Episode Stats:

Japanese Episode 35:  "Miniryuu no Densetsu" 

("The Legend of Miniryuu")

Pokemon Dare Da?  Kentaros
Japanese Air Date:  November 25th, 1997
American Air Date:  Never aired

Satoshi-tachi are going through the Safari Zone when they are stopped by the trigger-happy Kaiza.  They are brought into his cabin where they see a picture of Kaiza with the legendary pokemon Miniryuu, but the warden vehemently denies the existence of the pokemon.  Satoshi-tachi find out that poachers invaded the Safari Zone 30 years before because of rumors of the legendary pokemon, and in the process almost destroyed the place.  They never found it, but the invaders cause Kaiza to be very protective of the Safari Zone.  The Rocket-Dan appear and challenge Satoshi-tachi to a contest to see who can get more pokemon in the Safari Zone.  While Satoshi-tachi are out catching pokemon (mainly Kentauros), Musashi-tachi interrogate the warden to find out where Miniryuu is.  He eventually gives in, and after Satoshi-tachi find him they rush to the lake where Miniryuu is.  After thwarting the Rocket-Dan's attempt to use explosives to force the pokemon out, Satoshi-tachi are saved by Hakuryuu, the evolved form of Kaiza's Miniryuu.  Satoshi-tachi leave the Safari Zone, telling no one of the legendary pokemon they saw.

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Thoughts
You can find a more detailed synopsis here.

This episode was one of the "banned in the US" episodes.  The episode was cut because the warden, Kaiza, was a little gun-happy.  And it's not like Batman, where he's dodging gunfire while fighting the bad guys.  Kaiza points his gun at children (Satoshi-tachi).  He fires them at teenagers (the Rocket-Dan).  That by itself may not have gotten the episode cut, but the fact that the warden is portrayed as a sensitive guy who wants to reunite with an old friend and not as some gun-toting nut probably did it for the episode.  So to make the show friendly for its TV-Y audience, and so that 4Kids wouldn't want to do any huge alterations (i.e. painting over the warden's revolver to make it look like a ray gun the way Toonami did with Episode 15 of Outlaw Star), the whole thing was cut.  I'm sure 4Kids was under a tight schedule and didn't have time to go in and "fix" the episode, and I'm sure they just wanted to finish the season to get their newest show on the air, so I really don't blame them.

So for those of you who haven't seen the episode, here's what ya missed:

• The anime appearance of Miniryuu and Hakuryuu
• Both Satoshi and Takeshi catch a bunch of Kentaros.  We never really see Takeshi's Kentaros ever again, but Satoshi uses his on a number of occasions, such as in Episode 65 and during the Orange League.  Of course, the dub never explains where or how he got them, so I'm sure kids just disregarded it as another plot hole.
• The return of the schoolgirl Musashi disguise from Episode 15. 
• The hilarious Rocket-Dan interrogation scene.  I guess there's something funny about using the song Nyasu no Uta as torture...

Overall, it's a pretty decent episode.  Not the best, not the worst. 

Despite the fact that the episode was cut, two scenes from this episode were used for the Pokerap.  The picture of Miniryuu used when they say its name is from the scene when Miniryuu first shows up.  Also, toward the end of one of the Pokeraps, they show a scene from this episode when Kasumi, Takeshi, and Satoshi scream at the Gyarados Kasumi's caught with her fishing rod.

So the question is...will we ever see this episode on American TV?  It's really doubtful.  Sure, the official site acknowledges that this episode has been skipped, and they used to have a synopsis of the episode up.  But the reason I doubt it is because 1) Kids' WB! would still have a problem with the guns, and it would be much more work than simply cutting out a bathing suit scene, and 2) this is an old Kanto Region Episode.  Both Kids' WB! and Nintendo have talked about how they want to get away from the older stuff and concentrate on the newer Jouto stuff, so going back to dub a four-year old episode is something they're not interested in.  It's a regrettable loss, but there are many places on-line that sell this episode (along with Episode 18 and 38) fansubbed.

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