Go back here for memes related to the Pokémon franchise as a whole.
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The anime itself
- Any mention of Pokémon Speak in the anime is now bound to bring up people mentioning Hodor from Game of Thrones and treating him as if he was a Pokémon himself.
- BROCK OBAMA!!!ExplanationOwing to both of them being dark skinned and "Brock" sounding similar to "Barack", a lot of art and image macros have appeared depicting Brock as Barack Obama.
- Venusaur doing his best ExplanationThe very first opening credits of the anime pans over the fully-evolved Kanto starters showing their powers (Charizard breathing fire, Blastoise shooting blasts of water) except for Venusaur, who just sits there while looking awkwardly at the camera.
- Gary liking Bara ExplanationA Garybombing backfired, thus bumping up some Bara to the front page. Now, whenever someone makes a Gary thread, it's bara-bombed.
- Super Masara-jin ExplanationA play on "Super Saiya-jin", or as English speakers know it, Super Saiyan, with "Masara" being the Japanese name of Pallet Town. Due to Ash's various ludicrous physical feats and sheer Made of Iron-ness displayed throughout the show, it became a joke among the Japanese fandom that those from Pallet Town are "Super Pallet People" and have superhuman abilities. From this, other characters who display similar impossible feats tend to spawn similar jokes about how they're "Super (hometown)-jin".
- Wow, I have a lot of people to disappoint. ExplanationIn Meowth Rules, this is Meowth's reaction to the crowd expecting him to do Payday, but him learning how to speak prevents him from learning special moves. It's since been used as a reaction image/GIF for moments people feel are disappointing.
- Team Rocket is blasting off agaaaaaaiiiiinnnnn! *twinkle* ExplanationEvery time the Team Rocket trio gets launched, they say this. Being a Once an Episode gag, it has spawned countless parodies featuring different characters being launched into the sky and saying a variant on the phrase, usually with twinkle included.
- Pikachu! The horn! ExplanationAsh has a battle against a Blaine's Rhydon, and Pikachu attacks it in a way (shocking it on the horn) that apparently bypasses its ground-type immunity to Electric attacks. This is impossible in the games. Precisely because of this, this moment became infamous in the fandom. Seemingly in reference to this, Rhydon's evolutionary line can have the ability Lighting Rod, which draws in electric attacks in a double battle but does not actually bypass its typing, and can in fact increase its special attack (which Rhydon actually has no use for) from generation 7 onward.
- Gary was here. Ash is a loser. ExplanationIn one episode, Ash reads a sign that says this. Parodies of the sign exist with "Gary" and "Ash" being replaced with other people or communities that are considered rivals.
- Gary Oak. There are eight badges in Kanto. He got ten of them.ExplanationDuring the Indigo League run of the anime, Gary shows up right before the Earth Badge challenge to rub Ash's face in how much better he is by showing off a case filled with ten badges when the League requires only 8. Incidentally, only three of the badges are from Kanto in the games, meaning he has seven that no one else has ever seen. The name of the meme originates from a image macro pointing out the fact, and it goes hand in hand with the "GARY MOTHERFUCKING OAK" meme.
- Continuing from the GARY MOTHERFUCKING OAK trend from the games, a parody of The Lonely Island's "I'm on a Boat" was popular for a while.
- Zubat "carrying" Squirtle ExplanationAn iconic scene from the "Tentacool & Tentacruel" episode that pops up in the English dub opening. The sight of Zubat holding up a Squirtle despite having no hands will always leave people mystified.
- Yo, fuckin' Snorlax owns in this movie! He's saving ALL THE POKÉMON! He's more ripped than you, man! ExplanationSome guys commenting on the short from the second Pokémon movie in a very comedic way. It gained a lot of attention online when it was first released, with quotes such as the one above, "DON'T MAKE FUNNA HIM!!!! EXCUSE ME!!!!", said by one guy when the other makes fun of Snorlax, and "No dick, it's Wigglytuff", when the other guy calls said Pokemon a Clefairy, becoming popular. While it isn't as popular nowadays, it's still considered a classic.
- Bitch be TRIPPING balls! ExplanationA comic by VG Cats that parodies/lampshades the fact that Team Rocket has been stalking Ash for 14+ seasons and the fact that Ash has 24+ Pokémon total (which is the "tripping Balls" part).
- Ash's Charizard defeated Blaine's Magmar IN THE VERY HEART OF THE VOLCANO ITSELF! ExplanationAsh's 7th Kanto Gym battle against a Fire-type Gym Leader inside a volcano.
- From the same site, Ash's Treecko/Grovyle/Sceptile has constantly been called CLINT FUCKIN' EASTWOOD whenever he appears.
- BALEEEEEEN WHAAAAAALE!◊ ExplanationJessie's expression when saying this line is very goofy-looking, and as such has become a popular GIF and traced image macro.
- Diglett dig, Diglett dig.... TRIO TRIO TRIO. ExplanationThe singing of the Diglett and Dugtrio in "Dig Those Diglett" is very catchy.
- I wanna be the very best / Like no-one ever was / To catch them is my real test / To train them is my cause! ExplanationThe English theme song of the first season of the Pokémon anime. As with a lot of theme songs, it has spawned tons of parodies since its inception.
- "Who's that Pokémon?!" ExplanationA line from the Eye Catch of Seasons 1-6 and 14 onward, which as a sort of a guessing game involving the silhouette of a Pokémon. Used in any context to question the identity of a shadowy figure, or to parody the original eyecatches.
- IT'S PIKACHU. It's Koffing! GODDAMMIT! AAAAAAAAAAAAA ExplanationA guy watching the "Who's that Pokémon" segment of the anime, makes a wrong guess at what Pokémon it is, and screams. The video become popular over the years, especially due to the Vine variation below.
- IT'S PIKACHU! It's Clefairy! FUUUUUUUUUU! ExplanationSame deal as the one above, but Vine length.
- "Iiiiit's Zapdos!" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!" Explanation This particular one comes from an infamous "Who's That Pokémon?!" eyecatch where Zapdos's cry inexplicably sounds more like someone screaming after getting something heavy dropped onto their foot, than a Pokémon.
- It's Rickroll. note The similarities between the Bait-and-Switch nature of some of the "Who's That Pokemon?" memes and the Rickroll was not lost on people, so naturally crossovers between the two were made.
- "It's a Jigglypuff seen from above!" ExplanationFrom an episode where Ash, James, and Jessie took a test that, among other things, asked them to identify a Pokémon from a single round shadow. They guess a Voltorb, Poké Ball, and an Electrode, respectively, and all fail. It stands out as an ultimate bait and switch troll moment.
- It's Diglett. It's Uncle Ben! Explanation A morbid version of this meme has Peter Parker guess the mystery Pokemon to be Diglett, only for the eyecatch to reveal that it was in fact Uncle Ben's gravestone which naturally makes him sad. It has become popular to modify this meme to involve character from different franchises being confronted by the graves of their loved ones, such as Batman and his parents, Anakin Skywalker and Padme, and Joseph Joestar and Caesar Zeppeli.
- Trainers, which one of these Pokémon evolves into Seviper? <commercial break> Okay trainers, if you guessed Arbok, you were right!
- WRONG! ExplanationFor the Advanced Challenge and Advanced Battle seasons of the Pokémon anime, 4Kids created their own "Who's that Pokémon?"-esque eyecatches that usually had wrong or confusing information. This is the most infamous one due to the fact that Arbok does NOT evolve, and neither does Seviper. The mistake may have resulted from someone not paying close enough attention to the episode in which Jessie releases her Arbok and then catches a Seviper.
- Giovanni achieved status as a Memetic Badass for apparently punching out a Blissey, and because "not even an orgy is enough to satisfy his libido."
- These donuts are great! Jelly filled are my favorite! Nothing beats a jelly-filled donut! ExplanationA line said by Brock during one of the many Americanization edits 4Kids made to the anime. While he was holding rice balls. It became a massive meme online due to the ridiculousness.
- SANDWICHES DON'T ROLL! ExplanationAnother "Rice Ball to Something Else" edit by 4Kids, this time painting over a rice ball to create a sub-like sandwich. The aforementioned rice ball was rolling down a hill, and the edited sandwich followed that path in a very awkward way.
- "Who wants rice balls?" ExplanationAnother response to painting over the rice balls with other foods. Pictures of characters holding sandwiches or doughnuts are usually accompanied by such captions.
- RING RING RING! RING RING RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL! ExplanationThe ringtone of the Ketchum household phone in Episode 2.
- Did Brock take over Misty's position as a water trainer? ExplanationDue to the popular IGN "Too much water" meme in the Hoenn region, many wonder how Misty would have fared throughout the entire region. Additionally, Brock has quickly caught 2 water types (Lotad and Mudkip) in the first few episodes and almost caught a Sharpedo, making it seem like he prioritizes on water types out of all of the other types in that region and taking over Misty's spot.
- BYRON LOVES THINGS! ExplanationByron loves a lot of things. Naturally, this tendency became mutated and repeated a lot. On that note, the linked video is a parody of a Discovery Channel advertising campaign.
- I LOVE BASTIODON! *background explosion*
- USE IRON DEFENSE! *background explosion*
- I LOVE DEFENSE!!! *background explosion*
- I LOVE STEELIX! *background explosion*
- I LOVE FOSSILS! *background explosion*
- I LOVE MY WIFE! *background explosion*
- WHAT A PERFECTLY DUG HOLE!
- Remarkable! ExplanationThe Catchphrase of Mr. Sukizo, one on the Pokémon Contest judges.
- Ash steals a motto. ExplanationA scene from "Classroom Training" where Candice asks Ash what his motto is, and someone puts the audio of someone else's motto (for instance, Team Rocket) over his actual dialogue.
- In the early 2000s or so, the meme amongst Team Rocket fans was "I WANT A DOUGHNUT." It was considered James's catchphrase (even though he only said it once), and led to him being associated with doughnuts in general, especially jelly doughnuts. It even spawned a short webcomic, The Adventures of James and the Slightly Obese Cop with the Doughnuts, in which James used various disguises and tricks to steal doughnuts from a policeman.
- There was also a Running Gag that James' boots were magical, because both times he kicked a Pokémon while wearing them, that Pokémon evolved immediately afterward.
- PIKACHU RAN THE LASER TO VICTORY ExplanationA combination attack with Pikachu's Volt Tackle and Piplup's Hydro Pump.
- PIKAFIELD!! ExplanationCrossover with Cloverfield.
- The Triangle Shades that Ash's Squirtle wears sure look familiar. Yep,◊ they◊ sure◊ do.◊ ExplanationKamina's shades were an already a memetic piece of eyewear, so when people noticed how similar Ash's Squirtle's shades were to the former, there were a lot of image edits replacing Squirtle's shades with Kamina's shades.
- AND YOUR GALOSHES, TOO! ExplanationA prominent line featured in the English opening of Pokémon Chronicles.
- "IT'S TASTING TIME!" ExplanationThe Catchphrase of Cilan, a Unova Gym Leader.
- Because of Cilan's food gimmick and the fact that his Pokémon look like food (Pansage looks like it has head-broccoli), there are dozens of threads claiming that he plans to eat his Pokémon.
- Misremembering Butch's name/"It's Butch!" ExplanationButch, a member of Team Rocket and rival to the familiar Team Rocket trio, has had his name misremembered by everyone else ever since his second appearance, to which he would reply "It's Butch!" or something along the lines of that. Fans took this joke and stride and started purposefully, well, butchering his name or calling him something completely different. Butch's standard reply is a common reply to any of these statements, and even that would be messed with sometimes (e.g. In YouTube Poops, making him say "PINGAS" or something else instead of his own name).
- Butch once even asks why his partner Cassidy doesn't have the same problem. At least one fanfiction makes it a nickname and her real name is instead Cassandra (after the one anime episode where James referred to Jessie as "Jessica").
- A related but lesser-known meme is getting Dr. Namba's name wrong, since it was also another Running Gag whenever he appeared just like getting Butch's name wrong.
- Pikachu and ketchup. It was forgotten by the writers for years, but not by the fans. The anime later included a few more references to it.
- How many fanarts have depicted Ash as the Chick Magnet while Brock cries his heart out in the background? TOO MANY.
- Best Wishes episode 14 seems to have spawned a minor meme among Japanese artists. Specifically, where Cilan gets possessed by a Yamask mask. There are a hilarious number of "Dentomasu" pictures floating around.
- A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, and these men are gonna do it with or without a beautiful girl at their side!ExplanationDP episode 2: Brock just got his heart broken by the girl he was hitchhiking with, and he tells her that he's gonna travel with Ash now. The rest is Accidental Innuendo.
- If Brock was in Unova... ExplanationDue to the popularity of Black and White clips on YouTube, many wonder how Brock would react if he was in Unova seeing the Unova females. Professor Juniper debut the episode AFTER Brock's last episode. Dr. Fennel, Skyla, Elesa, Katharine, and Bianca comes to mind based on the comments of other clips, although YouTube recently censored comments to kids-only for some videos or removed them most likely due to inappropriate comments. Of course, this doesn't ignore the others like N's sisters, Caitlin, Alexa, reunion with Clair, and Unova anime-exclusive characters. This only applies to Unova because there is barely any romantic interactions with humans; Kalos has Bonnie taking Brock's spot while Brock 7th Gen and 8th Gen still retains his habit.
- Bianca mastered Bond Phenomenon before Ash did! ExplanationIn the 13th episode of B/W, Bianca and her Pignite stomp and pout in sync after failing to hit a Minccino with Flame Charge. Meanwhile, Ash and Greninja trying to get synchronized in battle is a major plot point of the last third of Pokémon the Series: XY.
- The nineteenth episode of B/W led to many pictures of Cilan looking evil. Pictures of him laughing over a traumatized Burgundy/Cabernet or looking smug◊ have led to many Death Note jokes. Not to mention, jokes about him raping a traumatized, crying Burgundy.
- Before that, there were many jokes about Cilan being secretly evil (such as him stealing Ash's egg and replacing it with a fake, eating his Pokémon). This episode "confirmed" it.
- For some reason, this image◊ of Paul drinking orange juice (from D/P's 100th episode, "Aiding the Enemy!") has become something of a meme in Japan. Search "Shinji" on any Japanese fanart site and you're bound to find tons of pictures of Paul sippin' OJ. ExplanationIn Japan, orange juice is considered a children's drink. So they're probably viewing it as a sole example of his childishness.
- Leo Burnett and 4Kids are the devil. ExplanationA so-called subliminal message in a scene where James is in the mouth of his Victreebel played backwards.
- According to the Pokédex, Alakazam's IQ is "over 5000". Naturally, this drew comparisons to the "OVER 9000" meme once the latter rose to prominence.
- "Palkia, you son of a bitch!"◊ ExplanationA screencap of an edited subtitle in The Rise of Darkrai. In the subbed version of the movie, Ash actually says, "Palkia, you idiot!".
- Cilan isn't gay. He's FABULOUS. ExplanationOr in reference to ANY of the Trial Triangle, really. Cilan's just the one most immediately associated with it. They're young, well-dressed, effeminate males who work at a battle cafe. Do the math.
- Sexy Gabite from the first Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers special tends to show up way too often in YouTube Poop.
- Servine the masochist. ExplanationIn BW010, Trip's Servine was hit by Ash's Snivy's (who is female) Attract. In the series, Pokémon affected by the move gain heart-shaped Wingding Eyes, and fans noticed that the hearts in Servine's eyes got bigger after being hit by Snivy's Vine Whip afterwards (as well as the fact that he's still smiling upon fainting), leading to jokes about Servine being a masochist.
- FOCUS MISS! AnimeThis was played for laughs in the anime. Ash's Scraggy learns the move Focus Blast. As expected, the move execution looks ridiculously shoddy and misses a lot that even the character Betty had to say "“THAT’s a focus blast? Wanna tell me where all the focus went?”" in a very funny-voiced matter. The voice actress shares the same voice as Dawn and Cynthia while many praised this line as her best voiced work. This was a Running Gag during the Clubsplosion arc, even if Scraggy won some battles. The running gag even continued on Pokemon Journeys. Only this time, with 0% accuracy.
- Venustoise. Probably the most well known fake Pokémon, due to it actually being in the anime as an illusion.
- Ash Ketchum... he's an ass man.◊ Explanation A popular demotivator that features Ash seemingly staring at Misty's buttocks.
- "You can't do this. I won't let you." ExplanationIn Pokémon: The First Movie, Ash delivers this line to Mewtwo, who created a legion of cloned Pokémon from other trainers, easily dismantled their Pokémon (including Ash's) and announced his plans to, essentially, wipe out human civilization. Despite being horribly outgunned against the most powerful Pokémon at the time, Ash still chooses to stand up to him.
- YOUR PENIS. Be quiet or Brock will steal it. ExplanationBrock being a Love Freak and Memetic Molester comes from a panel of a Hentai doujinshi, where Ash freaks out about his erection (not understanding what is happening), and Misty silences him with this threat.
- "I'll use this frying pan... as a drying pan!" ExplanationA pun where Brock uses a frypan as a makeshift umbrella became something of a Mad Libs Catchphrase, substituting frying pan and drying pan for two other similar turns of phrase which rhyme, always accompanied by a gif of Brock using his frying pan as... well, a drying pan.◊
- Officer Jenny Is An Idiot. ExplanationOfficer Jenny and her twin Officer Jenny notice Team Rocket escaping in a balloon. One of the Jennys summons their Growlithe to use flamethrower on the balooon. The problem? Jenny calls it Arcanine. This did not go unnoticed by fans.
- I AM A FLAMING MOLTRES!!!! ExplanationIn "The Fortune Hunters", a bogus Pokémon horoscope lists James as a Moltres. He does...this because of that. Popular due to Jessie's line upon seeing the costume, "I think that outfit came right out of his closet", used as evidence for James's homosexuality.
- After the blackout at the 2013 Super Bowl, many fans have joked about the cause being Team Rocket, due to the trio's Dynamic Entries.
- "I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines you who are." ExplanationMewtwo during his Heel Realization at the end of the first movie; completely different to the movie's "fighting is wrong" moral up until now. Note that is completely relevant to the movie's moral in the Japanese version, but this line was left as is in the dub anyway. This is commonly passed around as an inspirational quote.
- "He has two badges!" ExplanationA reference to the terrible quality of early subtitles of Pokémon Origins, which, among other mistakes (Professor Oak being Green's uncle, "there" to "their", etc.) mistranslated a line to say that Red has earned two badges, despite him clearly shown having three.
- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ExplanationThe terrifying, agonized scream Red's Charmander makes when it gets bitten in the neck by Green's Squirtle in the Origins OVA.
- The way Squirtle pins Charmander down, forces itself onto it and violently thrusts back and forth while Charmander struggles has been described as disturbingly reminiscent of rape, which wasn't lost on fans and spawned Black Comedy reactions from some.
- N was right all along.ExplanationThe Charmander vs. Squirtle fight looks a lot more like an animal bloodsport as opposed to friendly competition like Pokémon battles are usually shown, drawing comparison to N from Black & White seeking to "free Pokémon from enslavement".
- Red's Jolteon fails at life. ExplanationThe Rhyhorn defeated Jolteon with Thunderbolt, even though Jolteon's ability Volt Absorb should have rendered it immune to Electric attacks. Note, though, that Gen I, which Pokémon Origins is based on, didn't have abilities.
- Celebi is now called the Onion Fairy in some circles, thanks to this Tumblr post.
- Who is gonna win da Ashbowl? ExplanationA recurring joke where every notable female character in X/Y has a thing for Ash and each of them are competing for his affection.
- A logo changes everything. ExplanationUse of the logo of Brazzers to make certain stills from the anime look almost pornographic, or otherwise bring up jizz/sex/tying people up jokes.
- Serena is really changing the tone of the anime. Explanation(In)appropriate use of captions and the aforementioned Brazzers logo makes it look like Serena is repeatedly getting up to all sorts of inappropriate things, particularly things made to look like bondage.
- Exaggerating Serena into a Clingy Jealous Girl bordering on Yandere is popular on sites like Cheezburger.
- Braixen Serena/Furry Serena ExplanationAn artist on Deviantart created an animation that edited a scene from "A Conspiracy to Conquer!" where Serena was hypnotized by an evil group of Malamar, instead seeing her turn into a Braixen (albeit with her eyes and mouth still intact) and burning off her hair and hat while panicking in shock at the changes. It made the rounds pretty quickly after it was made because of not only how convincing it matched the show's animation (to the point that people actually thought that it was what happened in the actual episode), leading to jokes that Serena was really a furry, or that Ash would only start to notice because he secretly liked furries.
- Dj'ohlt! ExplanationJolteon's cry in the anime sounds much like Homer Simpson's catchphrase.
- Baseball Lucario ExplanationIn XY030, Korrina's Lucario uses Bone Rush on Ash's Pikachu, and hits him away like a baseball.
- Psycho Mega Lucario. ExplanationAn episode of the XY series features Korrina's Lucario megaevolving and going berserk. His psychotic◊ facial◊ expressions◊ are downright disturbing.
- BASED DIRECTOR ExplanationIn anime threads of /vp/, the Pokémon sub-board of 4chan, this is usually mentioned whenever the XY anime gives outstanding scenarios or episodes due to the new director.
- STATUSQUOFAGS BTFO! ExplanationA typical reaction whenever an episode of XY has broken conventions that were considered typical in the old anime series, like Ash getting to defeat Lucario, evolving Water-types, and encounters between an Elite Four member/Champion and the protagonist not being a Curb-Stomp Battle by default.
- "What happened to you?" "He tried to ride his bike indoors." ExplanationBased on the scene from the Origins anime scene where Blue is bandaged up in bed after losing to Mewtwo. Fans converted it into a meme about Professor Oak saying you can't ride your bike inside a building.
- O H Y E A H !ExplanationIn the third Japanese opening of the XY series, part of the chorus has "Oh yeah!" in the lyrics and throughout it Goomy was evolving all the way to Goodra. It has then been associated to anime Goomy.
- Valerie defeating Sawyer so easily gives an alternate interpretation of her being a rapist of young boys and enjoys dominating her victims.
- "Bonnie knows"Explanationa popular phrase for Amourshippers to spread ever since Serena's second Showcase, where Bonnie seems to have finally taken notice of Serena's crush on Ash.
- Eventually evolves into "Everyone [but Ash] knows".
- wololololololoExplanationPuni-chan/Squishy's anime cry is heard like this. Not to be confused with the priest's battle cry in Age of Empires.
- Because of Mega Charizard Y's lack of screentime (especially compared to its X counterpart), and that Ash's XY team has yet to be complete, many seem to think that Mega-Zard Y is being saved for when Ash's own Charizard shows up. And there were just as many fanarts that pitted Charizard-Y against Alain's Charizard-X.
- Plenty of Pokemon/LOTR jokes have occurred as a result of people noticing that Greninja's English dub voice sounds remarkably similar to Gollum, including jokes about Greninja becoming obsessed with Z-Rings/Z-Crystals since his release, jokes that Andy Serkis sneaked into the recording booth (Greninja's actual English dub voice is Billy Bob Thompson), and more.
- Every Bonnie-focused episode is usually associated with Bonnie suffering emotionally, or someone else suffering emotionally. And thus whenever a future Bonnie-focused episode is announced, people will immediately know what to expect.
- Various fanarts of the awkwardness (or Moe) of Hawlucha receiving Big Brother Worship from Noivern has been spreading like wildfire.
- In Kalos, they don't say "I love you." They say "Iron Tail, Pikachu..." ExplanationIn "Battling at Full Volume!", a sick and delirious Ash falls into Serena's arms and stutters "Ai...Ai." Serena expects him to say "Aishiteru" (which means "I love you" in Japanese) but it turns out that Ash is trying to say "Aian Teiru, Pikachu.." ("Iron Tail, Pikachu...") before collapsing on to the ground thanks to his illness. The line became popular with shippers on Tumblr, to the point of adding it on every famous◊ romance◊ scene◊ there is. The scene is carried over completely intact in the dub.
- The mere fact that Ash said Iron Tail has caused some dirtier minds to wonder.
- "Where did she change her clothes?" and variations thereof are getting repeatedly asked in various threads in regards to Serena changing into Ash's clothes. The most recurring answer is that Serena changed in the same tent where Ash was sleeping.
- Ash is dead. RIP 1997-2016. Cause of Death: Ash-Greninja ExplanationWhen it was revealed that Ash could feel Ash-Greninja's pain in the episode "Meeting at Terminus Cave!", many fans speculated that this Achilles' Heel would come back to bite him later on in the series. The most common theory at the time is that if Ash-Greninja were to faint in battle during a fierce match like the long-awaited confrontation with Alain, Ash himself would also faint and be sent to the hospital bed. 14 episodes later, the fans got their wish when the battle against Alain's Mega Charizard X causes Ash to suffer incredible pain from the synchro-connection and then fainting shortly afterwards. During the wait period, fans hyped and exaggerated the consequences by suggesting that Ash might actually die given the impact of the regular Pokémon moves.
- Kalos Champion Ash when? ExplanationAsh's track record battling Elite Four members and Champions is... less than stellar, to put it mildly. So when it was announced that Ash and Greninja woud have a battle against Diantha and her Gardevoir, it was immediately assumed Ash would lose badly. And sure enough, the battle starts off in this fashion, with Diantha not even having to give verbal commands for Gardevoir to dodge Greninja's attacks. However, to the pleasant surprise of the entire fanbase, not only did Ash and Greninja end up holding their own, but after completing the Ash-Greninja form they actually gained the upper hand against Diantha, and she wasn't holding back anything either. Naturally the fanbase is demanding that they finally throw the kid a bone and let him win the league. The more cynical parts of the fandom instead question what sort of royal Ass Pull the writers have up their sleeves to make Ash lose this time around. Come the climax of the Kalos League, even Team Rocket starts wondering if he may actually win this time around, with Ash himself actually making it to the finals. He ends up having to settle for runner-up though.
- As contested as the outcome of the Kalos League might have been, there is no denying that it brought a TON of fanart. The last one is slightly NSFW.
- X will happen when Ash wins a league.ExplanationFans of other franchises will say this on replies on Facebook pages when referring to possibilities that are almost guaranteed to never happen, usually as a Take That! to the ill-fated Kalos League. Now Hilarious in Hindsight since Ash did win the Alola League a series later, forcing those same fans to eat their Murkrow.
- Blast Burn can't melt frog ninjas.ExplanationA derivative of the "jet fuel can't melt steel beams" line used to mock 9/11 truthers, this phrase is frequently used to make fun of detractors of the Kalos League's outcome. More specifically, it's used to poke fun at people who claim that Alain's Mega Charizard X couldn't possibly have defeated Ash-Greninja with Blast Burn.
- 8/18 ExplanationA less common, yet still prevelent, derivative comparing the day the Kalos Leauge Finals episode aired to 9/11.
- The Passion of the Ketchum◊ ExplanationThe previews of the XY and Z episode 39 showcase Ash and his team being captured by Team Flare and strapped to a Flare energy device in a Crucified Hero Shot manner. Already, fans have made jokes of Ash getting crucified for not winning the Kalos League and dying for TPCi's sins. As if the Faux Symbolism on Ash wasn't already enough, many also began comparing Alain to Judas Iscariot as the previews imply that he betrayed Ash to Team Flare.
- The scene in Episode 40 of XYZ which has Alain declaring what he is fighting for. Fans have instantly started to quote an infamous meme from another series.
- In the build up to SM, depicting Lillie as a tsundere to Ash with a strange fondness for guns became oddly common. Also, jokes about having three main females around this time.
- BURASTO BAN and DORAGON KURO ExplanationHow "Blast Burn" and "Dragon Claw" are pronounced in Japanese. They gained popularity after Alain's use of them throughout the anime, usually to make fun of Greninja for losing to Charizard. This also counts as a game-based meme, cited as the perfect counter for Ash-Greninja.
- Alain cucking people. ExplanationOn /vp/, Alain is depicted as not only beating Ash at the League, but also winning Serena's heart and stealing her away from Ash. Or vice-versa. Or stealing away Ash-Greninja.
- "STUPID ELEVATOR!" ExplanationWhat viewers have been frequently screaming during the Kissing Discretion Shot of the XY finale. Even though it was actually an escalator that was involved.
- "Pikachu evolved into a Budew!" ExplanationMany have poked fun at Pikachu's reaction to the kiss, namely that he somehow looks like a Budew now.
- There have been numerous gifs spreading around that pins the infamy of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to be Clemont's doing.
- Bewear is God. ExplanationThe Bewear that appeared in the first episode of Sun and Moon has since become Team Rocket's blast off replacement, even running on water (which is the basis of the meme) and doing parkour just to get to them! Taken to absurdly memetic levels in the Sun and Moon episode where Ultra-Beast Pheromosa wreaks havoc running circles around the cast; but when Bewear sees that Meowth has been harmed, she goes full Mama Bear mode, and fights the Ultra-Beast by charging it down relentlessly with even more furious determination than she does with Team Rocket, and not only did Pheromosa barely get a hit in despite her superior speed, and barely did anything when she did hit, but Bewear utterly, and onesidedly WINS with only A COUPLE HITS.
- Rowlet is the anti-Nebby. ExplanationA collage shows Rowlet's penchant for staying in Ash's bag for most of its screentime, the complete opposite of Lillie's Cosmog, a.k.a. Nebby, in the games.
- Pictures of the Aether family (Lusamine, Gladion and Lillie) shown in SM08 getting photobombed in several ways by Hiker David note the same NPC trainer that photobombs Kiawe's trial.
- "You did it, Pikachu!" ExplanationFrom a subtitled version of the notorious Banned Episode "Electric Soldier Porygon," spoken by Ash after Pikachu wins a battle with an attack causing Epileptic Flashing Lights; propagated as a meme in part because of Porygon being widely Mis-blamed for this.
- It only took them 20 years. ExplanationIn the episode where James catches Mareanie, he and Jessie (using Mimikyu) battle Ash in a Pokémon battle and actually win, fair and square. This did not go unnoticed with the fandom.
- It only took him 22 years Explanation (spoilers!)After 22 years and numerous losses, Ash finally made it and won a Pokemon League!
- "It's so warm..." ExplanationFrom the English dub of SM008, spoken by Lillie. Popularized by the YouTube channel Pearlshipping TV, it is now brought up whenever something even remotely dirty happens in the Sun and Moon anime.
- Jealous Serena ExplanationPearlshipping TV regularly posts short clips of the Sun and Moon anime, with a running gag of putting a picture of a screaming Serena on the thumbnail of any clip where another girl gets close to Ash. When Jigglypuff boarded the return plane to Alola in SM043, fans started speculating who else would get to go to Alola before Serena would.
- PIKACHU CAN TALK?! ExplanationPikachu speaks for the first time ever near the end of Pokémon: I Choose You!, generating a lot of shocked reactions.
- Oh shit. I think I have a concussion. ExplanationOne of the explanations fans came to for the aforementioned scene of Pikachu talking to Ash, thanks to more than one fan art interpretation.
- Replacing Misty and Brock in scenes from the Original Series with Verity and Sorrel from Pokémon: I Choose You!. ExplanationVerity and Sorrel are two original characters who essentially take the roles of Misty and Brock in that continuity.
- Dressing up Serena as the female protagonist from Sun and Moon.ExplanationMany Serena and Ash/Serena fans were upset over her leaving. Due to the resemblance between Serena and Selene, many thought they should just make Serena dress up as the new protagonist instead of her being replaced by Selene. Selene didn't appear as Ash's companion, however fanart of Serena cosplaying Selene is still common.
- Since Best Wishes the English dub has started referring to vegetables as "veggies" and fruits as "berries"note Although Berries are actually a common type of food in the Pokémon world, mainly given to Pokémon themselves. This hasn't been lost by fans and gets poked fun of.
- Surprised Pikachu, a.k.a. Shocked Pikachu Face.ExplanationIn "Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village" around 3:50, Pikachu is shown to make a low quality :O face which makes him look surprised◊. This spawned memes which mock people doing things with rather predictable outcomes, yet still being dumbfounded when the consequences of their actions inevitably occur.
- Surprised Sobble. ExplanationSobble’s official artwork is considered to have the “same energy” as Surprised Pikachu, with some even going as far as to call it a reference.
- Surprised Ash. ExplanationAsh's expression after winning the Alola League is one of surprise and disbelief, as if he was expecting to lose the Pokémon League again only to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Naturally, like Sobble, his face is considered to have the "same energy" as Surprised Pikachu, often to used to describe the fandom's reaction to Ash's first League victory.
- Distressed RowletExplanationIn episode 112 of the Sun & Moon anime, there's a scene involving Meltan accidentally using a Klefki in place of it hex nut, and Rowlet looks away while also putting its "hands" on its head. This face is often used in memes revolving around realization.
- Alola Precure!ExplanationIn episode 113 of the Sun & Moon anime, Lillie, Mallow and Lana act as drink-themed magical girls in a TV series, complete with a Transformation Sequence of their own. Immediately fans connected this particular transformation scene with the Pretty Cure series, a staple of magical girl anime in Japan. Bonus points for Hawaiian Cures actually being featured as minor characters in one of its seasons, and a second bonus for two of its seasons actually having cures themed after edible stuff (though not specifically drinks).
- James' line "No one's carried me since my mama". ExplanationAccording to "Training Daze", the first thing Jessie said to James was "Listen up, James. I hope you're good. 'Cause I'm not going to carry you", which led to James' infamous reply. James' line especially stands out due to the duo's serious personalities in the episode.
- Congratulations Ash! You finally won a Pokemon League! And caused the apocalypse!ExplanationShortly after Ash won the Alolan League Alola found itself assaulted by multiple Guzzlords popping out of Ultra Wormholes. This has lead to many joking that Ash winning a league resulted in a Reality-Breaking Paradox and was the direct cause of the Guzzlord invasion.
- Guzzlord's scream. Explanation For some reason, Guzzlord's cry in the Japanese version of the anime is a completely unedited sound of Shin-ichiro Miki (the Japanese VA of James) screaming. Became popular due to the sheer bafflement factor.
- Should have won Sinnoh/Kalos. Explanation Common criticisms towards Ash winning the Alola league are the viewers feeling that Ash was a more deserving and competent trainer during those journeys to win the Sinnoh or Kalos leagues compared to how his Alola journey played out.
- Ash's Kamehameha. Explanation The climax of the fight between Pikachu and Tapu-Koko had both combatments employ their Z-Moves against each other. Ash and Pikachu both went through the motions and posture of firing off a Kamehameha akin to Goku! This was picked up by the community very quickly.
- So tell me, Gou, are you a boy? Or are you a girl? Explanation Following the reveal of the designs for Ash's new companions in Pokemon 2019, when people saw the design for Gou, a lot of people became confused as to whether he was a boy or girl. The main point of confusion was the noticeable eyelashes, which was a first for a lead male Pokemon character. It isn't helped that "Blind Idiot" Translation made by fans who don't know any Japanese only identified him as non-binary when the actual translation refers to him as "designed to look androgynous." Even after he was revealed to be male, some fans either aren't convinced or choose to headcanon him as non-binary either way.
- Mierda, Alola es canon. (Shit, Alola is canon) Explanation Spanish-speaking audiences were fast to call Alola a non-canon spin-off saga because of the different art-style. In addition, a fansite masquerading as official spread misinformation in favour of this. But in the second episode of the Pokemon Sword and Shield anime, it shows Ash's room with all his achievements until then in which the trophy and Masked Royal's model can be seen, causing this manner of outcry. Still, some people are not convinced that Alola is canon. Ultimately they would be proved wrong by JN037 featuring a return of all of Ash's Alolan friends and Pokemon.
- RegicriesExplanationThe Regi Trio's cries in the anime have been noticed for sounding bizarre and otherworldly. Some fans have taken to using them as Non Sequiturs in certain memes.
- "Regigigas takes 6 seconds to say its name, they weren't kidding with Slow Start" note An joke sometimes made saying that Regigigas' ability Slow Start, which makes it slower in battle for the first five turns (by halving the Attack and Speed in the games), also applies to it saying its name.
- Regigigas's cry sounding like "sad computer noises" when being sent away by Hoopa made it quite a bit of a Woobie in the fandom's eyes.
- ün ün ün AAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOORT explanation the common onomatopoeia used represent the cries made by the Regirock in Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.
- After JN010 has Ash capture a Dragonite, fans were joking about the possible confrontation between said Dragonite and Ash's Charizard or making comparisons to Iris and her Dragonite. This became Hilarious in Hindsight with the return of Iris teased in the third Journeys opening, and even more so when JN065 was announced which is entirely about the confrontation between Ash's and Iris' Dragonite.
- Ash the true Dragon master.ExplanationIris states that she wants to be a trainer of Dragon-type Pokémon yet she only has three (Axew, Dragonite and Gible) compared to the five Ash has captured/befriended (Gible, Noivern, Goodra, Naganadel and Dragonite) with emphasis on how Ash was able to befriend Dragonite while Iris struggled with hers. This was only added to when Ash caught Dracovish, which is another Dragon-type. On top of that Ash won their battle in JN065 while only using said Dragon-type Pokémons he caught during Journeys. This became more noticeable when Ash emerge victorious against Kalos's Dragon-type Elite Four, Drasna, and Galar's Dragon-type Gym Leader, Raihan.
- Ash's Gengar's backstory was immediately compared to with Spinel.
- #AmbipomDeservedBetterExplanationFollowing the airing of "To Thine Own Pokémon Be True!", the episode was quickly hated for its ending, in which O wants to take Ambipom out for ping pong training despite it being one of Dawn's Pokémon. After a attempt at making a final decision via mind tricks, Ash and Dawn believe Ambipom would prefer to play Ping Pong rather than to continue training with Dawn and it goes out with O. In 2019, one such fan of the character set up an Mon Propaganda-type Twitter account for Dawn's Ambipom (purposefully ignoring that it used to be an Aipom owned by Ash), using such hashtag as a slogan to support those who liked the rather-unpopular Ambipom.
- UNO! LA LA LA! ExplanationThis is the onomatopoeia of Dracovish's anime cry, which sounds less like a terrifying Godzilla-like roar and more like a person screaming "Uno!" in an Uno card game. (Dracovish's Japanese name is 'Uonoragon'.) Many fans found the cry to be fitting either for Dracovish's derpy appearance or the fact that it lives in constant, unending pain as a result of simply existing.
- "What is this, the Kalos League?" ExplanationThe Kalos League arc is infamous for being extremely rushed, with Ash having already qualified for the semifinals by the start of the second episode. The phrase was popularized by YouTuber Lumiose Trainer Zac, in response to any other arc that is considered rushed as well.
- Excessive Continuity ExplanationWith Pokémon Journeys: The Series bring a truckload of Continuity Nods and Call Backs from older series plus the return of old characters like Korrina, the Alola cast, Mewtwo, Iris, Gary and Dawn, Twitter user donutmeltan decided to take it to the next level with his Excessive Continuity posts. It follows the format of Ash and Goh encountering a rare Pokémon, Ash (or an old companion) going into flashback mode of how he previously encountered the rare Pokémon, and Goh acting all shocked that Ash has encountered one before. It actually fooled some people to be a real scene because of how already excessive the series was with continuity, and now is a running joke among the fandom.
- Paul just wants some sugar. ExplanationJulian Rebolledo, Paul's voice actor for the English dub, also voiced Rigby's younger brother Don from Regular Show (by even further coincidence, Paul also happens to have an older brother as well). In wild contrast to Paul, Don is an incredibly sweethearted Nice Guy who greets everyone around by asking them for some "sugar" (pulling them in for a hug and a pat on the back). Because of this, fans began jokingly referencing Don's catchphrase in regards to Paul instead, sometimes even inserting voice clips of Don onto footage of Paul.
- Getting Trevor'd ExplanationAfter it's revealed that Alain was not going to fight Ash at all in the Master 8 tournament and is fighting Leon instead, fans realize that the situation was like how Alain swept Trevor in the opening match of the Kalos League with his Mega Charizard X. Many joke that Alain has become the new Trevor of Journeys, with some going as far as depicting Trevor himself enjoying the fact that the tables have turn on Alain. Soon, fans coin the term "Trevor'd" as a shorthand reference to any trainer unfortunate enough to face an absurdly powerful opponent who would easily sweep them.
- Cynthia's lipstick of doom. ExplanationBefore episode 117, there was a preview shot of Cynthia using her lipstick during battle, causing many fans to find her more attractive than ever. Then, that episode revealed her lipstick contained the key stone needed to Mega evolve her Garchomp, meaning that Iris was going to lose the match. In short, once Cynthia whips out her lipstick, her anticipated opponents (Ash, Steven, Leon, or Diantha) are in for a rude awakening.
- Dwednaw, da BITE pokeymon! A watew and wok type. And I don't... I don't know. ExplanationTeam Rocket's Pokédex in Journeys is characterized as a bratty child, and its descriptions tend to be... unorthodox. Its description of Drednaw in JN012 became rather infamous.
- Pikachu the Metagross Slayer ExplanationThe amount of times that Ash's Pikachu got to take down Metagross, a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, has not gone unnoticed. It was already kind of noteworthy that Ash's Pikachu ended up being the one to eventually defeat 2 Metagross owned by Ash's league opponents, Tyson and Alain, but by the time of the Masters 8, Pikachu gets to be the one who beats Champion Steven's Mega Metagross. Thus, cementing Pikachu's meme status as the Metagross Slayer as he's now taken down 3 different Metagross owned by 3 powerful trainers.
- Maxie did nothing wrong. ExplanationA fan edit of Journeys has Team Rocket hosting a Spotify podcast discussing evil team leaders constantly trying to destroy the world, before Meowth butts in saying he thinks Maxie and Team Magma's goal of expanding the land is completely justified. The edit quickly gained traction for how outlandish, yet in-character it was for Team Rocket, to the point of being shared around in Michele Knotz's (the English voice of Jessie) Discord server.
- Cynthia's unpredictability is low because you can predict she'll kick your ass. Explanation Pokemon Journeys ep 121 has stats for the four semi-finalists of the World Tournament. Cynthia has mostly maxed stats with a noticeable weakness in unpredictability, and her Memetic Badass status means her strategy is obvious: beat whomever it is she's facing.
- Nika and Guel are the main characters?! ExplanationWith the reveal of Liko and Roy, many people noted the similarities between them and the two mentioned characters, given how they have similar hairstyles.
- Liko is Kokone? ExplanationLiko has an outfit similar to that of Kokone's, leading to an additional comparison.
- Freyja is a Pokémon Trainer. ExplanationFor a third comparison, Liko's seiyuu is Minori Suzuki, who is best known as the voice of Freyja Wion.
- The Latias won.ExplanationCrossing over into Epileptic Trees territory, the teaser to the episode "Distant Blue Sky" contains a silhouette of a woman having the same vague design as Bianca/Latias' human form alongside another adult and a child that vaguely has Ash's signature hair which is followed immediately with a shot of Ash riding away on a Latias, leading to jokes that Ash's love for Pokemon is so great, that he'll end up settling with a Pokemon at the expense of everyone else. To some, this also elevates Serena to Memetic Loser status, as despite being Ash's Childhood Friend and having The Big Damn Kiss moment at the end of XYZ, she still lost to someone that isn't even of the same species. Ultimately, the silhouettes were revealed to be new characters entirely when the special finally aired, while the Latias turned out to be separate from the one in Bianca's care.
- Liko is Ash's daughter! ExplanationThere's a common fan theory going around that the new main character, Liko, is Ash's daughter, which is mostly based around how she appears to wear a hair-clip that's shaped as the exact same symbol as the one seen on Ash's hat from the original series. This subsequently leads to arguments among shippers over who the mother is. This was put to bed with episode 9 of Horizons, which features Liko's actual father who is almost completely unlike Ash.
- He's finally free...explanationWith the announcement that new protagonists would take over after the end of Journeys, many fans made jokes about how Ash is now "free" from having to be the anime's protagonist after over two decades.
- 10 years old, 25 years of experience. ExplanationA common joke regarding the fact that we, the viewers, stuck around with Ash working to becoming a Pokémon Master for 25 years, and yet he remained 10 years old the entire time. Fans have joked that since most entry-level job positions require years of experience most graduates do not have, Ash would have an easy time applying for jobs as he actually has more than enough years of experience to qualify.
- Misty is the World Champion. ExplanationAsh's first defeat since gaining the title of Monarch is from Misty. While Ash was using Corphish and it was just a casual 1v1 battle, fans have started calling Misty the new Monarch due to defeating the current one.
- Ash Pedreiro/Dat Ash Explanation An image macro consisting of an Ambiguously Brown Ash with an unsettling, perverted expression, who makes lewd Double Entendres deriving from Pokemon and move names.
- You interrupted my banana... FOR THIS?◊ Explanation In the episode "Where No Togepi Has Gone Before!", Team Rocket stumble upon a Togepi eating their food supply. This Togepi has a distinctive evil look on its face, which it sports when it notices Team Rocket as it's eating a banana. An image of this scene has been captioned with this text to make it seem like the Togepi got mad because its eating time was interrupted, and it became a popular image due to just how infuriated it looks, especially in contrast to Togepi's usual cute demeanor. It has also been used in memes where someone who is eating is also mad for some reason.
- Smug Piplup ExplanationDawn's Piplup giving Ash's Oshawott an incredibly smug face◊ after winning Meloetta's favor ended up becoming a popular reaction image for both instances of presumed Cuckolding and cases of winning arguments in threads, and became further popularized by TCNick3 of the Party Crashers using it as his YouTube profile picture.
- "a" ExplanationSurskit's cry in the Japanese version of the anime, where it's called Ametama, is popular for its strange yet cute nature. While the English anime cry follows what's expected of Pokémon Speak, it's only able to say the first syllable of its name in Japanese, as shown here. Furthermore, this clip from Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys shows it rapidly repeating its cry, further adding to the jokes. This has gotten to where any post of Surskit will have its replies largely consist of people just posting "a".
The Twitch marathon
- Intermission Copypastas explanationThe exact same series of clips were played during the intermission between each season 1 episode. Naturally, it quickly evolved into a copypasta, which then carried on into later seasons when new seasonal clips are shown. Eventually, certain commercials were played instead of clips.
- CATERPIE / SURE IM SURE / I KNOW I KNOW / IM STUPID / DUPLICA / DONUT / NOT YOU PSYDUCK / PITY BADGE explanationIn order: Ash catching Caterpie, Brock joining Ash's journey (and the two of them running away from an angry Misty demanding her bike back), the Pokédex insulting Ash, Duplica and the main cast copying Team Rocket's motto, Brock wasting a "donut" on Mankey, Misty trying to send out Staryu against Jigglypuff only to get Psyduck instead, and Brock handing Ash the Pewter Badge.
- HOLD IT / HOW PREDICTABLE / THIS IS BORING / NOT MY SHOULDER / VERY SCARY-O / THIS IS BORING AGAIN / UNINTELLIGENT / ?????? / MATRIX / WANNA SHARE MY BLANKET explanationSeries of intermission clips during season 2. In order: Tracey criticizing some hoodlum's Pokémon, Blaine expecting Ash to send out a Water-type Pokémon, James complaining about Jessie's shopping which quickly fades out to a clip of them running from ghosts with Meowth actually saying "They're in stereo!", the shopping clip then plays again this time in full, Psyduck and Slowpoke "conversing", everyone reacting in shock to Jeanette Fisher's Bellsprout countering Bulbasaur's tackle, and Misty asking Danny if he wanted to share her blanket.
- IT'S HERACROSS / I KNOW THAT / WINDS OF NEW BEGINNINGS / GLIGARMAN / WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO TELL YOU THEN / RETURN EVERYBODY / THEY BEAT ME EVERY DAY explanationSeries of intermission clips during season 3. In order: Heracross fighting a robotic Pinsir, Ash's Charizard struggling against Falkner's Pidgeot, Ash, Brock, and Misty arriving at New Bark Town, a man in a Gligar suit thwarting Team Rocket, Misty's Togepi and a Sentret stealing Team Rocket's giant robot Arbok, everyone running from a stampede of Ursaring, and James telling Jessie and Meowth about being beaten for wearing clothing made from expensive Mareep wool.
- TODD / GOOD JOB ZUBAT / GUYS LOOK / ROLLOUT / GIVE BACK PIKACHU / THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE EASY/ I DON'T GET IT / MILKY explanationSeries of intermission clips during season 4. In order: Ash meeting Todd the photographer again, Brock's Zubat defeating Team Rocket and subsequently evolving, Whitney's Miltank using Rollout, Team Rocket handing a captive Pikachu to Wobbuffet (who botches their plan by appearing in plain sight), Misty's Psyduck looking for a wild Sudowoodo, Team Rocket in the middle of a Wobbuffet festival, and Team Rocket entering a competition with their Wobbuffet disguised as a Miltank.
- LOOK IT'S A PIKACHU / CORSOLA / ELECTRIC TYPES / POKÉMON IMITATOR / WE COULD BE DEMOCRATIC / ANCIENT BOOK explanationSeries of intermission clips during season 5. In order: Ash, Brock, and Misty finding Sparky (Ritchie's Pikachu) at the Whirl Islands; Misty preparing to battle and catch a Corsola; Ash and Jasmine both starting their gym battle with Electric-type Pokémon (Pikachu and Magnemite, respectively); Ash dressing up as an Octillery; Team Rocket voting to see who they can pass the blame for their failures to only to vote for everyone but themselves; and Team Rocket attempting to make an Aipom laugh until it cries so they can collect its tears for a spell from Lily's (a Pokémon magician who appeared in that episode) stolen book.
- TREECKO'S STRONG / YEAH THAT'S IT / USE WATER GUN / ARE WE REALLY RELATED / POOR SEVIPER / FABULOUS WET SPONGE / LOW ON SUPPLIES explanationSeries of intermission clips during season 6. In order: Ash and Pikachu battling a Treecko; Treecko falling to Roxanne's Geodude's Mega Punch; a Mudkip using Water Gun on a befuddled May; May thinking a Zigzagoon "evolved" into a human (actually recurring character Nicholai disguised as Zigzagoon), only for Max to correct her; an enraged Jessie personally attacking a Seviper after it accidentally bites off a chunk of her hair; the King of Tricks bumping into a giant sponge; and Team Rocket reciting their motto with fake Corphish claws, with James commenting on their current situation.
- THOSE ARE THE RULES / NYAA NYAA NYAA / LUDICOLO / PHANTOM / GULP GULP / CHARIZARD? / THOSE ARE THE RULES / NYAA NYAA NYAA explanation Series of intermission clips from season 7. In order: Misty, during her return, explaining etiquette to Ash before being kidnapped by Team Rocket; May's Skitty frolicking before making itself dizzy; a Ludicolo approaching Ash and co.; "the Phantom" making his presence known before May's next contest; a Gulpin crashing the gang's picnic; audio from "Fighting Flyer with Fire" inexplicably played over Ash's battle with Flannery; and the first two clips played again.
- FOOLISH CHILD / DODGE IT / SOLROCK AND LUNATONE / CLEFFA / PSYDUCK / WRONG NET / WHERE'S WOBBUFFET / DODGE IT explanationSeries of intermission clips during season 8. In order: Magma Admin Tabitha cornering Ash; Ash and Brock battling with Torkoal and Lombre, respectively; Ash partaking in his Mossdeep Gym Battle; a Cleffa approaching the gang's Pokémon; a runaway Psyduck literally dropping in on Ash and co.; Ash's Grovyle slicing open a Team Rocket net that was supposed to protect against Pokémon attacks; Team Rocket having landed somewhere, losing Wobbuffet along the way; and the battle scene between Ash and Brock playing again.
- SHHHH / MY ENTRY DEAR / KING SLAKING / AIPOM / SHHH / WE NEED ELECTRICITY / LUNATONE? explanationSeries of intermission clips during Season 9. In order: The "Twerps" happening upon James' summer cottage, much to his shock; Brock entering a Contest to impress a girl; Meowth and Wobbuffet aiding a group of wild Aipom in their offering for their Slaking ruler; Pikachu attempting to pull a crown off Aipom's head; part of the first scene playing again; a Mareep using Thunder to complete a medicine; and, similarly to the Flannery error, audio from "Solid as a Solrock" inexplicably played over Ash's battle with Greta.
- PIKA! SourPls When Pokémon join forces SourPls Their potential is multiplied SourPls (*Screech* Snorlax Snore) SourPls In Pokémon Trading Card Game SourPls Sun and Moon - Team Up SourPls In stores now SourPls Each booster pack of 10 cards sold separately SourPls Cards vary by pack explanation Seen during the Diamond and Pearl era, this copypasta describes a commercial for a Pokémon TCG expansion.
- JESSIE, THIS IS BORING explanation A James line used twice in the aforementioned second season intermission, repurposed by viewers whenever they lost interest in whatever was happening on the stream.
- #BringBackDuplica explanation Because of "NEVER SEEN AGAIN" below, Duplica, who appeared in two episodes, has quickly become Ensemble Dark Horse, with many of the chat demanding she be brought back for future episodes.
- PETA D: explanationThe chat screams this when a Pokémon gets hurt.
- BANNED PogChamp explanationSome of the (former) Banned Episodes have ended up being shown during the Twitch marathon. When they show up, the chat naturally flips out over it.
- NEVER SEEN AGAIN / SEEN AGAIN explanationThe main cast will usually part ways with a One-Shot Character by promising to see them again. These being one-shot characters, they never do, leading to the chat spamming the former in response. Characters that actually do reappear in a later episode cause the chat to spam the latter.
- (Sleepy Face emote) / (Angry Face emote) explanationChat gets spammed with sleep emotes any time Jigglypuff starts singing, and then follows up with an angry emote whenever Jigglypuff puffs up in anger because her audience fell asleep.
- HBOX explanationIn the same vein, whenever Jigglypuff appears, the chat spams this in reference to the main character used by professional Smash player Juan Manuel "HungryBox" Debiedma.
- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! explanationChat spamming Victreebel's scream.
- VORE explanationIn relation to the above, the chat's reaction every time Victreebel attempts to eat James.
- BLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBL explanation Spammed whenever an Electabuzz appears, or whenever a Pokémon uses Water Gun.
- LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO explanation Similar spam as the previous example. Only this time around, it's whenever Brock's Lotad uses Water Gun.
- HYAH! explanationChat spamming Staryu's scream.
- BAE! explanationChat spamming Bayleef's scream.
- NOOOOOOO! explanationIn the episode "Playing With Fire!", most of the screams made by Harrison's Hypno were largely it yelling the NO part of its name, leading to the chat spamming it every time it did so in the duration of its battle. It made a return once Pyramid King Brandon started appearing, as he began saying it in a hilariously over the top fashion.
- MILLIONS DEAD explanationWhenever a powerful attack does massive and/or collateral damage, the chat spams this as such an attack would result in casualties in reality.
- X IQ explanationThe chat spams this with any number showing how dumb or smart the characters are.
- HE'S IN explanationWhenever a character (usually Brock) seems to be succeeding in their romantic endeavors.
- 4TH WALLexplanationWhenever a character breaks the fourth wall.
- FAKE LEAGUE / FAKE BADGE / FAKE TROPHY explanationHow viewers felt about everything connected to the Orange League.
- TRACEY (DansGame) explanationIt became clear shortly after his introduction that the viewers didn't take a liking to Tracey. Any time Tracey appeared, or was just simply mentioned in conversation, it was met with a barrage of hate posts towards the character. Most of this stemmed from chat feeling that Tracey was a poor man's Brock, and his "Pokémon Watcher" profession just not being that interesting.
- MAX (DansGame)explanationA similar situation occured with Max. Unlike Tracey, they were hating on Max before he even debuted. Most of the hate stems from Max being a bratty know-it-all that constantly puts Ash and May down while talking in a rather annoying voice.
- PAUL (DansGame) explanationAsh's Sinnoh Rival, Paul, is very disliked amongst the chat due to his poor attitude towards Ash, as well as the Chimchar that Paul ditched after constantly abusing it to try to bring out Chimchar's Blaze ability.
- SHAYMIN (DansGame) explanationThe Mythical Gen IV Pokémon that plays a major role in the Giratina and the Sky Warrior film is not well-liked. Mostly because of its constant complaining, and always hating and providing pain to Ash throughout the movie for no legitimate reason.
- A LAWN (DansGame) explanationAlain, Ash's major Kalos rival, is despised for a number of reasons among chat. Chief among them is him stealing the Kalos league victory from Ash and ending up as an associate of Team Flare.
- Old Man Scyther explanationWhenever Tracey's Scyther appears, or ends up quickly tiring itself out due to its heavily implied old age.
- #BulbasaurBenched / #BulbasaurUnbenched explanationOnce Ash caught Chikorita, chat eventually realized that Bulbasaur's role as the team's Grass-user has been replaced. As a result, chat would spam Bulbasaur being benched every time Chikorita is called out to battle, but would then call Bulbasaur being unbenched whenever Ash actually does fall back on using his original Grass-user again.
- (YU-GI-OH CHARACTER!) explanationBy the time of the Johto episodes, it became extremely apparent that 4Kids Entertainment was just reusing the same small group of voice actors for almost every supporting or one-off character. A lot of which were the voices of some of the more well-known characters of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, but the two that often popped up here were the voices of Yugi/Atem (Dan Green) and Mokuba (Tara Sands).
- IT'S THE SCENE / I WAS HERE / I WAS THERE explanationWhenever one of the scenes from the intermission adverts appear proper in the episode, the former two are the general reaction from the chat. The last is when the intermission scene plays after the episode it was in played out.
- WAS I HERE?/I WAS HERE? explanationDue to the intermission clip for "Going, Going, Yawn" using the audio from the episode "Fighting Flyer With Fire", when the moment itself played in the episode proper, the chat spammed this in mass
- Brobat explanationThis officially became the chat's nickname for Brock's Crobat after they witnessed it as a Golbat remain at Brock's bedside to make sure that its sick master keeps resting.
- 4KIDS explanationSpammed by the chat every time a questionable or dark scene made it through in the English language dub unscathed, or when anything questionable/suggestive/innuendo-ridden is spoken. Also spammed when the company's logo shows at the end of the credits. When the episodes "Judgment Day!" and "Less is Morrison!" aired, the chat literally exploded with this thanks to 4Kids digitally erasing the rice balls and replacing them with poorly Photoshopped sandwiches.
- THIS USED TO BE A (CHARACTER) STREAM explanationUsually spammed by the chat following a character or Pokémon's departure.
- WHO ARE THEY? explanationStarting from Johto, Team Rocket's disguises have so little effort put into them, basically to the point of Clark Kenting, that it causes the chat to spam this question in response.
- SPEED STAR explanationFor some reason, 4Kids Entertainment chose to translate the Swift attack as "Speed Star" a few times early on. Chat ended up having fun with it, and now call Swift as Speed Star whenever the attack reappears. (Note that while Speed Star is the original Japanese name for Swift, the anime's dub started just before Red and Blue were released internationally, which likely accounts for the naming choice by 4Kids early on.)
- ROLLOUT PTSD explanationA combination of Whitney's infamous Rollout Miltank gym battle in the Gen II games along with the fact that it's carried over into the anime where Ash ends up struggling to defeat said Rollout Miltank. Chat of course knows full well the pain Ash went through, and has reached a point where whenever the Rollout attack reappears later on, it causes chat to spam that they have PTSD.
- LASER BEAR explanationThe group of Ursaring in "Forest Grumps!" routinely attacked Ash, his friends, and Team Rocket with Hyper Beam, earning them this moniker. Chat now spams this whenever an Ursaring appears.
- REVERSE WORLD. REVERSE MOVIE. explanationThe last and second to last segments of the 11th movie, which features the Distortion World counterpart known as the "Reverse World", were played first and second, respectively, on the English channel, before being closed for technical difficulties. If it had continued, the entire movie would have ended playing all its 20 minute segments backwards.
- ADVANCE ADVENTURE explanation Continuing the series trend, during the Advanced Generation series, an action version of the 6th Japanese opening theme, 'Advance Adventure', is routinely used for any Big Damn Heroes moments, and with surprising frequency given 4Kids' habit of replacing the music with other tracks. Naturally, whenever this plays in an episode, it's met with the chat spamming this.
- JAPANESE THEME/OPENING explanation Used in tandem with ADVANCE ADVENTURE, whenever one of the action themes plays (either 'Advance Adventure' or the 3rd Japanese opening, 'OK!').
- TORKOAL explanation An email circulated to Twitch members told them that "We heard there's a wild Torkoal just ahead...". Inevitably, some people in the chat began spamming its name just to try to see where this supposed Torkoal was.
- USE WING explanation In a similar vain to SPEED STAR, in the episode "That's Just Swellow", Ash commands Taillow to "use Wing!" when he meant Wing Attack. This was quickly picked up by the chat, who'll spam this whenever a Pokémon, Swellow or otherwise, uses Wing Attack.
- NA SECURITY explanationCharacters break in, trespass, or dispose of guards for notable locations so easily throughout the series that chat will end up spamming this to point out how the security is non-existent.
- ASH KS explanationChat eventually realized how Ash tends to pop in at the last second to finish off the enemy with a move from one of his Pokémon despite putting in no effort in the battle up to that point. As a result, chat will call out Ash as someone who performs kill steals.
- YO explanation The 9th season, Battle Frontier, had its own unique ending theme in the dub, called 'Pokémon Go!' (no relation to the mobile game). The song starts with a 'Yo!', leading the chat to spam this as soon as the credits begin to play.
- DODGE/DODGE IT explanationThroughout the anime, protagonists and antagonists alike liberally order their Pokémon to avoid their foe's attacks, mostly by yelling out "Dodge it!". This can be done several times in a row, orders on where and how to dodge are seldom given, and yet, it almost always works. The levels of sheer silliness this can get to was immediately pointed out by the chat, who spammed "DODGE" or "DODGE IT" every time the command was given.
- ARBOK/SEVIPER WINRATE explanationThe chat began to notice how Jessie's Arbok gets its scaly hide kicked in virtually every battle it's in, against both opponents completely out of its league and opponents that it should completely stomp. Hence, Arbok's atrocious winrate gets called out every time it loses to mock the poor cobra. Later, Jessie acquires Seviper, which has the same, terrible winrate. Comparisons between the two abound.
- ACTUALLY DEAD explanation Whenever Ash got shocked by Pikachu, the Chat would say this.
- TRANSCEND THE CONFINES OF TIME AND SPACE (BlessRNG) explanationFrom the Arceus and the Jewel of Life film, chat spams this whenever Sheena or Damos used their prayer ability to communicate with other Pokémon.
- TIPLOUF explanation When the marathon returned to air the Sinnoh episodes, the stream notably crashed in the middle of the first airing of "Piplup, Up and Away". Viewers instead watched the episode on the French stream, and since the episode was so Piplup-centric, they quickly learned his French name and continued to use it long afterward on the main stream.
- TIPLOUF RUN explanationPiplup almost always got hit by Gible's Draco Meteor attack. After Sinnoh ended, spammed whenever any Pokémon used Draco Meteor.
- CONWAY IS THE NAME, PLEASURE IS THE GAME explanationConway is a noteworthy recurring Sinnoh character that the chat took a liking to due to his "creepy" antics. The mentioned quote is a tweaked version of how he usually introduces himself ("Conway is the name. A pleasure") where it sounds like he's someone who provides pleasure due to how he acts when he's around Dawn.
- HD (BLANK) explanation Season 12's switch to HD in "The Lonely Snover" note although the dub wouldn't see an 16:9 framerate until "Classroom Training!", and it's very clear to see why caused the chat to spam the first thing they spot in HD.
- JOBTERRA explanation After evolving up from Turtwig, Ash's Torterra is known quite well in the fandom for his disastrous winrate where it doesn't go on to win any important battle outside the occasional Team Rocket battle (The lone exception being a win in its mid-stage Grotle form against Candice's Sneasel). As a result, chat bestowed upon it this nickname.
- BUY HGSS/B2W2/XY explanation During the Sinnoh saga, the HeartGold and SoulSilver remakes are advertised pretty heavily throughout episodes DP143 to DP147, DP182, and the Arceus and the Jewel of Life film. As a result, chat is usually seen spamming comments to go buy the games. The meme evolved to reflect the Black and White series’s incorporation of elements from Black 2 and White 2 with Roxie, Marlon, and Cheren, and X and Y with Alexa and her Pokémon
- GALAR DAWN explanation Season 13's "Dawn of a Royal Day!" is an episode where the gang meets Dawn's doppelgänger, Princess Salvia, who's portrayed as a British person. Given the reveal of Gen VIII's Galar region being based on Great Britain, jokes about Salvia being from Galar were abundant amongst chat.
- CHAD NANDO VS ZOEY GANG explanationDuring their showdown in the Sinnoh Grand Festival, members of the chat rooted for either Nando or Zoey to win, using these rally cries.
- NANDO VS PLOT explanationDespite being a strong Trainer, Nando lost to both Zoey and Ash because of the latter two's Plot Armor, something the chat picked up on.
- LET'S GO! / LET'S GO TO YEMEN! explanation A commercial advertising the Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! games plays before the start of each Sinnoh episode, which causes chat to spam the "Let's Go" tagline that's heard throughout the commercial song. Mishearings also come into play where a line in the song sounds like "Let's go to Yemen," which leads to chat spamming comments about going to Yemen, which is itself a reference to a line from an ad for the Prime Video series Jack Ryan that frequently came up during the early marathon.
- AND SO (PRChase)explanation A carryover from Twitch Plays Pokémon where the announcer/narrator is represented by the (PRChase) emote. The AND SO comes from his most common saying, often said when starting narration for the episode's ending. While this meme was here from the beginning, its popularity really shot up during the Sinnoh arc.