Every banned Pokémon episode and why they were taken off TV

We have said it before and we will say it again: It is tough out there for a Pokemon Anime completist. Tracking down every episode in all 26 seasons makes the franchise’s many colorful critters seem downright easy in comparison. And the kicker? Even if you technically “catch them all,” there are still a handful Pokemon Episodes that are difficult – if not impossible – to watch. Why? Because these idiots forbidden.

This does not mean that they were never broadcast (i.e. no one saw them), postponed or temporarily taken off the air. Pokemon Episodes we are talking about were withdrawn after public outcry and are not available to watch in their original form – or any form, in some cases – since then. We’ve rounded them all up below, complete with a full rundown of the reasons they were banned, from offensive stereotypes to public safety concerns.

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“The Beauty and the Beach”

Much of what was shown on television in the late 90s would no longer work today. Pokemon Season 1, Episode 18, “Beauty and the Sand,” was an obvious flop. It features a frankly astonishing amount of sexually charged material, including several people – including Ash and Brock – ogling Misty in a bikini. Oh, and James from Team Rocket struts around with a pair of inflatable breasts and embarrasses Misty, just to be sure. It says “moral panic” on the screen, which is why the original Pokemon Licensor 4Kids Entertainment didn’t bother to produce an English dub of “Beauty and the Beach.” Kids’ WB later aired an edited version of the episode twice in 2000 (which removed James’ fake cleavage) before banning it altogether.

“The Legend of Miniryu”

Image: OLM/The Pokémon Company

Pokemon isn’t a violent property — not really. Sure, Pokémon tournaments are a major aspect of the franchise’s lore, but Squirtle’s final form sprouts a water cannon, not a howitzer, if you know what I mean. So it’s incredibly unsettling when Safari Zone guard Kaiser starts waving around a realistic-looking revolver Pokemon Season 1, Episode 25, “The Legend of Miniryu.” To be fair, these scenes are mostly for laughs and no one actually gets shot. Still, the sight of Ash Ketchum being held at gunpoint probably wouldn’t have gone down well with international audiences. 4Kids Entertainment certainly thought so, as they – like pretty much every other international rights holder – preemptively banned “The Legend of Miniryu.” Unlike with “Beauty and the Beach,” Kids’ WB didn’t bother with this one, so there isn’t even a pirated English copy floating around the internet.

“Electric Soldier Porygon”

Image: OLM/The Pokémon Company

If it is a poster child for forbidden Pokemon episodes, it’s “Electric Soldier Porygon.” If you grew up in the mid-to-late ’90s, you’ll remember the worldwide furore this episode caused after it sent hundreds of Japanese children to the hospital with epileptic seizures. The culprit in the episode? Franchise mascot Pikachu, whose flickering red and blue “Thunderbolt” move proved too intense for many viewers (seizures aside, There were reports vomiting in children, temporary blindness and much more).

In response, TV Tokyo immediately removed “Electric Soldier Porygon” from its schedule – permanently. Pokemon anime also took a four-month hiatus while the creative team and a group of medical experts tried to figure out what the heck was going on. After focusing on the flashing lights, animation studio OLM tweaked the other strobe-filled sequences from the first season to avoid another child-centric health crisis. The Porygon Pokémon was also sidelined forever, despite being innocent in the whole affair.

The lasting effect of “Electric Soldier Porygon” extends beyond the Pokemon Anime itself. Japanese broadcasting regulations changed and the entire anime industry revamped the way it handled overly bright, fast-paced sequences in television shows. Today, popular action series such as My Hero Academia And Jujutsu Kaisen Use dimming and ghosting techniques—reducing brightness and combining animated images—to minimize the possibility of triggering a seizure.

Not surprisingly, no international network has aired the episode since (and probably never will), making it the only Pokemon Episode banned worldwide.

“Holiday Hi-Jynx”, “Stage Fight”, “The Mandarin Island Miss Match”, “The Ice Cave!” and “Satoshi and Nagetukesaru! A Touchdown of Friendship!!”

Image: OLM/The Pokémon Company

We have the last five banned Pokemon episodes together because they were all canceled for the same reason: blackface. “Holiday Hi-Jynx,” “Stage Fight,” “The Mandarin Island Miss Match,” and “The Ice Cave!” all feature Jynx in major roles—a Pokémon whose original dark-skinned, red-lipped design bore an uneasy resemblance to minstrel show makeup. While OLM eventually colored Jynx purple in the original Japanese versions, The Pokémon Company quietly pulled the English dubs from streaming services, home media, and the like (with the exception of “The Ice Cave!”, which never received an English dub to begin with).

And what about the fifth episode? Here it is not Jynx who is to blame, but Ash. The original Pokemon The protagonist in “Satoshi and Nagetukesaru! A Touchdown of Friendship!!” gets paint smeared on his face to pass as a black-and-white Passimian, and it doesn’t look particularly good. Admittedly, the blackface references are almost certainly unintentional—available stills make it clear that Ash’s face paint is part of what is essentially a lemur costume (though that itself could be considered offensive)—but The Pokémon Company didn’t want to risk another scandal. To date, no English dub of “Satoshi and Nagetukesaru! A Touchdown of Friendship!!” exists, in another example of a Pokemon Episode will be blocked in advance.