Pokémon Theme Song

1997-present

Damn this is going to be long. And also, this if for the English-dubbed version only; and none for movies and specials (I think).

So I understand there are what they call the original series, Advanced Generation series, Diamond and Pearl series and Best Wishes series.

Most hardcore YouTube Pokemon fans (who create theme song compilation videos) list 13 theme songs in total. Below is the best example for such.

Since by my count there are indeed 13 themes (one for each season), let’s try to list each one with their corresponding singer/s.

(All song titles in quotes.)

Original series:

  1. “Pokemon theme” by Jason Paige
  2. “Pokemon World” by Russell Velázquez
  3. “Pokémon Johto” by PJ Lequerica
  4. “Born to Be a Winner” by David Rolfe
  5. “Believe in Me” by David Rolfe

Advanced Generation:

  1. “I Wanna Be a Hero” by David Rolfe
  2. “This Dream” by David Rolfe
  3. “Unbeatable” by David Rolfe
  4. “Battle Frontier” by Jason Appleton

Diamond and Pearl:

  1. “Diamond and Pearl” by Chris “Breeze” Barczynski
  2. “We Will Be Heroes” by Kirsten Price
  3. “Battle Cry – (Stand Up!)” by Erin Bowman
  4. “We Will Carry On” by Adam Elk

While there are tens of official soundtracks released for this franchise, your best bet (for the sake of theme songs) is to go with Pokémon X. Pokémon X: 10 Years of Pokémon was released for the tenth anniversary of Pokemon. It includes all theme songs (until 2007) plus several tracks from other albums. In all there are 18 tracks.

Pokémon theme song lyrics

I realize listing all of the theme songs’ lyrics here would make this an epic, albeit ugly, post. So I shall just stick with what is quite possibly the most definitive Pokemon theme song, “Pokemon Theme” from the original series. This song is also listed in some soundtracks as “Pokémon Theme Song (Gotta Catch ‘Em All)”.

I wanna be the very best
Like no one ever was
To catch them is my real test
To train them is my cause

I will travel across the land
Searching far and wide
Teach Pokemon to understand
The power that’s inside

Chorus:

***
(Pokemon!)
(Gotta catch ’em all!)
It’s you and me
I know it’s my destiny

(Pokemon!)
Ooh, you’re my best friend
In a world we must defend

(Pokemon!)
(Gotta catch ’em all!)
Our hearts so true
Our courage will pull us through
You teach me and I’ll teach you

Pokemon!
(Gotta catch ’em all!)
Gotta catch ’em all!
***

Yeah!

Every challenge along the way
With courage I can face
I will battle everyday
To claim my rightful place

Come with me the time is right
There’s no better team
Arm in arm we’ll win the fight
It’s always been our dream

[Repeat Chorus]

Gotta catch ’em all!

Gotta catch ’em all!

Gotta catch ’em all!

Yeah!

[Repeat Chorus]

(Pokemon!)

There you go. Will just try to update this post if I think I forgot something.