Pokémon Journeys: The Series
ポケットモンスター(2019) (Pokemon (2019))
- Action
- Adventure
- Comedy
- Fantasy
- Urban Fantasy
- Episodes
- 136
- Duration
- 23 min per ep
- Aired
- Nov 17, 2019 to Dec 16, 2022
- Status
- Finished Airing
Synopsis
In the Kanto region, Satoshi is invited by Professor Yukinari Ookido to attend the opening ceremony of Professor Sakuragi’s new laboratory in Vermillion City. The event is quickly interrupted when an alert reports a rare Pokémon sighting at the harbor, sending Satoshi and other Trainers racing to the waterfront—where they encounter Lugia, a Legendary Pokémon, fending off challengers.
As the commotion unfolds, Satoshi has Pikachu fire off a Thunderbolt, but Lugia barely reacts before taking flight. Refusing to let the moment slip away, Satoshi jumps onto Lugia’s back and discovers he isn’t alone—another boy, Gou, has done the same. Swept into an unexpected journey over the sea, the two eventually return to land and make their way back to the Sakuragi Institute.
Sakuragi takes note of Gou’s observations and Satoshi’s instincts during the encounter, and asks them to work as his research partners. Together, they set out across multiple regions to meet a wide variety of Pokémon, including those capable of Gigantamax.
Otaku Consensus
Pokémon Journeys earns its positive-but-not-unqualified reputation by turning the franchise’s usual regional campaign into a globe-hopping, franchise-history format, with Daiki Tomiyasu’s broad direction and Shouji Yonemura’s series composition giving longtime viewers a stronger sense of continuity than a standard game tie-in season. Its most praised material is the competitive endgame around Satoshi’s global battling path, while the most persistent complaint from fans is uneven pacing: episodic detours and rushed-feeling stretches can make the 136-episode run feel less disciplined than its best arcs deserve.
Why You Should Watch
Watch Pokémon Journeys if you want a comfort-food adventure anime that treats the Pokémon world as a connected place rather than a single-region checklist. It scratches the same itch as classic Pokémon’s monster-of-the-week travel, but with more franchise-wide callbacks and a lighter, more episodic rhythm than battle-heavy shounen like My Hero Academia. The appeal is not novelty for novelty’s sake; it is seeing OLM use a long-running TV format to fold Kanto nostalgia, modern mechanics like Gigantamax, comedy, research trips, and competitive battling into one accessible package. It is especially rewarding for viewers who grew up with Satoshi and Pikachu but do not want a lore-dense sequel that requires homework, and for newer fans who want a tour through the wider setting without starting from episode one of the 1997 series.
Key Characters
- SSatoshi(VA: Rica Matsumoto)
Satoshi is interesting here because the series frames him less as a fresh beginner and more as a veteran whose instincts and battle appetite now carry decades of franchise memory.
- GGou(VA: Daiki Yamashita)
Gou gives Journeys its research-and-collection energy, functioning as a modern counterweight to Satoshi’s battle-first approach.
- PPikachu(VA: Ikue Otani)
Pikachu remains the franchise’s emotional anchor, but Journeys uses that familiarity as a bridge between old-school Kanto iconography and newer Pokémon-era spectacle.
What Makes It Stand Out
- 1
The series breaks from the franchise’s usual one-region TV structure by using Sakuragi’s Vermillion City laboratory as a hub for travel across multiple regions, making it feel more like a franchise retrospective than a straight Sword and Shield adaptation.
- 2
OLM produced a sizable 136-episode run from November 2019 to December 2022, giving Journeys the scale to mix episodic creature encounters, comedy, research assignments, and long-form competitive escalation.
- 3
Yuuki Hayashi handles the music, a notable staffing choice because the score often leans into sports-anime momentum during battles rather than relying only on the older adventure-show texture associated with Pokémon.
- 4
The show’s identity is strongly episodic, a trait reflected by AniList’s 94% Episodic tag, but that structure also enables region-hopping callbacks and self-referential moments that a tighter single-route story could not accommodate.
- 5
Its family-friendly profile is central to its reception: Common Sense Media highlights the mild cartoon violence and broad watchability, which matches the season’s balance of battles, slapstick, and low-barrier continuity.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Fun fact 1
- Daiki Tomiyasu is credited as Chief Director for episodes 1 through 117, meaning a large majority of the run was shaped under one chief directorial voice rather than being a completely hand-to-hand production.
- Fun fact 2
- Tsunekazu Ishihara, one of the most important executive figures associated with the Pokémon brand, is listed as Supervisor, reinforcing how closely this season sits within the franchise’s broader multimedia strategy.
- Fun fact 3
- Shouji Yonemura handled series composition, while Shuuhei Yasuda provided character design, placing the season’s structure and visual identity under clearly defined long-form TV roles.
- Fun fact 4
- Common Sense Media identifies Pokémon Master Journeys as the 24th season of the anime and situates it within a franchise that had already lasted 25 years and passed 1,000 episodes.
- Fun fact 5
- Across audience databases, the reception is solid rather than runaway: MyAnimeList lists a 7.54 score from 45,257 votes, while AniList records a 73/100 score and 990 favourites.
Studios
- OLM
