The first canonically gay character in #anipoke is this Lucky (Chansey) Trainer from Pocket Monsters (1997) Episode 28. The episode's credits refer to him as "young man" but this guide book from 1998 calls him Okama-san (オカマさん), a somewhat outdated and problematic term meaning "effeminate gay."

【DB Update】 Summaries of the latest collection of “Poco a Pokémon” (“Pokémon Pokopia”) comic strips have been added to the site! dogasu.bulbagarden.net/read/comics/...

Episode 165 "Zubat's Mansion! The Dangerous Maze!!" This episode was an absolute riot. A mysterious mansion, Takeshi being unhinged for large chunks of the story, Musashi and Sonansu being an iconic comedy duo...this episode had it all! #DogasuWatchesJohto

Episode 164 "The Poppo Fancier's Carrier Poppo!" An episode about carrier pigeons is made better by the Rocket trio's antics as well as a better than average focus on Satoshi's Yorunozuku. #DogasuWatchesJohto

ICYMI: My report on the Pokémon Fossil Museum, from when I went back in 2022: dogasu.bulbagarden.net/learn/event_...

Episode 163 "Ancient Pokémon Park!! The Ruins of Alph!" Satoshi and his friends visit Jurassic Park. It was a cute little showcase for Omnite and Omstar, who somehow have never gotten an episode all to themselves before now. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Movie 5 related CDs are always so expensive, for some reason 😅

Episode 162 "Where is Usokkie!?" Everyone works to find out what Type Usokkie is even though that should be common knowledge, probably...? The Rock-Type's antics are amusing, though. #DogasuWatchesJohto

A Dogars was on TV tonight 😍

Episode 161 "The Bug-Catching Contest! Go Get One at Nature Park!!" Nanako comes back, is a bad Trainer, and then gets rewarded for it by having her Chicorita evolve. This one's alright. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Episode 160, not 169!

Episode 169 "The Battle of the Radio Tower! Beyond Time and Space!!" This was an absolute delight from beginning to end. I love it when the show allows itself to be chaotic like this, it really shows off just how strong a cast this is. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Just finished!

【DB Update】 Learn all about "Celebrating 30 Years of Pokémon, The Pokémon Short Movie Festival ~ Pocket Monsters The Movie Short Movie Masterpiece Selection ~" dogasu.bulbagarden.net/watch/theatr...

Episode 159 "Miltank! The Revenge Battle!!" Satoshi goes to a farm and then destroys this old man's field so he can win his third gym badge. This is easily my least favorite Gym Battle so far. #DogasuWatchesJohto

New #anipoke episode titles, from a flyer at a Pokémon Center store: 5/22 “A Fresh Start! Toward a World of Adventure!!” 5/29 “Fake Rising Volteccers Enter the Scene!?”

Why is she posing like that LOL

Episode 158 "Cogane Gym! Speed and Power!?" Our heroes take a tour of Osaka before facing off against the third Gym Leader. The actual gym battle itself is pretty lackluster, though the stuff in the city itself is pretty alright. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Here are a list of 27 active Pokémon fansites & communities on Bluesky. If you're a fan of Pokémon, be sure to give them a follow from our Starter Pack, and let them know what you like about their communities! I would like to see some of the smaller accounts get some love! go.bsky.app/9ZYmKgz

There's gonna be like five different releases of this song on CD. tower.jp/search/advan...

From the anipoke_PR account: "New #anipoke Ending Theme The new ending theme for Pocket Monsters (2023): Wonder Voyage, starting May 22nd, is... "The Cutie Squad" performed by CUTIE STREET. We've got comments by the performer of the new song, CUTIE STREET!" Translations of their statement:

From the anipoke_PR account: "New #anipoke Opening Theme The new opening theme is... "Connect the World" performed by Liko (Minori Suzuki) and Roy (Yuka Terasaki). Produced by HoneWorks. We've got statements by the two performers as well as HoneyWorks!" Translation of HoneyWorks' statement:

From the anipoke_PR Twitter account: "New #anipoke info's just been revealed! Pocket Monsters (2023): Wonder Voyage, starting May 22nd. The person in this new key visual is a young girl who lives in Miare City named Navi. She comes across a Metamon riding an airship...!?"

I literally *just* brought this series up lol bsky.app/profile/disc...

Episode 157 "Pokémon Fortune Telling!? The Great Melee!" Yamato, & Kosaburou make their Johto debuts. Funny little comedy episodes like these that show off the cast's personalities are some of my favorite in the series. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Now it’s been three.

Episode 156 "Kirinriki! The Village of the Psychic Pokémon!" Trainers gather Psychic-Types to protect against Ghost-Types who we never actually get to see. The episode focusing more of its attention on the new move Future Sight rather than the new Johto Pokémon is a bit odd. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Pocket Monsters The Movie "Lord of the "Unknown" Tower ENTEI" A bunch of Unknown decide to help cure a little girl's loneliness by...covering her house in crystals. This movie's a perfectly enjoyable way to spend an hour. #DogasuWatchesJohto

【DB Update】 It's time for the first Manga Guide update of April 2026! New summaries of the following are now up on the site: ・Pocket Monsters Special Scarlet & Violet ・Kousaku Anakubo's Pocket Monsters dogasu.bulbagarden.net#20260405

The Jimbocho Theater, located in the Jimbocho area of Tokyo, will be having special theatrical screenings of three of the Pikachu shorts next month. •Pikachu’s Summer Vacation (1998) •The Glittering Starlit Camp (2002) •Pikachu and Its Eevee Friends (2013) www.shogakukan.co.jp/jinbocho-the...

Pocket Monsters The Movie "Pichu and Pikachu" A charming little adventure about Pikachu trying to make its way back to a party to celebrate a friendiversary. This very Looney Tunes-esque short's not my favorite, but it's not bad either. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Twenty years ago I posted what's probably my favorite April Fool's Day update ever; a fake Episode Comparison that claimed 4Kids replaced the Jynx in the episode "Mean with Envy" with a Glalie. dogasu.bulbagarden.net/archives/apr...

【DB Update】 New manga chapter summaries! ・Pokémon 4-Koma Zukan ・Poco a Pokémon 4-Koma Biyori ・Pokémon Card Game Yarouze~! Mega Chapter ・Pokémon Frienda Oshiete! Friender-Man ・Kousaku Anakubo's Pocket Monsters ・Pokémon 4-Koma Gakuen Vol 9 ・Pocket Monsters Special dogasu.bulbagarden.net#20260331

ICYMI: Three years ago the cast and crew of the Pocket Monsters animated series posted their tributes to the end of Satoshi’s and Pikachu’s time on the show. dogasu.bulbagarden.net/features/mis...

New poll!

Episode 155 "A Shot in the Ringuma!!" A wild bear attack provides an excuse for the gang to be broken up into groupings we don't usually get to see. The animation and comedy in this is top notch even if the members of the Rocket trio are all unnecessarily cruel to one another. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Episode 154 "A Different Colored Yorunozuku! Go Get One!!" Satoshi outsmarts a crafty owl. We don't really see Pokémon working *this* hard to avoid being caught as much anymore so this ended up being a nice reminder of a time when the show had a bit more of a bite. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Episode 153 "Dance Waninoko! Let the Music Play!!" A rabbit has to choose between an alligator and a platypus. Waninoko's charming personality and the Rocket trio's attempts at winning over Marilli make this a fun one. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Episode 152 "Airmd vs. Hinoarashi! Steel Wing!!" Satoshi loses, trains with his Pokémon, and then ends up winning. It's not the most intriguing plot ever but it still ends up being a pretty good way to spend 22 minutes. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Shibuya, Tokyo

Vol. 4, issue 2 of Johto Times is now available! This week, we celebrate Pokémon's 30th anniversary with tributes from fans and fansites. Plus, we recap all the latest Pokémon news, and announcements from the latest Pokémon Presents. Happy Pokémon Day! johtotimes.com/issues/2026-...

Happy Girls' Day! The hinamatsuri episode of the original Pocket Monsters (1997) series is, if I'm not mistaken, the only time in the series that an actual date (March 3rd) is said aloud within the show.

Episode 151 "Who Gets to Keep Waninoko!? Satoshi vs. Kasumi!" This episode was absolutely phenomenal. I genuinely had so much trouble picking just four screenshots for this post because there are just so, so many great moments in this one. Probably one of my new favorites. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Umeda Station (Osaka)

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Kousaku Anakubo's Pocket Monsters manga! The series got its start in the April 1February 28th, 1996 issue of CoroCoro Special under the title "The Mysterious Pokémon Pippi." A few chapters later the series will change its name to simply "Pocket Monsters."

My first impression guesses at their name origins Haburou “Happy” (leaf) + “fukurou” (owl)? Pomken “Pomeranian” + “ken” (dog, canine)? Miory “Mizu” (water) + "yamori” (gecko)? #pokemon

Episode 150 "Delvil the Dark Pokémon" A unique Pokémon (the show's very first Dark-Type!) gets a disappointingly cookie cutter episode about stealing food for an injured friend. #DogasuWatchesJohto

Episode 149 "Purin vs. Bulu!" This episode's a bit thin on plot, but seeing Purin and Bulu interact with one another was a lot of fun. Screenplay writer Yukiyoshi Ohashi continues to be terrible at writing the Rocket trio. #DogasuWatchesJohto