Hello and thanks for reading my new article series, which covers, well, controversies in gaming history. I hope to make more, and if you guys like it, I can say I most likely will.
But I know why you’re here, so lets get down to business.

Pokemon is one of the most successful gaming franchises in history. When Pokemon Yellow debuted, it sold over a million copies in its first month alone, combined with the over 20 million copies of Pokemon Green, Red, and Blue sold, this proves that Pokemon is clearly a fan favorite among gamers.

But what some of you may not know is that with success comes controversy. And Pokemon has had controversy almost all of its lifetime, some of it very obvious, while some of it quite hidden. Today, I will key you in on some of the key struggles Pokemon has been through. Some it has won. Some, sadly, it has lost.



Well, I can say that almost all of us hear grew up with the adventures of beloved Ash and the gang on the television right? Well here’s something you might not have known. In season 1, episode 18, the episode, “Beauty and the Beach”, came the first in a long line of anime editing. Simple storyline, until it got to the beauty contest, which showed James sporting fake breasts to win it, in Japan it stayed uncut the way it was made, but when it hit the states, it was all cut out, although this part of the episode made up a significant part in the show, that’s why the episode may seem shorter than other ones. This would be the first in a long line of cutting episodes. And pulling them off the air.

Next, comes one of the most asked questions in Pokemon Anime history, where did Ash get all of those Tauros? Answer, this banned episode has it. What you may know, and what Professor Oak has mentioned many times, is that Ash did get them at the Safari Zone. But why was the episode not shown? Well, when Ash and the gang arrive, the owner of the Safari Zone puts a gun to Ash’s head, but that’s not it. Not later, Team Rocket arrives as usual, and the Safari Zone owner shoots at them, they weren’t hit, just shot at. Believe it or not, later in the episode, Team Rocket kidnapped the Owner and tied him up, then James puts a pistol to his head and tries to interrogate him about the hard-to-find Dratini, then Jessie puts her gun to his head. This would be the midpoint of the Anime controversy, and leave many Pokemon fans confused for years.


Finally, is an episode that literally hurt children all across Japan, thought to be an urban legend to some in America (I thought it was when I was coming up), and almost got the Pokemon Anime canceled altogether. Yes, the notorious Porygon episode was and did all of this. The episode went as planned, everyone from the usual cast were in cyberspace, thanks to Porygon, until Team Rocket shot rockets at the Porygon, Pikachu hits the missiles, making them explode into rapid flashings of Red and Blue, that sent over 800 Japanese children to the hospital. From this point, Pokemon was put on hiatus for 4 months, and almost canceled, but it bounced back.


There were other episodes highly criticized as well. Like the Jynx episode, which was never even aired, because Jynx was seen to be a racial stereotype of blackface. Also, there was a rumor going around that this was also not aired because of the SARS epidemic going on at the time, and in the episode, Brock showed many of its symptoms.

Of course, there were banned or rarely seen episodes that were not negative. Such as the Tentacruel episode, which had nothing really negative, but had a giant Tenetacruel knocking down buildings, this episode is now rarely aired because of its negative affiliations with 9/11, which it was originally aired just before. And again, there was another never before aired episode, “Shaking Island Battle! Barboach VS Whiscash!!”. Which as you can tell from the title, had a lot of earthquakes in it, this was made around the time when Japan had gotten hit by a chain of earthquakes, so like the Tentacruel Episode, it had nothing really negative, just bad timing.


The Pokemon themselves have also had controversial looks. As I’ve already said, Jynx is a big deal, because it was seen as a portrayal as blackface. But since it’s first appearance, Jynx’s skin color is now a more bright purple. Also, Registeel and Lucario are thought by some to be references to Nazism, this is due to the way that their sprites are posed, as if they were performing a Nazi salute. Notably, the German Registeel sprite is edited to have its arm down. And a lesser-known racial stereotype Pokemon, Ludicolo. Who supposedly plays off a Mexican stereotype, even donning a sombrero.

Pokemon, maybe has even more controversy when it comes to religion, personal beliefs, and morals throughout the world. One of the most debated arguments was about pokemon having connections to Satanism. For example, you would need to capture a demon first to make it do your bidding, and sometimes you would even need special talismans (Gym Badges), to control them. Although this maybe one of the oldest negative arguments, there really is no evidence to prove that Pokemon is a gateway to Satanism.

As I’ve said before, Pokemon also supposedly has links to Nazism. On some of the Japanese cards, there are swastikas(Or Manji). This can actually be disproved. Hindus and Buddhists used the swastika(Manji) to represent the sun, love, and mercy, and it has been around for hundreds of years before the Nazis used it.


Pokemon has also has a bad reputation with the Nation of Islam as well. In 2001 Saudi Arabia officially banned Pokemon. This seemed a shock to some, who just saw Pokemon as a harmless fad. The Nation Of Islam had five reasons for banning Pokemon, for it was unlawful to them. The first reason, it supported evolution. The second was that it distorted children’s minds. The third reason was that it damaged children mentally. The forth one says that it supports gambling, and the last, it has symbols like the The Hexa Star, which has connections to Zionists and Freemasons. There were also reports that the catch line, “Gotta catch em’ all” backwards meant, "I am a Jew", but there is no evidence to support that claim.

Well, I’ve taken you inside of some of the most controversial points and views of Pokemon, there are many more, but I will leave that option up to you if you would like to dig even deeper. Thank you for reading. This has been Pike, and remember, with success, comes controversy.

And now, you may discuss.

Sources:
Bulbapedia
Cesnur
Cephas-Library
Serebii.net

Pictures From:
Bulbapedia
Wikipedia.org