Pokémon "Battle Aboard the St. Anne" (found original American broadcast version of anime episode; 1998)

The "To Be Continued" cliffhanger at the end of the preview.

Status: Found

Date found: 04 Dec 2016

Found by: Squigglemclamesprite

When the Pokémon anime first came to the English-speaking world, it was broadcast in syndication. However, before officially starting the series from the first episode, it was decided that a more exciting, action-packed episode that ended in a cliffhanger would be used to first expose American audiences to the new sensation. On September 7, 1998, a day before the series officially debuted in the United States, "Battle Aboard the St. Anne," the 15th episode, was broadcast.

However, the version broadcast on that date was not identical to the one that aired in its normal place 20 days later on September 27. In the beginning, the narrator announced that this was a special preview, and at the end, he teased a cliffhanger, wondering if the heroes would escape the shipwreck that occurs at the end of the episode, and says that the next day, audiences would see how Ash's journey began.

Availability

This version of the episode never aired again, with all subsequent broadcasts, home videos, and Internet streams using normal narration. The broadcast did not resurface among the fan community until December 4, 2016, when user Squigglemclamesprite found the preview version of the episode and mirrored it on MEGA and Google Drive. Before this user upload, it was thought that it was unlikely anyone had recorded the broadcast, as it was America's first official exposure to Pokémon and nobody in the country would have been a fan yet.

Gallery

Rocket Elijah's video on the subject.

See Also

Anime

• Pokémon "Battle of the Quaking Island! Barboach VS Whiscash!!" (partially found unaired anime episode; 2004)
• Pokémon "Computer Warrior Porygon" (lost unaired English dub of anime episode; existence unconfirmed; 1998)
• Pokémon "The Legend of Dratini" (non-existent unaired English dub of anime episode; 1997)
• Pokémon "Rocket-dan VS Plasma-dan!" (partially found unaired two-part anime episode; 2011)
• Pokémon "Pokémon! I Choose You!" (found original Japanese airing of anime series pilot; 1997)

Shorts/Clip Shows

• Pocket Monsters Best Wishes: Hikatokage no Tenkyuugi (partially found short of "Pokémon" anime; 2011)
• Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl: Atsumare! Pokémon-boshi Matsuri (lost short of "Pokémon" anime; 2008)
• Pocket Monsters XY: Uchū no Hahen (partially found short of "Pokémon" anime; 2014)
• Pokémon 3D Adventure: Mew o Sagase! (partially found 3D short of anime; 2005)
• Pokémon 4D: Pikachu's Ocean Adventure (partially found 4D short of anime; 2006)
• Pokémon "It's New Year's Eve! Pocket Monsters Encore" (lost unaired special of anime series; 1997)
• Pokémon "Pocket Monsters, Fall Special!" (found "clip show" episode of anime series; 1997)
• Pokémon "Pocket Monsters, Winter Special!" (lost unaired "clip show" episode of anime series; 1998)

Other

• Pokémon 3: The Movie (lost first draft of anime sequel film script; late 1990s)
• Pokémon Live! (partially found professional recording footage of musical; 2000-2001)
• Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions (lost "It Takes Two" TV commercial for role-playing games; early 2000s)
• The Power of One: The Pokémon 2000 Movie Special (found The WB special; 2000)

External Links

• A link to the mirror on MEGA.
• Another link to the episode on Google Drive.