What was the first anime episode you saw?

Friend of mine and I were discussing what episodes we saw first when we were kids, thought it might be a fun topic since I'd wager everyone's got a first experience story, for better or worse.

I also wholly acknowledge the anime is pretty cringey or just flat-out ridiculous sometimes (let's faint a ground-type with thunder punch) so if anyone's story involves making fun of said anime I can't say I mind that too much, especially considering how easy it is to make fun of. (and that was basically what my friend and I ended up doing anyway in the end)

His first episode was apparently that one where giant tentacruel shows up and goes all godzilla on that city, that was quite the intro to pokemon I guess.

I remember my first episode pretty clearly, it was on a saturday and i actually got introduced to pokemon through my cousin who also played the games - I didn't get into the games until gen 3 and that was mostly due to the gameboy SP being a screen my terrible eyesight could actually adjust to but anyway, I remember it was that episode where Ash races on a ponyta that learns the magic of friendship near the end and turns into princess twi- rapidash to win the race. I remember calling all the pokemon the wrong names the entire time and getting yelled at by my younger cousin for doing it. "His name isn't meowmeow it's meow!" and then my mom was like "actually it sounds like they're saying meowth" and we both turned around and were like "that isn't even a real word!" Whoops.

But the first episode I ever recorded on a blank VHS tape (something I made a habit of as a kid) was the episode where that herbalist lady is trying to evolve her paras into a parasect. Thinking about it now though, that's kind of messed up considering what parasect actually is, I mean she literally opted to turn her paras into a zombie that gets eaten alive by fungi from the inside out just for the sake of old medicine. Brutal much?

And speaking as someone who watched the anime for a few years before properly getting into the games, those pokedex entries were pretty messed up in general when I started properly reading them. :O

Anyway, anyone else got a fun recollection? It's pretty neat to recall this sort of thing, especially what with the new games out now and it being a surprising 18 or so years since this anime started airing in the west.

As far as Pokemon goes? I want to say the one where Metapod evolves into a Butterfree? I remember telling a friend that Metapod died and a butterfly flew out of him. I was like, six or seven? When did Pokemon come to America? '98?
I think I disturbed him because he gave me this strange look before explaining that that was Metapod evolving.

Metapod did eventually died after evolving when he went off with that pink Butterfree, however. At least that's what was implied in the Japanese version. I dunno. Maybe he just realized what his fate was and decided that he's rather be a forty year old virgin instead?

Lol you guys make me sound so young, but my first time watching the pokemon anime was in gen 4 and i the fight between Ash and that guy with the weird glasses (sorry don't know his name) and he used a shuckle in a trick room team, i was around 10 at the time so i guess i was not that young lol