Banned episodes
Banned episodes are episodes of the anime which have been deemed unsuitable for airing or reairing in a specific country.
Banned episodes in America
Most of the banned episodes have occurred in America.
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 America. 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.
- Tentacool & Tentacruel
- After the events of September 11, 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 and the use of machine guns. When Cartoon Network started to air Pokémon, the episode was put back into rotation.
- The Tower of Terror
- This episode was temporarily banned after September 11th. 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.
- The Legend of Dratini
- 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, as this was the episode where Ash captured all 30 of his Tauros.
- Holiday Hi-Jynx
- This is the only episode of Pokémon to be banned in America after its initial airing. After the episode aired, a woman named Carole B. Weatherford wrote an article stating that Jynx, which was featured prominently in the episode, is a sterotype of African-Americans. Soon afterwards, the episode was pulled from rotation and is not believed to have aired since 2000. Despite this, the episode is currently available on VHS.
- The Ice Cave
- This episode was also banned due to the large focus on Jynx. Unlike the previous episode, this one has never aired in America. Due to the episode not having the redesigned Jynx with purple skin, it was banned and has never been seen outside of Japan.
Banned episodes in Japan
There have also been two confirmed episodes of Pokémon that have either aired once or never in Japan, nor the rest of the world.
List of banned episodes
- Electric Solder Porygon
- 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 approximately 700 Japanese children to be sent to the hospital with symptoms of epilepsy. The show went on hiatus for months, and delayed the episodes Holiday Hi-Jynx and Snow Way Out. 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.
- Shaking Island Battle! Barboach vs. Whiscash!
- This is the only episode of Pokémon to have never been aired. Not long before this episode was scheduled to air, a devastating earthquake struck Japan. Believing it would have been insensitive to air an episode about earthquakes mere weeks after the disaster, it was postponed. However, it never got around to airing and was soon forgotten.
Other banned episodes
America and Japan aren't the only countries to have banned episodes of Pokémon. There have been a few episodes that were banned by other countries around the world.
- The Bicker the Better
- This episode has been banned in several countries, including Italy, Australia, France, Aruba, and New Zealand. It's been alleged that the "battle of the sexes" format of the episode has caused those countries to ban the episode.