Pokémon: Indigo League premiered on Japanese television in 1997 as Pocket Monsters, arriving in the United States in 1998 through a co-production between OLM, Shin-Ei Animation, and 4Kids Entertainment for syndication and later broadcast on the WB. The series adapted Nintendo and Game Freak's handheld phenomenon into episodic adventure, following young trainer Ash Ketchum across the Kanto region. "Tower of Terror" belongs to this founding season, when the show was still establishing the rules of its universe for a global audience discovering these creatures for the first time.
This cell corresponds to a Pokédex entry for Gengar, the shadow Pokémon long prized by collectors for its ghostly design and mischievous reputation within the games and anime alike. Pokédex entries were a recurring device in the series, brief informational interludes voiced to catalog a creature's traits whenever it appeared on screen. Gengar's inclusion in an episode titled "Tower of Terror" fits the character's established lore, tying its haunting nature directly to the tower setting the story explores.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of Pokémon: Indigo League - Tower of Terror (1998).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds four frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge of the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area stripe with a cyan tint.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames appear to be from a single continuous shot with no visible cut between them, consistent with the animated feature on record.
Era check
A dual bilateral variable-area optical track on 35mm colour positive stock is consistent with a 1998 theatrical release print of this title.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
