Episode 38

Episode #38

About This Episode

There is a certain reason for this episode to have been undubbed, and not even shown again in Japan. In December 1997, when Pocket Monsters was one of the most popular shows, they aired "Electric Soldier Porygon" or also known as "Porygon, the Electric-Brained Soldier". Most of the show took place in a computer, which included the main battle of the episode. Around the end, there were some explosions and the screen flashed pink and blue, rapidly alternating the colors at about 1/24 of a second- and that's incredibley fast, concidering the show consumes about 12 frames per second, and this being half the amount...
To conclude the flashing of lights, about 700 children had seizures and were rushed to the hostpital.
Of course, this made all of Japan go balistic with news and Pokemon was taken off air until early in 1998.
By this time, America was then dubbing the show into English, but because of this episode and various other scenes of violance, they dubbed the scenes out.
Now, episode 38 is shown in Japan as repeats, but filtered for the saftey of the seizure problem.

Ash and the gang drop by at a pokemon center, seeing a very distressed Nurse Joy. She explains how the Pokemon Transport System isn't working correctly and she keeps getting the wrong pokemon through. The creator of the maching, Professor Akihabara, is trying to figure out what's wrong with it, but has yet to find the problem. Ash, being Ash, offers him to help in any way he can, and he excepts. The professor then tells them to meet him at his lab.
Finding their way there, they see a large hologram of his head. It leads them to a contanement chamber. While they try and free themselves, he tells them that not too long ago, there was another group that hacked into the system, stealing a porygon as well, and this group looked awfully familiar... sort of like.. Team Rocket?

Ash-tachi rode a porygon of their own into the mainframe. They see a lot of pipes everywhere, where pokeballs are traveling through it, but up a ways is a blockade and the pokeballs are all piling up behind. Also there, is Team Rocket attacking Ash's porygon with Weezing. Though it uses conversion, making it immune to the poison attacks and defeats Weezing and the others. Annoyed, they send out their porygon that they had stolen to attack Ash-tachi's.
Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu try moving away the barricades.

Back at the pokemon center, Nurse Joy and a technician suggests using an anti-virus program. Hearing their plans, Professor Akihabara tells Ash-tachi to leave the computer quickly.
Ash-tachi boards their porygon and heads for the porthole that leads back to the lab. The anti-virus attacks them, and then prepares to destroy the Rockets, thinking they're viruses as well. Ash & co. saves them and Porygon flies them to safety. Though just before they can reach the portal, the anti-virus fires two misiles at them, injuring Ash-tachi and destroying the lab, while Team Rocket escapes unharmed for once. The anti-virus program destroys the remaining barracades, and the transport system is up and running again.