When did the Pokémon anime premiere in Japan on TV Tokyo?

The Pokémon anime premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 1, 1997.

The television series expanded the video-game franchise beyond the Game Boy. Its first story followed Ash Ketchum, known as Satoshi in Japan, as he began his journey with Pikachu and pursued the goal of becoming a Pokémon Trainer.

The premiere came just over a year after the original games launched in Japan. The anime helped make Pikachu the franchise’s most recognizable character and introduced Pokémon to viewers who might not have owned the games.

The date is sometimes confused with the series’ first international broadcasts. The anime began in the United States in September 1998, after the games had already become popular there. The Japanese premiere therefore occurred on April 1, 1997, and not on the date of the English-language debut.