Top 10 Most Censored Pokémon Moments

“Aiming for the Top Floor!”

Before Ash and his friends can fight the leader of a Ninja themed gym, they have to prove their worth by throwing shurikens into a wooden target. Although Lillie’s reckless throwing gives Kiawe an impromptu haircut, no one is hurt by the ninja weapons. But this scene was apparently too dangerous for American children. In the English dub, the shurikens became bright pink and suction cups were added to their sharp ends. The censors also altered the weapon’s sound effects and cut the animation of Kiewe’s hair getting shredded. We get that censors didn't want American children treating shurikens like toys, but it’s ironic that a show built around Pokémon fighting each other found this relatively harmless scene to be too violent.

“The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!”

Jesse’s Team Rocket uniform is nothing less than iconic. She's been wearing some variation of a crop top emblazoned with the letter R and a mini skirt since 1997. But her outfit became subject to censorship in 2019. When “The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!” episode was aired in Indonesia, fans noticed that Jesse's midriff was mysteriously blurred out. To make matters more baffling, her back was still visible in several shots. It's hard to tell why Indonesian censors waited two decades to shoddily cover-up Jesse's belly button. Unfortunately for them, we don’t think Jesse will abandon her trademark outfit anytime soon.

“Snow Way Out!”

When Team Rocket needed to wait out a snowstorm in an igloo, they relied on matches for warmth. But American censors didn't want kids to see the characters holding lit matches. So, they tried to cut every shot of the tiny flames. When they absolutely had to show Meowth holding fire, he’s seen holding a birthday candle. Not only did the candle look hilariously out of place, but it was still fully lit. And after all that editing, they showed Meowth holding burnt-out matches anyway. We understand that the censors were trying to promote fire safety. But there had to be a better way to address this than stealing a candle from a non-existent birthday party.

“The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!”

While his friends fish for Pokémon, Meowth notices the ghost-type Pokémon Mimikyu floating in the water. After seeing its ghastly true form, we cut to Meowth floating face down in the water. In the next scene, his soul returns to his body and he references going to “the other world”. The combination of imagery and dialogue made it clear Mewoth almost became a ghost type permanently. This dark joke was toned down considerably in the English dub. The censors removed the image of Meowth floating facedown and the shot of his fleeting soul. Instead, they edited the scene to look like he fainted. Although he still references the afterlife, the lack of grim imagery made it easier for the somewhat sinister jest to go over children's heads.

“All Things Bright and Beautifly”

An innocent Team Rocket daydream that became a controversy in an instant. When the terrible trio imagined themselves winning a Pokémon contest, Jesse, James, Meowth and a crowd of Rocket grunts were seen pointing their right arms up into the air. Although it was supposed to look like they were all waving to an adoring crowd, it somewhat resembled a Nazi salute. The English dub altered the episode so that everyone in the crowd had their arms at their side. While the scene may have been short, this was an absolutely crucial edit. No facist gestures in our kids anime, please!

"The Kangaskhan Kid”

Anyone remember the time Ash and company met a wild child named Tommy, who was raised by Kangaskhan? In the English dub, when Tommy meets Misty, he stares her down and asks if she's a Pokémon, prompting her to hit him in return. While this may seem like an extreme response, it makes way more sense when you hear the original question. In the Japanese version, Tommy asks Misty if she would...nurse him. Considering that Misty herself is a minor, Tommy’s question and the accompanying visuals are wildly inappropriate and creepy!

“A Night in the Nacrene City Museum!”

Gym leader Lenora had to undergo an important redesign before she appeared in the English dub. Originally, the character was introduced as a woman of black descent who wore a full-body apron and had a bandana tied around her head. This combination caused audiences to draw comparisons between her and the racist mammy caricature; one that depicted an enslaved African-American woman who wore a bandana and apron. In an effort to ensure the character wouldn’t come across as a racist stereotype, Lenora’s apron was edited out completely. This change was so significant that Lenora’s character design was altered on websites, in graphic novels, and the mainline games.

“Primeape Goes Bananas”

Onigiri is a common Japanese dish that is made up of rice and a number of delicious fillings. It also has the unique ability to morph into a completely different food when it's being dubbed for American audiences. In this now legendary dub moment, Brock infamously holds up a batch of onigiris and calls them jelly-filled donuts. While we understand that American children may not be familiar with this dish, we still don't understand why they needed to change it. Did they think American children hated rice? Or that they wouldn't notice that onigiri look nothing like jelly donuts? The only benefit of this baffling change was that it gave the internet a great meme.

"Got Miltank?”

After Cyndaquil and Meowth are injured and separated from their trainers, they are brought to a Miltank to heal. The cow-like Pokémon uses a combination of glowy hands and its naturally produced milk to heal others. However, American censors took issue with its udders. In the original Japanese version, Meowth and Cyndaquil are clearly shown drinking the milk directly from Miltank, which was completely cut from the English dub. If you look very, very, closely you can still see the moment where Cyndaquil detaches from an udder, but that’s about as close westerns audiences got. People have been to farms, you know!

“Beauty and The Beach”

There are plenty of examples of James assuming disguises throughout the anime. But the outfit he wore in this highly controversial episode sent the censors into overdrive. To infiltrate a beauty contest, James puts on a bikini, attaches inflatable breasts to himself and pumps them up to astounding size, where he then proceeds to make fun of Misty for being on the left side. The outrage caused by this led to the episode being banned for years! Even after being heavily edited, it was barely shown on western television and isn’t available on several streaming services. James' controversial accessories will ensure that this episode will live forever in infamy.