Which Pokemon Games Are Canon?

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• Which Pokemon Games Are Canon?

• What About All Of The Side Games?

• Pokemon Anime and Movies Are Non-Canon

A series’ canon is often one of the most discussed topics of any given game, and the same is true about the beloved monster-collecting game, Pokemon. Hardly ever does Pokemon bless its fans with a direct sequel to a game, making every entry its own world and sometimes universe.

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A canon is considered what is absolutely true about a series. For example, the games let you choose a starter Pokemon at the beginning of the game, so the “correct” answer would be the canon one. Even though some titles might share some similarities with the anime series, they are often considered different canons.

Which Pokemon Games Are Canon?

Pokemon has been around since 1996. Originating in Japan, Nintendo released the Red and Green Versions, featuring Charizard and Venasaur, as opposed to Red and Blue in English-speaking countries. Since then, all of the mainline games have been considered canon by every Pokemon trainer in the world.

Although the manga offers tons of characterization and a better insight into the characters’ goals and aspirations, the video games are the source material of the franchise, making them the ultimate canon of Pokemon.

Every generation of Pokemon usually comes in different versions, but they are all set in parallel universes with each other.

An argument could be made about Yellow being the canon version of the first generation, as Red, the protagonist, is seen with all three starters and a Pikachu in Goid and Silver.

What About All Of The Side Games?

Pokemon is known for its turn-based battles, collecting gym badges, and of course, catching ‘em all. But what about Mystery Dungeon? Or Colosseum? Are those games included in a Pokemon canon since they are also video games?

How Many Pokemon Games Are There?

The Pokemon franchise spreads far and wide. Just how many games are included in this reach?

While the spin-offs are, arguably, some of the best games that Game Freak has put out, they are mostly non-canon. A lot of the spin-offs include some canonical information or references, but otherwise, they take place in their own universe completely detached from the mainline games.

Pokemon Ranger, while an excellent game with a creative catching method, is only canon to the anime, where there are references to various terms from the games.

Pokemon Anime and Movies Are Non-Canon

The Pokemon anime mainly follows the 10-year-old Ash Ketchum on his quest to become the best there ever was, but sadly, the young boy is never featured in any of the video games, making him non-canon. For a while, fans speculated that Ash was actually Red, the protagonist of Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow, but he is indeed a separate person.

There have been plenty of movies, also starring Ash as the protagonist, referencing stuff about the video games, such as Pokemon Evolutions and Generations. Yet, most of the movies defer some events that occurred in their respective games, sadly classifying them as non-canon to the games, but canon to their sequels.

How Many Pokemon Has Ash Ketchum Caught?

With Ash's Pokemon anime journey at its end, we reflect on whether he ever did get close to catching 'em all.