Episode 035: Legend of Miniryu is an episode that was banned in the United States because of the use of guns and other violence. Although this episode is banned in most countries, it is still aired in Japan. Some scenes that caused the episode to get banned were when the Warden pointed a gun directly at Ash's face, and the time when the Warden took his pistols rapidly fired them at Team Rocket. Another factor that some people speculate is that Rachael Lillis, voice actor of Misty and Jessie, refused to dub this episode. This episode was never dubbed, and it will never be dubbed.
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Synopsis:
Ash and co. are on their way to the Safari Zone. They are greeted by the Warden in an unfriendly way. The Warden gives Ash thirty Safari Balls and a fishing rod. He orders Ash to report back when all of his Pokéballs are used up. Ash agrees when the Warden points a gun at Ash's face. Misty sees a picture of a Dratini on the wall. The Warden angrily grabs the picture from Misty and storms into a private room. The group gives Professor Oak a call who explains who the Warden is and his role of the Safari Zone. Team Rocket has overheard Ash and co.'s conversation, and they also want to capture a Dratini. They meet up with Ash and co. Team Rocket makes a deal with Ash - the one who can capture the most Pokémon in the Safari Zone wins. Ash agrees to the deal, knowing that he won't lose. A herd of Tauros appears, and Ash makes his first catch. Ash and co. split up from Team Rocket to do some more searching and catching.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket has captured the Warden. They try to use his weapons to force the Warden to reveal Dratini's location. The Warden refuses to tell them, so Team Rocket pulls out their secret weapon. Their secret weapon is a tickling robot. It tickles the Warden so much, that the Warden is forced to tell Team Rocket the location of Dratini. The Warden finds Ash and co. fishing in the lake. He tells them that Team Rocket knows the secret location of Dratini - the Dragon Valley.
Team Rocket is already at the Dragon Valley searching for Dratini. Ash and co. arrive at the Dragon Valley. Ash tells Team Rocket that he has won their deal, but Team Rocket lied. A lake rests in the middle of the valley. Deep inside the lake is Dratini. Team Rocket throws a pack of dynamite into the lake. The Warden knows he has to save Dratini, so he jumps into the lake to fetch the dynamite. Ash also jumps into the lake with Misty's Staryu. Staryu brings the Warden back up to surface while Ash searches for the dynamite. His breath runs out, and he passes out. Back outside, a storm is rising. Suddenly, a light shines out of the water, and a Dragonair rises out of it. On Dragonair's back is Ash. The Warden realizes that the Dragonair was his Dratini. Ash sends the Pokéballs to Professor Oak. Inside each of them is a Tauros. Ash and co. continue their journey towards the Pokémon League.
My thoughts:
This episode was a great episode to watch. It's perfectly understandable why this episode was never dubbed. If this episode was dubbed, many people would think that it would be okay to use guns because their favorite characters are using it. This would increase the amount of shootings in the world. While Looney Tunes has various weapons in the show, Pokémon is a more realistic show, and people can actually die in the show. Looney Tunes is more fiction. Characters get shot all the time. It's different for Pokémon, however.
This episode did serve two purposes, so it wasn't a complete filler. One is that we were able to witness a legendary Dratini and Dragonair. Many years ago, Dratini and Dragonair were considered to be legendary Pokémon, so it was a great thing to see. Secondly, Ash captured thirty Tauros in this episode. These Tauros are shown throughout many epsiodes, and there are most likely fans out there who wonder how Ash obtained these Tauros. Because the episode was banned, it looks like the Tauros just magically appeared.
