Pokémon: Master Quest is the fifth season of the Pokémon anime series and the third season of Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver, known in Japan as Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター, Poketto Monsutā).[a] It originally aired in Japan from August 9, 2001, to November 14, 2002, on TV Tokyo, in the United States from September 14, 2002, to October 25, 2003, on Kids' WB. It was the first season of Pokémon to be digitally animated as opposed to cel animation, starting with the episode "Here's Lookin' at You, Elekid".
The season follows the adventures of the Ash Ketchum and Pikachu as they collect Gym Badges in the Johto region so they can compete in the Johto League competition. Along the way Ash is joined by Misty and Brock.
The episodes were directed by Masamitsu Hidaka and produced by the animation studio OLM.
A Slowpoke named Arthur attempts to evolve into a Slowking.
Casey meets up with Ash, and has her sights on Elekid, the pre-evolved form of Electabuzz.
The Japanese opening songs are "Aim to be a Pokémon Master" (めざせポケモンマスター 2001, Mezase Pokémon Masutā 2001) by Whiteberry for 29 episodes, and "Ready Go!" by Naomi Tamura for 36 episodes. The ending songs are "Face Forward Team Rocket!" (前向きロケット団!, Maemuki Roketto-dan!) by Team Rocket trio for 29 episodes, and "Pocket-ering Monster-ing" (ポケッターリ・モンスターリ, Pokettāri Monsutāri) by Kana for 36 episodes. The English opening song is "Believe in Me" by David Rolfe. A shortened version of the English opening song was used for the end credits.
In the United States, two three-disc DVD sets were released by Viz Video and Ventura Distribution,[1][2] which each contained 32 episodes each (10/11 episodes per DVD). These DVDs are now out of print.
Viz Media and Warner Home Video released Pokémon: Master Quest – The Complete Collection on DVD in the United States on October 11, 2016.
