When did the first episode of the Pokémon television anime air in Japan?

The first episode of the Pokémon television anime aired in Japan on April 1, 1997.

Titled “Pokémon, I Choose You!”, the episode introduces Ash Ketchum as he begins his journey from Pallet Town. Professor Oak gives Ash a Pikachu, and the pair become partners after a difficult first day involving a flock of Spearow.

The episode premiered on TV Tokyo and established many of the anime’s defining ideas: Pokémon Trainers travel between towns, capture and train Pokémon, and build relationships with them. Ash’s Pikachu was initially reluctant and repeatedly resisted entering its Poké Ball, helping distinguish the anime from the games.

The episode is sometimes confused with the franchise’s 1996 video-game debut or with the English-language premiere. The English dub began in the United States on September 8, 1998, more than a year after the Japanese broadcast. The original episode therefore marks the anime’s beginning, not the game series’ beginning.