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| Features
| Rougela in Animation - From Black to Purple
For the first few years of the franchise,
Rougela, one of the first 151 Pokémon who debuted in the Pocket Monsters Red & Green
video games, came under fire for its uncanny resemblance to racist
imagery popular in the U.S. during the early 1900s. The unfortunate
combination of
the character's jet black skin, humanoid features, and large red lips
caused enough of an issue that the franchise decided to redesign the
character to give her purple skin instead.
By the time they got around to doing that, however, years and years of content had already been created using the older design. So what's being done about it? Recolor the re-releases? Act like they never existed? Ignore them? This page looks at how different parts of the franchise have dealt with the character over the years.
This page is focused on the character as it appeared in the animated TV series and films.
The PokéRap, a music video edited together by 4Kids for their version of the show, includes a shot of Jynx with the older design.
This shot is still being shown as-is in all current streaming versions and re-releases of the series in the U.S.
This PokéRap music video doesn't exist in Japan and so a purple edit was never made.
As of this writing (April 2020) the Rougela hinamatsuri doll in the episode "Fierce Fighting! Pokémon Hinamatsuri" has not been recolored. The episode is currently streaming as-is, older Rougela design and all.
The English dub of this episode, likewise, continues to be made available as-is despite the presence of a Jynx with the older design.
In the English dub, the "Who's That Pokémon?" for the Season 2 episode "It's Mr. Mime Time" was, for some reason, Jynx. The character appears with its original black design. This shot is still being shown as-is in all current streaming versions and re-releases of the series in the U.S.
The eyecatch Pokémon for the Japanese version of this episode, meanwhile, was Barrierd and so no edits were necessary for this particular episode.
On December 23rd, 2012, TV-Tokyo debuted an edited version of the Pokémon's proper debut episode on the variety show Pokémon Smash! This is the version of the episode that currently airs on the cable network Kids Station and the Japanese Netflix and Amazon Prime streaming services.
Check out the gallery of the 90 visual edits made to the episode here.
As far as the English dub goes, the episode was dubbed and aired on TV / released on home video multiple times over a span of about 15 years before TPCI decided to remove the episode from rotation sometime around the year 2014.
The episode has been removed from all official episode listings and hasn't been made available on streaming or home video ever since.
For the 2012 Blu-ray remaster of the first 13 films, the end credits for the first Pikachu film, "Pikachu's Summer Vacation," featured two shots of Rougela that got recolored.
The 2012 Blu-ray is, as of this writing, the most recent re-release of this Pikachu short.
The English dub of this film removed this ending sequence altogether and so no additional edits were ever made.
A purple edit of the episode does not exist in Japan at this time. The episode is currently streaming as-is, older Rougela design and all.
As far as the English dub goes, the episode was dubbed and aired on TV / released on home video multiple times over a span of about 15 years before TPCI decided to remove the episode from rotation sometime around the year 2014.
The episode has been removed from all official episode listings and hasn't been made available on streaming or home video ever since.
A purple edit of the episode was uploaded on the Japanese Amazon Prime streaming service sometime around 2017.
As far as the English dub goes, the episode was dubbed and aired on TV / released on home video multiple times over a span of about 15 years before TPCI decided to remove the episode from rotation sometime around the year 2014.
The episode has been removed from all official episode listings and hasn't been made available on streaming or home video ever since.
For the 2012 Blu-ray remaster of the first 13 films, the end credits for the second Pikachu film, "Pikachu's Exploration Party," featured a shot of Rougela that got recolored.
The 2012 Blu-ray is, as of this writing, the most recent re-release of this Pikachu short.
The English dub of this film removed this ending sequence altogether and so no additional edits were ever made.
A purple edit of the episode does not exist in Japan at this time. The episode is currently streaming as-is, older Rougela design and all.
By this point in the series, the English dub was in its third season and had made the decision not to feature the black-faced Jynx anymore. For this episode, 4Kids decided to just cut the scene - which only last a few seconds - instead of try to use whatever software they had available to them in the year 2000 to try to awkwardly edit it.
The short-lived Jouto era ending theme (it was only used in six episodes!) features a shot of Rougela kissing Takeshi. A purple edit of the ending theme was uploaded on the Japanese Amazon Prime streaming service sometime around 2017.
4Kids never dubbed the ending themes to the TV series so Jynx's appearance here didn't matter to them.
The "Dr. Ookido Pokemon Lecture" segment for this episode focused on Rougela. At the moment a purple version of this footage does no exist; even the clips from "Rougela's Christmas" used in Dr. Ookido's recap in the beginning of this segment haven't been edited. The episode is currently streaming as-is, older Rougela design and all.
The English dub scrapped the overwhelming majority of these segments so it was easy for them to not bother dubbing this one either.
This one shot of Rougela in the opening "Ready Go!" got recolored in each of the 36 episodes it was used for.
This shot was never used for the 4Kids equivalent of the song.
This one shot of Rougela in the ending "Pockettaari Monsutaari" got recolored in each of the 36 episodes it was used for. The in-between animation credits on the right there change every single episode and so the team in charge of making this edit would have had to apply these changes one episode at a time.
4Kids never dubbed the ending themes to the TV series so Jynx's appearance here didn't matter.
In the late Jouto episode "The Great Transformation by Pokémon Magic!?"one of the spells in Leelee's spellbook requires "a flower petal with a Rougela's lipstick mark" (ルージュラのキスマーク付きの花びら). The spell book she reads this from includes an illustration of a Rougela with its old black face design. As of this writing a purple version of this episode has no been made available. The episode is currently streaming as-is, older Rougela design and all.
When 4Kids got to this episode, they found that they could easily remove Rougela from the episode with digital paint and so they replaced the shot of Rougela with a shot of the aforementioned flower petal.
A purple edit of the episode was uploaded on the Japanese Amazon Prime streaming service sometime around 2017.
Check out the gallery of the 46 visual edits made to the episode here.
4Kids decided to skip dubbing this episode altogether, jumping from "I Politoed Ya So" straight to "Beauty is Only Skin Deep!"
The black version of Rougela appeared in an early Advanced Generation episode as a Pokémon belonging to one of Haruka's rivals. A purple edit of the episode was uploaded on the Japanese Amazon Prime streaming service sometime around 2017.
The scene in question was removed from the English dub.
From the Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation 2005 episode "A Disorderly Melee! The Pokémon Contest - The Kinagi Convention! (Part One)," the show's animators finally updated the Rougela design from its old black design to its newer purple design. The black-faced Rougela hasn't appeared in the animated series since.
To summarize, here's a chart showing how Rougela appears on the various streaming services available in both Japan and the U.S.
*Hulu Japan streams the original Pocket Monsters series on a rotating basis; every month the service will upload ten episodes while also removing the ten episodes they had uploaded the month before. So this month Hulu will have episodes 11 - 20, for example, and then next month they'll take those down and upload 21 - 30. The following month, 21 - 30 will get taken down and replaced with 31 - 40. And so on. When the episodes featuring Rougela enter the rotation Hulu airs the original version with the older black face design.
** Netflix Japan only streams the Kanto portion of the series (Episodes 001 - 080).
***The data in the "Home Video (Japan)" section is based on the most recent release, when applicable. Most episodes of the series have not been released on home video in Japan.
By the time they got around to doing that, however, years and years of content had already been created using the older design. So what's being done about it? Recolor the re-releases? Act like they never existed? Ignore them? This page looks at how different parts of the franchise have dealt with the character over the years.
This page is focused on the character as it appeared in the animated TV series and films.
| PokéRap
(Season One) |
The PokéRap, a music video edited together by 4Kids for their version of the show, includes a shot of Jynx with the older design.
 |
 |
This shot is still being shown as-is in all current streaming versions and re-releases of the series in the U.S.
This PokéRap music video doesn't exist in Japan and so a purple edit was never made.
| Episode
052 "Fierce Fighting! Pokémon Hinamatsuri" / "Princess vs
Princess" |
As of this writing (April 2020) the Rougela hinamatsuri doll in the episode "Fierce Fighting! Pokémon Hinamatsuri" has not been recolored. The episode is currently streaming as-is, older Rougela design and all.
 |
|
The English dub of this episode, likewise, continues to be made available as-is despite the presence of a Jynx with the older design.
| "Who's
That Pokémon?" |
In the English dub, the "Who's That Pokémon?" for the Season 2 episode "It's Mr. Mime Time" was, for some reason, Jynx. The character appears with its original black design. This shot is still being shown as-is in all current streaming versions and re-releases of the series in the U.S.
 |
|
The eyecatch Pokémon for the Japanese version of this episode, meanwhile, was Barrierd and so no edits were necessary for this particular episode.
| Special
Episode "Rougela's
Christmas" / "Holiday Hi-Jynx" |
On December 23rd, 2012, TV-Tokyo debuted an edited version of the Pokémon's proper debut episode on the variety show Pokémon Smash! This is the version of the episode that currently airs on the cable network Kids Station and the Japanese Netflix and Amazon Prime streaming services.
 |
 |
Check out the gallery of the 90 visual edits made to the episode here.
As far as the English dub goes, the episode was dubbed and aired on TV / released on home video multiple times over a span of about 15 years before TPCI decided to remove the episode from rotation sometime around the year 2014.
The episode has been removed from all official episode listings and hasn't been made available on streaming or home video ever since.
| Ending
Theme to "Pikachu's Summer Vacation" |
For the 2012 Blu-ray remaster of the first 13 films, the end credits for the first Pikachu film, "Pikachu's Summer Vacation," featured two shots of Rougela that got recolored.
 |
 |
 |
 |
The 2012 Blu-ray is, as of this writing, the most recent re-release of this Pikachu short.
The English dub of this film removed this ending sequence altogether and so no additional edits were ever made.
| Episode
090 "Dance! Pokémon Showboat!" / "Stage Fight!" |
A purple edit of the episode does not exist in Japan at this time. The episode is currently streaming as-is, older Rougela design and all.
 |
|
As far as the English dub goes, the episode was dubbed and aired on TV / released on home video multiple times over a span of about 15 years before TPCI decided to remove the episode from rotation sometime around the year 2014.
The episode has been removed from all official episode listings and hasn't been made available on streaming or home video ever since.
| Episode
099 "Kanna of the Four Heavenly Kings! The Icy Battle!!" / "The
Mandarin Island Miss Match" |
A purple edit of the episode was uploaded on the Japanese Amazon Prime streaming service sometime around 2017.
 |
 |
As far as the English dub goes, the episode was dubbed and aired on TV / released on home video multiple times over a span of about 15 years before TPCI decided to remove the episode from rotation sometime around the year 2014.
The episode has been removed from all official episode listings and hasn't been made available on streaming or home video ever since.
| Ending
Theme to "Pikachu's Exploration Party" |
For the 2012 Blu-ray remaster of the first 13 films, the end credits for the second Pikachu film, "Pikachu's Exploration Party," featured a shot of Rougela that got recolored.
 |
 |
The 2012 Blu-ray is, as of this writing, the most recent re-release of this Pikachu short.
The English dub of this film removed this ending sequence altogether and so no additional edits were ever made.
| Episode
108 "Tag Battle! The Final Gym!" / "Double Trouble" |
A purple edit of the episode does not exist in Japan at this time. The episode is currently streaming as-is, older Rougela design and all.
 |
|
By this point in the series, the English dub was in its third season and had made the decision not to feature the black-faced Jynx anymore. For this episode, 4Kids decided to just cut the scene - which only last a few seconds - instead of try to use whatever software they had available to them in the year 2000 to try to awkwardly edit it.
| Ending
Theme "Takeshi's Paradise" |
The short-lived Jouto era ending theme (it was only used in six episodes!) features a shot of Rougela kissing Takeshi. A purple edit of the ending theme was uploaded on the Japanese Amazon Prime streaming service sometime around 2017.
 |
 |
4Kids never dubbed the ending themes to the TV series so Jynx's appearance here didn't matter to them.
| Episode
211 "Poppo and Fat Poppo! Toward the Yet Unseen Sky!!" / "Fly Me to the
Moon" |
The "Dr. Ookido Pokemon Lecture" segment for this episode focused on Rougela. At the moment a purple version of this footage does no exist; even the clips from "Rougela's Christmas" used in Dr. Ookido's recap in the beginning of this segment haven't been edited. The episode is currently streaming as-is, older Rougela design and all.
 |
|
The English dub scrapped the overwhelming majority of these segments so it was easy for them to not bother dubbing this one either.
| Opening
Theme "Ready Go!" |
This one shot of Rougela in the opening "Ready Go!" got recolored in each of the 36 episodes it was used for.
 |
 |
This shot was never used for the 4Kids equivalent of the song.
| Ending
Theme "Pockettaari Monsutaari" |
This one shot of Rougela in the ending "Pockettaari Monsutaari" got recolored in each of the 36 episodes it was used for. The in-between animation credits on the right there change every single episode and so the team in charge of making this edit would have had to apply these changes one episode at a time.
 |
 |
4Kids never dubbed the ending themes to the TV series so Jynx's appearance here didn't matter.
| Episode
241 "The Great Transformation by Pokémon Magic!?" / "Hocus
Pokémon" |
In the late Jouto episode "The Great Transformation by Pokémon Magic!?"one of the spells in Leelee's spellbook requires "a flower petal with a Rougela's lipstick mark" (ルージュラのキスマーク付きの花びら). The spell book she reads this from includes an illustration of a Rougela with its old black face design. As of this writing a purple version of this episode has no been made available. The episode is currently streaming as-is, older Rougela design and all.
 |
|
When 4Kids got to this episode, they found that they could easily remove Rougela from the episode with digital paint and so they replaced the shot of Rougela with a shot of the aforementioned flower petal.
|
 |
| Episode
250 "The Ice Cave" |
A purple edit of the episode was uploaded on the Japanese Amazon Prime streaming service sometime around 2017.
 |
 |
Check out the gallery of the 46 visual edits made to the episode here.
4Kids decided to skip dubbing this episode altogether, jumping from "I Politoed Ya So" straight to "Beauty is Only Skin Deep!"
| AG
Episode 013 "Pokémon Contest! Agehanto's Magnificent
Battle!!" / "All Things Bright and Beautifly" |
The black version of Rougela appeared in an early Advanced Generation episode as a Pokémon belonging to one of Haruka's rivals. A purple edit of the episode was uploaded on the Japanese Amazon Prime streaming service sometime around 2017.
 |
 |
The scene in question was removed from the English dub.
| The
future... |
From the Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation 2005 episode "A Disorderly Melee! The Pokémon Contest - The Kinagi Convention! (Part One)," the show's animators finally updated the Rougela design from its old black design to its newer purple design. The black-faced Rougela hasn't appeared in the animated series since.
To summarize, here's a chart showing how Rougela appears on the various streaming services available in both Japan and the U.S.
| Amazon
Prime (Japan) |
Hulu (Japan) |
Netflix (Japan) |
Home Video (Japan) |
U.S.A. |
|
| PokéRap
(Season One) |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Black |
| PM
052 "Fierce Fighting! Pokémon Hinamatsuri" |
Black |
Black* |
Black |
N/A |
Black |
| "Who's
That Pokémon?" Eyecatch ("It's Mr. Mime Time") |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Black |
| Special
"Rougela's Christmas" |
Purple |
Black* |
Purple |
N/A |
Banned |
| Movie
"Pikachu's Summer Vacation" |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Purple |
N/A |
| PM
090 "Dance! Pokémon Showboat!" |
Black |
Black* |
N/A |
N/A |
Banned |
| PM
099 "Kanna of the Four Heavenly Kings! The Icy Battle!" |
Purple |
Black* |
N/A |
Black |
Banned |
| Movie
"Pikachu's Exploration Party" |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Purple |
N/A |
| PM
108 "Tag Battle! The Final Gym!" |
Black |
Black* |
N/A |
N/A |
Cut |
| ED
"Takeshi's Paradise" |
Purple |
Black* |
N/A | Black |
Cut |
| PM
211 - Dr. Ookido's Pokémon Lecture |
Black |
Black* | N/A | N/A |
Cut |
| OP
"Ready Go!" |
Purple |
Black* | N/A | Black |
Cut |
| ED
"Pockettaari Monsutaari" |
Purple |
Black* | N/A | Black |
Cut |
| PM
241 "The Great Transformation by Pokémon Magic!?" |
Black |
Black* | N/A | N/A |
Digital
Paint |
| PM
250 "The Ice Cave" |
Purple |
Black* | N/A | N/A |
Banned |
| AG
013 "Pokémon Contest! Agehanto's Magnificent Battle!!" |
Purple |
N/A |
N/A | N/A |
Cut |
*Hulu Japan streams the original Pocket Monsters series on a rotating basis; every month the service will upload ten episodes while also removing the ten episodes they had uploaded the month before. So this month Hulu will have episodes 11 - 20, for example, and then next month they'll take those down and upload 21 - 30. The following month, 21 - 30 will get taken down and replaced with 31 - 40. And so on. When the episodes featuring Rougela enter the rotation Hulu airs the original version with the older black face design.
** Netflix Japan only streams the Kanto portion of the series (Episodes 001 - 080).
***The data in the "Home Video (Japan)" section is based on the most recent release, when applicable. Most episodes of the series have not been released on home video in Japan.
Found an error? Spot an omission? Please help me keep this page current and error-free by e-mailing me with a description of the error or omission.
