How to Watch Pokémon Movies and Series in Order

Pokémon is certainly one of the most prolific media franchises in history, featuring games, TV series, movies, and films. Even those who are not anime fans know of Pokémon and have at least heard of Pikachu, for instance. But, with so many shows and movies, how are you going to watch them all?

Pokémon is also known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, and it's a massive franchise that started as a couple of video games for the original Game Boy back in 1996. A year later, the Indigo League series was released, and it only grew from there on out.

What's Pokémon About?

Pokémon is a show that features some humans that are Trainers, who have to collect available Pokemon species and train their creatures for battles against other teams. 

How to Watch Pokémon Movies and Series in Chronological Order?

Although the Pokémon series and movies are not the roots of this franchise, it's certainly a good way to get to know this great world and to become a fan of it all. 

The best way to follow the Pokémon story is to watch the movies and series in the order they were released. That being said, we'll split them up a bit so you'll know how to follow each stage. 

Indigo League (1997)

• Episodes 1 through 69
• Mew vs. Mewtwo Movie
• Episodes 70 through 82

Adventures in the Orange Islands (1999)

• Episodes 1 through 24
• Pokémon 2000 Movie
• Episodes 25 through 36

The Johto Journeys (1999)

• Episodes 1 through 38
• Spell of the Unknown Movie
• Episodes 39 through 41

Johto League Champions (2000)

• Episodes 1 through 48
• Pokémon 4ever Movie
• Episodes 49 through 52

Master Quest (2001)

• Episodes 1 through 47
• Pokémon Heroes Movie
• Episodes 48 through 65

Advanced (2002)

• Episodes 1 through 35
• Jirachi, Wish Maker Movie
• Episodes 36 through 40

Advanced Challenge (2003)

• Episodes 1 through 45
• Destiny Deoxys Movie
• Episodes 46 through 52

Advanced Battle (2004)

• Episodes 1 through 43
• Lucario and the Mystery of Mew Movie
• Episodes 44 through 54

Battle Frontier (2005)

• Episodes 1 through 38
• Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea Movie
• Episodes 39 through 47

Diamond and Pearl (2005)

• Episodes 1 through 39
• The Rise of Darkrai Movie
• Episodes 40 through 52

Diamond and Pearl: Battle Dimension (2007)

• Episodes 1 through 34
• Giratina and the Sky Warrior Movie
• Episodes 35 through 52

Diamond and Pearl: Galactic Battles (2008)

• Episodes 1 through 31
• Arceus and the Jewel of Life Movie
• Episodes 32 through 53

Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors (2010)

• Episodes 1 through 21
• Zoroark, Master of Illusions Movie
• Episodes 22 through 34

Black and White (2010)

• Episodes 1 through 39
• White, Victini and Zekrom/Black, Victini and Reshiram Movie 
• Episodes 40 through 50

Black & White: Rival Destinies (2011)

• Episodes 1 through 49
• Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice Movie

Black & White: Adventures in Unova (2012)

• Episodes 1 through 25

Black & White: Adventures in Unova and Beyond (2013)

• Episodes 1 through 11
• Genesect and the Legend Awakened Movie
• Episodes 12 through 20

XY (2013)

• Episodes 1 through 37
• Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction Movie
• Episodes 38 through 48

XY: Kalos Quest (2014)

• Episodes 1 through 33
• Hoopa and the Clash of Ages Movie
• Episodes 34 through 45

XYZ (2015)

• Episodes 1 through 47
• Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel Movie

Sun and Moon (2016) 

• Episodes 1 through 43
• Pokémon: I Choose You! Movie

Sun and Moon: Ultra Adventures (2017)

• Episodes 1 through 49

Sun and Moon: Ultra Legends (2018)

• Episodes 1 through 54
• The Power of Us
• Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution

Journeys (2019)

• Episodes 1 - current (still airing)

In December 2020, there will be a new movie released in Japan, named Coco. 

It's also worth it to mention the first live-action Pokémon movie, namely Detective Pikachu, which was released in May 2019. The film is based on a 2018 Nintendo 3DS spin-off game with the same name. It is directed by Rob Letterman and features Ryan Reynolds as Detective Pikachu and Harry Goodman, as well as Justice Smith, who plays Tim Goodman, Kathryn Newton as Lucy Steens, Ken Watanabe as Detective Hideo Yoshida, and Bill Nighy as Howard Clifford. 

Also, since we're on the topic of Pokémon, make sure you also play the games - whether they're the Nintendo ones or even Pokémon Go on your phone, you're surely going to enjoy diving into this wonderful world. 

How Long Will It Take to Binge-Watch Pokémon?

If you're only going to watch the Pokémon series thus far, you're going to have to spend 21 days, 9 hours, and 30 minutes in front of the screens. We recommend that you split it over a longer period of time to handle this whole list of shows. 

If you're also going to watch the movies, you'll spend another 31 hours and 48 minutes. 

How to Watch Pokémon Without Fillers?

One of the things all anime shows have is filler episodes, which are not necessarily important to the storyline. If you want to cut down the time you spend watching Pokémon, you can definitely skip the following episodes:

• Indigo League (82 episodes)
  • 8-9, 19, 32-33, 37-39, 44, 46, 49, 51, 54, 57, 59, 62, 64-67, 69-70
• Adventure in the Orange Islands (32 episodes)
  • 2-7, 11, 13-15, 18, 21, 23
• The Johto Journeys (41 episodes)
  • 2, 4-5, 9-10, 15, 17, 19-22,30-32, 34-35, 37-38
• Johto League Champions (52 episodes)
  • 3-5, 7-9, 11, 13-14, 18-21, 25-27,29, 31-34, 36, 38-39,41-48, 52
• Master Quest (65 episodes)
  • 1, 3, 7-8, 18, 21-23, 28-35, 37-38, 44, 48, 50
• Advanced (40 episodes)
  • 1, 3, 7-8, 14-16, 26, 31, 34
• Advanced Challenge (52 episodes)
  • 2, 7, 10-11, 14, 18, 22, 25, 29-30, 32, 40-41, 51
• Advanced Battle (54 episodes)
  • 1-2, 5, 7, 9, 15, 17, 19-20, 22, 25, 49-50, 52 -54
• Battle Frontier (47 episodes)
  • 3-4, 10, 23-24, 26, 31, 34, 41-43, 46
• Diamond and Pearl (52 episodes)
  • 10, 26-27, 42, 45-46
• Diamond and Pearl: Battle Dimension (52 episodes)
  • 6-9, 20
• Diamond and Pearl: Galactic Battles (53 episodes)
  • 1, 13-14, 22, 32, 45-46
• Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors (34 episodes)
  • 2, 17
• Black and White (50 episodes)
  • 9, 27, 30-31, 36
• Black & White: Rival Destinies (49 episodes) 
  • 4-6, 17, 39, 46, 49
• Black & White: Adventures in Unova (25 episodes)
  • 1
• Black & White: Adventures in Unova and Beyond (20 episodes)
  • 2, 4, 6, 9-10, 15
• XY(48 episodes)
  • 7, 13-15, 17, 25, 27, 44, 47
• XY: Kalos Quest (45 episodes)
  • 1, 22, 33-34, 37, 40
• XYZ (47 episodes)
  • 1-4, 14, 17, 23, 29-30
• Sun and Moon (43 episodes)
  • 6, 11, 16,23, 28-29
• Sun and Moon: Ultra Adventures (49 episodes)
  • 14, 27, 39, 42, 49
• Sun and Moon: Ultra Legends (54 episodes)
  • 1-3, 21

If you're following the episode numbers that continue throughout the seasons, and not the episodes per season individually, the list is the following:

8-9, 19, 32-33, 37-39, 44, 46, 49, 51, 54, 57, 59, 62, 64-67, 69-70, 84-89, 93, 95-97, 100, 103, 105, 116, 118-119, 123-124, 129, 131, 133-136, 144-146, 148-149, 151-152, 158-160, 162-164, 166, 168-169, 173-176, 180-182, 184, 186-189, 191, 193-194, 196-203, 207-208, 210, 214-215, 225, 228-230, 235-242, 244-245, 251, 255, 257, 278-280, 290, 295, 298, 306, 311, 314-315, 318, 322, 326, 329, 333-334, 336, 344-345, 355, 357-358, 361, 363, 365, 371, 373, 375-376, 378, 381, 405-406, 408-410, 413-414, 420, 433-434, 436, 441, 444, 451-453, 456, 467, 483-484, 499, 502-503, 515-518, 529, 562, 574-575, 583, 593, 606-607, 616, 631, 657, 675, 678-679, 684, 702-704, 715, 737, 744, 747-748, 774, 776, 778, 781-782, 787, 799, 805-807, 809, 817, 819, 836, 839, 841, 862, 873-874, 877, 880, 886-889, 899, 902, 908, 914-915, 938, 943, 948, 955, 960-961, 989, 1002, 1014, 1017, 1024, 1044, 1057.

Can You Watch Pokémon on Netflix?

Sure you can! Pokémon is actually available on Netflix. For instance, in the United States, you'll find Indigo League, Sun and Moon: Ultra Legends, Journeys, as well as Power of Us, I Choose You, and Mewtwo Strikes Back. The same titles are available in the United Kingdom, Australia, and even Japan. 

Can you Watch Pokémon on Hulu?

Hulu also features some Pokémon content. As far as series go, they have XY and XYZ.

Can You Watch Pokémon on Crunchyroll?

Unfortunately, Pokémon series and films are not available on Crunchyroll. 

Can You Watch Pokémon on Funimation?

No, Pokémon is also missing from Funimation at the moment. 

Can You Download and Watch Pokémon Offline?

Absolutely! If you're getting a subscription with Netflix or Hulu, you can download episodes or movies to watch whenever you have the time. They'll be available for a limited time, but they'll be there nonetheless.

Other Animes Like Pokémon

Pokémon is an awesome world, but there are numerous other platforms you can be looking into, either to watch in parallel or once you're done binging. 

• Digimon Adventure
• Dragon Drive
• Yu-Gi-Oh
• Battle Doll Angelic Layer
• Monster Rancher
• Beyblade
• Zatch Bell
• Dinosaur King