EP038
Electric Soldier Porygon (Japanese: (でんのせんしポリゴン) Den no Senshi Porygon) is a somewhat notorious episode of the Pokémon anime, due to the fact that on its single airing in Japan in December 1997, more than 700 Japanese children suffered seizures, vomiting, irritated eyes and other symptoms due to a flashing strobe effect.
The episode was never commercially released or re-broadcast anywhere in the world due to it being banned by the Japanese government.
Seizures
The scene which caused the seizures was a fifteen-second section in which Pikachu used an Electric attack on some vaccine missiles. The explosion was shown as a bright flashing object which alternated rapidly between red and blue.
File:Seizure a.jpg File:Seizure b.jpg
The seizures caused by this episode caused OLM to drop the strobe effects from Pikachu's electric attacks. Also, a disclaimer is now broadcast at the beginning of television anime precautioning viewers to not sit too close to the television screen.
Synopsis
Ash and friends find at the local Pokémon center that there is something wrong the PokéBall transmitting device. To find the problem, everyone must go inside the machine.
Pokémon Debuts
Trivia
- This episode aired (in Japan) between "Ditto's Mysterious Mansion" and "Pikachu's Goodbye".
- The seizures caused from this episode were parodied by The Simpsons in the episode "30 Minutes Over Tokyo."
- There was originally going to be a New Year's Eve episode of Pokémon. It was never shown, not even in Japan. Electric Soldier Porygon is to blame for this.
- 4Kids Entertainment has dubbed this episode and reduced the speed and intensity of the flashing explosion to make it safe, but the episode has still never been shown.
