Yesterday may have been April Fool's Day, but what isn't a prank is the fact that yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the Pokemon anime. The anime started in Japan on April 1st, 1997 before making its way to the West the following year. The official Twitter page for the Pokemon anime created a special anniversary video to celebrate the occasion.
As of this article's writing, the Pokemon anime has aired 1193 episodes, split across 7 series over the past 25 years. The longest Pokemon series was the original, which saw Ash, Misty, and Brock travel through both Kanto and Johto, as well as a stop on the Orange Islands. Since the original series, the anime series splits with each new Pokemon generation and Ash will usually gain new companions with each new generation. Brock returned for the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl series, which some Pokemon anime fans consider one of the better series alongside Sun and Moon.
The video posted on the official Pokemon anime Twitter page is two minutes long, with some narration in Japanese by Rica Matsumoto, the voice of Ash in Japan ever since the beginning of the series in 1997. The video contains some of the best moments from every series in the anime, with a particular focus on the Pokemon Ash has caught over the years. Since the original series was the longest, it gets the most time in the video, something that should make most fans nostalgic.
With the Pokemon anime making on to streaming sites like Netflix recently, the Pokemon TV series has recaptured some fans from the old days, as well as making it much easier for new viewers to get into the anime. The current arc, Pokemon Journeys, is capitalizing on the franchise's nostalgia by having Ash revisit old regions and meeting up with some of his old companions like fan favorite Dawn.
To help drum up hype for some of its recent games, The Pokemon Company has been releasing more special anime episodes to help fans get into the new games, or to provide more background on some of the new characters. After the release of Pokemon Sword and Shield for example, The Pokemon Company released a 7 episode special series called Pokemon Twilight Wings, which serves as a prequel and focuses on some of the characters in the game like Leon, Hop, Bea, and Sonia.
With the focus on the Sinnoh region recently with the release of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, as well as Pokemon Legends: Arceus, a new Pokemon anime special will be airing soon that is set in the Hisui region, the precursor to Sinnoh. What is old is new again, and the Pokemon anime is taking advantage of its 25th anniversary to stoke the feelings of nostalgia for longtime fans.