Hilarious In Hindsight / Pokémon: The Series

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• Despite Pikachu not being officially part of the trifecta of Kanto starters, the revelation that Gary's starter was a Squirtle makes people realize that it was Ash who has the type advantage—a complete inversion of a tradition in the games. Of course, the fact that Ash's Charizard was his strongest team member during their climactic 6-on-6 probably has something to do with it.
• In Episode 3 overall, Ash calls out Team Rocket for sending out two Pokémon at once because that's against Pokémon League rules, and therefore cheating. Misty suggests that Ash do the same, but he worries because Double Battles aren't in the League rules. Come 2002, upon the release of Ruby & Sapphire, Double Battles and Multi Battles (also known as Tag Battles) are introduced.
• The Viridian Gym battle with Jessie saw her send out three Pokémon at once against Ash's three. It would take four generations for triple battles to be officially introduced to the game.
• Episode 5 has Ash defeating Brock's Onix with a Thunder Shock after said attack sets off the sprinkler system in the Pewter Gym and soaked Onix in water, allowing its ground immunity to be bypassed. Gen 5 introduces the move Soak, which changes the target's type to Water, which is weak against Electric.
• All that talk about Brock being a Casanova Wannabe...when HeartGold and SoulSilver updated his look to make him a true Bishōnen.
• In an early episode, Ash asks Brock what he knows about the local Gym Leaders, as he wants to be prepared. He specifically says to succeed, one must "know yourself, and know your adversary!". Brock is impressed, before Ash notes he "got that one from Dexter!". He's referring to his Pokédex, but still, it describes that character's, er, "work" philosophy quite accurately.
• Episode 8 features A.J., an unofficial Gym Leader who puts his Pokémon through Training from Hell by fastening them with a "strength intensifier", a restraint that unlocks a Pokémon's potential but restricts movement. In Generation 3, cue the Macho Brace, an actual held item that...unlocks a Pokémon's potential but restricts movement. In-game art of the Macho Brace suggests it actually is the same item.
• In the same episode, there's A.J's Sandshrew, who unlike wild Sandshrew can tolerate going for a swim. In Generation VII, Alolan Sandshrew shows up...and since it's part Ice-type it likely wouldn't mind going for a swim so long as it's cold water.
• Ash and company's first impression of the eponymous Pokémon in "Charmander the Stray Pokémon" is that Charmander has an attitude problem. While said Charmander turns out to be the gentlest of Ash's starter Pokémon at the time, it picks up a massive disobedient streak once it evolves.
• In several episodes including "Sandshrew's Locker", characters go underwater using a small mouth instrument that allows them to breathe. Courtesy of Korean designer Jeabyun Yeon, that thing actually exists now.◊
• An early episode of the Pokémon anime featured giant Pokémon, with another before the Indigo League (With ancient civilizations involved), and a third one during the Hoenn arc. Decades later, it's finally a feature with the Dynamax phenomenon.
  • For bonus points, the Gigantamax phenomenon was shown to happen to a number of Pokémon species, with Pikachu being one such candidate. Cycling the point back to the anime after so many years, Ash's Pikachu has the Gigantamax factor as seen in Galar Episode 13.
  • Said feature is revealed one week after the release of Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) worldwide.
  • And before said film there was Pokémon Detective Pikachu, which featured a scene with kaiju-sized Torterra.
  • Jigglypuff's Final Smash, "Puff Up", in the Super Smash Bros. series predates the Dynamax mechanic by over a decade.
• In episode 13, "The Mystery of the Lighthouse", at a time when there were only 150 Pokémon species known, Bill theorizes that there "may be no limit" to the number, and it will take years to find them all. Since then, the number has grown to 1021 Pokémon as of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and shows no sign of slowing down.
  • Furthermore, the episode aired in Japan in 1997. Fast-forward 15 years, and the anime itself is one of the longest-running TV shows ever in excess of 700 episodes, 15 movies, and one of the most popular video game series ever with no signs of slowing down.
  • The giant Dragonite in the episode is now often used in memes saying it was dynamax.
• In "A Chansey Operation" back during Season 1, the doctor recommends Ash and his friends could become competent doctors (being impressed by their handling of the sick Pokémon while he was out), but they choose to keep following their respective dreams. Come the end of DP, Brock decides to become a Pokémon Doctor.
• An earlier episode had Ash, Brock, and Character of the Day Suzy denouncing the idea of making Pokémon look flashy by dressing them up with make-up and accessories, saying that it diminished their inner beauty. Misty and Team Rocket went against this view, and were made to look wrong for it. Come Generation IV and we have Super Contests, which partly depend on picking out accessories in order to garner points, and Dress-Up Rooms, which let the player go wild with accessories and backgrounds that sometimes may move and be flashy. Team Rocket's Jessie would later become a regular participant of Contests, with a few A Day in the Limelight episodes where we want her to win, as opposed to vilifying her for making her Pokémon look flashy. This is taken even further in Generation V, where the Pokémon Musicals rely solely on the types of accessories that Pokémon can wear in order to make them stand out from the rest of the performers, with Trainers only able to decide to toss away an accessory twice during the entire musical number.
• The first season episode "Showdown At Dark City" features a pair of Gyms competing for the right to be made official. Both sides use underhanded tactics to sabotage the other Gym, up to and including fights breaking out on the street and sending out multiple Pokémon at once to physically assault the opponent. In the end, Nurse Joy reveals herself and states that neither of them deserve to be a Gym. This was written before Dark became an official type in the series, before Beat Up became a genuine Dark-type move, and before the first Dark-type Gym, in which the Gym challenge consists of being randomly attacked while walking down the street.
• During the battle between Ash and Misty regarding who got to keep Togepi, Psyduck barged out...again...and Bulbasaur made short work of him by using "Tickle". This was during G1; Tickle later became a real move in G3. Meowth did the same in "Bound For Trouble", also during G1, he even called the attack.
• Similarly Meowth performed an improvised "Scratch Fake Out" attack on Bulbsaur in the Johto episode "The Grass Route". Come G3, Fake Out is not only an official attack that works near exactly the same way, but it's part of the Meowth line's move set.
• In The Tower of Terror, Ash and Pikachu got turned into ghosts by a wild Gastly, Haunter and Gengar. Years later, Generation VI introduced the move Trick-or-Treat, which changes another Pokémon's type to Ghost. Only Pumpkaboo and Gourgeist can learn it, though.
• The anime's version of Lorelei only appeared during the Orange Islands saga. Come FRLG, we learn the game version of Lorelei's home is in the Sevii Islands. Coincidence or Mythology Gag?
• In "The Heartbreak of Brock", Brock loses out with a girl to a doctor, causing Misty to proclaim, "Brock, even a Pokémon breeder can't compete with a doctor." Fast forward to the end of Diamond & Pearl, and Brock leaves Ash's group to become a Pokémon doctor.
• In the Master Quest episode "Mantine Overboard!", Ash, Misty, and Brock briefly think a character has a treasure map and wonders what might be at the end of it. Brock asks about "gold and silver", the names of the games this season is based on, and Misty follows up with "pearls and diamonds".
• In "The Ties that Bind", the announcer proclaims that Heracross' victory over Magmar was contributed to his "Guts". When game abilities are introduced, what would be one of Heracross' in-game abilities?
• "Why? Wynaut?": the one time Ash had a justifiable means of jumping a hundred feet through the air, Team Rocket think it's impossible. What about their opinions on the other times it's happened?
• Wobbuffet really is the strongest member of Team Rocket, but Jessie just can't use him properly. It may be idiocy on her part, but, until Generation IV, the physical/special mechanics weren't exactly precise (in one episode of Johto League Champions, Duplica mentions that Counter reflects physical attacks like Bite, which was technically inaccurate at the time, but has since been born out by the physical/special attack split in Generation IV). Contrast how well he's being used in Kalos.^note which corresponds to Gen VI
• The Team Shot at the end of the Black and White OP. Oshawott the Attention Whore is standing right behind Pikachu.
• Georgia's hatred towards the (back then) broken Dragon-type Pokémon and her dedication to building an anti-Dragon squad becomes this in Generation VI when Dragon-types are completely overshadowed by Fairy-types as the most powerful type, leading to some players act like her and started to develop alternative strategies as well as building entire teams to specifically counter fairies and nothing else.
• The anime always makes a big deal about Contest rivalries so it's funny when in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Lisia says there aren't rivals in Contests. Even more hilarious is when Lisia debuts in Journeys and Contests have been retooled to be more like the ones in the games.
• Back in The School of Hard Knocks, Misty dreamed about Paris and Eiffel Tower. Fast forward 16 years, and we're introduced to Kalos, which is France-based.
• Iris once mistook Ash's Charizard for a Dragon-type (but can you blame her?). Pokémon X and Y would introduce Mega Charizard X, which is a Dragon-type.
• The song Heroes (We Could Be) by Alesso and sung by Tove Lo wouldn't sound out of place in Pokémon. In fact, from the title alone, it sounds just like We Will Be Heroes, the English theme to Battle Dimension, and the similarity carries over to the chorus and lyrical themes.
• In the Master Quest episode "Pop Goes The Sneasel", Jessie attempts to replace Meowth with a Sneasel. Sneasel's voice actor is Jimmy Zoppi, who ended up replacing Maddie Blaustein as Meowth in the Battle Frontier season. For extra irony, Eric Stuart's James is almost as adverse to the idea as Meowth is.
• More Meowth vs Sneasel irony. In the Advanced Battle episode "Hail to the Chef", Team Rocket is heckled by a Sneasel serving as a chef, overhearing Jessie boasting about being a top coordinator^note She had not yet Taken a Level in Badass in performing and mocking Meowth for a lacking a skill like Sneasel. Come Sinnoh and Kalos regions, Meowth has learned culinary abilities, which Jessie frequently uses to win appeal rounds. Verges on poetic irony in "Performing With Fiery Charm", guess what species Pokémon they outdo...
• In relation to that, "The Evolution Solution" had character of the day Professor Westwood V obliviously reading from a card how amazing and intellectual Meowth is. Westwood was voiced Nathan Price, Meowth's first voice actor ^note It's "hindsight" because he had been replaced by Maddie Blaustein by that time.
• A Gastly transformed into a real-world mongoose in the Kanto episode "The Ghost of Maiden's Peak". Later regions introduced actual mongoose Pokémon in the form of Zangoose and Yungoos.
• The infamous "aim for the horn" incident, where Pikachu defeats Blaine's Rhydon with a Thunderbolt despite the latter being part Ground-type and therefore No Selling Electric moves, becomes even funnier when watching Pokémon Origins - in which a Rhyhorn gets revenge and defeats a Jolteon with Thunderbolt^*Jolteon has the Volt Absorb Ability, which makes Electric attacks heal it. Though at least Origins has a better excuse for this Scissors Cuts Rock moment by being Truer to the Text to Gen I - where Abilities didn't yet exist, but not a good one because it's still coming off Rhyhorn's weak 30 Special.
  • Also, the Gen 3 games gave the Rhyhorn family (including Rhydon, which was the victim of said move) the Lightningrod ability. So not only is it immune to electrical attacks, probably to the frustration of those who can't tell between anime plot and game mechanics, but with that ability, as long as it's on the field, you can't aim an Electric attack at any other Pokémon!
  • Related to this, in the episode Tag! We're It...!, the first pair of opponents Ash and Paul face had... a Magmar and Rhydon. And the Rhydon had Lightningrod.
  • Another bit regarding Lightningrod. Even though Ash's Pikachu has Static, he balanced on his tail to dodge a berserk Thunder from Surge's Raichu. As of Gen 5, the Pikachu family has Lightningrod as their hidden ability.
• Ash's Pikachu has the Fan Nickname "Godchu" for being seen as overpowered, including the aforementioned "Aim for the horn" incident. Come Super Smash Bros. 64, Pikachu (although it's obviously not Ash's) was found to be top-tier.
  • Contrast with Mewtwo. "We dreamed of creating the world's strongest Pokémon..." and it's bottom tier in Melee and MIA in Brawl. It became better when it returned in 3DS/Wii U though.
• Late in Black and White, Professor Oak would capture a Rotom, which would accompany him in his appearances since (specifically, the Holocaster segments in the XY series). In Pokémon Sun and Moon, a Rotom would involuntarily join the player character during the game, as the "Rotom Pokédex".
• In their hurry to catch their plane back to Kanto at the end of XYZ, Team Rocket left behind a pair of Solrock and Lunatone figurines. As usual this is a nod to the upcoming Sun and Moon games, but it becomes even more hilarious because of the ironic fact that these Pokémon aren't even available in the Alola region.
• The plot for the OS episode, "The Ancient Puzzle of Pokémopolis". Two great and powerful Pokémon are summoned, who battle against each other and cause massive destruction. To avoid casualties, an even greater Pokémon must be summoned, who has the power that can halt both Pokémon and calm them down. Pokémon Emerald, anyone?
  • Similar to the above, the plot for the entire XYZ arc. A blonde girl adopts a baby Legendary Pokémon (who constantly tries escaping her bag), and has to learn more about it in order to return it to its home. Meanwhile, a shady organization needs the Legendary for their own ulterior motives, and pursues the girl and the legendary all the while. In the final battle, the Legendary reaches its final form and delivers the finishing blow to the Big Bad of the arc, thus saving the day. Hmmm...
• In "Meowth Rules!", Meowth is found by a group of islanders (complete with stereotypical Polynesian-esque dancers and music), worshiped as a king and subsequently spoiled. Sun and Moon reveals that Alolan Meowth (found in Alola, based of Hawaii) became Dark-type after becoming vain and selfish due to being spoiled by islanders.
• In the episode "Island of the Giant Pokémon", there are giant versions of other Pokémon Ash and the other have seen and not seen before. Which is also a bit amusing when you found out about Attack on Titan, and it's even funnier when Masafumi Mima, Pokémon's sound director, would sound direct the series years later.
• The infamous 'Thunder Armor' Swellow used in the Gym battle with Tate and Liza is oddly similar to the later 'Break Evolution' TCG mechanic. Some of the cards even have electricity surging around them.◊ Swellow BREAK was not among the cards made however.
• In the Master Quest episode "Enlighten Up!" Misty imagines chasing a silhouette of a "legendary water Pokémon" that looks an awful lot like Mega Gyarados four generations later.
• In XY&Z Serena's rival Miette often teased Serena by saying that she would steal Ash away from her. In "Sun & Moon", Miette's Japanese voice actress (from her second appearance onward) voices Lillie.
• The Marowak that Kiawe caught was powered up by the Wela Crown. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, they changed the Fire Trial Totem to a Marowak, where before it was Salazzle.^note Although, given how the anime started pushing the games around this time, it is possible that this was more intentional than an example of this.
• In DP077, "Staging a Heroes' Welcome!", Jessie's reaction to seeing that she didn't pass the appeals round is to have Color Failure and crumble to dust after saying "I don't feel so good..."
  James: I hate when that happens!
• In DP172, Dawn's Togekiss establishes her Team Mom personality by casually deflecting an imperfect Draco Meteor from Gible that was heading towards Piplup. Two generations later, Togekiss is now immune to Dragon-type attacks by being retconned into being part Fairy-type.
• Ash's reaction to returning to Kanto in the Sun & Moon series may seem familiar after the announcement of Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.
• In the episode, Ash Catches a Pokémon, Ash catches a Caterpie without having to fight it, despite not being in the Safari Zone. Then came Pokémon GO and Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!. Doubles when Masuda stared he considered this method more like BUG catching while the traditional is more like fishing.
• The Johto-era episode "A Better Pill to Swallow" features a Shuckle farmer and his loyal Bellsprout, who he has named Spoopy. That word definitely wasn't in the Internet lexicon in the early 2000's.
• In Hoenn, we see Team Magma and Team Aqua investigating a place of worship seemingly connected to Groudon and Kyogre located in Dewford Island (the episode "A Three Team Scheme" specifically). In the Gen VI remakes, there would eventually be a seeming place of worship for Groudon and Kyogre's Primal forms placed in Granite Cave, still in Dewford Island.
• In "A Double Dilemma", Wobbuffet is disguised as Max, and two seasons later, Kayzie Rogers replaces Amy Birnbaum for the role of Max.
• “Filling The Light With Darkness” had our heroes preparing to celebrate the Manalo Festival, which commemorates the first total eclipse of the sun in 21 years. The English dub of that episode premiered in North America on January 20, 2019, the day right before the Super Blood Wolf Moon lunar eclipse took place.
• The infamous "donut" scene is particularly amusing in light of the later introduction of Glalie, a Pokémon that is a combination of a riceball and hockey mask (original name Onigoalie, a pun on Oni, onigiri, goalie and kohri, Japanese for snowball). There's an extremely popular donut chain in Canada and the northern US, Tim Horton's, named after a famous hockey player.
  • The special Hoopa: The Mischief Pokémon features both riceballs and donuts, and makes the latter Hoopa's favorite food.
• The three times that a Pokémon was chosen for Super Smash Bros. before their debut game was released wasn't because of anime popularity, but said Pokémon would eventually be members of Ash’s team, tying in perfectly with the anime anyway (Greninja, Incineroar, Lucario).
• A trailer for the movie Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys features a space battle between Ash riding Rayquaza and Deoxys. This never happens in the movie itself, however a similar situation does happen ten years later in the Delta Episode of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire where the player rides Rayquaza into space and smashes a meteor containing Deoxys which they then proceed to battle.
• Remember Venustoise from the first season? Many years later, we get actual, similar Pokémon fusions with Black Kyurem and White Kyurem from Black 2 and White 2. Adding to this, it's unclear Black and White Kyurem are themselves fusions in the anime's continuity...
• One of the Japanese openings of the anime series (the Johto arc specifically) had a refrain that started with "golden sun and silver moon".
• During the brief point during the anime's Adaptation Expansion, it created the uniquely made Orange Islands arc, which featured a tropical region with a league revolving around non-battle quests and other anomalies from the games such as existing Pokémon with appearance and type differences as a result of the climate change. The coincidental resemblance and expansion has even led some fans to theorise Sun and Moon are a spiritual adaptation of the Orange Archipelago region.
• The fact that a Fire/Dragon-type was revealed the same day that Ash got defeated by Mega Charizard X, who shares said typing, got a huge laugh out of the fandom.
• Paul, ever the firm Social Darwinist who believes Might Makes Right, has raised the Pokémon Electivire as The Ace of his team. While Electivire was in Smogon's OU tier in its debut generation, its usefulness dropped significantly over the years, to the point that, as of this writing, it currently sits in the NU tier. Paul would be disappointed to know that his strongest mon is less viable than Amoonguss in a competitive format.
• In the Orange Islands episode "Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?", Misty makes a couple of cracks about Ash being Oblivious to Love. For one of them, she commented that, maybe someday, he'll grow up. Nineteen years later, Ash is still 10 years old.
  Misty: You're not mature enough to understand.
  Ash: I am too!
  Misty: Well, someday you'll grow up.
  Ash: I already am grown up!
  • At the end of the episode, Ash wonders if people change when they get kissed. Misty replies that they will have to wait and see. Cue the XYZ anime and after Ash finally gets a kiss from his female partner, the series undergoes a radical Art Shift, along with a significant retooling of both the show's tone and Ash's characterization. It goes even further when Ash finally goes on to win the League in this particular series, something many fans were convinced would never, ever happen after how the Kalos League went down. Change indeed.
• In 2006, there was an April Fools joke pulled by a Japanese fansite about an anime adaptation of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Spin-Off games. Later in the fall of that year when when the games made their American debut, Cartoon Network did air an anime adaptation alongside it.
• There's also a scene where Ash makes a remark about how Shellder clamping on Psyduck's tail would make it a Psybro due to how Slowpoke evolves into Slowbro. In the same episode, Shellder clamps onto Psyduck's head. Guess how Slowking evolves from Slowpoke.
• In one episode, Ash inadvertently interrupts Trip while he battles a Palpitoad, causing the Pokémon to run away before Trip could catch it. In the next episode, Ash ends up catching a Palpitoad for himself. This is reminiscent of an incident in "Challenge of the Samurai." Samurai interrupts Ash, who's trying to catch a Weedle, and the Pokémon escapes.
• In "Minccino: Neat and Tidy", Bianca tells Ash's Oshawott to use Hydro Pump, with Ash replying that he doesn't know it. Oshawott would later learn Hydro Pump in Best Wishes 2.
• Way back in the first season episode "The Flame Pokémon-athon", there's a race where trainers ride their Pokémon, and one trainer is riding a Rhyhorn, which given the variety of Pokémon that can be used is shown to be not such a good choice, especially when there turns out to be a river crossing and Rhyhorn sinks like, well, a giant stone rhinoceros (Brock, who arrived alongside the Rhyhorn while on his Onix, wisely chose to drop out at that point). Flash forward five generations and Rhyhorn racing is a serious Kalosian sport (and Serena's mom Grace is a past champion of).
  • More anime-specific, a later Johto episode would revolve around a Rhydon that learned how to surf.
    • That Rhydon with Lightningrod from Tag, We're It? Also knows Surf. And its Magmar buddy knows Protect to shield it from super-effective friendly-fire damage.
• In a Kanto filler episode dealing with the theory that Clefairy came from space, there's a joke scene where a Mad Scientist invents a scanner that claims Clefairy, Jigglypuff and Misty (who was holding Togepi) are aliens. All three Pokémon would end up becoming Fairy-types five generations later. That scientist accidentally discovered a new type!
  • This also resembles Denzel Crocker from The Fairly OddParents!, whose main goal is to prove the existence of...FAIRY GOD PARENTS! The fandom had a field day with Crocker references after the Fairy-type was revealed.
    • Combine this with the bit about Georgia above and Crocker could basically be the Fairy-type's equivalent of her.
• Ash's first Pokémon League battle ever takes place over a pool of water, and at one point, he orders Krabby to dive into it. Come Gen III, Dive becomes an official move.
• Does anyone remember Team Rocket's old motto in the anime? Well, in Pokémon Conquest, your mission happens to be exactly that.
• Misty May-Treanor was an Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist (the very best female beach volleyball player, like no one ever was) who first came to prominence a few years after the debut of Pokémon: The Series. During her career, Misty from Pokémon was replaced by May, and both of them are associated with the beach. Given that the franchise has never shied away from pop culture references such as Jessie & James and Sabrina, it almost seems like an intentional reference.
• In "The Great Eight Fate!", Juan has his Seaking use Horn Drill to deflect Pikachu's Electric-type attacks aimed at his Sealeo in his Double Battle against Ash. Two generations later, Seaking would gain Lightning Rod as a hidden ability.
• James's precious bottle caps suddenly became a lot more valuable with Pokémon Sun and Moon, where they are currency for Hyper Training that maximizes a Pokémon's IVs. In Pokémon Masters, James even expresses disappointment that trainers give away their bottle caps for Hyper Training.
• The Riolu that ultimately becomes Ash's in Journeys is in an egg that looks like a 10km egg from Pokémon GO. That's the egg it normally appears in when hatched in that game. The day that the episode premiered, Niantic Labs decided to roll out Riolu in 2km eggs!
• The Tokimeki PokéLive! and TwinBee counterpart of Pastel from TwinBee has Cerise as her surname. Guess which Professor from Vermilion City in Journeys shares the same surname in English?
• The scene where Brock explains the minute differences between the different Officer Jennys may be familiar to those who've dealt with anime fans fervently denying that an anime has Only Six Faces.
• Brock once made the mistake of saying that Ash's Water-type Pokémon were weak to Fire-types (when he should have said Electric-types). Come nearly 15 years later, the infamous battle between Ash's Greninja and Alain's Charizard seems to have accepted this idea. Not only that, Alain's Charizard knows an Electric-type move.
• MAD had a segment called "Pokémonsters Inc." and in it, Ash was catching every single monster he saw, mistaking them for Pokémon. This inaccurate depiction of Ash actually is the key characteristic of Ash's new friend Goh, introduced six years after the segment aired.
• In Episode 56, "The Ultimate Test", Jessie and James were expelled due to using two Pokémon at a time during a battle. Later on, in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Double Battles were introduced.
• In Unova, Ash's rival Trip constantly boasts about his skill, claiming that he'll easily win the Unova League and that for him, it's little more than the first step to take Alder's place as the Champion. Not only does he end up losing the League in the first round (to Ash, no less), but years later, the Journeys series would reveal that Iris has become the new Champion instead, having dethroned Alder completely offscreen before Trip had any chance of reaching his idol.
• Social Darwinist and Jerkass extraordinaire Paul disdains bonding with his Pokémon, claiming that developing an attachment to his Pokémon would make them weak. Come Pokémon X and Y, which introduces the Affection mechanic (Higher levels of affection grant more benefits in battle, and this stat has to be raised by Pokémon-Amie), Mega Evolution ^note explicitly stated to work only if there is a strong bond between Pokémon and Trainer, and (in the anime) Bond Phenomenon. Taken even further with Pokémon Sun and Moon, which introduces Z-Moves ^note stated to be the manifestation of the wishes of a Pokémon and its Trainer. Turns out, bonding with your Pokémon DOES have benefits.
• In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Goh usually doesn't battle Pokémon before he catches them, instead just getting close and throwing the ball. This is a legitimate method of catching Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
• One of the reasons Drasna was an Ensemble Dark Horse in Pokémon X and Y is that she's one of the very few Dragon-type specialists who's friendly and sociable and isn't an arrogant jerk. Come Pokémon Journeys, and it's shown that she can be just as smug and competitive in battle as the other big-name Dragon Trainers are, she's just better at keeping it reined in.
• The XY series is known by many fans for having very few Continuity Nods to previous series. With that in mind, there's something amusing about how there are not one, but two different scenes where Bonnie quickly tunes Meowth out for explaining his backstory — apparently, even the characters themselves weren't interested in previous continuity either.
• In DP episode Malice in Wonderland, Ash ends up in a dream where he's facing Cynthia as his semi-final opponent. Four generations later in Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Ash is participating in the Masters 8 tournament and faces off against Cynthia in the semi-finals.
• Advanced Battle's theme song, "Unbeatable", used to be the butt of jokes due to Ash's Failure Hero status. 18 years later, the title is no longer ironic because Ash became world champion in Pokémon Journeys. The spoiler caused comments sections for this song to change overnight.
• In the episode "The Ancient Puzzle of Pokémopolis", Ash and co. encounter a giant, ancient Jigglypuff. Twenty-four years after this ancient Jigglypuff makes an appearance, we get to catch one for ourselves in the form of the Paradox Pokémon Scream Tail.
• A Tentacool walking on both of its tentacles could be seen in the episode "Friends to the End" during the Indigo League's closing ceremony. Twenty-three years after that episode aired, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet introduced Toedscool, a land-dwelling convergent evolution to Tentacool that walks and runs with its two mycelium in a rather silly manner.
• Goh catching Suicune and Horace catching Virizion seems almost coincidental with the reveals of the Paradox Pokémon Walking Wake and Iron Leaves in Scarlet and Violet.
• Back on "Pallet Party Panic", Ash released Pidgeot so he could stay to protect the flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto. In the English dub Ash stated that he would return for Pidgeot one day, while the original Japanese implied the farewell would be permanent. Then, on the very final episode of Journeys, Pidgeot does return to rejoin Ash's team.
• In "This Magik Moment", Mallow, Lille and Lana were cast as an Alolan Magical Girl team for a Pretty Cure-inspired TV show. 5 years later, Mallow's Japanese VA Reina Ueda gets cast as Mayu Nekoyashiki/Cure Lillian. For bonus points, both Mayu and Mallow are the green members of their respective teams.
• In Ash's last battle at the Sinnoh League Conference, he faces Tobias, who uses Darkrai and Latios. In most competitive formats, that'd be unheard of, but as of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the level of Power Creep has become so high that Darkrai is now allowed as a standard, OU viable Pokemon, while Latios languishes in the lower tiers.

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