So this happened...
As far as I can tell it started out of nowhere and it's only Battanians who are affected. Something seems to be wrong with their hands - either exploding or shrinked and crippled. The exploding hands only happen when standing close. If you go away the character looks fine. This also happens when you take these characters to tournaments and battles. The crippled hands are always visible but they only occur inside castles with the "guy writing in a book" animation.
As far as I can tell it started out of nowhere and it's only Battanians who are affected. Something seems to be wrong with their hands - either exploding or shrinked and crippled. The exploding hands only happen when standing close. If you go away the character looks fine. This also happens when you take these characters to tournaments and battles. The crippled hands are always visible but they only occur inside castles with the "guy writing in a book" animation.