On what date did the first Pokémon anime episode debut on TV Tokyo?

The first Pokémon anime episode debuted on TV Tokyo on April 1, 1997.

The episode was Pokémon, I Choose You!, the opening chapter of Ash Ketchum’s television journey. It showed Ash receiving Pikachu, struggling to earn Pikachu’s trust, and protecting the Pokémon from a Spearow attack. The broadcast established the anime’s central human-and-Pokémon relationship.

The anime began after the video games had already launched in Japan in February 1996. This timing matters because the television series expanded Pokémon beyond the Game Boy audience and gave the franchise a recurring protagonist, voice cast, and weekly adventure format.

April 1, 1997, is the Japanese premiere date, not the date of the English-language debut. The English version arrived in the United States in 1998. The anime’s first season is known internationally as Pokémon: Indigo League, although the original Japanese broadcast used the title Pocket Monsters.