The first Pokémon anime episode, “Pokémon, I Choose You!”, premiered in Japan on April 1, 1997.
The episode introduces Ash Ketchum’s journey and his difficult first day with Pikachu. Ash oversleeps, misses the chance to choose one of Professor Oak’s three usual starter Pokémon, and receives Pikachu instead.
Pikachu initially refuses to cooperate, but the two gradually form a bond when Pikachu protects Ash from a flock of angry Spearow. The episode ends with Ash seeing the mysterious Ho-Oh in the sky.
The episode was broadcast by TV Tokyo and began the long-running television adaptation. Its English title is sometimes confused with the 2017 film Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, which retells the opening journey in an alternate continuity.