Jynx

Jynx
National Pokédex Scyther - Jynx (#124) - Electabuzz Johto Pokédex Smoochum - Jynx (#153) - Elekid
Japanese name	ルージュラ - Rougela
Evolves from	Smoochum (only in Pokémon Gold and Silver and later)
Evolves into	None
Generation	First
Species	Humanshape Pokémon
Type	Ice / Psychic
Height	4 ft 7 in (1.4 m)
Weight	89.5 pounds (40.6 kg)
Ability	Oblivious

Jynx (ルージュラ Rougela in Japanese, Lippoutou in French, Rossana in German, "紅唇娃" in Cantonese and "루주라" in Korean) is a fictional species of Pokémon, originally introduced in Pokémon Red and Blue. She's noted mostly for the controversy over her original appearance.

Jynx is a play on the English word "jinx", a curse or hex of bad luck. The reasoning behind this isn't immediately clear; it may be that she's styled after a Yuki-onna, or because Rougela comes from "Rouge" and "la", which means "lipstick" in Japanese.

Jynx has a lady-like appearance. In the pokemon world, her kiss puts people and Pokémon to sleep or to confusion (different attacks). She has a mysterious language which no humans or other Pokemon could understand. In the anime, Jynx does not have any psychic abilities other than telepathy and attacks.

Controversy

File:Ani124.gif

The original black-skinned Jynx design and source of the controversy

Jynx's original design bore a striking, but possibly coincidental, resemblance to entertainers in blackface. A strong case can be made for Jynx being a parody of or homage to the Japanese Ganguro and Yamanba fashion trends, which were extremely popular when Pokémon was first released, but it can't be denied that blackface-influenced characters have appeared elsewhere in anime and manga - examples can be found near the beginning of Osamu Tezuka's early graphic novel, Metropolis.

As Pokémon became more popular in the US, this similarity to a particularly racist image from America's past offended some. In particular, it had offended children's book author Carole Boston Weatherford, who accused Jynx of being a racist stereotype in an article titled Politically Incorrect Pokémon in the magazine Black World Today, shortly after the anime episode Holiday Hi-Jynx aired.

In response to this controversy, in 2002, Nintendo changed Jynx's face from black to purple and its hands from blue to purple in Pokémon games, a change which would be reflected in the anime three years later in Advanced Generation.

In the video games

(In the order of release date)

Red/Blue: Obtainable in Cerulean City by trading. Used by Elite 4 Lorelei.

Pokemon Stadium: Rentable.

Pokemon Snap: Appear near to Articuno's egg.

Gold/Silver/Crystal: Obtainable.In the Ice Cave by catching/ evolving from Smoochum. Used by Elite4 Will.

Ruby/ Sapphire: Unobtainable. Used by a random trainer.

FireRed/ leafGreen: Obtainable in Cerulean City by trading. Used by Elite 4 Lorelei.

Emerald: Unobtainable. Used by a random trainer.

Pokemon Stadium2: Rentable. Appears also in a mini game.

Pokemon XD: Used by an opponent in Orre Colosseum. Appears Card #10 (Psychic Excess) in Battle Bingo.

• Because of the above controversy, Jynx's skin was changed from black to purple in Pokémon Stadium 2 and all later games.

In the animé

Jynx made an appearance in the episode The Ice Cave, which was not aired in English-speaking countries, and in the episode Holiday Hi-Jynx, which isn't re-aired in USA but is in the UK, both because of the controversy over her appearance. She later appears Pokémon Orange Islands series, in episodes still present in American rotations.

Her 13-second appearance in Pokémon AG episode 23 All Things Bright and Beautifly was cut out when the episode was localized for English-speaking countries. She later appears in episodes 116 and 117 of Pokémon AG, with the inoffensive purple skin color.

See also Banned episodes of Pokémon.

Merchandise

There are two different sorts of Jynx figures. The first type , based on the original Jynx design with black skin, is no longer available, as that series ceased production after the release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. Example: Pokemon Christmas edition (not available outside Asia), and Pokemon Kids Collection (banned)

The second type is the purple skinned variety. Example, Figure #7 in series two of Pokémon Zengaku Zukan[1], is currently available in Japan, and has purple skin. Neither series has never been released outside of Asia.

In the card game

Jynx has made a number of appearances in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, with the black-skinned design (sometimes US version cards show up purple and edited before the controversy) before the Weatherford controversy, and with the purple-skinned design after Nintendo regained control of the Pokémon TCG. Jynx first appeared in the Base Set with her black-skinned design, but later reprints of this card have the purple-skinned design.