Pokémon, known in Japan as Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター, Poketto Monsutā), is a Japanese anime television series based on the Pokémon video game series published by Nintendo. It began broadcasting on TV Tokyo on April 1, 1997, in association with MediaNet (formerly TV Tokyo MediaNet and Softx) and Shopro, stands for Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co., Ltd. (formerly Shogakukan Productions Co., Ltd.). The series follows main protagonist Ash Ketchum for the majority of its run. He is a young boy from Pallet Town who strives to become a "Pokémon Master," often seeking to become Pokémon Champion- the strongest Pokémon Trainer of a given "region"- as a result. These travels lead through various regions, various continent-like landmasses that inhabit a wider world. On his journey, he encounters many other characters, who often appear as main characters who accompany him on his travels, or as recurring characters which reappear throughout the series. He is succeeded as main character by Liko and Roy, who accompanies a travelling band of explorers known as the Rising Volt Tacklers to travel the world.
In the world of Pokémon, Pokémon are animal-like creatures with special, elemental attributes- known as Types- which can be captured by special capture devices known as "Poke Balls." Humans who wield these Pokémon often befriend them and can use them for a variety of things. One goal is that of the Gym Challenge, which involves a human- known as a Pokémon Trainer- challenging specials "Gyms" headed by "Gym Leaders." Defeating a Leader allows a Trainer to obtain a Badge, of which eight are needed in order to register to participate in a Pokémon League Tournament, the winner of whom often moving on to either battle the region's Pokémon Champion- the strongest Pokémon Trainer in the region- or their respective Elite Four, who are strong Trainers that must be battled before the Pokémon Champion.
Other avenues for Trainers include Contests, which are beauty-pageant like events where Trainers- here named Pokémon Coordinator- must compete to gain "Ribbons." Those with enough Ribbons can move onto a Grand Festival, where a Top Coordinator will be determined. There are also numerous antagonistic organizations that act as villains in the series, the most prominent of which is Team Rocket, with a specific trio acting as recurring characters for a large portion of the show's run.
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