Pokémon: Indigo League (originally aired simply as Pokémon) is the first season of Pokémon and the first season 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, and in the United States on first-run syndication from September 8 to November 20, 1998, and on Kids' WB/The WB from February 13 to November 27, 1999, and on June 24, 2000, airing episode 18. The season follows the adventures of the ten-year-old Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum (voiced in English by Veronica Taylor, and in Japanese by Rika Matsumoto) and his electric mouse partner Pikachu (voiced by Ikue Ōtani) as they collect Gym Badges in the Kanto region so they can compete in the Pokémon League competition at the Indigo Plateau. The episodes were directed by Masamitsu Hidaka and produced by Oriental Light and Magic and TV Tokyo. 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 Unsho Ishizuka and Pokémon Kids for 27 episodes, "Meowth's Song" (ニャースのうた, Nyāsu no Uta) by Inuko Inuyama for 14 episodes and for 2 special 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 for 16 episodes and for 2 special episodes, "Pokémon March" (ポケモン音頭, Pokémon Ondo) by Sachiko Kobayashi, Koffing, Ekans and Chansey for 11 episodes, and "Type: Wild" (タイプ : ワイルド, Taipu: Wairudo) by Rika Matsumoto for 12 episodes. The English opening song is the "Pokémon Theme" by Jason Paige; its full version did serve as the end credit song for 52 episodes, and its short version did serve as the end credit song for 28 episodes, while each episode close with either the PokéRAP, which contains 5 different versions (each profiling about 32 Pokémon on Monday through Wednesday, 30 Pokémon on Thursday, and 24 on Friday for a total of 150), or Pikachu's Jukebox, which contains 6 short songs in each music video, "My Best Friends", "Double Trouble", "What Kind of Pokémon Are You?", "Together Forever", "2.B.A. Master", and "Viridian City". Johto predicted the English version of "Type: Wild", the ending song from Pokémon Encore performed by Robbie Danzie.