Rice ball

A plate of rice balls being scoped by Team Rocket

A rice ball (Japanese: 御握り onigiri) is a common Japanese snack that consists of sticky rice packed around a filling, all held together by nori seaweed.

In animation

A rice ball in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

Pokémon the Series

Brock emphasizing that the rice balls are, in fact, donuts

Rice balls appeared in Pokémon the Series 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 non-Japanese children would be more familiar with, the dub has referred to them as sandwiches, cookies, onions, jelly donuts, and popcorn balls. In a couple of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire episodes, the 4Kids dub replaced giant rice balls with large sandwiches, which was not received well by the fanbase.^{[citation needed]} However, a few times in the series, such as in the Pokémon the Series: The Beginning episode Pokémon Paparazzi and the Ruby and Sapphire series episode A Tail with a Twist, 4Kids referred to rice balls by their proper name, instead of something adjusted for foreign audiences. 4Kids continued to refer to them as sandwiches or cookies (or replace them with other food) even after these episodes aired, such as in the Ruby and Sapphire episode Less is Morrison.

Since TPCi started dubbing the series, they were consistently referred to as rice balls. Eventually, starting in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, rice balls appeared less often, more so in the Black & White series, wherein the region (Unova) is no longer based on a part of Japan. Some rice balls appeared in the special Hoopa — The Mischief Pokémon, where they were summoned by Hoopa in Arche Valley. In the Sun & Moon series episode Real Life...Inquire Within!, Lana was seen eating a giant rice ball.

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  Japanese version

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  English dub

Pokémon Horizons: The Series

Fire Blast-style grilled rice balls in Pokémon Horizons: The Series

In HZ059, Liko, Roy, Dot, and Larry each ate Fire Blast-style grilled rice balls with lemon at the Treasure Eatery.

In the games

Hey You, Pikachu!

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Add images of the rice ball (Japanese) and cupcake (American) from this game

In the Japanese version of Hey You, Pikachu!, a rice ball is available as an item that Pikachu can eat. However, this item was changed to a cupcake in the American version of this game.

In the manga

Rice balls in Pokémon Adventures

Pokémon Adventures

Diamond & Pearl arc

Rice balls first appeared in Stagestruck Starly. They were frequently enjoyed by Diamond during his journey, along with many other foods. He was also shown to be able to make them in Lucky Lucario II.

In the novels

Pokémon Tales

In Fly on, Butterfree, the picnic includes rice balls.

Trivia

Rice ball caught in a Poké Ball

• Glalie bears a resemblance to these snacks, and its Japanese name (オニゴーリ Onigohri) sounds similar to the word onigiri.
• In Primeape Goes Bananas, Ash caught a rice ball in a Poké Ball.
• The infamous jelly donuts meme was mentioned in the "Explore Pokémon: Kanto Region" promotional video on the official Pokémon YouTube channel.
  • It was also alluded to in the English dub of Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution, in which Brock refers to them as his "famous jelly donuts".
  • In the English version of Pokémon Masters EX's "Battle Buffet Bash" event, Brock mentions having had his eyes on some "jelly-filled donuts", referencing this meme.

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