in early September
The anime series’ writers and storyboard artists decided to go “buddy cop” style, in a manner of Starsky & Hutch and Miami Vice. In this arc, Ash does not travel with any female companions and he has only one traveling companion: Goh (Gou; Daiki Yamashita/Zeno Robinson), though we’re going to see Chloe Cerise (Koharu Sakuragi; Kana Hanazawa/Fairy Tail star Cherami Leigh), a major supporting female character (but not a main female character) in the arc, no matter how many times.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series focuses on all eight regions, including Galar, the setting of the Pokémon Sword and Shield games. Pikachu’s backstory as a Pichu, and Ash’s backstory when he was 6 years old missing Professor Oak’s camp. Goh’s backstory when he was 6 years old and he did attend Professor Oak’s camp, and he saw Mew. It sees Ash and Pikachu travel to each of the regions, accompanied by Goh and his Scorbunny, which later evolves into Raboot and then into a Cinderace (Aceburn; Megumi Hayashibara/Casey Mongillo ⭐). Currently, the supporting cast includes a girl named Chloe Cerise, who is close to her father’s Yamper.
This is the first time that Bea (Saito; Yoko Hikasa, Eri Kitamura for TW/Tiana Camacho ⭐, Laura Stahl for TW, pictured above) appeared outside of the video game series. In most of her appearances including in the anime series who serves as Ash’s second female rival, she is always barefoot, though in Twilight Wings (TW02) she dons straw sandals along with her gym uniform. Gary Oak later became Goh’s rival. We still get to see the previous companions that Ash traveled with. The series has since premiered exclusively on Netflix in the United States and Canada, along with future episodes and films, instead of airing on television due to the decline in cable subscriptions. This is also the first time that Ash wears shorts. The series ran from November 17, 2019 to March 24, 2023 (June 12, 2020 to September 8, 2023 in North America).
Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle focuses exclusively on Koko (Moka Kamishiraishi/Skullgirls star Kimlinh Tran ⭐) instead of Ash. We later knew his real name: Al Molybdenum (Al Molybden in Japan). Ash wears new clothes, including a different pair of sneakers. He wears gloves again (which is possible for the final time), but they are all black.
The reboot of the first Pokémon film in CGI (Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back — Evolution)
The CGI remake of the first film takes us back to 1999 and 2000, with major changes such as the voice actors in the dub (Ash, Misty, Brock, Jessie, James, Meowth…). Despite Yukinori “Unshō” Ishizuka’s death on August 13, 2018, the staff confirmed that his narration work was featured in the film. Click this link for the differences between the remake and the original. Even though, three of my second cousins love Pokémon.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my Pokémon experience. Gotta catch ya later!
