Sneak Peek: Hoax Hunters explain the Pokemon Shock

**Molly Bloom** (0:06)
Hi, friends, this is Molly. Before we start the show, we just want to let you know that we just announced two Smash Boom Best live shows, September 19th in Minneapolis, October 11th in Dallas. We would love to see you there and get some high fives in person. Our Minneapolis show features debaters Joy Dolow, Anna Weigel, and Alcee Bruno, and Dallas. We are so excited to announce those debaters very soon. Until then, you can get tickets at brainson.org/events.
That's brainson.org/events.

**Marc** (0:45)
Brains On Universe.

**Molly Bloom** (0:49)
Hey, friends, Molly here with a sneak peek of a bonus episode we just released in our Smarty Pass feed.
It's about a strange phenomenon called the Pokemon Shock. Here's a few minutes of the episode. And if you want to hear the whole thing and get ad-free versions of our shows, invites to online hangs or even a custom greeting from me or Joy Dolow, head to smartypass.org and sign up for Smarty Pass. Enjoy.

**Marc** (1:21)
Hey, Smarty Pals, Marc and Sanden here.

**Sanden** (1:23)
Yo, what's up?

**Marc** (1:25)
We're back as the Hoax Hunters. That's the show where Sanden and I look into claims that seem hard to believe.

**Sanden** (1:32)
Like what?

**Marc** (1:33)
To find out if they are real, a misunderstanding or maybe a hoax.

**Sanden** (1:38)
Gonna hunt that hoax.

**Marc** (1:39)
Oh yeah, gonna hunt it. Today, we're bringing you a bonus episode that's only available to Smarty Pals, like you.

**Sanden** (1:47)
So exclusive.

**Marc** (1:49)
It's kind of a follow up to that Forever Ago episode on the history of Pokemon.

**Sanden** (1:53)
Like a sequel.

**Marc** (1:57)
This time, we're looking at a strange phenomenon that occurred in December of 1997

**Sanden** (2:02)
In the past.

**Marc** (2:04)
It's so far back.
A TV show that lots of people claim made them sick. It's been called the Pokemon Shock.

**Sanden** (2:12)
Was it real? A hoax?

**Marc** (2:14)
Let's learn more. Get ready to get skeptical with the Hoax Hunters.

**Sanden** (2:20)
Hoax Hunters.

**Marc** (2:37)
No, we don't like it.

**Sanden** (2:40)
The time is the evening on December 16th, 1997

**Marc** (2:45)
The place, Japan.

**Sanden** (2:48)
Kids all across the country are watching live TV.

**Marc** (2:53)
This was almost 30 years ago, way, way, way before streaming, and Netflix and YouTube and stuff like that. You couldn't just push a button and watch anything you wanted whenever you wanted.

**Sanden** (3:04)
Yeah, you had to wait for a specific time on a specific day to see the show you wanted. So if you were really into The Simpsons, for example, you could only watch the new episodes on, let's say, Sunday nights at 7 PM by turning to Channel 5

**Marc** (3:20)
I totally remember having to do this, and it was kind of annoying, but also kind of cool. TV shows were like a sunset.

**Sanden** (3:28)
Yeah, exactly. Like, wait, what?

**Marc** (3:30)
You know, when the sun goes down at the end of the day?

**Sanden** (3:33)
No, no, I know what a sunset is, Marc. I meant like, how is TV like a sunset?

**Marc** (3:38)
Oh, okay. Well, you can't just watch a sunset whenever you want to, right? It only happens at a specific time of day, which makes it special.

**Sanden** (3:47)
Wow. I never thought of it like that, but that is kind of special.

**Marc** (3:51)
Plus, with live TV like that, everyone had to watch the same shows at the same time. It was a totally shared experience.

**Sanden** (3:59)
Yeah. Yeah, that is kind of cool. In this case, it's also where the trouble started.
On December 16th, at 6:30 PM in Japan, millions of people were getting ready to watch the hottest new cartoon, Pokemon. The video game was already a hit, and the cartoon was super popular too.

**Marc** (4:20)
In this particular episode, Pikachu, Ash, and the gang go inside the computer and meet a digital bird-looking Pokemon called Porygon.

**Sanden** (4:28)
Toward the end of the episode, the program inside the computer attacks our heroes with some digital missiles.

**Marc** (4:35)
But our pal Pikachu stops the missiles by firing back, doing that lightning-zappy thing Pikachu does.

**Sanden** (4:43)
Okay, it was at this point in the show, at 6:51 PM, that some kids started feeling dizzy, kind of sick with headaches. Some passed out.

**Marc** (4:54)
Some kids were having seizures. That's when the brain has a fast burst of unusual electrical activity.

**Sanden** (5:00)
More than 600 kids felt so bad after the scene, they were taken to the hospital.
Over the next few days, more kids reported feeling ill too. According to some reports, around 12,000 kids in total. They all got better pretty quickly, but the whole thing was baffling.