It was created in Japan, as Pocket Monsters and was then adapted for the North American television market.
In the United States, Pokémon is the fifth longest running animated TV show time wise, only beaten by The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Arthur, and South Park.[1] Pokémon, however, has more episodes than any of these shows and is the longest running and most successful television show based on a video game series.[2]
The metaseries appeared outside Japan before the video games did, and has since spawned several movies. It is aimed at younger viewers but many other devoted fans of all ages enjoy the anime as well.