10 Most Controversial ‘Pokémon’ Characters

Next to reminding the Pokémon Professor of whether you are a boy or a girl, choosing a starter Pokémon is the most important decision in a new trainer’s career. They always come in a Water, Fire, and Grass-type trio, each having their own unique benefits and drawbacks when it comes to facing gym leaders and rival trainers. Opinions vary on which ones are the best and worst, but one that caused quite a stir on release is Emboar, the final evolution of the Unova region‘s Fire-type, Tepig.

Emboar isn’t a bad Pokémon objectively; it has solid offensive capability and a large pool of hit points, allowing it to weather some hits before sticking back hard. However, it is also the third Fire starter in a row to evolve into a Fire and Fighting-type. Suffice it to say, fans wanted Game Freak to explore a new combination, especially because Emboar, while OK in a vacuum, paled when compared to its predecessors, Blaziken and Infernape.

9

Garbodor

Pokédex #569, “The Trash Heap Pokémon”

Pokémon based on inanimate objects are perhaps the most divisive group in the franchise. When the concept works, you get the likes of Magnezone, Banette, and Aegislash, which take something as mundane as magnets, dolls, and swords, and turn them into creative Pokémon that don’t feel out of place in the world. When it doesn’t work, you get examples like Garbodor, which feels like the antithesis of creativity.

Like many Unovan Pokémon, Garbodor was meant to pay homage to the original 151, in this case, the sentient toxic waste Poison-type, Muk. The idea of a trash-based Pokémon isn’t inherently bad, especially for the more urbanized Unova, but Garbodor’s design doesn’t expand on the basic idea of sentient trash, so it just comes across as ugly and lazy. This has been further exemplified with the release of Muk’s regional variant, which is a much more creative take on a Poison-type living in cities and associated with trash.

8

Probopass

Pokédex #476, “The Compass Pokémon”

Beginning in Generation 2, new Pokémon were added to previous evolutionary lines to show off new mechanics, such as Baby Pokémon who need friendship to evolve, the Steel-type Scizor that evolved from Scyther, and the adorable Eevee becoming Umbreon or Espeon using the day/night cycle. Generation 4 introduced more evolutions that took advantage of trade, knowing certain moves, or evolving in specific locations. Perhaps the worst of these new additions is Probopass, the Rock and Steel-type evolution of Nosepass.

Probopass is meant to be based on a moai from Easter Island, but the execution just doesn’t work. Its unsettling human-like eyes and gigantic nose were already unsettling, but then they added a mustache that is supposed to be flecks of iron stuck to Probopass due to its magnetic field. While the idea is sound, the result is just too ugly, and that’s not even getting into how its design is also reminiscent of Jewish stereotypes.

7

Lopunny

Pokédex #428, “The Rabbit Pokémon”

There are many ways to evolve Pokémon outside of levelling, such as the friendship mechanic. The trickiest Pokémon that uses this method is Buneary, who starts with the lowest friendship levels when caught, and is the only Pokémon to naturally learn the move Frustration, which does more damage when friendship is low. Once its friendship is maxed out, the little rabbit evolves into Lopunny, and while this transformation is an inspiring representation of growth, it also comes with some problems.

Though it was likely meant to just be an anthropomorphic rabbit, it’s hard not to associate Lopunny with Playboy Bunny waitresses, especially because their iconic bunny suits are quite popular in Japanese manga and anime. Not helping is how Lopunny’s sprites and artwork often have them posed in ways that appear sexualized, accentuated by their vaguely human-like faces and long legs. Lopunny received a Mega Evolution in Generation 6 that gave it the Fighting-type, but also black fur on its chest and legs that resembles women’s aerobics outfits, which just added more fuel to the fire.

6

Sawk and Throh

Pokédex #538 & 539, “The Judo Pokémon” and “The Karate Pokémon”

Fighting-type Pokémon have an interesting history when it comes to their designs. They, more than any other type, toe the line between fantastical creatures and mundane caricatures of humans, especially if the species has built-in clothing, like Machoke and Hariyama. However, it can at least be said that Game Freak at least tried to make those species still have animalistic features, which is more than can be said about Unova’s counterpart duo of Sawk and Throh.

These Muppet-faced fighters are meant to be the Unovan counterparts to Kanto’s Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, replacing taekwondo and boxing with judo and karate. Unfortunately, Sawk and Throh’s only fantastical elements are their blue and red skin, respectively. Otherwise, they look like they could pass for humans rather than wild creatures, especially since they come with their own gi. Sure, it signifies that they are skilled in their respective martial arts, but it’s so distracting to see them wearing clothes when the vast majority of other human-like Pokémon do not.

5

Hypno

Pokédex #97, “The Hypnosis Pokémon”

Psychic-type Pokémon were among the strongest in Generation 1 due to broken game mechanics, though one that always had a hard time finding love was Hypno. While its pre-evolution, Drowzee, draws inspiration from the nightmare-eating Baku yōkai, Hypno appears more sinister thanks to its leering eyes and goblin-like head. Its Pokédex entries add to this by saying that, when hungry, Hypno will put humans to sleep and feed on their dreams.

The creepiest entry comes from the games Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, which mention that “There once was an incident in which it took away a child it hypnotized.” In those same games, a wild Hypno traps a young girl named Lostelle in the Berry Forest, forcing the player to battle it to rescue her. Several other species of Pokémon are said to kidnap children, such as the balloon-like Ghost Drifloon, but Hypno remains the more disturbing kidnapper due to its human-like design and psychic powers, which one uses in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon to break into a school after hours, disguise itself as a teacher, and roleplay with illusionary students. Make of that what you will.

4

Registeel

Pokédex #379, “The Iron Pokémon”

Generation 3 introduced the original trio of Legendary Giants, Regirock, Regice, and Registeel, sealed behind a puzzle involving underwater caves, the Water-types Wailord and Relicanth, and the ability to read braille. Of the three, Regice could be seen as the jack-of-all-trades, possessing the best defensive typing in Steel, and choosing to have a more balanced spread of physical and special defense. Come Generation 4 and the release of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Registeel suddenly came under scrutiny due to its in-game sprite.

In an attempt to give Registeel a sprite that looked like it was assuming a battle stance, Game Freak accidentally made it look like the giant was giving a Nazi salute. This is especially awkward because one of the inspirations for the Regis is the mythical golem of Prague, which protected the Jewish people in the city from persecution. Thankfully, the sprite was altered for the games’ European markets and the release of Pokémon Platinum.

3

Kadabra

Pokédex #64, “The Psi Pokémon”

Among the most visually distinct Kanto Pokémon is the evolutionary line of Abra. This elusive Psychic-type likes to teleport away from battle, but if trainers catch it and help it evolve, it transforms from a vaguely rodent-like form into the more fox-like Kadabra, and then Alakazam if traded with a friend. However, long-time consumers of Pokémon media might have noticed that, while Abra and Alakazam show up with the same frequency as other Pokémon, Kadabra was mysteriously absent for two decades.

The reason for this disappearance is because of Uri Geller, an Israeli magician and self-proclaimed psychic whose main trick was spoon-bending. He tried to sue Nintendo over Kadabra, which he claimed was based on himself due to its Psychic-typing, use of spoons, and its Japanese name, Yungerer. Nintendo won the court case, but to avoid any future backlash, they pulled Kadabra from the trading cards in 2003 and cut it from the anime in 2006. However, in 2020, Geller apologized for his previous allegations, and Nintendo lifted the ban.

2

Jynx

Pokédex #124, “The Human Shape Pokémon”

Easily the most infamous among the original Gen 1 Pokémon, the Ice and Psychic-type Jynx has the honor of getting more episodes of the anime banned than any other species. This is due entirely to her design, which originally combined a disturbingly human-like body with large lips and pitch black skin. When Pokémon began travelling overseas, foreign audiences quickly noticed how this made Jynx resemble offensive black stereotypes.

In Game Freak’s defence, Jynx’s origins were likely not rooted in racism; she draws inspiration from the yōkai Yamma-uba and the Ganguro style that was popular with Japanese women at the time. Still, they listened to public outcry and redesigned Jynx with purple skin. This helped steer her away from racial stereotypes, but did little to fix the other problems with her design, and her appearances in the anime were severely reduced even after the recoloring.

1

Porygon

Pokédex #137, “The Virtual Pokémon”

To this day, no other Pokémon is quite as unique as Porygon. This Normal-type was specifically created by humans, lives in cyberspace, and evolves first through an upgrade disk and then again with a dubious one infected with a computer virus. However, you’re never going to see one in the anime due to the infamously banned episode, “Electric Soldier Porygon.”

This episode made international news when, due to an animation technique that involved flashing red and blue lights, hundreds of Japanese children experienced photosensitive epileptic seizures and had to be rushed to the hospital. This “Pokémon Shock” led to the anime going on hiatus for months and the creation of new television guidelines to prevent a repeat. This also resulted in Porygon and its evolution never having major roles in the anime and, at best, only making cameo appearances. The worst part is that Porygon wasn’t the source of the flashing lights; Pikachu was.

Keep Reading: ‘Pokémon’s 10 Most Shocking Moments, Ranked