Pokémon: Indigo League is the first season of the Pokémon anime series and of Pokémon the Series: The Beginning, known in Japan as Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター, Poketto Monsutā). It originally aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from April 1, 1997, to January 21, 1999. It later aired in the United States in first-run syndication from September 7 to November 20, 1998, and on Kids' WB/The WB from February 13 to November 27, 1999, concluding with the airing of the previously unreleased episode 18 on June 24, 2000. It first aired in the United Kingdom on March 29, 1999, and in Germany and Italy in September 1999.
The season follows Ash Ketchum, a 10-year-old Pokémon Trainer and aspiring Pokémon Master from Pallet Town as he receives a Pikachu from Professor Oak and travels across the Kanto region to challenge its Pokémon League while joined by Misty and Brock.
The episodes were produced by Oriental Light and Magic, with Takeshi Shudo as head writer and Kunihiko Yuyama as chief director. Masamitsu Hidaka served as the supervising director for the series until the beginning of Pokémon: Battle Frontier.
Music
The Japanese opening song is "Aim to Be a Pokémon Master" (めざせポケモンマスター, Mezase Pokémon Masutā) by Rika Matsumoto for all 82 episodes. The ending songs are "One Hundred Fifty-One" (ひゃくごじゅういち, Hyakugojūichi) by Unshō Ishizuka and Pokémon Kids for 27 episodes, "Meowth's Song" (ニャースのうた, Nyāsu no Uta) by Inuko Inuyama for 16 episodes, "Fantasy in My Pocket" (ポケットにファンタジー, Poketto ni Fantajī) by Sachiko Kobayashi and Juri Ihata with musical performance by the Pokémon Philharmonic Orchestra for 16 episodes and the Christmas variant for 2 episodes, "Pokémon March" (ポケモン音頭(おんど), Pokémon Ondo) by Sachiko Kobayashi, Unshō Ishizuka and Kōichi Sakaguchi with an interlude by Shimai Niitsu, "Type: Wild" (タイプ：ワイルド, Taipu: Wairudo) by Rika Matsumoto for 12 episodes, and the English opening song is "Pokémon Theme" by Jason Paige. The anime-size version serves as the ending theme for 52 episodes, while its shortened version serves as the ending theme for 26 episodes. The ending songs at the end of the episode are "Kanto Pokérap" by James "D Train" Willams and Babi Floyd for 52 episodes, 32 Pokémon on Monday thru Wednesday, 30 Pokémon on Thursday, and 24 Pokémon on Friday, "My Best Friends" by Michael Whalen during episode 18 and for 6 episodes, "Double Trouble" by Rachael Lillis, Eric Stuart and Maddie Blaustien for 5 episodes, "What Kind of Pokémon Are You?" by Joshua Tyler for 4 episodes, "Together Forever" by J.P. Hartmann for 6 episodes, "2.B.A. Master" by Russell Velázquez for 7 episodes, and "Viridian City" by Jason Paige for 4 episodes.
The episodes of this season were originally released as a collection of 26 individual DVDs and VHS released by Viz Video and Pioneer Entertainment between December 13, 1998, and January 23, 2001.
Between 2006 and 2008, Viz Media re-released episodes of the season in three DVD compilations. The first twenty-six episodes of this season were released on DVD on November 21, 2006, with "Beauty and the Beach", being skipped. The second US season came out on November 13, 2007, with "Princess vs. Princess" and "The Purr-fect Hero" being moved onto the third part, to match the airing order. The third and final part was released on February 12, 2008.
On November 5, 2013, Viz Media and Warner Home Video re-issued the first 26 episodes on DVD with new packaging.
Viz Media and Warner Home Video released Pokémon: Indigo League – The Complete Collection on DVD in the United States on October 28, 2014. This release contains all three volumes of the series, consisting of 78 episodes in all, although this set lacks the episode "Holiday Hi-Jynx", which was banned by The Pokémon Company International in 2014 due to the controversial presence of Jynx.