I have been collecting Pokémon cards ever since the first release of Base Set in 1999 here in the United Kingdom. Since then, thousands of new cards have come to fruition, with new setsn being released every few months nowadays.
Now, Pokémon are very strict with what goes out to the public, with deep reviews and quality checks before even making it to print.
However, back in the early days of Pokémon, during the Wizards of the Coast era, some designs made their way into print that would later be removed.
So, here is a full list of Pokémon cards that were previously banned and/or replaced with new artwork.
Sabrina's Gaze
One of the most popular banned Pokémon cards is one called Sabrina's Gaze, originally released in 1999 inside the Gym 2 Challenge set, exclusively released in Japan.
This one should be pretty obvious as to why the artwork was changed for the Western release. It shows Sarbina holding a Master Ball in what could be an offensive way, holding it with the middle finger, which is an insult in many countries, including Japan, due to Western media influence.
It was changed to Sarbina, simply throwing a Master Ball in its Western release, which is much less aggressive, admittedly. This card is available to purchase on eBay, ungraded and graded.
Misty's Tears
Another popular banned Pokémon card is called Misty's Tears. Exclusively released in Japan, this card was released in 1998 and was part of the Hanada City Gym Deck.
This image shows Misty holding her Staryu, but if you look closely, Misty is wearing no clothes, making it the only card from Pokémon featuring a naked character.
Though many made their way into the public's hands, it was quickly changed for Western reprints. This card is still available to purchase on eBay, ungraded and graded.
Grimer
One of the oldest banned Pokémon cards was from 1997 and featured in the Team Rocket set, showcasing Grimer hiding under a drain cover peaking up into the street while a person walks by in a skirt.
Many took this as a little bit creepy and perverted in a way, as it could have been a younger child going to school. Pokémon agreed and decided to change where Grimer was looking in future prints of this for the Western Team Rocket set released in 2000. These cards are available for purchase on eBay, ungraded or graded.
Sabrina's Gengar
Sabrina's back again with another banned card, and this one comes from the exact same set as Sabrina's Gaze, too. Released in 1999, this was a part of the Gym 2 set, exclusively released in Japan. It has a slightly more subtle, negative artwork this time.
If you take a close look at the Japanese version, you can see in the background Gengar is stood infront of gravestones. Indicating that Gengar is waiting to feast on the souls of the dead, a depressing piece of art that certainly disrespects the dead in a way that doesn't fit Pokémons brand.
They altered this in a very bizarre way for the Western release, a boring way in fact, by simply covering the entire artwork in agressive holofoil and removing the gravestones entirely. Some people like this, but in my opinion its a sloppy and lazy way around editing the previous artwork, and now it just looks like Gengar is standing in the middle of nothing, which may be fitting, seeing as it's a ghost-type.
Jynx (Base Set)
This is a card I remember being banned, as some of them mades its way into the UK and were something that Pokémon took a while to change, with banned artwork making its way later into the 90's and even the 2000's.
Jynx is a Pokémon that was released in the original 151, and was a Pokémon that had a black body and face. As Pokémon gained popularity, many fans questioned if this was in some way racist. Obviously, it wasn't, but Pokémon wanted to play it safe and changed Jynx's face and colour closer to purple.
This card was released in Japan in 1996 as part of the original Base Set cards and was the first of the many Jynx cards to be changed for Western release. This card is available to purchase on eBay undgraed and graded.
Moo Moo Milk
This is certainly one of the weirder ones on the list, because it's one of the few cards in the entire Pokémon portfolio that feature an animal, yes, an animal and not a Pokémon. Which is a mistake Pokémon made, as there are no "human" animals in the Pokémon world.
There's also the obvious fact that someone is feeding a Sentret milk from a cow that likely... doesn't want to feed a Pokémon its milk even if it does need the extra HP. It was released in 1999 as part of the Neo Genesis set and is available on eBay to purchase.
It was quickly changed to cartons of Miltank milk, hidden inside a barn with a wild Clefairy (not an animal) peaking in. Which is much more fitting if you ask me!
Sabrina's Jynx
Another one of Sabrina's naughty cards, and this time it's another Jynx. Just like the previous banned Jynx card, this was a simple change of the colour of Jynx's face, likely to remove any association with a race based on dark skin.
This was a Japanese exclusive card released in 1999 as part of the Yamabuki City Gym Deck and is one of the cheaper banned cards to get graded as of now. It's available to purchase on eBay, ungraded or graded.
Magmortar
One of the newest Pokémon cards to get changed is a Magmortar card released in Japan in 2012 inside the Dragonblade Black and White set. This was a subtle change, but Pokémon wanted to remove the Japanese artwork that shows the collector looking down the barrel of a gun.
Very likely not to offend anyone or trigger any type of PTSD, as Americans are certainly more sensitive to guns in comparison to the Japanese, so this artwork was changed for a Western release, with Magmar reloading his weapon and pointing it away from the audience instead. This is available to purchase on eBay, ungraded or graded.
Arcade Machine
If you have played any of the original games, such as Pokémon Blue/Red and Gold/Silver, you'll be very aware of Game Corner, a location in the game that entices you to gamble to win items and even Pokémon.
This made its way into the TCG quite early on by showing what looks like slot machines in a casino. As you can imagine, many Pokémon enthusiasts didn't like the fact that this could encourage young children to gamble, and the games got some criticism for it too.
It was released in 1999 in Japan and was a part of the Neo Genesis set. The later release Western artwork subtly hides the fact its a slot machine, and instead just a slot "game". This is available to purchase on eBay, ungraded or graded.
Koga's Ninja Trick
Probably the most offensive Pokémon card to ever be released, and I am still gobsmacked that this made its way past the design review team, is Koga's Ninja Trick, released in Japan in 1999 as part of the Gym Heroes set.
This art was banned for a very obvious reason. A sign in the top left corner of the artwork resembles the Nazi sign far too closely, even if it was actually to symbolise the Buddhists, which they do use within their religion. This mix-up made many upset and so Pokémon removed it pretty darn quickly on both Japanese and English cards. This card is available to purchase on eBay.
Card-Flip Game
Just like the Arcade machine card earlier in this list, Card-Flip game, which was released in Japan in 2000, is within the card set Neo Genesis and resembles a gambling machine which was popular in Japan during the time.
And for the exact same reasons, Pokémon changed it for the Western release to not entice children into gambling, and changed it to a closer look at the game screen, which removed any of the "gambling" parts of the machine. This is available to purchase on eBay, ungraded or graded.
Dark Kadabra
This card was "banned" in a slightly different way compared to the rest on this list. Kadabra was originally based on a magician bythe name of Uri Geller, and although Uri knew, it was Dark Kadabra that made him file a lawsuit, claiming that this evil variant of Kabra portrayed him in a negative way without permission.
Uri's case was pretty strong, especially because Dark Kadabra was bending spoons, which was his signature magic trick alongside the fact that Kadabra's Japanese katakana name is ユンゲラー (Yungeraa), and Uri Geller's name is ユリゲラー (Yurigeeraa).
Although no official statement came from this lawsuit, Pokémon stopped creating new Kadabra artwork from when this card was released in 1997 as part of the Team Rocket set to 2023, almost 20 years of no new Kadabra artwork on cards because of this lawsuit.
So, although this isn't a "banned" card, it started an almost 20-year ban on new Kadabra cards, crazy!
Sabrina's Jynx
And finally, yet another of Sabrina's pesky Pokémon, Jynx, is back with a third banned card, this time released in 1999 as part of the Gym Heroes set. Like past Jynx cards, Pokémon has made her colour far more purple in the Western design, to remove any indication of race and how large lips, large chest and feminine features could lead to over-feminising a Pokémon and or race. This card is also available to purchase on eBay, graded or ungraded.
