The Great Debate: Jigglypuff vs. Snubbull in the Pokémon Anime

Snubbull was more visible than Jigglypuff during the Johto Saga, suggesting that he could be replaced.

In the original series, Jigglypuff was a very common Pokemon to see Ash and Co. encounter. Jigglypuff stopped appearing after the Indigo Alliance. But she wasn’t alone in appearing in anime.

Ash and his team made it safely to Johto. Snubbull became a follower of them wherever they went. She was more specifically following Team Rocket, who was also following Ash. Snubbull was likely to be seen throughout Johto, just as Jigglypuff often appeared throughout Kanto.

Is Snubbull really the Jigglypuff of the Johto Region

Jigglypuff used a simple but very effective gimmick. It would travel all over the region in search of a stage or an audience. It would perform in front of Ash, his friends, and his family no matter the time. The songs it sang would always put everyone in bed. It would then grow furious, draw on their faces and storm off. Although this sounds like it would become tedious, the anime managed to get quite a bit of mileage from this gag.

However, Jigglypuff’s gimmick is losing its value. It was present seven times in the Indigo League. But it made only two appearances at the Orange League. And it made just four appearances in Johto League. After that, it only made one appearance in Hoenn before being removed from the show. It took a while before the anime completely eliminated the BalloonPokemon.

Snubbull appeared to be the Jigglypuff of Hoeen. Snubbull Snobbery was Meowth’s first episode. So, she would spend the next 50 episodes following Meowth and his scent in order to once again bite his tail.

Snubbull did not hesitate to eliminate Jigglypuff from the series’ recurrent Pokemon list. Episode 149 ” Tunnel Vision” even saw Fairy Pokemon steal the marker for Balloon Pokemon. It was almost as though Jigglypuff was using the marker as a metaphor for his screen time.

Subbull was not relevant for as long as it should have been. Episode 175, titled “The Trouble with Snubbull”, shows that the Fairy Pokemon transformed into Granbull and vanished from the show. This, together with Jigglypuff’s declining significance, could mean that the era’s recurring pink Pokemon was ending.

Snubbull could have had a better outcome.

Snubbull/Jigglypuff could have been more well-known, which might have started a trend to see a frequently recurring Pokemon in every country. Skitty or Munna might have been chosen to be the Jigglypuff for their respective regions. That potential has to be explored, no matter where the anime decides to go.

Snubbull was at least one version of Jigglypuff that people can claim the Johto area had. While Jigglypuff may have been replaced completely by her, Snubbull had a noticeable presence on screen that made the two appear similar. With a little more attention the Fairy Pokemon could’ve turned out to be just as good as the Balloon Pokemon.