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1([[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Back to main page]]) ('''You are here''', '''Pokemon/TropesJToR''', '''Pokemon/TropesSToZ''', '''[[YMMV/{{Pokemon}} YMMV]]''', '''[[Trivia/{{Pokemon}} Trivia]]''')
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6* AbandonedCatchphrase: The franchise used to have "[[GottaCatchThemAll Gotta catch 'em all!]]" as its {{Tagline}} but it went out of fashion with [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Generation III]], because it was impossible in ''Ruby'' & ''Sapphire'' to have all the 386 Pokémon existing at the time. It started popping up again come [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Gen VI]] for nostalgic purposes, but never to its initial ubiquity.[[note]]Interestingly enough, it is actually possible to "Catch'em All" between all the Gen 6 games (X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire) plus events held during 2016, the 20th anniversary of ''Red and Green'''s release.[[/note]] Averted in the Japanese release where the catchprhase is "Let's Get Pokémon!" and as such is still in use.
7* AbnormalAmmo: If it can be held by a Pokémon and isn't a Poké Ball, it can be thrown at the enemy with the move Fling. This can range anywhere from Berries to scarves, scales to bottle caps, and discs to Fossils. Fling's damage is based on the item thrown; Flinging a heavy Iron Ball, for instance, will deal much more damage than chucking a feather at the opponent.
8* AbnormalLimbRotationRange:
9** Noctowl, as stated in the Pokédex in the ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Silver]]'' Version.
10** Rowlet is prone to rotating its head 180 degrees.
11* AbsentMindedProfessor: Most of the professors across the series have this to some extent. Oak can't remember his own grandson's name, Birch is sent into panic when faced with a single low-level ComMon... taken further in ''Omega Ruby[=/=]Alpha Sapphire'' with a RunningGag that he gets chased multiple times; the final time, ''his wife'' is chasing him, and he doesn't even realize it's her, asking you to fight off this "wild Pokémon" with a choosing of Sinnoh starters. Later professors avert this, however.
12* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: The max Level is 100, while most installments' main stories usually end with the level curve around the mid to late 50s. Some games have postgame content that can go into the 60s or even 70s, with some very powerful trainers reaching the Lv 80 range, but it doesn't really go further than that.
13* AbsurdlySharpClaws: The move Cut allows the player's Pokémon to, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin cut]] down small trees with a single slicing movement. FlavorText for various Franchise/{{Pokemon}} species describes how their claw/pincer/etc. weapons are sharp enough to inflict significant property damage. Also repeatedly demonstrated in [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries the anime]], with Scyther in particular repeatedly seen chopping down trees in a single swipe.
14* TheAce:
15** There is a Trainer class literally called "Ace Trainer", though it was known as "Cooltrainer" prior to Generation IV. Their AI tends to be smarter than most other trainers, and their Pokémon more powerful.
16** The player character can end up becoming the Pokémon League Champion, while catching every Pokémon, and taking down a terrorist organization almost single-handedly, bending GOD to their will, as well as other powerful Pokémon, and depending on the versions: Become the champion of two separate Pokémon League challenges at once, become a famous movie star, become a master at contests, mastering the Battle Frontier and winning the Pokémon World Tournament in turn being labeled as one of the greatest trainers on the planet.
17* AchievementsInIgnorance: {{Invoked}}. The "Unaware" ability allows a Pokémon to act as if its target hasn't been affected by any stat-changing moves during the battle. In other words, it can ignore boosted (Special) Attack/(Special) Defense/Speed/Accuracy/Evasion ''simply by not knowing the stats were boosted.''
18* AchievementSystem: ''Black 2 and White 2'' introduced Medals, which were a CosmeticAward that players could collect for doing various things, and could be acquired from Mr. Medal. The Gen VI games also feature them, but only through the Global Link. They became a little less of a CosmeticAward due to needing a certain number of them to play at the [[MinigameZone PokéMileage Club]].
19* ActionBomb: Anything that learns [[TakingYouWithMe Self-Destruct or Explosion]], most notably Koffing, Voltorb, and Geodude. Pineco in particular can learn it at very low levels since its introduction in Generation II. Their AIRoulette makes them GoddamnedBats if you're lucky.
20* ActionGirl: All female Pokémon have fighting prowess, though how powerful they are depends on their species.
21* ActionInitiative:
22** A Pokémon's "Speed" stat determines which Pokémon goes first in each round of combat, with varying effects.
23** Certain moves can have different attack power or effects depending on whether they execute before or after the opponent. In particular, the "flinch" status can only occur if the opponent strikes first.
24** Certain moves (like Quick Attack) have increased or decreased priority, making them always strike before or after the opponent's move. Later generations add other increased-priority moves such as [=ExtremeSpeed=], Mach Punch, and Sucker Punch. Vital Throw (introduced in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'') is an example of a move with ''decreased'' priority; it hits last but is guaranteed to hit as long as the user is still conscious.
25* ActionPet: Happens to any Pokémon captured by a trainer, since they're used for battle.
26* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: As you advance in the [[VideoGame game]], the items in the Poké Marts get progressively more expensive. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the fact that it's because the item selection gets better, but it's still FridgeLogic that every Pokémon Trainer would start at Pallet Town and progress through the cities in the same order; newer generations fix it by tying the product selection to the number of badges possessed instead of location.
27* AdorableFluffyTail:
28** Mincinno. It has a fluffy, grey tail with a white tip at the end. Its ''[[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite White]]'' Pokédex entry states the following:
29---> These Pokémon prefer a tidy habitat. They are always sweeping and dusting, using their tails as brooms.
30** Skitty. On its own it looks like it has quite a fluffy tail. Creator/GameFreak seemed to agree, as there is an item called the "Fluffy Tail" that's shaped like a Skitty's tail.
31** Eevee and some of its Eeveelutions. Flareon's is bushy and fox-like, while Sylveon's is thinner and cat-like.
32** Zorua. It heavily resembles a fox cub and has a black fluffy tail with a red tip. Its evolution, Zoroark, has a hairstyle that resembles a fox tail as well.
33* AerithAndBob: Masculine names in the franchise range from Barry to Ghetsis and feminine names range from May to Drasna. However, this seems to largely be because the use of [[MeaningfulName meaningful]], [[PunnyName punny]], or [[ThemeNaming themed]] names is more important than keeping the names completely realistic.
34* AnAesop:
35** The entire series looks at the conflict between human civilization and nature, and examines the idea that one should be sacrificed for the sake of the other, and the difficulties and struggles needed so both can flourish. It's been around since Gen I with Team Rocket abusing Pokémon for profit and the existence of artificial Pokémon like Grimer and Koffing as a result of human pollution, and has come into the spotlight since Gen V with the villainous teams (aside from Team Skull) pursuing goals rooted in the idea that humans and Pokémon shouldn't co-exist.
36** ''Pokemon'' games, especially ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', have morals about taking care of your Pokémon and treating them like friends, rather than tools.
37* AIRoulette: Wild [[{{Mons}} Pokémon]], and some of the early Trainers, pick their attacks entirely at random. You'd better pray that your [[TheRival rival]] doesn't pick Scratch or Tackle five times in a row during the first battle. However, this was not the case in the original games (''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Red/Blue]]''), as the AI would use the most Type Effective move it had. This led to [[{{Mons}} Pokémon]] using moves like [[StatusBuff Agility]] [[ArtificialStupidity over and over]] until they fainted or you switched your Pokémon[[note]]enemy Pokémon cannot run out of power points in Generation I[[/note]]. This was fixed in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Yellow]]''.
38* AllFlyersAreBirds: A lot of Flying-types that have a bird-like body shape behave in a sort of avian fashion. [[TerrorDactyl Aerodactyl]], for example, is often seen standing on two legs and carrying things in its talons like a bird of prey. A few bird Pokémon invert this trope, though, such as the ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation supposedly]]) flightless Doduo and Dodrio.
39* AllMythsAreTrue:
40** In one of the most ''roundabout'' ways possible. All legendary Pokémon, and quite a few regular Pokémon, are based off some form of mythical creature. Golduck, for example, is the Kappa. Lugia is most likely based on the Ryūjin, a dragon who lived on the ocean floor and was the Shinto god of the sea, while Ho-Oh is based on the Huma bird, a legendary bird that is said to never rest, living its entire life flying continuously, and resurrects itself and others in its own ashes and flames, and more obviously a Phoenix. The Hoenn Weather Trio Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza, are based off the Behemoth, a land beast; Leviathan, a sea monster; and Ziz, a giant bird, respectively. Arceus is based off of any manner of creator Deity, and the list simply goes on. Even some Pokémon types follow this; [[SoulPower Ghost]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dragon]], and [[OurFairiesAreDifferent Fairy]] are all elemental types with unique matchups.
41** Xerneas represents the Stag Eikþyrnir, Yveltal represents the Hawk Veðrfölnir, both from Norse Mythology, and Zygarde is either based on Níðhöggr or the Jörmungandr, both Serpents from Norse mythology. Most of these are based on creatures connected to the mythical Norse Tree of Yggdrasil. Xerneas also slept in the form of a tree, to hammer it in further.
42* AllYourPowersCombined: The Baton Pass move allows you to pass any secondary effects to another Pokémon. With luck and patience, you could pass along a quadrupling of both Defenses, Speed, the Attack stat of your choice, give opponents only a 33% chance of connecting with most moves, and the ability to regenerate. It requires the patience of a saint and can be thrown off by a critical hit, some status ailments, the moves [[SwitchOutMove Roar, Whirlwind, Circle Throw, Dragon Tail]] (unless you have a Smeargle with both Baton Pass and Ingrain, or [[{{Mons}} Pokémon]] with the ability Suction Cups, and Ghost-types are immune to Circle Throw), [[StatusBuffDispel Haze, or Clear Smog]] (though Steel-types are immune to the last option). However, this can easily backfire through the use of Perish Song ([[BlessedWithSuck luckily, the countdown does not apply to whichever Pokémon switches in... unless it's switched in by Baton Pass]]) and [[AwesomeByAnalysis Psych Up]] (your opponent copies any stat changes you have made and, since it's a single turn move, does so in much less time than you did).
43* AllianceWithAnAbomination: Many legendaries are [[PhysicalGod Physical Gods]], if not outright [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]]. This doesn't stop you [[DefeatMeansFriendship from befriending them as your team mates]] [[OlympusMons after capturing them]].
44* AlternateSpeciesCounterpart: A good amount of Pokémon have alternate counterparts like Pikachu clones (Plusle, Minun, Emolga, Marill, and etc.), Tauros and Bouffalant, official convergent evolutions (Diglett and Wiglett), and regional forms (Ponyta and its Galarian form).
45* AlternateUniverse: ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' introduces the idea of opposite versions being set in different universes, with a futuristic Opelucid City in one (''Black''), and an old-fashioned city in another (''White''). [[PlotTumor The idea gets more overt afterwards]]; ''Omega Ruby'' and ''Alpha Sapphire'' has Zinnia alluding to a universe where Mega Evolution doesn't exist (all but stated to be the world of the original ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire''), and [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon both]] [[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon pairs]] of Gen VII games have postgame stories with characters that come from past games/alternate universes.
46* AlwaysAccurateAttack:
47** "Swift" from the first generation never misses. It even works if your opponent is underground or up in the sky (though this was removed in later generations).
48** Similar attacks of other elemental types have been introduced in later generations: Feint Attack, Vital Throw, Aerial Ace, Magical Leaf, Shock Wave, Shadow Punch, Magnet Bomb, Aura Sphere, Clear Smog, Disarming Voice, and Smart Strike. Certain other moves, such as Gust or Earthquake, can even hit targets who are currently using Fly or Dig (which normally grants one turn of invulnerability before striking).
49** The No Guard Ability causes ''all'' attacks used by a Pokémon to become always-accurate, in exchange for granting the same to all attacks used against it, even allowing you to hit targets that are in the air, underground, or temporarily non-existent.
50** Lock-On and Mind Reader ensure the next attack will hit, even if the target uses the aforementioned moves; the only way out is switching Pokémon.
51** Hurricane and Thunder ignore accuracy and evasion checks (similar to Swift) when it's raining, while Blizzard does so when it's hailing in Generation V. Before that, it instead raised their accuracy to 100% (Blizzard didn't do that in Gen III, though).
52** In Generation VI, Toxic becomes this if the user is a Poison-type, allowing the user to badly poison even those using Fly or Dig.
53** The Generation VI move Confide bypasses evasion and accuracy checks.
54** As of Generation VI, Stomp and Steamroller will always hit a Pokémon that has used Minimize. They'll also do double damage.
55** Not only will Hyperspace Hole and Hyperspace Fury never miss, but they also break any protection moves as well. Normally, protection moves block other always-accurate moves.
56** Z-Moves and Max Moves that do damage completely ignore accuracy checks, and not even protection moves can block them (though they do reduce their power by 75%).
57* AlwaysCheckBehindTheChair: Standards of the series are patches of grass with a darker shade than others, trash cans, the centers of plateaus, dead-ends, and rocks. Thank goodness for the [[InconsistentDub Item Finder/Dowsing Machine]] (or Stoutland in ''Sun and Moon'') when they're anywhere else.
58* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: They come in some ''funky'' colors. Shiny Pokémon may have even funkier color variations.
59* AmbidextrousSprite: Averted in the Platform/GameBoyAdvance and Platform/NintendoDS titles. In these games, Pokémon with asymmetrical designs like Absol and Roselia aren't flipped when viewed on the status screen or the Pokédex. Although there are some exceptions like Azumarill or Weezing.
60* AmbiguousGender: Played straight with most Pokémon in the first generation, but averted with male and female Nidoran, each classified as different Pokémon entirely.
61* AmphibianAtLarge: The franchise has several large, amphibian-based Pokémon. Notable examples include Quagsire, a giant salamander that stands at 4'6", and Seismitoad, Greninja, and Swampert, who all stand at 4'11" while being a toad, frog, and axolotl/mudpuppy respectively. Swampert's Mega Evolution is even larger at 6'3", with muscles that rival the Hulk's. Venusaur, who has many frog-like traits, is normally 6'7", and its Mega Evolution is 7'10", and far more extreme than any other Pokémon is its Gigantamax form, a whopping 78'09".
62* AndYourRewardIsInteriorDecorating:
63** Introduced in Generation II, where you could decorate your bedroom at your mother's house using items she bought with money she was (''supposed'' to be) helping you save.
64** In ''Ruby/Sapphire'', their remakes, and ''Emerald'', you can be rewarded with items to decorate your Secret Base, while in ''Diamond/Pearl'' it's your underground cabin. ''Platinum'' adds a villa, though you can only buy items and not choose where to place them.
65** The Dream World home in Generation V falls into this as well, as well as the decoration mode in Generation VI's Pokémon-Amie.
66* AnimalisticAbomination: Many legendary Pokémon, especially the legendaries featured on the boxes of later games. They display god-like abilities such as controlling aspects of nature and reality while also vaguely resembling animals. Dragon-like forms are especially popular.
67* AnimalsLackAttributes: The fact that animal-like Pokémon lack visible attributes (with exception for Miltank's cow udders, of course, as well as for some weird reason, Nuzleaf having nipples) is likely a culmination of its simple visual art style and kid-friendly target audience (and GRatedSex). The actual Mons can probably be assumed to still possess their attributes... after all, that Berry fertilizer has to come from somewhere.[[note]]An NPC in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondandPearl Pokémon Diamond/Pearl]]'' specifically mentions that mulches contain "Pokémon… um… you know…"[[/note]] However, a few plant and {{Planimal}} Pokémon have visible sex organs of the botanical variety (for example, female Venusaur have prominent pistils, and Meganium's antennae resemble anthers). The various Pokémon that draw their designs from nonliving objects are a bit more ambiguous. How exactly does one tell the difference between, say, a male and female Grimer—living blobs of toxic goo? [[BellisariosMaxim Eh, forget we even asked.]]
68* AnimalsNotToScale: Most Pokémon based on animals are either much larger or much smaller than the animal they are based on. For example, Donphan and Ariados are both 3 feet and 7 inches tall. Donphan is an elephant while Ariados is a spider.
69** Many examples are due to the minimum height for a Pokémon being 0.1 meters (10 centimeters, or 4 inches). Because of this minimum, the tiniest arachnid Pokémon, Joltik, is about the size of a tarantula.
70* AnimateInanimateObject: A large number of Pokémon fit this description.
71** Banette used to be a doll that was thrown away by a child, and now seeks revenge. By extension, this also applies to its unevolved form, Shuppet.
72** Rotom can possess objects, as revealed in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondandPearl Pokémon Platinum]]'', where it can possess a washing machine, a lawnmower, an oven, a freezer, and a table fan. Specifically, it possesses technology that uses a special kind of motor (if you're wondering why, [[SdrawkcabName spell Rotom backwards]]). The aforementioned objects are specially prepared for research purposes.
73** Voltorb is also implied to be a Poké Ball turned sentient, through an unknown cause. Its ''Silver''[[note]]and, by extension, ''[=SoulSilver=]''[[/note]] Pokédex entry specifically states that it was discovered when Poké Balls were invented, while its ''Crystal'' Pokédex entry says its components are not found in nature.
74** Shedinja is the discarded exoskeleton of a Nincada after it evolves into Ninjask. Exactly ''how'' it is animated is not exactly explained, but there's clearly some sort of supernatural spirit involved, given it gains the Ghost type.
75** Claydol, according to the ''Diamond/Pearl/Platinum'' Pokédex, is "An ancient clay figurine that came to life as a Pokémon from exposure to a mysterious ray of light." By extension, this also applies to its unevolved form, Baltoy.
76** Trubbish is a ''trash bag'' that came to life because of a chemical reaction.
77** A few more that are based on inanimate objects, yet are not implied to have been animated by outside forces, include Magnemite/Magneton/Magnezone (magnets), Nosepass/Probopass ([[UsefulNotes/RapaNui Moai statue]]), Bronzor (a bronze mirror), Bronzong (a bronze bell), Klink (a gear), Darumaka (a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daruma_doll daruma doll]]), Vanillite/Vanillish/Vanilluxe (contrary to popular belief, it's an icicle), Litwick/Lampent/Chandelure (Candle/Lamp/Chandelier, respectively), Honedge/Doublade/Aegislash (a sword, then ''two'' swords, and finally a sword and shield), and Swirlix (a cotton candy).
78* AnimeHair: A majority of characters have wacky hairstyles.
79* AnotherDimension:
80** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Pokémon Platinum]]'' features the Distortion World; a warped and bizarre dimension opposite to the Pokémon world where gravity is off, space is warped, and time doesn't flow. The Legendary Pokémon Giratina is its sole inhabitant, and it maintains control over it to keep both worlds from destroying each other.
81** Ultra Space, introduced in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', is a realm that connects to several universes and dimensions. Unlike the Distortion World, it has more than one inhabitant; extradimensional Pokémon known as Ultra Beasts, which [[NormalFishInATinyPond are common in their own worlds but have strength and power on par with Legendary Pokémon]].
82* AnthropomorphicFood:
83** Cherubi is a living cherry. And the Pokédex entry for Starly states that those birds love to munch on it.
84** Subverted with Vanillite and its evolutions. While they resemble ice cream cones, they’re actually living icicles with snow on their heads.
85** Bounsweet is a walking mangosteen. Unfortunately for it, other Pokémon do see it as an edible snack.
86* AnthropomorphicTypography: The Unown resemble the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet as well as a question mark and an exclamation point, but the only thing they can actually say [[PokemonSpeak are their own names.]]
87* AntiDebuff:
88** A Pokémon can only have one of the truly major status effects, such as paralysis, poison, or sleep, active at any time, meaning it's possible to deliberately afflict a Pokémon with a less harmful status effect to defend against more dangerous ones.
89** Some Pokémon have innate abilities like Clear Body, White Smoke, and Full Metal Body, which prevent any stat from being lowered by an opponent. Other abilities prevent single stat debuffs such as Keen Eye (prevents accuracy loss), Big Pecks (defence), or Hyper Cutter (attack), and Own Tempo and Inner Focus prevent confusion and flinching, respectively. Other Pokémon have abilities like Comatose (which prevents any non-volatile status effect), Immunity (prevents poison), Insomnia (sleep), Limber (paralysis), Magma Armor (frozen), and Water Veil (burn). The Magic Bounce ability prevents any and all debuffs from dedicated status moves (it doesn't stop secondary effects of damaging moves) by [[AttackReflector reflecting them right back at their user]].
90** Certain types of Pokémon are inherently immune to certain status effects: Fire-types are immune to burn, Poison-types are immune to poison, Ice-types are immune to frozen, and Electric types are immune to paralysis. Grass-type Pokémon are only inherently immune to Leech Seed, but they are also immune to "powder" status moves like Sleep Powder, Poison Powder, etc.
91** Haze is a StatusBuffDispel, but its effect is specifically to remove stat ''changes'', meaning that it removes debuffs, too. The same is true of Clear Smog, but that move is single-target and cannot be applied to its user.
92** Mist and Safeguard block stat debuffs and status effects, respectively.
93** Moves like Aromatherapy and Heal Bell remove non-volatile status effects from the user and its allies; Refresh removes non-volatile status effects from the user only. Rest overwrites any non-volatile status effect the user is suffering from with sleep in addition to replenishing all of the user's HP... but then the user is asleep for two turns.
94** Held items such as Safety Goggles provide immunity to powder moves. Guard Specs temporarily prevents stat reductions, and certain berries (one-time use) can cure status effects like sleep, poison, burn, etc. White Herb is a one-time use item that cures debuffs.
95** During contests, the "Oblivious" condition can be given by several moves, and it protects against negative-appeal moves and debuffing-contest moves.
96* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The franchise has enough examples to merit its own [[AntiFrustrationFeatures/{{Pokemon}} page]].
97* AntlionMonster: Trapinch waits in its hole to capture prey, and like its Real Life counterpart, evolves into a dragonfly-like creature. Its Arena Trap ability [[YouWillNotEvadeMe prevents non-flying enemies from escaping]]. While not based on actual antlions, Diglett and Dugtrio also have the Arena Trap ability.
98* ApatheticCitizens:
99** A crime syndicate takes over our city? Cults attempt to flood and/or dry out the world? Some lunatic with a god complex tries to restart all of creation? An ancient alien creature from another universe is stealing all light from the region? No problem, I'm sure some trainer will take care of it for us.
100** Also, N and Ghetsis in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' are kinda counting on this to pull off their plans (though N is also really frustrated by it, going so far as to outright state that if people in general were more like the player character, he wouldn't have to bother with separating people and Pokémon).
101** In ''Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald'', citizens of the three ocean cities, Mossdeep, Sootopolis, and Pacifidlog, do show concern about the torrential downpour/drought/both affecting the area. The rest of Hoenn? Doesn't even care.
102** In ''Diamond/Pearl/Platinum'', [[spoiler:when Team Galactic blows up Lake Valor,]] the resulting shockwave/earthquake is felt all the way in Canalave City. The people in the library and the citizens standing outside comment on it. No one else does, though. In general, the people of Sinnoh seem to be more aware of Team Galactic compared to people of earlier generations and their respective teams... However, they still don't do much about it.
103** In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY X/Y]]'', the main villain announces his intention to [[spoiler:kill every human and Pokémon worldwide except a chosen (paying) few humans]] via a live broadcast, and nobody cares a bit except the player and their rivals. A bit later, [[spoiler:a big, crystal-like thing (the weapon for said mass murder) shoots out of the ground in Geosenge Town, knocking down some of the houses there]], and not even the people in the local Pokémon Center could care less. Though the region gives the player [[spoiler:a parade]] for saving them all.
104* ArtEvolution:
105** In the Japanese ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Red and Green]]'' versions, the designs for the [[{{Mons}} Pokémon]] are (sometimes) really ugly, even by Game Boy standards. By the time the ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Yellow]]'' version came out, the designs became the ones we're more familiar with, and general graphics (especially sprite resolution) became more sophisticated with each generation.
106** The artwork had this happen as well. Compare the appearances of the main characters of ''[[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Sugimori1996.png Red and Blue]]'' and ''[[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Gold_Silver_Ethan.png Gold and Silver]]'' with their appearances in those games' remakes, ''[[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:FireRed_LeafGreen_Red.png FireRed and LeafGreen]]'' and ''[[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:HeartGold_SoulSilver_Ethan.png HeartGold and SoulSilver]]''.
107** In general, ''Pokémon'' in Generation I started out with a hard, coarsely shaded 80's-90's {{Shonen}} manga style which started to get smoother in Generations II and III, Generation IV and V made use of the space allowed with two larger screens and featured more detailed character sprites, Generation VI has full (if chibi-fied) 3-D models and sleek artwork, and Generation VII has properly proportioned character models and a more natural, less blocky look to the world's terrain.
108* TheArtifact:
109** In ''Pokémon Gold and Silver'', one of the 10 phone numbers you can have at a time is Bill's, which is useful as he tells you how many spaces are left in your current Pokémon storage box and calls you to tell you when your current one is full, which is also useful because if the box currently being used and your party is full you can't catch anything. However, in the third generation, the box system was fixed so that a full box simply meant the captured Pokémon went to the next box, making registering Bill's number in the fourth generation remakes of those games largely pointless (he instead tells you of all the places in your boxes total, in which case you are screwed if you manage to fill all of them). On the other hand, you can register all the numbers you want in the remakes, so he's not hampering you, either.
110** The namesake trait of Shiny Pokémon is pretty much one; their original defining trait was that they were a different color (hence the Red Gyarados being referred to as such rather than Shiny Gyarados), with the shining effect and accompanying sound effect originally being due to the fact that their debut games could be played on monochrome Platform/GameBoy systems in addition to the Platform/GameBoyColor. Although, to be fair, it remains useful to this day for players who have color blindness or are not familiar enough with individual Pokémon species to tell the Shiny specimens apart from regular ones without a visual cue, especially if the species' shiny palette is not much different from the regular one (e.g. Poliwag, Slowpoke) or if it naturally comes in different colors without being Shiny (e.g. Minior, Alcremie).
111** When the Nidoran lines were first introduced, they were unique in being the only Pokémon that had gender. Though ''Gold and Silver'' included genders for Pokémon, the Nidoran lines originally remained unique in having different appearances for each gender, as well as being different gameplay-wise. Later games went on to erode their uniqueness by introducing [[PurelyAestheticGender visual differences]] in some species, but also eliminating all gameplay elements that distinguished them by adding gender-based evolutions (Burmy evolving into Wormadam or Mothim in Generation IV), movepools and abilities (Meowstic in Generation VI), and different stat distributions (Indeedee in Generation VIII). At this point, there's no in-universe reason why Nidoran male and Nidoran female shouldn't be considered just one Pokémon that evolves into two separate lines based on gender other than the GrandfatherClause.
112** Most games feature a check at the Pokémon League to see if the player has all eight Gym Badges. This made sense in Generation I (and its remake) and ''X/Y'', where it's possible to reach the gates from the second major town/city — not so much in later games, where you can't even reach it until you have the eighth badge (and usually the games makes heavy useage of {{Broken Bridge}}s to make sure you can't skip any Gyms before then).
113** Typically, a given {{Olympus Mon|s}} is only important for the generation they first appear in, [[UniquenessDecay before being encountered in much less spectacular fashion in a later game]]. It's very noticeable in ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' — ''every'' Legendary Pokémon from the previous six generations, most of whom had unique dungeons they hid in and/or important roles in the story, is now simply found in Ultra Space for no real reason.
114*** Items associated with them aren't immune either. For instance, while the DNA Splicers (which are necessary for transforming Kyurem into Black or White Kyurem) are said to be a unique and special treasure passed down through Drayden's family in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', an ordinary Ace Trainer in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' [[GrailInTheGarbage gives them out just for being shown Kyurem]].[[labelnote:*]]It gets even more ridiculous when you consider that ''X and Y'' supposedly happen around the same time as ''Black 2 and White 2''.[[/labelnote]]
115** While the French and German translations have unique Pokémon species names that differ from both the English and Japanese ones, the Spanish and Italian translations do not. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yheM8RqvqFQ This is because]] when ''Red'' and ''Blue'' were released, very few Nintendo games were translated into Spanish or Italian, and the ''Pokémon'' games were some of the first; the translations were more rushed than the French and German ones, resulting in rather dodgy localization and re-use of all the English Pokémon names. Later generations improved the quality of Spanish and Italian localization and also gave them unique location and character names, but all Pokémon names - past, present and future[[note]]except for Type:Null and the Paradox Pokémon[[/note]] - remained the same as the English names.
116** The Pokédex "Species Category" for each Pokémon: including things like "Puppy Pokémon" and "Mouse Pokémon". In the original conception of the Pokémon World in the Japanese-exclusive Pokédex Book, Pokémon were [[EvolutionaryLevels highly mutated]] forms of normal animals. Vulpix's original dex entry even stated that it was a mutated fox. Animals started mutating into Pokémon for unknown reasons sometime in the 1700s and it was implied that Pokémon were very much likely to replace all wildlife, eventually. The proposed draft for the third anime movie was originally going to canonize this in the anime, however executives were baffled about how they'd market [[MerchandiseDriven Pokémon toys that were just regular animals or regular fossils]] and the story was scrapped. By around Generation III it was established that all wildlife had always been Pokémon - leaving the mystery of where ''humans'' came from instead.
117** Before Generation IV, names of Pokémon, moves and items were limited to 10, 12 and 12 characters respectively. In Generation VI, the respective limits got bumped to 12, 16 and 16, and a lot of items and moves got renamed to make use of the new limits (for instance, the move "Hi Jump Kick" became "High Jump Kick"). Pokémon names however remained the same, including the obviously truncated "Victreebel" and "Feraligatr".
118*** In the French localization, the move "Pistolet à O" (Water Gun) retained its name even after Generation VI, despite originally being shrunk down from "Pistolet à eau" to fit into the 12-character limit.
119** Because the first generation [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness hadn't introduced all of the themes that would become standard in the series,]] it played more standard RPG tropes straight, the most glaring being replacing your party members with stronger, better ones later in the game. This led to some obvious power gaps, such as Dodrio doing Fearow's and Pidgeot's job, but strictly better, and Venomoth being a less-bad version of the early-game bugs. Later in the series, it started to push the idea of each Pokémon being a unique, close ally that you spend the adventure bonding with, so there are far less cases of strict-outclassing in new generations, yet the Kanto early-game Mons still follow the same design, which leaves most of them seemingly underpowered even if they had bones thrown their way.
120** Gen III introduced Contests, and it also introduced Pokémon that excelled at Contests but sucked at battling, such as Luvdisc and Delcatty. At the time, Contests were hyped up and shown on the same level as actual battling, and these Pokémon showed that Mons could excel at things other than battling. Later in the series, Contests have been either reworked or removed depending on the game, leaving battles at the forefront and these Pokémon with only [[LowTierLetdown their poor battling capabilities.]]
121** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' removed many of the series' established moves. If a Pokémon transferred forward from the previous games knows one of those deprecated moves, it will still be shown in its move list, but will be unusable, with its description being replaced with a message recommending that the player remove or replace that move.
122* ArtifactName: The National Dex. [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness When the series was first conceived]], it was meant to be set on Earth as we know it (thus why some Pokédex entries would mention real life animals, for instance), and the first four generations introduced regions based on real life parts of Japan (Kanto even has the same name as its real life inspiration due to the implication that the setting was just our Earth). As the series underwent EarthDrift and later regions were based on other parts of the world such as France or Hawaii, complete with being {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s, the idea of all regions being part of a single, not clearly defined country or nation fell apart, yet the National Dex kept its name until it was completely removed from the game in [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Generation VIII]].
123* ArtificialBrilliance:
124** The Trainers in the various Battle facilities tend to be smarter than regular in-game Trainers, though occasionally they will still do some odd things.
125** Generation IV in general bumped up the AI of Trainers as well. Especially with specific Trainer types like Ace Trainers, Gym Leaders, and the Elite Four/Champion.
126** The [[OldMaster Veterans]] in Gen V will catch you off guard by hitting your {{mons}} with super-effective moves that you'd never expect their {{mons}} to have. Yes, they finally have Trainers outside the Gym Leaders/Elite Four/Battle (insert facility name here) who bother to use [=TMs=]!
127** Ghetsis' Hydreigon in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' has amazing type coverage for an NPC Trainer's Pokémon — it will hit you with Fire Blast, Surf, Focus Blast, and Dragon Pulse (that last move being the only move that Hydreigon learns via level-up). It tends to be the biggest threat in his entire team.
128* ArtificialHuman: "Human" isn't quite accurate, but a number of Pokémon are created by humans. Even amongst those that are explicitly artificial (such as Mewtwo, {{Gol|em}}urk, and [[MixAndMatchCritters Type: Null]]), there are some who are implied to be manmade by accident (such as Voltorb and Grimer).
129* ArtificialInsolence:
130** [[{{Twinking}} To prevent a beginning player from trading high-level Pokémon in a new game]], Pokémon above a certain level will sometimes refuse to obey the player's commands if they don't have a certain Gym badge, either using the wrong move, goofing off, or even falling asleep. The mechanic's function is somewhat limited, because a sufficiently high-level Pokémon will still OneHitKO the opponent when it does decide to obey, making battles slower but still low-risk. And because it isn't tied to the Friendship mechanic, a Pokémon with very low Friendship values (caused by using ill-tasting items or letting it faint in battle a lot) remains obedient.
131** Slaking has stats on par with various OlympusMons. To make up for this, its Truant ability makes it slack off every other turn and only obeys commands after.
132** In ''VideoGame/PokemonRubySapphireAndEmerald'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonFireRedAndLeafGreen'', Mew and Deoyxs are programmed to always disobey the player unless they were obtained in a "fateful encounter" (AKA, given out via a real-life distribution event, which is the only way to legitimately obtain them).
133** In ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'', Shadow Pokémon will occasionally enter "Hyper Mode", which will cause them to occasionally disobey if ordered to use anything besides Shadow Rush. Effects of disobedience are somewhat wider than those in the main series, and can even include the Shadow Pokémon ''attacking a trainer'' (though this has no in-game effect).
134* ArtificialStupidity:
135** Many NPC trainers don't pay a lot of attention to the moves you have or use much in the way of strategy.
136** The Mix Tournament in ''B2/W2''[='=]s Pokémon World Tournament involves your opponent temporarily taking one of your Pokémon and vice versa. This can lead to some stupid moves like Elesa taking the only thing on your team weak against electricity in trade for one of her Electric types.
137* ArtisticLicenseBiology:
138** All Pokémon are born from eggs, regardless of whether they're mammalian, reptilian, amphibian, insectoid, piscine, botanical, or even ghostly or made of inanimate matter.
139** Some Pokémon type categories don't follow real-life taxonomy. For example, fungus-based Pokémon are categorized as Grass-type (in which most Pokémon are plant-based) and arachnid-based Pokémon are categorized as Bug-type (where most Pokémon are inspired by insects).
140* ArtsyBeret: Painters in the games wear berets, and the top of painter Pokémon Smeargle's head is shaped like a beret.
141* AscendedFridgeHorror: Used in both some of the games and some of the adaptations.
142** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' does this with some of the fridge horror of the series. They introduced Team Plasma, an organization based on the idea that it's morally wrong to force Pokémon to beat each other nearly to death for sport. The organization has two conflicting leaders — N, who honestly believes in the organization's mantra, and Ghetsis, who only preaches this to try and convince everyone else in the world to release their Pokémon so that he'll be the most powerful Trainer around. [[note]]Guess which one has a HeelFaceTurn, and which one's the FinalBoss...[[/note]]
143** ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' makes use of the "Pocket Monsters have the power to seriously injure or even kill" ElephantInTheLivingRoom. ''Colosseum'' and ''XD'' do the same, with depicted Pokémon-on-trainer and human-on-human violence, with the S.S. Libra as the capper.
144* AscendedMeme:
145** One of the oldest and most infamous rumors in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' was that checking the truck next to the S.S. Anne before it departs (only possible through going to Fuchsia City and getting Surf before coming here to get Cut, which causes the ship to leave) would trigger an encounter with [[OlympusMons Mew]], or any number of other things. In ''VideoGame/PokemonFireRedAndLeafGreen'', if you manage to do this you'll find a Lava Cookie, which while normally only obtainable in [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald]], can also be bought from the merchant if the player has enabled the Hoenn trade links.
146** In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite2'' the developers referenced the [[https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-prn1/276605_198438218141_3942683_n.jpg "Youngster who likes shorts" meme]] with a girl who [[http://www.vgfacts.com/attachments/full/1/1057.jpg likes her dress because it is comfy and easy to wear]].
147** Also referenced in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'': with a youngster [[http://nowgamer.net-genie.co.uk/siteimage/scale/0/0/364726.gif also into shorts]]
148** A subtle one in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'': Inspect the back rooms of your character's house and you will see that Game Freak has finally included a bed for your mother, in response to years of fan comments about how she presumably sleeps on the table since your house only has one bed (yours).
149** The last trainer you face before entering the courtyard outside the Elite 4's compound in X and Y will inform you that "my body is ready."
150** ImpliedTrope in ''VideoGame/PokemonOmegaRubyAndAlphaSapphire'': the French translation of Brawly's pre-battle dialogue has him say he trained his mind by "staring at a [[WebVideo/TwitchPlaysPokemon Helix Fossil]] for days and days".
151** Another example has an NPC ask the player if they like Pokémon. After answering yes a couple of times, she will give you a Poké Doll, in reference to the "so i herd u liek mudkipz" meme.
152** An American Valentine's Day card references the meme revolving around posting a Slowpoke when someone is late to notice something. The card has a Slowpoke on it and says "Happy New Year!" [[https://www.pokemoncenter.com/slowpoke-valentines-relaxed-fit-crewneck-t-shirt-741-02396 They've made a shirt like this]].
153** Many jokes exist about the move "Fly" and "Surf" and how the protagonist can apparently ride very small Pokémon. For the 20th anniversary of the series, a ton of official art of the protagonists was made. A few feature them riding tiny Pokémon.
154** Since 2014, fans have been drawing fanart of [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pokemon-variants what Pokémon would look like if there were different subspecies or breeds]]. Two years later, [[https://youtu.be/3AZHowhxM0U a similar concept]] was officially introduced for ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon''.
155** A long-standing joke among fans is how Snorlax's sprites/models, when ordered by generation, make it appear like it's trying to stand up. It finally accomplished this feat in Gen 6... and, come Gen 7, it gains (via an exclusive Z-Move) the ability to jump to an extreme height, then slam on the opposing Pokémon. Looks like standing up gave it a little too much power. This is actually referenced in an official trailer for the game.
156** In ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', [[http://sgcafe.com/2016/11/pokemon-sun-moon-pokes-fun-igns-much-water-review-pokemon-oras/ one of the possible comments for Poké Finder photos is "7.8/10, too much water"]], referencing the infamous line from the IGN review of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Omega Ruby And Alpha Sapphire]]''.
157** Hiker David became (in)famous among players of ''Pokémon Sun and Moon'' for unexpectedly crashing Kiawe's trial (though Kiawe later tells you it was intentional). Not only does he get [[AscendedExtra a larger role]] in ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' (including Kiawe [[spoiler:nominating David as his successor]]), but you get a mask of a Hiker (suggested to be of David specifically, as it has his dumb grin from when he crashes the trial) for the Alola Photo Club.
158** An interesting example that crosses over with {{Nerf}}. When the Moody ability (randomly sharply raises one stat and lowers another every turn) was first introduced in Gen 5, it was quickly banned by ''Website/{{Smogon}}'' for being able to raise Accuracy or Evasion. Starting with ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', Moody can no longer raise Accuracy or Evasion.[[note]]However, this didn't prevent it from being banned from OU due to its luck-based and constant stat boosts being deemed uncompetitive. It's no longer banned from Ubers, however.[[/note]]
159** It's rumored that the infamous "PIKACHU! THE HORN!" moment from the anime led to Rhyhorn and Rhydon (and later on Rhyperior) all getting the Lightning Rod ability in the third generation. Unlike in the {{anime}}, they retain their immunity to electric attacks. In fact, as of Generation V, Lightning Rod nullifies Electric attacks. In the same generation, Pikachu's hidden ability is Lightning Rod.
160** Game Freak seems to be aware of Gardevoir's [[RuleThirtyFour reputation on the internet]], and have attempted to capitalize on it. First was its Mega Evolution in Gen VI, which turned its chest plate into an actual chest, then the Gen VII anime having a hallucinating Meowth romantically dream of Gardevoir (alongside Lopunny and Glaceon), and finally, Gen VIII giving the entire Ralts line Human-Like as their secondary Egg Group.
161* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership:
162** Becomes more and more blatant as generations go on. Seeing just how expensive Gym contraptions become and how they serve literally no purpose other than that to confuse the challengers just for the hell of it — how much profit can you receive from that? — how some Gym Leaders like Clay and Elesa order people around, how Gym Leaders are the go-to authority (Crasher Wake) and no one but them, player characters, and Looker, does anything about anything, a Gym Leader is, by all means, the mayor/sheriff of the town in particular.
163** Justified, given that the only times we see a character go on to become a Gym Leader (Blue, Cheren, [[spoiler:Marnie]], and [[spoiler:Bede]]), they were shown to already be fairly powerful trainers, so Gym Leaders are probably the most powerful trainers in the town.
164** Drayden from Gen V's title in Japanese literally is 'The Spartan Mayor'.
165* AttackFailureChance:
166** Some moves don't have accuracy of 100% or greater, and if an attacker had their accuracy lowered or the defender had their evasion increased, that can make what was labeled as 100% accurate attacks, miss instead. ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' has the 1/256 accuracy glitch that gives ''all'' attacks that possess an accuracy stat, that specified chance to miss.
167** The confusion status effect gives every move, even {{Always Accurate Attack}}s, a 33% chance of failing, with the user damaging themselves instead. The paralysis status effect, meanwhile, gives every move a 25% chance of failing.
168* AttackReflector: There aren't many examples in ''Pokémon'' (moves like Counter or Mirror Coat are more [[CounterAttack Counter Attacks]]), but Magic Coat fits the bill. When used, any status moves (i.e. a move that does not deal damage) that target the user are reflected back at the attacker. The ability Magic Bounce basically does the same thing, but you don't even have to spend a turn using it.
169* AudibleGleam:
170** Happens whenever you send out or encounter a shiny Pokémon. Comes with sparkling stars radiating from the Pokémon. This was mostly because in Generation II (when alternate colored Pokémon were introduced), unless you were playing on a Game Boy Color, there would be ''no way'' to tell if a Pokémon was shiny or not; the gleam and sound was the only way to tell. It's also useful for people who happen to have color-blindness.
171** In ''Black 2 and White 2'', if you encounter one of N's Pokémon in the wild, they sparkle like Shinies but are normally colored. You'll also get a shiny-like sparkle from a Pokémon that became a star at Pokéstar studios.
172** In addition, when the player enters the Trick House in Generation III, an AudibleGleam tips the player off to where the Trick Master is hiding.
173** In ''Sun and Moon'', PreexistingEncounters such as skittering Wimpod and shadows of flying Pokémon might leave items on the ground once the Pokémon involved are knocked out or captured. These sparkle and make a noise.
174* AuthorAppeal:
175** Game director Junichi Masuda's favorite Pokémon used to be Pichu.[[note]]It's now Victini.[[/note]] It kinda shows. It's all over the place despite not seeming to be that popular with the fans. Other Pokémon that he personally likes are Torchic, Psyduck, and Sylveon.
176** Satoshi Tajiri's favorite Pokémon is Poliwhirl. In ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', it's the main character's starter Pokémon.
177* AuthorUsurpation: ''Pokémon'' is the only thing Creator/GameFreak, Creator/SatoshiTajiri and artist Ken Sugimori are known for. All of their other games are obscure by comparison--and even when they ''are'' discussed, it's usually because of their association with ''Pokémon'', and from people who've never played those other games.
178* {{Autodoc}}: The Healing Machine in Pokémon Centers.
179* AutomaticNewGame: Games from ''[=FireRed=]'' and ''[=LeafGreen=]'' (except ''Emerald'') until ''[[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Black and White]]'' still display their title screen, but automatically proceeded to a New Game when the A or Start button is pressed and there is no save file.
180* {{Autosave}}:
181** By entering the Hall Of Fame or defeating Red, the game automatically saves before the credits roll.
182** Every multiplayer function uses Autosaves, such as trading Pokémon. In the first two generations, changing boxes in the PC Storage System would also save the game.
183** Implemented in ''Sword and Shield'', and is toggleable.
184* AwesomeButImpractical:
185** Some Pokémon qualify as this. Onix (the former TropeNamer for FakeUltimateMook), for instance, is surprisingly weak for a giant snake made out of stone.
186** Shuckle has the highest Defense of any Mon in the series, and by using the move Power Trick, it can acquire the highest Attack of any Mon in the series. But good luck actually ''landing a blow'' after Power Trick, because swapping out its Defense means that just about any physical strike whatsoever will cause a OneHitKill unless Sturdy activates.
187** Generation V introduced the Archen line. They are fast GlassCannon, with Archeops' overall stats being higher than most regular Pokémon. There's a catch, however: they have an ability called Defeatist, which halves Attack and Special Attack stat if their health is at half or below.
188** Most of the game's more powerful damage dealing moves (including almost all moves with base power higher than 100) come with a significant trade-off of some kind; having low accuracy, very limited uses before needing to rest at a Pokémon Center, causing recoil damage, lowering the user's stats, or even taking two turns. Since there's a lot of LevelGrinding to do if you want to be the very best, moves that require frequent healing typically aren't worthwhile. There are also quite a few moves that are usually avoided during team battles, [[FriendlyFire as they will deal damage to every Pokémon on the battlefield, including your own teammates]].
189[[/folder]]
190
191[[folder:B]]
192* BadassAdorable: Pokémon in general are powerful enough as it is, so ones like Riolu and Pichu could fit, but the best of the best include the ranks of Azelf, Celebi, Mew, etc.
193* BadassCrew: Forming one with your Pokémon, so you can get all your badges and become a Champion, is one of the main goals of the games.
194* BagOfHolding: While the earlier games in the series had more limited space in the player's backpack, starting with the 4th Generation, your bag could [[HyperspaceArsenal have one slot for every item]]. It's possible (if you go out of your way) to fill it up to the point of being unable to get more by getting at least 999 of a single item (to force an item to take 2 slots), but very unlikely in practice.
195* BalanceBuff:
196** The majority of Pokémon from earlier generations will gain extra moves with each new title to keep them up with newcomer Pokémon.
197** Newer generations also tend to be kinder towards pre-evolved Pokémon, with exclusive attacks and items such as the Eviolite so the players who prefer their cute baby Pokémon can still keep up with their evolved brethren. Even the likes of [[MagikarpPower Magikarp and Caterpie]] have been thrown the odd bone so they can be halfway decent battlers.
198* BarrierBustingBlow:
199** The moves Brick Break and Psychic Fangs, which break through the moves Reflect and Light Screen (which halve damage from physical and special attacks, respectively).
200** The moves Feint, Shadow Force, Phantom Force, Hyperspace Hole, and Hyperspace Fury, which will hit Pokémon that have used Protect or a similar move and lift the protection for the rest of the turn.
201* BattleThemeMusic: But of course. Over a ''dozen'' in later titles.
202* BeakAttack:
203** The series contains a lot of long-beaked {{Mons}}, but the most JustForFun/{{egregious}} of them remain the rather ComMon Fearow and the three [[FireIceLightning Legendary Birds]] from [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Gen I]].
204** "Peck" and "[[ThisIsADrill Drill]] Peck" are two moves learned by most bird-like Pokémon (but also {{horn|Attack}}ed Pokémon). "Pluck" is an in-between variant, with the added bonus of [[VideoGameStealing eating]] any berry held by the opponent.
205** The held item "Sharp Beak" boosts the power of Flying-type moves by 20%.
206** The "Big Pecks" ability (although a {{Pun}} on "[[PecFlex pectoral]]") prevents some bird-like Pokémon's defense from being reduced.
207* BeatThemAtTheirOwnElement: Dragon- and Ghost-type Pokémon are the only Pokémon weak to their own type, meaning that it's a perfectly valid strategy to use a Pokémon that knows those moves against specialists, such as Gym Leaders or Elite 4 members.
208* BeleagueredBoss: To prevent {{Twinking}} and powergaming, the games have a mechanic where traded Pokémon only obey your orders up to a certain level (that increases with the Gym badges you've obtained), randomly wasting turns by goofing off, using a different move, or going to sleep to show their contempt for you. This isn't entirely foolproof: if the Pokémon is strong enough, the battle just takes longer but still ends in one hit when it does obey.
209* BeastlyBloodsports: Though the Mons fight until exhaustion instead of death, and you have to treat them nicely.
210* BeingEvilSucks: In order to get the move Frustration to have its max power, the user's happiness must be 0. Walking 256 steps increases happiness by 1, and leveling up increases it by 5 (if the current happiness is at minimum), while to lower it, your only options are to use the bitter medicine on it (-5, -10, or -15 depending on what you use) or let it faint (-1). By contrast, max happiness and max Return power is easy to maintain even if you let the Poké faint every now and then thanks to walking.
211** Of course, this doesn't prevent it from being a massively powerful attack when trainers in the Battle Frontier use it, as the happiness stat of enemy Pokémon is always zero (most Pokémon start at 70 happiness when caught).
212* BeneficialDisease: The Pokérus. If you're very, very lucky, a wild Pokémon you fight might just spread Pokérus to one of your Pokémon. With this condition, that Pokémon will gain twice as many effort points when an enemy {{Mon}} is defeated, and infected Pokémon can spread the virus to adjacent party members who haven't already contracted it. The virus will go away after a few days depending on what strain you get, although this hidden timer will stop decreasing if any infected Pokémon are stored in the PC. Any Pokémon having Pokérus cured will lose the ability to spread, but the effects will remain.
213* BenevolentMonsters: Pokémon has gone far, far out of its way to establish this (despite the fact that the mascot is a foot-long rat that can shoot lightning from its cheeks), with the inevitable result of HumansAreTheRealMonsters; no matter how rational any given Pokémon is, you can generally expect the moral weight of its actions to be assigned to the trainer. It's telling how, in over twenty years, there's only been ''one'' aversion in Necrozma (who acts as the BigBad of ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' without being controlled or influenced by a human), and even then, it has a FreudianExcuse pushed into your face.
214* BicolorCowsSolidColorBulls: Miltank, which are cow Pokemon, are black-and-pink, while Tauros, which are bull Pokemon, are entirely brown.
215* BigFirstChoice: Grass-, Water-, or Fire-type starter?
216* BiteTheWaxTadpole: "Surskit" looks hilarious in Swedish because it spells just like "Sour shit".
217* BlessedWithSuck:
218** Some Pokémon, by their mere presence, always change the weather in the general vicinity. [[http://www.rarecandytreatment.com/comics/1294293/picnic-panic/#cpage It's easy to see]] how this could be inconvenient.
219** Pokémon that lose arms and/or legs when they evolve.
220** Some Abilities that hinder the Pokémon, such as Slow Start (decreased stats for the first five turns) and Truant (can only move every two turns).
221** [[GameplayAndStorySegregation Supposedly]], Lugia spends all its time sleeping at the bottom of the sea [[PowerIncontinence because it's too powerful]]. It can fly, but if it were to so much as lightly flutter its wings, it would cause a 40-day storm and blow apart buildings.
222** Jirachi has the power to grant wishes, but only for one week every thousand years. It's asleep all those years. That means Jirachi must have a lonely existence because if Jirachi were to make a friend, they would be long gone by the time it awakens. Unless they were a Ninetales or something else long-lived.
223** Darkrai can't go near any other living thing without involuntarily trapping them within endless nightmares, to the point where it isolates itself on an island so no-one can find it. It, in other words, it will be forever alone. (Unless a certain trainer comes along and catches it...)
224** Absol is "blessed" with the ability to sense when a natural disaster is imminent. It tries to warn people, but this has led to the whole species being hated and driven into the mountains because people assumed they caused the disasters.
225** Mega Evolution gives the Pokémon a massive power boost, but it makes most of them crazed and violent, and even causes physical pain for some of them. Mega Glalie's ''jaw breaks'' because of the power flowing out its mouth, and Mega Houndoom's tail and claws ''melt painfully because of the extreme heat.'' Yes, this is all in a Pokémon game, but [[GameplayAndStorySegregation only]] in the [[FlavorText Pokédex]], and this is all mostly ignored in the anime as well.
226* BlockingStopsAllDamage: The move Protect and all its variants block any damage from the opponent's moves, except for [[ArmorPiercingAttack a certain few moves]]. [[LimitBreak Z-Moves]] and their successors, Max Moves and G-Max Moves, bypass protection moves, but only 25% of their full power is dealt.
227* BloodKnight: This is implied of all Pokémon. Outside of a handful of exceptions, they all are willing to fight each other at their trainer's command. People who believe Pokémon battling to be bad or are uncomfortable with the concept are shown to be wrong or later change their attitude. That said, there are a few Pokémon that particularly stands out like these, such as the aggressive and battle-obsessed Mewtwo.
228** The Pokémon Trainers themselves. Why else would they immediately battle you if their eyes meet yours?
229* BloodsuckingBats: The Pokémon Zubat and its evolution line are capable of learning the move Leech Life, which is described as a "blood-draining attack" that also replenishes the user's HP. All of Golbat's dex entries describe how it sucks blood even until it becomes too full and heavy to fly, and Crobat's entries also mention bloodsucking.
230* BlueMeansCold: The Ice type's theme colour is a very light blue, as is ice in general.
231* BodyUploading: Pokémon, living creatures, can be preserved inside a electronic storage system, made by Bill before the events of in the first game, as the game mentions, for retrieval in at a later time, and there's also slight implication that's how Pokéballs work, as the Pokémon must be inside them to be stored inside the system.
232* BoldInflation:
233** Originally, ''POKéMON''[[note]]For those wondering why the é in [=POKéMON=] is left uncapitalized, it's because the font the games use leaves no room for an accent mark over a capital E.[[/note]] games wrote the names of every proper noun in all caps. In other words, you play as a [=POKéMON=] TRAINER in the KANTO, JOHTO, or HOENN region on a quest to get every BADGE from every GYM LEADER and eventually take on the ELITE FOUR, having to go through the likes of TEAM ROCKET, TEAM AQUA, or TEAM MAGMA on the way. ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' ended this practice, but their generation still capitalized the names of individual Pokémon due to backward compatibility with the Platform/GameBoyAdvance games, which use the old method of capitalization (for example, ''Diamond and Pearl'' would still say PIKACHU instead of Pikachu, but would say Town Map instead of TOWN MAP). ''[[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Black and White]]'' did away with this as well, meaning no more ALL CAPS at all.
234** However, getting a Pokémon from one of your old games via the Pokémon Transfer Lab will still feature its name in all-caps. (For example, your Pikachu will still be PIKACHU.) However, if it can still evolve, its evolved form's name will not be in all-caps (PIKACHU evolved into Raichu).
235** If one of these Pokémon get transferred to ''Pokémon Bank'', its name will be decapitalized.
236** Though the all-caps style has been retired, several gameplay-relevant terms that wouldn't typically be proper nouns in real life are still capitalized (e.g. Ability, Egg, etc.). A comprehensive list of such words can be found [[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Bulbapedia:Manual_of_style#Capitalization here]].
237** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'' use this as a MythologyGag in the game's intro, where PROF. BIRCH uses the old style of POKéMON capitalization when the player character is watching his monologue on the [=POKéNAV=]. The rest of the game uses proper capitalization like ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', however.
238** In ''POKéMON EMERALD'', the enemy TRAINERS in the BATTLE FRONTIER SPEAK IN TERSE PHRASES IN ALL CAPS, complete with NoPunctuationPeriod.
239-->'''TRAINER:''' I SWALLOW SLUDGE TO TRANSFORM MYSELF
240** The ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' games have the main player name in [[color: blue: blue]], the team members' names in [[color: yellow: yellow]] and the other [=NPCs=] in [[color: light blue: light blue]].
241* BonsaiForest: Often, entire forests in the series look like they've been recently planted. This is especially silly since this means Sudowoodo — who stands at 3'11" (1.2m) — is able to convincingly pass off as a tall tree.
242* BootstrappedLeitmotif: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]]. ''[=FireRed=]'', ''[=LeafGreen=]'', and ''Emerald'' added music to the Mystery Gift feature. This music was remixed in ''Diamond'' and ''Pearl'', and it was used for Wi-Fi Connection in that game as well. But ''Platinum'' introduced an entirely new theme for Mystery Gift, which has been used in every game since. (except ''[=HeartGold=]'' and ''[=SoulSilver=]'' which had another entirely new theme) ''Black'' and ''White'', as well as their sequels, still used the old Mystery Gift theme for Wi-Fi Connection, but when ''X'' and ''Y'' put every Wi-Fi feature in the PSS, the theme vanished completely.
243** The goofy little song that played after a print error occurred in Gen II (most commonly heard if no Game Boy Printer was attached to the console) was remixed, expanded upon, and abridged slightly to become the theme for the Pokéwalker menu in ''[=HeartGold and SoulSilver=]''. It's also the music used in ''Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee'' when you connect to ''VideoGame/PokemonGO''.
244* BorderOccupyingDecorations:
245** The [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Generation I]] games and the early [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]] games feature custom borders when playing on a Platform/SuperGameBoy. ''Red'', ''Green'', and ''Blue'' feature various Pokémon against a backdrop whose color matches that of the game's title[[note]]going clockwise from top-left, ''Red'' features Pidgey, Clefairy, Rhydon, and Kangaskhan; ''Green'' features Shellder, Pikachu, Kangaskhan, and Rhydon; ''Blue'' features Charmander, Squirtle, a pair of Poké Balls, and Bulbasaur[[/note]]. ''Yellow'' features various Pikachu playing against a green backdrop. ''Gold'' and ''Silver'' feature a Poké Ball pattern against a colored backdrop matching the game's title.
246** The ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium'' games include a Game Boy Tower feature, which allows the player to use the Platform/Nintendo64 Transfer Pak to play the mainline games in Platform/SuperGameBoy mode, complete with custom borders. ''Pokémon Crystal'' is incompatible with the Super Game Boy, but ''is'' compatible with the Game Boy Tower; as such, it uses the Super Game Boy's default border.
247* BoringButPractical:
248** Experienced players tend to favor mid-level attacks like Thunderbolt over the flashy, high-power attacks like Thunder due to their higher accuracy and PP counts.
249** The Normal type also counts here; it isn't super effective against anything, but it in turn has decent defenses against everything except Fighting, and even an immunity to Ghost attacks. Normal type Pokémon also generally can learn a variety of different types of moves, both with or without TM assistance, making them quite versatile at the cost of no STAB for non-Normal-type moves.
250** Seismic Toss and Night Shade inflict damage equal to the user's level. While most Pokémon can deal more damage by relying on more conventional attacks, the moves come in handy for {{Stone Wall}}s that need a way to deal direct damage (or for underpowered Pokémon that need to fight a StoneWall).
251** For simply just going through the main games, overly leveling up only 1-3 Pokémon (usually a starter or a known powerful Pokémon with very high attack or special attack combined with decent speed). Combined that with other experience-boosting items or tactics and those 1-3 Pokémon would be able to [[CurbStompBattle curb stomp]] almost every wild Pokémon or Pokémon battles.
252** Most priority attacks. Quick Attack is weak, often has a simplistic animation, and is often one of the first attacks early game Pokémon get. It is also, along with its slightly more powerful cousin moves such as Extreme Speed and Ice Shard, one of the ''most'' integral moves in competitive play, where the Focus Sash is common and used for 'sweeper' Pokémon to get in the one turn they need to 'set up' with a boosting move. Oftentimes that move increases either attack or speed, making that Pokémon impossible to stop, ''except'' for the 'revengekiller' Pokémon that have priority moves. Even in the main game, certain Pokémon like Mamoswine, who have beefy attack stats but low speed anyway, appreciate having a move that lets them go first.
253* BornAsAnAdult: Almost every Pokémon bred skips over "childhood" and pops out as a fully matured iteration of whatever its earliest stage is. It gets pretty ridiculous with Kangaskhan — who comes out of the egg with a baby in its pouch — and Pokémon that got pre-evolutons introduced after their debut (meaning you can breed a Snorlax, and depending on whether or not it's holding a Full Incense, the egg can hatch into either a Munchlax, or a fully-grown Snorlax).
254* BorrowingFromTheSisterSeries: The encounter and capture mechanics in the ''Let's Go'' games were changed from the series standard traditional RandomEncounter battles to more closely match those of ''Pokémon Go'' (throwing Pokéballs with catch success being higher with better accuracy) following to the latter's popularity. This continued into ''Pokémon Legends: Arceus'', expanding on the mechanic while applying it to a fully 3D, WideOpenSandbox game world.
255* BossAlteringConsequence: Every main series game uses this function in one way or another. The consequence (excluding only a couple examples) is decided based on your starter. For example: If you choose the Grass starter, your rival will pick the Fire starter, and said Fire Starter will be a team mainstay. They may be programmed with three possible teams based on which starter you picked and shuffle members around, or may have the exact same team with only one Pokémon being different.
256* BossBonanza: The main series games in general are applicable to this trope, as the Elite Four and the Champion are five bosses in one location while the rest of the game has Gym Leaders as one boss per location.
257* {{Boundareefs}}: These games are '''huge''' fans of this trope. Wherever the player might go surfing around, there will be boundareefs to delimit the edges of the explorable sea. This is particularly notable because the reefs in question take the form of thin, precise and very closely spaced natural fences, forming clear corridors in the sea that all happen to coincide exactly with the main routes through the games' regions and to perfectly enclose and connect the various coastal cities' harbors, without a single missing or superfluous rock anywhere.
258* BouncingBattler:
259** The "Bounce" attack.
260** Normally, a Pokémon that uses Splash jumps around harmlessly. In ''Sun and Moon'', having a Normalium Z-Crystal and using Z-Splash raises Attack by three stages.
261* {{Bowdlerize}}:
262** Lots of innuendo in the Japanese versions has failed to make it overseas. Even stuff that used to be considered acceptable was bowdlerized in the remakes, e.g. the DirtyOldMan outside the Celadon gym having his dialogue changed to state he's peeping into the Gym because of the "strong trainers". The aide in Goldenrod City didn't notice you because he was also too busy admiring the 'strong' Trainers, which happened to be all Beauties and Lasses.
263** The moves Lovely Kiss and Sweet Kiss are known as Demon's Kiss and Angel's Kiss in Japanese respectively. Oddly enough, they did not bother to alter the animations of these moves, so it still shows an animation of a demon or angel giving a kiss whenever those moves are used. Though from Generation IV and on, Lovely Kiss no longer shows a demon.
264** The franchise has occasionally self-bowdlerized, introducing monsters with some power or reputation for harm and then making them BenevolentMonsters if they get more focus in a sequel game. Good examples include Darkrai (causes nightmares? It doesn't mean to) and Kyurem (legend about feeding on people? Completely untrue).
265*** Mixed with {{Retcon}}: ''Gold'' and ''Silver'' pointedly introduced the idea that harvesting Slowpoke tails for profit was immoral. In ''Sun'' and ''Moon'', Slowpoke dex entries indicate that Slowpoke Tails are a common delicacy and that Slowpoke aren't harmed by the loss of their tails, which break off naturally.
266* BraggingRightsReward:
267** In many games, completing the Pokédex earns you no reward other than a Diploma to certify you did, and zilch else. ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' added more substantial awards in the Oval and Shiny Charms (to make it easier to get eggs and find shiny Pokémon, respectively), which carried over to future games.
268** Certain Pokémon wind up only being available after the main story is over, leaving little in-game incentive to use them (such as the Metagross line in Gen III, and Mewtwo in just about every game). Legendary Pokémon like Zygarde in ''X/Y'' and Necrozma in ''Sun/Moon'' are especially prone to this, since despite later games having a Battle Frontier-style facility for a harder challenge, said facilities ban those Pokémon, meaning that there's nothing left for them to do outside of multiplayer.
269** Mythical Pokémon are, [[TemporaryOnlineContent thanks to their main gimmick]], hard to get but usually very powerful. They're also kept secret for many years, so in all likelihood you'll have beaten the game already by the time one is released for it. In recent years, they only come as direct downloads at a high level and with a set OT, meaning you don't even own them. On top of all that, they're banned from Battle facilities and aren't even needed to complete the Pokédex, so more often than not they'll sit in a player's box as glorified trophies.
270* BrainsVersusBrawn: Psychic-type Pokémon have an advantage over Fighting-type Pokémon, reflecting the brains-beats-brawn mindset. Fighting types in turn have an advantage over the Dark type which, contrary to what [[CastingAShadow its English name implies]], focuses on [[CombatPragmatist fighting dirty]], reflecting the brawn-beats-brains mindset.
271* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Some of the Pokémon evolution lines. For example, Azurill, Marill, and Azumarill.
272* BreakingTheFourthWall: Very many examples in whole [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} franchise]], for more details look [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Breaking_the_fourth_wall here]].
273* BreakoutCharacter:
274** Charizard is one of three Kanto starters, none of which were given preferential treatment. It has since evolved to become the second most marketed Pokémon in the franchise behind Pikachu. It happens to be one of the only two Pokémon that has two Mega Evolutions.
275** Jigglypuff was this during the franchise's early days. Nowadays, the only special treatment for Jigglypuff is that it's a playable character in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''.
276* BringIt:
277** The animation for the move Taunt has a hand appear to do this. The targeted Pokémon gets so angry that for a few turns, it refuses to do anything other than attack the user, preventing the use of status moves during that time.
278** Incineroar and Midnight Form Lycanroc's idle animations show them making a "bring it" gesture.
279* BrokenAesop: This is a major plot point in the original ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' games. Team Plasma wants to liberate Pokémon from the abuses of people — yet we see the grunts not only battling you with Pokémon, but abusing them themselves. [[spoiler:Then we find out that only one of the whole lot actually believes their own message, [[UnwittingPawn because he was engineered to be the false "leader" of Plasma]]. The real leader could give [[VideoGame/PokemonXD Ardos]] [[StrawHypocrite a run for his money]].]]
280* BrokenBridge: This is something that happens pretty often throughout the series. There are plenty of roadblocks that requires the player to perform certain actions, such as obtaining a Gym Badge, in order to progress further.
281* BrotherSisterIncest: Pokémon can and will breed with any other compatible Pokémon, family or not. This was partially averted in Generation II, due to the way the offspring inherited its statistics from the parent. Ironically with what you'd expect of in-breeding, chain-breeding Pokémon with each other over and over in order to get one Pokémon with the best traits of all its ancestors is the whole reason to do this.
282* BullyingADragon: Every time that is hinted that people abuse Pokémon would fall into this if you think about it. Imagine mistreating creatures that can burn you to a crisp, drown you in liters of water, crush you with huge rocks or beat you to death with their bare hands, among others. Very, very few Pokémon would not be able to overpower a human, and even weak ones like Weedle or Wurmple would be able to, at least, do some harm. Indeed, the few instance where a human abusing a Pokémon is shown on screen, the mon at the receiving end tend to be one of these "extremely weak" ones, such as Archie stomping on Ruby's Feebas in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' (also, to clarify how dangerous a pissed off Pokémon can be to a human, remember Ruby getting clawed in the face by a Salamence, complete with bleeding, in a previous chapter).
283* ButtMonkey: Throughout the franchise, Magikarp is generally treated as the weakest, most useless Mon in the franchise. There ''are'' others with worse stat totals, and it does [[MagikarpPower manage to eventually evolve into something useful]], but they're still the most common target. The official Pokémon Youtube channel even has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3x3-22Gi3g a song about how weak Magikarp is]].
284* ButThouMust: There are some Trainers you can't avoid. If you try walking past them while they're facing away from you, they will do an instant 180 turn to face you.
285** Sometimes, the player character receives an offer to join the villainous team. However, the player can never take them up on that offer.
286[[/folder]]
287
288[[folder:C]]
289* CallARabbitASmeerp: A strange case. Most of the fruit shown in the games is called Berries, including those that are inspired by non-berry fruits. "[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries So You're having a Bad Day]]" involved fruit that resembled apples, but they are also referred to as berries [[DubNameChange in the dub]]. Some non-Berry fruits do exist within the games, though, including tomatoes and apples.
290* CallForward: A certain Hex Maniac in ''X and Y'' who says "No... you are not the one..." can be found in Mount Pyre in ''Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire'' saying the same line.
291* CantCatchUp: Most Pokémon need to evolve to keep in league with later opponents and challenges though in some cases, the game offers [[LethalJokeCharacter alternative boosts for their pre-evolutions through enough meticulous training]].
292* CantShiftWhileShifted: Ditto and Mew[[note]]And Smeargle through Sketch[[/note]] can transform into other Pokemon, but doing so removes the move that lets it do so, or is done automatically on being in combat, still removing the move in favor of the copied Pokemon's moves. And if the copied Pokemon itself has the Transform move and if it's after Generation IV, then trying to Transform again will fail. And then when it's called back into its ball, it returns to being a Ditto, with the original moves.
293* CaptureBalls: Poké Balls are technology that can be thrown at {{Mons}} to seal them, with the capture chance going up as you lower their HP. There are a variety of Poké Balls that increase the capture chance, up to the Master Ball which is guaranteed (as long as the Pokémon is not knocked unconscious).
294* CapturedSuperEntity: All Pokémon have incredible powers, and those captured by a trainer (typically) obey them.
295* CapRaiser:
296** The PP Up and PP Max items, the latter only appearing from ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' and beyond, raise the max amount of PP a single move can have. PP Up raises it by 1/5 of the base value, and PP Max sets it to the maximum possible amount at 8/5 of base value.
297** ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'': You can spend 200 coins on an "item bag" to increase your inventory space by 50 slots each; a similar upgrade is available to increase Pokemon storage space. The default is 350 items and 300 Pokemon, but maximum storage is in the thousands and increases slightly with new updates. Some events allow greater storage increases at a lower cost, usually to promote a big update.
298* CardCarryingVillain: Team Rocket. Jessie, James, Butch and Cassidy from the anime are classic examples, and another one of its members also makes this clear in the first game.
299-->'''Rocket:''' We're a group dedicated to evil using Pokémon!
300* CartoonWhale: The Wailord evolutionary family can be described as the cross between a blue whale and a zeppelin. Both Pokémon also possess baleens shaped like a single ToothStrip.
301* CastFromHitPoints
302** Several strong moves cost the user a fraction of their own HP from recoil damage.
303** The move Substitute takes a quarter of a user's HP and puts it into a decoy that is unaffected by some status changes. If the user has Recover, it can then take damage without losing HP.
304* CastFromMoney: The attack [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Fling]] can work like this. Damage varies depending on the object thrown, with one particular piece of valuable ShopFodder yielding a whopping 130 Power.
305* ChangingGameplayPriorities:
306** In the early game, you have to more or less take what you can get in terms of mons and attacks. You start out with just a few monsters with low coverage on the ElementalRockPaperScissors table, and healing items are rare and expensive, if available at all. Having one of your monsters faint can absolutely cripple you, especially if that monster was your only answer to a specific problem. As the game progresses and you build your collection of monsters, this problem fixes itself. It also helps that you gain the ability to heal and revive your monsters more easily. The later games, especially in generations after the first, give you a huge amount of variety in what you can put in your team and new ways to learn attacks of different types.
307** The gameplay changes once more once you've completed the main story and most of the post-game story content. In most of the later games, you'll reach an area that has facilities where the game's A.I. is cranked up and you can't use healing items during battle. In order to do well here and against other players, you're given access to various tools needed to breed and train Pokémon with high stats and powerful moves that would have absolutely broken the main story in half if you had access to them then.
308* ChargedAttack:
309** There are a wide variety of moves which manifest as "charging energy" on one turn and unleashing it the next, but most are executed as a single move requiring two turns. Exceptions include:
310** Stockpile can be used up to three turns in a row to store power for "Swallow" (a healing move) or "Spit Up" (an attack).
311** Charge doubles the power of any Electric move used on the next turn.
312** Focus Punch charges energy and unleashes the attack all in one turn, but if the user takes damage during that turn, the charging process is interrupted and the move fails. Meanwhile, Shell Trap requires the user to get hit by a physical move to activate.
313* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Normally downplayed, but it's not considered all that unusual for experienced trainers to gain various superhuman traits simply from working hard as they train Pokémon. Durability to tank attacks, strength to spar with powerful Pokémon as equals, leap from high places without injury or perform other seemingly impossible things are noted for various important characters and even regular trainers throughout the various main games.
314* ChestMonster: Occasionally, that item you pick up turns out to be a Voltorb/Electrode, or in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Black and White]]'', Foongus/Amoongus.
315* ChromaticRockPaperScissors: Every game starts with the player choosing one of three starter Pokémon, which have this relationship to each other and overlap neatly with ColorCodedElements and ElementalRockPaperScissors: Fire (red) beats Grass (green) beats Water (blue) beats Fire.
316* CirclingBirdies:
317** The result of the Confusion status since ''Gold/Silver''.
318** Also, circling Psyduck in the ''Pokémon [=HeartGold=]'' and ''[=SoulSilver=]'' minigames.
319** There have been some instances in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' where circling Pidgey or Torchic have been used for this effect.
320** In the Pokéwalker, however, the player's Pokémon has circling stars when they are knocked out in the Pokéwalker, as shown in the journal.
321* ClownSpecies:
322** Mr Mime from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' falls into this trope. Mr. Mime is a Psychic/Fairy type Pokémon that is almost humanoid, with clownhair-like horns, elf shoes for feet, and bulbous fingertips with pads. As its name suggests, it likes to mime and is able to create invisible barriers by waving its hands.
323** ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' introduce a pre-evolution to Mr. Mime called Mime Jr., who resembles a small humanoid harlequin with a red nose. Mime Jr. mimics its opponents to confuse them, similar to Mr. Mime's miming.
324** Blacephalon, one of the Ultra Beasts, resembles a clown mixed with a bomb; specifically, it uses its own head as an explosive weapon after tricking the opponent through acting funny and harmless. While there's only one in the game, it's implied that, like other Ultra Beasts, the one the player encounters is just one of a species.
325* ColorCodedElements: Most Pokémon's Type can be guessed based on their color, with red being Fire, blue being Water, black being Dark and so on. Of course, there are some exceptions here and there.
326* ColorCodedStones: Generation III's games (excluding the remakes) are Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald: stones of the same color as the original trio of Gen I games.
327* CombatPragmatist: The Dark Type is characterized by attacks that involve fighting very dirty in order to win, to the point where some of the moves seem to constitute outright cheating. Some options from the Dark Type movepool include: biting (Bite, Crunch), punishing the opponent for raising their stats (Punishment and Topsy-Turvy), false crying (Fake Tears), slugging the opponent as they ready an attack (Sucker Punch), striking an unsuspecting opponent (Feint Attack, Night Slash[[note]]Night Slash is based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsujigiri Tsujigiri]], where samurai test their katana on any unsuspecting commoner at night[[/note]], [[ISurrenderSuckers False Surrender and Kowtow Cleave]]), beating up an already hurt opponent (Assurance), throwing objects (Fling), denying the opponent use of their held item (Embargo and Knock Off), ''stealing'' the opponent's item (Thief), stealing the opponent's stat changes or healing attempts (Snatch), switching held items (Switcheroo), enraging the opponent into only using direct attack moves (Taunt) or not being able to use the same move twice in a row (Torment[[note]]wreaks hell on Choice Band/Specs/Scarf users![[/note]]), hitting an opponent hard as they try to retreat (Pursuit), using an opponent's own strength against them (Foul Play), and ''calling on the other Pokémon on your team to beat up on the opponent'' (Beat Up). Finally, the move Nasty Plot requires no further explanation.
328* ComebackMechanic: The moves Reversal and Flail do more damage proportional to the percentage of HP the user has lost. Endeavor lowers the enemy's health to match the user's own. And the abilities Overgrow, Blaze, Torrent, and Swarm boost the power of certain move types when HP is low. The moves Final Gambit, Water Spout, and Eruption work the opposite way. Last Respects gets +50 base power per ally that faints, while Supreme Overlord gives a +10% damage boost per fainted ally.
329* ComMons:
330** In general, Zubat and Golbat are very, very common in many caves. If the player is surfing in the sea route, expect to encounter many, many Tentacool. Despite what one might think, they’re actually pretty great in battles.
331** Pidgey and Rattata are rather common in Kanto and they can be encountered in many early areas.
332** In Johto, Pidgey and Rattata are still just as common as back in Kanto. Unusually enough, Sentret can only be encountered in two routes while Hoothoot and Noctowl are only common during the night.
333** In Hoenn, Zigzagoon and Linoone are awfully common. Poochyena and Mightyena take their places in ''Emerald''. Oddish and Gloom also qualifies. While Taillow can be encountered in several other areas with its evolved form having relatively low overall stats, it’s actually surprisingly uncommon.
334** Bidoof and Bibarel are pretty much everywhere in Sinnoh, and they’re also pretty darn common with relatively low overall stats. Starly and Staravia are also rather common, but they are surprisingly good in battles.
335** Yungoos is explicitly stated to be really common in Alola and it’s not hard to catch one.
336* CompetitiveBalance: There are 18 unique Pokémon types as of Generation 9. Even though only a few of them are "truly balanced", ie. having as many type advantages as they have type disadvantages, the system manages to create an ecosystem where there's plenty of reason to choose a type that, on paper, has more weaknesses than strengths.
337** Ground-type is quite potent offensively, hitting many things supereffectively and having few things that resist it. However, it's one of the few types that cannot hit another type at all (namely Flying-type).
338** Over half of the types in the game are resisted or nullified by Steel-type. However, the types it is weak to (Fire, Fighting, Ground) are already very potent attackers, keeping it in check.
339** Defensively, Ghost-type is strong, taking no damage from Normal and Fighting-type and only being weak to itself and Dark-type. However, it has little offensive potency, only hurting itself and Psychic-type supereffectively.
340** [[GlassCannon Rock and Ice-type hit many things supereffectively, but themselves take supereffective damage from many sources as well]].
341** Dark-type has more weaknesses than strengths, however, it is the only way to hit Ghost-type supereffectively, short of siccing another Ghost-type onto it.
342* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: It is not uncommon to encounter Trainers owning evolved Pokémon who are below the level you'd have to train them to to reach that form.
343** On the S.S. Anne, Blue has a Raticate at level 16, even though Rattata doesn't evolve until level 20.
344** In ''Gold and Silver'', Lance has 3 Dragonite below level 55, but Dragonair doesn't evolve to that form until level 55.
345** In the same games, Falkner has a Pidgeotto, at level 9, half the level at which Pidgey evolves into Pidgeotto. Its level was increased in the remakes... to 13.
346** Ghetsis has a Hydregion below level 64 in both sets of Gen 5 games, despite the fact that Zwelious doesn't evolve until that level.
347* ConfusionFu:
348** There are some Pokémon that have very diverse movepools. However, the LimitedMoveArsenal prevents any one Pokémon from taking advantage of all of its moves at one time.
349** Hidden Power can be any of 16 types (it can't be either Normal or Fairy) and can be learned by almost every Pokémon.
350** Metronome, which selects a completely random move that could be anything from uselessly flopping around like a fish [[note]]Splash[[/note]] to a powerful SecretArt of a Legendary Pokémon, to everything in between.
351* ConservationOfCompetence: Gym Leaders, Team Leaders, and ''especially'' the Elite Four and Champion [[ThatOneBoss can and will kick your ass]]. Other trainers [[EasyLevelsHardBosses are basically speed bumps and nothing more]].
352* ConservationOfNinjutsu: As a general rule of thumb for the series, the more Pokémon that common Trainers have, the weaker they are, and the fewer Pokémon they have, the stronger they are. The logical extremes of this trope are Trainers (often Pokémon Breeders) having full teams of six underleveled and unevolved Pokémon, and Trainers having a single, evolved Pokémon with a level on par with those of the local Gym Leader.
353* ConsoleCameo: Every Pokémon game features the current Nintendo home console in the player's room, and whatever system the game is on is mentioned by [=NPCs=].
354* ContinuityDrift:
355** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Red/Blue/Yellow]]''[='s=] Pokédex and sprites portrays the Pocket Monsters as genuinely monstrous, a stark contrast to the later generations. The dex entries also frequently reference real-world locations (Arcanine) and animals (Gastly), has Pokémon giving live birth instead of eggs (Mew), and more.
356** The fact that Miltank's ''Silver'' (and by extension, ''[=FireRed=]'') entry was retconned in ''[=SoulSilver=]'' because it was implying Miltank gives birth [rather than laying Eggs like all other Pokémon], while journals at Cinnabar Mansion weren't, implies something.
357** Porygon's Pokédex entries in ''[=FireRed=]'', ''Diamond'', and ''Pearl'' claim it is the first artificial Pokémon. Generation V introduces Golett and Golurk and Generation VII introduces Magearna, all created by ancient humans.
358* ContinuityNod:
359** ''Black 2'' and ''White 2'' go so far as to give you a [[CosmeticAward medal]] for obsessively inspecting trash cans.
360** There's an entire article [[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/List_of_cross-generational_references of these.]]
361* ContinuitySnarl:
362** A bonus conversation in ''Omega Ruby'' and ''Alpha Sapphire'' will have Steven refer in vague language that one time he fought alongside Alain and his Mega Charizard — as he did in the ''Mega Evolution Specials'' from the anime canon. You need to be quite an impressive contortionist to reconcile those canons. He does it again in ''Masters'', though that's justified due to the characters coming from alternate timelines.
363** The games follow a timeline, but the number of inconsistencies regarding different versions, remakes, and character cameos (ranging from previous games to anime cameos) makes it rival ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series in that regard.
364* ContractualBossImmunity: Averted; bosses have to play by the same rules you do, and their {{Mons}} will only be immune to status effects if ElementalRockPaperScissors or certain abilities (which are also accessible to the player) allow for it. They also aren't immune to OneHitKill attacks, but those are only available to select Mons at later levels and [[AwesomeButImpractical have low accuracy anyway]].
365* ContrastingSequelSetting:
366** Johto from ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' is said to be more traditional and cultured than the Kanto region from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'', which is said to be more modern. While Kanto is a center of business, technology and science, Johto features more cultural and historic sites. This distinction largely derives from their respective real-world inspirations, the Kansai and Kanto regions of Japan.
367** Hoenn from ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' is said to be to the south of the previous regions, and thus has a warmer, even tropical, climate. Sinnoh from ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' is to the north of the other regions and thus features a much colder climate. This also matches up with their real world counterparts, Kyushu and Hokkaido, which are the respectively the southernmost and northernmost of Japan's major islands respectively.
368** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' takes place in Unova, which contrasts all of the previous main series regions: it's based on New York instead of a region of Japan. As a result, it's more urbanised than Kanto, and the series' oft-parodied use of FreeRangeChildren is addressed; the player characters look like teenagers, and Bianca's father is hesitant to let her go on a journey.
369** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' take place in the tropical Alola region, which is sparsely-populated. The player's quest is the island challenge, a rite of passage that involves venturing into the wilderness. The next original games, ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', take place in Galar, which is industrialised with many cities. The player's quest is the gym challenge as per usual, but this time it's a major spectator sport.
370** While most ''Pokémon'' games take place in a time period similar to ThePresentDay where people and Pokémon live in harmony, ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' takes place centuries in the past, when most people were afraid of Pokémon and trainers were few and far between.
371* ContrivedCoincidence: The protagonist always seems to start from a village that has Route 01 next to it[[note]]with the exception of the Johto games[[/note]] with the routes in ascending order moving away from their starting location. You'd think house prices would make it too expensive to live there, what with all the parents wanting to make sure their Trainer offspring get the best start to their careers.
372* ConvectionSchmonvection: Clair, Gen II Bruno, and anime Blaine's battlefields, as all three are platforms over lava. In addition, nobody ever suffers any ill effects from standing near Pokémon such as Magmar and Magcargo (whose Pokédex entries claim that their body temperatures rival the sun's heat, by the way), nor are they in any danger from having their Pokémon use moves like Lava Plume and Eruption.
373* ConvenientWeaknessPlacement: There is almost always an area very near most cities where you can catch Mons who directly counter the type used by the local Gym Leader. Don't have a way to deal with [[ShockAndAwe Lt. Surge]] in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''? There's a cave right there with some [[DishingOutDirt Diglett]] just waiting for you to catch them! Sometimes you'll instead have the option to make an in-game trade, like the [[BareFistedMonk Machop]] you can get in Goldrenrod City if you have trouble with [[NonElemental Whitney]] in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver''.
374* CookingMechanics:
375** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' took gourmet gaming to the next level with the addition of curry. There are 151 recipes in total, and the player is in charge of cooking them in a special minigame. Various items with the sole purpose of being curry ingredients debuted in this game, including such scrumptious options as potatoes, coconut milk, sausages, and Moomoo Cheese. Both the player and their Pokémon eat the curry, with the Pokémon restoring health from it. There’s even a Curry Dex to catalogue the recipes you’ve made (and the reward for completing it is a ball with the Champion’s face on it, so you gotta cook ‘em all).
376** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' continue the cooking minigame trend, this time with sandwiches. Numerous sandwich-making items are available, from tasty ingredients to colorful toothpicks and tablecloths, and the player gets full control over the sandwich assembly. The different ingredients provide benefits in the form of Meal Powers.
377* GameplayAndStorySegregation: A lot of the series lore comes from the Pokédex; however, many entries do not match up with gameplay. For example: all Gyarados are on the verge of murdering something, all Cubone are depressed due to dead mothers, and all Piplup have huge, huge egos. [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch They can all have natures that contradict these entries.]]
378* CosmeticAward:
379** The diploma awarded for completing the ''entire'' Pokédex; that is, registering every last known species in each generation.
380** In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY X and Y]]'', there are crowns. The National Dex crown is awarded by completing the National Dex, but the other three crowns require the player to collect every Pokémon that can be found in Kalos as a gen-VI native (rather than obtaining ones that had been caught in an older game).
381** Ribbons awarded for winning Pokémon Contests or the Pokéathlon. In VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl, Ribbons allow you to enter the Ribbon Syndicate. On the upper floor, you can massage one Pokémon daily, which increases their happiness. And the lower floor lets you buy more ribbons.
382** Shiny Pokémon. Sure, they aren't ''really'' any different from a normally-colored Pokémon,[[note]]from the third generation onward — Shinies in the second generation had very slight statistical differences, but in the end they meant little anyway[[/note]] but when you only have a 1 in 8192 chance of even ''seeing'' one, much less actually catching it, wouldn't ''you'' want to brag? Especially if it's a legendary?
383** The stars on your trainer card. You can usually earn up to four or five by accomplishing such things as beating the Elite Four, completing the dex, defeating the Brains at the Battle Frontier, etc. Serves slightly more of a purpose as other Trainers may look at your card and see how much you've actually done in-game judging by the stars you have.
384** Medals, in the generation V sequels, with collecting all 200+ of them taking more effort than the game's five trainer stars.
385** ''Pokémon HOME'' has Challenges, an achievement system that rewards collecting and trading Pokémon with stickers and backgrounds to use on a personal profile page.
386* CosmicEgg: Where Arceus came from.
387** Cosmoem is a cosmic egg itself; it has a height of about 10 cm, but weighs a ''full ton''.
388* CounterAttack:
389** The moves Counter and Mirror Coat will reflect double damage from physical and special moves, respectively. Metal Burst works with any damaging move, but only reflects 1.5 times the damage, and fails against slower opponents.
390** Bide forces the user to do nothing for two turns, but then counterattack with double the damage they took over those two turns.
391** Revenge, Avalanche, and Payback double in power against an opponent that has already hit the user that turn.
392* CounterpartArtifacts:
393** Ho-oh and Lugia, mascots of ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' and their remakes, get not one but two sets. The Rainbow Wing and Silver Wing are their respective feathers, while the Clear Bell and Tidal Bell are simply associated with them; both sets can be used to summon the respective birds.
394** Groudon and Kyogre, mascots of ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' and their remakes, get the Red Orb and Blue Orb, which are used to control the two titans in some way. Normally, the Red Orb is linked to Groudon while the Blue Orb is tied to Kyogre, but the anime switched it around for some reason. As of ''Omega Ruby'' and ''Alpha Sapphire'', the Orbs also allow Groudon and Kyogre to undergo [[SuperMode Primal Reversion]]. ''Heart Gold'' and ''Soul Silver'' added a third Jade Orb for Rayquaza, but it hasn't been seen since.
395** Dialga and Palkia, mascots of ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', get the Adamant Orb and Lustrous Orb respectively, which boost their same-type attack bonus when held. ''Platinum'' adds a third counterpart, the Griseous Orb, for its mascot Giratina, which has the additional effect of transforming Giratina into its Origin Forme.
396** Arceus, special snowflake that it is, gets an entire set to itself: the 16 (later 17) Plates, each of which represents a different elemental type. While any Pokémon can hold a Plate to boost the power of moves of the respective type, Arceus can use them to change its own type and the type of its signature move, Judgment.
397** Reshiram and Zekrom, mascots of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', get the Light Stone and Dark Stone; unlike most of the other ''Pokémon'' examples, these ones actually are the legendaries in question, being the remnants of the dragons' bodies after their clash in the backstory. Interestingly, fans have discovered a third counterpart called the God Stone in the games' code, but it was apparently DummiedOut; the common assumption is that it would have been linked to Kyurem or the original dragon.
398** Genesect gets a set of four Drives, special cassettes that change the type of its signature move Techno Blast when held, as part of its upgrade by Team Plasma.
399** Solgaleo and Lunala, mascots of ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', get the Sun Flute and Moon Flute, which were created to offer prayers to the aforementioned legendaries and can be used to summon them. Interestingly enough, both flutes must be used together to have any effect; it's the location that determines which of the two legendaries gets invoked.
400** Silvally was an attempt to recreate Arceus and its power, so it's no surprise that it got its own equivalent of the Plates, special disks called Memories, which alter its type and the type of its signature move Multi-Attack.
401* CoveredInMud: Several moves do this, most of which are Ground-type. Mud-Slap, Mud Bomb, and Muddy Water (the only Water-type one) can reduce your opponent's accuracy, while Mud Shot reduces Speed. Mud Sport does this for ''everyone'', as it reduces the damage of Electric-type moves for everything in battle. It's usually less useful than you'd think since [[UselessUsefulSpell most Pokémon that learns the move are immune to Electric-type attacks anyways]], but it can help protect teammates in Double or Triple battles.
402* CowardlyMooks: Any Pokémon found in the Safari Zone is able to run away eventually, even the more common ones. Abra will use Teleport to flee from battle unless it's caught or stopped before then, and Wimpod will make itself scarce if you knock its HP down to 50% or less.
403* CreatureBreedingMechanic: There's a [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Breeding breeding system]] that has grown in importance, complexity, and [[AntiFrustrationFeature convenience]] over the years. It can be used to obtain rare species and palette swaps, but it's also essential for producing high-quality teams for competitive play.
404* CripplingOverspecialization:
405** The vast majority of Trainers, most famously including Gym Leaders, tend to specialize in a single type of Pokémon, which makes it a fundamental part of every game to elaborate strategies based on the ElementalRockPaperScissors of the series as a whole (a common one being, "choose a starter capable of beating the two first Gym Leaders while varying your team along the way"). Of course, higher-level opponents either teach their Pokémon moves designed to counteract their weak points (as is the case with the Elite Four) or use a wider variety in their teams (as the regional Champion usually does).
406** Some Pokémon are built to excel in one area but are mediocre to terrible at everything else. For example, Rampardos has a base Attack stat of 165, which is head and shoulders above all but the mightiest OlympusMons in the games. However, its Attack and HP are its only stats above 65. Blissey's astronomical HP and Special Defense make it the best special wall around, but its other stats range from decent to outright unusable.
407** The various Apricorn Balls introduced in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' have special bonuses, but not only were they in limited quantities, they also only worked on so few pokémon that most of the time, you are better off using regular pokéballs if you wanted to just catch them.
408*** The Lure Ball, having a catch rate modifier of 3 (5 in the [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Alola]] games and 4 in the [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Galar]] games), sounds good compared to the Ultra Ball's catch rate modifier of 2. However, it only activates if you encounter a pokémon while fishing. Without any fishing, this ball is a glorified pokéball.
409*** The Moon Ball has a catch rate modifier of 4, but it only applies to pokémon whose line evolved with a Moon Stone[[note]]The Nidoran line, the Clefable line, the Wigglytuff line, the Skitty line, and the Musharna line[[/note]]. Otherwise, it is also a glorified pokéball[[note]]In its debut generation, it did not even work properly as it only worked on pokémon that evolved with a Burn Heal, which obviously there are none. From the Alola games onwards, you couldn't even use it on pokémon that did not evolve with a Moon Stone with the bonus catch rate modifier (so Nidorino would get the bonus but not male Nidoran)[[/note]].
410** From ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' onwards, the Beast Ball. This Pokéball has a boosted catch rate for Ultra Beasts with a 5 times catch rate modifier when every other pokéball (discounting the Master Ball) has its catch rate modifier reduced to 0.1. Outside of Ultra Beasts, however, the Beast Ball would have a catch rate modifier of 0.1.
411* CriticalAnnoyance:
412** That beeping theme when your Pokémon get low on health. Generation V games have a remix of the beeping theme instead. Generation VI games onward don't have the beeping go on; there's only a few beeps played very briefly when the Pokémon is first weakened or sent out.
413** The noise that happens when your Pokémon take poison damage while walking, though this entire mechanic was eliminated in ''Black and White''.
414* CriticalExistenceFailure: Save for a few moves (and the Archeops family), all Pokémon performs the same regardless of remaining HP. Moves like Flail and Reversal become stronger when the Pokémon's HP is getting lower. Though there are a couple of moves such as Eruption, Water Spout, and Final Gambit get weaker as the user loses HP instead.
415* CriticalHitClass: Any Pokémon with Super Luck (raises critical hit ratio) or Sniper (raises the Power of critical hit) abilities tends to have one of these. With moves like Slash, items like the Scope Lens, and other ways of increasing critical hit ratio, these can effectively counter defensive stat boosts. As of the Generation VI games, any Pokémon may obtain a 100% critical hit rate by holding a Scope Lens and using Focus Energy, [[CompetitiveBalance though the power of critical hits was cut down to 1.5x in said generation.]]
416* CriticalStatusBuff:
417** Starting in Generation III, several Pokémon abilities like "Blaze", "Torrent", and "Overgrow" boost the power of matching elemental attacks when the user is low on HP. Certain Berries can also provide a one-time automatic status boost when the user is low on HP.
418** The Archen/Archeops family from Generation V has the reverse: Their "Defeatist" ability creates a status ''penalty'' when they are low on HP.
419** Pokémon in ''Emerald''[='=]s Battle Palace change their strategies when at low health, though this doesn't necessarily improve them.
420* CrocodileTears: The move Fake Tears, a Dark-type move which lowers the opponent's Special Defense.
421* {{Crossover}}: While characters themselves haven't interacted, ''Pokémon'' has crossed over with its share of other game series:
422** The earliest was with ''VideoGame/PanelDePon'' aka ''Tetris Attack'' as ''Pokémon Puzzle League'' and ''Puzzle Challenge''; the ''Puzzle League'' name has since stuck.
423** Then with the ''Mystery Dungeon'' franchise (which includes ''VideoGame/DragonQuest: [[VideoGame/DragonQuestIV Torneko]]'s Mystery Dungeon'', ''VideoGame/ShirenTheWanderer'', and ''VideoGame/ChocobosDungeon'').
424** The cross with ''VideoGame/NobunagasAmbition'' (''VideoGame/PokemonConquest'') - with character designs from ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors 3'' - is probably the most out there.
425** There's a ''Pokémon'' edition of Nintendo's ''Art Academy'' drawing software.
426** ''VideoGame/PokkenTournament'' is a fighting game that draws inspiration from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''.
427** Another puzzle spinoff in ''Pokémon VideoGame/{{Picross}}''.
428** Pokémon characters have been playable in every installment of the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series, with franchise mascot Pikachu being the only Pokémon to be a starter character in every installment. Pokémon stages also appear in every game, and certain species can be summoned from Poké Balls as assists.
429** Project Voltage, a collaboration between Music/HatsuneMiku and Pokémon depicts Miku as a Pokémon trainer of different types with her Pokémon being music/sound-based ones such as Rillaboom and Flygon, though the Electric-type trainer partners her with Rotom to acknowledge her status as a vocal synthesizer programme while the Fighting-type trainer shows her with Sirfetch'd due to both Hatsune Miku and Sirfetch'd being associated with leeks. To correspond with the number of types in the game, new songs composed by a different producer are released each week that [[{{Sampling}} sample]] heavily from the games' soundtrack and sound effects. In addition, on October 27, 2023, Supporting Artwork was released featuring not only Hatsune Miku but other Vocaloids such as Water-type which features her and Kaito.
430* CrutchCharacter: The series has [[{{CrutchCharacter/Pokemon}} its own page]].
431* CurbStompBattle: A good understanding of the basics can lead to pretty much this for every battle you'll encounter (just knowing the ElementalRockPaperScissors can get you ''really'' far by itself).
432** The games will often provide an easy way for the player to sweep through a Gym or two. A great example is the ''Gold/Silver'' games and their remakes. The player can trade an easily found and captured Bellsprout for an Onix with a man in Violet City. Not only is an Onix pretty powerful this early in the game, but it levels up faster due to it being a traded Pokémon (traded Pokémon receive 1.5 the experience they would usually gain). Even with a Defense-impairing nature, Onix tanks everything Falkner can do and wins the war of attrition should it come to that. Bugsy fares even worse, as his Scyther is 4x weak to Onix's Rock moves and Onix resists all of Scyther's attacks. Even Whitney, who is known (feared) as ThatOneBoss, can have issues with the Onix if it is around level 20. And before Whitney, the game also provides an opportunity to trade for a Machop, which in addition to having super-effective moves against Whitney's normal-types, is also female, providing it immunity from Miltank's Attract.
433** Due to how EXP gains are in this series (especially Gen 6 and onwards, thanks to the EXP Share), it's very easy to over level your best battlers (though some out there do this to their whole teams) and use them to effortlessly plow through the game, and even shrug off type advantages) with nothing but brute force. In fact, a common practice for most casual players (and even some speedrunners) is to just solely level up their starters the whole game (which again, is very easy to do), and use the rest of their team as HM slaves. VII and onwards downplay this by combining the EXP. Share from VI (All Pokémon on your team get the EXP) with the AntiGrinding from Generation V (Your Pokémon gain more experience when beating a stronger Pokémon and less when beating a weaker one).
434* CuteCrittersActChildlike: Many un-evolved Pokémon act like children. As do many of the cute [[OlympusMons Mythical Pokémon]] like Mew, Celebi, and others.
435* CuteGiant: Many Pokémon probably qualify. [[GentleGiant Snorlax]] in particular looks like a big cuddly bear-cat thing.
436* CuteMonsterGirl: A number of Pokémon resemble cute human girls. Many of these Pokémon, such as Gardevoir, Lopunny, [[ElegantGothicLolita Gothitelle]], and Primarina, and are actually subversions — some of them are male. There are plenty of straight examples, however, in the form of [[OneGenderRace all-female Pokémon species]], including [[PlantPerson Lilligant]], Florges, [[AnthropomorphicFood Tsareena]], and [[CuteBruiser Tinkaton]].
437[[/folder]]
438
439[[folder:D]]
440* DamageOverTime: The series has many ways to inflict Damage Over Time beyond its standard "Poison" and "Burn" statuses, and many of these can even be combined:
441** Badly Poison (a status caused by Toxic and Poison Fang) will cause ''exponentially'' increasing damage as the battle goes on.
442** Certain moves, such as Wrap, Fire Spin, and Whirlpool, will trap the target in the arena for 2 to 5 turns while doing a small amount of damage each turn. Giving the user a Binding Band will increase the amount of damage dealt per turn, while a Grip Claw will always set the duration to 5 turns.
443** If a Ghost-type uses "Curse", the opponent receives some significant damage (1/4 max HP) per turn, the largest amount of damage in the system (ignoring Toxic's exponential damage increase).
444** Hazardous weather like "Sandstorm" or "Hail" inflicts 1/16th damage on most elemental types.
445** Certain abilities can also cause damage (or, inversely, healing) over time during specific weather conditions: "Dry Skin" damages during intense sunlight, "Rain Dish" and "Ice Body" heal during heavy rain or hailstorms, respectively (and the aforementioned Dry Skin also heals in heavy rain). "Solar Power" also causes damage during intense sunlight, but with the tradeoff of boosted attack power.
446** The Grass-type "Leech Seed" not only inflicts DamageOverTime on an opponent, but it also restores the user's HP by the amount drained.
447** The "Sticky Barb" item inflicts damage-over-time on whichever Pokémon holds it, but can be passed from user to opponent by moves involving physical contact.
448** Sleeping Pokémon receive damage while subjected to "Nightmare" status, or similarly, the [[SecretArt "Bad Dreams" effect]] of mythical Pokémon Darkrai.
449* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Curse (for Ghost types), [[ActionBomb Selfdestruct and Explosion]], [[BrownNote Perish Song]], and Final Gambit.
450* DarkerAndEdgier:
451** The manga ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' is known for this. The protagonist Trainers frequently survive near-death experiences, and evil Trainers aren’t afraid to target humans with their Pokémon's attacks. Trainers and Pokémon alike sustain lasting physical injuries, multiple protagonists go missing and are presumed dead (though they’re inevitably shown to be alive), and a few Pokémon are actually ''killed'' on the page.[[note]]The infamously viral images of an Arbok getting [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe cut in half]] are actually ''not'' an example of this. [[HealingFactor The Arbok gets better]].[[/note]]
452** While still recognizable as Pokémon, most Dark types tend to have a rougher, sharper looks and nastier temperaments compared to most other types. This was contrasted in ''X and Y'' with the introduction of the ([[FairFolk usually]]) LighterAndSofter Fairy type.
453** ''Literature/PocketMonstersTheAnimation'', a novelization of ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' by Creator/TakeshiShudo paints a darker version of the anime that portrays the Pokémon World as a [[CrapsackWorld sack of crap]], where Pallet Town is in abject poverty, most Pokémon trainers fail their journey and turn to a life of crime and turning 10 means that you're now legally an adult (with all the trappings, like paying taxes, getting arrested and age of consent). This is a very far cry from what's portrayed in the anime and the main series games.
454* DarkIsNotEvil:
455** Despite that the Japanese name for the "Dark" elemental type is in fact "Aku" (evil), Dark-type moves typically rely on [[CombatPragmatist pragmatism]].
456** Ghost-types are generally pranksters rather than actual villains.
457** Absol is called the "Disaster" Pokémon, and is known to suspiciously be around whenever a natural disaster happens. Turns out they can sense when disasters are imminent, [[CassandraTruth and are only trying to warn the people in danger]], [[CassandraDidIt despite being accused and hunted for it]]. [[BlessedWithSuck Must be nice to have that power]], eh?
458** Darkrai is basically a creature of darkness that puts people to sleep (by [[NothingIsScarier plunging all its victims into a VOID, not with any kind of song or powder]]) and gives them nightmares so horrible it ''physically hurts the victim''. However, this is stated to be a defense mechanism, and it actually isolates itself away from people and other Pokémon on Newmoon Island (and if anyone ''did'' happen upon Darkrai, Fullmoon Island is always next door, which holds the cure).
459** The Hydreigon from the Mystery Dungeon series, however, [[spoiler:is the BigGood of the Gates to Infinity game (even though in most of the Dexes Hydreigon ''is'' indeed described as evil or at least extremely violent)]]. It's an absolute sweetheart in Pokémon-Amie, though, doing a happy dance when pleased and performing headbutt high-fives.
460* DayOldLegend: Certain Pokémon have Pokédex entries that state that they were formed from certain things such as the spirits of deceased people, or were originally inanimate objects that were brought to life through unknown methods. Yet they can be [[WhaleEgg hatched from eggs]] just like any other Pokémon.
461* DeadlyDustStorm: The Sandstorm weather causes damage every turn as long as it lasts to all Pokémon that aren't Rock, Ground, or Steel-type. Those with Sand Veil or Sand Rush as their ability are immune. Most are already those types that are immune to Sandstorm, though.
462* DefeatMeansFriendship: You befriend the Pokémon who you've defeated (in Mystery Dungeon) and/or caught. In the main series, they must specifically be caught ''conscious'' — no fair knocking them out.
463* DeliberateInjuryGambit: There are a few moves whose effectiveness relies on your opponent getting the first hit in, like Payback, Revenge, Counter, Avalanche, etc.
464* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Most Psychic-type Pokémon can learn a Psychic-type attack...called Psychic.[[note]]It's Psychokinesis in Japan.[[/note]]
465* DesperationAttack:
466** Generation 2 introduced Flail and Reversal, which inflict more damage when the user's HP is low. If the user is down to their last point, they actually become stronger than [[WaveMotionGun Hyper Beam]].
467** The third-generation move "Endeavor" reduces the opponent's HP to the same value as the user. It has been used in some ''very'' deadly (but quite creative) combinations.
468** All of the starters (and some others) have abilities that up the attack power of moves that match their primary type. It kicks in if they have one third or less HP remaining.
469** Struggle, a literal DesperationAttack. It only becomes available when the Pokémon ''literally'' can't do anything else. It's not very strong, either, and comes with heavy recoil that usually quickly [=KOs=] the user.
470* DevelopersForesight: Is compiled into another sub-page [[DevelopersForesight/{{Pokemon}} here]].
471* DevelopersRoom: Every game allows you to meet with ''Creator/GameFreak'''s staff members. You meet them in their offices in Celadon City ([[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Gen I]] and [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gen 2]]), Castelia City (in [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Gen 5]]) and Heahea City ([[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Gen 7]]). In other games they will be in hotels. Showing the Director (Junichi Masuda or Kazumasa Iwao in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'') a completed Pokédex will award you with a diploma, or in later games, the Oval Charm[[note]]Which increases the likelihood of eggs being generated in daycares during breeding[[/note]] and the Shiny Charm [[note]]Which increases the likelihood of encountering [[PaletteSwap Shiny Pokémon]][[/note]]. Gen 5 and Gen 7 allows you to battle Shigeki Morimoto once a day, and his teams are usually pretty powerful. Poking around the offices suggests that the most powerful beings in the games aren't the Legendary Pokémon you fight, but these [=NPCs=].
472* DidYouJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: Pokémon-Amie/Pokémon Refresh allows you to pet, make funny faces with, feed snacks to, and play games involving bouncing yarn on their heads with any Pokémon. Even the most EldritchAbomination of Pokémon, like Darkrai, Zygarde, Malamar, and Giratina.
473* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: It was by accident, really! We were trying to [[CapturedSuperEntity capture it alive]].
474* DiegeticCharacterCreation:
475** The series has a tradition dating back to ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Red and Blue]]'' of the game beginning with the local Pokémon Professor [[HelloInsertNameHere asking for the player's name]] as part of their introduction. Starting with ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Crystal]]'', this has expanded include asking for the player's gender as well.
476** Through the [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Fourth Generation]] of games, you could also name your "Rival" in a similar fashion. Notably, in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold and Silver]]'' (and the remakes), you name your rival via interaction with a police officer who asks for his name, leading to the MyNameIsQuestionMarks trope.
477* DigAttack: The move Dig is a 2-turn attack that starts with the user digging underground and for the most part safe from any attack the opponent will do, then attacks on the next turn. Moves like Magnitude, Earthquake, and Fissure, along with [[AlwaysAccurateAttack moves that don't miss]] (depending on the generation), can hit a Pokémon using Dig.
478* DiligentDraftAnimal: Mudsdale is the "Draft Horse Pokémon" that made its first appearance in Pokémon Sun and Moon. While it was obviously based on cart horses (specifically Clydesdale horses), the Pokémon Shield entries show that this Pokémon has been used for manual labor.
479-->'''Pokémon Shield''': "Mudsdale has so much stamina that it could carry over 10 tons across the Galar region without rest or sleep."
480* DisappearedDad:
481** With the exception of ''Ruby''/''Sapphire''/''Emerald'' and their remakes, this is played straight for the player character in every single one of the games. All of them start out at their mother's house, but their father is inexplicably absent, and rarely is anything ever mentioned of his existence. It's generally implied that he is a Pokémon Trainer who is off on his own adventures, but needless to say, the player never meets him, or hears much from him (apart from a few throwaway references). This becomes justified from the [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Gen VI]] games onwards where the player can be [[CharacterCustomization customized]], including various skin tones, while your mother always has the same appearance.
482** Also played straight with Ash in the anime. His father was passively mentioned in the second episode; apparently he's a Trainer who's off on some adventure of his own, but he's never made an appearance and hasn't been mentioned since. Though it's implied that he isn't a very good trainer, as Ash's mother was impressed that it only took him a few days to get to Viridian City, stating that his father took several weeks-months.
483* DiscOneNuke: The series provides so many examples that it [[DiscOneNuke/{{Pokemon}} has its own page]].
484* DistractedByTheSexy: Pokémon can use the move Attract to make the opponent of the opposite gender fall in love with them. There is 50% chance the opponent will be "immobilized by love".
485* ADogNamedDog: All un-nicknamed Pokémon default to being called their species name.
486* ADogNamedPerro: Some of the original Japanese names for Pokémon are words in English. For example, the Pokémon known in English as Charmeleon is called "Lizardo", and Haunter is called "Ghost".
487* DoingInTheWizard: In Generation VI, you can participate in Inverse Battles where type matchup effectiveness is reversed. The Trainer you battle, [[MeaningfulName Inver]], states that his psychic powers are responsible for the inversion in ''X and Y''. In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', the cause of the inversion is explained as a the product of a machine called the Inverse-o-matic.
488* DomesticatedDinosaurs: A good number of Pokémon greatly resemble dinosaurs (and in some cases, are explicitly dinosaurs). They can be tamed and trained like any other Pokémon with no problem.
489* DominantSpeciesGenes: When breeding Pokémon the offspring is the mother's species (unless one of the breeding partners is a Ditto, in which case the offspring is always the non-Ditto parent's species).
490* DoubleEdgedBuff: Many effects are removed on switching them out from battle, resulting in both the buff and the tradeoff being temporary.
491** Swagger raises the target's Attack stat by 2 stages but also Confuses them. They can hit much harder, but they also hit themselves much harder whenever the Confusion kicks in. The Generation-2-exclusive Berserk Gene applies the effects of Swagger to the holder upon switching in, with the same benefits and risks.
492** Curse, when used by a non-Ghost type Pokémon, raises the user's Attack and Defense but lowers Speed by one stage each.
493** Shell Smash lowers the user's Defense and Special Defense by one stage each while raising their Attack, Special Attack, and Speed by two.
494** The ability Moody raises a random stat by two stages and lowers another by one stage at the end of each turn.
495** Scovillain's signature move, Spicy Extract, raises the target's Attack and lowers their Defense by two stages each, causing them to deal and take much more physical damage.
496** Flatter raises the target's Special Attack by one stage and also Confuses them, causing them to deal more Special damage but occasionally hit themselves.
497** Whenever a Pokémon with the Weak Armor ability takes physical damage, its Defense goes down by a stage, but its Speed goes up by two[[note]]one prior to VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon[[/note]]. This makes it faster and faster as it takes those hits, but it becomes less and less able to withstand them.
498** Belly Drum maximizes the user's Attack, but it also damages the user for half their maximum HP.
499** Memento decreases the target's Attack and Special Attack stats by two stages each, but it also knocks the user out.
500** Kommo-o's signature move, Clangorous Soul, boosts all its stats by one stage at the cost of 1/3 of the user's max HP.
501** The Solar Power ability boosts the Pokémon's Special Attack by 50% in sunny weather, but it also drains 1/8 of its max HP each turn it's active.
502** ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'': "Bide" makes the user unable to perform moves for two or three turns, but their trainer can still perform actions like usual. After the random number of turns, all the damage received during that time is dealt back to the attacker as an AlwaysAccurateAttack.
503* DoubleEntendre: There's a hidden pun about the old man who gives you a Nugget which is in the Japanese name of the item itself: ''kin no tama'' which means "golden ball". The pun was LostInTranslation and replaced with "nugget of wisdom".
504* DowsingDevice: The Itemfinder, which is later called the Dowsing Machine. In ''Sun and Moon'', this item was replaced with the Stoutland Search Pokéride.
505* TheDragon: In every organization, the BigBad usually has a Dragon or three. These usually come in the form of Admins.
506** Generation I and II: The Dragons of Team Rocket were Archer, Ariana, Petrel, and Proton; however, they were only given names and distinct personalities in ''HeartGold and SoulSilver''. In the anime, Jessie, James, and Meowth could be considered Dragons, if they were powerful enough to supplement that newfound badassery of theirs.
507** Generation III: Teams Magma and Aqua both had two Dragons, Courtney and Tabitha, and Matt and Shelley respectively. However, the only discernible things about them were that they wore capes. ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' would give them redesigns and distinct personalities.
508** Generation IV: Quite possibly the most popular, Team Galactic boasted three Dragons; Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Different in personality, same horrible fashion sense.
509** Generation V: This Generation was a bit confusing, as the Dragons seemed to be ''everyone'' in Plasma. Really, the Sages and Shadow Triad took a backseat ride on this rollercoaster of emotions and [[NoOSHACompliance over-zealous gym contraptions]]. One could say that Ghetsis was N’s Dragon, but became the BigBad in the end. Who knows? In ''Black and White 2'', both the Shadow Triad ''and'' one of the Sages (Zinzolin) took a stance as Dragons… to Ghetsis.
510** Generation VI: Team Flare shook this up a bit; the Admins were EliteMooks, while the Dragons were the scientists in general, and Xerosic in particular.
511** Generation VII: Early on, you're introduced to Team Skull and meet with Plumeria, who serves as the Admin to Guzma, Team Skull's leader. However... [[spoiler:Lusamine of the Aether Foundation has Faba and Guzma. Wicke is in an elite position in the foundation, but she doesn't go along with Lusamine's scheme.]]
512** Generation VIII: While Team Yell has no Admins, [[spoiler:Chairman Rose is the BigBad, with Oleanna as his Dragon.]]
513* DramaticRedSamuraiBackground: The move Retaliate after ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' is visualized as the background going red as the Pokémon delivers a SingleStrokeBattle, with the background turning into black-framed paper screen.
514* DrawAggro:
515** The moves Follow Me and Rage Powder force opponents to target the user in Double and Triple Battles. From ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' onward, Rage Powder [[NoSell no longer affects]] Grass-type Pokémon, Pokémon that have the ability Overcoat, or Pokémon holding Safety Goggles.
516** The move Spotlight, introduced in Gen VII, reverses this, forcing the opponents to target the Pokémon Spotlight is used ''on''.
517* DubInducedPlotHole: Downplayed; Generation IV introduced the Awakening Stone (which only evolves Pokémon of a specific sex), the Dark Stone (which evolves certain Pokémon associated with the night), and the Light Stone (which evolves certain Pokémon that have fairy associations); they were dubbed respectively into the Dawn Stone, the Dusk Stone, and the Shiny Stone, implicitly grouping two of the stones that have no real connection and losing the (admittedly vague) connection between the Dark and Light stones.
518* DubNameChange:
519** In general, you should expect ''everything'' that isn't already in English to be renamed for international release.
520** The character named Green in Japanese was renamed Blue internationally, because the original pair of games was renamed from ''Red and Green'' to ''Red and Blue''. In turn, the character named Blue in Japanese was renamed Green internationally. Don't hurt yourself in confusion over this one.
521** The Dowsing Machine, which helps find hidden items, was changed to Itemfinder in Generations I through III's English translations, despite the name already being in English in the Japanese version. Generation IV and on switched to using the Japanese name in the English translations.
522* DuelsDecideEverything: If you want to resolve anything, duel with Pokémon.
523[[/folder]]
524
525[[folder:E]]
526* EarlyBirdCameo:
527** The Orange Island arc of the original anime featured Pokémon in different colors. Those variants were exclusive to the Orange Archepalego. The concept of regional variants would be fully expanded in [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Generation VII]].
528** It's typical for previews for new core-series games to briefly show a few cameos of characters and Pokémon that haven't been officially introduced yet.
529* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness/{{Pokemon}} Has its own section]].
530* EarthDrift: The earliest games of the series make many references to real things on Earth and take place in an alternate version of the actual Kanto region of Japan. Later game settings are also based on real places, but many liberties are taken on their depiction.
531* EasyLevelsHardBosses: Wild Pokémon universally are just a nuisance once you've caught your fill of them, and trainers out in the field (aside from the [[EliteMook Ace Trainers]] and a few other classes) are probably underlevelled for your team and only have two or three Pokémon anyway. The Gym Leaders and Team Leaders, however, will stamp you into the ground unless you know precisely what you're up against and come prepared with an appropriate team and plenty of healing items. Legendaries can also put up a reasonable fight with a level advantage.
532* EatDirtCheap:
533** The Geodude line eats rocks, while Sableye eats gems and Aron eats iron.
534** Larvitar has to eat a whole mountain to grow.
535** Subverted by Cofagrigus. It eats minerals, but they just happen to be ''[[MetalMuncher gold bars]]''.
536* EatingTheEnemy: Despite its name, the move Swallow is actually ''not'' this trope. What the move actually does is use energy the user stored from Stockpile to restore health. For that matter, [[AvertedTrope the main games for the most part avert this trope as well]], as little to no mention of Pokémon eating each other or people is made in the main games. Although, this apparently does happen if the [[AllThereInTheManual if the Pokédex entries are credible]].
537* ElementalBaggage:
538** Most Pokémon are capable of expelling ridiculous quantities of their elements from their bodies. One episode of the anime had Ash's Squirtle fill up a whole truck with water using only Water Gun. In the games, a Pokédex entry mentions that Blastoise (about the size of a van) could fill an Olympic swimming pool. How did so much water end up inside the {{Mons}}? Nobody knows. Then again, that creature the size of a van fits in a ball the size of a clenched fist (which in the anime can become ''even smaller'').
539** Not so much in the ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' manga. Almost at the end of the third arc, the day is saved because Blue's Blastoise had run out of water [[spoiler:and Red filled it with flammable water from a mystical healing spring]].
540* ElementalPowers: 18 of them!
541** Normal: NonElemental, MakeSomeNoise
542** Fire: PlayingWithFire, MagmaMan
543** Water: MakingASplash
544** Electric: ShockAndAwe
545** Grass: GreenThumb, PetalPower
546** Ice: AnIcePerson
547** Fighting: BareFistedMonk, CharlesAtlasSuperpower, KiManipulation, CloseRangeCombatant
548** Poison: PoisonousPerson, PoisonIsCorrosive, DeadlyGas
549** Ground: DishingOutDirt, MuckingInTheMud
550** Flying: BlowYouAway, FeatheredFiend, {{Flight}}, WindFromBeneathMyWings
551** Psychic: PsychicPowers
552** Bug: BigCreepyCrawlies, BewareMyStingerTail
553** Rock: DishingOutDirt, RockMonster, GemstoneAssault, PowerCrystal
554** Ghost: OurGhostsAreDifferent, SoulPower, CastingAShadow
555** Dragon: OurDragonsAreDifferent
556** Dark: CombatPragmatist, CastingAShadow
557** Steel: ExtraOreDinary, ChromeChampion, ColdIron
558** Fairy: OurFairiesAreDifferent, LightEmUp, {{Lunacy}}, SuperCuteSuperPowers
559** [[WildCard ???]] (Unofficially known as "Typeless"; removed in [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Generation V]] until it was re-added in [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Generation VII]])
560** [[DummiedOut There used to be a Bird-type.]] It appears to have been replaced by/became the Flying type. It has no weaknesses or resistances to anything. The only Pokémon with it are the [[GlitchEntity glitch Pokémon Missingno. and 'M, which are Bird/Normal.]]
561** There's also the [[CastingAShadow Shadow]] type in ''Colosseum'' and ''XD'', but it doesn't exist in the other games. There's only one move in ''Colosseum'', which is neutral against all types. ''XD'' provides several, which are super-effective against all types... except [[LikeCannotCutLike Shadow]].
562* [[ElementalNation Elemental Regions]]: The first four regions at least; Kanto is Spring, Johto is Fall, Hoenn is Summer, and Sinnoh is Winter. The latter two are more blatant with this to the point of [[{{Foil}} contrasting each other in many ways.]]
563* ElementalRockPaperScissors:
564** An elemental type can either be super-effective (deals twice the damage), not very effective (deals half the damage) or has no effect (deals no damage) against another type. Altogether, they form a complicated web resulting in a few being so powerful, more types had to be added just to nerf them down.
565** Lampshaded in ''Pokémon Black and White''. Early in the game, there is a young girl that will ask you to play "Pokémon Rock Paper Scissors" if you speak to her.
566* EliteFour: The trope namer. Each and every game before Sword and Shield had the player's journey to the league end with beating the Elite Four. A Group of 4 powerful trainers, second only to the Champion in terms of skill. After beating them, you get to face the resident champion himself and take the title, ending the plot. In addition to that, Team Galactic also has 4 Admins as Cyrus's CoDragons: Saturn, Charon, Mars, and Jupiter.
567* EliteMook: The Ace Trainers have well-balanced teams with good movesets and levels comparable to yours, and probably have a team of six or five compared to most trainers which have around three. Some other games have other classes in this role as well.
568* EmergencyWeapon: If a Pokémon is ordered to attack but is unable to actually execute any move (usually due to running out of PP for moves), it will resort to a hidden move called "Struggle", which inflicts moderate damage at the cost of sustaining recoil damage in the process.
569* EncounterBait: The move Sweet Scent, the items Honey and White Flute, the Poké Gear Radio song "Pokémon March", and the Illuminate ability all attract Pokémon or increase the chances of RandomEncounters. Using the Running Shoes or the Bicycle will also do the same in ''[=HeartGold=]'' and ''[=SoulSilver=]''.
570** In Generation VI, the Encounter O-Power is this as well.
571* EncounterRepellant: Likewise, there's Repel, which repels all Pokémon with lower levels than your party leader. The Poké Gear Radio song "Pokémon Lullaby", and the abilities Intimidate and Stench decrease the rate of encounter. In Generation VI, the Stealth O-Power works as this.
572* EnoughToGoAround:
573** In multiplayer play, while a given Pokémon may be unique within the game world, it's easy for two players to stage a battle using the "same" unique Pokémon. Through trading, one player can even acquire multiple members of the one-per-game species.
574** On a more meta level, [=IV=]s were created to give each Pokemon a unique "personality", then Abilities and Natures were added for even more diversity. However, once players figured out how to pass on these traits through breeding, most competitive Pokemon of the same species will have the same [=IV=]s, moves, Nature, and Ability. So any two of a given Pokemon in the competitive scene will be practically identical.
575* EruditeOrangutan: Oranguru is a Psychic-type based on an orangutan that can train other Pokémon itself.
576* EscapeBattleTechnique:
577** The move Teleport and the items Poké Doll, Fluffy Tail, and Poké Toy (when used in battle) and [[SmokeOut Smoke Ball]] (when held in battle).
578** Pokémon with the "Run Away" ability can escape from any wild Pokémon, guaranteed, just by using the normal "Run" command.
579** The "Roar" and "Whirlwind" moves are inversions: they end wild Pokémon battles by forcing the ''opponent'' away, rather than the user, therefore working in situations where the user is [[YouWillNotEvadeMe blocked from escaping]]. Starting with [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver the second generation]], they can also be used in battles against fellow trainers, though not to ''escape'' — instead, when the opposing Pokémon runs, one of the trainer's ''other'' Pokémon is [[SwitchOutMove sent out in its stead]]. The moves Circle Throw and Dragon Tail work similarly to Roar and Whirlwind, but also deal damage.
580** As of Generation VI, all Ghost-type Pokémon can escape or switch out regardless of the conditions.
581* EternalEquinox:
582** Since ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', most entries have a visible day/night cycle divided into morning, day, and night.[[note]]The [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Gen III games]] completely lack visible day/night, and ''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee'' is the same. ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' does have a day/night cycle, it doesn't come into play until after you complete the story; until then the game will force day/night changes depending on where you are in the plot. And all these titles still keep track of time in an underlying day/night system for in-game events and evolutions.[[/note]] ''VideoGame/PokemonHeartGoldAndSoulSilver'' onwards introduced evenings.
583** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', as well as their sequels Black 2 and White 2, have the seasons mechanic affect the day/night cycle as well, such as night coming earlier and lasting longer when you're in winter.
584* ExcusePlot: [=RPGs=] tend to be one of the more story-heavy genres of video games. However, Pokémon's stories tend to be fairly light, with ToBeAMaster as the main story and foiling an evil team's plans as a side plot (although this is inverted in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon''). That being said, the reason a lot people even play the game isn't the story, but the complex battle system that only gets more intricate as more installments of the series are released.
585* ExperienceBooster:
586** Pokémon [[SocializationBonus traded from other games]] gain 1.5 times the experience points, while Pokémon traded from foreign language games gain 1.7 times experience.
587** The Lucky Egg doubles the experience gained in battle, and is rarely held by [[MetalSlime Chansey]]. Starting in Generation V, players are guaranteed to obtain a Lucky Egg, usually from an important NPC.
588** The Macho Brace, the rare Pokérus, Power Weight, Power Bracer, Power Belt, Power Lens, Power Band, and Power Anklet affect stat gains after battle, with the first 2 doubling all, and the rest give you a 4 bonus points of a particular stat. Pokérus stacks with all the rest.
589** The ExperiencePoint O-Power mixed with the above Lucky Egg is very useful in level grinding.
590** A Pokémon with at least one Affection heart in Pokémon-Amie or Pokémon Refresh gains more EXP in battle.
591** Pokémon that have reached the level they can evolve at, but that have not yet evolved, gain an additional boost to EXP.
592* ExperiencePenalty: Higher-level Pokémon gain less experience for defeating lower-level Pokémon in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Black and White]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 Black 2 and White 2]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Sun and Moon]]''.
593* ExploitedImmunity:
594** From Generation 3 onwards, the moves Sandstorm and Hail will cause all Pokémon on the field to take gradual damage for several turns. This damage is negated if the Pokémon is a Ground/Rock/Steel type (for Sandstorm) or an Ice-type (for Hail).
595** The ability Overcoat blocks damage from weather conditions, as does Magic Guard (which blocks damage from anything that isn't a direct attack). Certain weather-related abilities like Sand Veil (which increases evasion in sandstorms) will also provide immunity to the damage.
596** Some attacks will deal damage to every Pokémon in the battlefield in Double or Triple Battles. Some Pokémon can either prevent damage dealt from them, like Flying-type Pokémon being immune to Earthquake, or benefit from them, like a Pokémon with the Dry Skin or Water Absorb abilities being healed by Surf.
597* ExplosiveBreeder: This can happen with certain combinations of Pokémon and a little luck.
598* ExpressiveHealthBar: The health bar shakes when a strong hit collides with your Mon.
599* {{Expy}}: Many of the Pokémon in each new generation are Expies of those from previous generations. More information on the individual game pages.
600* ExtremeOmnisexual: The shapeshifting Ditto will breed with just about ''anything'', including genderless mons (which can't even breed with ''each other''). The only Pokémon that can't be bred with Ditto are ones in the "Undiscovered" group, which includes baby Pokémon and Legendaries (with the exception of Manaphy, who can only be bred with Ditto) and other Ditto as of Generation III.
601[[/folder]]
602
603[[folder:F]]
604* FaceOfAThug:
605** A bit of a recurring thing with the various "thuggish" trainer classes (like Bikers, Roughnecks, and Punks) in later generations. They act gruff, but are for the most part quite nice and care about their Pokémon just as much anyone else. They sometimes bring up this trope themselves, for example a Street Thug in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'', who says he has trouble catching Pokémon due to his scary looks and raises them from eggs instead.
606** A few Pokémon count as well, where they have "scary" appearances but their behavior is far from it. For example, Granbull is a bulldog with large fangs, but at the same time, it's a pink Fairy-type with a timid personality. Golisopod is a 6 foot tall bug covered in an armor-like exoskeleton, but it flees from battle when its HP drops to half.
607* FacialFacade: There's quite a few examples of this:
608** Arbok has large marks on its wide torso that resemble a menacing face.
609** Spinarak has a face with a blank expression on its back that resembles a face. In some episodes of the anime, the face can change to a happy or angry expression.
610** Wobbuffet's true face and head is actually its tail, and the entire rest of its body is purely a disguise.
611** Mantine has two large black markings on its back that resemble eyes.
612*** Its pre-evolution Mantyke has the same thing, but also has a mouth-like marking below them that curves upward, resulting in the markings on Mantyke's back resembling a cute smiley face.
613** Masquerain has a pair of antennas with eyelike patterns.
614** Cradily has large yellow spots on its head that trick a lot of people into thinking they're its eyes, and that its ''actual'' eyes sitting below them are just goofy looking teeth.
615** Dusknoir has markings on its chest and back that resemble eyes and a mouth. Oddly, while its real eye is located on its head, the front of its chest opens and acts like a functional mouth that it uses to carry spirits to the afterlife. The back mouth remains purely decorative.
616** Mimikyu is famous for this trope. Envying the popularity of the franchise's mascot Pikachu, it crafted a costume resembling it, with scribbled-on eyes and a mouth. It is said that nobody who ever saw under Mimikyu's costume lived to tell the tale.
617** Bellibolt has two large, bulbous white growths on either side of its forehead that look a lot like eyes. However, its eyes are actually two small white dots in between them.
618** Pecharunt provides the trope's page image. The outside of its shell has two white dots that make it seem like it's making your average DeadpanSnarker face, but in reality, its true face (and head) is on the inside of the shell.
619* FactorBreakdown: The Gen VI games let you check an estimation of a Pokémon's stats on a graph in Super Training, with green being their base and yellow coming from effort values. Starting from Gen VII, you can check the effort value graph by hitting a button on the stats screen.
620* FantasticFruitsAndVegetables:
621** There are a wide variety of berries since their introduction in Generation II. Since Generation III, they have {{Punny Name}}s, fantastic appearances, and strange properties like Pokémon. The berries are used as items during battle (which range from healing to increasing stats) and ingredients in making Pokéblocks and Poffins. Some of these berries even have outlandish descriptions like "It's so powerful that it was abandoned at the world's edge".
622** ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' also introduced Apricorns (Apricot + Acorns), which are hard fruits which can be fashioned into rare Pokéballs. Or blended into Aprijuice.
623** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' has Pokébeans, which can be fed to Pokémon in Pokémon Refresh. They seem to grow from a beanstalk on Isle Abeens.
624** Also, obviously, some Grass-type Pokémon are based on fruits and vegetables (such as Oddish).
625* FantasticNatureReserve:
626** There are many areas where catching Pokémon is turned into a minigame of sorts. These are known as Safari Zones. The most famous is the one in [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Kanto]]. Here you're given a limited number of balls and a limited amount of time to hunt Pokémon and try to catch them without actually battling them and these Pokémon also have the chance to run away. They were featured in many of the games up until [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Gen 5]], probably due to the [[LuckBasedMission luck-based gameplay]] proving to be a [[FakeDifficulty very frustrating experience]]. Later games have similar areas, but you can actually battle them and they don't run away.
627** Gen 5 itself features a nature reserve in ''Black 2 and White 2'', where you can catch some rare Pokémon, including a guaranteed shiny Haxorus.
628* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The games' locations are based very much on real-life locations in various countries. The first four mainline game regions are based on regions of Japan:
629** [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Kanto]] is based on the real-life region of the same name
630** [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Johto]] is based on the Kansai region and western Chubu region;
631** [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Hoenn]] is based on the Kyushu region
632** [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Sinnoh]] is based on Hokkaido.
633** [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite The 5th generation]] branches out into [[Eagleland the United States]], with Unova being based on New York/New Jersey.
634** [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY The 6th generation]] Kalos region expands even further, being based on France.
635** The [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon 7th generation]] takes us back to the US with the Alola region, based on Hawaii.
636** The [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield 8th generation]] returns to Europe in the UK-based region of Galar.
637** The [[VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet 9th Generation]] is going to be set in an equivalent to the Iberian Peninsula (that is, Portugal and Spain).
638** The regions of the spin-off games are also often based on real locations. Most of the Pokémon Ranger games are set in regions based on smaller areas of Japan, and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonColosseum Colloseum]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness XD]]'' take place in the Orre region, based on the American city of Phoenix, Arizona.
639** [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pokémon_world_in_relation_to_the_real_world Here's a more detailed list]].
640* FantasyCounterpartReligion: In-universe, some religions seem to worship Pokémon (like RealLife animism), typically powerful Legendaries. The anime has a few Buddhist parallels early on, but the game religions don't really seem to be based on anything.
641* FantasyGunControl:
642** Despite being set in very modern times, there are actually no guns in the games.
643** [[invoked]] The move Bullet Seed (Seed Machine Gun in Japan) is probably the closest equivalent to guns you'll find in Pokémon, outside one of the [[MissingEpisode banned episodes]] of the anime.
644* FantasyLandmarkEquivalent: Given the real-life inspiration of the series, many of the landmarks within the various regions have a counterpart in real life. For example, Prism Tower in Lumiose City is the local equivalent of the Eiffel Tower.
645* FantasyPantheon: More in the anime than the games, the Legendary Pokémon are referred to as or given the attributes of gods.
646* FeedItWithFire: A handful of abilities, starting in the third generation. Volt Absorb and Water Absorb absorb Electric or Water attacks as HP, Flash Fire absorbs Fire attacks to power up the user's attacks, and so on.
647** Generation V adds a couple of items, like the Absorb Bulb and Cell Battery, that provide a one-use-only version of the same effect (though they do not prevent damage).
648* FictionalAgeOfMajority: Age ten is the moment trainers are able to own their own Pokemon and journey around the world without supervision.
649* FictionalEarth: The Pokemon world is an interesting case. It was identified as Earth in [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue the first generation]], mentioning real world events and locations in Pokédex entries and naming Kanto after the actual Kanto region of Japan. However, it is geographically completely different, and real world mentions were [[EarthDrift dropped]] from [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]] onwards. However, every region in the main series is a FantasyCounterpartCulture of a real place. The implication seems to be that the Pokemon world is a Fictional Earth that doesn't really mention the Earth part anymore.
650* FieldPowerEffect: Terrain bonuses as well as weather.
651** The move Secret Power changes based on what area the battle takes place in. Burmy's evolution into Wormadam is also dependent on this.
652** The 'pledge' moves are used to invoke this.
653* FiendishFish:
654** Gyarados is a ferocious, long-bodied fish so powerful that it can level cities, and is renowned for its extremely bad temper. ''Gold/Silver/Crystal'' features a Red Gyarados (most are blue) rampaging in the aptly-named Lake of Rage. In the game a red Gyarardos evolves from a golden Magikarp.
655** Wishiwashi are, individually, very small and weak fish. However, they have the ability to school together in sync to form a giant, powerful fish-like monster [[TheWormThatWalks still visibly composed of individual fishes]]. School Form Wishiwashi are very powerful, enough so to be known as the Demon of the Sea. Even Gyarados flee from these things!
656** Basculin are bass-like fish with powerful jaws and violent attitudes; water bodies where they settle are quickly emptied of other living things, and they're known as "the thugs of the lake". They also fight incessantly among each other, as red-striped and blue-striped Basculin detest one another.
657** Arrokuda and Barraskewda from ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' are barracuda-like fish who, when hungry, will react to every single movement in the vicinity. Arrokuda will bite anything that resembles food, while Barraskewda will just proper itself with its tail and [[RammingAlwaysWorks try to pierce the prey]].
658* FinalExamBoss:
659** The Elite Four are four of the strongest trainers in the region. They generally follow a [[PoorPredictableRock mono-type team]] in the same way Gym Leaders do but they compensate for their chosen typing's weaknesses (or even have Pokémon that aren't their chosen typing). You also have to battle them one after another with no visits to the Pokémon Center to heal your party. Each of the members are also types that don't share weaknesses with other members.
660** After defeating the Elite Four, there's the Champion to battle. In some games, the Champion also has a mono-type team, but in others, all the Pokémon in his or her possession are different types.
661* FireIceLightning:
662** Fire, Ice and Electric-types frequently, and fittingly for this trope, have cross counterpart moves with the same power, accuracy, and effect, differing only in type.[[note]]Ice-type versions will usually have less PP, since Freeze status is far more dangerous than Burn or Paralysis, but the stats are otherwise identical.[[/note]]
663*** Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt: 95-power Special moves with 100% accuracy and a 10% chance of [[StatusInflictionAttack inflicting a status effect]] (Burn, Freeze, and Paralysis respectively).
664*** Ember, Powder Snow, Thundershock: 40-power Special moves with 100% accuracy and a 10% chance of inflicting a status effect.
665*** [[ElementalPunch Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch]]: 75-power Physical moves with 100% accuracy and a 10% chance of inflicting a status effect.
666*** Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Thunder Fang: 65-power Physical moves with 95% accuracy, a 10% chance of inflicting a status effect, and a separate 10% chance of making the opponent flinch.
667*** Fire Blast, Blizzard, Thunder: These moves actually have pretty widely-varying stats, but the three are usually grouped together as high-power, low-accuracy versions of Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt.
668** Tri-Attack: A solid, solitary Normal-type move, but which features a blast of fire, ice, ''and'' lightning all at once, and which has a chance of randomly Burning, Freezing, or Paralyzing the target.
669** And, of course, there are 'Mons that follow the FireIceLightning trend:
670*** Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos: The original Legendary Trio.
671*** Magmar, Jynx, and Electabuzz: A set of humanoids who are very hard to get in the first set of games; they were also the only ones in that generation to learn the Elemental Punches noted above, barring [[BareFistedMonk Hitmonchan]], who [[PowerFist learns all three]].
672*** All three also eventually got baby forms in Generation II, with only Jynx not getting an evolution in Gen IV.
673*** Entei, Suicune, Raikou: The second generation's Legendary Trio (Suicune is actually a Water-type, but naturally learns more Ice-type moves and is thematicaly connected to the icy North Wind).
674*** Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon: The original evolutions of Eevee, introduced in Generation I. Vaporeon is a Water-type, however, and unlike Suicune, it doesn’t learn an above average number of Ice moves, so this example is more of a Fire ''Water'' Lightning situation. Eevee can evolve into the Ice-type Glaceon as of Gen IV, but it’s not any more of a counterpart to Flareon and Jolteon than the other Eeveelutions.
675*** Reshiram, Kyurem, Zekrom: The Yin and Yang Pokémon, with Kyurem representing ''Wuji'', or the absence of Yin and Yang (i.e.: "nothingness").
676* FireIsMasculine:
677** Of the seven Fire-type specialists seen in the games, all but two of them are male. Special mention goes to Kiawe, the [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless]], [[TheComicallySerious comically serious]], HotBlooded Fire-type specialist from ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon''.
678** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'': The starters' final evolutions are a MasculineFeminineAndrogyneTrio trio. Water-type Primarina is [[WaterIsWomanly a mermaid-like singer]] and Grass-type Decidueye is a hooded archer. The Fire-type Incineroar is a muscular, pro wrestling bipedal cat.
679* FirstNameBasis: Last names definitely exist in the Pokémon Verse, but extremely few are actually known aside from those of the professors and their relatives (e.g. Daisy Oak and Cedric Juniper), as well as the Stone family from Generation III, with Steven Stone being among the few characters with both a first and last name that aren’t related to a professor.
680* FishingMinigame: While every game has featured fishing rods, it's not actually a minigame so much as an alternate method to encounter wild Pokémon. Pretty much the closest we've gotten is in ''Ruby'', ''Sapphire'', and ''Emerald'', where players would have to time button presses several times in a row to successfully reel in a Pokémon. Pretty much every game after that limited the number of button presses to one.
681* TheFlameOfLife:
682** Charmander's life energy is represented by the flame at the tip of its tail. It's believed that if the tail goes out, Charmander will die.
683** Litwick is a ghost candle that steals the life energy of people and Pokemon. That life energy is the fuel to its flame.
684* FlavorText:
685** For every Pokémon a player captures in the wild, their [[MonsterCompendium Pokédex]] adds one or two sentences of in-universe description for their species. Later games add such details as the creature's footprint (if applicable), a SoundTest ability to play the creature's vocal cry, a size/weight comparison to the player character, and a comparison of form or [[SecondarySexualCharacteristics gender differences]] between the species's different members (where applicable). The species's weight actually does have some gameplay consequences, but those are very few and far between.
686** Since Generation III, each Pokémon's status screen includes a one-word descriptor of their personality and text documenting when and where it was caught. A one-sentence remark about the individual creature's personality was added in Generation IV. These descriptions on their personalities are actually an indication on their stat growth and their individual values, [[GuideDangit but the games don't tell you this]].
687** In Generations III and IV, Berries have tags that give their sizes, flavors, firmness, and in-universe descriptions on them, similar to a Pokédex description. No other items have this distinction and this feature was dropped from Generation V and beyond.
688* FlyingFlightlessBird:
689** Doduo is based on an ostrich, which is known for not being able to fly. Nevertheless, it is still able to learn the move Fly.
690** Delibird is also capable of learning Fly, and even has a flying animation in later games, despite essentially being a penguin.
691* FloralThemeNaming: Nearly every NPC that matters has a plant-based name in the Japanese version.
692** From Gen VI onward, most major characters have translated names based on the same plants referenced in their Japanese names. For example, the Kalos Gym Leaders include Viola, Grant (from pomegranate), Valerie (from ''Valerianella locusta'', or corn salad), and C''lemon''t.
693** Up until Generation IX, all main series professors had tree-based names, along with a few other professors from other parts of the franchise, such as Professors Ivy and Burnett[[note]]From the anime and Pokémon Dream Radar, respectively[[/note]]. ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' broke the pattern with Professors Sada and Turo, based on the Spanish words for past (''pasada'') and future (''futuro'').
694** The settlements of the Johto region also follow this trope.
695* FoeRomanceSubtext: Zangoose and Seviper, despite being eternal rivals, are in the same Egg group.
696* FogFeet: Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, and Enamorus. At least until they shift to their Therian Formes.
697* {{Foil}}: There are several foils that exist in the world of Pokémon.
698** First is the rivals, who gain their starter from the same place as the protagonist, go on parallel journeys and are often the few trainers that get a varied team in contrast with the mono-flavored teams everyone else has.
699** Many Pokémon species are foils to each other, most notably the version mascots and version exclusives for each [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo pair of games]].
700** Magikarp and Feebas are a good example of cross-generational foils. Both start out as weak fish with limited movepools but evolve into powerful serpentine Pokémon with enough effort. However, while Magikarp's evolution Gyarados is focused on brute force and is perpetually angry, Feebas evolves into the beautiful and tranquil Milotic, and while Magikarp is found in almost every body of water, Feebas is limited to a single route per game.
701** The man-made Legendary Mewtwo and Mythical Genesect are also foils to each other. Both created to harness the power of the ancients from a remaining piece of DNA, and both are a warped reflection of the being that they where created from (Mewtwo is more masculine to the androgynous Mew, Genesect is a cyborg with a cannon) and have opposite types. Where Mewtwo is a BloodKnight in the games and has a mostly special based movelist, Genesect is obedient to whoever controls it and has a physical based movelist. Its implied, both in universe and out, that this was deliberate.
702** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' has Kukui and Guzma, who had given up to become Trial Captains note . Kukui decided to use his talents to instead become a Pokemon Professor, while Guzma instead lost hope and founded Team Skull.
703** The Hoenn and Sinnoh regions are this to each other.
704*** Hoenn is a tropical region while Sinnoh is way colder (sans the post-game island which is suspiciously Hoenn-like); due to being based from Kyushu and Hokkaido respectively which are on different ends of Japan.
705*** The player characters' redesigns for the third version/remake; while Brendan and May wear thinner clothes and [[SleevesAreForWimps shorten/remove sleeves]] from their outfits in ''Emerald/Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire'', Lucas and Dawn get new coats and [[ScarfOfAsskicking scarf]] in ''Platinum''.
706*** The female protagonists' starter of choice: In many well-known adaptations May is usually affiliated with the Torchic line while Dawn gets the Piplup line.
707*** The token MsFanservice gym leaders specialize in Fire-types in Hoenn and Ice in Sinnoh.
708*** Lots of water routes(Hoenn) compared to only two(Sinnoh).
709*** The soundtrack. Either [[{{Fanfare}} trumpets]] and DramaticTimpani [[MemeticMutation everywhere]] or relaxing jazz.
710** Version exclusives are prone to contrast each other as well. Among many examples are [[LightningFireJuxtaposition Electabuzz and Magmar]] [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue from the first two games.]]
711* ForcedLevelGrinding: You ''can'' face the Elite Four with a team 10 or so levels down and still win by abusing type advantages and poor AI. However, unless you have a walkthrough on standby or prior experience, it's going to be incredibly difficult.[[note]]Many of the E4 mons have a move super-effective against their countering types. Not to mention the RNG (criticals, status effects, etc.)[[/note]] So it's generally a good idea to go to Victory Road and beat up wilds for a few hours.
712* FossilRevival: How you obtain some Pokémon from fossils. Almost every generation has a place where you can do this.
713* FoulMedicine: Herbs are a form of medicine which helps heal Pokémon, such as curing them of status conditions and reviving them. However, they're also extremely bitter and usually decrease a Pokémon's friendship stats for this reason.
714* FourFingeredHands: The "paws with only three digits" variant is prevalent in most Pokémon's designs.
715* FourIsDeath: The Elite Four can be interpreted as this (they're even the ''Shitenno'' in the Japanese version), but better fits are Team Rocket and Team Galactic, which have four executive officers each (the former in [=HGSS=], the latter in Platinum, both of which are part of the forth generation of Pokémon games).
716* FourLegsGoodTwoLegsBetter:
717** There are a few examples of Pokémon that start off as quadrupeds but become bipedal as they evolve. They often end up with a wider movepool as a result as they can now learn many moves that they couldn't when they were quadrupedal (such as moves that involve throwing punches or holding objects).
718** There are, however, a few species that end up inverting this trope where they start off as bipedal but end up as quadrupeds, such as Meowth evolving into Persian.
719* FragileSpeedster: There are numerous Pokémon that are this, though the prime example has to be Ninjask. It is one of the fastest Pokémon, with an ability that boosts its speed at the end of each turn, but its low base HP and defenses doom it to an equally speedy demise.
720* FranchiseCodifier: It took several iterations for the main series to refine its fomula.
721** First, ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' introduced a slew of new mechanics, including held items, separate special attack and special defense stats, breeding, [[PaletteSwap shinies]], and two new types.
722** Then, ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' started the trend of each game being set far away from the last, introduced abilities, and completely overhauled the way Pokémon's stats are calculated.
723** Finally, ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' marked the point where the series began to focus greatly on story, adding hidden details about the franchise's overarching lore and forcing the player to advance the plot in order to progress. While this was present in earlier games (usually enforced with a BrokenBridge or two), it was never quite as apparent as it was in Sinnoh. It also focused heavily on exploring side-routes and out-of-the-way locales that could be missed completely on a normal linear playthrough, something that later games would increasingly feature. Finally, this game separated physical and special attacks by move rather than by type, which completely rebalanced battles and led to a much greater interest in the competitive scene going forward.
724* FreeRangeChildren: The protagonists are probably barely teenagers, yet they run about the world with little concern from anyone. Of course, they're bringing bodyguards: up to 6 [[RealityWarper reality-warping]], enslaved monsters, most of whom who are bound to be loyal forever.
725** Generation V's Preschooler trainer class. There is a Preschooler who has a level 59 ''Scyther'' in Black/White 2. This kid could have stopped the Radio Tower takeover situation in Goldenrod by himself. In Gen VI, you can even find Preschoolers in facilities that don't let you in until you beat the Champion; going from simply having Preschoolers that ''could'' beat the Champion to Preschoolers that ''did''. Don't feel so special now, do you?
726* FrictionlessIce: Functions as a puzzle in some areas.
727* FullHealthBonus:
728** The moves Water Spout and Eruption both deal proportional damage based on the user's remaining health. At full power, they can rival the strongest moves in the game like Hyper Beam and Overheat, but they quickly fall off once the Pokémon using them takes a few hits.
729** The Multiscale ability halves the damage of any hit taken at full health.
730** The ability Gale Wings grants increased priority to the user's Flying-type moves. In ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', the ability was {{nerf}}ed to only work while the user is at full health.
731* FunnyAnimal: Many Pokémon are essentially bipedal animals.
732* FunSize: Many small Pokémon count, including Mew, which is mythical and very powerful.
733* FunWithAcronyms: Same Type Attack Bonus, where a move gets stronger if a Pokémon that is the same type as the move uses it, is abbreviated as STAB.
734* FunWithPalindromes: Eevee, Girafarig (in all languages, since it has a head on each end), Ho-Oh, Alomomola, and Farigiraf (again, in all languages). The region of [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Alola]] is also a palindrome.
735[[/folder]]
736
737[[folder:G]]
738%% Game Breaker goes on the YMMV tab
739* GameFavoredGender: In Gen II, when the whole concept of gender was introduced to the games, a Pokémon's attack IV determined its gender - an attack value above a certain threshold made it male, and below that made it female. This meant that female Pokémon (unless it was an all female species such as Miltank) could never have a very high Attack stat - most Pokémon have a 50/50 gender ratio, which meant that a female could usually only have, at the most, half the attack power of a male. This is even worse for rarer Pokémon, like any of the three starters, or the Eeveelutions, which have a 1:7 female to male ratio - the idea being they should be harder to get for breeding purposes (since the baby will always be of the mother's species, unless breeding with Ditto). This is changed from Generation III onwards, as gender is determined by a completely separate value.
740* GatheringSteam:
741** Several moves such as Fury Cutter and Ice Ball deal laughable damage at first, but deal more damage if used consecutively (and have a less-than-stellar accuracy rate).
742** Regigigas, the progenitor of Hoenn's golem trio is an {{Olympus Mon|s}} with stats on par with the ElementalEmbodiment of the oceans and the core's magma, both of which wreak havoc on the weather by merely being awake. Regigigas has been stated in legends to be capable of moving entire continents, but when it is encountered it has slumbered for so long that it takes a while to shake off the rust and moss growing on it, which is reflected in its ability 'Slow Start'; For the first five turns of combat its attack and speed stats are cut in half, which puts it straight into AwesomeButImpractical for battling because most fights are over by then - of course, capturing it is likely to take more than five turns.
743* GemTissue: Several examples exist such as [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Carbink and Diancie]], though the [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Lake Trio]] are probably the most famous since their gems were integrated into their [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl games' story]]. Others, such as [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Dialga and Palkia]] likely also apply based off of appearance.
744* GenderBender:
745** Azurill has a 3-to-1 female/male ratio, but its evolution, Marill, has a 50-50 gender ratio. Due to the way the game determines gender, this makes 1 of every 3 female Azurill become male upon evolving into Marill. No longer the case from ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' onward.
746** There's a "female" NPC in Icirrus City's Entralink counterpart that used to be a guy until being changed by going into the Entralink.
747** A Beauty trainer in the Battle Maison heavily implies that she used to be a Black Belt (a male-only Trainer Class) before an operation. Even more heavily implied in the Japanese version.
748* GenderRarityValue:
749** A non-plot point example, but a few Pokémon species have skewed gender ratios that lean heavily towards males (only 1 in 8 will be female). These Pokémon are usually ones that are given to players like the starters, fossils and other gift Pokémon like Togepi, Lucario, Snorlax and Eevee. This specific gender ratio is supposed to make breeding more of them harder as females determine what the offspring will be.
750** Two Pokémon, Combee and Salandit, will only be able to evolve if they are female. Of course, these Pokémon have the same seven-males-to-one-female ratio as the above Pokémon.
751** At least one Pokémon family, Litleo and Pyroar, has a gender ratio that's the opposite; seven females to one male. However there is no real bonus to having a male or female Pyroar aside from [[BizarreSexualDimorphism appearance]].
752** There are also a few Pokémon that have gender ratios skewed towards female; these predominantly include cute-and-cuddly Pokémon like Clefairy, Vulpix, or Skitty. Others are skewed towards males; these ones are manly ones like Abra, Makuhita and Growlithe. However these Pokémon have a 1 in 4 chance of being the "rare" gender. So acquiring one isn't that difficult.
753* GeodesicCast: Some groups of Pokémon tend to repeat with each new generation. Exceptions when they are due:
754** A starter trio made of statistically above-average Pokémon of the Grass-, Fire-, and Water-types. They tend to evolve at levels 14-18 and 30-36. Their ability provides a boost to moves of their type when HP is low.
755** A small Normal-type mammal and at least one bird found at (or near) the beginning of the game.
756** One or two early game Bug-types, mostly incompatible with teachable moves and evolving at low levels into [[CrutchCharacter Pokémon that are moderately useful early in the game but are weak in the long run]]. A cocoon middle stage is often included.
757** A cute Electric-type rodent that takes a ton of design cues from Pikachu, such as the round cheeks.
758** A pair of Rock-type Pokémon obtainable by reviving them from a fossil.
759** A few "gimmick" Pokémon with [[JokeCharacter overall low stats]], such as Ditto (transforms into other Pokémon), Wobbuffet (which can only counterattack), and Castform (changes form and type with the weather). A few of them are {{Lethal Joke Character}}s.
760** A Pokémon whose final evolution has stats that rival Legendary Pokémon. It takes a long time to train due to requiring the highest amount of ExperiencePoints to level up and evolves at the highest levels relative to other {{Mons}}. It's likely to be a [[InfinityPlusOneElement dragon]] and appears very late in the game.
761** At least one trio of Legendary Pokémon that have high stats overall with no restrictions in TournamentPlay.
762** A pair or trio of very strong Legendaries, representing each version of the main games. They are PurposelyOverpowered, preventing them from being used in TournamentPlay or the post-game battling facilities.
763** An event-only Mythical Pokémon that has its stats [[JackOfAllStats evenly distributed]].
764* GeoEffects: There are several effects to change the weather, and each weather type will boost certain moves or Pokémon types while hindering others. There's even one Pokémon whose ability is geared towards adapting to each of these effects, and others geared towards preventing them.
765** The move Secret Power gains bonuses according to the battle environment: fight on the sea and it occasionally lowers attack, fight in a cave and it may cause flinching, and so on. [[note]]An interesting note is that if one uses the move on ice or snow in Generation IV, the move gets the highest chance of causing freezing in the entire game, with a whopping 30% chance; the other moves that can do so only have a 10% or less chance.[[/note]]
766** The move Nature Power will copy one of several moves depending on what terrain it is used in (for example, it becomes Hydro Pump while in water, Lava Plume near volcanoes, etc.)
767** Generation VI introduced the terrain moves, which alter the battlefield in ways similar to weather, but only for Pokémon that are standing on the ground. For example, Electric Terrain powers up Electric-type moves and prevents sleep.
768* GettingSickDeliberately: The items Flame Orb and Toxic Orb inflict status conditions on its holder. A Pokemon with the ability Guts will ignore Burn's attack stat drop and raise it instead but is still susceptible to Poison and Burn damage. Pokemon with the Poison Heal ability will regenerate HP instead of have it drained by Toxic Poisoning. Pokemon who are inflicted with a status condition can also use it to prevent a different more crippling ailment from being inflicted on it which is utilized by Magic Guard ability holders, who will only take damage from a direct attack
769* GhastlyGhost:
770** While most Ghost-types are not, strictly speaking, spirits of the dead, several of them still fit this trope; this goes all the way back to the original Ghost-type Pokemon Gengar, whose personality has been expanded from being a simple prankster to being actively murderous.
771*** Banette, a cursed doll looking for revenge on its former owner.
772*** Spiritomb, who is made up of the souls of 108 criminals and is part-Dark type.
773*** Froslass, a Yuki Onna who freezes attractive men and displays them as trophies.
774*** The Litwick line, ghostly flames that lead unsuspecting travelers astray while burning their souls as fuel.
775*** Trevenant, a treant who traps people in their forests to be eaten.
776*** Palossand, a haunted sandcastle literally built on the bones of the dead.
777* GlassCannon: While many Pokémon can be built into one, some species are more prone to working in this fashion. Deoxys-Attack is by ''far'' the best example: it has sky-high attack stats and Speed, but ''the worst'' Defense of any Pokémon in the game. It'll faint to just about any attack with moderate power! In fact, it's been known to OHKO ''itself'' while confused! There's several others as well, on a slightly lesser scale.
778** The glitch Pokemon Missingno from the original Red and Blue games has a base attack of 136, which is higher than that of either Machamp or Dragonite. Its base defense, however, is a flat 0.
779%% Goddamn Bats goes on the YMMV tab
780* GlobalCurrencyException:
781** The Game Corner credits, though regular money can be cashed in.
782** Battle Frontier/Subway/Tree credits: Battle Points, which must be earned.
783** The various Move Relearners only accept certain items, usually Heart Scales.
784** ''Platinum'' and ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'' have a currency only used during a Battle Frontier challenge: Castle Points (CP) for the Battle Castle. The currency rolls over between challenges but is emptied following a loss. Aside from assisting in the completion of challenges in the Castle, which reward BP, the Castle Points aren't used anywhere else.
785** Generation IV's Underground uses spheres to buy furniture.
786* GoWaitOutside: The fossil reviver in all the games. Sometimes you do need to walk around a bit, but it's just as common that you can walk out and into the building.
787* GoodTamingEvilTaming: Ash and most other trainers treat their Pokemon kindly and properly, which causes them to be loyal and friendly to the trainers. Some trainers, however, such as Paul, Shamus and Damien, are made less likable by treating their Pokemon abusively.
788* GooItUp: Most poison-type Pokemon can use the move "Sludge" or "Sludge Bomb" which is visualized as firing gross sludge at the opponent.
789* GottaCatchThemAll: Trope namer, derived from a North American advertising slogan for Generation I. Despite this, catching all the Pokémon belongs to the optional variety.
790* GrandfatherClause: Despite newer games introducing Pokémon with considerable differences between their male and female forms in terms of appearance, being able to evolve, and even stats and movepools (Meowstic being a very good example) , male and female Nidoran remain counted as two distinct species.
791* GravityMaster: Any Pokémon that can learn the move Gravity. In Generations IV and V, it has [[GravityIsPurple purple effects]].
792* GRatedSex: Somehow, no one has ''ever'' observed any part of a Pokémon's reproduction process, and nobody in-universe has any idea where their eggs come from. Given the bizarre and even [[HotSkittyOnWailordAction squicky]] combinations of mons that can reproduce with one another, though, maybe it's best left to the imagination.
793* TheGreatSerpent: Onix is a massive Pokémon in the form of a giant snake made of rocks. Its metallic evolution, Steelix, is even larger.
794* GreenGators: Averted. None of the various crocodilian Pokémon are green. The Totodile line are blue, Sandile and Krokorok are brown, Krookodile is red, and Fuecoco (the Fire-type starter of the 9th generation) is also red.
795* GreenMeansNatural: The Grass type indicator is a green icon, many grass attacks are colored green, and the vast majority of Pokémon of this type are at least partially green.
796* GuideDangIt: [[GuideDangIt/{{Pokemon}} Enough to get its own page]].
797[[/folder]]
798
799[[folder:H]]
800* HammerSpace: Staring with Generation I, the Trainer's Bag can only hold a total of 1980 items (20 slots x 99 quantity). In generation IV, the Trainer's Bag can hold ''everything''.
801* HandsFreeHandlamp: Using [[NuclearCandle Flash]] in a dark location only requires the move to be used once, and the Pokemon using it doesn't have to stay out of its ball, or even be the first in the party in the case of [[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Walking_Pokémon Walking Pokemon]]. The lighting effect will only be undone if you move to another room.
802* HappinessInSlavery: Deconstructed, zigzagged, played straight, and subverted throughout the series. Occasionally we see abusive trainers that are hated by their Pokémon, or rebellious Pokémon who refuse to obey them. High-level traded Pokémon will disobey trainers if they don't have enough badges, implying a need to earn their respect and obedience. For the most part, however, caught Pokémon and their trainers get along well, and even members of villainous teams get attached to their Pokémon and their Pokémon to them. ''Black and White'', along with many other mainstays of the series, examines this in detail. In the game, a few Team Plasma members who have released their Pokémon are confused when they don't want to leave them, and in the manga, White's Tepig leaves her to run off with N because she just uses it for acting and musicals, but it actually wants to learn how to battle.
803* HealingBoss:
804** Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and the Champion will frequently use HP restoring items when their active Pokemon is low on health. Generally, this is restricted to once per battle. Sometimes they can do this many times they like though.
805** Some legendary Pokemon that can be considered [[OptionalBoss optional bosses]] have Self-Healing moves, particularly Recover on Mewtwo and Deoxys as well as Rest on Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza.
806* HealingSerpent: The "Shed Skin" ability that has a chance of healing StatusEffects each turn, possessed by snake-like Pokemon like Ekans, Dratini, Seviper, and others.
807* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits: Talking to various {{NPC}}s will give you hints about how to play the game, and by time you've traveled to the first town beyond your own, you'll have been taught how to catch Pokémon, part of the game's central mechanic. VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire puts a refreshing spin on the catching tutorial--since your in-story father is a gym leader, you are assumed to have this knowledge, but total newbie Wally doesn't, so you are tasked to teach ''him''.
808* HealItWithWater:
809** The move Aqua Ring is a Water-type move that surrounds the user with a veil of water that slowly restores health.
810** A few abilities are based on this concept. Rain Dish causes a Pokemon to regain some HP when it's raining, Water Absorb will heal Pokemon hit with water-type attacks instead of damaging them, and Hydration will cure status effects (eg. burn, freeze, poison) in rain.
811** The move Life Dew from Generation VIII is the straightest example of this trope, as it involves the user healing themselves and their allies with magical droplets of water for 25% of their maximum HP.
812* HealThyself:
813** Potions, HP Ups, and Full Restores are this way for the franchise but they only cover HP. PP restoring items do exist but they are much rarer.
814** Moves like Recover, Rest, the above mentioned HealItWithWater, and Volt Absorb[[note]]Like Water Absorb but for Electric moves instead of Water moves[[/note]] allows Pokémon to do this for themselves.
815** Pokémon can also hold onto held items like Stirus Berry[[note]]For Generation III, it healed only 30 HP, from Generation 4 onwards, it instead healed 25% of the user's HP[[/note]] and the farmable Leppa Berry[[note]]which restored 10 PP to the move that runs out of PP[[/note]].
816* HealthyGreenHarmfulRed:
817** When a Pokemon is at full HP (HP being how fit the Pokemon is able to battle) it is shown as a green bar. As it decreases (either during battle or through poison outside of battle), it first turns yellow at about half, then red when it's at about 1/5.
818** Grass type, which is represented with the colour green, has the most amount of healing moves out of any type in the game.
819* HelloInsertNameHere: The player has to name the main character, as well as their rival (in the ''Red/Blue/Yellow'' (and remakes), ''Gold/Silver/Crystal'' (and remakes), and ''Diamond/Pearl/Platinum'' versions). HilarityEnsues.[[note]]And by "hilarity", we mean "vulgarity".[[/note]]
820* HeroicBSOD: The player character if all of their Pokémon fall in battle. Well, "black-out" ("white-out" in Generations II and III), but the trope is still valid. Rather ironically, in at least half of the games the screen will FadeToWhite when the player has been stated to "black out". The reverse, with the screen [[FadeToBlack fading to black]] when the player "whites out" is also commonplace.
821* HeroicSacrifice:
822** When you send out one of your last Pokémon knowing it won't be able to take the attack the opponent dishes out next turn, but the extra turn will give you time to use a Potion/Revive on your best team member.
823** The move "Healing Wish" causes the user to faint, but in return restores the health and status (minus fainting) of the next Pokémon sent out. Cresselia's [[SecretArt Lunar Dance]] is basically Healing Wish that also restores PP.
824* HighlySpecificCounterplay:
825** Moves:
826*** Imprison prevents opponents from using any moves that the user also knows. Any set with Imprison effectively becomes a Highly Specific Counter that only shuts down the user's four moves (including Imprison itself).
827*** Brick Break removes the effect of three things: Light Screen, Reflect and Aurora Veil. It also has a decent base power at 75, so it's somewhat useful even if you're not facing a screen user.
828*** In Gen IV, Feint is a weak attack which cannot be blocked by Detect or Protect... but if the opponent ''doesn't'' try to block then it has no effect at all. From Gen V onwards the latter restriction is removed, turning it into a straightforward UnblockableAttack.
829*** In Gen VI, the move Powder (learned only by Vivillon) coats an opponent in explosive dust for one turn, causing any of their Fire-type attacks to misfire and damage them for 25% of their total HP. While Vivillon [[SchmuckBait makes a tempting target due to its weakness to Fire]], it's also [[GlassCannon frail enough]] to be KO'd by moves of other types, and its access to Sleep Powder means that opponents might try to fight it with Pokemon immune to powder-based moves anyway.
830** In Generation I, Normal-types and Psychic-types are immune to damaging Ghost-type attacks. This ended up only making them immune to a single move, Lick, which is weak to boot. The only other damaging Ghost-type move, Night Shade, ignored type immunities in Gen I. This was fixed in later generations: more damaging Ghost-type moves were added, and Night Shade was changed so that it no longer ignores immunities. (Also, the Psychic-type's Ghost immunity was changed to a weakness.)
831** Some types make Pokemon immune to specific moves or Abilities:
832*** Since Generation VII, Dark-types are immune to opposing moves that gain priority due to Prankster.
833*** Since Generation VI, Ghost-types are immune to the three trapping Abilities and 13 trapping moves.
834*** Grass-types are immune to the specific move Leech Seed. From Generation IV, they're also immune to the eight moves based on powders and spores, as well as Effect Spore (which doesn't count as a spore attack).
835*** A grounded Poison-type will remove Toxic Spikes from its side when it switches in.
836** Several Abilities that fall under this:
837*** Damp, which prevents all Pokemon from using the moves Self-Destruct, Explosion and Mind Blown. It also prevents the effect of the Ability Aftermath.
838*** Oblivious. When it was introduced in Gen III, it only protected the Pokemon from infatuation, a status effect that has very specific triggers (opposite gender to the target) and is inflicted by only one move. As of Gen VIII, it has been buffed to protect from a grand total of four specific things (infatuation, Captivate, Taunt and Intimidate).
839*** Sturdy in Gens III and IV. All it did was making the Pokemon immune to the four [[OneHitKO one-hit KO]] moves. It broke out of this trope in Gen V, where it gained the ability to [[LastChanceHitPoint let the user live on 1 HP if an attack would have brought it from full health to 0 HP]].
840*** Keen Eye protects the user against accuracy-reducing moves. There aren't a lot of them, and they are rarely seen outside the early game. In Gen VI onward, it also allows the Pokemon to ignore evasion boosts on its target.
841*** Screen Cleaner cancels the effect of a whopping three moves: Aurora Veil, Light Screen and Reflect.
842*** In Gen VI, Zygarde's ability Aura Break affects exactly two other Pokemon, inverting the effects of Xerneas's "Fairy Aura" (+1/3 power with Fairy moves) and Yveltal's "Dark Aura" (+1/3 power with Dark moves). However, its own stats are rather mediocre for an {{Olympus Mon|s}}, meaning that it rarely gets a chance to make use of this. Aura Break largely fell by the wayside after Gen VII gave it the alternate ability Power Construct, which allows it to transform into a SuperMode.
843* HitPoints: One of the integral game mechanics in the Pokémon games, represented by a LifeMeter.
844* HonorableElephant:
845** Donphan is known to be helpful in road maintenance; Phanpy, on the other hand, is known for [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength unintentionally launching people]] [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom over great distances]].
846** Both Cufant and Copperajah are known to help humans with construction and lifting tasks.
847* HornAttack: The moves Horn Attack (the Trope Namer), Horn Drill, Megahorn, Horn Leech, and Smart Strike.
848* HotSkittyOnWailordAction: The Trope Namer. Pokémon belong to designations known as "Egg Groups". They work similarly to Pokémon types in that a Pokémon can be in one or two egg groups. Any male and female Pokémon that share an egg group can produce an egg of the female's species (regardless of size, shape or other factors that would make mating difficult). Pairing Pokémon of different species may allow Pokémon of the mother's species to inherent the father's moves.
849* HowDidWeGetBackHome: {{Downplayed}} in the mainline [=RPGs=]. After you beat the Elite Four, the game places you back outside your home at the beginning of the game. Played with in some entries, where you actually see your character make the long trek back home over the credits sequence that plays the first time you beat the game. This can be a bit frustrating if you're using the Elite Four for LevelGrinding a team for competitive since you just have to turn around and go right back.
850* HumanFocusedAdaptation: Practically every work in the franchise puts more focus on the human characters than the titular Pokemon themselves.
851* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: In most continuities, there are no bad Pokémon. Just bad humans misusing Pokémon. Fortunately, most HumansAreGood, so the trope is subtle.
852* HuMons: There's an ''entire Egg Group'', aptly called the Human-Like Egg Group, dedicated to mons that resemble humans. It includes but is not limited to:
853** The Machop line, which resembles bodybuilders with grey-blue/purple skin and appear to be wearing black briefs and championship belts. They have also been shown helping with construction projects and moving boxes.
854** The Tyrogue line plays with this trope. Tyrogue itself resembles a martial arts trainee with purple skin and brown shorts, but its evolutions vary in their resemblance to humans. Hitmonchan closely resembles a human boxer, having red boxing gloves as well as a purple tunic, kilt, and pair of "shoes". Hitmontop has a more deformed appearance, as it primarily resembles a top, but it's still fairly human-like. Meanwhile, Hitmonlee barely resembles a human, looking more like a sack with long arms and feet.
855** Mr. Mime, based on a mime and looks like a person in clown get-up, complete with goofy hair and pointed shoes. The [[UndergroundMonkey Galarian version]] and its evolution Mr. Rime are instead inspired by tap dancers and wear tap shoes made of ice. Mr. Rime takes it a step further by also being based on Creator/CharlieChaplin's 'Tramp' character; it has a bowler hat, mustache, and a cane!
856** Jynx, a humanoid female Pokemon with a design that's partially inspired by [[GyaruGirl ganguro fashion]]; it sports the blonde hair, high-contrast makeup, and dark skin associated with the style.
857** The Ralts line, introduced in ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' and among the most human-looking Pokémon. Ralts itself looks like a little girl in a long dress, its evolution Kirlia resembles a ballerina with pigtails, and the final evolution Gardevoir looks like a lady in a ballroom gown with pseudo-bangs. The alternate final evolution Gallade, introduced in ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', is more masculine and resembles a knight.
858** Hariyama, a stylized sumo wrestler with attributes of its appearance that resemble the attire such a wrestler wears, and has hair that looks like the traditional haircut they have before it's tied in a topknot.
859** The Gothita line, which appears to wear GothicLolita fashion as their bodies resemble black dresses and are adorned with bows.
860* HybridPower: A variant in the games via HotSkittyOnWailordAction: Breeding mons together results in a child that may inherit the moves, [=IVs=], and ability of either of the parents, the exact mechanics varying between generations. Breeding Pokémon over and over to create a super-powered offspring with all the best traits of its parents (and possibly their parents back several breeding cycles) is the major reason the mechanic exists.
861* HyperactiveMetabolism: Berries aside, this trope more or less [[{{Pun}} evolved]] overtime onto this series, with its various drinks and delicacies introduced in each generation, all good for restoring HP and status, although most of these can only be obtained at a specific part of each game. [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue The first games]] only featured Rare Candies and a vending machine somewhere where you could buy water, soda, or lemonade, but [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver the next pair]] added berry juice, milk, and Rage Candy Bars[[note]]This was absent in generation III, returned as a key item in the remake pair the following generation, and then became a regular food item again in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''.[[/note]] to the mix, and from there came things like [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Lava Cookies]], [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Old Gateaus]], [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Sweet Hearts, Casteliacones,]] [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Shalour Sables, Lumoise Galettes]], and [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Malasadas]] as time went on.
862* HypnotismReversal: This is possible when using Hypnosis, a StatusInflictionAttack that puts the target to sleep, against a Pokemon with the Magic Bounce ability or one that used the move Magic Coat in the same turn, as these reflect Hypnosis back to it's user.
863[[/folder]]
864
865[[folder:I]]
866* IceCrystals: Prevalent throughout the series.
867** The first three generations would represent ice-type attacks with crystals in some way. The first two gens would show ice crystals creeping up from the bottom, the second generation would actually show them flying from the attacking pokemon to the target, etc.
868** ''VideoGame/PokemonHeartGoldAndSoulSilver'' features an image of each environment that is displayed when the player enters it, and the image for the Ice Cave features these.
869** In Generation VII, (namely [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Sun, Moon,]] [[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon]]), Ice-typed Alolan Sandslash has crystal-shaped ice spikes on its back to replace the sandy spines normal Sandslash has. Gen VII also introduced the Ice Stone, which looks like a typical crystal-shaped shard of ice and can be used to evolve certain ice-type Pokemon.
870* AnIcePerson: The Ice Type.
871** Notable people in the Pokémon world who specialize in this type include Lorelei of the Kanto Elite Four, Pryce of the Johto Gym Leaders, Glacia of the Hoenn Elite Four, Candice of the Sinnoh Gym Leaders, Brycen of the Unova Gym Leaders, Wulfric of the Kalos Gym Leaders, Melony of the Galar Gym Leaders, and Grusha of the Paldea Gym Leaders. Interesting to note that Candice is actually quite HotBlooded.
872* IceMagicIsWater: Surprisingly [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] throughout the series in terms of Pokémon typing. Three of the original five Ice types of Generation I (Dewgong, Cloyster, and Lapras), one three-stage evolution line from Generation III (Spheal, Sealeo, and Walrein) and one fossil Pokémon from Generation VIII (Arctovish) are dual Ice/Water types, meaning of the combined 182 Ice- and Water-type Pokémon and 905 total Pokémon, as of Generation VIII, only seven Pokémon fully embody this trope.
873** This is, however, partially made up for in the fact that the majority of Water-types are able to learn Ice-type moves, and a couple of Ice-types can do the opposite.
874* IconicStarterEquipment:
875** Downplayed with the starter Pokémon. In the games, by virtue of EvolutionPowerUp, the {{Starter Mon}}s remain useful throughout the game; however, with a few exceptions, the first stage starters tend to remain the most popular and heavily featured in promotional materials and merchandise. Characters in the anime will often not evolve their Pokémon, likely due to the base forms being more popular, recognizable, and [[MerchandiseDriven merchandisable]].
876** Outside of the mainline games, it's rare to see any other variant of Poké Ball aside from the most basic one, despite most players opting to use other variants as soon as they become available in order to make catching Pokémon easier.
877* IKnewThereWasSomethingAboutYou: Pops up in a couple of the main series games, usually with a gym leader or one of the final bosses saying it to the player character.
878* ImmortalProcreationClause: Most Legendary and Mythical Pokémon are supposedly immortal (either [[TheAgeless biologically]] or [[CompleteImmortality completely]]) but are also incapable of breeding... Again, supposedly. This is mostly true in the main games (the big exceptions being Manaphy [[spoiler:also Solgaleo and Lunala]]), but other areas of Pokémon media do have examples of other Legendaries, such as Lugia, having offspring.
879* ImmuneToFire: A Pokémon with the Flash Fire ability is immune to Fire-type moves and will have its own Fire-type moves strengthened after being hit by one.
880* ImposedHandicapTraining: The Macho Brace and Power items boost the effects of leveling up, but halve the speed of any Pokémon holding them.
881* ImprovisedLightningRod: Generation III introduced an ability literally called "Lightning Rod" that causes single-target electric-type attacks to automatically target the Pokémon with the ability. Most such Pokémon are already Electric-type (which resist such attacks) or Ground-type (which are completely immune). Generation V would add an immunity as well as an increase in Special Attack for every time the Pokémon is hit with an Electric attack. The ability "Storm Drain" does the same thing but with Water moves.
882* IncompetenceInc: Clay definitely qualifies for his poor handling of Team Plasma. He captured them and then proceeded to lose them when the bridge to Driftveil was lowered, which was a time span of just a few seconds. This is so important to Clay that he suspends his Gym activities by outright refusing the player's challenge, stating the player will only get the opportunity if the Plasma members are recaptured. After the player rounds the Plasma goons up for him, Clay loses the captured members ''again'' when Ghetsis gathers his captured subordinates right in front of Clay's own Gym without any fighting.
883* IncreasinglyLethalEnemy:
884** Regigigas has the "Slow Start" ability, which means that it spends the first five turns of a battle with reduced speed and attack. After this, the effect wears off and its real stats come into play.
885** Certain moves become more powerful if they gain momentum. Rollout, Ice Ball, Fury Cutter, and Rage will all become more dangerous if the foe can't be stopped, and they're allowed to use it multiple times in a row. Bugsy and Whitney both rely on this strategy in Gen II with a Fury Cutter Scyther and a Rollout Miltank respectively.
886** Pokémon with the Moxie ability. This Ability raises the Pokémon's Attack stat every time it knocks out another Pokémon. If not stopped, these Pokémon ''will'' steamroll their way through the opposing team, especially if they can naturally increase their Speed. Beast Boost, an ability exclusive to the Ultra Beasts, is a variant of it. Beast Boost raises the Pokémon's highest stat after defeating a Pokémon.
887** Magearna's signature ability, Soul-Heart, is a variant of this, it raises its Special Attack stat whenever a Pokémon faints.
888** Pokémon with the Speed Boost ability. This ability raises the Pokémon's speed at the end of every turn.
889** The Moody ability raises a random stat by two stages and lowers another random stat by one stage. Over a number of turns, a Pokémon with this ability can easily become unstoppable. Especially when it also affects Evasion and Accuracy.
890* InfinityPlusOneElement: The Dragon type was intended to be this in earlier generations as their type was defensively strong against Fire, Water, Electric and Grass (basically all the possible starters in the Gen I games) and was only represented by three Pokémon in a single family. Gradually, more dragon types were introduced to the point where they became [[GameBreaker too easy to win battles with]]. In Gen 6, they were {{nerf}}ed with the introduction of the [[OurFairiesAreDifferent Fairy type]].
891* InfinityPlusOneSword: The [[OlympusMons legendary]] '{{mons}} ([[TheMaker Arceus]] in particular, as well as Mewtwo in Generation I). As of the newest generation, the absolute examples are [[SuperMode Mega Mewtwo and Mega Rayquaza]], with a whopping 780 base stat points (60 more than the aforementioned [[{{God}} Arceus]]).
892* InfinityMinusOneSword: The legendary trios and "pseudo-legendaries" such as Dragonite and Garchomp fit this bill in some generations. They're not as powerful as the "main" legendaries, but you can obtain them before entering the leagues and/or encountering the main legendaries. Interestingly, despite being "legitimate" legendaries the trios are actually slightly ''less'' powerful than the "pseudo-legendaries" (traditionally trio members have 580 base stat points, while pseudo-legendaries have 600).
893* InjuredVulnerability:
894** Pokémon are much easier to catch when they're weakened. Lowering their health and inflicting them with status effects make the chances of successfully capturing them much higher.
895** When it comes to attacks, there's the Water-type move Brine, which deals extra damage when the opponent has less than half their HP left, the Poison-type move Venoshock does double damage if the target is currently poisoned, and the Ghost-type move Hex does double damage if the target has any status ailment.
896** The Fighting type move Wake-Up Slap does double damage if the opponent is asleep, and the Normal type move Smellingsalt does double damage if the opponent is paralyzed. However, both of these moves also cure that Pokémon with it when used.
897** The Dark-type move Assurance deals double damage if the target has already been injured that turn. Somewhat less practical than the other moves in single battles, but you can make good use of it in double battles.
898** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with the Water-type move Sparkling Aria, which when used on a Pokémon with a burn, removes that burn, but provides no additional effect from that.
899* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Several, but the most JustForFun/{{egregious}} example would have to be the one-way ledges. Yeah, the ones that appear to be half the player character's height but cannot be climbed, regardless of whether or not one's Pokémon know Rock Climb, Fly, or any other field move that would logically allow one to overcome such an obstacle. The only way to go over these ledges is riding a Skiddo. But you can only ride it in a fenced area and there's no way to get Skiddo outside it.
900* InternetSafetyAesop: One lesson from the ''Pokémon Learning League'' site is themed around online safety, with Dawn going onto a Pokémon Contest message board, and making plans to meet a user named [=CoolGirlTrainer=], in spite of Ash and Zoey warning her that she should not trust this anonymous individual. When Dawn actually does go out to meet the other user, they turn out to actually be [[TerribleTrio Team Rocket]], who were using the message board to lure in trainers and steal their Pokémon.
901* InterspeciesRomance: How the series became the TropeNamer for HotSkittyOnWailordAction. Pokémon are divided into various "egg groups", and any given Pokémon can breed with any other Pokémon it shares an egg group with. This leads to a lot of seemingly illogical, or even outright ''bizarre'' combinations of mons somehow being able to produce offspring together, such as the infamous Wailord and Skitty (a massive whale-like mon and a small cat-like mon). Interestingly, this is the only way any genderless mon species can be bred - for whatever reason, they refuse to breed with each other, and therefore can only be bred with Ditto.
902* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou:
903** Your room is somewhat customizable in G/S/C; in R/S/E and D/P/P, you get a much more advanced "Secret Base" to decorate. In Platinum, you receive ''a rather large villa'' '''for free''' when you enter the Resort Area. You can buy the furniture you want, but you can't put it where you want.
904** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyandSapphire Ruby]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyandSapphire Sapphire]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyandSapphire Emerald]]'' also added an exterior-design element, to a degree. Do you want your secret base to be in a tree (as a treehouse), a large bush, a mountainside cave, or a [[SceneryPorn lakeside cave]]? ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondandPearl Diamond]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondandPearl Pearl]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondandPearl Platinum]]'' also let you choose your base's location (which did depend somewhat on where you entered the Underground from), except that [[RealIsBrown there was no real]] [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks aesthetic variation underground]].
905** And in ''[=HeartGold=]'' and ''[=SoulSilver=]'', you can now design the safari zone.
906* InterpolSpecialAgent: An NPC on the S.S. Anne and Looker are police officers who work for the "international police". [[spoiler:Anabel becomes one in ''Sun and Moon'', and Nanu used to be a high-ranking officer.]]
907* InTheirOwnImage: Team Galactic's plan, and comparable to the plans of Aqua and Magma.
908* InvulnerableAttack:
909** Moves like Fly and Dig involve the player's Pokémon moving itself out of the opponent's range for one turn, making them invulnerable to most attacks. Later generations introduced a handful of moves that can strike the Pokémon during this phase, and some even inflict double damage (e.g. Earthquake against Dig, Surf against Dive, Gust against Fly). Shadow Force is a newer and straighter example of the trope, but is indirectly banned within the game's specialized battle-scenario environments as the only Pokémon who can use it are PurposelyOverpowered.
910** Phantom Force is a new move introduced in Generation VI that is basically a weaker version of Shadow Force. It's also available to some of the more mundane Pokémon.
911** Sky Drop, a two-turn attack introduced in ''Black and White'', takes it a step further by also granting this to the opponent for the duration. It was banned from Gen V VGC tournaments due to an exploit that could immobilize the target for an entire match.
912* {{Irony}}: Some Pokémon give the impression that developers enjoy taking certain semi-aquatic animals and [[SandIsWater reimagining them as]] [[DishingOutDirt Rock or Ground]] types.
913* IShallTauntYou: Some Pokémon can learn a attack named Taunt that makes the opposing Pokémon only use direct attacks instead of status-changing moves.
914* ItIsDehumanizing: Subverted. Regardless of gender, all pokemon are given "it" pronouns, but none of them are mistreated the same way.
915[[/folder]]

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