When did the first Pokémon animated series begin airing in Japan?

The first Pokémon animated series began airing in Japan on April 1, 1997.

The television series followed Ash Ketchum, known as Satoshi in Japan, as he began his journey with Pikachu and traveled through the Kanto region. The first season originally aired on TV Tokyo and continued until January 21, 1999.

The anime arrived after the video games, which had launched in Japan on February 27, 1996. Its success greatly expanded Pokémon’s audience and helped turn characters such as Pikachu, Team Rocket, Misty, and Brock into internationally recognized figures.

The Japanese broadcast date is often confused with the international television premieres. The series first aired in the United States in September 1998, while the English-language version used different episode titles and had a different episode count because one episode was withheld after the Porygon incident.