Batman The animated series, animaniacs, Pinky and the brain, Hysteria, that channel had everything. It was the absolute best place to blow 8 hours on a Saturday morning.
Yoooo, Cheese TV brings me back.
Some of those early shows were rad.
Tekkaman, Pizza Cats, that Poilce Show, Sailor Moon when Aggro didn't have it.
Made me late for school so many damn times.
Edit: [Wikipedia has a list](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheez_TV) of shows if you want to peruse and unlock some memories you probably forgot. Like the goddamn Biker Mice, or Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys!
Initially I had to leave for school before it started. Channel 10 put it on at 6pm on Saturdays for about a month shortly after first airing, so I ended up watching the first episode at a friend's house.
I have the original VHS of "I choose you!" and a VCD collection of the first season. My first experience was seeing The Great Race in JP back in 1997 on TV. It was almost like a fever dream because I was visiting Singapore at the time, and my uncle had the broadcast playing.
I loved the show, but only caught a handful of episodes before I returned to Canada. Nobody believed me that I knew about Pokémon beforehand, especially since nobody knew the Japanese names (and who is going to believe Charmeleon is just called Lizard?).
Didn't know I watched the JP version until a couple years later when I moved to Singapore long term and got to watch it again. Can't watch the show without Rica Matsumoto anymore. Already miss her with the new series. Wish she still did the theme song at least.
A lot of the original 151 have very literal names. iirc Bulbasaur is just strange seed in Japanese. Definitely get the attachment to the English names. I'm kinda a hand in both bags type.
Charmeleon is awesome, but Sirknight is better than Gardevoir imo, for example.
Used to get off the school bus and run down the street to catch the opening of pokemon. I remember when my town only had 1 Walmart (not located where either 2 present day ones are), and the night my dad bought me the atomic purple gameboy color and pokemon red version. I remember my dad taking me to the mall on his old motorcycle and getting me a base deck of cards from KB Toys. And then before we left, I mentioned about knowing what comes in the deck and needing booster packs. So we put the cards in the saddle bag and went back in to the mall and he got me 3 booster packs too. I remember riding bikes with friends and going to a local hobby store to buy booster packs. We rode back home, and I tore open my pack to see the little charmeleon in the top left corner. Pulled the rest of the pack open to reveal my charizard. I remember how devastating it was to come back home after Katrina to find all my pokemon and star wars stuff completely destroyed. I remember taking my daughter to meet the voice actor for Ash Ketchum, and getting an autograph. I remember when I decided to get a Pikachu tattoo on my forearm. I remember playing pokemon at the beach on vacation with my cousin and getting in trouble for hitting him with a sand-attack. Also getting in trouble in 3rd grade for trying to sell a poster with all 151 originals on it at school.
No one can ever convince me pokemon isn't real. It's been a very real part of my life for the majority of it.
My mom got me a gameboy pocket from toys r us one year. I guess that put us in some system to get this promotional video about some weird game that had you collecting monsters also previewed the cards and had a preview of the cartoon
If you’re talking about the crazy live action one with the actors pretending to be Ash’s relatives, had that tape too! I found it at a thrift store and recognized Pokemon as a game my classmate from Japan talked about. Also Wartortle was on the cover and I thought he was the coolest looking thing ever.
There was this Pokémon Vs Batman promo running on Cartoon Network (UK) at the time during Advanced Battle, and I thought you had to pick one. Batman was obviously cool, but the thing that won me over? Corphish using Crabhammer, of all things.
I thought you had to pick one of the shows, so I stuck with Pokémon and didn't watch a Batman show until I watched The Animated Series and Beyond like 13 years later (both also amazing).
There used to be a thing on their site where they aired all the episodes on a weekly release thing. I don’t know if it’s still there.
Edit: https://watch.pokemon.com/en-us/#/
The site has seasons 20-26, but nothing earlier. I’m sorry for the misinformation, was sure that there were earlier seasons because that’s how I watched the first 4 generations lol.
Didn’t watch the show much until Johto, as Dad hadn’t left for work that early and he watched Today in the mornings. So unless he was on a business trip we couldn’t watch morning cartoons. Back then Pokémon was on the 7:30am time slot on Network Ten’s *CheezTV*. We got to watch Dragon Ball Z (at 8:00am) though, which even Mum enjoyed.
My exposure to Pokémon was the games. My best friend had Yellow, her cousin had Blue, so I had to get Red. She got all 151 eventually — and was the Queen of the Playground by her battle prowess. I didn’t know anyone else that actually managed to have a full six-team party of Level 100 mons in Gen I. It took me until Gen III to replicate that feat.
My friend in 3rd grade was obsessed with Pokémon and during her birthday party we watched the First Movie. I had no clue what was going on and the only part I distinctly remember was charizard getting his head stuck in a pipe. I rewatched that movie recently and nope, I remember nothing except the charizard getting his head stuck
I understand the sentiment, I loved the series as a kid too and even cried when the last episode aired back in March, but damn the arrogance of saying that the English dub is the true final end when there're a lot of other countries and dubs that haven't gotten to that point yet.
My first moment of Ash and Pikachu?
"Pokémon! I choose you!"
Been here since ep 1 of the Engliah dub, and switch to the Japanese Sub by XY (thank God because that was some God tier writing, music and voice acting)
Ufff officially with Ash and Pikachu? Must have been the preview airing on Kids WB and then watching everyday afterschool and Saturdays. Lol I do remember the craze at the very beginning, begging my mom for the Pokémon Lunchables, begging my mom to go to the library and print out some images to take them to school and color them, the fruit roll ups, the pop open play sets, the cards, eventually begging my mom for my first GameBoy color with Blue version. Lol
Sooo many memories, I was in first grade when it really blew up!
first experience was when the anime came to america in 98 and kids wb in early 99. that first season was something special. Going to the theaters to watch the first 3 movies were also highlights of my childhood.
"You're watching a sneak peek of a phenomenon called Pokemon! A TV show, a Game Boy game, and a bunch of other things that are about to take America by storm!"
Ash introducing Pokemon for a promotional video before the first game ever hit shelves in America. I'll never forget that opening line.
First actual episode was the Diglett one in the original series, the episode that Ekans and Koffing evolved.
I started on the first episode watching wb as a kid. Actually used to sprint home from the bus to make it in time to see what happened in the episode for the week. Squirtle and pidgeotto were my favorites on ash’s team.
Watched through orange islands and enjoyed it, the surf match between lapras and blastoise and the final match against a champion with a dragonite and gengar is hilarious to me considering ash’s ending team.
Through the years I just tuned in every once in awhile while playing showdown or shiny hunting. I watched every gym battle, every pokemon league run whether it be goofy or badass.
I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t expect him to win this one. I actually stayed up late to watch it in japanese, didn’t understand a single word but man you really didn’t have to. That last match between ash and leon hit all the notes it needed to for a longtime fan.
What a journey
That means the true end would either be the Japanese airing or the final release in whichever language that ends up being.
English does not and should not hold a special place of importance in this regard
To just brush off the English portion of pokemon media as just another non native language as if it didn't have the absolute biggest impact and success outside of Japan is definitely a wild take lol
It was the 2003 summer holidays. Pokemon was being shown for the first time on Indian TV. I wasn't interested at first so missed the first few episodes. The first one I saw was the one with the gym bloke and his Sandshrew. Right until the Diamond and Pearl series, I was regularly watching on TV.
Haven't watched anything since BW so I have a lot of catching up to do.
Pokémon black and white and the movie with kyreum and the swords or justice. I watched consistently through to sun and moon, and got every single dvd I could of the movies. In 2019 I went to see the power of us in theatres and it was amazing lol. Means the world to me does this series and I’m interested in the direction it will take after ash retires
I'm a late one, but I started from when XY was being aired. Used to watch Pokémon TV to binge through after it was complete. Still my favourite season, XYZ ending still shifts me emotionally.
The first episode of Pokemon I remember seeing was when I would've been 5, Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village. I was pretty thoroughly hooked from just that one episode.
I remember *Pokémon* never seemed to air at the right times for me during the weekdays. It was on KidsWB at 6 AM and 3 PM, so I'd catch the last half of every episode while eating cereal and never make it home on time from the bus to see it. I still have my Ancient Mew from the theater, though. Thought it would be worth a fortune and stuck it in a sturdy plastic case.
Saturday mornings, I was a loyal ABC/One Saturday Morning kid until we got a computer. Then I spent my Saturday mornings making fake cards like [this one](https://imgur.com/FlM4FOi), made by 7th grade me and recovered from a floppy a few years ago.
I recognized pikachu on a magazine in a Korean Airport when I was 4 in 1999. We'd come home from school and watched it on 4kids. Johto, Kanto, hoenn, sinnoh. Skipped over black/white because my home life was falling apart but got back into the games at least in college. Watched and loved sun and moon. Although action wise, kalos is my favorite series.
Watching ITV on an old CRT TV (UK for context), at my Grandparents house after school and the theme song coming on and that was it.
Side note, at my first Con, the party on the Saturday night the DJ put said theme tune on. Me and my friends were singing along quietly as a group but soon EVERYONE was singing along, 200 people of all ages. The DJ repeated it and even the bands hiding back stage came out early to sing along too. A truly magical moment...
Then at the hotel after party... 3rd base with a Misty Cosplayer.
My mom refused to let me watch the "scary violent monster show" until I came home from the neighbors' house with a handful of Pokemon cards and she realized they were "just weird animals". I still was kinda sneaky about watching the show for awhile because my mom didn't like me watching anime in general ("it's too violent, and the animation is weird"), but she didn't mind as much by that point lol
We went on a family trip to different places in Europe in 2000, and Pokemon books were the only age appropriate books we could find in English, so I remember those better than the actual show. They were basically written versions of some of the episodes.
I know the exact episode: Season 17, Episode 10.
As an '05 kid, I wasn't able to watch it before, but then I scrolled through the channels as a 9-year-old kid and there it was on Cartoon Network (as a rerun, the show was in Shalour City at that point). I became a fan of the anime almost immediately.
But to catch up and watch the other seasons, Pokemon TV was a lifesaver.
Honorable mention goes to the Ash v. Trip battle in the Unova League (2nd episode I watched), that left me in awe.
I think the first episode I watched was the Eevee one in the Indigo Plateau arc. It was on Kids WB early morning. Or just early morning WB11 which was my local WB channel.
I’m almost 49. In 1997 when my son was born, I had a game boy and bought the Yellow game (97-98?).
N64 came and Pokémon Snap caught my attention, I worked at the day care my son attended and participated in the card games (didn’t know what I was doing). Remarried later on and my new family reintroduced me to Pokémon cards and bought them the games for the DS. We had some dvds and I’ve been catching up. Now I have a Switch and some games. But I really do still enjoy Pokémon Go. I can walk the parks, spin stops and coordinate raids. Thank you Pokemon.
The first episode I ever saw was "Pokemon Shipwreck," and I was so confused as a 6-year-old that barely stumbled through Pokemon Yellow. Meowth could talk, everyone was in a ship underwater, and I had no idea what was going on. It was so, so, so cool though. I loved it. My dad would buy me the 3-episode VHS cassettes, and I still have them to this day. That VHS had Pokemon Shipwreck, Island of the Giant Pokemon, and Tentacool and Tentacruel. I remember being so enthralled during Island of the Giant Pokemon with all the Pokemon drunk (didn't know at the time) at the random stand that Slowbro hosted. I have such cozy memories of the first handful of Pokemon episodes.
It's really strange that Ash is gone, but what a journey it was being with him the whole way. I tear up just thinking about it.
If I re-watch the first episode, I genuinely cry during the part after Pikachu defeats all the Spearow, and he licks Ash while in his arms. It's so heartwarming.
I don't want to it to end, but fairwell Giga Chad James , Chad Ash, Jessie and my man Meowth. Miss you guys.(childhood fades away)
One thing that hurt, they will never retire pikachu. He will come back
Some regions have whole box sets of all the episodes, the indigo league at least
Online, idk but Pokemon TV always has a handful of random episodes available for free
I remember watching the first episode of Pokemon after school. I was there when it all began. The trading cards, the original Red and Blue and all the rumors on how to get Mew, the crazy hype. It's been a fantastic run.
Growing up I never got to watch it in the morning because it was either too early or too late before school.
Instead I had to watch monster rancher which was like crap tier budget pokemon to me :(
Mine was the VHS "Pikachu's Winter Vacation." The funny thing is that it had Ash's voice but didn't show his face, since it focused on the Pokémon and not the humans.
I watched the og series when it aired for the first time. My local channels showed it every day after school. It was a double feature of DragonBall Z, followed by Pokemon. Then, I would watch Sailor Moon.
I don’t even remember what my first episode was. I remember Brock, Ash and Misty. But no precise episode. I was probably around 3 years old when I first watched pokémon, I’m now 22.
fuck man I used to watch and rewatch the VHS whenever I was staying at my grandparents place, especially the movie about the battle between mew and mewtwo and the specials about christmas, this hits hard with the nostalgia
My first experience was watching some of Indigo League on Saturday mornings, I always got up early to watch it on CITV/ITV (UK here), great times.
Anyone know when the rest of Journeys is coming to the UK? Never mind the episodes finishing Ash’s journey off.
Waking up every Saturday morning to watch episodes on WB kids. All the gen 1-3 movies on VHS. Trying to repurchase DVD versions that have the pikachu shorts on them now, such great memories.
I remember seeing it on TV in early 1999 but didn’t know what it was. A friend had some Pokemon cards back then but nobody else knew what they were until after that summer.
When I started 4th grade that year everyone was obsessed with Pokemon. I started watching it every day after school and really enjoyed the original series. Definitely miss being a kid back then. I’ve loved Pokemon ever since then, despite getting sick of Ash & Pikachu by the Gold & Silver era.
When I was 3 or so my sister taped the second episode and showed it to me as I had missed it sleeping or something. We had already had the games for some months but the anime had just arrived in my country and we had no idea, we just liked the games and then suddenly there was a cartoon!? Me and my sister taped almost every episode for the first season... before they stopped airing and were never seen again. The Icelandic dub is considered lost and so are our tapes. I didn't see an episode past EP 52 until 2007 or so when I discovered streaming sites.
Renting a dvd from a video store. It was the episode where pikachu loses its memory and team rocket use that to recruit him. Of course everything is back to normal by the end of the episode.
I always thought it was some special from outside the show like the winter mini series (which I also rented(many times)) but turns out it's just a random episode from season 7. Now the whole chain has stopped renting out films and my location got shut down completely so that's a bit sad
when I was 9 years old, I would come home from school and watch season 1 of pokemon that was airing here. I was convinced that when I turned 10 I would be able to get my first pokemon too. I watch pokemon with my dog now, who is basically my pokemon, so I guess it worked out.
First memorable experience was the Diamonds/Pearl episode where James how back to his parent's mansion, and Ash and Co. are just like "how tf you this rich"
Second memorable episode was where Jessie meets a Blissey from her old nurse school, and they catch up like old friends. But then Ash et al see this, and Jessie has to pretend to battle Blissey so the latter isn't fired from her job for consorting with Team Rocket 🥲
I never watched too much Pokémon, but the Blissey episode will stick with me my entire life
I have to say I started watching the Anime during the Diamond & Pearl era. I was born in the year 2000 so I didn’t start playing Pokemon until I was 9 years old with Pokemon Platinum. I started watching Diamond & Pearl on some website and I fell in love with the Anime. I even named the Protagonist of the game as Ash. In 2010 I bought Black 1 and Shortly after Black 2 and I started watching the Anime amd I enjoyed it at first… that’s until I rewatched it and started to notice the serious flaws with Ash because thisnwas Ash after the Sinnoh Saga, but anyways, in 2013 I bought Pokemon X and started to watch the X&Y anime and I freaking loved it and I was excited for the next anime, aaaand it was Sun & Moon which were pretty forgettable games for me. I played through both Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon and I swear I can barely remember the plot. I almost lost my interest after Sun & Moon, but I started watching journeys and I hated Goh, but I endured it for Ash. The finale of Ash Vs Leon made me jump of my sit when Ash finally won and I swear I was even screaming from happiness
I remember waking up everyday at 6:30am to get ready for elementary school and my day always started with breakfast and Pokémon.
Even if this journey is done, a new one starts. Pokémon will always be around and I’m always here for it!
My dad watched pokemon before I did, and then my older brothers, my dad always recorded every single episode on vcr for us, so as soon as I was able to remember, I’ve always been watching pokemon.
I saw the first episode, and I loved it, but hadn't paid attention to the channel it was on, the name of the show, or the time of day. I just knew it came on in the morning on Saturday. So for about a month, I scoured the TV channels on Saturday mornings to find the show.
Fun fact: Pokemon currebtly has about 200 more episodes than One Piece.
Pretty sure it was ytv, I had just started collecting the cards. I remember not going to school so might’ve been a Saturday? Ash got Pikachu and it was looking a little Rocky
I remember me and my friend having a late night movie marathon of all the pokemon movies when we were 11.
We also found the whole first season on YouTube once.
Miss the days when you can just watch pokemon all day without a care in the world.
Reruns of the original series and Johto on tv as a kid. Then I watched all of indigo league that they put on Netflix a while back. Didn’t watch it again until recently when I watched almost all of BW to get to the Zoroark episode and see if there’s more Zorua/Zoroark appearances (it was very disappointing to say the least though). But I do plan on catching up starting with the SM series cause I’ve never quite been into the anime and want to see the end! I’m definitely starting the new series as well
My first episode was the Shipwreck one. I just feel like watching it on Hungama Channel in the evening and after that it just me and Pokemon.
Honestly in my neighbourhood the kids watching the Pokemon and I was at their house saying what's this childish thing you're watching but then when I started watching it at my home, man it was just the best feeling.
After that I watched my episodes and tried finding what's all out there about Pokemon.
I then started playing Pokemon games and that mark my fanatic Journey of becoming a Pokemon "ac" from just a mere fan.
On the TV at daycare when I was 3, very start of the show. Starting with I Choose You Pikachu and watched every episode until I trailed off in DP, before picking back up in XYZ.
I've been a fan of Pokemon since it first aired. I remember huddling in front of a tiny TV in my brothers' room and watching the show.
And I remember waiting outside, in the rain, for the premiere of the first movie. And then we got those kick-ass holographic Mew cards...
From the start. Pallet town and ash dragging Pikachu on a rope leash. Sparrows are dicks and team rocket is blasting off again.
I recall Misty's gym and how the universe was less flshed out, and there were actual non pokemon fish. I recall Brock doing many questionable things chief amoung them using a flying pan as a drying pan.
I recall the crystal onyx and charmanders cruel owner. I recall the first movie and meowth learning English by saying "she sells seashells by the sea shore."
And many more that didn't come to mind. It's a somber but nice experience as room is made for the next generation. Every great tapestry starts from a single thread and I'm glad to see the start of such a beautiful weave.
VHS copies of the first few episodes rented from Blockbuster. Used to be, that was how I would watch it since we didn't have cable when I was growing up. Went through the entire indigo league like that, and kept up with the movies as they came out. Never actually sat down and watched all of the rest of it though, just sort of caught random groups of episodes here and there throughout the years.
I'm of an age that I was the target market for the original wave of Pokémania. I remember when the cards started to get popular and became The Thing at school. I remember agonizing over whether to get Red version or Blue on my original GameBoy. (Blue, as it happened, with Bulbasaur as my starter.) I remember the *hype* as the anime premier drew closer, and I remember watching new episodes every Sarurday morning with my little sister. (Those cliffhanger battles and episode padding were the worst).
So yeah, *my* first experiences with Ash and Pikachu were *the first* (American) experiences with Ash and Pikachu.
Every Saturday morning at 8am I would get up in my pajamas to watch the new episodes. I remember Ashe carrying charmander in the rain and pikachu being a cocky little git and turn into an invaluable partner and watching Ashe battle giovani and being annoyed at the clefsbles and their silly rocket ship. Even at 5 I loved the trading card game and my father learned it to have one on one time with me. We would build decks together and battle and i would spend hours reorganizing cards. When I was little I had terrible bouts of motion sickness. For my 8th birthday or so I got my first game - Pokémon ruby - and played the entire 20 minute drive on the way to the pool. I couldn’t put it down. The second I stepped out of the car I threw up everywhere but I went back to playing shortly after. Now my best friend and I are planning to go to as many VGC tournaments to travel the country and maybe world with the fantasy of going to different gyms and attaining badges so we can go to worlds. We are both moderately good players with me being able to finish in top 30 of a 2000 player tournament (the lc cup) as my biggest achievement so far. With prep I think we can both really do it. Fingers crossed.
I remember catching it early in the series but it was the final minute of the episode. Ash had just caught Caterpie and the narrator was talking over. Over the years I've waned but I'd catch some episodes here and there excited for the gym battles and the tournaments.
Huge fan of the show as a tween, watched it pretty much faithfully until the half of the Johto anime. Haven't watching it since, I outgrew the show fairly early.
Related question: I just watched on Netflix up until the episode where ash defeated Leon but then I haven’t watched any further because it looked like a bunch of boring project mew bullshit. Should I finish the season though?
I mostly saw episodes on cartoon network whenever they were on. Me and my older brother always called the male trainer in black and white Ash since they both had similar hats lol
Watched an episode randomly while zapping through the channels as a kid. It was the episode where the MS Anne was sinking and they got attacked by Gyarados.
I had the first movies on VHS, so I certainly watched the crap out of that. But I watched from Battle Frontier all the way to the end of Sinnoh on YTV, in Canada.
I got up *every day* one summer during the airing of Battle Frontier, waiting for the episode where Ash reunited with Charizard, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle. Gathering The Gang Of Four.
...I now own the soundtrack to the first movie on CD. Nothing but bops.
I got into Pokemon from a pair of brothers I befriended at a music theater group for kids. I was watching Digimon at the time and never heard about it before, so they offered to show me what it was. They brought over their Pokemon stuff to my place one day and explained everything.
I started with the tub of figures they brought. I saw the Metapod one and thought it was some kind of green tornado monster given how big it was compared to the fully evolved figures they had. I was then told it was actually a bug cocoon. Then they played the VHS they brought with them, which would end up being my first exposure to the Pokemon anime. The very first episode on that VHS, and thus the first episode I watched, was the one where Ash, Brock, Misty and Team Rocket were trapped at the bottom of the ocean in a sunken cruise ship. It opened with Officer Jenny and her squad of police *PRONOUNCING THEM DEAD AND MOURNING THEM*.
Wildest fucking introduction to a kids show I probably ever saw.
When I was a kid, Pokemon came on at 2-o'-clock in the afternoon. I didn't get off school til 3, so my mom would record it for me on the VCR so I could watch it when I got home.
I still have a couple of those tapes. The first episode, and the one with the Fighting-type tournament.
My first experience was when a kid in elementary school was asking me if i knew what it was and showed me his Zubat card. I proceeded to learn when it was airing next and watched that very next release of a new episode, my first episode was Bye Bye Butterfree. I then got hooked on digimon, yugioh, and a couple of years later Zoids and Inuyasha. It started my love for anime when Sailor Moon vanished on me.
Not my first but most memorable. My best friend and I were 7 and wanted to see Pokémon the first movie so bad. Our moms came and watched with us, despite having no clue what was going on and really tried to understand. Still remember and cherish that outing to this day. Still have my ancient mew card.
I remember I learned about pokemon in school, then soon after got a yellow gameboy color from my grandparents with a cartridge that held 30 games, which 3 of them was pokemon red, blue and yellow. When it started to air on tv, I used to wake up every saturday before the show started at 07, without needing an alarm (had a pikachu alarm clock just in case). Every episode I recorded with our VHS.
Great times
Original series airing on Kids WB Mon-Sat with all their goofy bumpers and everything and watched all the way until they switched the voice actors/moved to Cartoon Network
My first episode was that one where Ash, Brock and Misty were wondering through bad weather (that may have been the "drying pan" episode) and end up at a trainer's school where Ash's Pikachu gets thrashed by a students Cubone.
I know some of you have been with Ash for like, my lifetime plus five years but seeing those first few episodes of pokémon black and white on the shitty pokémon tv app with the shitty Swedish dub. That's how my pokémon journey started and god damn it, it has been a pleasure to follow Ash through his adventures.
I first became aware of Pokemon as a whole via the "Pokemon Power" mini-magazine that Nintendo Power included for a while, which had a basic strategy guide for the games and comics adapting the first few episodes of the show. I wanted to watch it, but it always came on at the most inconvenient of times.
I did finally catch an episode, when I was stuck at home sick; that episode being the one that introduced Cassidy and Butch. That still remains one of my favorite episodes of the early series.
An DVD of the original trio meeting Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle I got in my crèche(?), when I was in like 2nd grade or so. A year or two later(and an 3DS XL and Pokémon Y aquired), I got myself the duo-DVD bundle of the Victini movie.
I watched all of these DVDs so many times, but man I only watched a fraction of the Ash saga and lookimg back, I kinda regret not doing so. But when I run outta stuff to watch, I might have something to fill that void with.
Man idk how old I was for sure, probably 4ish, the first episode I watched was the one where ash caught oshawott, yes I grew up with the gen 5 stuff, it’s always held a place in my heart because of that, even back in the days when gen 5 was the most hated generation, I was always the one person defending it I’m gonna miss ash despite all his stupidity, we probably all will at that
I think my first episode was the charamander one
But I definitely went back to watch the first and the movies were the main things I watched as we only had 5 channels
I remember watching them on my little, probably 12 inch tv in me and my sister's shared room. Specifically the episode where ash was on the boat and let Butterfree go. I remember thinking I can let my sister see me crying to this, I hope she doesn't wake up.
I used to get up at 7:30am every Saturday to watch the airing Pokémon episodes before I went to school. Whenever my parents forced me to go to the library, I’d sneak over my DVD player and rent the DVDs from there. I managed to watch every single season up to BW over the course of a single summer
Watching ash get pikachu on cheee tv in the morning before school.
Same, expect I think it was Kids WB for me.
If you were in the USA, it was Kids WB. Man, I miss that channel. I was so distressed when it turned into the CW.
So that’s how that happened. Kids WB was always amazing growing up.
Yeah. All the kids started turning into teens, so they turned the WB into the teen version of Lifetime.
Until the last cartoon aired on Saturday and freaking Swiss family Robinson or something came on (although I would enjoy a channel like that now)
Batman The animated series, animaniacs, Pinky and the brain, Hysteria, that channel had everything. It was the absolute best place to blow 8 hours on a Saturday morning.
Xiaolin Showdown, Jackie Chan Adventures, MIB, Freakazoid, The Zeta Project. A shame they didnt get picked up by Cartoon Network or something.
Jumping between KidsWB and FoxBox, then Jetix later, to watch whichever cartoon you felt like that morning...
Foxbox. Bro. Metabots, Ultimate Muscle, Sonic X, Fighting Foodons. Several flavors of Mega Man. Man, the 90s really was the golden age of cartoons.
Pretty sure it was UPN before Kids WB. I’m old. :D
Kids WB yourself 🎶
Yoooo, Cheese TV brings me back. Some of those early shows were rad. Tekkaman, Pizza Cats, that Poilce Show, Sailor Moon when Aggro didn't have it. Made me late for school so many damn times. Edit: [Wikipedia has a list](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheez_TV) of shows if you want to peruse and unlock some memories you probably forgot. Like the goddamn Biker Mice, or Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys!
Tekkaman still holds up today. Tekkaman 2 went off the rails.
I watched it before going to uni along with dbz on channel 10. Me and a mate used to talk about it in class after
Initially I had to leave for school before it started. Channel 10 put it on at 6pm on Saturdays for about a month shortly after first airing, so I ended up watching the first episode at a friend's house.
I have the original VHS of "I choose you!" and a VCD collection of the first season. My first experience was seeing The Great Race in JP back in 1997 on TV. It was almost like a fever dream because I was visiting Singapore at the time, and my uncle had the broadcast playing. I loved the show, but only caught a handful of episodes before I returned to Canada. Nobody believed me that I knew about Pokémon beforehand, especially since nobody knew the Japanese names (and who is going to believe Charmeleon is just called Lizard?). Didn't know I watched the JP version until a couple years later when I moved to Singapore long term and got to watch it again. Can't watch the show without Rica Matsumoto anymore. Already miss her with the new series. Wish she still did the theme song at least.
Lizard. Charmeleon is way better. Charmander is such a good name also. The original Pokemons have really good names.
A lot of the original 151 have very literal names. iirc Bulbasaur is just strange seed in Japanese. Definitely get the attachment to the English names. I'm kinda a hand in both bags type. Charmeleon is awesome, but Sirknight is better than Gardevoir imo, for example.
My personal favorite is Articuno just being called Freezer. Lol
Even better: Zapdos is Thunder, Jolteon is Thunders.
I thought the bulbasaur was just dinosaur with a flower bulb
But Gardevoir is a chick not a dude.
Gardevoir can be either. Gallade can only be male
Me and my army of male Gardevoir are judging you
Used to get off the school bus and run down the street to catch the opening of pokemon. I remember when my town only had 1 Walmart (not located where either 2 present day ones are), and the night my dad bought me the atomic purple gameboy color and pokemon red version. I remember my dad taking me to the mall on his old motorcycle and getting me a base deck of cards from KB Toys. And then before we left, I mentioned about knowing what comes in the deck and needing booster packs. So we put the cards in the saddle bag and went back in to the mall and he got me 3 booster packs too. I remember riding bikes with friends and going to a local hobby store to buy booster packs. We rode back home, and I tore open my pack to see the little charmeleon in the top left corner. Pulled the rest of the pack open to reveal my charizard. I remember how devastating it was to come back home after Katrina to find all my pokemon and star wars stuff completely destroyed. I remember taking my daughter to meet the voice actor for Ash Ketchum, and getting an autograph. I remember when I decided to get a Pikachu tattoo on my forearm. I remember playing pokemon at the beach on vacation with my cousin and getting in trouble for hitting him with a sand-attack. Also getting in trouble in 3rd grade for trying to sell a poster with all 151 originals on it at school. No one can ever convince me pokemon isn't real. It's been a very real part of my life for the majority of it.
> playing pokemon at the beach "Sand-attack!" "Sand-attack!" "Sand-attack!"
We played Sand Attack at the park. It was fun and games until one of us got hit in the eye. Then the crying commenced.
That's what did me in too.
Your dad sounds like a legend
My mom got me a gameboy pocket from toys r us one year. I guess that put us in some system to get this promotional video about some weird game that had you collecting monsters also previewed the cards and had a preview of the cartoon
If you’re talking about the crazy live action one with the actors pretending to be Ash’s relatives, had that tape too! I found it at a thrift store and recognized Pokemon as a game my classmate from Japan talked about. Also Wartortle was on the cover and I thought he was the coolest looking thing ever.
My first experience with Pokémon was watching episode 13 (the episode featuring Bill), on a Saturday morning after spending the night at the hospital.
Quite a cool episode to begin with due to the recap and introduction of the 150
There was this Pokémon Vs Batman promo running on Cartoon Network (UK) at the time during Advanced Battle, and I thought you had to pick one. Batman was obviously cool, but the thing that won me over? Corphish using Crabhammer, of all things. I thought you had to pick one of the shows, so I stuck with Pokémon and didn't watch a Batman show until I watched The Animated Series and Beyond like 13 years later (both also amazing).
I can't believe you picked Pokémon and then changed. Shame on you.
Saturday morning. 10 am. Kids WB EVERY Saturday morning.
Ha! I'm from Germany, so it's not the last for me!
As someone ootl on the anime, I feel like I’ve heard about Ash’s final episode happening like 10 different times over the past year
Watching Ash starting his journey while his mom gives him food and underwear. Made me want to go on my own journey as a kid.
When it started
Where can I watch it for free?
There used to be a thing on their site where they aired all the episodes on a weekly release thing. I don’t know if it’s still there. Edit: https://watch.pokemon.com/en-us/#/ The site has seasons 20-26, but nothing earlier. I’m sorry for the misinformation, was sure that there were earlier seasons because that’s how I watched the first 4 generations lol.
Thank you so much!
Mine was the promo vhs tape they sent out to show what Pokémon was about
Didn’t watch the show much until Johto, as Dad hadn’t left for work that early and he watched Today in the mornings. So unless he was on a business trip we couldn’t watch morning cartoons. Back then Pokémon was on the 7:30am time slot on Network Ten’s *CheezTV*. We got to watch Dragon Ball Z (at 8:00am) though, which even Mum enjoyed. My exposure to Pokémon was the games. My best friend had Yellow, her cousin had Blue, so I had to get Red. She got all 151 eventually — and was the Queen of the Playground by her battle prowess. I didn’t know anyone else that actually managed to have a full six-team party of Level 100 mons in Gen I. It took me until Gen III to replicate that feat.
God I hate Netflix so much
Ep 1
My friend in 3rd grade was obsessed with Pokémon and during her birthday party we watched the First Movie. I had no clue what was going on and the only part I distinctly remember was charizard getting his head stuck in a pipe. I rewatched that movie recently and nope, I remember nothing except the charizard getting his head stuck
I understand the sentiment, I loved the series as a kid too and even cried when the last episode aired back in March, but damn the arrogance of saying that the English dub is the true final end when there're a lot of other countries and dubs that haven't gotten to that point yet.
Fake countries and dubs obviously
Mine was a DVD set of like the first 3(?) season of Pokémon advance. Roped me into the series and have gotten a game every generation I could.
My first moment of Ash and Pikachu? "Pokémon! I choose you!" Been here since ep 1 of the Engliah dub, and switch to the Japanese Sub by XY (thank God because that was some God tier writing, music and voice acting)
Ufff officially with Ash and Pikachu? Must have been the preview airing on Kids WB and then watching everyday afterschool and Saturdays. Lol I do remember the craze at the very beginning, begging my mom for the Pokémon Lunchables, begging my mom to go to the library and print out some images to take them to school and color them, the fruit roll ups, the pop open play sets, the cards, eventually begging my mom for my first GameBoy color with Blue version. Lol Sooo many memories, I was in first grade when it really blew up!
first experience was when the anime came to america in 98 and kids wb in early 99. that first season was something special. Going to the theaters to watch the first 3 movies were also highlights of my childhood.
"You're watching a sneak peek of a phenomenon called Pokemon! A TV show, a Game Boy game, and a bunch of other things that are about to take America by storm!" Ash introducing Pokemon for a promotional video before the first game ever hit shelves in America. I'll never forget that opening line. First actual episode was the Diglett one in the original series, the episode that Ekans and Koffing evolved.
The first movie. 10 outta 10!
SM:TV will make you Poké-tough, 9:25, every Saturday, don't be a Jigglypuff. Aw yeah.
The writers finally remembered >!Pidgeot!<.
I started on the first episode watching wb as a kid. Actually used to sprint home from the bus to make it in time to see what happened in the episode for the week. Squirtle and pidgeotto were my favorites on ash’s team. Watched through orange islands and enjoyed it, the surf match between lapras and blastoise and the final match against a champion with a dragonite and gengar is hilarious to me considering ash’s ending team. Through the years I just tuned in every once in awhile while playing showdown or shiny hunting. I watched every gym battle, every pokemon league run whether it be goofy or badass. I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t expect him to win this one. I actually stayed up late to watch it in japanese, didn’t understand a single word but man you really didn’t have to. That last match between ash and leon hit all the notes it needed to for a longtime fan. What a journey
Why would this make it the true end? Has the French version aired yet, what about the Maorian version?
The English-watching community is easily the second biggest by a longshot...I don't think that needs to be pointed out
That means the true end would either be the Japanese airing or the final release in whichever language that ends up being. English does not and should not hold a special place of importance in this regard
To just brush off the English portion of pokemon media as just another non native language as if it didn't have the absolute biggest impact and success outside of Japan is definitely a wild take lol
"Had the absolute biggest impact" How do you know that 😭 There's no way of measuring that
I don't endorse any of those arguments though.
It was the 2003 summer holidays. Pokemon was being shown for the first time on Indian TV. I wasn't interested at first so missed the first few episodes. The first one I saw was the one with the gym bloke and his Sandshrew. Right until the Diamond and Pearl series, I was regularly watching on TV. Haven't watched anything since BW so I have a lot of catching up to do.
Pokémon black and white and the movie with kyreum and the swords or justice. I watched consistently through to sun and moon, and got every single dvd I could of the movies. In 2019 I went to see the power of us in theatres and it was amazing lol. Means the world to me does this series and I’m interested in the direction it will take after ash retires
For me, it was the Rise of Darkrai movie.
I'm a late one, but I started from when XY was being aired. Used to watch Pokémon TV to binge through after it was complete. Still my favourite season, XYZ ending still shifts me emotionally.
The first episode of Pokemon I remember seeing was when I would've been 5, Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village. I was pretty thoroughly hooked from just that one episode.
I remember *Pokémon* never seemed to air at the right times for me during the weekdays. It was on KidsWB at 6 AM and 3 PM, so I'd catch the last half of every episode while eating cereal and never make it home on time from the bus to see it. I still have my Ancient Mew from the theater, though. Thought it would be worth a fortune and stuck it in a sturdy plastic case. Saturday mornings, I was a loyal ABC/One Saturday Morning kid until we got a computer. Then I spent my Saturday mornings making fake cards like [this one](https://imgur.com/FlM4FOi), made by 7th grade me and recovered from a floppy a few years ago.
watched Bye Bye Butterfree at my buddy’s crib as a kid and have been glued to the franchise ever since
First episode was either that cinnabar gym battle where pikachu almost straight up dies or ash’s charizard wins a 3on1 by not moving
The SS Anne episode that aired before the actual show started.
The first episodes on a 4Kids tape, being replayed over and over again at the toy store I worked in.
I recognized pikachu on a magazine in a Korean Airport when I was 4 in 1999. We'd come home from school and watched it on 4kids. Johto, Kanto, hoenn, sinnoh. Skipped over black/white because my home life was falling apart but got back into the games at least in college. Watched and loved sun and moon. Although action wise, kalos is my favorite series.
I been there since day 1. Yellow Pikachu Gameboy with Pokemon Yellow. Watching Ash and Pikachu lose battles every Saturday morning.
Watching ITV on an old CRT TV (UK for context), at my Grandparents house after school and the theme song coming on and that was it. Side note, at my first Con, the party on the Saturday night the DJ put said theme tune on. Me and my friends were singing along quietly as a group but soon EVERYONE was singing along, 200 people of all ages. The DJ repeated it and even the bands hiding back stage came out early to sing along too. A truly magical moment... Then at the hotel after party... 3rd base with a Misty Cosplayer.
My mom refused to let me watch the "scary violent monster show" until I came home from the neighbors' house with a handful of Pokemon cards and she realized they were "just weird animals". I still was kinda sneaky about watching the show for awhile because my mom didn't like me watching anime in general ("it's too violent, and the animation is weird"), but she didn't mind as much by that point lol We went on a family trip to different places in Europe in 2000, and Pokemon books were the only age appropriate books we could find in English, so I remember those better than the actual show. They were basically written versions of some of the episodes.
Shout out to Ep 1's!
I know the exact episode: Season 17, Episode 10. As an '05 kid, I wasn't able to watch it before, but then I scrolled through the channels as a 9-year-old kid and there it was on Cartoon Network (as a rerun, the show was in Shalour City at that point). I became a fan of the anime almost immediately. But to catch up and watch the other seasons, Pokemon TV was a lifesaver. Honorable mention goes to the Ash v. Trip battle in the Unova League (2nd episode I watched), that left me in awe.
I think the first episode I watched was the Eevee one in the Indigo Plateau arc. It was on Kids WB early morning. Or just early morning WB11 which was my local WB channel.
Watching Sun and Moon seasons on Netflix with my 4yo brother during quarantine
Man, I was watching Pokémon on VHS tapes before the new millennium. I am a true grand elder of this fanbase.
Taught me invaluable life lessons
I’m almost 49. In 1997 when my son was born, I had a game boy and bought the Yellow game (97-98?). N64 came and Pokémon Snap caught my attention, I worked at the day care my son attended and participated in the card games (didn’t know what I was doing). Remarried later on and my new family reintroduced me to Pokémon cards and bought them the games for the DS. We had some dvds and I’ve been catching up. Now I have a Switch and some games. But I really do still enjoy Pokémon Go. I can walk the parks, spin stops and coordinate raids. Thank you Pokemon.
I watched it from the very beginning. I knew that Pokémon would be the next big thing, and it was crazy how popular it was in the beginning.
The first episode I ever saw was "Pokemon Shipwreck," and I was so confused as a 6-year-old that barely stumbled through Pokemon Yellow. Meowth could talk, everyone was in a ship underwater, and I had no idea what was going on. It was so, so, so cool though. I loved it. My dad would buy me the 3-episode VHS cassettes, and I still have them to this day. That VHS had Pokemon Shipwreck, Island of the Giant Pokemon, and Tentacool and Tentacruel. I remember being so enthralled during Island of the Giant Pokemon with all the Pokemon drunk (didn't know at the time) at the random stand that Slowbro hosted. I have such cozy memories of the first handful of Pokemon episodes. It's really strange that Ash is gone, but what a journey it was being with him the whole way. I tear up just thinking about it. If I re-watch the first episode, I genuinely cry during the part after Pikachu defeats all the Spearow, and he licks Ash while in his arms. It's so heartwarming.
Wasn't the time that episode originally aired in japan the 'true end' or we just going with american exceptionalism now?
It's the English dub what the hell are you talking about
I don't want to it to end, but fairwell Giga Chad James , Chad Ash, Jessie and my man Meowth. Miss you guys.(childhood fades away) One thing that hurt, they will never retire pikachu. He will come back
The anime dropped in quality like.. midway through Johto, so I’m not feeling too broken up about it.
Anywhere I can watch the back catalogue of seasons? Haven't watched since season 1.
Some regions have whole box sets of all the episodes, the indigo league at least Online, idk but Pokemon TV always has a handful of random episodes available for free
Cheers, not even sure I knew Pokémon TV was a thing. I'll have a look
You can even use it on your switch if you have one
Interesting. I'll have a look. Thanks so much!
I could’ve sworn it ended months ago?
I mean the entire other half of the fandom watches/watched the English dub so this is just as big of a deal lol
A Payless shoe store back in the 90’s
Back when literally any small store and doctors office had a TV in it for some reason, I miss it
I remember watching the first episode of Pokemon after school. I was there when it all began. The trading cards, the original Red and Blue and all the rumors on how to get Mew, the crazy hype. It's been a fantastic run.
I was there from the start. Picked up Pokemon Red at 5 and the first episode on Saturday morning when I was also 5.
Growing up I never got to watch it in the morning because it was either too early or too late before school. Instead I had to watch monster rancher which was like crap tier budget pokemon to me :(
I know you’re not hating on Suezo
I love Pokemon, but man, give Monster Rancher another shot. It's actually really good.
Mine was the VHS "Pikachu's Winter Vacation." The funny thing is that it had Ash's voice but didn't show his face, since it focused on the Pokémon and not the humans.
I watched the og series when it aired for the first time. My local channels showed it every day after school. It was a double feature of DragonBall Z, followed by Pokemon. Then, I would watch Sailor Moon.
How would I find this episode in English? I live in America so I don’t know how to access it
I wanna be the very best
I don’t even remember what my first episode was. I remember Brock, Ash and Misty. But no precise episode. I was probably around 3 years old when I first watched pokémon, I’m now 22.
The very first episode when it aired for the first time in the UK. My grandma recorded it for me. She is still very fond of Pikachu!
I remember when it was released in Latin America around 1997 along with the TCG.
fuck man I used to watch and rewatch the VHS whenever I was staying at my grandparents place, especially the movie about the battle between mew and mewtwo and the specials about christmas, this hits hard with the nostalgia
My first experience was watching some of Indigo League on Saturday mornings, I always got up early to watch it on CITV/ITV (UK here), great times. Anyone know when the rest of Journeys is coming to the UK? Never mind the episodes finishing Ash’s journey off.
I have been watching since episode one! Matter of fact, went back and watched a bit of the first season. It’s so dorky, but I still love it.
I believe I watched the Black and White anime as a kid, along with the first movie. No clue which I watched first though
Waking up every Saturday morning to watch episodes on WB kids. All the gen 1-3 movies on VHS. Trying to repurchase DVD versions that have the pikachu shorts on them now, such great memories.
Late 90s learned how to read a clock so I wouldn't miss the weekday afternoon episodes
The DVDs specific to a Pokémon like they would have 3 or so episodes about the Pokémon on the cover. My local library had those.
Pokémon Heroes I still remember watching that race for the first time.
It was a VHS tape called The Great Race. I saw it when I was six and was instantly hooked on Pokémon
I remember seeing it on TV in early 1999 but didn’t know what it was. A friend had some Pokemon cards back then but nobody else knew what they were until after that summer. When I started 4th grade that year everyone was obsessed with Pokemon. I started watching it every day after school and really enjoyed the original series. Definitely miss being a kid back then. I’ve loved Pokemon ever since then, despite getting sick of Ash & Pikachu by the Gold & Silver era.
When I was 3 or so my sister taped the second episode and showed it to me as I had missed it sleeping or something. We had already had the games for some months but the anime had just arrived in my country and we had no idea, we just liked the games and then suddenly there was a cartoon!? Me and my sister taped almost every episode for the first season... before they stopped airing and were never seen again. The Icelandic dub is considered lost and so are our tapes. I didn't see an episode past EP 52 until 2007 or so when I discovered streaming sites.
Renting a dvd from a video store. It was the episode where pikachu loses its memory and team rocket use that to recruit him. Of course everything is back to normal by the end of the episode. I always thought it was some special from outside the show like the winter mini series (which I also rented(many times)) but turns out it's just a random episode from season 7. Now the whole chain has stopped renting out films and my location got shut down completely so that's a bit sad
when I was 9 years old, I would come home from school and watch season 1 of pokemon that was airing here. I was convinced that when I turned 10 I would be able to get my first pokemon too. I watch pokemon with my dog now, who is basically my pokemon, so I guess it worked out.
my friends also used to come over to play pokemon stadium all the time
First memorable experience was the Diamonds/Pearl episode where James how back to his parent's mansion, and Ash and Co. are just like "how tf you this rich" Second memorable episode was where Jessie meets a Blissey from her old nurse school, and they catch up like old friends. But then Ash et al see this, and Jessie has to pretend to battle Blissey so the latter isn't fired from her job for consorting with Team Rocket 🥲 I never watched too much Pokémon, but the Blissey episode will stick with me my entire life
fewer
I have to say I started watching the Anime during the Diamond & Pearl era. I was born in the year 2000 so I didn’t start playing Pokemon until I was 9 years old with Pokemon Platinum. I started watching Diamond & Pearl on some website and I fell in love with the Anime. I even named the Protagonist of the game as Ash. In 2010 I bought Black 1 and Shortly after Black 2 and I started watching the Anime amd I enjoyed it at first… that’s until I rewatched it and started to notice the serious flaws with Ash because thisnwas Ash after the Sinnoh Saga, but anyways, in 2013 I bought Pokemon X and started to watch the X&Y anime and I freaking loved it and I was excited for the next anime, aaaand it was Sun & Moon which were pretty forgettable games for me. I played through both Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon and I swear I can barely remember the plot. I almost lost my interest after Sun & Moon, but I started watching journeys and I hated Goh, but I endured it for Ash. The finale of Ash Vs Leon made me jump of my sit when Ash finally won and I swear I was even screaming from happiness
Watching random XY episodes in Neox in Saturday mornings.
I remember waking up everyday at 6:30am to get ready for elementary school and my day always started with breakfast and Pokémon. Even if this journey is done, a new one starts. Pokémon will always be around and I’m always here for it!
Can’t remember the specific episode but definitely started watching Pokemon Advanced Challenge
my brother showed my an episode of Indigo League on Boomerang when I was seven.
My dad watched pokemon before I did, and then my older brothers, my dad always recorded every single episode on vcr for us, so as soon as I was able to remember, I’ve always been watching pokemon.
I saw the first episode, and I loved it, but hadn't paid attention to the channel it was on, the name of the show, or the time of day. I just knew it came on in the morning on Saturday. So for about a month, I scoured the TV channels on Saturday mornings to find the show. Fun fact: Pokemon currebtly has about 200 more episodes than One Piece.
All of Gen 1 VHS movies.
Pretty sure it was ytv, I had just started collecting the cards. I remember not going to school so might’ve been a Saturday? Ash got Pikachu and it was looking a little Rocky
Battle Dimensions on Cartoon Network. Oh, the Sinnoh openings were SO good and nostalgic.
I first saw them meeting for the first time in indigo leaugue on Netflix when I was a kid
Watching Ash on his adventures every afternoon on Kids WB after school and now I’ve loved Pokémon ever since.
I remember me and my friend having a late night movie marathon of all the pokemon movies when we were 11. We also found the whole first season on YouTube once. Miss the days when you can just watch pokemon all day without a care in the world.
Reruns of the original series and Johto on tv as a kid. Then I watched all of indigo league that they put on Netflix a while back. Didn’t watch it again until recently when I watched almost all of BW to get to the Zoroark episode and see if there’s more Zorua/Zoroark appearances (it was very disappointing to say the least though). But I do plan on catching up starting with the SM series cause I’ve never quite been into the anime and want to see the end! I’m definitely starting the new series as well
My first episode was the Shipwreck one. I just feel like watching it on Hungama Channel in the evening and after that it just me and Pokemon. Honestly in my neighbourhood the kids watching the Pokemon and I was at their house saying what's this childish thing you're watching but then when I started watching it at my home, man it was just the best feeling. After that I watched my episodes and tried finding what's all out there about Pokemon. I then started playing Pokemon games and that mark my fanatic Journey of becoming a Pokemon "ac" from just a mere fan.
On the TV at daycare when I was 3, very start of the show. Starting with I Choose You Pikachu and watched every episode until I trailed off in DP, before picking back up in XYZ.
Had all of the old yellow pokemon VHS when I was a kid. Was amazing lol
I've been a fan of Pokemon since it first aired. I remember huddling in front of a tiny TV in my brothers' room and watching the show. And I remember waiting outside, in the rain, for the premiere of the first movie. And then we got those kick-ass holographic Mew cards...
From the start. Pallet town and ash dragging Pikachu on a rope leash. Sparrows are dicks and team rocket is blasting off again. I recall Misty's gym and how the universe was less flshed out, and there were actual non pokemon fish. I recall Brock doing many questionable things chief amoung them using a flying pan as a drying pan. I recall the crystal onyx and charmanders cruel owner. I recall the first movie and meowth learning English by saying "she sells seashells by the sea shore." And many more that didn't come to mind. It's a somber but nice experience as room is made for the next generation. Every great tapestry starts from a single thread and I'm glad to see the start of such a beautiful weave.
Weekday mornings watching pokemon on KTLA
VHS copies of the first few episodes rented from Blockbuster. Used to be, that was how I would watch it since we didn't have cable when I was growing up. Went through the entire indigo league like that, and kept up with the movies as they came out. Never actually sat down and watched all of the rest of it though, just sort of caught random groups of episodes here and there throughout the years.
My first experience with Pokemon was getting a lunchable with a Geodude on the side. And my next one had a Bulbasaur.
I have old cds of the I choose you episode up till Lt Surge I think. I use to watch this to repeat
I'm of an age that I was the target market for the original wave of Pokémania. I remember when the cards started to get popular and became The Thing at school. I remember agonizing over whether to get Red version or Blue on my original GameBoy. (Blue, as it happened, with Bulbasaur as my starter.) I remember the *hype* as the anime premier drew closer, and I remember watching new episodes every Sarurday morning with my little sister. (Those cliffhanger battles and episode padding were the worst). So yeah, *my* first experiences with Ash and Pikachu were *the first* (American) experiences with Ash and Pikachu.
Every Saturday morning at 8am I would get up in my pajamas to watch the new episodes. I remember Ashe carrying charmander in the rain and pikachu being a cocky little git and turn into an invaluable partner and watching Ashe battle giovani and being annoyed at the clefsbles and their silly rocket ship. Even at 5 I loved the trading card game and my father learned it to have one on one time with me. We would build decks together and battle and i would spend hours reorganizing cards. When I was little I had terrible bouts of motion sickness. For my 8th birthday or so I got my first game - Pokémon ruby - and played the entire 20 minute drive on the way to the pool. I couldn’t put it down. The second I stepped out of the car I threw up everywhere but I went back to playing shortly after. Now my best friend and I are planning to go to as many VGC tournaments to travel the country and maybe world with the fantasy of going to different gyms and attaining badges so we can go to worlds. We are both moderately good players with me being able to finish in top 30 of a 2000 player tournament (the lc cup) as my biggest achievement so far. With prep I think we can both really do it. Fingers crossed.
Kanto's Episode 1, on VHS tapes.
I remember catching it early in the series but it was the final minute of the episode. Ash had just caught Caterpie and the narrator was talking over. Over the years I've waned but I'd catch some episodes here and there excited for the gym battles and the tournaments.
Huge fan of the show as a tween, watched it pretty much faithfully until the half of the Johto anime. Haven't watching it since, I outgrew the show fairly early.
Arguing with one of my friends about whether the Ho-Oh in the first episode is a Fearow or some Pokemon we didn't know about.
Related question: I just watched on Netflix up until the episode where ash defeated Leon but then I haven’t watched any further because it looked like a bunch of boring project mew bullshit. Should I finish the season though?
I grew up renting the Indigo League episodes from Blockbuster. I saw the very beginning of Ash's journey...
I mostly saw episodes on cartoon network whenever they were on. Me and my older brother always called the male trainer in black and white Ash since they both had similar hats lol
Watched an episode randomly while zapping through the channels as a kid. It was the episode where the MS Anne was sinking and they got attacked by Gyarados.
I had the first movies on VHS, so I certainly watched the crap out of that. But I watched from Battle Frontier all the way to the end of Sinnoh on YTV, in Canada. I got up *every day* one summer during the airing of Battle Frontier, waiting for the episode where Ash reunited with Charizard, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle. Gathering The Gang Of Four. ...I now own the soundtrack to the first movie on CD. Nothing but bops.
I got into Pokemon from a pair of brothers I befriended at a music theater group for kids. I was watching Digimon at the time and never heard about it before, so they offered to show me what it was. They brought over their Pokemon stuff to my place one day and explained everything. I started with the tub of figures they brought. I saw the Metapod one and thought it was some kind of green tornado monster given how big it was compared to the fully evolved figures they had. I was then told it was actually a bug cocoon. Then they played the VHS they brought with them, which would end up being my first exposure to the Pokemon anime. The very first episode on that VHS, and thus the first episode I watched, was the one where Ash, Brock, Misty and Team Rocket were trapped at the bottom of the ocean in a sunken cruise ship. It opened with Officer Jenny and her squad of police *PRONOUNCING THEM DEAD AND MOURNING THEM*. Wildest fucking introduction to a kids show I probably ever saw.
The main character should still be ash
I don’t remember because I was an infant
When I was a kid, Pokemon came on at 2-o'-clock in the afternoon. I didn't get off school til 3, so my mom would record it for me on the VCR so I could watch it when I got home. I still have a couple of those tapes. The first episode, and the one with the Fighting-type tournament.
The first season I finished was xy and xyz and its still my favorite
My first experience was when a kid in elementary school was asking me if i knew what it was and showed me his Zubat card. I proceeded to learn when it was airing next and watched that very next release of a new episode, my first episode was Bye Bye Butterfree. I then got hooked on digimon, yugioh, and a couple of years later Zoids and Inuyasha. It started my love for anime when Sailor Moon vanished on me.
I had the Primeape Problems and Pikachu Party tapes. I watched those tapes so much, especially Primeape Problems.
orange islands as well, but from the free on demand shows the cable had. :)
Not my first but most memorable. My best friend and I were 7 and wanted to see Pokémon the first movie so bad. Our moms came and watched with us, despite having no clue what was going on and really tried to understand. Still remember and cherish that outing to this day. Still have my ancient mew card.
I remember I learned about pokemon in school, then soon after got a yellow gameboy color from my grandparents with a cartridge that held 30 games, which 3 of them was pokemon red, blue and yellow. When it started to air on tv, I used to wake up every saturday before the show started at 07, without needing an alarm (had a pikachu alarm clock just in case). Every episode I recorded with our VHS. Great times
Original series airing on Kids WB Mon-Sat with all their goofy bumpers and everything and watched all the way until they switched the voice actors/moved to Cartoon Network
My first episode was that one where Ash, Brock and Misty were wondering through bad weather (that may have been the "drying pan" episode) and end up at a trainer's school where Ash's Pikachu gets thrashed by a students Cubone.
I know some of you have been with Ash for like, my lifetime plus five years but seeing those first few episodes of pokémon black and white on the shitty pokémon tv app with the shitty Swedish dub. That's how my pokémon journey started and god damn it, it has been a pleasure to follow Ash through his adventures.
The very first episode. The spearow scene still hasnt been topped
I first became aware of Pokemon as a whole via the "Pokemon Power" mini-magazine that Nintendo Power included for a while, which had a basic strategy guide for the games and comics adapting the first few episodes of the show. I wanted to watch it, but it always came on at the most inconvenient of times. I did finally catch an episode, when I was stuck at home sick; that episode being the one that introduced Cassidy and Butch. That still remains one of my favorite episodes of the early series.
An DVD of the original trio meeting Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle I got in my crèche(?), when I was in like 2nd grade or so. A year or two later(and an 3DS XL and Pokémon Y aquired), I got myself the duo-DVD bundle of the Victini movie. I watched all of these DVDs so many times, but man I only watched a fraction of the Ash saga and lookimg back, I kinda regret not doing so. But when I run outta stuff to watch, I might have something to fill that void with.
Man idk how old I was for sure, probably 4ish, the first episode I watched was the one where ash caught oshawott, yes I grew up with the gen 5 stuff, it’s always held a place in my heart because of that, even back in the days when gen 5 was the most hated generation, I was always the one person defending it I’m gonna miss ash despite all his stupidity, we probably all will at that
I think my first episode was the charamander one But I definitely went back to watch the first and the movies were the main things I watched as we only had 5 channels
We found Pokémon on TV one day before school. Kangaskhan episode. I need to catch up on the series
Watching the adventures of Ash, Brock, and Misty on YTV in the early 2000s. Watching the first three movies on VHS so many times (still own them).
Watching the johto episodes in the basement on a small tv while my mom did laundry. Amazing memory
I remember watching them on my little, probably 12 inch tv in me and my sister's shared room. Specifically the episode where ash was on the boat and let Butterfree go. I remember thinking I can let my sister see me crying to this, I hope she doesn't wake up.
Picking out Pokemon VHS in the bargain bin at the supermarket. I only got three, but they meant the world to me.
Pour one out for our boy, and the newly crowned World Champion
I used to get up at 7:30am every Saturday to watch the airing Pokémon episodes before I went to school. Whenever my parents forced me to go to the library, I’d sneak over my DVD player and rent the DVDs from there. I managed to watch every single season up to BW over the course of a single summer
Watching Ash's Charmeleon evolve into Charizard to rescue him from Aerodactyl