The Pokémon anime first aired in Japan on TV Tokyo. Its premiere took place on April 1, 1997, beginning the long-running animated adaptation of the video-game franchise.
The Japanese series was titled Pocket Monsters and followed Ash Ketchum, known as Satoshi in Japan, as he traveled with Pikachu. TV Tokyo became closely associated with the franchise because it broadcast the original series and many subsequent Pokémon television installments.
The anime was developed after the success of the first Pokémon games. Producers wanted a television series that could broaden the audience while supporting the growing world of Pokémon characters, creatures, and merchandise.
The network is sometimes confused with the companies that produced or licensed the animation. OLM handled animation production, while TV Tokyo was the original Japanese broadcaster. These are separate roles in the series’ history.