The Pokémon anime first premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo.
The series began broadcasting on April 1, 1997. Its early episodes followed Ash Ketchum and Pikachu as they traveled through the Kanto region, meeting Gym Leaders, collecting Pokémon, and encountering Team Rocket.
TV Tokyo became closely associated with the anime’s Japanese broadcast. The series was then distributed through other stations and later adapted for international audiences, where translated titles, opening songs, and broadcast schedules varied.
The Japanese premiere followed the release of Pokémon’s first video games by about a year. This timing helped connect the game audience with a continuing television story and made the characters recognizable beyond the Game Boy cartridges.