What is the name of the first Pokémon anime episode, broadcast in Japan in 1997?

The first Pokémon anime episode is titled “Pokémon, I Choose You!”

The episode was first broadcast on TV Tokyo on April 1, 1997. It introduces Ash Ketchum, his ambition to become a Pokémon Trainer, and his difficult first day with Pikachu. Unlike the game protagonist, Ash begins with a Pikachu that refuses to stay inside its Poké Ball.

The story ends with Ash and Pikachu defending each other from a flock of Spearow. Pikachu releases a powerful electric attack, creating the partnership that became the emotional center of the long-running anime. The episode also shows Ash seeing the mysterious Ho-Oh, although its identity is not explained immediately.

The title is sometimes confused with later episode names or with the 2017 film Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, which revisits elements of the original story in an alternate continuity. The original episode launched the television branch of the Pokémon franchise.