This article is about an episode of the Pokémon animated series that has not yet aired anywhere in the world. As such, it is a reflection of what is currently known about the episode, rather than coverage of the episode as a whole.
This episode was originally scheduled to air in Japan on March 17, 2011, but was postponed indefinitely, along with the original BW024, because of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. TV Tokyo said in 2011 that it would someday air, but this statement was never updated or clarified and was ultimately removed late in 2018. As they were never released, the events that were supposed to occur in this episode and the next one are not considered canon, and episodes from Team Plasma's Pokémon Power Plot! onward disregard them entirely.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
However, their helicopter is shot down by a Hyper Beam from a Liepard owned by three members of a mysterious organization, who also express interest in the Meteonite and want to obtain it for the benefit of their hero. Ash's group is separated from Officer Jenny and Professor Juniper when the latter fall through a sinkhole leading to the ruins around the Relic Castle and must pursue Team Rocket alone; Jenny and Juniper are later rescued by Looker, who is on the trail of the secret organization opposing Team Rocket.
The Sunglasses Krokorok appears and helps Ash, Iris, and Cilan to get closer to Team Rocket, even attacking a Team Rocket Grunt so Pikachu can preserve its power for their rematch. However, the group is forced to hide in Dr. Zager's helicopter, getting trapped there when it lifts off to collect the Meteonite. When the Meteonite is taken into the cargo hold, Pikachu's electricity makes contact with it, causing Pikachu to fall ill. Dr. Zager notices unusual activity in the hold, forcing Ash to allow himself to be taken prisoner so Iris and Cilan can escape with Pikachu.
Team Rocket returns to Castelia City, where Giovanni has assembled a masquerade party of Unova's underworld. Looker and Professor Juniper infiltrate the party in disguise, meeting up with Cilan, who has done the same. Giovanni presents the Meteonite and demonstrates its power to the guests, using it as a tool to ransom total control over Unova and calling upon the guests to join Team Rocket. However, three members of the mysterious organization are also present at the party, and scheme to take the Meteonite for themselves.
Unlike the only other skipped episode in Japan, this two-parter was supposed to be important to the overall storyline instead of being a standalone episode.
Despite the episode being pulled from the air, the preview for it remains attached to the previous episode during reruns in Japan.
Additionally, while the first edition of the Japanese rental DVD with this episode on it replaced the preview for one of the episode that actually followed, the original preview for the skipped episode was reinstated in subsequent printings.
Ash being captured by Team Rocket and imprisoned aboard Dr. Zager's helicopter as the team carries out their plans was reused as a plot element in Meloetta and the Undersea Temple!.
The script of these two unaired episodes surfaced in May 2023, detailing their contents.[1] Notably, the early script for this episode revealed that its original title was The Evil Organizations Gather - The Desert Resort (Japanese: 悪の組織集結・リゾートデザート) instead of the title it was ultimately given.
In this episode's early script, the masquerade party took place at a luxury resort within the Desert Resort, instead of in Castelia City.
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Operation Tempest
Operation Tempest
Operation Tempest
Operation Tempest
