Ho-Oh first appeared in the distance during the opening episode of the Pokémon anime.
In “Pokémon, I Choose You!”, Ash sees a large, colorful bird Pokémon flying through the sky shortly after beginning his journey. The creature is Ho-Oh, although Ash and viewers did not initially know its identity because it was not included in the first Pokédex shown in the series.
Ho-Oh was introduced in the second-generation games Pokémon Gold and Silver, which had not yet been released when the anime began. Its early appearance therefore became a notable example of the anime foreshadowing future Pokémon.
The episode premiered on TV Tokyo on April 1, 1997. Ho-Oh later became the mascot of Pokémon Gold and a major Legendary Pokémon associated with Johto, the region introduced in Generation II. Its early anime cameo remains one of the franchise’s most discussed debut appearances.