Pokémon
Round One -- Begin!
TV Flash files “Round One -- Begin!” as hour 77 of 1220 in the TV Flash guide — Pokémon (1998–present (U.S.)) on Kids' WB/Syndication, season 1, episode 77, aired 1998-12-17, 22 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E77: listed hour 77 of 1220 in the Pokémon guide, hour 77 of 82 in season 1. It aired 1998-12-17 (22 min). The listed hour before it is “All Fired Up!” (S01E76). Next is “Fire and Ice” (S01E78). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The Pokemon ceremony is about to begin, so Ash heads to register. Each trainer must first battle on four fields made up of Water, Ice, Rock, and Grass before reaching the main stadium. Ash's first match will be on the Water Filed against the arrogant "Astounding Mandi". Ash runs into Gary who taunts Ash as usual and gets him fired up to win, especially after Gary ins his first battle. with his first battle on the Water Field, Ash calls Professor Oak and has him send Krabby over so he can have two water pokemon to use. Misty and Brock advise him not to use Krabby but Ash won't listen, and when the match starts, Ash picks Krabby, but will Krabby be able to pull of a victory in its first battle, and in such an important battle?
Viewer FAQ
Where does Round One -- Begin! sit in the Pokémon guide?
S01E77 is listed hour 77 of 1220 — hour 77 of 82 in season 1, season 1 episode 77.
When did Pokémon S01E77 air?
Round One -- Begin! aired 1998-12-17 and is listed at 22 minutes.
Do I need the games first?
The TV series is one engine with the games and cards, not a homework prerequisite. U.S. breakthrough is 1998 anime syndication as childhood OS.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A ten-year-old, a yellow mouse, and a globetrotting checklist that became a childhood operating system. Anime lands in American syndication as one engine with the games and cards — catch, train, argue about types. Kids’ TV as collection ritual, gym-badge serialization, and the rare cartoon that still prints money because the adventure never quite finishes.
The work, first: a young trainer, a yellow mouse, a globetrotting checklist that became a childhood operating system. Based on Game Freak/Nintendo games, the anime's U.S. TV breakthrough in 1998 (Kids' WB and syndication) detonated a multi-platform kids' empire: games, cards, films, toys, one engine. Satoshi Tajiri and Kunihiko Yuyama's world turned anime into mainstream American children's programming. Rica Matsumoto and Veronica Taylor as Ash across languages; Ikue Otani's Pikachu. Catch, train, argue about…
Filed against
- Rica Matsumoto as Ash Ketchum (JP)
Rica Matsumoto voices Ash Ketchum on Pokémon — the ten-year-old whose globetrotting checklist became a childhood operating system in Japanese, then a syndication engine abroad. Catch, train, argue about types. TV Flash files her as 1990s…
- Veronica Taylor as Ash Ketchum (US early)
Veronica Taylor was early U.S. Ash Ketchum on Pokémon — a ten-year-old, a yellow mouse, a globetrotting checklist that became a childhood operating system. Anime landed in American syndication as one engine with the games and cards:…
- Ikue Otani as Pikachu
Ikue Otani voiced Pikachu as a childhood operating system — a ten-year-old, a yellow mouse, anime landing in American syndication as one engine with the games and cards. Catch, train, argue about types. TV Flash files her as 1990s kids-TV…