So hey, I was thinking, my friends make fun of me because I have never been acquainted with Pokemon. I would like to correct this because their laughs are very irritating anyway, now I need to hear it all the time. I have acquired a bit of knowledge through the utilization of a website (pokemonlegends.com, I very much recommend it) but it seems I, ah... single-handedly got that website blocked on my school and home servers, and I rarely go anywhere else. But I still want to understand the series more, I liked the small amount I learned.

I would actually kinda like to watch the anime, but I don't know where to start.

The few things I do know:

Ash is the good guy and he has an op pikachu

Team rocket is bad

And I know most of the things like water is strong against fire is strong against plant is strong against water

The indigo theme

;-;

That's about it.


PLS TEACH ME PLS

To be honest you don't need to watch the anime unless you want to see more about Ash and his adventures. Otherwise I would advise going to YouTube and watching people play Pokemon. There are a TON of videos talking about Pokemon from games to battling to even breeding and whatnot.

Okay! What do you want me to start with??

Also, there's a free website called PlayR.org (make sure it's .org and not .com) that you can play the really old pokemon games on. And No, I'm not getting payed to tell you this.

Okay, I'll try that. Thanks!

Haha, I didn't think you were. And I just tried, and it was blocked. I'll try again later ;-; Thanks, though! Good to know people care.

There are a multitude of ways to get introduced to Pokemon. The anime is certainly one of them but it is aimed at a rather young audience so you may not find it to your tastes. The protagonist, Ash, is perpetually 10/11 years old and he travels around the world with his Pikachu and other pokemon fighting gyms and defeating Team Rocket. A typical episode looks something like this.

1. Ash and friends meet a new person with a problem/pokemon to be caught/gym to be defeated
2. Team Rocket shows up to kidnap Pikachu and/or a special pokemon in the episode using over the top plans/machinery
3. Ash defeats Team Rocket
4. Team Rocket "blasts off again"
5. Problem is solved/pokemon is caught/gym is defeated

If you want to start watching the anime, it's may be best to start with the most recent of whatever the current series is. At the moment that's Sun & Moon. Ash starts over in each new region so you don't really need to worry about not knowing the characters. They'll reintroduce them to you if needed. You could also start with the very first series, Indigo League, and learn how Ash got his Pikachu and why Misty and Brock are the best companions. There are also the movies that you can watch. There's a ton of them but they're not considered canon to the anime.

Pokemon Origins is an anime mini-series that follows the plot of the Generation I games (for the most part... they do put megaevolution in there which wasn't a thing in Gen I). The animation is good and I recommend watching it.

There is also the Trading Card Game. It still has a fanbase and there are still competitions that you can compete in but personally don't think it's a good way to get into Pokemon. It's more a side hobby than anything.

In my opinion, what you want to get into is the games. There are numerous different games you can try out.

Free games:
-If you're looking for something easy and free, try Pokemon Go. It's an official phone app game where you can walk around your real life town/city/park and catch the pokemon there.
-If battling is your thing, there's also Pokemon Showdown. It's not really for players new for Pokemon, but once you've gotten the basics of Pokemon battling down in other games you can use this site to build your own dream teams and battle other trainers with them. It's a fan-made site but polished and respected within the community.
-There are numerous fan-made battling, rpg, or mmorpg games online but none of them are official. I don't play any of these so I can't recommend you any. Googling will find you some but don't pay for any. They're not official and should not be making money off of an intellectual property that they don't own.

Not free games:
-The main games. I recommend these the most and they're what most people think of when they talk about pokemon games. You'll normally find these referred to by their generation. Generation I is the original pokemon games, Red, Blue, Green (Japan only), and Yellow. The most recent is Generation VII with Sun/Moon and UltraSun/UltraMoon. The newest games, Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee are actually coming out in about a month. Pick whatever game interests you most and start from there. They're all stand alone games so you shouldn't have any trouble picking any of them up.
-Spin-off games. There's plenty of these but the best is probably the Mystery Dungeon series. I also rather like Pokemon Conquest.


edit:
I can't believe I forgot! There's also Pokemon manga out that's pretty good. Pokemon Adventures (aka Pokemon Special) is a series that follows the main video games but adds its own twist to the adventures. I definitely recommend starting at the beginning for this one as characters do sometimes come back like in the Emerald plotline. Definitely recommend reading this if you find you have a love for Pokemon.

Wow, thank you! I'll definitely be using this. I'd watched part of the Indigo League, so I knew that was geared toward younger audiences, but I didn't know any other ones or if they might be aimed at an older age group. I'll definitely be trying out some of the games, maybe the newer ones.

Yea, you're out of luck if you want Pokemon anime aimed at an older audience. The closest you'll get is Pokemon Origins and perhaps some specific episodes/movies with slightly more adult themes. I'm talking 'bout you, Mewtwo.

The newer games will definitely get you going on your Pokemon Adventure. Personally, the Sun/Moon/UltraSun/UltraMoon games are not my favorites for various reasons. A big one being that they are a bit overly clingy and hand-holdy when it comes to any sort of tutorial. As a new player that may be what you need, though. Let me know how you like them, I'm curious what you think as someone new to the series. And if you end up liking the games, definitely go back and try out some of the remakes of the older games.

I don't think I mentioned it, but I feel it should also be said that Ash is an anime-only character. He shows up nowhere in the games. Among fans, the game protagonists are typically referred to by their version names. Red, Gold, Ruby, Diamond, etc. Ash is... kind of a joke.

P.S.
Your best wiki sources will probably be bulbapedia or Serebii. Theyre unofficial fan Wikipedias but are both kept up to date and are well known and used within the community.

UUUUUH hmmmm... Everyone's given solid advice so far... SO here's my opinion :P _{probably repeats alot}

What I would recommend if you really really want to get into Pokemon totally _{no turning back} is to get one the DS/3DS Games! That's how I was introduced and since the games are ~8+ it's pretty easy to figure out, Sun and Moon are the easiest games/ the cheapest atm... the older ones are harder but I like them

Lazy edition: go to a bookstore, find a "complete Pokedex" book and read it- there's usually a little intro blurb in the beginning and then the rest is Pokemon info, mainly focus on the name and evolution and possibly the types later on

Yeah there's no adult/teen geared franchise... just accept the fact, sorry (little kids will really like you tho)

I would recommend Pokefarm for casual online playing but it's more about collecting pokemon than anything- so not super helpful learning wise

General Noob Tips
1. Pokemon not man (you've probably been told this)
2. Learn how to properly pronounce the Pokemon names! I mean it's funny if you mispronounce them but you look new- but if you mess up super simple ones, you look bad (ex: Jolteon- is pronounced Jolt-e-on not jolt-teen)
3. State how much your committed if you run into another pokemon player, if it's a super intense player and they don't know your a noob...well it's interesting

Yeah, I've noticed there's a lot of hand-holding in Nintendo games, especially recently. They admitted it in one of the games they came out with back in 2012, along with many other breaks of the fourth wall that doesn't exist.
Thank you again for all the useful information!