Seafoam Island (anime)
| Seafoam Island ビンヌ Binnes | |
 Seafoam Island | |
| Region | Kanto |
| Debut | The Evolution Solution |
Seafoam Island (Japanese: ビンヌ Binnes) is an animated series-exclusive location close to Pallet Town. It is a tropical holiday resort located near the ocean. In the dub, it shares its name with the Seafoam Islands, a pair of icy islands in the core series games; however, as made clear in by its Japanese name, it is entirely unrelated to the game location.
In the original Japanese version, this location is implied to be on the mainland of Kanto. In the dub, it is an island that is said to be connected to Fuchsia City via a bridge.
History
In The Evolution Solution, Ash learned from his mother that she, a few Pallet Town locals and Misty and Brock were going to Seafoam Island for a beachside vacation. Although Ash initially stayed behind to train for the Indigo Plateau Conference, he eventually traveled to Seafoam Island as well to visit Professor Westwood V and find out how Slowpoke evolves into Slowbro.
Arriving on Seafoam Island, Ash met up with Misty and Brock who were windsurfing, and together they visited Professor Westwood V's laboratory. Once they met Professor Westwood V, they assisted him in trying to find out the relationship between Slowpoke and Shellder.
Meanwhile, Giovanni decided to take a vacation on Seafoam Island. Jessie managed to capture a Shellder for her boss, but Giovanni was unimpressed and ordered the Team Rocket to go to Professor Westwood V's laboratory and steal potentially invaluable information. During a confrontation between the trio and the group, Jessie's Shellder accidentally clamped onto Professor Westwood V's Slowpoke's tail, causing it to evolve into Slowbro and effectively solving the mystery Professor Westwood V was trying to solve. Slowbro blasted Team Rocket off and Ash and his friends eventually said their goodbyes to the Professor.
In The Pi-Kahuna, Ash and his friends stayed on Seafoam Island a little longer, with Ash continuing his training for the upcoming Pokémon League there. While jogging, they came across a large traffic jam. The local Officer Jenny explained that it was the surfing season, and many surfers from all over the world were coming to Seafoam Island to ride the famous Humungadunga (Japanese: ビッグ・チューズデー Big Tuesday), a giant wave that only appears once every 20 years. The wave became famous after a surfer named Jan conquered Humungadunga and planted a flag atop a rock spire simply known as "The Rock" forty years ago.
After trying to surf themselves, Ash and his friends befriended Victor, a local surfer. During his first try 20 years earlier, Victor had not been able to conquer Humungadunga, but was planning to accomplish it this time alongside his Pikachu, Puka. With support from Ash and his friends, Victor ultimately succeeded in riding the Humungadunga and planted a flag on a tall rock near Seafoam Island. He then proceeded to inspire young surfers who watched his legendary accomplishment from the beach.
As mentioned in Lights, Camera, Quack-tion, Seafoam Island hosts a movie festival called the Flea Collar Film Festival (Japanese: ビンヌムービー画祭 グランプリ Binnes Movie Festival Grand Prix). Cleavon Schpielbunk was a two-time winner at this festival. The festival's connection to the island is never stated in the dub. Seafoam Island has a port, where boats leave for Littleroot Town in Hoenn. In Gotta Catch Ya Later!, Ash received a ticket to Hoenn, where he went to Seafoam Island off-screen and boarded the boat onto his next adventure.
In Oaknapped!, Ritchie visited Pallet Town in the hopes of meeting Professor Oak. He was told by Tracey however that the Professor traveled to Seafoam Island to record a TV programme. Tracey tried to contact Professor Oak via phone, but heard from Oak's co-star DJ Mary that the Professor had vanished without a trace. Tracey and Ritchie traveled over to Seafoam Island to investigate. They later uncovered a plot by Butch and Cassidy, who had had kidnapped the Professor for Dr. Namba, who wanted information on Pokérus from Professor Oak. They eventually managed to free the Professor, who then proceeded to record the live TV show he was working on.
Gallery
| Professor Westwood V's laboratory | Victor's house | TV station |
|---|---|---|
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Pokémon seen on Seafoam Island
 Slowpoke → Slowbro |
 Krabby |
 Magikarp |
 Puka |
 Gyarados (multiple) |
Trivia
Name origin
Seafoam Island comes from the game location, the Seafoam Islands.
Binnes is probably based on Cannes, a city in southern France that is also a beach resort. This is further evidenced by the "Binnes Movie Festival Grand Prix", that is likely based on the Cannes Film Festival. Furthermore, the name is likely a play on the Japanese word "bin", meaning "(glass) bottle", as a play on words as the Japanese pronunciation of Cannes sounds like "can".
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This article is part of both Project Anime and Project Locations, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Anime and Locations, respectively. | 
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