Ash Ketchum was given Pikachu in the first Pokémon anime episode.
The episode, “Pokémon, I Choose You!”, first aired in Japan on April 1, 1997. Ash arrives late to Professor Oak’s laboratory and finds that the three traditional starter Pokémon have already been chosen.
Instead, Professor Oak gives him Pikachu, an electric-type Pokémon that initially refuses to cooperate and dislikes staying inside its Poké Ball. Their relationship changes after Ash protects Pikachu from a flock of Spearow.
Pikachu became the franchise’s best-known mascot and remained Ash’s partner throughout his central anime journey. Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle were the three standard Kanto starter choices in the games, but none was Ash’s first assigned Pokémon in the anime.