Pokémon, I Choose You!
1st episode of the 1st season of Pokémon / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Pokémon, I Choose You!"[2] (ポケモン!きみにきめた!, Pokemon! Kimi ni Kimeta!) is the first episode of the Pokémon anime series. It was first broadcast on April 1, 1997 on TV Tokyo.
"Pokémon, I Choose You!" | |||
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Pokémon episode | |||
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 | ||
Directed by | Masamitsu Hidaka[1] | ||
Written by | Takeshi Shudo[1] | ||
Original air date | April 1, 1997 (1997-04-01) | ||
Episode chronology | |||
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List of episodes |
In the episode, Ash Ketchum gets his Pokémon journey off to a rough start when he receives his first Pokémon, a reluctant Pikachu. After many failed attempts at capturing some Pokémon, Ash throws a rock at a Spearow, which gets angry and starts attacking him and Pikachu. Soon, an entire flock of Spearow start chasing them, and Pikachu is the only one able to step in and stop the flock.
Nintendo, which publishes the Pokémon video games, asked for changes to be made to the English adaptation of the episode. Some graphic sequences involving punching were taken out, including one where Misty slaps Ash on the cheek. The script was translated by Paul Taylor. Veronica Taylor, who provided the English voice of Ash in this episode, said she enjoyed the script and recording Ash's lines.
Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. Andrew Wood of The Plain Dealer praised the episode for staying true to the games, but thought it focused too much on the character Ash. A children's book adaptation of "Pokémon - I Choose You!" was released in July 1999, and the episode was released on Game Boy Advance Video in 2004. In 2017, a movie based on this episode, entitled Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! was released, in an alternate continuity to the original series. Ash's and Pikachu's respective backstories prior to the original series were explored in the first episode of Pokémon Journeys: the Series, "Enter Pikachu!", which aired in 2019.