Banned episodes

Banned episodes are episodes of the anime which have been deemed unsuitable for airing or reairing in a specific country.

Banned episodes internationally

There have been five confirmed episodes of Pokémon that have either aired once or never in Japan, nor the rest of the world.

List of banned episodes

EP038

Known as the "seizure episode", this episode has been banned worldwide after airing only once in Japan. One particular scene of this episode had a series of flashing lights, which caused a total of approximately 685 Japanese children, 375 girls and 310 boys to be sent to the hospital with symptoms of epilepsy. The show went on hiatus for four months, delayed the episodes Holiday Hi-Jynx and Snow Way Out!, and cancelled the airing of the New Year's Eve special. The episode also forced the producers to go back through the previous episodes and dim the lighting on them so as not to cause an accident of this magnitude again. As a result of this episode, Porygon and its evolutions, Porygon2 and Porygon-Z, have not made any appearances in the anime since EP038 except in brief cameos.

It's New Year's Eve! Pocket Monsters Encore

This episode was scheduled to be broadcast December 31, 1997, between Holiday Hi-Jynx and Snow Way Out!. However, following the EP038 incident, the schedule was re-organized and this episode was never actually aired. No trailer for this episode has ever been seen, nor is any further information known apart from its Japanese title.

AG101 (unaired)

This episode was scheduled to be broadcast on November 4, 2004. However, not long before, a devastating earthquake struck Japan. Believing it would have been insensitive to air an episode about earthquakes mere weeks after the disaster, it was pulled from the air. The episode and the moves Earthquake, Fissure and Magnitude were subsequently banned. Because the episode never aired, Barboach instead debuted in The Great Eight Fate!, but not in a major role.

BW023 (unaired) and BW024 (unaired)

This two-part saga of Team Rocket facing off with Team Plasma was postponed due to the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan almost a week before the first half was supposed to air. They were expected to air at a later date because of their significance to the series and TV Tokyo's word on the matter. As the episodes have yet to air in Japan, dubs of the episode have yet to be shown around the world. While the episodes were simply skipped in Japan, the Pokémon Company International edited the dubbed version of A Venipede Stampede! to remove the cliffhanger ending that set up the story, and all regions aired Battling for the Love of Bug-Types! followed by Emolga the Irresistible! instead. As of Team Plasma's Pokémon Power Plot!, it appears these episodes have been retconned out of continuity, making it unlikely that they will ever air or be shown in a normal manner.

Banned episodes in the English dub

Six episodes have been banned in the United States.

List of banned episodes

Note: the reasons given below may not have been corroborated officially.

Beauty and the Beach

This episode was initially banned when the episodes were first dubbed for airing in the United States. During 2000, the episode was finally dubbed and aired twice before disappearing once again. It was banned because James wore an inflatable body suit to give him large breasts in order to win a beauty contest. It also appears to be retconned out of continuity with the English dub, although Brutella is seen in the following episode.

EP035

This episode was banned due to the prevalent usage of handguns throughout the episode. The Safari Zone warden points a gun at Ash's head, and even shoots the gun at Team Rocket. The banning of this episode left a major plot hole and a continuity error in the English dub, as this was the episode where Ash captured all 30 of his Tauros. As this is the Safari Zone episode, it also makes the Safari Zone unseen in the English anime, though it is mentioned in the two episodes that took place before it.

Holiday Hi-Jynx

After this episode aired, a woman named Carole Boston Weatherford wrote an article stating that Jynx, which was featured prominently in the episode, is a negative stereotype of African-Americans related to characters in The Story of Little Black Sambo. Soon afterward, the episode was pulled from rotation and is not believed to have aired since 2000. Despite this, the episode was available on VHS, and was also available on the original Indigo DVD boxset (however, it is not on the current box set). It is no longer mentioned on Pokémon.com, but was (albeit lacking pictures of Jynx) before April 2013. Also, it was added to the rotation on Boomerang in 2011, and still was included in Cartoon Network's online streaming services. Additionally, no restrictions were placed on this episode in Europe. This episode has also been banned in South Korea. This episode is still banned even after the Japanese re-airing of the Christmas Eve episode of Pokémon Smash!, in which Jynx was recolored to match what she currently looks like in the Pokémon games.

Stage Fight! and The Mandarin Island Miss Match

These Orange Islands episodes were banned since April 2013 simply because of a small cameo by Jynx. They are not available on Netflix and are no longer even mentioned on Pokémon.com. They also are not available on the re-release of the Orange Islands DVD box set. They are also banned in India.

EP250

This episode was also banned due to the large focus on Jynx. Unlike the previous episodes, this one has never aired in English. Due to the episode not having the redesigned Jynx with purple skin, it was banned and has never been seen outside of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Banned episodes in South Korea

These episodes were banned from airing in South Korea, causing South Korean continuity errors in the anime's run. Generally the banned episodes contained overt references to Japanese culture; however, the last banned episodes occurred during Advanced Generation. Furthermore, episodes EP260 to EP274 simply were never aired.

List of banned episodes

Challenge of the Samurai

This episode has been banned due to the episode featuring a samurai. This created a continuity error as it featured the evolution of Ash's Metapod.

The Ghost of Maiden's Peak

This episode has been banned due to the episode featuring several Japanese cultural events.

Pokémon Scent-sation!

This episode has been banned likely due to Erika's traditional Japanese clothing worn in the perfume shop. This created a continuity error as Ash obtained his fifth badge in this episode.

The Ninja Poké-Showdown

This episode has been banned due to the episode featuring several depictions of Japanese culture, including ninja and kabuki. This created a continuity error as Ash obtains his sixth badge in this episode.

Riddle Me This

Likely banned due to the depiction of traditional Japanese clothing and architecture. This creates a continuity error as the very next episode continues from where this one left off.

Bad to the Bone

Likely banned due to Otoshi's samuari-like clothing.

The Fourth Round Rumble

Likely banned due to Jeanette Fisher's traditional Japanese clothing. This creates a continuity error as Ash wins his fourth Pokémon League match in this episode.

A Bout With Sprout

Likely banned due to the Sprout Tower's resemblance to traditional Japanese architecture.

Fighting Flyer with Fire

Likely banned due to traditional Japanese style of Falkner's clothing. This creates a continuity error as Ash wins his first Johto League badge in this episode.

Wired for Battle!

Ariados, Amigos

A Ghost of a Chance

From Ghost to Ghost

This creates a continuity error as Ash wins his fourth Johto League badge in this episode.

Trouble's Brewing

Likely banned due to the prominence of the Kimono Sisters, whose outfits are based on those of Japanese culture.

Ring Masters

Likely banned due to having Pokémon sumo wrestle, a Japanese style of fighting.

Doin' What Comes Natu-rally

Espeon, Not Included

Likely banned due to the prominence of the Kimono Sisters, whose outfits are based on those of Japanese culture.

For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll!

These episodes generally covered elements of Japanese culture, such as sumo wrestling and geishas.

Poetry Commotion!

Going, Going, Yawn

These two episodes never aired in Korea, however this may have been an oversight as they were released on DVD. On the other hand, they don't appear on the official 포켓몬스터 AG episode page.

Banned episodes in other countries

Occasionally there are episodes that are not banned in Japanese or English, but are banned in another country.

The Song of Jigglypuff

This episode was skipped in Turkey. The reason for this is unknown at this time.

The Bicker the Better

This episode has been banned in several countries, including France, Ireland, and Aruba. It has been alleged that the "battle of the sexes" format of the episode has caused those countries to ban the episode. However, in France's Pokémon.com, the episode is available.

Temporarily banned episodes

Some episodes were pulled off the air for a period of time for various reasons but were aired on a later date.

An Undersea Place to Call Home!

This episode, which was set to debut Skrelp and Dragalge, was postponed due to the sinking of the MV Sewol ferry in South Korea almost a week before the episode was scheduled to air in Japan. Because of this, the episode was also skipped in the American dub. This caused a temporary continuity error, as this is the episode where Ash invented the "Rock Tomb Climb" technique, which he used to win his battle against Grant. Cartoon Network listed the dub title along with A PokéVision of Things to Come!, Going for the Gold!, and Coming Back into the Cold!. Later, however, it was removed from the list and was replaced with Climbing the Walls!. The episode finally aired in Japan on November 20, 2014, and in the United States on February 7, 2015.

Temporarily banned episodes in the United States

Tentacool & Tentacruel

After the events of September 11, 2001, this episode was taken out of rotation. In the months following the attack, Kids' WB! refused to air it due to the destruction of several buildings (particularly Tentacruel smashing a skyscraper) and the use of machine guns. When Cartoon Network started to air Pokémon, the episode was put back into rotation. It is also on the VHS "Seaside Pikachu" and the Indigo League DVD boxset.

The Tower of Terror

This episode was temporarily banned after September 11, 2001. The official reason has never been confirmed, but many believe that the episode's title may have had something to do with it. The episode is no longer banned and continues to air.

Temporarily banned episodes in Japan

A Fishing Connoisseur in a Fishy Competition!

This episode, originally meant to be the 26th episode of Best Wishes, was originally scheduled to air in Japan on April 7, 2011, but it was postponed because of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. It later aired on June 23, 2011 with a slightly altered storyline to make it seem like it took place between Archeops In The Modern World! and Movie Time! Zorua in "The Legend of the Pokémon Knight"! rather than Battle for the Love of Bug-Types! and Emolga the Irresistible!, and the ending of the episode was re-animated to have Bianca leave the group instead of traveling with them in the original episode's plot.

Temporarily banned episodes in other countries

Dawn's Early Night!

Though technically not banned, this episode was initially skipped in New Zealand for an unknown reason. When the season was repeated, the episode aired as normal. It is also readily available on DVD in New Zealand.

Scare at the Litwick Mansion!

While not banned, this episode was initially skipped in Poland for an unknown reason. It has been instead aired later, between Crisis from the Underground Up! and Battle for the Underground!

External links

• Information on Carole Boston Weatherford and her article about Jynx

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