10 anime to watch if you love Pokémon

Pokémon began in the mid-1990s as Red and Green and grew into a sprawling multimedia empire after the anime’s debut. For many fans, the franchise’s appeal is bound up with Pokémon the Series, which aired more than 1,300 episodes between 1997 and 2023 and made Pikachu a household name.

The first season, Pokémon: Indigo League, introduced Ash Ketchum, who receives Pikachu from Professor Oak and embraces the simple mantra of “gotta catch ’em all.” That mix of friendship, adventure, and creature battles set a template many other shows would follow.

Some of those shows stick close to the idea of capturing and training monsters, while others shift the focus toward card games or toy-driven mechanics. Digimon Adventure sends children to the Digital World to evolve and fight with Digimon; Beyblade turns battles into spinning-top duels centered on Bit-Beasts; Yu-Gi-Oh!

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