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EP023

Revision as of 14:32, 14 June 2018 by PardescanSlowbro (talk | contribs) (→‎Plot)
← EP022 : Abra and the Psychic Showdown
Original series
EP024 : Haunter versus Kadabra →
The Tower of Terror
EP023.png
  EP023  
ポケモンタワーでゲットだぜ！
Capture at the Pokémon Tower!
First broadcast
Japan September 2, 1997
United States October 7, 1998
English themes
Opening Pokémon Theme
Ending
Japanese themes
Opening めざせポケモンマスター
Ending ひゃくごじゅういち
Credits
Animation Team Ota
Screenplay 園田英樹 Hideki Sonoda
Storyboard 岡崎幸男 Yukio Okazaki
Assistant director 鈴木敏明 Toshiaki Suzuki
Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura
Additional credits

The Tower of Terror (Japanese: ポケモンタワーでゲットだぜ！ Capture at the Pokémon Tower!) is the 23rd episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on September 2, 1997 and in the United States on October 7, 1998.

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Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
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Blurb

Ash realizes that he must battle and collect a ghost Pokémon in order to defeat the young girl's psychic Pokémon. In search of a ghost Pokémon, he heads immediately for a tower in Lavender Town where they are said to dwell. Jessie, James and Meowth from Team Rocket are already at the tower, but as they lay in wait for our heroes, they are attacked by Gastly, Haunter and Gangar. In the process of trying to defeat the ghost Pokémon, Ash learns a lesson or two about the mystical spirit world. Can Ash capture a ghost Pokémon and if so, will it be enough to defeat the psychic Gym Leader of Saffron City?

Plot

After the events of the previous episode, Ash and his friends are heading to Lavender Town so Ash can catch a Ghost-type Pokémon to use against Sabrina. As they are hiking, the fog intensifies and Brock suggests that everyone should hold hands. Ash and Misty link up but Brock cannot find them. Brock reaches towards Ash's hand, but mistakenly grabs Pikachu's tail and receives an electric shock. Ash attempts to alleviate everyone's fears, but his skull mask only angers everyone and Pikachu shocks him.

The group arrive in Lavender Town and reaches the Pokémon Tower by dark. Misty and Brock, scared by the tower, want to let Ash go in alone. Pikachu decides to take a quick nap, Ash follows suite and gets his sleeping bag, but Misty wakes them up by smacking a gong. Meanwhile, Team Rocket watches them through one of the tower's windows.. James runs off, but falls through a hole in the floor. Jessie and Meowth look down and see James. Meowth then notices a closet door open nearby, through its turns out to be a Gastly which scares him. Meowth points at Gastly, but it disappears before Jessie sees it. Gastly reappears over Jessie's face, mimicking Jessie's speech, and Meowth scratches Jessie. Jessie retaliates, knocking angrily Meowth knocking him into the hole with James. Jessie soon joins James and Meowth, after looking at herself in a mirror and screaming at the sight of Gastly. Ash and friends hear the screams from outside, as Team Rocket fall through several floors. Team Rocket get back up, but Gastly scares them again, knocking them out.

As Ash, Misty and Brock enter the tower, the door closes on its own, putting them into a pitch-darkness. Ash sends out Charmander to light the room with a Flamethrower, though the Pokémon quickly tires. Brock finds a candle and Charmander uses Flamethrower to light the candle, and accidentally burns Brock in the process. Ash and his friends find a hole in the floor and hear strange noises echo as they explore. In another portion of the tower, a Haunter and Gengar are watching TV, laughing at a comedy show broadcast. Gastly comes into the room and they all laugh.

Ash and company enter a larger room. Suddenly the lights turn on, revealing a dining room with a the fully set table. Ash's attention turns to a dangling rope, with an instructional note attached. He quickly runs up and pulls it, which releases confetti and a welcome sign. Suddenly, the glassware and chairs begin to levitate. Brock gets thrown around in a chair while Pikachu and Charmander find themselves on platters. Ash and Misty run out of the room, Brock and the Pokémon soon jump off and flee. The tableware and chairs reset, and the Ghost Pokémon reappear, laughing at their mischief.

Outside, everyone is exhausted from running, Misty and Brock refuse to re-enter the tower. Ash still wants to go in, but his Pokémon are not as willing. Ash reminds Pikachu of its loss to Kadabra, and his Pokémon now agree to follow him, but Misty and Brock decide to stay behind. They go back inside and stop in front of the hole Team Rocket created earlier. Ash checks his Pokédex for more detail, its reveals that Ghost Pokémon are still shrouded in mystery. Ash hears commotion from the level beneath them and think the Pokémon are down there. He orders Pikachu to attack with an electric attack and Charmander uses its Flamethrower, which creates a fire. Ash throws a Poké Ball, but it hits Jessie in the face. Jessie gets angry as her hair catches fire. She runs around, creating a fireball from Ash's view, but it soon disappears, much to his disappointment. Suddenly, Pikachu spots Haunter behind Ash and freaks out, but Ash misses it. Haunter then appears in front and spooks him. Curious, Ash checks his Pokedex, though it has no data on Haunter. Ash sends Charmander, but the Pokémon disappears and reappears behind Ash, tapping his shoulder and causing him to freak out. Ash has Charmander use Leer. They both pull off fierce looks, but Charmander suddenly makes a funny face, making Haunter laugh. Ash scolds Charmander, though as it is distracted Haunter Licks him and the Fire Pokémon begins to shake. As a result Ash recalls Charmander. Much to Ash's surprise, a Gengar materializes through the floor before smacking Ash with a fan. Both ghosts are laughing as Ash checks his Pokédex, but there is still no information. The two resort to a comedy routine, though Ash is unimpressed and critical. The Pokémon, clearly upset, sink into the floor.

Ash and Pikachu jump after them, but miss and the duo crash into the wooden floor. The impacts cause a chandelier to drop on top of them, knocking them out. Pikachu's electricity lights the chandelier, and the Ghost Pokémon applaud the performance. The chandelier suddenly dims, Gengar taps them as Haunter approaches and pulls Ash and Pikachu's spirits out of their bodies. They wake up and are shocked at seeing their bodies on the ground. The Ghost Pokémon take Ash and Pikachu to the top of the tower. Outside, they admire the view of Lavender Town. Ash spots an opportunity for fun, and sees Misty and Brock waiting. Ash listens in on the Misty's conversation, she discusses her concern for Ash, wanting to go in and check on him. Ash speaks as Misty looks behind her, hearing Ash's voice. Ash pulls Misty into the air before dropping her, though Brock catches her. Misty gets up and runs into the tower and Brock follows, while Ash and Pikachu fly with the Ghost Pokémon. Haunter gets in front of Ash as he goes through Haunter's mouth. Everyone laughs, having fun. The Pokémon show Ash and Pikachu their toy room. Ash then understands that the Ghost Pokémon were not trying to scare people, they just wanted new playmates. Ash has to turn down the playtime in order to continue his quest, upsetting the Ghosts. Meanwhile, Misty and Brock find Ash and Pikachu's bodies, pulling them out from under the chandelier and trying to wake them. Both are clearly worried, but Misty voices more concern for Ash. Ash and Pikachu return to their bodies and wake up. Misty and Brock are relieved that they are okay, with Misty on the verge of crying.

They leave the tower the next day, Ash deciding not to catch the Ghost Pokémon. Brock questions this, to which Ash responds he may have to use humor. Pikachu points out something, causing Misty and Brock to look behind themselves. Haunter pulls a face and scares Misty and Brock away. After enjoying their company, Haunter decides to join Ash and Pikachu. Meanwhile, Gengar and Gastly smile and clap as they watch Team Rocket tied onto the spinning carousel.

Major events

 
Haunter coming along with Ash
For a list of all major events in the anime, please see the history page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

 
Dare da?

Pokémon

 
Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Gengar


Temporary banning

The episode was temporarily banned from re-airing on Kids' WB! after the September 11 attacks due to the title. It was later put back into circulation. Due to this, Kids' WB! refused to give the tape to Cartoon Network for them to air this episode in 2002.[citation needed] They have since conceded the rights to air it.[citation needed]

Trivia

 
Gastly's "hands"
  • This episode's English title is a reference to the Tower of Terror theme park ride.
  • Gastly is shown to be able to create hands out of the purple gas around its body.
  • Meowth can be seen running on all fours instead of on two legs when running with Jessie towards the first hole James fell through.
  • In this episode, Ash and Pikachu share an out-of-body experience, a real-world phenomenon.
  • The book Night in the Haunted Tower is based on this episode.
  • Team Rocket does not recite the motto in this episode.
  • This episode is featured on the Volume 9: Ghost DVD of Pokémon Elements.

Errors

  • When Pikachu shocks Ash in the beginning, Ash's Japanese voice is heard in the dub.
  • When Jessie runs around while her hair is caught on fire, her Japanese voice can be heard.
  • When Team Rocket is on the merry-go-round, Gengar's eyes are white instead of red.
  • When Ash uses his Pokédex to check out the ghost Pokémon (which turns out to be Team Rocket), it says, "Ghost Pokémon are shrouded in mystery." When the real ghost Pokémon actually appear, the Pokédex has no trouble recognizing them.
    • This could just be because there were no ghost Pokémon present the first time.
  • After Haunter scares off Misty and Brock and Ash starts to laugh, Pikachu speaks with a closed mouth.
  • When Ash throws a Poké Ball at Jessie, the ring around the Poké Ball is white instead of black.
  • After Jessie hits Meowth with a frying pan and into the hole with James, Meowth speaks with a closed mouth.
  • When Ash, Misty, Pikachu and Brock hear the screams from inside the Pokémon Tower for the first and second times, Ash has no shoes on.
  • When Ash yells at Pikachu and Charmander, Pikachu's tail has more zigzags than it should have and is less brown.
  • In the original airing in the scene where Misty bangs the gong, her suspenders are missing. This error was fixed in later airings.

  • Misty missing her suspenders, which has since been fixed in later airings

Dub edits

  • PokéRap: Day 3
  • Brock mentions that the voices sound like they are coming from a torture chamber in the dub, but he was actually referring to Hell in the Japanese version.
  • When Misty asks Ash to listen to her, her original dialog was "You can't die on us."
  • When Team Rocket falls down the hole for the second time, some katakana can briefly be seen: ニャ nya (meow), which is part of Meowth's Japanese name.
  • In the original, Ash says that Haunter's Lick paralyzed Charmander.
  • When Haunter pokes Ash's shoulder from behind, Ash thinks Charmander is the one poking him in the original version. In the dub, he tells Pikachu to "cut it out" instead.
  • In the dub, when Jessie falls onto James and Meowth, James tells her that the place is dangerous. In the original Japanese version, James instead remarks that Jessie is heavy.

In other languages



← EP022 : Abra and the Psychic Showdown
Original series
EP024 : Haunter versus Kadabra →
  This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.
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