* In this story, EVERY member of the Squirtle evolution line is an {{Otaku}} for some kind of anime/media. So any time one shows up, count on a reference being made.
** The most frequently seen example of this is Ash's Squirtle, who is a walking ShoutOut to ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' and [[HotBlooded all that it]] [[RuleOfCool stands for]]. It is ''wonderful.''
*** Also, in Chapter 37, he starts going on about how "[[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam This mouth of mine is dripping wet! Its loud slosh tells me to--]]" before getting cut off.
*** In Chapter 236, Squirtle is told that he's not to turn Samiya into a giant robot to intercept the moon falling, directly referencing Arc Gurren-Lagann.
** The island of the Turtle Pokemon is home to the [[Anime/{{Naruto}} hidden village of the turtle.]]
** A Wartortle later on teaches Quilava all about Sailor Cresselia (AKA Sailor Moon)... which said Wartortle is a huge fan of, even with her own moves based on the show.
** One new starter Squirtle who sees May's Blaziken in action decides to take up kickboxing, and become [[Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple the Strongest Squirtle]].
** Another Blastoise that the group meets can recite half of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''. Since this seems to be ''all'' that it does, it also seems to be one of the most normal of all the Squirtle family.
** May's Wartortle claims [[WhiteSheep to not have any obsession]], but controls water through dance. Others have thought of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' as her obsession, but the fact that she doesn't know that show, has musical scores on-hand for ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}} Be A Mon]]'', and taught [[spoiler: Manaphy]] how to shape water by [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 singing how it's better underwater in a funny accent]] may indicate [[{{Creator/Disney}} something else]].
* Riolu's Aura Sphere that he uses in the battle for the Thunder Badge is hinted to be similar to the [[{{Manga/Naruto}} Rasengan]], which reveals that [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial Surge is definitely not a fan of the show.]]
** Speaking of Riolu and Naruto, the former is can apparently water-walk through the use of Aura by using "modified physics" to keep the surface tension from breaking. Ash flat out called it ignoring the laws of physics.
** Another Naruto reference shows up in Max's Breloom, Guy. Who can use the Strong Fist to great effect.
** And then it's taken to the limit with Wallace's Greninja, who plays up every bit of the ninja franchise from the handsigns and spitting elements, to the [[SelfDuplication Substitute]] and even PowerCopying via Role Play.
* Blast Burn is openly called a [[Literature/{{Bolo}} Hellbore.]]
* Jessie's [[spoiler: Cubone]] is a deliberate {{Expy}} of Archer from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', right down to the use of a Reality Marble.
** One of the movies the characters help film in the original version takes this theme and runs with it, creating an entire Pokémon-based version of the movie adaptation.
** Sir Aaron makes use of [[DualWielding Kanshou and Bakuya]], and can execute the ''Crane Wing Three Realm'' via Sacred Sword.
* In one chapter description, Saphroneth explains that their idea of Sacred and Secret Sword is very similar to unlocking a [[Franchise/FateSeries Noble Phantasm]]. Each person thereby has a version of Sacred Sword unique to them and based on a Noble Phantasm.
** Coballion has Curtana, the Sword of Mercy used in coronations.
** Verizion has Joyeuse, the sword of Charlemagne.
** Terrakion has Durendal, the unbreakable sword of Roland, one of Charlemagne's paladins.
** Keldeo has Excalibur and Excalibur Galatine.
** Sir Aaron and his Lucario had Kanshou and Bakuya.
** [[spoiler: Ash has Caliburn, the sword that chooses... and can perform Saber's Excali-blast with Secret Sword.]]
** [[spoiler: Sceptile has the sword of Olivier, another one of Charlemagne's paladins.]]
** [[spoiler: Absol has Carnwennen, King Arthur's dagger of invisibility.]]
* The fight between Abra and Psyduck was inspired heavily by the fight with Zeruel from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion,'' specifically the rebuild (WordOfGod).
* One suggested method of using [=TMs=] is to "[[Advertising/HeadOn apply directly]] [[MemeticMutation to forehead]]."
* Brock's [[spoiler:Ninetales]] and Growlie reenact the famous SpaghettiKiss date scene from ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp''. Lampshaded when the waiter asks his boss why they're serving spaghetti when it's a sushi restaurant and where the manager and cook learned to play the violin and accordion.
* ''[[Anime/MacrossDoYouRememberLove Macross: Do You Remember Love?]]'' is adapted into the plot of the mermaid show Misty and the others perform at the Cerulean Gym in the original version.
* During his Gym battle with Sabrina, Ash calls himself the "[[Literature/{{Hogfather}} inner babysitter]]." Lampshaded when Sabrina asks if he stole that line from somewhere.
** In the previous chapter, Dialga's character in a roleplaying game is a monk of "[[Literature/ThiefOfTime Deja Fu]]".
* Gary nicknamed his Porygondex "Dee". [[WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory Keep in mind that Ash's Porygondex is nicknamed Dexter]].
* Otoshi, the trainer whom Ash met on the way to the Indigo League, states that he's a voice actor for an anime involving [[Anime/InuYasha a Poochyena youkai]], who decided to resume his League Challenge while the anime was on hiatus. [[CastingGag In the real-life Pokémon anime, Otoshi's Latin American voice actor also voiced Inuyasha.]]
* James' guidebook is published by Prima. For those who don't get it, Prima is a company that makes video game strategy guides, including ones for Pokemon.
** And then it gets combined with AdaptationNameChange and MythologyGag later on. It turns out that Lorelei (whose name became Prima in the English anime dub) wrote those guides and gives lecture tours under that alias, so as to keep her Elite Four career separate from her scientific one, and actually wrote guidebooks for Pokemon trainers in the anime (shown when Team Rocket suggested her to do it and she ''announced the price'').
* The Team that Ash fights Erika with is identical to the one that Red uses in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'', and that fact is lampshaded in the author's notes and [[MythologyGag is noted to be fitting by the characters]].
** And the SSB movesets are also incorporated: Ash's Lucario can use his [[WaveMotionGun Aura Storm]] Final Smash, and Meganium, Quilava and Totodile pull off a [[CombinationAttack Johto-version Triple Finish]] during a triple battle.
* Jessie, James, and Meowth reference Agent Domino (from the ''Anime/PokemonMewtwoReturns'' movie) having an old team that was basically the [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Kuno family]].
** Riolu later uses the Flying Dragon Uppercut (or Hiryu Shoten Ha) against Ash during training, and later on uses a technique suspiciously similar to the Bakusai Tenketsu.
** Another one shows up in the form of Brawly's [[CombatPragmatist Pangoro]], which is very reminiscent of Genma Saotome, from his dirty fighting, Brawly stating his style is "Anything-Goes", and a LampshadeHanging when he gets hit with a Scald attack. Unfortunately, he makes the fatal mistake of deliberately pressing Squirtle's BerserkButton [[TrashTalk through his signature Parting Shot]].
-->'''Pangoro''': Gurren Lagann sucks!
* During the Fuchsia Free-For-All race at the Laramie Ranch, Pikachu and Squirtle combine Magnet Rise with jet propulsion from Water Gun to catch up with the other racers. The result? [[VideoGame/MarioKart A speedy blue shell covered in electric spikes.]] When they crash into [[CheatersNeverProsper Dario]] after [[HumiliationConga nearly everyone else has already passed him at the finish line]], one of the judges recognizes it as something from "[[BlandNameProduct Marillkart]]."
* When Dexter manifests a Porygon form for the first time, he says, "[[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Stand by, ready. Set up.]]" He later gains a projector based on Bardiche, and refers to one of his shapeshifting forms as "Sonic Form". Gary later gains a Porygon from his Pokédex as well, and its projector is a red/purple sphere, aka Raising Heart.
** Also, in the Kanto Grand Festival, May faces a heterochromatic-eyed trainer named [[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid Vivio]], who has a Buneary on her shoulder. One of her Pokemon is a Furret, likely a further reference to Yuuno of the same universe (as the character spent a good deal of time as a ferret), especially since it tends to draw arcane circles when it uses its attacks.
* Primeape's [[FantasticFightingStyle Close Combat-based fighting style]] is essentially the ''Coup de Vitesse'' from Literature/HonorHarrington.
* Professor Ivy triggers a [[VideoGame/HalfLife resonance cascade]], leading to Brock having to [[OffscreenMomentofAwesome fight off a horde of Unown with a crowbar.]]
* The story Brock tells with Steelix and Ninetales in chapter 47 is pulled straight from ''Videogame/{{Okami}}''.
** Also, Barry's [[ArtAttacker Smeargle]] can invoke his [[PowerCopying Sketched attacks]] with similar brushstrokes, like invoking Whirlwind with a spiral or Energy Ball with a circle.
* Apparently, Rudy's Pidgeot requires a ThemeMusicPowerUp. The name of the song? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKpuYWo5La4 The Dambuster's March]].
* Max and May name their Porygons [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Kris and Ethan respectively.]]
* Quilava's Flame Wheel [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog takes the form of a Spindash, and her Aerial Ace while in Flame Wheel is a Homing Attack.]]
* Muk has taken a cue from [[Series/SesameStreet the Cookie Monster]]. He thinks [=TMs=] taste like cookies.
* Jessie suggests getting rid of Jessebelle by [[Film/TheGodfather putting a Ponyta on her pillow.]]
* One trainer that Ash meets at the Johto bug-catching contest has a female Croconaw whom [[YourTomcatIsPregnant he mis-nicknamed]] [[Series/CrocodileHunter Steve]] ([[AmbiguousGender Understandable, since Croconaw don't have gender-specific features]]). Once Ash pulls a GenderReveal, her trainer decides on the nickname Terri.
* Ash's paperwork to become Max's tutor includes [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail a question about the airspeed velocity of an unladen Swellow. They don't specify what kind of Swellow]].
* Butch's [[RunningGag latest]] [[AccidentalMisnaming wrong names]] are [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundance_and_the_Kid Sundance]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopalong_Cassidy Hopalong]].
* Dr. Akihabara is taking his [[Franchise/{{Digimon}} CyberMon]] system to new lengths, even finding "Cyber-Destined" to take on missions in cyberspace. There are currently four of them, and they and their Pokémon partners are all [[{{Expy}} expies]] of existing characters from several different seasons of Franchise/{{Digimon}}:
** [[Anime/DigimonAdventure Tachikawa and her Lilligant]].
** [[Anime/DigimonTamers Akiyama and his Fraxure, and Katou and her Pyroar]].
** [[Anime/DigimonDataSquad Noguchi and his Braviary]].
** Also, Corona, Max's Charmander, can shape her [[WreathedInFlames Flame Charge and Flare Blitz]] attacks into a winged dragon BattleAura and use it to fly. She must have been taking some cues from [[Anime/DigimonDataSquad Agumon Burst Mode]].
* Ash's Johto League semifinal opponent is named Steve, with a team completely based off of the Oogakari family from Third Fang's infamous ''Fanfic/YetAgainWithALittleExtraHelp''.
* Mega Heracross's massive forearms and their [[MegatonPunch punching]] and [[ArmCannon projectile-launching capabilities]] are reminiscent of both a [[{{ComicStrip/Popeye}} super-strong sailor]] and a [[Franchise/{{Megaman}} blue cannon-armed robot.]]
* Ash's Swellow is a skilled flyer, a {{Fangirl}} to his Pidgeot and an overall tomboy, just like [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Rainbow Dash]]. And she can even pull off the Buccaneer Blaze [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome offscreen]].
* When Dexter is hacking and fighting off virtual Sharpedo, it takes the form of VideoGame/SpaceInvaders.
* Misty fights a Gym Leader candidate named [[Manga/FairyTail Mavis, from Vermilion City, who uses Fairy-types, and battles with a Dedenne named Laxus.]]
** And when we see the rest of her team during her battle with Max, they all have nicknames like Gray (Alolan Ninetales), Juvia (Primarina), Lucy (Klefki), Gajeel (Mawile), Wendy (Altaria) and Erza (Gardevoir). Gray even has a shedding problem.
** Ash's Glalie also practices Ice-Make.
* Corphish exemplifies two iconic features of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise: his Razor Shell attack takes the form of twin [[LaserBlade Lightsabers]] of water energy (and even has the ''snap-hiss'' sound to boot), and his projectile attacks indicate that he graduated the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy.
** And later, he shows that he can use The Power - Ancientpower, that is.
*** And even later, when he finally evolves into Crawdaunt, his Razor Shell turns red, and he gives the classic "I have the high ground" line against his opponent. He even pulls off a DynamicEntry through a cloud of mist, complete with VaderBreath, while invoking "That name no longer has any meaning for me".
** Lucario tries to use a JediMindTrick on Brock.
* Tyranitar using Hyper Beam is reminiscent of his inspiration and the original {{Kaiju}}, Franchise/{{Godzilla}}. It starts off at his tail, lights up all his spines in turn, and is even blue in color.
* Brock's Geodude practices [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Earthbending]] through his Stone Edge move.
* A few of Blaziken's kicking moves seem to stem from [[Manga/OnePiece Sanji's Black Leg Style]].
* When Professor Oak gets home from a meeting, Damos asks [[Film/WarGames if he wants to play a game.]]
* Director Cleavon Schpielbunk's new film project is about [[Film/JurassicPark an amusement park full of Prehistoric Pokémon.]]
* Giovanni's challenger uses a Floatzel named [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bellmaker Finnbarr.]]
* Max's Shuppet is nicknamed [[WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost Casper]].
* Arbok and Seviper have a conversation filled with references to Creator/GilbertAndSullivan plays.
* May somehow makes a Pokéblock that looks like it has jellybeans for ingredients, has a white bit in them, and when eaten, makes one [[FireBreathingDiner spit multicolored fire]] - literally tasting the rainbow. Skittles, anyone?
* With Cosplaychu present in the story, her {{Cosplay}} skills and [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman the moves they give her]] contain a lot of references. So far the list includes:
** ComicBook/{{Superman}}
** [[ComicBook/XMen Professor X]] (Psychic)
** [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Pinkie Pie]]
** ComicBook/TheFlash (Extremespeed)
** [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} A portal gun]] (Hyperspace Hole)
** [[Franchise/StarWars Sith Lord]] (Psychic)
** [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Keyblade wielder]] (Fairy Lock)
** [[Franchise/FinalFantasy Black Mage]] (one-shot Thunder, Blizzard, Hyper Beam & Draco Meteor)
** [[Literature/DoctorDolittle Dr. Doolittle]] (human speech)
* Golduck pays the bills while Misty's gone. Because he's a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflac#The_Aflac_Duck duck]], and that's what they do.
* In her fifth Contest, May faces off against [[ComicBook/SpiderMan a Coordinator named Peter who uses an Ariados and an Araquanid]].
** And in the Hoenn Grand Festival, she faces off against [[{{Literature/Discworld}} Perdita X]].
* In the Hoenn Grand Festival, one of May's appeals with Altaria is the "Forbidden Friendship" scene from [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon How To Train Your Dragon]][[spoiler: and it ends with Altaria revealing his Mega Evolution.]]
* Harley and his Banette gets knocked out of the Grand Festival by a Natu performing the Heavens Spell "Comet of Casandora" from ''{{TabletopGame/Warhammer}}''.
* The freshly-evolved Grumpig's LimbSensationFascination plays out very similarly to the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime freshly regenerated]] [[TheNthDoctor Eleventh]] [[Series/DoctorWho Doctor's]] checklist of his limbs.
-->'''Grumpig:''' "Legs! I've got legs! Wow, that feels odd... wait, I'm feeling them? I've got arms! Hands! So this is what fingers feel like..."
* The whole "psychics assisting space flight and exploration" is very ''Literature/ToRidePegasus'' in style, as noted by Saphroneth.
* Near the end of Chapter 4, Ash says something along the lines of [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo "and because of him, and his little Dialga too"]] when talking to Riolu.
* [[Film/Armageddon1998 …So no, this is not a problem you can fix simply by sending up a half-dozen guys and a really big bomb!]]
* Greta apparently plays TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering.
* May's new Joltik has another reference to [[Manga/GhostInTheShell a Tachikoma]] other than just her species' resemblance; she's also a philosopher.
* After getting a bath, a [[FluffyDryCat Fluffy Dry Skitty]] compares herself to a [[Franchise/StarTrek Tribble]].
* Brock suggests that a Deoxys, an alien with NoMouth, is off to find out [[Literature/{{Animorphs}} what cinnamon buns taste like]].
* Keldeo is thinking of naming his new move [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Meteorain]] but is uncertain on whether it sounds over the top or not. He decided on it by Sinnoh.
** Also, Roland, Max's new Gallade, is starting to learn to fuse his blade moves together. He later pulls off an Omnislash combination as well.
* [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest One participant in the Kanto Grand Festival is named Wu, has a Monferno named Kong, and has tactics named "Gold banded cudgel" and "Intelligent Stone Monkey"]].
* Barry has obtained a very expressive Smeargle, whose BigOlEyebrows [[WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit say a lot by themselves]].
* Jessie's Marowak once [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles created an entire Tyrantrum skeleton to ride]].
* Altaria has a fun thought about Mewtwo becoming villainous again and declaring that he'll [[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe1 steal the moon]].
* At one point, Lucario has to remind Ash that [[Fanfic/BraveNewWorld as a Steel-type, he is immune to poison.]]
* Chapter 242 has Glalie give some puns reminiscent of a very campy [[Film/BatmanAndRobin Mr. Freeze]].
-->'''Glalie:''' Hey, what wiped out the Fossils? The Ice Age!
* The author gives a Shout-Out to his other Pokémon fanfic ''Fanfic/MasterPokemon'', when Ash says that he bets there are Zorua out there who've become secret trainers, as a suggestion that [[spoiler: Tyrantrum become Mawile's Pokémon]].
* One of May's contest appeals involves [[spoiler: Manaphy]] water-crafting an entire fairy-tale castle, complete with fireworks and an arc trailing overhead. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBLXhx9vdHg If that sounds familiar to you]], remember that one of his teammates has a liking for a certain [[{{Creator/Disney}} franchise]]...
* The Porygon assisting the contest judges for the Wallace Cup is named [[TheJeeves Jeeves]], and the judges often [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ask_Jeeves ask him questions]].
* When Oak and Dexter create twelve Porygon to help look for and/or monitor Team Galactic, most of them end up choosing very referential names:
** The original plan was to use WesternZodiac ThemeNaming for all of them, but only 6 out of the 12 have any Zodiac theme whatsoever: Leo and Scorpius (WesternZodiac), Rooster and Dragon[[note]] also a ShoutOut to the similarly-named Tinker in Literature/{{Worm}}.[[/note]] (EasternZodiac), Guanna (Taurus in the Sumerian Zodiac) and Laocoon (Greek mythological figure associated with Ophiuchus)
** [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Laser beak]]
** [[VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney Apollo]]
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage Babbage]]
** [[Literature/EmpireFromTheAshes Dahak]]
** [[Myth/NorseMythology Fenris]]
** [[WebComic/CaseyAndAndy Bob]] (Also possibly a reference to Literature/WeAreLegionWeAreBob)
*** When asked about his name, Bob defends himself by telling them to be glad that he didn't choose [[VideoGame/{{Marathon}} Durandal or Tycho]].
* Lucario tells Ash to [[Literature/{{Dinotopia}} "Breath deep, seek peace"]] when he looks like he's about to [[TalkToTheFist deck Zero]].
* Candice owns a Beartic nicknamed [[Literature/HisDarkMaterials Iorek, who can use Bulk Up to generate ice armor]].
* Tobias's starter is a [[BlackMage Delphox]], who either shapes her Mystical Fire attack to reference spells from other media, or can actually ''use'' magic spells from other media. In Ash's match alone, she made use of ''[[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering Wall of Fire]], [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Aerora]], [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Fuego]], [[Franchise/HarryPotter Stupefy]], [[VideoGame/BaldursGate Dragon Breath]], [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Pyroclasm]], [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} Flaming Sword of Rhuin]], [[VideoGame/DarkSouls Fire Surge]],'' and even ''[[Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi Ouraniā Phlogōsis]]''.
* Lieutenant Surge thinks that he recognizes the aura attack that Riolu is preparing, from an anime about "[[Anime/{{Naruto}} some kid with a Ninetales sealed inside him]] or whatever".
* When Ash confirms that they're not on camera, Mewtwo steeples his fingers and responds, "''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Excellent]]''."
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