DESCRIPTION:
This, is the famous scene from an episode of Pokémon called Dennō Senshi Porygon (でんのうせんしポリゴン) (Translated in English as Cyber Soldier Porygon or Electric Soldier Porygon). The scene itself contains Pikachu, who uses a Thunderbolt attack on some vaccine missiles from a computer program, causing an explosion, emitting a flashing blue and red light, which flashes very fast. This, is the scene that has induced photosensitive epileptic seizures in a substantial number of Japanese viewers, an incident referred to as the "Pokémon Shock" (ポケモンショック Pokemon Shokku) by the Japanese press. 685 viewers were taken to hospitals; 2 people remained hospitalized for more than two weeks. Due to this, the episode has not been rebroadcast worldwide. After the incident, the Pokémon anime went into a four-month hiatus, and it returned on TV Tokyo in April 16, 1998, thus making the episode perhaps the most controversial episode of the entire Pokémon series. Since then, the episode has been parodied and referenced in cultural media, including The Simpsons and South Park.

This episode aired only once on December 16, 1997 and was never shown again.