Video ©2010 Pokémon. ©1995-2010 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc.

Video ©2010 Pokémon. ©1995-2010 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc.

Video ©2010 Pokémon. ©1995-2010 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc.

With May having departed from the gang at the end of the Advanced
Generation, the Diamond & Pearl episodes start off with Ash all alone, but not for long…

May decided that she would like to travel to Johto and Max has gone back to Hoenn, but it’s not long before Ash meets a ten year old girl who lives in the region of Sinnoh – this is Diamond & Pearl country (as you will know if you’ve played the Nintendo DS games)! Dawn aspires to become a Pokémon Trainer so she sets off to the Pokémon Laboratory located in Sandgem Town on her bike. She hopes to get her starter Pokémon! Unfortunately the road system confuses Dawn, but she battles on and eventually arrives at Professor Rowan’s lab and is rewarded with her first Pokémon from a choice of Turtwig, Chimchar or Piplup – she chooses Piplup.

Ash on the other hand arrives in Sinnoh on a ship and it’s not long before he has to battle Team Rocket once again as they attack from the air in their special balloon! In the ensuing battle, Ash loses Pikachu in the forest. Pikachu appears in front of Dawn as she makes her way to Jubilife City and we see that Ash has met up again with Brock as he searches for his yellow PokéPal. It’s not long before Ash is reunited with Pikachu and Ash and Dawn become firm friends and decide to travel to Jubilife City together.

As Ash and his travelling companions entered the land of Houen, they were confronted by troublemakers that make Team Rocket look like a comedy double-act…

In the Pokémon: Advance Generation series of the anime, there’s an episode called ‘A Ruin With A View’ in which Ash, May and Team Rocket themselves come across Team Magma attempting to discover the secret of a set of ruins while in Oldale Town. Magma is an evil organisation (much like Team Rocket) led by a guy called Maxie, and their goal is to release Groudon, the beast of the Earth, back into an unsuspecting planet where the Pokémon can eliminate all the water and create new lands, just like it did millions of years ago in the past. Team Magma use Fire-type Pokémon like Mightyena, Golbat and Houndoom, and their arch enemies in the series are Team Aqua.

While Team Rocket attempt to do battle with Team Magma when they are confronted by them in the ruins, they take one look at Magma’s vicious Fire Pokémon and Jessie and James start to run for their lives! Meanwhile, Ash and May are getting a lesson in the ancient ruins of Houen from the archaeologist Umezu, when he gets an alert that his precious ruins are being ransacked by a group looking for ancient Pokémon – Magma! Little do they know that these ruins are only accessible with four special sphere keys that only Umezu has in his possession!

In this, the second ever episode of the Pokémon anime cartoon, Ash has a sick Pikachu on his hands and we see Team Rocket for the first time…

The episode starts with a view of Viridian City. Officer Jenny announces to anyone who will listen that there are Pokémon thieves about and stops Ash in his tracks, thinking him to be a thief. Ash explains that his Pikachu is badly hurt and he needs to get it to a Pokémon Center right away. After checking Ash’s identity using his Pokédex, Officer Jenny rushes Ash and the sick Pokémon to the nearest Pokémon Center on her motorbike. We see wanted posters stuck all around the city, and then we discover that the thieves are a bunch of ruffians known as Team Rocket, with Meowth as their ringleader!

They vow to take revenge on Viridian City for putting their faces on posters, while Meowth reminds Jessie and James that it’s the rare Pokémon they’re after, nothing else matters! At the Pokémon Center Ash gets a telling off from Nurse Joy for not looking after his Pikachu better, and she whisks the Pokémon away. Ash calls home to his mum for some moral support, but it’s not long before Pikachu is on the mend. Team Rocket arrive and declare that they are going to steal all of the Pokémon in the center, but quick-thinking Nurse Joy starts a process to transfer all of the Pokémon stored at the Viridian City Pokémon Center to the one in Pewter City, saving them all from the clutches of Team Rocket. Ash is amazed!

You might think Pokémon started out only a few years ago – well, you would be wrong! In this episode of the TV series we discover that Pokémon date from much further back…

Yes, it’s true! The Pokémon episode ‘Fossil Fools’ tells the story of when Ash and his travelling companions visited the Ruins of Alph, a site of prehistoric Pokémon fossils and ancient mysteries. Here they find the Pokémon Omanyte and Omastar living, a species long thought extinct. They meet with Professor Oak and one of his students, Foster, and learn that Pokémon actually date back to 2 million years ago. Foster is an expert in the fossils and has been amazed to find Pokémon like Omanyte and Omastar living in the artificial ponds in the ruins.

He uses the CCTV system installed for security to monitor the Pokémon’s behaviour and study them more closely than has ever been possible before. Foster has a theory that all Pokémon life began in the sea as so many fossils of ancient Pokémon have been discovered in the water. It’s not long before Team Rocket also learn about the existence of these special Pokémon and set about spoiling the tour of the fossils that Professor Oak has arranged for Ash and his friends. Can Ash stop Team Rocket from stealing these newly discovered Pokémon?

Here we tell the tale of the first time Ash Ketchum ventured out into the wilds of the Kanto region on a Pokémon finding expedition…

Fresh from meeting Professor Oak for the first time and making Pikachu his first Pokémon, it wasn’t long before Ash wanted to practise his Pokémon capturing skills. As you will know, if you can’t catch wild Pokémon, you’re no one! In episode ‘Ash catches a Pokémon’, he set off into the Kanto region and the first Pokémon he encountered in the Viridian Forest was a Caterpie. Luckily for Ash this Pokémon was weak, and it was soon captured when Ash threw a Pokéball at it – there was no Pokémon battle needed.

The night after being captured, Caterpie revealed to Pikachu that he really wanted to evolve into a Butterfree, but that would first mean becoming a Metapod and Caterpie didn’t think he could do it. Pikachu encouraged him to try. In a battle with Team Rocket, Caterpie managed to evolve, then in ‘Challenge of the Samurai’ while attacking a Beedrill with his Sleep Powder he finally managed to achieve his ambition and evolved into a Butterfree, to Ash’s delight!

Have you ever wondered how Ash and his faithful friend Pikachu first got together? Well let us take you back over ten years ago…

Ash Ketchum was just a normal ten-year-old boy back in 1997 when the first ever episode of the Pokémon animated series was broadcast. Living in Pallet Town with his mum, he enjoyed watching Pokémon battles on his TV and dreamt of one day becoming a famous Pokémon Trainer. Luckily for him, Professor Oak was taking on new recruits that next day as he had three new Pokémon that were perfect for training – Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charmander.

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Ash finds it hard to sleep that night, but eventually falls asleep and dreams of throwing Pokéballs. Unfortunately he picks up his Voltorb alarm clock in his sleep and throws it, smashing it. With no alarm, Ash oversleeps and is late down to Professor Oak’s lab the next morning. The three Pokémon have already been given out to eager young Trainers, one of them is Gary, the Professor’s grandson and Ash’s arch rival! Ash pleads with Oak to let him have a Pokémon, and there is one left but there is a problem with it – it shocks anyone who tries to pick it up. Ash doesn’t care, though, he’s just happy to have Pikachu as his first Pokémon!

Ash and his pals are on a journey through the Whirlpool Islands and face new challenges in each episode, along with encountering lots of new Pokémon every step of the way. Misty and Brock leave the gang in these episodes, which makes Ash and Pikachu sad for a while, and you can bet that Team Rocket is around to pop up and spoil things at every available opportunity! Here’s a look at the first ten episodes…

Around The Whirlpool
Fighting with Team Rocket, Ash and co fall overboard from a ship. Eventually back on board they meet Professor Elm and he explains about the Whirlpool Islands and the Whirlpool Cup they can take part in.

Fly Me To The Moon
On discovering an island where Pidgey’s have grown fat and flightless, the team help a Pokémon achieve its dream of flying higher than any other.

Takin’ It On The Chinchou
Passing a village, the team are lucky to see a Chinchou migration taking place, but Team Rocket have other ideas for them!

A Corsola Caper!
Misty catches herself a Corsola after saving a small girl from drowning while Ash helps a local family with their house. Ash is such a helpful fellow, no wonder everyone loves him!

Mantine Overboard!
Bumping in to a deep-sea diver, the team travel to Redrock Isle on his boat. With a Mantine in tow, Ash dives for treasure!

Octillery The Outcast
Ash and Misty win rounds of the Whirlpool Cup, and a friend who has not done so well asks Misty’s help in evolving his Remoraid.

Duelling Heroes
Ash and Misty face some tough competition as the final round of the Whirlpool Cup begins. Ash transfers a Kingler from Professor Oak’s lab.

The Perfect Match!
Oh no! Ash and Misty have to battle each other as the Whirlpool Cup continues. Who will win and how will they make the other feel?

Plant it Now… Diglett Later
A village of kind elderly people make the team a meal and in return they help them defend their village and their Diglett from a bunch of yobs!

Hi Ho Silver… Away!
Ash’s intrepid Pokémon catching team learn all about some rare Silver Wings and meet a jewellery maker who knows about a fourth Whirlpool Island.

Banned Episode – Don’t Look!
Master Quest includes an episode that was actually banned from being shown in America. It’s called The Ice Cave and tells the story of the team travelling through an ice mountain where Brock gets a cold. It was banned because some people viewed the Pokémon Jynx’s physical appearance as racist. She’s had a makeover since, though – she now has a purple face and white arms.