PokéBase - Pokémon Q&A
1 vote
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And before you ask, no I am not kidding.

Some Pokémon, throughout the games, especially the early Gens, have had sprites where they were displaying a gesture that probably wasn't really supposed to be meant for kids, as far as I'm concerned.

Sandshrew, for example:

Other than that, are there any others? I was genuinely curious, as these are an example of the very few times Nintendo slips up when censoring stuff, and I figured this would be a good exhibit for such a phenomenon for the world to see. ;-]

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Well, there's the infamous D/P Registeel
@KRLW890 Yeah, I see it. Two words: "Heil Regigigas!"
Not a full answer, but https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_controversy
Also, what was the problem with Sandshrew?
I see what you mean as the sandshrew seems to have its middle finger up at you, but maybe GameFreak didn’t notice it. Also, like sumwum said,
[This page off Bulbapedia is useful][1]



  [1]: https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_controversy
Sandslash's RSE sprite also has an offensive gesture, if you guys want more proof; namely, "Kiss my ass!" You'll realize it when you see it.
mouth from Pokemon Playhouse smiles and flicks you off.
Is there really an exact answer to this question? There are 1930+ sprites in all of the Pokemon games, not counting models, and there are probably even more offensive gestures. Also, what may be considered offensive to one person any not to another person.
Also, that Sandshrew doesn't have its outer fingers down. It just appears that they are because the middle finger is longer.
These types of sprites were exist in gen 1-4.
The only other one I can think of right now is the one of Registeel doing a certain salute in Diamond/Pearl. They changed it in Platinum, though I wonder how Nintendo let that slip through the net.
I very highly doubt that there's somebody or a group of people who check every single thing in a game to see if it's offensive. Even if there actually is, that doesn't mean that they know every offensive gesture for every single culture of the world. Just because the sprites seem as though they are doing an offensive gesture doesn't mean that that's what it's meant to be.

1 Answer

0 votes

I'm pretty sure that if there were any, then they'd be listed here. Based on that page, the only sprites are RBY Jynx (though it's not really a gesture), DP Registeel, and maybe RSE Sandshrew.

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