Pokémon "Battle of the Quaking Island! Barboach VS Whiscash!!" (partially found unaired anime episode; 2004)

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Screenshot from the episode's preview video.

Status: Partially found


Scheduled to air in Japan on November 4, 2004 was the intended 375th episode (AG101) of the wildly popular anime series Pokemon. The episode, "Yureru Shima no Tatakai! Dojoach VS Namazun!!" or "Battle of the Quaking Island! Barboach VS Whiscash!!", which saw Ash and the gang travelling to Jojo Island (en route to Sootopolis City Gym) and getting caught in the middle of an earthquake (caused by the titular Whiscash), was pulled from broadcast just weeks before it was set to air, following the 2004 Chuetsu earthquake which took place in late October, killing 40 and injuring over 3,000.[1] They later meet up with a trainer named Chota, who assists them in subduing the Whiscash.

Although the episode was initially marked as "postponed", it eventually went on to be classified as "discontinued", implying that there are no plans for the episode to ever receive a release. Notably, the moves Earthquake, Fissure and Magnitude have never been used in the anime since the event.[2] The episode, to this day, remains unreleased, with the only footage available being a short preview video that was released prior to it's cancellation.

This episode shares the reputation of being one of four Pokemon episodes to have never been released, the other three being "It's New Year's Eve! Pocket Monsters Encore" (a 1997 episode that was ultimately cancelled due to the fallout following the infamous "Pokemon seizure incident") and "Rocket-dan VS Plasma-dan!" (a two part 2011 episode that was cancelled shortly after the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami), though, unlike the former two, there have been official statements made by TVTokyo that they do still intend to air the two 2011 episodes at some point.

References

  1. Wikipedia article on the 2004 Chuetsu earthquake. Last retrieved 21 Feb 2015.
  2. Bulbapedia article on the episode. Last retrieved 21 Feb 2015.

External links