10 Biggest Pokémon Controversies

10. Accusations Of Racism

Younger players may not be aware that Jynx’s current purple skin is actually a redesign, with her debuting with jet black skin. The big pink lips and wide eyes on a black face, looked like, well, blackface, and the design came under fire.

Jynx is believed to be based on Yama-uba (an icy ghost), and Brunhilde, the Valkyrie (an original opera lady who sings), which would explain the design, moveset and typing. However, there’s also the ganguro inspiration, a Japanese trend of using incredibly dark foundation to give women brown skin, which is certainly iffy on a global scale.

It probably didn’t help that humanoid Pokémon don’t tend to be very popular anyway. This, combined with the lingering ill will from its original design, means Jynx is many peoples' least favourite Pokémon ever.

Possibly wary of a similar reaction, Lenora was changed too. Though her in game and Japanese anime outfit shows her wearing an apron, this was shortened to become a blouse for the Western anime.

Despite the reasonable justification that Lenora was an archeologist, the apron (combined with the handkerchief and dark skin) was too reminiscent of the black mammy stereotype, and Pokémon decided to be better safe than sorry.