CLEFAIRY and the MACARENA

 Not long ago, Karambolage released an episode on the Macarena, choreography and all (in case you had forgotten), the floodgates of Millennial nostalgia rushed open within me, and I remembered a reference to it in the Western dubs of the Pokémon anime:

This is the localisation of the Pokémon (Indigo League) episode "Clefairy and the Moonstone":

...

– Ash: (Trying to translate what Pikachu’s saying) “These Clefairy collect all these rocks and……do the Macarena!”

 Ah the Macarena. That won’t ever get dated.

......

(Pikachu seizes a strand of Ash's hair)

– Misty: “What rhymes with 'hair'?”

Brock: “Hey, how about ‘prayer’?” 

Yes, everyone, there was a time when 4Kids would actually mention religion. 

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4Kids Entertainment English dub (the basis for all Western dubs of Kanto and Johto) of Pokémon Indigo League (Season 1, Episode 6: "Clefairy and the Moonstone" In this episode, Ash's Pikachu tries to explain to Ash and the gang what the Clefairy are doing by using charades. Because the original Japanese script relied on heavy cultural references and wordplay, 4Kids had to completely reinvent the dialogue. 

💃 The Dance: Obon vs. the Macarena

Original Japanese: Ash guesses that the Clefairy are performing an Obon Dance (Bon Odori), a traditional dance performed during the Japanese Obon festival to honor the spirits of the dead. 4Kids English Dub: Since Western kids in the late '90s wouldn't know what Obon was, 4Kids had Ash guess that the Clefairy "collect all these rocks and... do the Macarena!" (referencing the massive '90s Spanish dance craze)

🧎‍♂️ The Prayer: Kami vs. Hair/Prayer

Original Japanese: Pikachu pulls out a single strand of Ash's hair. In Japanese, the word for hair is Kami (髪). Ash shouts "My hair!", which prompts Brock to realize that Kami is a homophone for the Japanese word for God/Spirit/Deity (神, Kami). This is how they figure out the Clefairy are praying. 

4Kids completely cut out the Shinto/religious reference. Instead, they turned it into a simple rhyming game. When Pikachu pulls Ash's hair, Misty asks, "What rhymes with hair?" and Brock replies, "Hey, how about 'prayer'?" 

Leading them to deduce that the Clefairy are praying to the Moonstone. 1

It stands as one of the most clever—and hilariously dated—linguistic pivots from the early days of anime localization!

I recall having watched this episode in Valencian, in Spanish, and in Swedish and wondering if it was the Macarena or another dance in the original!