With an injured Pikachu, Ash heads for the Pokémon Center in Viridian City, but Team Rocket are trailing the duo…

After a particularly nasty battle with a Spearow, the young Ash is distraught that he has hurt his new Pikachu Pokémon, but Misty tells him about a place called a Pokémon Center where Pokémon can be healed. Ash rushes off, Pikachu in his arms, and soon arrives in Viridian City. At the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy takes over and gets Pikachu on the mend, but Team Rocket have seen the potential of the electric Pokémon, and are angered by the ‘Wanted’ posters all over Viridian City with their heads on them!

They attack the Center and Nurse Joy tries in vain to move all of the sick Pokémon to the nearby Pewter City Pokémon Center. It seems that Pikachu just can’t fend off Team Rocket, but somehow this amazing Pokémon pulls electricity from the Center’s back-up power generator and ThunderShocks Team Rocket to oblivion!

This was the 15th episode of the Pokémon cartoon, when Ash was still learning his Pokémon battling craft…

Ash can’t believe his luck when he wins a ticket to take a trip on the Saint Anne luxury cruise ship. He and his friends pack their bags and their Pokéballs and are soon crossing the gangplank ready to enjoy the luxury offered. What they don’t realise is that this is all a wicked plan of Giovanni from Team Rocket and he plans to steal everyone’s Pokémon.
Giovanni’s mistake, though, is putting Jessie, James and Meowth in charge of the cruise – things soon start to fall apart!

Ash and his Pokémon pals are soon wise to their plans and start a counterattack on Team Rocket, taking on the Rocket Grunts that are all over the ship. While chaos ensues on board the ship, things aren’t much better out at sea, with a huge storm brewing. Before the passengers can do any more Pokémon battling, the ship starts to sink! The lifeboats are launched and everyone manages to escape the ship except for Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Jessie, James and Meowth! Will the long-time enemies manage to work together and escape their fate? Well, you’ll just have to tune in and find out!

The ninth season of the Pokémon anime series, Pokémon: Battle Frontier, has a really cool theme song that we just love at Pokémon World – here are the lyrics…

Pokémon!
It’s a battle, win or lose
It’s the friends you make, it’s the road you choose
You’ve got the right stuff
So make your mind up
Find the courage inside of you
If you’re strong you’ll survive
And you’ll keep your dream alive
It’s the Battle Frontier

Pokémon!
Be the best you can be
And find your destiny
It’s the master plan
The power’s in your hand
Pokémon!
You’ve got the
Strength to win it
So stay in it
If you’re smart you can take it all
If you’re strong you’ll survive
And you’ll keep your dream alive
It’s the Battle Frontier

Pokémon!
Be the best you can be
And find your destiny
It’s the master plan
(It’s the master plan!)
The power’s in your hand
Pokémon!

Great, eh? As the song plays, we get to see a Phanpy belonging to Ash evolve into a Donphan and May receives an egg that then hatches into an Eevee.

After searching for a few episodes, Ash, Brock and Misty finally find the Safari Zone and are all excited about the rare Pokémon they might find inside…

Having learned of the Safari Zone – a place where you can pay money to catch rare Pokémon – Ash, Brock and Misty search the land around Fuchsia City to find this exciting place. Eventually they come across it, in the episode called ‘The Legend Of Dratini’, an episode that has never aired outside of Japan. There’s a grumpy old warden in charge of the Safari Zone, and while the gang pay their money, we discover that pesky Team Rocket is hiding out on the roof, listening to Ash’s plans. The warden soon spots them, and they find out why he carries a gun under his arm wherever he goes! There’s something strange about this warden though, as Ash discusses with Professor Oak when he calls him to tell him about the adventure they are about to embark on.

The warden has pictures of himself with a Dratini all over his office. Oak thinks that perhaps there is a Dratini in the Safari Zone, but the warden wants to keep it a secret to avoid losing it like so many rare Pokémon have been lost. But it’s not long before Ash is catching his first Pokémon in the zone – a Tauros from a herd that stampede as they enter. What else will the Safari Zone have to offer? You’ll have to track this episode down and watch it to find out!

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!

Nurse Joy pops up quite often in the Pokémon anime cartoon, but many of you probably think that it’s always the same character – not so, as we find out in ‘Drifloon In The Wind!’…

Arriving at the Valley Windworks, Ash and his gang of mates meet with Nurse Joy and two younger Joys, along with a bunch of Drifloon Pokémon that are floating by. It is revealed that Joy is actually the family name and there are many Nurse Joys around the world. Although they all look very similar, it is implied that they are all related and have slight variations in the way they dress. Even when they get married, all Nurse Joy’s keep the Joy surname rather than taking their husband’s.

In the episode, Marnie (full name Marnie Francis Lynnette Joy) takes Ash to a spring to meet her Pokémon friend; it turns out to be a Suicune, which really surprises Ash as this is a Legendary Pokémon. With a storm brewing, the Drifloon start to get anxious and Paige (full name Paige Francis Lynnelle Joy) attempts to stop them from being blown away, but ends up being carried away with them on the wind. It’s got to be Ash to the rescue once again, but his plans could be scuppered as Team Rocket is waiting in the wings to cause all kinds of trouble!

While we all know that Pikachu loves being with Ash, there was a time when our hero nearly lost his electric Pokémon for good. The episode was called ‘Pikachu’s Goodbye’…

Ash is swinging on a vine through the forest, watched by Misty and Brock when he accidentally smacks into a tree. Worried for his Trainer, Pikachu rushes over to see if he is okay. Just then a baby Pikachu pops up and then quickly runs away. Ash and Pikachu follow the baby and discover an entire Pikachu clan living in the forest. On seeing Ash, Misty and Brock they get scared, but one brave monster shakes tails with Ash’s Pikachu. The bond between the wild Pikachu and the one we all know and love is strengthened when the baby falls into a river and Ash’s Pikachu jumps in to save it. Both are rescued by an amazing sight – all the Pikachu join their tails together to pluck them from the river.

It’s obvious that Pikachu is meant to be with his own kind. Desperate for a Pikachu for their boss, it’s not long before Team Rocket appear and start plucking monsters with a net. Ash’s Pikachu soon puts a stop to this by nibbling through the net. With the Pikachus saved, Ash walks away sad. He knows he must leave his good friend behind. Just when you think it’s all over for the duo, Pikachu comes running back and jumps into Ash’s arms. Although it would love to be with other Pikachu, Ash is too important to it! Ahh.

Kicking off the second season of the Pokémon anime series, known to fans as The Adventures In The Orange Islands, this is an episode called ‘A Scare In The Air’…

Before they return to Pallet Town, Ash leads his band of Pokémon-loving friends on an adventure around the Orange Islands. Getting there isn’t easy, though. We first see Brock and Misty pondering what would be the best way to travel when Ash turns up, having won a set of three blimp ride tickets that will make the journey a breeze, so they think! What the team don’t realise is that the blimp is actually being run by Team Rocket. To make matters worse, Jigglypuff stows away on the blimp and accidentally sets it off! The ride is incredibly bumpy and when the blimp flies into a thunderstorm, Misty loses Togepi.

It’s not long before Team Rocket reveal themselves and challenge Ash to a battle. Unfortunately, in the ensuing chaos Brock’s Geodude throws Weezing right through the fabric of the blimp and it starts to tear itself apart. They do find Togepi, up high on a ledge, and while Ash is helping rescue the Pokémon, Team Rocket attempt to steal Pikachu. Fortunately, they fail, and fall from the blimp! With Ash’s gang holding on for dear life they use their Pokémon to bring the blimp crashing down onto Valencia Island – they’ve arrived!

We all know that Ash Ketchum travels around with a group of friends
in the TV show, one of them being a ten-year-old girl called May. Well, this is how they first met…

It was the first episode in the Advanced Generation of Pokémon TV shows called ‘Get The Show On The Road!’. After a long journey with many ups and downs, Ash eventually finds himself in the land of Hoenn with a sick Pikachu that he must find help for urgently. There is no local Pokémon Center so he calls up Professor Birch to ask for help. May is already on her way to see the professor as she needs to pick up her starter Pokémon. She is the daughter of the Petalburg Gym Leader Norman, and although she’s not a massive Pokémon fan, she sees battling Pokémon as a way of doing more travelling!

Things don’t go according to plan, though, and Professor Birch ends up being chased by a pack of Poochyena and Pikachu goes crazy and bites Ash’s arm. It’s while he’s being rescued by Birch that Ash and May first meet. The two of them must go to Oldale Town’s Pokémon Center to register for the league, but May’s bike is broken after Pikachu zapped it! Instead, May asks if she can tag along with Ash. Little did he know that by agreeing, the two of them would be travelling together for many adventures to come!