Episode Stats:

Japanese TV Special 002: "Pocket Monsters Crystal - Raikou, the Legend of Thunder"
Pokémon Chronicles Episode 03:  "The Legend of Thunder - Part Three"
Japanese Air Date:  December 30th, 2001
American Air Date:  June 10th, 2006

As Kenta and Jun'ichi frantically worry about the fate of their friend Marina, the Rocket-Dan make preparations for a third attempt at capturing Raikou.  A storm brews again, and Kenta and the others get in Minaki's car and follow it.  The gang arrives at the spot where Bashou and Buson, who are holding Marina captive, are using the Crystal System to summon Raikou.  The electric pokemon finally arrives and begins tearing apart the control system to the Crystal, but Bashou and Buson just watch calmly.  Minaki wonders what they're planning, but he doesn't have to wonder long; the Rocket-Dan unveil their secret weapon, the Black Hole Crystal!  By switching the Crystal System to the Black Hole System, the Rocket-Dan is able to draw the electricity out of Raikou regardless of whether or not it releases it.  Raikou is imprisoned within an energy field, so Kenta, Jun'ichi, and a freed Marina send their pokemon out in an attempt to break through the field.  Minaki and his Houdin join in, and before long a huge melee ensues.  Eventually, Kenta's and his friends' attacks break through the field, enabling Raikou to escape and take care of the Rocket duo once and for all.  Bashou and Buson hop into their helicopter and retreat as Raikou completely destroys the Crystal System, once and for all.  Raikou leaves our heroes as they bid the pokemon farewell.  Later, the gang all leave the nearby Pokemon Center to continue their individual journeys, remembering the adventure they had with the legendary pokemon, Raikou.

---

Thoughts 
Good God, the pain just doesn't stop.

This episode wraps up the Raikou special, and in the process 4Kids manages to mangle the special even more than it did in Parts One and Two.  I mean, they cut out the freakin' ending to the special, for Pete's sake!  The TV show dub may be worth defending, with its minimal cuts and censors, but this tripe isn't.

Added Footage--1 minute, 50 seconds
The same thing 4Kids added in the last episode - an opening theme, a recap, and a title screen for the episode - are added in this episode as well.

Music Edit
Once again, the music has been completely changed for the dub.  Up until this episode, I hadn't really been bothered by 4Kids' new music since, for the most part, it fit in perfectly well.  As much as I hate to admit it, the folks at 4Kids actually have some really good composers working for them. 

However, the music that plays during the big melee at the end of the English version of the special was really quite boring.  The Japanese score, which used some music from the movies that had been released up to this point, mixed with some of the music from the series, was really scored very well.  I mean, it's an awesome battle to begin with, but the music in the Japanese version really added to the enormity of the whole thing, an enormity that's lost in the dubbed version. 

Side Note
One thing that stuck out to me about this episode is how the voice acting takes a big decline in this episode.  Sean Schemmel, who voices Jimmy, pretty much drops whatever distinction he made between his Jimmy voice and his Goku voice.  Vincent's voice still sounds like Doug Funny, Marina still sounds like an airhead, and Eugene overacts every line he delivers. 

The reason I'm so hard on these people is because I know that all of them can do better.  I've seen other shows these guys have done, and have seen proof that these guys don't suck at what they do.  Yet, for some reason, they just don't perform to their usual standards with this special. 

Cut--27 seconds altogether
A six second shot of Jun'ichi looking angrily at Kenta is cut.

Then, a 21 second scene with Minaki talking to Kenta is cut.  Starting immediately after Eugene's "We can't just do something to do something" (God, what a horrible line), the Japanese version shows Minaki continuing to talk to Kenta, telling him that he's already informed Junsa about what happened and says that she's working with an emergency squad to find out more information.  Kenta takes off running, saying that he can't stand to just sit there and wait for Junsa to arrive.  Minaki tells Kenta that it would be impossible for him to catch up with the Rocket-Dan by foot, and then grabs Kenta by the shoulders. 

After this point, the dub comes back in with Jimmy's "We could get a plane or a helicopter or..."

Paint Edit
Just like in Part One, the backwards-looking 2 on the PokeGear is painted off.  Click on each picture to view a larger version (I realize the second picture doesn't match up exactly with the first one).

It's weird how 4Kids will be consistent about some things and so inconsistent about others.

Dialogue Edit
Why does 4Kids give Atilla all the bad lines?

Atilla:  "Your friend shouldn't be making fun of Caterpie.  I used to collect them, and they're very sweet characters."

Buson never raised any Caterpie, nor does he think they're "gentle" creatures.  Seriously, 4Kids, you couldn't have given Buson a more out-of-character thing to say.

Originally, Buson was just telling Marina not to move.

Cut--6 seconds altogether
Right after the close-up on Marina, there's a two second fade to black that's cut from the dub.

Then, soon after, Eugene's "If we check the call log sub-settings, we should be able to pinpoint Marina's location" is shortened by four seconds.

Dialogue Edit
I guess Hun wasn't happy letting her partner hog all the bad lines in the special, so she joins in with some bad dialogue of her own:

Atilla:  "Y'know, once we control Raikou's power, we can have signature attacks like 'The Atilla Thunderbolt!'"
Hun:  "Yeah, or 'The Hun Shockwave!'"

In the Japanese version, Bashou and Buson weren't saying anything at all. 

This is just more of that added dialogue I was talking about in the comparison for Part Two.

Cut--35 seconds altogether
The next section has a bunch of cuts.

Marina's "Oh no!  Raikou!  Don't come back!" was two seconds longer in the Japanese version.

Right after the shot of the storm clouds during which Eugene says "Hold on tight, boys, I'm going cross-country...," there's a four-second cut.  During this time, Kenta guesses that the Rocket-Dan must be using the crystal system again.

Then, the very next shot of Minaki is shortened by one second.

A six-second scene of Bashou saying that Kenta's done well to have found out where they are is cut.

A two-second shot of Jun'ichi looking worried after seeing Marina tied up is cut.

After Vincent's "Psyche!  You losers!" line, there's a six-second shot of Buson telling our heroes that Marina was the one who let Raikou escape.  It's also cut from the dub.

The shot where Hun says "Oh, I wouldn't say Raikou got away" is five seconds shorter in the dub.  The very next shot, in which Hun says "I'd say that Raikou was out for a walk and will be back very soon" is also shortened, this time by four seconds.

Finally, Hun's "He sure is.  Kid, it's not a matter of if we get Raikou, it's a matter of when" is shortened by five seconds.

Dialogue Edit
4Kids really screws up here.  Excalibur Fansub translation's on the left, the English dub's on the right:

Japanese	English
[silence]	Eugene:  "What I find fascinating is that Raikou was winning the battle from afar.  Why did it come in close when it didn't have to?"
Kenta:  "I see...Raikou can't forgive them for what they did..."	Jimmy:  "To save us.  I think Raikou came to save us!"
Jun'ichi:  "Uh?"	Vincent:  "Huh?"
Marina:  "What do you mean 'can't forgive them'?"	Marina:  "I think you might be right.  But why?"
Kenta:  "The Rocket Gang disturbed the peace of the Electric pokemon with their Crystal System.  Since Raikou feels for them, he can't forgive anyone who would hurt them."	Jimmy:  "We know Raikou protects electric-type pokémon, but maybe it doesn't protect them just because they're electric.  Maybe what Raikou is actually doing is protecting anyone who it sees as its friend."
Marina:  "So that's why he came back.  He wasn't thinking of escape, even when I made him flee..."	Marina:  "Well that is so sweet!  It just about melts my little heart!"
Jun'ichi:  "That's a Legendary Pokemon for you.  Always focused!"	Vincent:  "A real legendary pokemon!  And we're friends with it!  That's so cool!"
*Raikou roars*	*Raikou roars*
Kenta:  "Raikou, you really are amazing!"	Jimmy:  "Raikou, you tell 'em how it is, buddy."

So 4Kids goes out of its way to remove almost every scene that shows our heroes being concerned with one another, yet they go and change this line to make Raikou all of their friends!?

Eyecatch
The last set of eyecatches in this special show the pokemon who played a major role in the story.

Click on each image to view a larger version.

Cut--8 seconds altogether
Right after one of the commercial break in the Japanese version, there's a three-second shot of Raikou's attack headed right for Bashou and Buson, recycled from right before the break.  This repeated footage is cut from the dub.

Later, a 5-second scene after this exchange:

Hun:  "The control unit's busted, but the crystal itself has officially switched over to auto-destruct.  Tell them what that means, Atilla."
Atilla:  "It's power's twice as focused now!"
Hun:  "Which means your precious Raikou's history!"

...is cut from the dub.  Originally, after the corresponding line in the Japanese version, we see a a shot of Kenta and the other heroes, wondering what the Rocket-Dan has up their sleeves.


We're only halfway through with this thing.

Dialogue Edit
In the dub, everyone starts rambling on about being legendary and how they're all legends and how they're going to make a legend today and all this other bull.  Needless to say, none of this is in the Japanese version.  I guess having Team Rocket tell our heroes about the danger Raikou's in isn't as important as making everyone look like conceited jackasses.

Also,

Atilla:  "Don't waste your brain power.  You're just gonna get a headache."
Hun:  "Yes.  It's almost like a law of Physics.  The perfect plan can simply not be foiled!"

"Law of Physics!?"  What the hell, 4Kids? 

Cut--5 seconds altogether
A second is cut from Jimmy's "Come on, there's got to be something we can do!"

Then, four seconds are cut from the shot of Raikou in the Crystal Field (while Eugene talks about the all-or-nothing tactic).

DIalogue Edit
You know how Eugene explains about the force field blowing up, and how it could take all the pokemon with them?  And then Jimmy and Typhlosion have a little stare-off before Typhlosion nods its head and agrees to fight?

In the Japanese version, there was a lot more to this scene.  Aside from shortening the scene (see below), the way the characters interact with one another changes it from "I have serious reservations about sending my partner on a potentially suicidal mission" to "Let's fight!  YEAH!!" 

Kenta is really torn between rescuing Raikou and protecting his pokemon, Bakuphoon.  He wonders what he'd do if anything ever happened to his pokemon, especially since it was his first pokemon.  Though we don't get 270+ episodes to prove it, one really gets the feeling that Kenta is as close to his Bakuphoon as Satoshi is with his Pikachu.

By contrast, it seems like Jimmy couldn't give a rat's ass about his first pokemon.  Kenta's hesitation is replaced by a stare-off, and then he seems quite eager to send his pokemon off on such a dangerous mission.  All of the caring, compassion, and worry that's in the Japanese version of this special and in the dub of the regular TV series is removed from this version. 

I guess showing a boy express emotions is too "girlie" for the particular team that's working on Chronicles or something.

Cut--8 seconds altogether
Four seconds are trimmed from the shot of Kenta staring at Bakuphoon during the scene I described above.

Bakuphoon yell is shortened by a second.

And three seconds are trimmed from the shot of Kenta right after the aforementioned yell.

Side Note
Hey, I have something positive to say about this special!

Atilla:  "You want to go on a suicide mission, be my guest!"

That line really surprised me, to say the least.  I think this might be the first time the word "suicide" has ever been used in the dub, and it's certainly one of the most mature lines the dub has ever produced.  By this point 4Kids has added in so many ridiculous lines that they totally negate this one great line, but it's still worth mentioning.

Dialogue Edit
Right as Atilla calls out his Muk:

Atilla:  "Hey little twerps, put on your raincoats, and your galoshes too!"

Um...yeah...I guess 4Kids is trying to tell us that they'll need these things for dealing with Muk, because apparently Jimmy and the gang are planning on walking through Muk on a rainy day...or something.

The next line comes after Raikou makes a really painful face:

Marina:  "Look!  Raikou's waking up!"

Originally, Marina was saying "Raikou is getting worse!"  I don't know why 4Kids wrote a line that doesn't match the animation at all, but I've more or less given up on trying to figure out their logic.

Cut--2 minutes, 24 seconds
So Jimmy says goodbye to Raikou, Raikou runs off, Jimmy says "You rock, and you rule!", everyone poses, and the narrator closes the special by talking about how Jimmy and the others really are friends.  And that's the end of the special, right?

Not at all.

What 4Kids does here is pretty much cut out the entire ending of the special.  Right after everyone poses, we see the gang leaving the Pokemon Center, where Kudou, Minaki, Junsa, and Joi say goodbye to our heroes.  Kenta and the others walk together until they reach a signpost, where they decide to each go their separate ways, just like they did when they started their pokemon journeys.  Kenta goes one way, Jun'ichi goes another, and Marina, after lingering behind a bit, goes a third way.

Kenta and his friends leave the Pokemon Center.  They've got a few scratches on them from their adventure.	The trio thanks everyone for all their help.
The adults all congratulate Kenta-tachi and tell them not to overdo it from now on.	Marina asks Kudou-san to say hi to Utsugi-Hakase the next time he sees him.
Kudou says he'll do that while he's giving his report to Utsugi-Hakase.	Everyone says their farewells before heading off.
Minaki and Kudou admire what all the kids managed to do.	Minaki gets overly poetic...
...prompting Kudou to wonder what Minaki's going on about.	Next, we get this establishing shot of some road somewhere.  The special's ending theme, Aratanaru Chikai, begins to play.
Well, this is where they say goodbye.	This reminds them of the first day of their journey.
Next we see this flashback of the day the kids got their first pokemon.  I really like how everyone looks a little younger here.
Everyone announces which way they'll be heading.	Kenta's the first one to go.
Jun'ichi promises to call Marina later.	Jun'ichi sets off, leaving Marina and Muma behind.
Muma lingers around for a bit before following its trainer.	The three trainers go off on their separate ways.
We see this shot of the signpost again before the end credits begin.

We then see the ending credits, which lasts two minutes and six seconds.  I didn't include this time in the figure above.

Kenta's walking along, by himself.	Suddenly, his Pokegear starts to ring.
It's Marina!	Kenta is surprised; he doesn't even remember giving her his number!
Marina had asked Jun'ichi for Kenta's number before they left the Pokemon Center.  Kenta is the first person she's calling on her new Pokegear.	Kenta seems a little skeptical.
Marina says that she'll give him her number in case he ever needs to contact her.  I guess Pokegears don't come with Caller ID?	Kenta tries to play it cool...
...but he's actually really excited to get her number.	The special ends with Marina continuing to speak with Kenta.

We then see that shot of the mountains that the dub uses as the final scene of the episode, but that's shortened by seven seconds.

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