Lost Pokemon Episodes Starring Team Rocket Surfaces After 12 Years
Pokemon has been around for decades, and in that time, the franchise has sparked all sorts of theories. From its movies to its games, Pokemon has a ton of wild mysteries which have yet to be solved. One of its most famous mysteries lied with Pokemon's anime for Black and White. But after 12 long years of waiting, the big mystery has been solved as scripts for two lost episodes have come to light.
Yes, that is right. Pokemon sleuths were able to track down two scripts from the anime that were meant to air more than a decade ago. As it turns out, the Unova region has big things planned for Team Rocket at this time, but "Team Rocket vs Team Plasma" part one and two were never released to see that vision through.
Thanks to Bulbagarden user ObjectionMan and several anonymous fans, Pokemon's anime has now filled in this gap from its history. The full scripts for Black and White's missing episodes are now live here. You can check out the lengthy reads in English as the original Japanese scripts have been translated. And yes, the scripts contain juicy details about Team Rocket.
After all, fans of the Pokemon anime may remember how big these missing episodes were hyped. During their team in Unova, Team Rocket assumed a more serious storyline than we'd ever seen before, and the group even changed its outfits to something darker. As Team Rocket was introduced to Team Plasma, it became apparent the two groups were going to butt heads, and these scripts prove the gangs did have an epic showdown. Sadly, these episodes were never finished as a natural disaster in Japan prompted The Pokemon Company to nix the Rocket vs Plasma showdown.
Why was that choice made, you might be asking? Well, it has to do with violence. After Japan's earthquake-tsunami combo, the nation was reeling from the devastation. Pokemon felt it was inappropriate to air new episodes that featured a ton of property damage, so fans expected the showdown to be delayed. Sadly, the whole two-part arc was shelved indefinitely, but we've now been given a peek at what could have been 12 years later. And given how invested fans were in this Team Rocket story, don't be surprised if a few fan-anime adaptations come from this script reveal...!
What do you think about this long-awaited piece of lore now that it has surfaced? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
