The Pokémon anime may not be renowned for its storytelling, but it also had some pretty high-quality story arcs over the years. Action, drama, or mystery, these multi-episode stories took the time to explore their concepts pretty thoroughly, using it as an excellent means of handling ideas that often weren’t fully explored in the games (or, in a few cases, present at all).
The best story arcs in the anime make use of the many characters in the series and put them in the middle of events that offer them a chance to grow. Here are 10 of the Pokémon anime’s best story arcs that fans should keep in mind.
10 Orange Islands
The Orange Islands arc may seem a strange choice, as it was essentially created as filler while the anime dealt with delays for the second generation of Pokémon. However, the arc represented a new degree of freedom for the anime creators, as they were allowed to explore certain concepts that might logically exist, but were not based on anything from the games. It led to the creation of an anime-original Pokémon league, which featured challenges besides battling to win badges, and developed concepts of divergent evolution–both ideas that would be revisited eventually in the Pokémon Sun and Moon games.
The Orange Islands are also believed to have inspired the existence of the Sevii Islands in FireRed and LeafGreen, which similarly are located near Kanto and act as home to some Johto Pokémon. The Orange Islands gave Ash his first chance to win a Championship (and the only one for a very long time) and they have had a long legacy, at the very least.
9 Sinnoh Grand Festival
As Diamond and Pearl approached its end, it was time for Dawn to take the spotlight for a while and thus began the Sinnoh Grand Festival arc-the Pokémon Contest equivalent of the League. The arc followed Dawn in her final Pokémon Contest in the region, competing against over a hundred other trainers, including many of her long-time rivals like Zoey.
The competition used unique double-performance rules, which added a dimension of complexity to the contest that kept the characters on their toes. Dawn certainly had her hands full against opponents who pulled off tricks like evolving their Pokémon on stage, and it all eventually came down to a face-off between two rivals that the series had been following since the beginning of Diamond and Pearl.
8 Episode N
The “Episode N” arc of the Black and White anime brought one of the games’ most beloved characters, N, over to the anime for the first time. N’s opposition to Pokémon battling automatically made him an interesting character, as so few people in the Pokémon world seem to take issue with it. While N isn’t quite as compelling here as he is in the games, he’s still an interesting character to add to the mix, and his reactions to things like Meowth’s ability to talk are interesting.
N even gets to travel with Ash for a while, learning about why Pokémon battles aren’t as bad as he thinks. The arc also acted as the big confrontation with Team Plasma, the “evil team” of the Unova region, and featured the return of a beloved character from the Diamond and Pearl anime, Looker, a detective who battles against the various evil teams in the games.
7 The Alola League
The capstone to the Sun and Moon anime, the Alola League is well known among fans for being the moment when Ash finally broke his losing curse and took home the trophy. It also opened the door for his participation in the World Coronation Series, making it a very significant arc in the overall story of the anime.
Aside from that, though, the Alola League features a lot of memorable moments, like Ash’s Meltan finally evolving into Melmetal, and almost every major character in the Sun and Moon series gets a chance to participate in the tournament, leaving few characters stuck on the sidelines watching.
6 Bond Phenomenon Greninja
One of the anime’s most unique running arcs was the development of the so-called “Ash Greninja” in the Pokémon XY(Z) anime. Rather than dominating the series for several episodes, Greninja’s arc manifested slowly over the course of the whole series. Beginning as a Froakie with a dream of becoming powerful at the side of a talented trainer, it found Ash and the two discovered that they had a previously unheard-of level of connection: the Bond Phenomenon.
Greninja’s appearance would change, and Ash and Greninja’s life forces were bound together, with Ash suffering each hit alongside Greninja. The training arc that they embark upon to master this new ability is perhaps the most stereotypically shonen that Pokémon has ever gotten, and that’s meant in the best possible way. It’s only a shame that Greninja couldn’t stick around from that point forward.
5 Wallace Cup
A special tournament hosted by the Hoenn region’s Contest Master Wallace, the Wallace Cup saw the return of May to the anime and her first meeting with Dawn. This is another Pokémon Contest competition, and so focuses heavily on the two Coordinators as they set their sights on the prize. Both May and Dawn compete in the contest, and eventually proceed to the level where they’ll have to face each other.
It’s rare to see two of Ash’s companions up against each other like this, and their battle seemed to do justice to the skills of both. As a three-episode arc, it also doesn’t overstay its welcome, which can sometimes be a problem with tournament arcs in anime in general, as well as Pokémon in particular.
4 Team Galactic
No evil team has come so dangerously close to achieving their goals as Team Galactic did in the Diamond and Pearl anime. The Team Galactic arc, which spans the middle of the series, follows the schemes of Cyrus and his followers as they slowly take control of the legendary Pokémon of the Sinnoh region.
Cyrus is pretty scary for a bad guy from the Pokémon anime, more competent than Team Rocket and uncaring even for his own followers. This arc also features the aforementioned detective Looker in his first appearance, as he attempts to thwart Team Galactic’s plot, as well as the ever-popular Sinnoh champion Cynthia.
3 The Masters Eight Tournament
This arc marked Ash’s final tournament in the anime, and it’s worth watching for that reason alone. The Masters Eight saw Ash competing alongside some of the greatest trainers in the series, like old champions such as Cynthia and even a former traveling companion-turned Champion in Iris.
It also brought back Alain from the XYZ-era Mega Evolution Specials, a popular character who just managed to edge Ash out in the Kalos League. It also has the distinction of doing what the games have deemed impossible: a tournament where Z-moves, Dynamaxing, and Mega Evolution can all be used.
2 Nimbasa Subway
This small arc may surprise some, as it doesn’t involve a world-ending threat or a major tournament, but it’s for exactly this reason that it stands out. It features the Battle Subway bosses Emmet and Ingo investigating a ghost train and sabotages in the subway system of Nimbasa City, in the Unova region.
The Subway arc sees Jessie and James demonstrating their competency for once, and Team Rocket’s plot is actually effective and well-thought-out, making the pair shockingly dangerous adversaries. This was also the timeframe when Meowth was traveling with Ash, which gave the show a different feel than usual. It’s a vision of a slightly different take on the Pokémon anime, and that’s always refreshing.
1 Team Flare
The evil team of the Kalos region was underdeveloped in the X and Y games, so it fell to the anime to salvage the situation, which it managed with flying colors. Considered by many to be the best arc in the series, the Team Flare arc unfolds slowly through XY(Z), and through the use of Alain and the Mega Evolution Specials, offered a unique look at the organization that wasn’t from Ash’s perspective. Team Flare’s plan is daring and comes dangerously close to succeeding, and still causes mass destruction, forcing a team-up the likes of which the Pokémon anime had never seen before or since.
The Pokémon anime has been criticized for being little more than advertising for the games, but after so many years that it’s been around it’s hard to maintain that accusation. While its connection to the games means that Pokémon has less freedom than other anime, its creators have endeavored over the course of decades to bring to the screen some excellent stories, as these ten great Pokémon story arcs demonstrate.
