Original series

Pokémon the Series: The Beginning and Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver, collectively referred to as Pokémon (Japanese: ポケットモンスター Pocket Monsters) and referred to by fans as the original series, are the first series of the Pokémon anime and are based on the events of the core series Generation I and Pokémon games, respectively. They were succeeded by the. They ran from April 1, 1997 to November 14, 2002 in Japan and from September 7, 1998 to October 25, 2003 in. They were not given English names until after the release of Pokémon the Series: XY.

During the original series, rookie Ash Ketchum begins his  in the Kanto region, leaving his home of Pallet Town with the only starter Pokémon that  had left to give: a reluctant and moody. Ash's quest begins in earnest to defeat all of the Gym Leaders and get to the Pokémon League as soon as he has gained Pikachu's trust, and he is joined by two mentors, and.

After competing in the Indigo Plateau Conference and not performing as well as he had hoped, Ash journeys to the Orange Archipelago to receive the GS Ball from Professor Ivy, as it cannot be transported to Professor Oak by PC. During his time there, Ash competes in another Pokémon League, the Orange League and meets a new named Tracey Sketchit. When Oak cannot figure out how to open the GS Ball on Ash's return to Pallet, the Professor sends Ash to Johto to give the special Poké Ball to Kurt. While there, Ash again competes in a Pokémon League, the Silver Conference.

Episodes in the original series are numbered with EP on Bulbapedia. For a complete episode listing, see the list of original series episodes.

Blurb
''It’s Ash Ketchum’s tenth birthday, and he’s ready to do what many 10-year-olds in the Kanto region set out to do—become a Pokémon Trainer! Things don’t go exactly the way he planned when he ends up with a Pikachu instead of a standard first Pokémon, and winning Gym Badges turns out to be much tougher than he thought. Luckily, he’s got former Gym Leaders Brock and Misty at his side, along with a bevy of new Pokémon friends, including Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander.''

Chapters
The original series is officially divided into three chapters:
 * Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター) (EP001 - EP080)
 * Pocket Monsters: Episode Orange Islands (ポケットモンスター オレンジ) (EP081 - EP116)
 * Pocket Monsters: Episode Gold & Silver (ポケットモンスター ) (EP117 - EP274)

Dub seasons
When the was dubbed into English and other languages, the series was divided between six seasons:
 * Pokémon: Indigo League (EP001 - EP017, EP019 - EP034, EP036 - EP037, EP039 - EP051, EP054 - EP057)
 * Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands (EP052 - EP053, EP058 - EP105, Holiday Hi-Jynx, Snow Way Out!)
 * Pokémon: The Johto Journeys (EP106 - EP157)
 * Pokémon: Johto League Champions (EP158 - EP209)
 * Pokémon: Master Quest (EP210 - EP249, EP251 - EP262)
 * Pokémon: Advanced (EP263 - EP274)

Pokémon TV and the Pokémon.com Pokémon Trainer Club stamps divide it instead into Pokémon the Series: The Beginning, consisting of the Kanto and Orange Archipelago episodes, and Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver, consisting of the Johto episodes.

Movies

 * Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back
 * Pokémon the Movie 2000: The Power of One
 * Pokémon 3: The Movie - Spell of the Unown: Entei
 * Pokémon 4Ever - Celebi: The Voice of the Forest
 * Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias

North American home video releases

 * List of English language Indigo League home video releases (Region 1)
 * List of English language Adventures on the Orange Islands home video releases (Region 1)
 * List of English language The Johto Journeys home video releases (Region 1)
 * List of English language Johto League Champions home video releases (Region 1)
 * List of English language Master Quest home video releases (Region 1)

Australian home video releases

 * List of English language Indigo League home video releases (Region 4)
 * List of English language Adventures on the Orange Islands home video releases (Region 4)
 * List of English language The Johto Journeys home video releases (Region 4)
 * List of English language Johto League Champions home video releases (Region 4)
 * List of English language Master Quest home video releases (Region 4)

Japanese home video releases

 * List of Japanese language original series home video releases

Gallery

 * For more images, please see artwork from the original anime series on the Bulbagarden Archives.

Trivia

 * Originally, this series of the was only to have lasted a year and a half, approximately as long as the Kanto saga would have lasted, had the EP038 incident not happened.
 * This is the only series based on two different generations of the core series Pokémon games, being based on both Generations and.
 * At 274 episodes, this is the anime's longest series.
 * This series also has the most dub seasons, with five.
 * This series also contains the most s of any series, with five.
 * The first 40 episodes were originally aired in in the United States in 1998 before moving to  in 1999 for the remaining 12 episodes of Pokémon: Indigo League.
 * This is the only series in which Ash doesn't have the same group of regular traveling companions for the entire series, with briefly being swapped out for Tracey Sketchit during the Orange League.
 * Throughout the English dub versions of the Johto saga, the narrator refers to the group as being "On the road to Johto". Though it would be more correct to say "On the road through Johto", he could have just been referring to the Johto League.
 * This is the only series in which a recurring Pokémon wasn't caught by a main character.
 * This is the only series where all of its dub seasons are dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment.