Top 20 Most Censored Pokémon Moments

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 Most Censored Pokémon Moments.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the most notable Pokémon scenes that were edited from their original broadcast. However, we’ll just be considering censored moments, so full episodes don’t count.

Which of these thunder-shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments below!

“Settling the Scorbunny!”

The “Pokémon” dub is no stranger to censoring intense violence, crude humor, or other unsavory imagery. Instead of any of that, this time they took issue with a train attendant’s facial hair. On paper, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with a basic mustache. But, then you actually see it, and realize it makes him look a lot like a certain infamous dictator. That probably wasn’t the intent of the design, but either way, this guy’s mustache had to go. So, it was completely shaved before the episode was allowed to air in English. No wonder he looks so uncomfortable.

“Raid Battle in The Ruins!”

Where there’s coffins, there’s usually bodies. Especially when said coffins are inside of dilapidated ruins. But, despite the obvious implication, the English dub side steps any of the actual visuals. It’s a bit glaring since a good stretch of the episode involves a trainer getting trapped inside the sarcophagus Pokémon, Cofagrigus. The English version still retains that plot point, but in the ensuing discussion, the image of the body is nowhere to be found. Since they’d literally just rescued someone from the coffin, it’s odd that they drew the line at the explanation and not the act itself.

“The Ghost of Maiden's Peak”

Ofuda are traditional Japanese talismans meant to ward off misfortune. Or, in this case, to keep terrifying spirits away. There isn’t quite a one-to-one parallel for American audiences, so when Ash and the others used ofuda to fight a ghostly enemy, the dub had to take some major creative liberties. Instead of ancient talismans or other cultural items, the American episode hilariously refers to them as “anti-ghost stickers.” As you can imagine, it makes the spine-tingling storyline come across a lot goofier. To be fair, neither the ofuda or the stickers kept the ghost away, anyways.

“Less is Morrison”

No matter how you cut it, Morrison definitely has a memorable entrance, that’s for sure. In the original broadcast version, he meets Ash after chasing down his runaway lunch. His debut in English is just as noteworthy, but for some very different reasons. There, Morrison’s rice ball was replaced with a sandwich instead. It doesn’t quite look right, and not just because of the culture-shock. Evidently, the censors failed to consider that a foot-long sandwich won’t bounce down a hill the same way a rice ball will. So, dub-watchers are left with a sub that completely ignores the laws of physics and gravity.

“A Corphish Out of Water”

They’re called “Pokémon” battles for a reason; trainers aren’t supposed to be directly involved. But, when Ash ticked off a school of Carvanha, he got hit with a sea of retribution. At least, in the Japanese version. There, the piranha Pokémon don’t show him any mercy, and even land a few good glows to the back of his head. The dub, however, took issue with a human character being put in harm's way. Since there was no real way to edit around the violence, the shots of Ash under attack were omitted entirely. They were later reinstated for the international release, and eventually returned in future American broadcasts, too.

“The School of Hard Knocks”

When Ash and his friends meet the young trainer, Giselle, Brock’s lewd tendencies come out in full force. In the dub, Brock uncomfortably talks about how she can “violate his rights.” If you think that's a bit much, the original Japanese goes much, much further. There, Brock remarks that he can’t wait to see her in 8 years. If that line had made it into English, the implication alone would’ve put Brock on Officer Jenny’s most-wanted list. Keep in mind, this is less than ten episodes into the series, too. Look, Pokémon has a lot of questionable censorship decisions, but this is one that was probably for the best.

“There's no Place Like Hoenn”

May’s Torchic got off to a rather heated start in the Hoenn seasons. It was fine enough when its ember attack was just targeting enemies. But things changed when it turned its beak towards the human characters like Max and James. Torchic set them each ablaze on different occasions in the very same episode. So, while the fire was quickly put out before any harm was done, the moments were still skipped in the English dub. With that in mind, Max, James, and English censors probably all rejoiced when Torchic finally grew out of this fiery phase.

“Holiday Hi-Jynx”

At first, this episode was dubbed and released just like any other installment of the first season. However, shortly after it aired, many thought Jynx’s risque design and black color scheme reinforced racial stereotypes. The controversy was enough to get the episode removed from broadcast and future DVD releases for almost fifteen years. Nowadays, the original dubbed episode is back in network television rotation. But, on most streaming sites, the episode has been heavily edited to turn Jynx’s skin from black to purple, reflecting her modernized design in the games. Given all the fuss, it’s a Christmas miracle this episode ever saw the light of day at all.

“Exploud and Clear!”

Team Rocket as a whole are the equivalent to globally-renowned criminals. But, despite that, their boss still isn’t allowed to drink any alcohol, apparently. During one of Jessie, James, and Meowth’s fantasies, they envision Giovanni sipping on a glass of wine. In the English dub, however, the glass and coloring is altered to remove any hint of actual alcohol. This isn’t a one-off instance, either. Over a decade later, the same thing happened to Professor Kukui and Burnet. Their wedding toast was changed from wine glasses to cups of orange juice. Must have been a dry ceremony.

“Pokemon - I Choose You!”

Ash and Misty got off to a rocky start even before he stole her bike. After fishing them up, the Cerulean Gym Leader criticizes the newbie trainer for Pikachu’s injured state - and she tops it off with one hell of a slap to the face. The dub skips the whole thing with a prolonged still frame, but neglects to change Misty’s pose afterwards. Since this is the very first episode of the show, a quick censoring could have been forgiven. But, they do such a poor job at editing the scene, it ends up more distracting than if they had just left the slap in.

“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.