As the longest-lasting of Ash’s companions, Brock is a fixture of thePokémonanime. He traveled with Ash through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, and later made appearances in Alola and inJourneys. But Brock was actually the first of Ash’s companions to leave the show–so what led to his sudden departure, and equally sudden return?
Brock was an essential member of Ash’s traveling party, responsible for cooking for the group, including all of their Pokémon. He was also older and more knowledgeable than Ash and most of his female companions, making his experience a valuable resource on the journey. Brock was first written out of the show atthe beginning of the Orange Islands arc, an anime-exclusive “filler” arc that was created specifically to buy time until the release ofPokémon GoldandSilver. Brock met the beautiful but messy Professor Ivy, and opted to stay with her rather than continue traveling with Ash.
Brock’s Departure Was About Anything But Romance
Real-World Concerns Behind the Scenes Led to Brock’s Departure
According to an interview with director and storyboard artist Masamitsu Hidaka onthe now-defunct site Pokébeachfrom 2008, the reasons for Brock’s exit from the show had nothing to do with his character, and everything to do with his design. In the interview, Hidaka says that, “the Japanese crew felt thatBrock might be viewed as racist by the American peoplebecause of his eyes, and that they were even fearful of it whenPokémonfirst came to America.”
It was an interesting answer that caught the interviewer by surprise, who asked if they had ever had any complaints about Brock from foreigners. Hidaka answered that they hadn’t, but out of fear, they brought in “a tall, white, Anglo-looking character to replace him, just to be on the safe side.” That character, of course, was Tracey Sketchit, Ash’s male companion during the Orange Islands arc. The creators ofPokémoneventually realized that no one was actually offended by Brock, and actually he was quite popular, so they eventually brought him back to the main cast.
Why Were Pokémon’s Producers So Worried About Racism?
The concerns over racist interpretations of Brock’s character design were clearly overblown, but thePokémonproducers had good reason to be worried. Pokémon had only been created with Japan in mind, and they hadn’t considered how some Pokémon designs might be received overseas. That became a big issue as Pokémon’s popularity exploded, and it quickly made its way to other countries like the US. As that happened, adults quickly latched onto one particular Pokémon, Jynx, claiming that its design was actually quite racist, drawing from minstrel shows making fun of black people.
This crusade against Jynx was kicked off in January 2000, and Brock’s departure episode originally aired in the US in January 2000 as well.While Brock had obviously been written out of the anime before this, as the episode aired in Japan in February 1999, it shows that thePokémonanime’s producers were already being vigilant about potential allegations of racism as the series began expanding internationally. Jynx was definitely something of a ticking time bomb, and it’s not much of a stretch to think that someone involved withPokémonwas aware of that fact before the controversy began.
Ironically, Jynx would appear in the anime just a few episodes after Brock left, inan episode that’s now banned and hard to come by, “The Mandarin Island Miss Match.“It would seem that Brock’s departure was out of an abundance of caution, while Jynx’s use was a bit more careless.
Brock Was Never Racist At All
Brock’s Design Isn’t Racist, and Neither Was His Personality
Brock’s design was ultimately left alone when he returned, and he still looks today the way he always has, both in the games and the anime. Jynx, on the other hand, was redesigned to be purple-skinned instead of black-skinned, reducing the racist overtones significantly, although Jynx’s episodes would continue to be banned, until the anime just stopped using the Pokémon entirely, much like Porygon. The reason Brock was deemed okay was because his character didn’t play on his race at all; Brock is just a smart, together sort of guy who could look like anything. Thankfully for fans of Brock, he got to enjoy a long career as Ash’s companion inPokémon.
