Pokemon Episodes Never Aired in English (And Where to Find Them)

Every long-running TV series has a few episodes that disappear. The Pokemon anime has more than most, and the reasons range from a medical emergency to a costume, a handgun in a children’s cartoon, and an earthquake. Some of these episodes were never dubbed into English. Some were never broadcast anywhere. Some aired once in the West and were quietly pulled. If you have ever searched for an episode you remember and found nothing, one of the stories below is probably the reason.

This guide explains each episode, says why it was pulled, and tells you where you can actually watch it, if anywhere. The status of old TV episodes changes, so treat the “where to find” notes as accurate at the time of writing and check before you buy anything.

This is an unofficial fan guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures or The Pokemon Company.

If you already know the Porygon incident and want nearby franchise rabbit holes, our 12 strange Pokemon facts that are actually true and Pokemon animation errors lists follow the same sourcing rules.

On this page

• What “Never Aired in English” Actually Means
• Why Pokemon Episodes Get Pulled
• Aired in Japan, Never Aired in English
• Never Aired Anywhere
• Aired in English, Then Pulled or Delayed
• Where to Find These Episodes (Legally)
• What These Episodes Changed in the Anime
• Sources

What “Never Aired in English” Actually Means

The phrase covers four different situations, and lumping them together is why so many lists online contradict each other.

Most of the information here comes from Bulbapedia, the community-run Pokemon encyclopedia, cross-checked against Wikipedia’s page on Pokemon episodes removed from rotation. Both are edited by fans, so I have flagged the places where the details are disputed or unconfirmed.

Why Pokemon Episodes Get Pulled

Almost every pulled episode fits one of four patterns. Seeing the pattern makes the individual stories easier to follow. For a non-anime look at how rules and bans form in the real world, our 9 weird laws from around the world guide sticks to fact-checked statutes with historical reasons.

Health and Safety

This is the rarest reason and the most serious. It applies to one episode, covered below, and it changed how animated television is made.

Weapons and Violence

The English dub was made for children’s television in the United States. Episodes with firearms played for comedy in Japan were judged too dark for that audience. The scenes were meant as slapstick, but a gun pointed at a child is not a joke every broadcaster would accept.

Imagery and Stereotypes

A character design or costume can read very differently in another country. Several English-language episodes were pulled because an image was seen as a racial stereotype in the United States, even though the original Japanese creators had no such intent.

Real-World Events

Episodes showing destruction were sometimes pulled after real disasters, in Japan and the United States. Studios do not usually explain these decisions in detail, so the reasons often rest on timing and circumstance rather than an official statement.

Aired in Japan, Never Aired in English

Electric Soldier Porygon (Episode 38)

What happens. Ash and his friends reach a Pokemon Center where the system that sends Poke Balls between centers is malfunctioning. The inventor, Dr. Akihabara, explains that Team Rocket stole his prototype Porygon and planted a virus. The group is pulled into the digital world inside the transporter, where Porygon fights Team Rocket’s Pokemon. An antivirus program then turns on everyone, including Team Rocket, firing missiles at the group. Pikachu destroys the missiles with an electric attack, Porygon escapes, and the mansion is wrecked. The group returns to the Pokemon Center with the system fixed and Nurse Joy none the wiser.

Why it was pulled. It aired once, on December 16, 1997, on TV Tokyo. A roughly four-second sequence showed the missiles exploding in rapid red and blue flashes, about ten flashes per second according to Wikipedia. Japan’s Fire Defense Agency reported that 685 viewers, 310 boys and 375 girls, were taken to hospitals by ambulance. Only a fraction were diagnosed with photosensitive epilepsy, and others had mild symptoms, but the press named the event “Pokemon Shock.” Bulbapedia’s EP038 page notes that Guinness World Records has cited the episode for causing the most photosensitive epileptic seizures.

TV Tokyo apologized the next day and suspended the show. It returned after a break of about four months, and a special report called Anime: Pocket Monsters Problem Inspection Report aired on April 11, 1998. Industry-wide guidelines on flashing lights followed, though Wikipedia notes they were never made law.

English status. It never aired in the United States and has no official English title. Some people claim 4Kids Entertainment dubbed it, but Bulbapedia says the claims are unverified. It has never been commercially released or rebroadcast, which makes it the only aired episode of the series banned worldwide.

If this story sounds too strange to be true, our 20 facts that sound fake but are true with sources collects more verified oddities in the same format, and our strange Pokemon facts post covers the Porygon incident with the same sourcing rules.

The Legend of Miniryu (Episode 35)

What happens. Ash and his friends visit the Safari Zone, where the warden, Kaiser, keeps a revolver close at hand. A photo in his office shows him as a boy with a Dratini. Professor Oak explains that decades earlier, trainers swarmed the zone hunting Dratini and ruined its ecosystem, which is why only Safari Balls are now allowed. Team Rocket overhears and challenges Ash to a catching contest, and Ash ends up with around thirty Tauros. Team Rocket then seizes Kaiser and forces him to reveal that Dratini lives in a lake in Dragon Valley. They plan to stun every Pokemon in the lake with an electric bomb. Ash dives in, nearly drowns, and is rescued by a Dragonair, which he later reunites with Kaiser. The episode ends with Oak learning that Ash’s only catches are Tauros, which then trample him.

Why it was pulled. It aired in Japan on November 25, 1997. Bulbapedia’s EP035 page attributes the ban largely to the use of firearms, which are pointed at Ash and Kaiser and fired at Team Rocket. The page reports that 4Kids Entertainment found the scenes, meant as comedy, too dark for children, and that voice actor Eric Stuart said networks refused to air the scene where Kaiser points a gun at Ash.

English status. Never dubbed. The English title “The Legend of Dratini” is a fan-style label, not a broadcast title. One side effect is a continuity gap, because this is the episode where Ash catches his herd of Tauros.

The Ice Cave! (Episode 250)

What happens. Ash and his friends take a shortcut through the Ice Cave on the way to Blackthorn City and fall into a hole Team Rocket dug. Brock catches a cold and is treated at a Pokemon Center run by a Nurse Joy, whose Jynx also appears. Nurse Joy explains that a large building keeps the cave cold. Team Rocket reverses the building’s setup, which heats the cave and cools the jungle outside. Ash has Bayleef’s Vine Whip restore a displaced pipe. Team Rocket then sets up heaters to weaken the Ice-type Pokemon, and one of them knocks out Jynx. After a long battle, Blizzard freezes Team Rocket’s Pokemon and Pikachu’s Thunder sends them flying.

Why it was pulled. It aired in Japan on May 30, 2002. Bulbapedia’s EP250 page explains that Jynx plays a major role, and after the controversy over Holiday Hi-Jynx, the episode could not be edited to remove her. It was skipped in the English dub as a result.

English status. It aired in several East Asian regions, such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea, which base their dubs on the Japanese version. A Japanese Prime Video release in 2017 included a version with Jynx’s purple redesign, and that version was not dubbed into any other language.

Satoshi and Nagetukesaru! Touchdown of Friendship!! (Sun and Moon, Episode 64)

What happens. At the Hau’oli City market, a group of Passimian steals Rowlet’s attention, and Officer Jenny explains that a violent Passimian troop called the Red Buns is causing trouble on Akala Island. After the leader of the friendlier Melemele Greens loses a fruit contest, the Red Buns take over. Ash disguises himself as a Passimian to connect with the Melemele Greens, and his classmates help make his costume. The Greens win a beach match with Ash’s help, and the troop makes him their new leader.

Why it was pulled. It aired in Japan on March 1, 2018. Ash wears dark face paint for the second half of the episode to imitate a Passimian, and the look resembles blackface, which is a harmful stereotype in the United States. It was skipped in English, and Bulbapedia’s SM064 page calls it the first and only banned episode of Sun and Moon. Wikipedia notes that the reason for skipping it was never explained officially.

English status. It has not been dubbed in English. A Korean dub is on Netflix Korea, but the English title shown there is not an official one.

Never Aired Anywhere

Team Rocket vs. Team Plasma (Black and White, Episodes 23 and 24)

What was planned. According to Bulbapedia’s BW023 (unaired) page, the first half was meant to bring Giovanni to the Unova region to oversee collecting a Meteonite from the Relic Castle. Ash, Iris and Cilan investigate a Venipede swarm in the Desert Resort, where three Team Plasma Grunts shoot down Team Rocket’s helicopter. Ash is taken prisoner after Pikachu is affected by the Meteonite. The story builds to a masquerade party in Castelia City where Giovanni presents the Meteonite and Team Plasma schemes to take it.

Why it vanished. The episodes were scheduled for March 17 and 24, 2011. The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck just before broadcast, and they were pulled. TV Tokyo said it would someday air, but the statement was never updated and was removed in late 2018.

What it changed. These episodes were meant to introduce Team Plasma, so their absence delayed the group’s animated debut. Team Plasma finally appeared in a 2013 episode, and the Grunts wore their Black 2 and White 2 outfits instead of the originals. Bulbapedia says the scripts surfaced online in May 2023, and episodes from that later debut onward disregard what would have happened here.

Battle of the Quaking Island! (Advanced Generation, Episode 101)

What was planned. Ash is heading to the final Gym in Sootopolis City. On Jojo Island, he and his friends are caught in an earthquake caused by a group of Whiscash. They meet a boy named Chota and his Barboach and agree to help drive off the Whiscash.

Why it vanished. It was scheduled for November 4, 2004, but strong earthquakes had hit Niigata prefecture days earlier, and an episode with earthquakes as its plot was judged insensitive. Bulbapedia’s AG101 (unaired) page says it is the first regular episode of the series that never aired at all, and links the decision to the later absence of the moves Earthquake, Fissure and Magnitude from the anime.

The New Year’s Eve Special

A special called It’s New Year’s Eve! Pocket Monsters Encore was scheduled for December 31, 1997, two weeks after the Porygon incident. It never aired, and Bulbapedia notes that no trailer has surfaced. TV Tokyo removed all Pokemon references from its programming at the time.

Aired in English, Then Pulled or Delayed

Holiday Hi-Jynx

What happens. Team Rocket plans to steal Santa’s presents. Jessie, who blames a Jynx for taking her doll as a child, insists Santa is a Jynx. Ash and his friends help a Jynx return a boot to the North Pole, where a Lapras sent by Santa carries them the last stretch. Team Rocket steals the Jynx and the presents, but Santa’s Jynx drive them off with Psywave, and Jessie’s doll is returned.

Why it was pulled. It first aired in the United States on December 11, 1999. It was pulled from rotation shortly afterward, after writer Carole Boston Weatherford criticized Jynx’s design as a negative stereotype of African Americans. In later years, Jynx’s skin was changed from black to purple, and other features were altered. Details are summarized on Bulbapedia’s Holiday Hi-Jynx page.

Beauty and the Beach

What happens. Ash, Misty and Brock arrive at a seaside resort. Ash accidentally wrecks a boat owned by a restaurateur named Moe, and the group works to pay for it. Team Rocket joins Moe’s rival, and Meowth sabotages Moe’s restaurant. During a beauty contest, Team Rocket’s submarine appears, and Charmander’s Flamethrower redirects a missile that destroys the rival’s restaurant.

Why it was delayed. It aired in Japan on July 29, 1997, and was held back in English for almost three years. Bulbapedia’s EP018 page points to a scene where James cross-dresses with inflatable breasts for the contest. Wikipedia adds that localizers were also uneasy about a young character in a beauty pageant, given the news of the time. After fan pressure, it aired in the United States on June 24, 2000, with the cross-dressing scene cut and other lines rewritten.

The Other Jynx Episodes

Bulbapedia reports that “Stage Fight!” (Episode 90) and “The Mandarin Island Miss Match” (Episode 99) have been pulled in English since April 2013 because of a brief Jynx cameo. They are small examples of how one character can take whole episodes out of circulation.

Tentacool and Tentacruel, and The Tower of Terror

“Tentacool and Tentacruel” (Episode 19) shows a giant Tentacruel destroying buildings. It was pulled after the September 11 attacks and again for several weeks after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “The Tower of Terror” (Episode 23) was also pulled after September 11, though Bulbapedia says the reason was never confirmed, and it appears to have been the title.

Where to Find These Episodes (Legally)

Availability changes often, and several of these episodes have no official release at all. Here is what the sources say, in plain terms.

A few honest notes about this table:

• Unofficial uploads exist, but I will not link them. They appear and disappear, and some episodes have no legal source at all. If an episode is not on the table, an official copy probably does not exist.
• Be careful with the Porygon episode. If you or anyone you know has photosensitive epilepsy, do not go looking for it. The flashing that caused the original incident is the whole reason it was pulled.
• Region matters. Several episodes are available only in Japan or Korea. Streaming catalogs differ by country, so the same service can offer different episodes in different places.
• Fan translations are not official. A fan-translated script or a viewer’s guess at an English title is not the same as an official release, so treat them as unofficial references.

What These Episodes Changed in the Anime

The missing episodes left visible marks on the show:

• Flashing effects were removed. After Porygon, Pikachu’s electric attacks lost their strobe effects, and earlier episodes were edited.
• Porygon nearly vanished. The Pokemon barely appeared again for years.
• Earthquake moves disappeared. The moves Earthquake, Fissure and Magnitude were absent from the anime after the 2004 cancellation.
• Team Plasma arrived late. The group was delayed and debuted in different outfits.
• Jynx was redesigned. Its appearance and role changed after the Holiday Hi-Jynx controversy.
• Dates shifted. Bulbapedia notes the show’s weekday moved from Tuesday to Thursday and stayed there until 2018.

For more production-side Pokemon weirdness, see our Pokemon animation errors and mistakes list. If you want a broader curiosity spiral after this, try our 50 Wikipedia rabbit holes, 40-plus cool websites to cure your boredom, or things to do when bored at night.

Sources

• Banned episodes, Bulbapedia
• Pokemon episodes removed from rotation, Wikipedia
• EP038, Bulbapedia
• EP035, Bulbapedia
• EP250, Bulbapedia
• SM064, Bulbapedia
• BW023 (unaired), Bulbapedia
• AG101 (unaired), Bulbapedia
• Holiday Hi-Jynx, Bulbapedia
• EP018, Bulbapedia
• Denno Senshi Porygon, Wikipedia