Ash and Pikachu are getting a wider living-room rerun. Pokémon: Indigo League, the first season of the original anime, arrives on Disney Plus and Hulu on Friday, August 7, 2026. That is the full 52-episode Kanto run, the one that starts with a late birthday, a stubborn electric mouse, and a trek toward the Indigo Plateau.
Where you can watch Indigo League
Disney Plus and Hulu: season 1 streams starting August 7, 2026
Netflix: the same first season has been available there since 2014
Pokémon TV on YouTube: earlier seasons of the classic series remain free to stream on the official channel, currently through season 9 in many regions
If you already live inside a Disney bundle, this is the cleanest new path into the show without hunting disc boxes. If you want the longer classic run past Kanto, the official YouTube library is still the wide map.
Disney XD schedule
Disney is also putting Indigo League back on linear TV. Disney XD opens with an all-day marathon on Thursday, August 6, 2026, starting at 9 a.m. ET. Regular airings begin Monday, August 10: weekdays at 2:30 p.m. ET and weekends at 8 a.m. ET.
What Indigo League is
This is the season that teaches the franchise's grammar. Ash leaves Pallet Town, bonds with Pikachu, meets Brock and Misty, and fills a party with creatures that still define the brand: Charmander on the road to Charizard, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto, Butterfree. Classic beats like Bye-Bye Butterfree, Battle Aboard the St. Anne, and Here Comes the Squirtle Squad live here.
Disney's own season pitch keeps it simple: Ash turns ten, wants to be a Pokémon Trainer, gets Pikachu instead of a standard starter, and learns that gym badges are harder than the fantasy. Brock and Misty ride shotgun. The rest is Kanto.
Why this drop matters
Indigo League has never been hard to find for dedicated fans. It has been hard to find inside the apps people already open every night. Putting the first season on Disney Plus and Hulu next to kids' queues, Marvel rows, and family profiles is a distribution play: nostalgia for parents, a first watch for kids, and an easier on-ramp than a YouTube scavenger hunt.