Pokémon Banned Card Artwork
Pokémon is a globally recognized franchise, known almost everywhere around the world. However, with international reach comes the challenge of navigating various cultures. What is acceptable in one culture might not be seen the same way in another. Beyond cultural differences, the franchise also faces challenges from individuals who may stir controversy. As a result, Pokémon has certainly faced its share of contentious situations.
The following cards underwent artwork changes for their international release, distinguishing them from their original Japanese versions:
- Jynx from Base
- Jynx from Base Set 2
- Grimer from Team Rocket
- Gengar from Gym Heroes
- Jynx from Gym Heroes
- Sabrina’s Gaze from Gym Heroes
- Jynx from Gym Challenge
- Koga’s Ninja Trick from Gym Challenge
- Misty’s Tears from Gym Challenge
- Arcade Game from Neo Genesis
- Card-Flip Game from Neo Genesis
- Moo-Moo Milk from Neo Genesis
- Jynx from Legendary Collection
- Magmortar from Dragons Exalted
- While the artwork was never censored, Kadabra hasn’t had a Pokémon card made of it since 2003
In this guide, I’ll break down the specific changes made to each card and explain the reasons behind them, even when the reasons may seem obvious.
Is Jynx Racist?
While my list includes five different Jynx cards that have been censored, it’s important to note that two of these are reprints. The censorship stems from Jynx’s original design. To put it in the words of Carole Boston Weatherford:
Jynx resembles an overweight drag queen incarnation of Little Black Sambo, a racist stereotype from a children’s book long ago purged from libraries.
Carole Boston Weatherford is not the reason for the initial alteration of Jynx, where its face and body were recolored purple. In fact, the recoloring of Jynx for the Base Set occurred prior to Carole’s comments, which were made public on January 9th, 1999. Wizards of the Coast, the company responsible for the international release of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, proactively changed Jynx’s design before any controversy emerged. This explains why Carole specifically criticizes the ‘TV cartoon’ in her statement dated January 5th, 2000.
Nonetheless, a total of five Jynx cards ultimately received censored artwork.
The more interesting detail about Jynx isn’t that the cards from Base, Base 2, Gym Heroes, Gym Challenge, and Legendary Collection were censored, but rather that a later card from the Neo Revelations set features Jynx with uncensored artwork.
Jynx began receiving the purple face treatment on Japanese cards starting with the Expedition Set, which was released on December 1st, 2001.
Grimer Gonna Grime
If you compare the eyes of Grimer in the original Japanese version to the international release, you’ll notice some differences.
If you compare the eyes of Grimer in the original Japanese version to the international release, you’ll notice a significant change. In the original artwork, Grimer appears to be looking upward, which caused some controversy due to its implied direction. For the international release, this was altered so that Grimer’s gaze is looking straightforward, making the artwork less contentious.
I’m sure the artist intended for it to look like Grimer was staring up the girl’s skirt. The girl in the picture has “loose” socks, an indication that she is supposed to be a kogaru, or “slutty” schoolgirl. A few years ago there were legions of such schoolgirls, many of whom openly admitted (for tabloid TV shows and magazines) that they wore no underwear under their skirts. The artist is obviously making light of this Japanese cultural phenomenon.
In my opinion, it’s clear that Kogemaru Himeno wouldn’t openly reveal her actual intentions behind the artwork, but I’ll leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions.
Graveyard Gengar
In the original Japanese version, you can clearly see crosses in the background, suggesting that Gengar is in a graveyard. For the international release, these crosses were removed.
What’s interesting is that Wizards of the Coast didn’t completely redesign the background artwork. Instead, they simply removed the crosses, unlike most other controversial cards which received entirely new artwork. Perhaps because this card was a holographic foil, they felt that a minimalistic design would work just as effectively without needing a completely different background.
Sabrina’s Hates You
In the original artwork, some viewers thought Sabrina was giving them the bird—and with that expression on her face, she just might have been. This led to our first instance of completely new artwork being created for the international release.
While the controversy here might not be immediately obvious, it’s important to remember that the primary audience for these cards is children and their parents. Although there isn’t an actual middle finger being shown in the original artwork, it was deemed close enough to cause concern and thus warranted a change.
Koga’s White Power Trick
This particular artwork was not only censored for the international release but also received an altered version in Japan. The original artwork featured a swastika near the top right, which led to the change.
It’s important to note that the symbol was never intended to be a swastika; it is actually a Buddhist symbol called “manji.” There are a few key differences between the manji and a swastika: they are oriented in opposite directions, the manji has dots inside its corners, and it isn’t rotated to its side like the swastika.
However, to avoid confusion, changes were made, and every print of *Koga’s Ninja Trick* used the updated artwork.
Misty’s Tears
Naked bodies in cartoons aren’t a big deal in Japan, and many other cultures would agree. However, in the United States, it’s considered taboo. This was one of my favorite as a kid >:)
Since Misty was depicted completely naked, it was inevitable that this card would be given an alternative artwork for the international release.
Gambling in Pokemon
When Pokemon Red & Blue hit the US, it took the nation by storm. The gameboy game was in every kids hand. Of those dedicated enough to the game to get to the game corner, there were parents raising an eyebrow to the fact their kid was playing a slot machine. However, people like me who wanted Porygon so bad they couldn’t see straight, they had to gamble for days to get the amount of coins needed. Luckily I picked Pokemon Blue which charged 6,500 coins to buy Porygon. Red and Yellow both maxed out at 9,999! This forced Red/Yellow players to trade with Blue who were getting an unfair bargain. This gambling aspect of the gameboy games made their way into the TCG. Two cards that were censored due to their gambling themes are *Arcade Game* and *Card-Flip Game* from Neo Genesis. For *Arcade Game*, not only was the artwork changed, but the name was as well—スロットゲーム translates to “slot game,” while アーケードゲーム translates to “arcade game.”
Clearly, Wizards of the Coast decided they didn’t want gambling promoted through the game. This form of censorship also extended to the video games. In the re-releases of *FireRed* and *LeafGreen*, the *Gambler* character sprites were removed in the European versions. Funny enough, Porygon being at the center of gambling isn’t what got it banned from the anime series.
Suckin’ on some Moo-Moo Milk
Apparently, a Sentret suckling on a synthetic udder was deemed inappropriate for the rest of the world, and perhaps even questionable in Japan. As a result, the original *Moo-Moo Milk* artwork was banned for international audiences.
When *Moo-Moo Milk* was reprinted for the *Vs* set in Japan, the censored artwork was chosen instead of the original.
Gangsta Magmortar
While the other artworks were banned back in 2000, *Magmortar* was censored in 2012, making it the most recent card to undergo censorship. The original artwork resembled a smoking gun, which led to the change.
This isn’t the only time Pokémon has censored content due to the appearance of guns. Episode 035 of the Pokémon anime was never released outside of Japan because the Safari Zone Warden points and uses a gun throughout the episode.
Kadabra is a Real Magician
That may cover all the cards that have had their artwork changed to avoid controversy, but the biggest controversy in the Pokémon TCG is tied to Team Rocket’s *Dark Kadabra*. Uri Geller filed a lawsuit against Nintendo over this card, claiming that *Kadabra* was an unauthorized appropriation of his identity. Geller’s case was quite strong, as he is famously known for his spoon-bending trick—a defining characteristic of *Kadabra*, who carries a spoon and uses it for its attacks.
The connection goes deeper when you consider the katakana names: *Kadabra* is written as ユンゲラー (Yungeraa), and Uri Geller’s name is ユリゲラー (Yurigeeraa), showing a clear nod to Geller’s identity, much like how *Hitmonchan* and *Hitmonlee* are inspired by Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
Although *Kadabra* was initially printed several times without issue, the release of *Dark Kadabra* changed things. In Japan, the “dark” Pokémon are actually referred to as “evil” Pokémon, which Geller did not appreciate. Not wanting to be associated with an “evil” character, Geller filed the lawsuit, which led to the halt of *Kadabra* card production. Since the lawsuit, there has never been a new *Kadabra* card printed.
Pokémon Prostitution
If you’ve ever seen a Pokémon product made for Hong Kong audiences, you’ll notice that the logo isn’t yellow—it’s red. This is because yellow neon signs were used extensively to advertise sexual services, making the color yellow synonymous with prostitution. While there are some red-logo Pokémon products made for English markets, the yellow logo was never introduced in Chinese products.
Thank You
Thank you for reading! I hope you found this information helpful. If you enjoyed this article, please share it with others who might be interested in learning more about Pokémon. If you spot any errors or have any feedback, please reach out to me through the contact page. And don’t forget to check out my other articles—I put a lot of effort into each one.