Rice ball

A rice ball (Japanese: 御握り, おにぎり onigiri) is a common Japanese snack that appears in the Pokémon anime many times and, in the dub, under a variety of different names. Brock makes them fairly often and they are frequently used in gags.

To give the snack a name which western children would be more familiar with, the dub has referred to them as sandwiches, cookies, jelly donuts and popcorn balls. In a couple of Hoenn League episodes, the 4Kids dub replaced giant rice balls with large sandwiches, which was not received well by the fanbase. However, a few times in the anime, most notably in A Tail with a Twist, 4Kids referred to rice balls by their proper name, instead of something adjusted for western audiences. Oddly enough, 4Kids had begun to refer to them as sandwiches or cookies even after this episode aired, such as in Less is Morrison.

Since The Pokémon Company International started dubbing the series, they have been consistently referred to as rice balls. However, in Working on a Right Move!, Cynthia refers to them as ice cream.

Glalie bears a resemblance to these snacks, and its Japanese name (オニゴーリ Onigohri) sounds similar to the word onigiri.

This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.