Top 5 controversies derived from Pokemon

Pokemon is one of the top-grossing media companies of all time, but like all media, it has had some controversial events.

Pokemon is coming up on its 25th anniversary, so it's been around for a while. It's nearly impossible for a company to be incredibly popular over 25 years without having a single controversy. Unfortunately, Pokemon comes with many. Here are five unforgettable ones.

Note: This list is subjective and reflects only the opinions of the writer.

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Five worst controversies in Pokemon

#5 - Dexit

Image via Pokemon.com

The term "dexit" is derived from the splicing of the two words Pokedex and Brexit. Brexit is Britain's controversial move to separate itself from all of Europe. Dexit refers to GameFreak's decision to limit Pokemon in Sword and Shield, eliminating the National Dex.

Many fans were outraged by the disclusion of many Pokemon in Generation VIII games. Some extreme fans even boycotted the game initially. The titles felt rushed to many players, and some fans theorize that it was just to sell DLCs.

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#4 - Evolution

Image via Bulbapedia

Evolution is an integral part of Pokemon. It's one of the most critical pieces of the series. Some parties think this is supposed to resemble the belief in the evolution of humans.

The most significant part of this controversy is the fact that Christians largely disbelieve evolution. So some Christian groups thought of this game as Satanic. It may still be banned in many churches and Christian facilities.

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#3 - Registeel sprite

Image via Dr. Lava's Lost Pokemon (Twitter)

Registeel's sprite in Pokemon Diamond & Pearl is widely considered a fascist pose. With one arm up in that position resembling the Nazi salute. GameFreak claimed it was a battle stance, but they still changed it.

It was changed to just an arms down position in European copies of the game and later games like Platinum and Heartgold & Soulsilver. The devs received a lot of flack for this, but at least it was modified.

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#2 - Jynx

Image via TonsofFacts

One of the first controversies Pokemon ran into is the Jynx design, which initially had facial features considered racist for apparent reasons. The makers really messed up on this one.

Pokemon company changed it very quickly after releasing early games and episodes featuring Jynx. They changed its face color to purple instead of black.

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#1 - Electric Soldier Porygon

Image via ComicBook.com

Episode 38 of the original Pokemon anime, Electric Soldier Porygon, is a banned episode that only aired once in Japan. The rapidly flashing visuals hospitalized many Japanese children with seizures.

The TV show even went into a four-month hiatus after airing this episode, even changing its timeslot. This is truly one of the darkest things to happen in the Pokemon timeline.