Pokemon Anime FAQ

[DigiPokeMon]

A2K of SNF sent a email to 4Kids Entertainment (The dubbers of Pokemon). Here is the reply to that email and many of our FAQ have been answered

If you have the time, I'm just wondering if you could answer a few questions for me about the Pokemon animation.

1. Will the special about Raikou, known as "Raikou and the Legend of Thunder!" or something along those lines, be put on DVD or VHS?

THERE ARE NO PLANS AT THIS TIME FOR THIS TO BE RELEASED.


2. Will Pikachu's Winter Vacation 2001, the 3rd Winter special, be released?

NO, AS OF NOW THERE ARE NO PLANS TO RELEASE THIS ON HOME VIDEO.

3. Will the ice cave episode with the Nurse Joy who owns a Jynx be aired? Was it dubbed? If not, to either of these questions, why won't it be aired or dubbed?

NO, THIS EPISODE WILL NEVER AIR. THE CHARACTER OF JYNX HAPPENS TO BE A CONTROVERSIAL POKEMON HERE IN AMERICA THAT SOME FIND OFFENSIVE.

4. This is probably the MOST important question of all. In Japan, for the last year, there have been "Hoso specials" which air along the main series of Pokemon. These specials show what is going on at the time, outside of Ash and his group. These specials have included how Misty ran a gym for a whole season, Butch and Cassidy attacking Prof. Oak's ranch, and a character named Sakura whom had appeared two times previously on the animation, and her quest in gaining all of the Kanto gym badges.
Will these be aired? Released on DVD? Were they dubbed at all?

I AM AWARE OF THESE SPECIALS. SO FAR, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN DUBBED BUT THERE IS A POSSIBILITY DOWN THE ROAD THAT WE MAY DUB THEM AND EITHER AIR THEM AS SPECIALS OR PUT THEM OUT ON HOME VIDEO.

5. Will the Dratini episode in season 1, the episode where Ash catches his Tauros- ever be aired? I was told that it was dubbed. Will it be released on DVD?

MOST LIKELY, THIS WILL NOT AIR. THIS EPISODE HAD SOME OBJECTIONABLE SCENES IN IT THAT THE NETWORK WOULD NOT AIR.

6. The infamous Porygon ep. ANY chance of a direct to dvd release, at all?

NO, THIS WILL NEVER AIR AND WILL NEVER BE RELEASED.

7. Will the 6th movie be dubbed and brought to theaters?

WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF ADAPTING THIS MOVIE. IT WILL NOT BE RELEASED IN THEATERS, BUT WILL COME OUT ON VHS, DVD AND ALSO ON THE WHOLE NEW 'GAMECUBE FORMAT.' I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!

8. There are rumors going around on the internet that May's little brother, named Masato in the japanese version, has the name "Max" in the dub. Is this true or false? If false, is it possible for you to reveal just WHAT his name really is?

THAT RUMOR IS TRUE. MASATO'S NAME IS INDEED 'MAX.'

9. Do You believe that Pokemon's popularity in the United States, will stay strong long enough for the entire series to be dubbed, or do you think it'll be over by next year or two? How many episodes have been purchased for next year, anyway? Is it likely to happen, if they have not been purchased already?

AS LONG AS THE JAPANESE CONTINUE TO MAKE MORE EPISODES, WE WILL CONTINUE ADAPTING THEM AND PRODUCING THEM.

10. Last question, I promise ^_-, why did 4kids stop making the ending theme songs? Most fans find the cut to the intro after a 10-50 second scene to be annoying, and find it even more annoying when there is about 10 seconds of the episode left, but a commercial segment is brought in.

WE HAD TO CONFORM THE EPISODES TO THE KIDS' WB NETWORK FORMAT STANDARDS. YOU'LL NOTICE THAT EVERY SHOW ON THEIR NETWORK HAS THE SAME FORMAT. THE ENDING THEME SONG WAS A FULL MINUTE LONG WHICH CUT INTO THE TIME THAT THE NETWORK WANTED TO USE AS PROMOTION.

Thank you for your time sir/mam (sorry, I don't know your gender). I know how

busy you must be and I appreciate your time and commitment to the fans of the Pokemon animation.

YOU'RE VERY WELCOME! THANK YOU FOR REMAINING A LOYAL FAN OF POKEMON! I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE NEW "ADVANCED" SEASON!

[Animelee]

Wow, thank you VERY much for posting this.

I wonder what this "Gamecube Format" is. It'll add another use to my Gamecube. ^_^

Heh, I guess it's Kids WB! who screwed up Pokemon. I mean, on Fox Box, you can see heads being cut off in Ninja Turtles, and you can see guns on Funky Cops, and you can see guns in Sonic X. Heh, I wish Fox Box was airing Pokemon instead.

My only gripe with 4Kids is that they don't leave the original soundtrack in. I doubt the soundtrack issue has anything to do with Kids WB!, since in their other productions for the Fox Box, there is music being played in the background throughout ALL of their productions, non-stop.

If they just released the banned episodes, released original-language, uncut episodes, on DVD, with the original soundtrack, I would be so pleased...

[Iveechan]

Man, why's everyone so cruel to Jynx? She's not offensive, it's just some people are too damn sensitive. Did they take out Kadabra because some Christians thought it was satanic?! No!

[Shuppet Master]

I had a feeling that Ice Cave,Legend of Dratini,and Porygon would never be shown. I agree with some that the dubbers are closed-mined to Ice Cave and Legend of Dratini,but the Japanese are very paranoid and don't want another seizure epidemic like what almost killed the show in the first place. However,I do not see the problem with the Japanese writers making an episode outside of virtual reality where Porygon and Porygon-2 are shown,so they cover the remaining Pokemon which weren't shown.

[Black Skull Dragon]

Wow. Thanks a lot! I am a bit disappointed that Raikou won't be aired, but glad at the same time. I dont think I could bear watching something where the kids' names are Yoshi and Dani. Kenta and Marina sounded MUCH better.
Heh, I knew he'd be called Max.
I cant wait for Hoso to be dubbed!
That's all for me, too much coffee!

[Gravy]

Originally posted by Iveechan
[B Did they take out Kadabra because some Christians thought it was satanic?! No! [/B]

Actually, come to think of it, I don't recall Kadabra being in any episodes after the Sabrina saga, not even as a cameo appearence...unless someone out there can prove me wrong that is. *shrugs*

Well, I think we all knew that the Raikou special wasn't going to be released. Its been far too long since it originally aired in Japan. And where there has been no news of something like that coming over to other shores, its a good bet that they're never going to be seen.
Persoanally, I can live without the Dratini, Porygon and Ice Cave episodes. The Porygon and Ice Cave are just fillers, not really that important. The Dratini one introduces Tauros, but thats about it so we're not missing anything there.

Anyways, I'm glad to hear that the episodes and movies will continue to be dubbed. It may be 4Kids, but at least we're getting them....right? 0_o
Although, considering that 4Ever has only just been released in the UK, it seems unlikely we'll be getting any further editions of the movies....meh..

[Animelee]

Filler? The Ice Cave is from Pokemon GSC, though. ^^;

[Gravy]

Oh...heh, sorry it kinda slipped my mind ^_^0
Well...it wasn't essential to the plot anyways so I suppose we're not really missing anything...right? ^_^0

[Animelee]

I'd say that, but I guess we both have our own opinions on fillers.

But, at the end of the episode, they did reach Blackthorn City. ^^

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

6. The infamous Porygon ep. ANY chance of a direct to dvd release, at all?

NO, THIS WILL NEVER AIR AND WILL NEVER BE RELEASED.

It is quite obvious that Dennoo Senshi Porigon won't be dubbed. Remember, even in Japan, they showed that eppie only once. It wasn't there when they showed reruns.

[Venasaur89]

Thanks for the info. I hope they air the specials in regular basis, each week. That would be much better instead of buying special videos every month....

[Light_Togetic]

Wow, kudos for actually getting a response!

I really hope they dub the specials. I mean, come on, why wouldn't you?! So they're not about Ash, why does that matter in the least? It still has pokemon in it. I believe that is the name of the show.

That's too bad that the 6th movie will only come out on video/DVD/erm... Gamecube format?? Uh, well, whenver I figure out what that is, perhaps I'll consider getting it.

And not dubbing epsiodes because of Jynx is just... well, stupid. Porygon I can understand, although, I don't see why they can't just fix the part that made all those kids go into seizures. But then again, with all the hype around it, I'm not all that surprised that they didn't want to show it.

[Kojiro]

Originally posted by Gravy
Actually, come to think of it, I don't recall Kadabra being in any episodes after the Sabrina saga, not even as a cameo appearence...unless someone out there can prove me wrong that is. *shrugs*

Well, I think we all knew that the Raikou special wasn't going to be released. Its been far too long since it originally aired in Japan. And where there has been no news of something like that coming over to other shores, its a good bet that they're never going to be seen.
Persoanally, I can live without the Dratini, Porygon and Ice Cave episodes. The Porygon and Ice Cave are just fillers, not really that important. The Dratini one introduces Tauros, but thats about it so we're not missing anything there.

Anyways, I'm glad to hear that the episodes and movies will continue to be dubbed. It may be 4Kids, but at least we're getting them....right? 0_o
Although, considering that 4Ever has only just been released in the UK, it seems unlikely we'll be getting any further editions of the movies....meh..

The OI Us Opening has him in it,a clip from a episode he was in,the Prima one I think,which also had Jynx in it,wow two controversial Pokemon in one episode,besides that Jynx has got a few cameos but no based episodes,and Kadabra,Abra,and Alakazam just appear on the sidelines some too.

[Rocketboy]

I hope that they will dub the hoso and put them on home video