The original Pokémon intro song is iconic throughout most parts of the world and is
something that, even those unfamiliar with the franchise, will undoubtedly be familiar
with.
However, the same can't be said for those in the show's country of origin, Japan.
The Japanese original intro song is completely different, meaning that the millions of people
in Japan think of something entirely different when remembering the franchise.
4Kids, the production company responsible for localising Pokémon in the West, were
in charge of the English theme and they commissioned a company called Rave Music to create what
would become the English Pokémon theme.
Rave Music was a studio that had lots of experience creating advertising jingles and other catchy
melodies, and 4Kids went to them specifically due to their experience in catchy advertising
themes.
Speaking to Huffington Post, 4Kids then head of production Norman Grossfeld explained that
he also wanted to implement a tagline for marketing purposes into the theme song.
Norman says that at one point they used the line "Catch 'em if you can" and that this
actually made its way into some early versions of the song.
This line was, of course, changed though to the now famous "Gotta catch 'em all", which
would then go on to fuel millions of kids to literally try and catch them all, by buying
as much of Pokémon's wide array of merchandise as possible.
Moving things back to the Japanese song, this didn't quite have the same marketing style
of "catching 'em all" as in the West.
The main choruses of the Japanese version are instead about 1) being a "pokémon master"
and 2) "I'll GET you Pokémon" - the "get" part, interestingly, being sung in English
The Japanese track is also named "Aim To Be A Pokémon Master".
Generally though, the two songs' lyrics are quite similar and are about travelling, friends
and getting into adventures.
Another difference that you'll notice in the Japanese intro, however, is the footage and
graphics that it uses.
The Japanese version uses new clips that you won't see in the English version, such as
this shot showing Poliwrath whilst Ash and the gang are running in the rain, as well
as this brief montage-like section showing a wide range of different pokémon.
Another difference in the Japanese version is that it shows all three of the legendary
birds, whilst in the Western version shown on the right, the footage gets cut just before
Moltres appears.
Also, of course, the Japanese version logo is very different and goes by the name Pocket
Monsters instead.
Interestingly, it also shows all of the elemental logos from the trading card game around the
name.
One of the biggest differences, though, revolves around this somewhat mysterious girl that
you'll be able to see in both the English and Japanese versions.
Many English fans have speculated about this character, as she is shown in the intro but
then never appears throughout the entire show.
Over in Japan, on the other hand, the intro actually references the girl with the song's
lyrics.
In both versions, Pikachu can be seen running beneath her legs, which startles her and causes
her to cling tightly to her skirt.
In the Japanese version though, the lyrics say that they will catch pokémon if they
are in the ground, the clouds or even the girl's skirt.
That's literally what the Japanese lyrics say - she even then lets out a scream just
as Pikachu runs underneath her.
The English version, of course, makes no mention of this, as 4Kids took a different approach
entirely with the English theme.
The Japanese song is extremely popular over in
Japan and has made various other appearances since the original series.
A cover version of the song was used in episodes 192 to 238 and a verse was also featured in
Advanced Generation's third opening theme.
An 8 bit version was also produced for the English and Japanese versions of Pokémon
Pinball on the Game Boy Color.
Furthermore, recently the song has yet again become the show's flagship theme, with it
being chosen as Sun & Moon's intro song in commemoration of the anime's 20th anniversary.
The theme has been used starting from episode 30, which was broadcast in Japan June 15th,
and is still to this day getting used in all new episodes.
It's unknown what will happen in the West though, as episode 30 has yet to be localised
into English.
Also, yes, the girl's skirt line is left intact and it even shows Pikachu underneath Lillie's
skirt to go along.