As a franchise that has been around for over two decades, Pokemon has its fair share of both new and old fans alike. While many may have been introduced to its world in the past few years with the more recent generations, a huge chunk of Pokemon’s fanbase has been around since the early days of the Game Boy. As games of the series have come and gone, some Pokemon have proved far more memorable than others. One classic Rock-type from Gen 1, however, has recently been the subject of a controversy involving a bizarre memory phenomenon.
There have been multiple disagreements within large communities regarding the history of forms of media and branding over the past few years, and this is known as the "Mandela Effect". A phenomenon that describes the existence of an apparently false memory within an entire collective, it is named after former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela due to many believing that he already passed away in the 1980s upon news of his death in 2013. In a far less grim turn of events, one of the original 151 Pokemon has now come under similar scrutiny.
The Pokemon Onix's Name Has Stirred Up Discourse
One of the signature Pokemon of the iconic Rock-type gym leader Brock who accompanied Ash on his adventures in the anime, Onix is a giant, snake-esque creature that can be a formidable foe for Electric-types like Pikachu due to its dual Ground typing. It has always been known as Onix, but this has recently been disputed by some fans. Despite what records indicate, several outspoken fans claim to remember the Pokemon’s name being spelled as “Onyx” instead.
Seemingly having no basis in reality, claims about Onix’s name being spelled differently have no substantiation in any official Pokemon game whatsoever. With multiple people separately indicating that their memory contradicts recorded history, however, Onix has become classified as an example of the Mandela Effect to some. A similar lack of evidence supporting claims about topics like the “Ford” logo and the name of “Froot Loops” cereal makes the “Onyx” situation appear equally mysterious, but there is actually a likely culprit for this confusion after all.
"Onyx" and Misinformation Spread by the Pokemon Anime's 4Kids Dub
During the era of Gen 3's anime being dubbed by 4Kids, a short segment known as Trainer's Choice would air and provide bits of Pokemon trivia to the viewers. While it mostly operated as intended, this segment also included many episodes containing blatantly false information. One particular instance included showing Onix's name being spelled as "Onyx", and this wasn't even the segment’s worst offense. Even stating what was possibly one of the most incorrect Pokemon facts ever aired on the entire anime series, Trainer's Choice once reported that Arbok evolves into Seviper.
It may be a largely forgotten part of the past, but Trainer's Choice clearly had a strong influence on some fans. For young viewers just getting into Pokemon at the time, it could have very well left them misinformed for years beyond the nostalgic days of watching the anime. While most of its falsehoods were limited to flawed representations of type match-ups, egregious offenders like “Onyx” have had an impact so strong that some fans have begun to question their reality. A rare example of an instance of the Mandela Effect with some level of credibility, Onix’s name controversy is a relic of the Pokemon anime’s less-than-consistent days.
