[JapanCase] Pokémon Shock
Pokémon Shock Incident (Pokémon Electric Shock Incident)
On Tuesday, December 16, 1997, the 38th episode of the Pokémon series titled "Dennō Senshi Porygon" (Cyber Soldier Porygon) was broadcast on six local TV stations in Japan, including TV Tokyo. During the airing, numerous viewers suffered from seizures, leading it to be recognized as the most significant TV-related seizure incident in the world, even being included in the Guinness Book of World Records.
This event is most commonly known as the "Pokémon Shock" incident, but it has also been referred to as "Porygon Shock" or simply the "Porygon Incident," after the title of the episode. Other names include "Porygon Flash" and variations, such as "Pikachu Shock" or "Pikachu Flash" among those who recognize that Porygon was not the direct cause of the incident.
Episode Summary:
The episode follows Ash and his friends, who arrive at the Pokémon Center to help Pikachu recover from exhaustion. However, the center is busy due to a malfunction in their transmission system. Strange incidents occur when Pokémon are being transferred, resulting in mismatches between the Pokémon sent and received. Dr. Akihabara, the scientist responsible for the transmission system, arrives to investigate the issue.
Nurse Joy suggests that the problem may be related to a virus, and Ash's group later learns that Team Rocket has stolen a prototype of Porygon and used it to infiltrate the digital world to plant a virus. This virus would allow them to steal other Pokémon, and the plan is to use it despite the potential fatal consequences of doing so.
Ash and the gang, alongside Porygon, eventually confront and defeat Team Rocket. However, soon after, Nurse Joy, following Dr. Akihabara’s advice, installs a vaccine into the system. As a result, a missile aimed at the virus begins targeting Ash and his friends.
Ash’s group, with Porygon, manages to escape, and Team Rocket also narrowly avoids the missile. However, during their escape, they encounter a series of dangerous events as the vaccine causes a bug in the digital world, further complicating matters. After several dangerous situations, Ash and his friends manage to rescue Team Rocket and destroy the missile before it can hit them, but the digital world begins to destabilize due to the excessive force of the vaccine.
By the end of the episode, Ash and his friends return to the Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy is happily unaware of the drama that occurred, believing that the system is now fixed. Ash suggests that Pikachu should rest, bringing the episode to a conclusion.
During its broadcast in Japan in the late 1990s, the anime became so popular among children that it was hard to find anyone who hadn’t watched it. However, an incident caused by an episode featuring Polygon (commonly known as the 'Pokémon Shock') sparked controversy. As a result, Polygon was removed from the anime, and the show went on a 4-month hiatus. Furthermore, Pokémon-related content became taboo on other TV Tokyo programs, and the show almost faced a broadcasting ban. But after spending a significant amount of money on safety tests and airing an advertisement stating that Pokémon was safe, the adventures of Ash and Pikachu were finally able to continue.
