Episode 38: Electric Soldier Porygon is an episode that aired on December 16, 1997. This episode was immediately banned when over 600 people in Japan got seizures from the bright flashing lights in the episode. This is the most famous out of all the banned episodes, as it placed a four month hiatus on Pokémon. Unfortunately, this episode never made it out to any other country. It was only shown one time in Japan, and it will never be shown again. Infact, the Japanese government destroyed the tape completely to make sure that it is never aired in any part of the world. All that remains of this episode are a few videos of the episode from when the episode was recorded.
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Synopsis:
Ash and friends are continuing their Pokémon journey. They stop for a break, and Ash notices that Pikachu is sick. Ash takes Pikachu to the Pokémon Center. Whey they arrive, they notice that Nurse Joy is extremely busy. Nurse Joy explains to Ash and friends that there have been some issues with the Pokémon Center's transporting system. A professor named Akihabara is working on repairing the system. He has discovered a virus in the system, only being caused by Team Rocket. Using Akihabara's transporter, Team Rocket has transported themselves into the actual computer, and they have been stealing many Pokémon. Akihabara explains to Ash and friends that they have to go inside the computer themselves and get Team Rocket out. Porygon is sent in with Ash and co. Ash and friends don't want to do it, but Akihabara forces them into the computer.
Meanwhile, Nurse Joy has called for a technician to come and kill the virus. The technician installs a vaccine into the computer to kill the virus, also known as Team Rocket, Ash, Misty, and Brock. Porygon acts as the automobile for Ash and co. It is able to travel through cyberspace with them. The vaccine does its best to try and exterminate Ash and friends. Ash and co. are able to dodge the vaccine's devastating attacks. Team Rocket is taken out of the computer along with Ash and friends. Everyone has made it out safely. The transporting system runs back to normal, and Ash and co. continue on their journey.
My thoughts:This episode was banned because of the immense lights that rapidly flashed during the episode. Many people ask why Japan couldn't just dim the lights and release it in other countries. Here's what I believe is the answer: the Japanese government didn't want to risk the same horrible effect in other countries. If something like that were to happen, Pokémon would be the blame, and the company would most likely be shut down for good. It is a shame to see the episode be destroyed, but if it was for the good of all mankind, then I guess it was the best thing to do. What's done is done - the episode is destroyed - that's it.
One thing that slightly bothers me is the fact that Porygon and its evolutions were eliminated from the anime series. Sure, there are slight scenes in movie introductions and such, but Porygon has never been seen in an actual episode before! Porygon2 hasn't been in an episode, and I doubt PorygonZ will either. It's sad to see the writers taking out a great Pokémon because of an incident that happened almost ten years ago. Another thing I should note is that Porygon wasn't the one that caused the flashing lights. It was Pikachu and the missiles. Towards the end of the episode, Pikachu shocked four missiles which caused blinding scene of red and blue. Really bad for the eyes, especially if there are kids sitting inches away from the TV screen.
