The top rare Pokemon episodes to search for

Everybody's searching for Pokemon on their iphones with the latest app, Pokemon Go.  Even some of the very rare ones and the most popular ones like Pikachu.  I....on the other hand.....am not very good at finding Pokemon on Pokemon Go (I claim it's because I play it the wrong way which is doing it safely).  What I am good at, however, is finding rare Pokemon episodes from the anime.  This is a list of Pokemon episodes that I deem very rare in no particular order.

1. Holiday Hi-Jynks

This special episode of Pokemon is your typical what I call "Kiss Saves Santa" special.  Team Rocket kidnaps Santa because one of his Jynks stole Jesse's dolly.  It is up to Ash and his friends to stop them and save Santa Claus.  While the episode itself is very corny (I remember this being on Kids WB myself), this episode had a controversy with the Pokemon Jynks who is accused of being racially offensive to black people.  This episode has since been off of reruns.  Besides pirates online, a 2006 release of The Indego League did include the episode, but the most recent release of the series has exiled it since.   

2. Beauty and the Beach

Nearly every anime had some kind of swimsuit episode (which would be consider fan service), and Pokemon was no exception to the rule.  This episode has Ash, Misty, and Brock at the beach crashing into someone's boat.  In order to pay for damages, Misty enters herself in a swimsuit competition.  If it can't get any weirder, Team Rocket enters the competition too with James wearing inflatable breasts.  It is obvious why this episode is harder to see because of the content used...even for a kids show.  This episode was indeed dubbed and aired at least one time on Kids WB, but removed the inflatable breasts scenes.  It is not on any DVD.  On Youtube, some Youtubers have uploaded the Kids WB recordings, and some even uploaded subs of the censored scenes.  One Youtuber reconstructed the episode using the best available source material, but has since been deleted.  You may find both versions on pirate sites (use at your own risk).

3. The Legend of Dratini

This is one of the most bizarre episodes of Pokemon I've ever seen for good reasons.  While the story itself is innocent enough with Ash going to a Pokemon Safari to get some rare Pokemon, its owner will indeed remind you of Clint Eastwood.  His use of intimidation is guns.  This is the only episode of Pokemon where someone uses a real life gun as opposed to a fictional ray gun or something cartoony like that.  Also, Meowth is shown at one point dressed up as Hitler.  Because of the use of guns and Meowth as Hitler, this episode has never been dubbed nor released in the US.  A few video sites have uploaded this episode in various qualities.  Sometimes it has different language subs or no subs at all.  Happy hunting trainers!!!!

 4. Pokemon Chronicles

This unusual Pokemon series is an on the side spinoff series which features the side characters such as Misty and Brock and also new characters as well.  The first 3 episodes were released as a movie, but were chopped into three episodes.  Some other episodes include special Pikachu Winter Vacation episodes.  Many of these episodes are bizarre in their own ways.  For example, Team Rocket is credited by peers as the good guys in one episode.  As interesting as the series is, it is the hardest one to see as it is not like the usual episodes that follow Ash and Pikachu,  These aired briefly on Cartoon Network, but the series is mostly available in the UK and Australia, who released all the episodes.  There is no official DVD release in the US.  In 2016, Pokemon's Twitch streamed these episodes as part of Pokemon's 20th Anniversary, but has not been seen in the US since.  Your best bet is to find these DVD's from the other countries for these shows.  

5. Electric Soldier Polygon

Was there ever any doubt to include this one on the list?  This episode involves Ash and friends stopping Team Rocket from interfering transportation of Pokemon to Poke centers.  They use a Polygon to help.  However, a virus killer begins targeting both Team Rocket and our heroes only to be stopped by Pikachu in the end.  This episode used INTENSE strobe lighting effects.  The worst one was caused by Pikachu.  That scene when originally aired in December of 1997 in Japan sent MANY Japanese kids to hospitals for epileptic seizures.   As a result, this episode was banned to never be aired again.  The earlier episodes were fixed to get rid of the problem, and Polygon was no longer allowed in the anime even though it was Pikachu's Thunderbolt that triggered the big strobe effect.  This effect used red, blue, and purple flashing at lightning speed.  It was never dubbed nor released almost 20 years later.  Recordings of this broadcast do exist.  Many Youtubers and video uploaders alike has uploaded the original episode uncut.  Some are subbed, others are not.  Until Pokemon Go, this was the only danger with Pokemon.  Watch at your own risk.

Honorable Mentions:  

Team Rocket vs Team Plasma
Road to Kalos

New Years Special XY

New Years Eve 2014 Super Mega Special

Destiny Deoxys 

Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

Pokemon XY: Mega Evolution Specials