History FridgeBrilliance / PokemonAnime

FridgeHorror and FridgeLogic entries can be found [[Fridge/PokemonAnime here]].
!! Fridge pages are Administrivia/SpoilersOff by default, so all entries have been folderized as a security measure. Proceed with caution. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!
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[[folder:Humans & Pokemon]]
* Ash not taking any of his previous Pokémon (sans mascot Pikachu) for his Hoenn adventure may seem like a pointless way to have him catch new Pokémon. But considering that players couldn't trade their Pokémon from the first two generations of games to their copies of Ruby and Sapphire, it wouldn't be fair for Ash to do what players couldn't. It seems this logic is broken when Ash doesn't bring over his old Pokémon to Sinnoh, when players were able to bring their GBA Pokémon into the DS games. But, when you consider the fact that access to GBA Pokémon is restricted until players beat the League and get the National Dex, and that Ash uses his old Pokémon for the Sinnoh League tournament, Ash is in a way still emulating when players have access to old Pokémon.
** To add to that last point, Ash usually gets a Pokédex upgrade from the local professor of a new region once he gets there. He already ''has'' the National Dex!
* Nurse Joy's name suits her when you realize that her name in Japanese (joi) literally means 'woman doctor'.
* ''Together Forever'' makes perfect sense if it is viewed as being about Ash and Pikachu's relationship, not just because the title may end up being literal [[LongRunners at this rate]], but due to this particular lyric: "We've got lots of friends but they come and go." Yes, Ash has made several friends throughout his travels that he's all eventually had to say goodbye to, but Pikachu has been by his side from the beginning of his journey and will almost certainly be there until the very end.
* Gary TookALevelInKindness after Johto. He also owns a Umbreon, who can evolve from Eevee only when it has high friendship.
* Why was it that Gary was always a step ahead of Ash in the first season? Because he had a car that allowed him to travel across Kanto quicker.
* Brock's LovableSexManiac tendencies during the Indigo League make a strange amount of sense. What was Brock's motivation during that saga? To be the world's best Pokémon ''breeder''.
** Another theory is possible. When Brock was growing up, he had to devote all his time to either running the Gym or taking care of his own family; he had no time for himself. How old is Brock supposed to be? Fifteen. Meaning he missed out on the beginning years of puberty doing the work that should have belonged to his father. His outrageous pursuit of women is two or three teenager years exploding at once.
** Or better yet, he's ''fifteen years old''! Hormones and the attraction to girls are exploding around that age anyway, especially as compared to his ten and twelve year-old companions. So it's justified in comparison.
** Speaking of which, Brock's actions around women he's attracted to becoming more over-the-top and a greater part of his character is often considered an example of {{flanderization}}. But maybe it's actually him getting increasingly ''desperate''.
* In earlier seasons, we repeatedly see the Team Rocket trio whining about how they haven't eaten anything for days because they don't have any money. Around Hoenn and Sinnoh, these complaints stopped. Why? Because all of the stuff they sold at various contests and little tournaments proved wildly popular and thus paid for their HumongousMecha and food. It may also play into why their gadgetry has become more and more sophisticated and powerful in later seasons.
** To punctuate this, in Kalos they sparsely seem to be deprived of the finer things, [[WickedCultured conversing in fancy restaurants and attending high etiquette dance parties]]. Episodes such as the summer camp arc show them having part time jobs. By this point they've become so competent at being able to do any part-time gig that comes their way that they get multiple raises in salary.
* The Team Rocket trio have managed to [[UltimateJobSecurity stay employed]] to Team Rocket despite their perpetual state of mediocrity at best and utter failure at worst. There are several plausible reasons for this if you think about it:
** In their persistent stalking of Ash and Pikachu, who are two {{Weirdness Magnet}}s, they inadvertently became instrumental in stopping rival criminal teams and saving the world ''several times over''. This, in turn, helps Team Rocket's overall bottom line in the long run. If Giovanni has realized this, it makes sense to just keep the trio around as a form of insurance. This becomes partially confirmed when at the end of ''Diamond & Pearl'' the trio manage to convince Giovanni that they've shut down Team Galactic (although in reality they only played a minor part) and then later proceed to also take credit for stopping Team Plasma and Team Flare.
** [[AllThereInTheManual Supplemental materials to]] ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' revealed that Jessie is the daughter of a highly ranked Team Rocket agent who was the first person to record audio evidence of Mew, before ultimately going M.I.A. This audio recording was the reason Team Rocket was able to find Mew's DNA to create Mewtwo in the first place. If Giovanni knows this about Jessie, he could simply be allowing her (and by extension, James and Meowth) to remain on the team out of unspoken honor to her mother, regardless of Jessie's terrible track record.
* Brock ended up giving his Onix to his brother Forrest and later when Brock returned to the Gym, he found his Onix is now a Steelix. When thinking about it along the video game lines, it makes sense. In the game, the only way to evolve your Onix to Steelix is to trade your Onix while it is holding a Metal Coat. As for where did Brock get the Metal Coat? Forrest probably had it and gave it to Onix, since the anime already established that Pokemon who evolve by a specific evolutionary item need only to hold that item to evolve.
* This is almost definitely coincidental, but Gary is an anagram for (the American English spelling of) Gray, and Ash is a shade of gray. Compare Red, Green/Blue, and Green from the games.
* Georgia's name in the anime makes more sense than just being based off a famous Dragon Slayer. The slayer was a male in the stories, which fits with her tomboyish way of dressing, fitting it even further.
* The StrawmanHasAPoint page mentions Paul as curbstomping Ash all the time and generally being a skilled trainer despite being a massive prick. However, think about it. Paul is the Pokémon world version of the StopHavingFunGuys section of the fandom that only care about breeding the [[{{Ubermensch}} ubermon]] for competitive play. They may not care about the story or what some consider fun[[note]]they must find constantly hatching eggs for a perfect nature and such fun if they keep doing it. Ah well. To each their own.[[/note]], but that doesn't mean they're not good at the games. It's just that, unlike Paul, they don't abuse living creatures and are thus not nearly as jerkish (though, some can get annoying at times).
** The problem with the [=StopHavingFunGuys/Paul=] comparison is that trying to achieve ideal stats in Pokémon outside of hacking the game usually results in a massive eugenics program that neglects potentially dozens or hundreds of living creatures in-universe. Abuse and neglect are both problems.
** Similarly, Trip is rumoured among fans to be a stab at '[[NostalgiaFilter GenWunners]]' (people who insist nothing can compare to the original generation of Pokemon) with his disdain for the Kanto region "boonies".
* The Togepi line is said to spread joy and promote peace [[OutOfCharacterMoment yet]] can be bred to know Nasty Plot, which is described as "[stimulating the] brain by thinking bad thoughts". Hence, the evil Togepi from [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/DP142 DP142]].
* The Animé-styled cries can induce FridgeLogic once one realizes that the World of Pokémon is implied to be multilingual (due to the {{Dub Name Change}}s of the Pokémon themselves). However, in [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]], the Pokémon of two important [=NPCs=] uses said Animé-styled cries in an interesting way - instead of repeating their species name, they instead, repeat their ''nicknames''. In other words, the actual in-universe PokemonSpeak is ''not'' their species name, but what everyone else calls them.
** One interesting case is Onix's cry. It has always sounded like a regular roaring sound, but in reality Onix is actually saying its Japanese name: "Iwark."
* It might seem that the female companions getting so incredibly [[ThePreciousPreciousCar pissed off about Ash destroying their bikes]] might be a little ridiculous, especially with the insistence that they travel with Ash until he pays them back... but then you remember how much money a bicycle costs in-game.
* Harley is May's rival with the strongest grudge against her, ironically mostly for incredibly petty or contrived reasons. He has a Banette, a Pokémon said to have been brought to life by a grudge. Its pre-evolution Shuppet feeds off of negative emotions -- including grudges, which it specifically seeks out.
* At first glance, Ash releasing every Pokémon he's ever caught makes him look like a lousy trainer, but remember the saying ''"If you love someone, set them free"''. By releasing his Pokémon after catching them, he's showing how far he's come from the boy who gloated about enslaving a Pidgey way back in episode 1. Even Pikachu was almost released, but chose to stay by Ash's side.
** And since many of his released Pokémon have gone on to become pack leaders, he's basically got connections with several groups of wild Pokémon. Maybe, in his own unique way, Ash has become a true Pokémon master through friendship and coexistence.
* It seems weird that Ash only has a crush on Giselle and possibly Serena and yet has none towards the other female companions he had along the way. However, there is an answer and its related to Serena. Ash and Serena are childhood friends and whatever amount of interaction he had with her must have a huge impact on him. Ash may have liked Giselle because she was pretty but when he now sees how rude and condescending she is, he doesn't like it because that is not how Serena would act. His ObliviousToLove isn't that. It's just that he has very high standards now. He's only interested in girls if they could match Serena's level.
** When one notes the female companions he had before Serena you see two Tsunderes (which Ash may just not find appealing), and two he pretty much mentored. Given how Oak and Delia interact (assuming that Oak isn't Ash's father), Ash may associate such a role with "no romance allowed". If Oak and Delia are his parents, he may just not want to emulate that behavior.
** Notably a lot of Pokeshipping moments, Ash x Misty, occurred after Misty started to calm down and be less Tsundere post Togepi. I.E, closer to the nice girlness of Serena, sans any mentor/student tangles.
* Why doesn’t Iris have many Dragon type Pokémon in her party (and why is she having issues in getting Axew to evolve and for Dragonite to obey her)??? Simple, because Lance said it best on FR/LG about Dragon types: “They're hard to catch and raise, but their powers are superior!.”
* Why are Pikachu's electric attacks so much stronger than just about every other Electric Pokémon, including Pokémon far larger than him? In the very first episode, Pikachu discharged a massive Thunder Shock in the rain while being struck by lightning. Is it possible that the experience super-charged him?
* There are many examples of Pokémon with illegal move sets that may have been HandWaved by ''Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!'', in which Ash's Bulbasaur learns Dig in a life threatening situation.
* Pikachu never seems to grow in power because he can't evolve. Because he never evolved, he never got the stat boost becoming a Raichu would give him. Because of his/Ash's lack of foresight in his third (?) gym battle, Pikachu can be defeated by many lower level Pokémon (for example, Cress' Panpour, a ''water'' type, early on in ''Best Wishes'') and is probably lucky to have ever defeated anything better than him.
** There's another way to look at it. A big thing to remember about the Pokémon in the anime is that they aren't just pieces of data in a video game, they're living beings. One way to look at Pokémon training in the anime is that it's something similar to how people train for martial arts matches in real life. They have to train constantly to keep getting stronger or remember moves. If they don't keep training, they lose their edge and power and have start over from square one. That could explain how Pikachu seems to lose strength between each season; to keep things fair in each new region and to not completely destroy new trainers in a region Ash and Pikachu travel to, they take time off from training so Pikachu loses enough strength that he can plausibly be beaten by the Pokémon new trainers have. While Pikachu will still have the knowledge on how to fight well, he isn't as strong or in shape as he was before, so his general fighting ability will seem to decrease. If Ash seems to make stupid decisions in battles or move selection, it could be a self-imposed challenge for him, to see if he can still win the battle or go around the region with a certain moveset. He gets a bigger challenge, and his opponents, if they are new trainers, get a decent chance of winning. Of course, if Ash and Pikachu didn't take any time off between regions, this theory falls flat, since Pikachu hasn't stopped training long enough to be plausibly defeated by mostly inexperienced Pokémon without sheer dumb luck.
* Why is Ash's Charizard so disobedient to him when only traded Pokémon don't listen to their trainers if they're too strong? Ash didn't actually win around half of his Gym Badges in Kanto. Charizard wouldn't respect him because he didn't earn the Gym Badges in a fight.
** It's also a form of DramaPreservingHandicap. The early anime strives very hard to prevent Ash from collecting powerful, fully-evolved Pokemon (he releases Butterfree into the wild, gives away Primeape in the same episode it begins to listen to him, and releases Pidgeot the very episode it evolves), only allowing him to keep Charizard by giving it serious attitude issues. By having Charizard be a huge flake (Charizard spent the Kanto arc and most of the Orange Islands being a lazy and disobedient freeloader), the writers could pile on Ash for being a poor trainer when it suited their purposes.
** Could this also be why Charizard evolved when Bulbasaur and Squirtle didn't? Boosted exp? That could also explain why it was the strongest of Ash's Pokemon but weak compared to other Charizards; fewer EV's per level!
** On the topic of Ash's Charizard, why was it that it evolved so quickly from a Charmeleon? It's because it gained a buttload of experience defeating a massive herd of Exeggutor as a Charmander.
** Well, maybe it was because Charizard just stopped being loyal towards Ash after it evolved since its loyalty to its previous trainer was the reason it almost lost its life in the rain while waiting on the rock. As quoted by a Youtube user:
--->'''Youtube User:''' Charmander was an abandoned and neglected Pokemon who was left compromised and vulnerable until rescued by Ash, its loyalty to it's previous trainer almost cost it its life. That's bound to have a fundamental effect on its perception of people and any new trainer. As a Charmander Ash was its safety net but I don't think it's a stretch to consider that it even then harbored ill feelings for people. The turning point was evolving into Charmeleon and becoming much stronger and as such not needing a caregiver any longer and evolving again into Charizard only exaggerates those feelings, I believe the subtext of the relationship between Charizard and Ash is that Ash loves Charizard but Charizard is unwilling to accept that bond for fear that it might someday be abandoned again so what does it do? It distances itself from Ash and refuses to listen and it is so over confident in its own power that it chooses to fight only when confronted with a foe it sees as worthy and even then ignores the commands it is given, Charizard wants to prove its strength for itself so that it knows it won't ever again have to be that vulnerable Charmander left alone when it isn't strong enough for its trainer. It was never about badges or being an experienced trainer, that wasn't important to Charizard. The reason their relationship changes is because when Charizard once again finds itself compromised after the battle with Poliwrath Ash stays with it and nurses its injuries until his hands are raw, the situation it always feared plays out and Ash rises to the occasion with an act of care and compassion that allows Charizard to to see the heart of its trainer. The love and respect that it was too afraid to reciprocate for fear of eventual rejection is finally realized and the unbreakable bond between trainer and Pokemon is forged through literal fire and ice. Ultimately Charizard is able to realize its true strength by fighting with Ash and for Ash, the collaboration makes them a better team and better friends. I know it's cliche but as far as I'm concerned it is proof of unwavering love that brings Charizard the ability to trust in its trainer and reach its potential.
* In ''Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden'', Bulbasaur was refusing evolution, which made the Venusaur and Ivysaurs mad. This was right before Bulbasaur learned Solar Beam, and in the first generation games, Bulbasaur learns Solar Beam six levels before Ivysaur. What if refusing to evolve was what allowed Bulbasaur to save Venasaur and the Ivysaurs?
** One could suggest the same thing for Squirtle and its [[EleventhHourSuperpower Eleventh Hour Hydro Pump.]]
** Not to mention tying into the previous example, they'd saw firsthand what may happen to their personality and relationship with Ash if they ''did'' evolve. Both those incidents occurred ''after'' Charmander evolved into Charmeleon, and then Charizard, and stopped obeying Ash.
* The infamous "dodge" move in the anime. Only it's not really a move. It's the equivalent to an attack missing in the game. Looking at the bigger and flashier moves, like Hydro Pump and Fire Blast, you notice they have low accuracy. The Pokémon sees the move coming, and dodges it, so the attack misses. The same thing happens in the anime.
* Meowth hates Persians. That's why he never evolves, because he doesn't want to become what he hates.
* So why did Piplup not want to evolve? It might also be because he never really fights, often operating off the field of battle.
* A possible explanation for why all of Ash's Fire-type starters have a similar backstory of being abandoned by a cruel Trainer: Fire-type Pokémon are known for being [[GlassCannon fast and powerful attackers,]] or in other words, something that Trainers like Damian look at and think "instant death machine". But when it doesn't turn out to be [[MagikarpPower the super strong Pokémon they want right off the bat,]] they don't have the patience to train it to its full potential, and throw it away.
* So, throughout this wiki, it's commonly stated that after the seizure incident, Porygon and its evolutions were banned from appearing in the show, and that this was a case of {{Misblamed}} because Pikachu was the one whose attacks actually caused the flashes that resulted in the seizure. It's further assumed that Pikachu's popularity was what kept him from being written out himself and that Porygon was merely a scapegoat to take Pikachu's place. However, it seems more likely that the thinking was that Porygon, whose name was in the title of the episode and who hadn't appeared before then, would be more of a reminder of the incident to viewers than Pikachu, who had been part of the show from the beginning and thus wasn't as closely linked to that particular episode. It was more of an attempt to avoid reminding people of the incident than actually blaming the fictional character for the real-world problem caused by the animators. (Though, it's still somewhat puzzling that the species and its evolution are still considered taboo so many years later...)
* Clemont's Bunnelby knowing Wild Charge seemed pointless at first, but it actually is a call back. Several gym leaders used non-specialty types with the moves the type is known to have, like Sabrina with Venomoth and Volkner with Ambipom.
** Wild Charge is also explicitly used to counter Ash's strategy of letting Bunnelby catch Pikachu's Iron Tail and following up with a point-blank Electro Ball, which Clemont saw during their first battle against each other. Choosing Wild Charge for this purpose makes sense, as all of Bunnelby's other attacking moves (Dig, Double Slap, and Mud Shot) required the use of its ears.
* Ash's Pikachu has slimmed down since season 1 because he is always walking outside of his ball.
* Iris's [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Iris%27s_Dragonite Dragonite]], which she caught near the end of season 15, doesn't know its species [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Hyper_Beam_(move) ultimate attack]]. It doesn't learn that attack until level 75 in [[Videogame/PokemonBlackandWhite the Unova games]]. So what if the reason it hasn't learned its ultimate attack is because it just evolved from Dragonair? That also explains why it hasn't learned [[UnstoppableRage Outrage]] either.
* Serena is the only female travelling companion with confirmed feelings for Ash rather than implied. Kalos is based on France, a country known for being romantic. See the connection.
* At first glance, it seems like Serena just does the same routine for her performances over and over again. However, it's actually an evolution of her performance each time, with each performance growing more and more elaborate with similar but different combinations and techniques used, like it's evolving with her character as well. Especially highlighted by the fact that her final performance uses a blooming flower, as though she's reached the ultimate stage of her own evolution and bloomed as a trainer and person.
* Meowth is the one who first came up with the Boss Fantasies showing a very silly Giovanni using Pokemon for strange things a tool would be better suited for. What did Giovanni do when a talking Meowth joined Team Rocket? He made him his ''personal waiter'', at least until he proved disastrous at it. That experience has clearly left an impression.
** Giovanni used a talking Pokemon as a glorified waiter. Maybe those {{Imagine Spot}}s aren't as crazy as they seem...
* Why exactly did Dawn's Buneary have a crush on Pikachu? Well, since the two are in the same egg group, [[InterspeciesRomance they can breed]]. Made even better by the fact that Buneary was confirmed to be female in the dub.
* The reason Ash is kinda..."not all there" and forgetful in later parts of the series? (Besides him being, at least initially, a traditional IdiotHero.) It's because he's been through so many {{Flatline Plotline}}s. When your heart stops, your brain is deprived of oxygen because of the lack of blood flow...and when that happens, brain cells (which are real oxygen and energy hogs) die off ''rapidly'', and aren't regenerated.
* In the games, the bug-type Pokémon Vivillon has different appearances depending on real-world location. Kalos is largely inspired by France, so it makes sense that this would be the form shown in the XY anime.
* There have been jokes made that Ash isn't depicted as physically strong as he tended to be in ''Sun and Moon'' and ''Journeys''. Beyond the likely intended goal of humor by him struggling to lift things intended, a in-universe reason can be extrapolated. In both series he is not actively walking across a country so he isn't training his body like he'd naturally do crossing a country's interior by foot.
* Why does Ash keep taking out the Pokédex for Pokémon that he already knows about? While the easy answer can be that he simply forgot, a second often overlooked reason would that he is checking if their entries had any ''changes'' from last time. This parallels how they would change with each new generation in the games.
** Credit to [[WebVideo/SuedesPokemonJourney Suede]] for this one, but here is another one that applies mostly to Gen 3 and beyond. He probably knows, but do May/Max/Dawn/etc know? As a bit of evidence look to the 20th episode of Journeys where Ash was very clearly scanning familiar Pokemon for the benefit of the young kids he was leading at the time.
* Bonnie's RunningGag involves her trying to find a wife for Clemont (much to his embarrassment), but there are three things to consider. One, she specifically says she wants someone to "take care of" her brother. Two, the women she keeps going after are, well, ''women'', noticeably older than her ten-year-old brother. Three, their mother has never been seen and may not even be around anymore. She doesn't actually want a ''wife'' for Clemont; she wants a substitute ''mother''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Original Series]]
* The recurring Jigglypuff [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome suddenly disappeared for]] [[TheBusCameBack over a decade of real time and several Ash regions in anime time]] after the first Advanced season. Could just be that the joke was getting old... or it could be that time corresponds to the first time in the game where there are Pokémon ''naturally immune to sleep'', thanks to the abilities Insomnia and Vital Spirit. Jigglypuff's whole purpose for traveling was to find someone who would listen to her song without dozing off, so she probably found some Pokémon with those abilities and sang for them full-time. She returned in ''Sun & Moon'', however, and she's ''still'' looking for someone who would listen to her singing.
* The first Pokémon that evolved under Ash's control was Caterpie, who evolved twice into Butterfree within a few days or so after he caught it; so it's understandable that Ash associated his first Pokémon far more with the Butterfree he kept with him than the Caterpie he initially caught it as. But what was the next Pokémon of Ash's that evolved? Charmander. Ash witnessed first-hand Charmander evolving into Charmeleon, and later into Charizard, and completely stopped listening to him. Not only that, but Charmander had never expressed an interest in evolving; it just did so. Noting this, it's understandable that Ash wouldn't want to go out of his way to evolve any of his other Pokémon that didn't directly express an interest in evolving; he risks them not being as loyal to him when they evolve, and doesn't want to force them to evolve in order to become stronger, because he saw first-hand what a Pokémon evolving for the purpose of strength can do to the Pokémon's nature. Sweet Charmander turned into the borderline BloodKnight Charizard out of his obsession with his own power. However, because he truly loves his Pokémon, he would never STOP them from evolving, either. He just wouldn't intentionally force it because he loves them the way they are.
* The episode "A Chansey Operation" may seem a little weird to American audiences. When there's no Pokémon center around for miles, they take Pikachu to a human hospital and there's only one doctor on staff. In Japan where the show is made, hospitals aren't open 24 hours or on weekends and usually have a limited number of staff later in the day.
* In Ash and Gary's battle in the Johto League, it's noted that they refrain from using what's basically their signature Pokemon, Pikachu for Ash and Eevee/Umbreon for Gary. Instead, they end their battle with Charizard and Blastoise respectively, the signature Pokemon for Red and Blue/Green.
* When she first shows up, Misty has a bike. Where do you get a bike in the first generation games and their remakes? In her hometown.
* Why is Misty so keen on following Ash to get her to pay for a replacement bike? Those things cost 1,000,000 Poke, where some of the most expensive transactions the player of the games can ever make for a single item are less than 10% of that, most of the time. ''Misty is totally justified in being furious that it got destroyed''.
* Drake from the Orange Islands uses Onix, Gengar, and Dragonite, all major Pokémon of the Kanto Elite Four. The only Elite Four member he doesn't use Pokemon from is Lore....Prima, who appeared in the Orange Islands arc.
* In early episodes, Meowth was more cat-like. His upright stance was more awkward with his arms always facing in front of him and he sometimes reverted to walking on all fours. He also had more reflexive impulses to his species, playing with balls of yarn or sticking "meows" within his sentences. This makes sense when you realise Meowth may not have learned to act human for very long by that point, and by later points was more adjusted to being anthropomorphic.
* Why does the butler from "Holy Matrimony" constantly use a megaphone to talk? Well, considering how [[BigFancyHouse ridiculously huge]] the mansion is, he probably has to use it to call out to people on a regular basis. Because he had to do it so often, talking through the megaphone became a force of habit.
* A dub-only example. In the Japanese version of the Legend of Dratini Ash and company tell Professor Oak they will keep the fact they found Dratini and Dragonair secret. They do this in the English version, but so well that their fans don't see the episode and see Dratini at all! The banned episode has a actual in-universe reason to have never been seen on TV!
* Gary's starter was hidden for a lengthy length of time, however there was a slight hint as to who it was early on the series. After all, what episode did Gary first appear in after the first episode but the ''Squirtle'' episode.
* Kanto as a whole is filled with such cynical, curt and morally ambiguous figures compared to most other regions that it almost comes off as a CrapSaccharineWorld. Ash spent most of his journey there getting NoSympathy and berated just for making general rookie mistakes, while it's region's criminal organisation Team Rocket is [[PoliceAreUseless still active]], with the TerribleTrio themselves owing their {{Freudian Excuse}}s to being treated like crap in the region throughout their childhood. Is it any wonder Ash takes any and every opportunity to travel to a new region (with the Team Rocket trio following him)? Also note Ash and Misty's CharacterDevelopment into far less frustrated and insecure people during their trips to the relatively more pleasant Orange Islands and Johto.
** Or more likely its due to the huge crime wave going about. Team Rocket has so far been a huge threat in the Kanto Region especially since Giovanni was the first to got away with creating a brand new Pokemon. Before getting their ButtMonkey status, Jessie, James and Meowth were legitimate threats. Most of the Elite Four, Gym Leaders and several other people especially Oak and Delia are on edge because of this. However thanks to Ash and co, they were able to hamper much of Team Rocket's progress allowing the authorities to handle the situation.
* Harrison, who defeated Ash in Johto, lost the next round and wasn't able to use Blaziken in it because he was wounded and not fully recovered after fighting Charizard. After facing Three of Gary's Pokemon (Two which he had a disadvantage against) in a row including his Strongest one and Starter Blastoise, perhaps Charizard, when facing Blaziken, [[WorfHadTheFlu hadn't recovered from fighting them either]]. If he was at 100 percent, Ash may have been able to beat Harrison.
** While we're on the subject, this might also be a factor in explaining him being defeated by Entei in the third movie. It's not unreasonable to suspect he might have been tired from presumably flying as fast as he could for several hours.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Advanced Generation]]
* Several things from the end of the saga are {{foreshadowing}} elements that would be prevalent in the ''Diamond and Pearl'' series.
** May leaves the group to find her own unique style as a Coordinator, and it's partially implied she does this because she's been taking too much influence from the battle-oriented Ash (a common criticism of May's early Contests was how often she would knock out the opponent with sheer brute force instead of focusing on style). This is an issue that would be addressed with Dawn, whose battle style is actually ''benefitted'' by Ash (and vice versa) through the various battle tactics they would borrow from each other.
** Ash is inspired to head to Sinnoh after losing to Gary's Electivire. Ash's original [[TheRival rival]] serves as the transition into another intensely heated rivalry with Paul, whose main Pokemon would also be an Electivire.
** Ash's final battle with Brandon is something of a ClicheStorm, playing UnderdogsNeverLose and ThePowerOfFriendship ''very'' straight in just about every match (most infamously when Pikachu one-shots a fully healed Regice with Volt Tackle). This would go on to play a heavy role in Ash's rivalry with Paul, as not only is the rivalry a heavy {{deconstruction}} of that trope, but Brandon himself would mark a massive turning point with his [[TheBusCameBack return]] to the anime. Paul has spent the whole series scorning Ash for his belief in love and friendship, so to learn that Ash beat Brandon with those exact things completely flips the rivalry on its head as Paul starts to question his own beliefs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Diamond and Pearl]]
* [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Tobias_(Sinnoh) Tobias]] won the Lily of the Valley Conference using multiple legendary Pokémon, when the last time someone caught a legendary [[Anime/{{Pokemon 2000}} it almost caused the end of the world]][[note]]though they've never really been consistent with how "legendary" the legendaries are[[/note]]. In the games, don't players usually use the [[OlympusMons legendaries]] they caught to beat the Elite Four [[NintendoHard relatively]] easily? The entire fiasco could be a TakeThat to those sort of players!
** From a less cynical standpoint, the battle is one of the final events that convinces Ash to continue training and head to Unova. People familiar with the plot of ''Pokémon Black and White'' may notice that you are expected to catch one of the headliner legendaries and use it in battle to resolve the plot. Combine this with the mandatory legendary battles in RSE and DPP, and earlier legendary-training characters like Brandon and Noland (ever notice that he uses one of the legendaries that was causing problems in 2000?), and the plot seems to be moving away from the message of the second movie and arguing that responsible and respectful use of legendaries isn't reprehensible. Nobody seems to have a problem with Tobias, after all, and the Heatran user wasn't even brought up.
** It also depends on ''which'' legendaries one is capturing. Darkrai, Articuno, etc. probably have multiple members of their species (in the Japanese version of ''Anime/PokemonHeroes'', there's a sequence with ''many'' Latios & Latias), and the legendary birds in the Orange Islands are established as special cases. Catching certain ones -- such as [[{{God}} Arceus]] -- is insane (or at least keeping them permanently), but when there are many members such as the Regi trio (Brandon's), having their power under a responsible trainer doesn't seem morally questionable (and despite how people feel about him, Tobias didn't seem like a bad sort). We'll have to see where this goes in the future, though.
** Tobias's choice of a dub name. It doesn't sound like the name of a legendary-wielding champion. But it turns out that "Tobias" is also the name of a biblical figure in Hebrew religion -- this Tobias went on a journey, guided and protected by the archangel Raphael. And, get this -- one of Raphael's patronages is ''nightmares.''
** It may also be a reference to The Battle Tower. As you rack up wins, the game does whatever it can to stop you, including using Legendary Pokémon. Now that Ash is getting better and better, the writers are doing whatever they can to stop him, like giving his opponents Legendary Pokémon.
* In the episode, "Crossing the Battle Line", Jessie remarks that one grab of Lucario would break Meowth. She's right. Lucario is a Fighting-type, which is super-effective on Normal-types like Meowth.
* A lot of people have complained about Ash's chosen team to fight Tobias; Heracross, Torkoal, Gible, Sceptile, Swellow and Pikachu, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Heracross was the best Pokemon possible to fight Darkrai (a fact people generally admit when criticizing Ash) due to typing and sleep talk, and Gible had Rock Smash, plus a attack in Draco Meteor that even Tobias admitted could have knocked out Darkrai if it hit. The other four Pokemon, however, had fought legends in the past; Torkoal battled Registeel, Swellow had fought Deoxys, Sceptile fought the same Deoxys and Regirock, and Pikachu had defeated Regice. Ash actually had a decent plan in mind; particularly with several of the other logical choices being unavailable (Charizard wasn't around for this arc, Snorlax would have been a poor choice for rather obvious reasons and Infernape was utterly beaten down from battling Paul).
** Similarly to this, the team Ash used against Cameron is often criticized, but with all the information Ash had it was a good lineup. Ash only knew about Riolu, Samurott, and Ferrothorn at the time, and the team Ash brought with him (Boldore, Oshawott, Pignite, Pikachu, Unfeazant, and Snivy) had Pokemon who could counter those Pokemon in theory. Meanwhile Krookodile, who is generally accepted as Ash's strongest Unova mon, would have been weak to all three of those known Pokemon.
* During the Sinnoh League, each of Ash's four rivals is defeated in an ironic way.
** Nando mainly uses Bug-type Pokémon on his team, training a Kricketune, Armaldo and Kricketot. His Kricketune is defeated by another Bug-type, Ash's Heracross.
** Conway's preferred battle tactic is to devise elaborate strategies beforehand. Ash defeats him with a combination of luck (Gible finally perfecting Draco Meteor) and last-minute improvisation (Gible trapping Shuckle in its mouth and biting Dusknoir's hand to nullify Shadow Punch).
** Barry idolizes and admires Paul greatly. Despite [[TheDeterminator trying very hard]] and even making use of clever strategies such as having Skarmory set up Stealth Rock and taking advantage of Empoleon's Torrent, a far cry from [[AttackAttackAttack his usual battle style,]] he suffers a CurbStompBattle at Paul's hands, 3-0.
** Paul only uses the strongest Pokémon and rejects any that don't live up to his high standards. The Infernape that he put through TrainingFromHell as a Chimchar, threw out for supposedly being "weak", and was subsequently adopted and raised by Ash, the Trainer he derided for treating Pokémon as friends rather than tools, ultimately proved victorious over his perfectly-trained Electivire.
* How were Paul and his Chimchar able to climb down the cliff when he and Ash were blown off of it in "Different Strokes For Different Blokes"? They were using the Rock Climb HM move, which Chimchar (and all the other Sinnoh starters) can learn, and it can be used to travel down the rocky cliffs as well as up them.
* Brock hatching a Happiny was foreshadowing his change in goals to become a doctor, since Happiny evolves into the Pokemon often seen in a Pokemon Center.
* Paul. While it's hard to deny that he's a {{Jerkass}}, the episode of DP in which he fights Brandon explains a lot. Wears safari gear, similar hairstyles, prone to dropping TheReasonYouSuck speeches, cold demeanor, insistence on only using the strongest Mons available... He's trying to be Brandon, but doesn't have the maturity to realise that it isn't all about power.
* In the Wallace Cup, Dawn is able to defeat May, which seems odd given her shorter duration of experience and losing streak at the start of Sinnoh. Until you remember that Dawn had to pick up slack more regularly than May, only able to win by changing her approach regularly, along with other factors like a greater array of rivals with even [[TookALevelInBadass Jessie now being experienced enough to win contests and be a legitimate opposition.]] The Sinnoh Contests come off as fiercer competitions than those in Hoenn and Johto.
* For some, Nando's early loss in the Sinnoh League after putting on an impressive performance at the Grand Festival seems to be a case of BrokenAesop -- was Zoey right about him wasting his time by deciding to do both Gym Battles and Contests? [[DeconReconSwitch But, no, she wasn’t.]] The fact that he managed to amass 8 badges and 5 ribbons, in a span of time when most Trainers are struggling to finish a single set, is already a testament to his skill, but: watch him during and after his Grand Festival and League battles. He is clearly having the time of his life (aside from a few moments of getting flustered) and accepts defeat with grace and poise, even commenting that he feels great after his battle with Ash. Even if his battle skill isn’t quite on the same level as his Contest skill, for him, it's the joy of the battle that's more important than the win or loss.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Black and White]]
* In the episode "Purrloin: Sweet or Sneaky?", the titular Pokémon [[UnsettlingGenderReveal Dropped a Bridget]] on TR's Meowth and Ash's Oshawott. While Meowth being fooled is justified since he's from Kanto, Purrloin don't have visible gender differences, so Oshawott wouldn't be able to tell.
* Does Team Rocket ever really ''thought'' about the implications of stealing other people's Pokémon? There are two possible outcomes: 1) Every Pokémon, the moment it's released, demands to see its Trainer, and opens up on them when they refuse; 2) Pokémon morality states that "he who holds the ball, makes the rules", which is kinda disturbing.
* Just a silly little thing, but in 'Beheeyem, Duosion, and the Dream Thief' the PowerTrio's reactions to Officer Jenny's entrance make a lot of sense. Iris waves her arms around, Cilan stays (mostly) still, but apologizes profusely, and Ash bows several times in quick succession. It struck me as odd at first, since you often see everybody bow when they apologize for something, but that was in any one of the Japan-based regions, and Unova is based on New York. Unovans wouldn't bow when apologizing, but Ash -- from Kanto, as we all recall -- would and does.
* It would seem random that Ash would catch a Palpitoad. However, the Tympole family it belongs to are considered [[{{Expy}} expies]] of the Poliwag family. So by extension, Palpitoad is an expy of Poliwhirl, which happens to be Satoshi Tajiri's favorite Pokémon and a Pokémon that Red (Ash's ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' counterpart) had.
** It's also rumored that Krokorok was meant to be captured during the cancelled two part Rocket vs Plasma episode, so it was likely a last minute replacement for Krokorok (which would explain the lack of use as it never was supposed to be captured). As to another reason for Palpitoad specifically, it is likely that Cilan capturing Stunfisk was already set and it was easier to fit in a Palpitoad capture there than the only other ground-type (Golett/Golurk) that was not tied to another character (with Ash and Krokorok, Iris and Excadrill, and Cilan and Stunfisk).
* In ''Best Wishes'', Team Rocket start off as promoted elite agents wearing black versions of their usual attire and taking orders directly from Giovanni, who was now wearing a black military-stile uniform. As of episode 25, Giovanni became too busy to oversee their missions, so they demoted themselves and switched back to their familiar white uniforms. Who are they working for now? Dr. Zager, a guy in a ''white'' lab coat. It fits the ''Black and White'' theme!
* Here's a subtle one -- Tepig's WellDoneSonGuy tendencies prior to his evolution. While it's understandable that he has low self-esteem after an abandonment by a previous trainer, having it so bad that even Lenora points out he tries ''really'' hard for Ash stands out (and he's upset when he ties with a Vanillite, even though he battled well). Then comes the episode where we finally meet his former trainer -- who, as it turns out, claimed to have left Tepig behind because he felt it would be better for a weak Pokémon to not be forced to battle (hint: he's lying). Suddenly it makes sense -- while Ash would never ditch a Pokémon friend even if they had a losing streak, Tepig ''does not believe such a thing exists''. It takes confronting his trainer on the truth to invigorate his self-esteem.
* In "All For The Love of Meloetta", we see Meloetta sing a calming song, soothing the fight out of two Pokémon. In the "Rise of Darkrai" movie though, they had Oracion, which did something similar. Perhaps Meloetta is where they got the song from?
* As of B/W episode 98, we've seen Pignite get mad at Oshawott for stealing his food at least twice -- and it's shaping up to be a real BerserkButton. This makes sense, since, when we were introduced to Pignite as a Tepig, he was ''unable'' to eat and more than half-starved. Taking food from a Pokemon that's learned to value it that much is a really, really bad idea.
* Back in early B/W, when Ash first met Burgundy, she makes the suggestion for him to get rid of his Sewaddle (at the time) for a different one that has the ability Chlorophyll. One of the main strategies that Ash uses that often is speed, and Chlorophyll ''raises speed'' in sunlight, so maybe Burgundy was on to something.
* A lot of complaints have been made about how Ash's Unova team is "weaker" than his teams from other regions. However, he's been using more Pokemon than usual (ten instead of his usual six), so it would be logical that he wouldn't be able to raise his Pokemon as much in the same amount of time.
** Previously it was more beneficial to train small numbers of Pokemon; three or four would become over leveled and defeat anything barring a really bad type disadvantage. In Unova, returns drastically reduce when levels are equal but increase by just as much when they are lower, encouraging you to use a wider variety of monsters for multiple scenarios.
** Also, consider what changed in Black and White; Ash was not sending his Unovan Pokemon to Professor Oak, but instead Professor Juniper. Oak's lab is a wide open space filled with other Pokemon willing and able to battle with Ash's extra Pokemon, while Juniper doesn't have the same space. At the same time, Oak studies Human-Pokemon interactions, while Juniper studies Pokemon Origins (Like where Klink come from). Pokemon at Oak's lab self-train, or are possibly even trained by Oak himself in observing trainer dynamics sort of like a daycare, which is why Pokemon come back from Oak's lab with new moves (Sceptile with Leaf Storm, Heracross with Sleep Talk, and Noctowl with Extrasensory, Sky Attack, and Air Slash to name but three)
** May also add Fridge Brilliance to why Team Rocket's smaller rosters tend to remain NotSoHarmless against the twerps for [[CantCatchUp longer than their larger ones]]. Their Hoenn team for example quickly proved fairly useless, with only long running members getting some palpable effective moments, their Kalos team however, proved a threat and managed to keep up with Ash's team for a palpable amount of time, likely because Jessie and James could devote all their time to training just Inkay and Gourgeist (even if this caused another handicap of being outnumbered frequently). Incidentally the two Pokemon to have the most phenomenal displays of power are [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Meowth and Wobbuffet]], who have been with them nearly the whole series.
** This statement also holds true considering his Kalos team. This time around, Ash only caught 5 Pokemon, adding in Pikachu, that's only enough to fill the max party size. But that also means that he has more time to spend with each of them, by the end of season, all of his Pokemon that are able to evolve got to their highest level and his team managed to get him to 2nd place, his highest placing in any league tournament. Taken a step further with the existence of Ash-Greninja.
** And even farther with Alola: Ash basically had only three new Pokemon on him for wide stretches of time in Rowlet, Torracat, and Lycanroc. Others like Meltan and [[OlympusMons Poipole]] were not there for as long. Even with a relaxed atmosphere, Ash got to win the league.
* Why did Pikachu not win against Trip in his first battle when he used his physical attacks if only his electric attacks were blocked by Zekrom? Because he exhausted himself when tried to use his electric attacks.
* Why was Cilan Ash's designated Gym Leader friend to accompany him in Unova? In Black and White, Cilan is your opponent if you picked Oshawott as your starter and Oshawott was Ash's first Unova starter.
* During the last episode of BW, Oak was shown to have all base form regional starter birds. While Pidgey and to an extent Hoothoot could be explained due to new trainers, Ash's Swellow, Staraptor, and Unfezant are the only known members of their species to be around Oak's lab. Heck, perhaps that is what Unfezant had been doing since Ash swapped her out for Charizard?
* In ''Best Wishes'', after Meowth reveals himself as TheMole after faking a HeelFaceTurn, Ash, rather than getting angry, just smugly laments the past while travelling with him was fun, infuriating Meowth. This retort makes even more sense keeping in mind during most of that time, Meowth was ''even more'' the heroes' ButtMonkey than before (eg. the Dream Thief episode, where they continuously attack him to keep him awake) and unlike the norm, couldn't even antagonise them back to keep up the facade. Even worse, the plan failed, so it was all for nothing. What sounds like a goody goody hand wave was Ash essentially gloating that, in whatever situation Meowth cooks up, he still makes him his punching bag.
** Add to that, in trying to suck up to the heroes and prove his loyalty, [[PragmaticVillainy Meowth ended up helping with a lot of the heroes' dilemmas]], even ones unrelated to his cause (he didn't really ''have'' to help the wild Scrafty or Mandibuzz with their problems). Ironically through all his efforts he did a lot more good than harm.
** Of course, Ash being Ash, he was probably being ''completely sincere''. Of course Meowth is going to be angry, it's not just that they failed to steal Pokémon, Ash's takeaway from the experience is the good times they had together, not the faked friendship or betrayal.
* Meowth seems to have become ''slightly'' more battle competent, since ''Best Wishes'', he could dodge or pick himself up from attacks better and the rare times he fights in ''XY'' he's been getting in {{Curbstomp Cushion}}s, even against Pikachu. In a late Diamond and Pearl episode beforehand, Meowth, [[ThePowerOfLove in a fit of rare emotion]], fury swiped and defeated ''five Pokemon at once'' (some such as Ash's Pokemon were top fighters). While he inevitably lost the rush and reverted back to normal, he still likely gained some palpable experience from such a win, improving his battle level slightly. Similarly he defeated several Purloin of Team Plasma in another isolated second wind in ''Best Wishes'', explaining his second small power boost in ''XY''.
* While ''Best Wishes'' made the trio more competent as villains, most of their [[TeamRocketWins long term victories]] that actually earned Giovanni's approval tied in with their usual RedemptionPromotion, eg. stopping rival Team Plasma in an EnemyMine with Ash, saving BrainwashedAndCrazy Giovanni from destroying Unova, handing him Pokemon they earned through legitimate circumstances rather than stealing. Even Meowth's HeelFaceMole plot only got so far because he was genuinely helpful to the heroes and did good deeds. It only makes sense that after that, they decide to just go back to doing things their own way, where they do well in benevolent circumstances anyway, something ''XY'' has stayed consistent with.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:X and Y]]
* Froakie being able to see through Team Rocket's disguises might make sense when you take into account that his final evolution is a thief (well, ninja, but considering the FighterMageThief dynamic he has with the other starters). It takes a thief to know a thief.
* What was Clemont doing between getting kicked out of his gym and meeting Ash? Why, going to find a Pokemon that could use Ground moves like Bunnelby so he would have an advantage against the Clembot.
** Apparently [[https://filb.de/anime/xy/088 exploring the Lumiose City subway system]].
* There have been complaints (at least from Bulbagarden) about how Korrina's Mega-Lucario vs (Ash's) Pikachu have been utterly one-sided. The thing is, Pikachu was against a Pokémon that is essentially the closest thing you'll have to a legendary: Mega-Lucario is on Smogon's [[GameBreaker Uber-tier]] list. Even the non-mega version is not much of a slouch if you actually played the games. If anything, this make more sense that Lucario was featured in an earlier movie - maybe Lucario is a special type of Pokemon; the anime version of a semi/pseudo-legendary species.
* Of why Clemont's invention always explode when he's supposed to be a genius inventor. Well, this is RealityEnsues played for lighthearted hilarity. Given that Clemont probably came up with the inventions with only 30 second notice, and given that most of his invention do work - if briefly - before exploding, his problem is the lack of testing the invention and making sure the invention is fail-safe.
* In [=XY008=], Ash's Pikachu is blinded by an ink shot from James' Inkay, but Ash and Pikachu still battle Team Rocket with no trouble. Ash gives Pikachu commands about how and where to move and attack, and Pikachu delivers perfectly. Not only is this moment awesome in and of itself, it also makes sense in hindsight. Several times over the course of the anime, Ash has been in situations where his Pokémon either can't see their opponents or where it would not have been wise for them to do so. Each time, Ash told them to simply listen for their opponents or sense their movements and react at just the right moment. This could mean that part of the reason Ash and Pikachu did so well when Pikachu was fighting blind, aside from their deep bond and mutual trust, was because Ash has had to do things like this before.
* Serena's Fennekin really hates getting dirty. Why is this? [[ElementalRockPaperScissors She's a Fire-type Pokemon, and most of the things that make you dirty consist of water, soil (e.g. ground) and debris (e.g. rock)]].
* When watching Serena's flashback where Ash sings "Pain, pain go away" to the tune of "Rain, rain go away" you might just realise that ''that's the song that plays when you use the healing machine at a Pokemon Center!''
* Tying with that, the heroes almost always use a combination of Pokemon attacks to blast off Team Rocket in ''XY''. This seems like standard flashy overkill at first, but in keeping with Team Rocket's increased competence, a standard attack may not work anymore. Not to mention their tendency to bring out Wobbuffet to Counter more moderate attacks.
* After the Kalos finals, Ash's friends comforting him telling him that the loss isn't that bad is no doubt callous, then you realize that [[InnocentlyInsensitive they are probably thinking that Ash only had just taken part in his first or second tournament and is telling him not to be a sore loser.]] If Ash ever told them that this is his 6th league loss in a row, his friends will no doubt be singing a different tune. Not a Betrayal Fic or a 'you suck because you can't win' speech of course: contrary to what stupid fanfictions will say real people do not turn on you on such drops of the hats. No, they'd probably be congratulating him on how far he went.
* The reason Articuno did not appear in the ''XY'' anime like Moltres and Zapdos is because of what starter Pokemon triggers Articuno in the games: Chespin. Clemont isn't the anime protagonist, nor is he based on the game protagonist, so he does not trigger the event.
** Alternatively, the episodes featuring Moltres and Zapdos have one thing in common: a Flying-type Pokémon in Ash's team evolves into its final form (Fletchinder for the Moltres episode and Noibat for the Zapdos episode). The only unevolved Flying-type in Ash's team now is Hawlucha...which has no evolved forms at all.
* Korrina's subplot in XY seems like just something to introduce Mega Evolution, giving a side character, at best, an arc about working as one with their Pokemon and needing to have two viewpoints come together as one. What exactly is it that Ash and Greninja are forced to do 60 plus episodes later? It was pretty much hinting at it the whole time!
** In fact, a lot of things in early XY could be missed but have a huge impact with Ash and Greninja: Froakie choosing Ash, Ash and Froakie doing the same training exercises together, Ash continually blaming only himself for any loss he suffers, and Ramos' words about not rushing ahead or you'll miss the important things. All of them actually come back to bite Ash in the butt during the Ash-Greninja arc.
* Serena is noted for surviving the entire ''XY'' anime [[InvincibleIncompetent without a proper defeat]], despite being the least experienced of the female trainers throughout the anime, focusing more on her bonds with her Pokemon than level grinding (her standard battle strategy was spamming "Dodge!" and her Pokemon's best attacks in hope of a OneHitKO). This links to [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY her representing game series]], which introduced Pokemon-Amie, which through bonding and feeding your Pokemon, can boost their performance in battle, with far greater chance of them scoring critical hits and dodging attacks.
* Ash-Greninja's fairly easy win (only taking a single hit from a Leaf Storm) against Sawyer's Mega Sceptile makes sense, as not only did Greninja receive a major power increase, Sawyer had Sceptile use Leaf Storm quite often, which lowers the user's Special Attack Stat.
* Alain's team, as the boss set the farthest Ash has ever gone, has a team fittingly set up of previous challenges before his Charizard.
** Tyranitar is the evolved form of Pupitar, a Pokemon used by Ritchie who defeated Ash in Kanto.
** Weavile is one of Paul's main Pokemon, a trainer who gave him hell in Sinnoh.
** Bisharp is one of dragon buster Georgia's Pokemon, a trainer who his companion Iris never truly defeated (battles all being ties or 'Dragonite's victory') and whom Ash only beat thanks to the ground (at least in her eyes).
** Unfeazant is the evolved form of Tranquil, a Pokemon used by Trip in their first large scale battle and took out two of his Pokemon.
** Metagross is a Pokemon used by Tyson, who defeated Ash in Hoenn and took out two of Ash's best Pokemon he had on that region's team (Grovyle and Swellow) while battling Pikachu intensely before falling.
** In overcoming them, Ash showed that he had bettered himself against past defeats and struggles, even if the final challenge to overcome, Charizard, still remains.
* The lyrics to "Stand Tall" foreshadowed the outcome of the Kalos League for Ash: ''"I stand tall, 'cause I know I'm a winner / Knock me down, I'll just get up again"'' Losing to Alain may have knocked Ash down, but when Team Flare launched their attack on Lumiose, he got up again. He stood tall against Lysandre and proved himself a winner in every way that mattered.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sun and Moon]]
* Hala's team in the anime. Both of his Pokemon had Dark-type moves, while Hariyama blocked Iron Tail much the same way Tyson's Hariyama blocked Swellow's Peck. Subtle and unspoken, but it is a nice showing of how Hala has trained to deal with type disadvantage without him catching a M.C's Pokemon in them.
* Mimikyu takes an Iron Tail, which would normally be super effective, without taking damage. This might look weird, until you remember Mimikyu's ability, Disguise, lets it shrug off a free hit.
* Ash being on the receiving end of a plethora of AmusingInjuries in Alola. A normal person would probably be in the hospital after going through the punishment he experiences, but compared what Ash has experienced [[IronButtMonkey in the past]], which include turning to stone, being brainwashed and possessed, nearly dying from using all of his aura, dropping to his doom from great heights, and, most recently, sharing the pain his Greninja feels after it turns into Ash-Greninja, being electrocuted, frozen, and burned on a daily basis is like a slap on the wrist. The kid's had nearly two decades worth of experience to make him [[MadeOfIron resilient enough to withstand virtually anything.]]
* Team Rocket managing to get the Darkinium Z: in the process of the episode they managed to incapacitate the assist Pokemon and defeat the Totem Pokemon while showing they do care for Meowth. In a sense, they completed a trial a la the Poni Island Trial.
* During the baseball episode in the Sun and Moon season, Ash brandishes his ''metal'' bat with a flourish that is nearly identical to the way Pikachu swings his tail around when he's about to use Iron Tail. It's instantly apparent that he really put the finishing touches on Pikachu's technique with that particular attack. His excellent batting skill also definitely underscores why Iron Tail quickly became one of Pikachu's new signature attacks in the anime once Ash taught him how to master it.
* The fact that we don't see any of Ash's other Pokemon from the other regions when he comes back to Kanto (outside of a possible cameo appearance from his Corphish and Tododile) for a school trip. The whole point of the class going to Professor Oak's lab was for them to primarily see Pokemon from that specific region. If Professor Oak were to let out all of the Pokemon Ash caught from the Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos regions, they'd all flock towards him once they heard he was back and Ash would have to introduce all of his Pokemon to his classmates, thus defeating the entire purpose of the trip.
** It is worth noting that in the first episode that showed how Professor Oak's ranch worked, Showdown at the Po-Ke Corral, has him choose what Pokemon he lets out of their balls at any time. Given the callbacks this fact could likely be in play. As to why Totodile and Corphish are out.... well neither is all that ''obedient'' and neither Oak nor Bulbasaur can get them out from deep in a lake.
* Meta example in the Japanese dub. Despite sharing many-to-all of the similarities to [[Anime/KillLaKill Ragyo Kiryuin]] in the games, Lusamine isn't voiced by Creator/RomiPark, instead having a ''much'' softer and more motherly voice. The reason? Lusamine's anime incarnation received a massive AdaptationalHeroism.
* Why does 'the Masked Royal' have Incineroar in the anime? Simple, in the games the guy has the stronger starter to you and Ash's first Alolan Pokemon was Rowlet, the ''grass'' starter.
* Throughout ''Sun and Moon'' Giovanni and Matori seem to be inspecting on the Team Rocket trio's progress far more often than usual. Their previous trip to Kalos was actually [[VillainForgotToLevelGrind their most stagnant]], only capturing one Pokemon per trainer at the start of the series. The trio had got back into their usual obsessive rut with the twerps, and eventually got surpassed by them so badly that they even acknowledged it and [[KnowWhenToFoldEm lied low for the final points of the mission]] (though they managed to keep in Giovanni's good books by defeating rival organisation Team Flare "single handedly"). It would make sense that next time round, the trio are made sure to keep up a more consistent pace instead of wasting time against Pikachu.
* Nanu not giving Ash a Darkinium Z-crystal because the Dark-type didn't suit him was a bit of an odd statement and more than a little trolly, given that he knew Lycanroc knew Bite (at least at the start of the match, it is unknown if learning Counter removed Bite) and that Ash had a Torracat, which evolves into a Dark-type. Ash also having a Scraggy, Krookodile, and Greninja is a bit of a counter to this. However despite their typings, all of them (and Ash's Pokemon in general) do not know Dark-type moves and what ones did know them (Torterra, Krookodile, probably Lycanroc) forgot them. Either Nanu was one of the first characters in ages to look Ash up as he was before the current series and noted this, or he's a better reader of people than many give him credit for. It just happened to have the bonus of trolling on top of it.
* Why is Tapu Fini a Psychopomp, despite never really being depicted as such in any other medium? The Ruins of Hope the Pokemon resides in are known as 'the place life ends its journey' and the attribute was likely taken from there.
* Some people have raised issue with Tsareena's evolutions, as Mallow is not particularly known for training her yet she still evolved twice and shows herself to be rather powerful. However, an answer did pop up for why this happened as of the Poni Island arc: Tsareena's one of the older Pokemon in the group, even without trying to figure out what sort of time warp Ash and Pikachu are in: Bounsweet was caught by Mallow's mother years ago, while Pokemon like Popplio are much more recent captures. Light training for years can pay dividends later.
** Add to that Tsareena was almost exclusively played against [[{{HarmlessVillain}} harmless villains]] like Team Rocket's Meowth, of course [[StrawLoser by comparison of her opposition]] she would look like an InvincibleHero. When the league came and Mallow was pit against the relatively more trained Primarina, [[RealityEnsues the lack of experience quickly came into play]] and Tsareena was soon eliminated. This is a show that has repeatedly pointed out that evolution can help with power but doesn't automatically mean more experience.
* During an episode that Mallow's mother appeared as a ghost, a Shaymin appears. This is to reflect on this Pokemon species being partially based on angels.
* Shaymin's bond with Mallow is succinctly close and obedient despite being a wild mythical Pokemon. The earlier Mallow focused episode where she quarrels with her father brings to attention that she is insecure over lack of appreciation or approval. Her parting words with her mother's spirit fittingly are them expressing their appreciation for each other. What more fitting Pokemon to show compassion to a WellDoneDaughterGirl like Mallow than Shaymin, the Gratitude Pokemon?
** Eagle-eyed viewers will also notice that this particular Shaymin in its Land Forme has eyes that resemble those of Mallow’s mother. Possible reincarnation, anyone?
* In Sun and Moon, Mimikyu softening up to Jessie rather quickly make sense once one recall how it was captured with a ''Luxury Ball''. Those are designed to make the captured Pokemon in them friendlier much faster than any other ball.
** Additionally, Jessie wasn't able to catch it after multiple tries with regular Poké Balls. So she swiped the Luxury Ball, which belonged to James, and it went right in. Keep in mind, Mimikyu just want to be loved. Maybe it was just waiting for the right Ball to be caught with.
* Though some consider Rowlet quickly defeating Hau's Decidueye after waking up an AssPull, the dex entry for Rowlet specifically states that the species fall asleep to store energy from photosynthesis. Essentially taking a nap allowed it a power surge and to regain energy while Decidueye was still worn out from their battle.
* A viewer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq0Gx5oPtrU&lc=Ugxyr_PrGyeM-iP45i94AaABAg noted]] that Ash's battles in the Alola League avenged ALL his previous tournament losses:
** Won a battle after his Pokémon fell asleep (Rowlet) -- Indigo League
** Beat a Fire-type starter with another Fire-type starter (Torracat) -- Johto League
** Won with unevolved Pokémon wearing clothes (Rowlet again) -- Hoenn League
** Beat two legendaries AND got two legendary-like Pokémon of his own (Naganadel and Melmetal) -- Sinnoh League
** Beat a Lucario -- Unova League
** Beat his black-wearing rival and not only survived but also absorbed a Blast Burn -- Kalos League
** As a cherry on top, the final battle was with his longtime partner Pikachu instead of the regional ace.
* The Ultra Guardian Pokemon have something in common with their riders. Ash rides Garchomp, Kiawe rides Charizard, Sophocles rides Metagross, Lillie rides Altaria, Lana rides Dragonair, and Mallow rides Flygon. What are these similarities? Ash has a Gible, which is Garchomp's base form. Kiawe specializes in Fire Pokemon so he has Charizard, and it was his grandfather's. Metang is intelligent, said to be smarter than a supercomputer to go along with Sophocles as the brains of the group and can learn Magnet Rise and Thunder Punch to match him specializing in electric Pokemon. Dragonair live in bodies of water and in the games can be caught by fishing which matches Lana specializing in water Pokemon. Lillie the girliest of the group has a feminine looking Pokemon in Altaria and Altaria's pre-evolution Swablu starts off weak but has potential which it taps into as Altaria reflects how Lillie started out as fearing touching Pokemon but has grown stronger by conquering that fear and gotten more confident. Mallow having Flygon is comparatively grasping at straws, but Flygon is capable of learning Grass-type moves like Solar Beam and Giga Drain.
* Ash winning the Manalo League Conference/Alola League? A translation of Manalo is '''WIN'''. Let that sink in.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Journeys]]
* The fact that Goh catches his starter Pokemon, throws a curve Pokeball, catches most of his Pokemon by simply throwing Pokeballs at them, and transfers most of the Pokemon he catches to an institute suggest he was inspired by the Player Character in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo''.
** For one of his captures, his ball gets knocked away by the Pokemon he's trying to catch, only for Scorbunny to knock it back again. Your Buddy Pokemon can help you in the exact same way.
* Ash's Pokemon in ''Journeys'' are those that both contrast and yet are similar to his previous captures.
** Dragonite goes against Ash's usual tradition of him catching either a regional bird or a Starter Pokemon. But the circumstances also alludes to one of Ash's first captures; his Pidgeotto, which was captured in its mid-form and released in its final form. Except this time, Ash meets his Dragonite as a wild Dragonair, but catches it as a fully evolved Pokemon. And by techniality, Ash also doesn't go entirely against his tradition because Dragonite is half Flying type.
** Gengar contrasts the backstory of Ash's Fire-type Starters (save Cyndaquil and Litten). Charmander, Chimchar and Tepig were abandoned by their trainers for being weak recently-in Chimchar's case, right in front of Ash. Meanwhile, Gengar is a fully evolved Pokemon that was abandoned three years ago because its former Trainer believed it brought him bad luck. Likewise, while the three had issues with themselves as a result of the abandonment, Gengar became resentful toward Trainers and spends its first appearances lashing out at the Cerise Institution.
** Riolu contrasts Ash's hatched Pokemon (Phanpy/Donphan, Scraggy, and Noibat/Noivern). Riolu is actually a Baby Pokemon and has an indepedent and stubborn attitude right after hatching, even more so compared to Scraggy.
** Farfetch'd is the opposite of Ash's previous avian-based Fighting type Hawlucha. While Hawlucha was an honorable warrior and defender, Farfetch'd is a BloodKnight that seeks out challenges. However, both do struggle with a problem that hampers their fighting ability; Hawlucha posed before doing Flying Press while Farfetch'd heavy leek makes it vunerable while preparing to strike. Both also have a connection with Ash's hatched Pokemon though in different ways; Hawlucha's relationship with Noibat/Noivern is akin to a paternal one while Farfetch'd views Riolu as a WorthyOpponent and sparring partner.
* In [=SS001=], we get to see Ash's Pikachu as a Pichu. He spent a good amount of time adopted by a Kangaskhan, being good friends with its baby. Pichu eventually evolves into Pikachu. This makes sense, as the prerequisite for Pichu to evolve into Pikachu is high friendship.
* "Mimey" calling quits on a fight with a Mightyena in [=SS007=] before it even begins is a crystal clear case that he's well-aware of type advantages and realizes that he, a "Psychic/Fairy"-type, going up a pure "Dark"-type, is a one-sided beating just ''waiting'' to happen, one "Mimey" does ''not'' want if he can avoid it.
** Moreover, given how quickly Mimey threw in the towel, said Mightyena might've had Intimidate which would've decreased his Attack stats, meaning that Focus Punch just wasn't going to cut it.
* Goh's Dewgong actually shares a similarity with his trainer: a one-sided determination to obtain something to the point that they disregard logic. Goh was so focused on capturing Dewgong without battling it first that he lost all his Pokéballs while Dewgong is fixated with a female Dewgong that got Goh and Ash lost in a storm.
** Goh's Scyther in ''[=SS007=]'' was eager to join in the Battle Frontier in contrast to Goh's Pinsir who looks like he'd rather not. It shows a conflict between Goh: he wants to prove his stuff in his first official trainer battle but he also shows reluctance throughout the entire ordeal.
* The Pokemon type that consists of most of Goh's caught Pokemon are Bug-types. A Pokemon type commonly associated with beginner trainers, which Goh is.
* In ''[=SS010=]'' it seems odd that Gengar would easily be defeated by a simple Spark from Yamper...but then again, that's probably the point. Gengar probably pretended to be defeated easily to make it so that the residents in the laboratory would think it will disappear. That way Gengar could attack when their defenses were down.
** Gengar is also a GlassCannon, as it shown struggling with very fast and hard-hitting opponents (such as Visquez's Electrode and Korrina's tag team with Mienshao and Lucario).
* So, as we see in ''[=SS012=]'', Ash, who won the Alola Pokémon League and was their Champion, was not invited to the World Coronation Series being held in Galar. Snubbed? Perhaps not. Remember, Ash is the ''first'' Champion of Alola. Also, qualification for the World Coronation Series may not have to do with being a Champion, as Ash has to do battle with previous rivals to build up his global ranking.
* Ash giving Goh an ArmorPiercingQuestion in episode 22 makes sense -- after all, [[Recap/PokemonS1E39PikachusGoodbye he tried to leave Pikachu behind for his own happiness without consulting his partner]] early in the series too, and he doesn't want Goh to make the same mistake.
** In addition, Ash has had experiences with Pokémon who had been abandoned by their trainers; he's well aware of the damage that abandonment can cause to a Pokémon psyche. Ash didn't want Raboot to spend the rest of its life feeling that its trainer deemed it worthless.
*** Another reason why Goh was quick to change his mind? He knew what happened with Ash's Gengar a few episodes ago. He probably didn't want to be just like that {{Jerkass}} trainer who abandoned Gengar in the first place.
* Visquez and Korrina were the first and the last opponents Ash faced against in the Normal class. Both are gym leaders with previous knowledge of Ash's battle style who fought him two on two. Each of their Pokemon battled both of Ash's two Pokemon at one point during their battles. However Visquez knew of Ash second hand from Lt. Surge while Korrina had battled him herself. Visquez was the substitute gym leader while Korrina was the official gym leader. As a result of these points Visquez suffered a knock out first while Korrina gave a knock out first to Ash (notably the same Pokemon, Gengar, was involved in both fights). Visquez's secret weapon came at the end of a fight in Electrode's Aftermath while Lucario's came earlier in Mega Evolution.
* Goh catching Sobble makes more sense when you realize that this time Ash is participating in the World Championship, which makes Sobble a rather impractical choice to train and fight with due to its timid nature, which makes Goh a better choice as a trainer due to the lack of battling he faces in comparison.
* Chloe being the one to figure out that Pikachu was jealous of Riolu as well as being the one to call out Ash for it makes sense since she had experienced the same issue with Yamper just one episode prior.
* Why did Pikachu get so tired from walking to Pallet Town with how much travelling he did with Ash in past series? Because during their travels, Pikachu generally just sat on Ash's shoulder while Ash did most of the walking.
* Sometimes it feels like Ash's rank increases can feel like their level of increase isn't the most consistent. However especially given the massive number of trainers in the normal classes the likely explanation is that ranks for most trainers, bar someone like Leon, can and does change without battle results as others win and lose around them. For an example Ash could go to sleep one day ranked the 1,345th and wake up the 1,543rd trainer on the rankings.
* Korrina beating Gengar so readily might have been more than just setting up TheWorfEffect. In game Korrina has a slight quirk in her movepool design that makes her team [[PoorPredictableRock basically unable to do anything against a Ghost Pokemon]]. Specifically being shown demolishing a ghost is a small little way of showing improvement in that sense.
* Goh having to go to school for a test, despite not really going at all, might seem an odd quirk. However that is how some, at least American, colleges operate. Students can, if they so choose, only attend class on test days and still pass the class. Now why this is in place for children that are most definitely not intended to be college age is anyone's guess, but there is a possible reason for it.
* Bea's first two appearances give a fair bit of context as to why Ash's first battle with her went so badly: she's not just a Fighting-type specialist but a specialist at battling other Fighting-types. It's what she's been shown doing (Karate Dojo Master, Korrina, and Chuck) and her Hawlucha is perfectly set up for the job in general with its part-flying typing. She is course not as limited in this focus than Georgia against non-dragons: she can match Ash blow for blow when he uses the Electric-type Pikachu after all, and she seems to have a bit of a blind spot for Aura-based fighting tactics. However trying to beat her with her own specialization is going to end badly for the participant as Ash found out the hard way.
** On the note of Bea and an Aura blind spot none of her Pokemon can learn Aura Sphere. This seems like an minor detail but look at the native Galarian fighting types that can use Aura Sphere and you'll find that Bea isn't shown with any of them: Lucario, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, and Kommo-o. She has the one Hitmon Pokemon, Hitmontop, that ''can't'' use Aura Sphere.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Movies]]
* In the movie ''Anime/PokemonDestinyDeoxys'', when the purple Deoxys (the primary one) makes its 'voice' heard, it sounds deep, and seemingly masculine. When the green Deoxys (the Deoxys the primary one is searching for) speaks, its voice is higher, and seemingly feminine. The two Deoxys were in a meteor together at the beginning of the movie. Is it possible that the Deoxys were a seed of life that came from another world, and sent to Earth (or at least, in hopes of finding a planet) to preserve their race? It seems to me that they could be a sort of Adam and Eve archetype.
** Or for FridgeHorror, an [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Adam and Lilith]] archetype.
* Mewtwo. It was supposedly cloned from Mew, except it obviously isn't a Mew. The other clones obviously are the same as the originals, but it isn't. Why? The researchers spliced the Mew DNA with human DNA. It's why Mewtwo looks so much more human, and why it has a voice (admittedly via psychic). It's part human and part Pokémon, which is why it also thinks of itself as a trainer. That's why it's so screwed up.
** This has some basis in the ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' manga, where Mewtwo was cloned using some of the cells in Blaine's arm.
* Akihiro Miwa as the japanese voice of Arceus in ''Arceus and the Jewel of Life''. Not only is this a perfect fit for the voice, but he may have been the aptest choice possible for the role. He has many traits in common with Arceus: [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld more age than appearances suggest]], [[DragQueen ambiguous gender]], golden highlights, high popularity among the other characters despite holding strong beliefs and having some JerkAss tendencies, [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII first-hand experience with "judgment"]] [[NukeEm raining down upon a city]]...
** On a related subject, Arceus's dub voice. A lot of people say it doesn't fit him, and in several ways, it probably doesn't. But rather than discussing that aspect, let's discuss how, when asked who ''should'' have voiced him, a lot of people immediately suggest someone like Creator/DanGreen. The fact is, despite his many roles, Dan has only voiced two legendaries to date. The first (replacing Phillip Bartlett from the first movie) was a man-made clone of an existing Pokémon that doesn't speak telepathically and sounds far cuter. The second was an illusion created by the Unown, based upon a little girl's memories, and the creature they emulated merely roars. The logical conclusion is apt, not only for the show, but also for the fanbase. Dan Green is not what legendary Pokémon sound like. Dan Green is [[TheCoconutEffect what humans think legendary Pokémon]] ''[[TheCoconutEffect should]]'' [[TheCoconutEffect sound like]].
** Both Mewtwo and Movie!Entei specifically were created by the human mind. Mewtwo by Team Rocket, who probably wanted the voice to sound more like the way he speaks in the sequel, and Entei by Molly Hale, who was reminded as her father, plus Entei would sound like that as far as humans would like it to be. Also, if Creator/DanGreen (or Philip Bartlett's Majestic Voice Mode) is how humans think Legendaries should sound, and Mewtwo was created by/raised by humans, maybe that's how ''Mewtwo'' thinks Legendaries should sound.
* In ''Pokemon 3: Spell of the Unown'', the Entei, being associated with the Unown, leaves a trail of ice crystals. Seems pretty insignificant, right? But, of course, Entei is a fire mon. This may be a subtle way to make Pokemaniacs in the audience feel something eery and unusual about this creature.
* Remember that baby Nidoqueen from ''Mewtwo Returns''? [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Celebi_Egg_glitch Seems Mewtwo must've become a true master of the Celebi Egg glitch by the time our heroes reunited with him.]]
* Ash was the ChosenOne in Anime/Pokemon2000 and the ChosenOne in resurrecting the ancient bond phenomenon through [[FusionDance Ash-Greninja]], it isn't farfetch'd (no pun intended) that he could turn his Electrium-Z into a Pikashunium-Z.
** Adding on to that, where did Ash get his Electrium-Z? Not from Sophocles like in the games, but from Tapu Koko itself! There’s likely mystical origins behind this specific Z-Crystal.
[[/folder]]

** Ash's final battle with Brandon is something of a {{ClicheStorm}}, playing UnderdogsNeverLose and ThePowerOfFriendship ''very'' straight in just about every match (most infamously when Pikachu one-shots a fully healed Regice with Volt Tackle). This would go on to play a heavy role in Ash's rivalry with Paul, as not only is the rivalry a heavy {{deconstruction}} of that trope, but Brandon himself would mark a massive turning point with his [[TheBusCameBack return]] to the anime. Paul has spent the whole series scorning Ash for his belief in love and friendship, so to learn that Ash beat Brandon with those exact things completely flips the rivalry on its head as Paul starts to question his own beliefs.

* Harrison, who defeated Ash in Johto, lost the next round and wasn't able to use Blaziken in it because he was wounded and not fully recovered after fighting Charizard. After facing Three of Gary's Pokemon (Two which he had a disadvantage against) in a row including his Strongest one and Starter Blastoise, perhaps Charizard, when facing Blaziken, [[WorfHadTheFlu hadn't recovered from fighting them either]]. If he was at 100 percent, Ash may have been able to beat Harrison.
** While we're on the subject, this might also be a factor in explaining him being defeated by Entei in the third movie. It's not unreasonable to suspect he might have been tired from presumably flying as fast as he could for several hours.

* This is almost definitely coincidental, but Gary is an anagram for (the American English spelling of) Gray, and Ash is a shade of gray. Compare Red, Green/Blue, and Green from the games. -Tropers/JET73L

** Similarly, Trip is rumoured among fans to be a stab at '[[NostalgiaFilter GenWunners]]' (people who insist nothing can compare to the original generation of Pokemon) with his disdain for the Kanto region 'boonies'.

* It seems weird that Ash only has a crush on Giselle and possibly Serena and yet has none towards the other female companions he had along the way. However, there is an answer and its related to Serena. Ash and Serena are childhood friends and whatever amount of interaction he had with her must have a huge impact on him. Ash may have liked Giselle because she was pretty but when he now sees how rude and condescending she is, he doesn't like it because that is not how Serena would act. His ObliviousToLove isn't that. Its just that he has very high standards now. He's only interested in girls if they could match Serena's level.
** When one notes the female companions he had before Serena you see two Tsunderes (which Ash may just not find appealing), and two he pretty much mentored. Given how Oak and Delia interact (assuming that Oak isn't Ash's father), Ash may associate such a role with 'no romance allowed'. If Oak and Delia are his parents, he may just not want to emulate that behavior.

* There are many examples on this page of Pokémon with illegal move sets that may have been HandWaved by ''Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!'', in which Ash's Bulbasaur learns Dig in a life threatening situation.

* The Team Rocket trio have managed to [[UltimateJobSecurity stay employed]] to Team Rocket despite their perpetual state of mediocrity at best and utter failure at worst. There are several plausible reasons for this if you think about it: One is that in their persistent stalking of Ash, who is a WeirdnessMagnet, they've inadvertently become instrumental in stopping rival criminal teams and saving the world ''several times over''. This in turn helps Team Rocket's overall bottom line in the long run. If Giovanni has realized this, it makes sense to just keep the trio around as a form of insurance.
** This becomes partially confirmed when at the end of ''Diamond & Pearl'' the trio manage to convince Giovanni that they've shut down Team Galactic (although in reality they only played a minor part) and then later proceed to also take credit for stopping Team Plasma and Team Flare.
** Additionally, supplemental materials to the first movie revealed that Jessie is the daughter of a highly ranked Team Rocket agent who was the first person to record audio evidence of Mew, before ultimately going MIA. This audio recording was the reason Team Rocket was able to find Mew's DNA to create Mewtwo in the first place. If Giovanni knows this about Jessie, he could simply be allowing her (and by extension, James and Meowth) to remain on the team out of unspoken honor to her mother, regardless of Jessie's terrible track record.

* Brock hatching a Happiny was foreshadowing his change in goals to become a doctor, since Happiny evolves into the pokemon often seen in a Pokemon Center.

* In Sun and Moon, Mimikyu softening up to Jessie rather quickly make sense once one recall how it was captured with a ''Luxury Ball''. Those are designed to make the captured pokemon in them friendlier much faster than any other ball.

** Won a battle after his pokémon fell asleep (Rowlet) -- Indigo League

** Won with unevolved pokémon wearing clothes (Rowlet again) -- Hoenn League
** Beat two legendaries AND got two legendary-like pokémon of his own (Naganadel and Melmetal) -- Sinnoh League

** For one of his captures, his ball gets knocked away by the pokemon he's trying to catch, only for Scorbunny to knock it back again. Your Buddy pokemon can help you in the exact same way.

* Here's a subtle one -- Tepig's WellDoneSonGuy tendencies [[spoiler:prior to his evolution]]. While it's understandable that he has low self-esteem after an abandonment by a previous trainer, having it so bad that even Lenora points out he tries ''really'' hard for Ash stands out (and he's upset when he ties with a Vanillite, even though he battled well). Then comes the episode where we finally meet his former trainer -- who, as it turns out, claimed to have left Tepig behind because he felt it would be better for a weak Pokémon to not be forced to battle (hint: he's lying). Suddenly it makes sense -- while Ash would never ditch a Pokémon friend even if they had a losing streak, Tepig ''does not believe such a thing exists''. It takes confronting his trainer on the truth to invigorate his self-esteem.

* As of B/W episode 98, we've seen [[spoiler:Pignite]] get mad at Oshawott for stealing his food at least twice -- and it's shaping up to be a real BerserkButton. This makes sense, since, when we were introduced to [[spoiler:Pignite as a Tepig,]] he was ''unable'' to eat and more than half-starved. Taking food from a Pokemon that's learned to value it that much is a really, really bad idea.

** This has some basis in the ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' manga, where Mewtwo was cloned using some of the cells in [[spoiler:Blaine's arm.]]

** Paul only uses the strongest Pokémon and rejects any that don't live up to his high standards. The Chimchar that he put through TrainingFromHell, threw out for supposedly being "weak", and was subsequently adopted and raised by Ash, the Trainer he derided for treating Pokémon as friends rather than tools, ultimately proved victorious over his perfectly-trained Electivire.

* In the Wallace Cup, Dawn is able to defeat May, which seems odd given her shorter duration of experience and losing streak at the start of Sinnoh. Until you remember that Dawn had to pick up slack more regularly than May, only able to win by changing her approach regularly, along with other factors like a greater array of rivals with even [[TookALevelInBadass Jessie now being experienced enough to win contests and be a legitimate opposition.]] The Sinnoh contests come off as fiercer competitions than those in Hoenn and Johto.
* For some, Nando's early loss in the Sinnoh League after putting on an impressive performance at the Grand Festival seems to be a case of BrokenAesop -- was Zoey right about him wasting his time by deciding to do both Gym Battles and Contests? [[DeconReconSwitch But, no, she wasn’t.]] The fact that he managed to amass 8 badges and 5 ribbons, in a space of time when most Trainers are struggling to finish a single set, is already a testament to his skill, but: watch him during and after his Grand Festival and League battles. He is clearly having the time of his life (aside from a few moments of getting flustered) and accepts defeat with grace and poise, even commenting that he feels great after his battle with Ash. Even if his battle skill isn’t quite on the same level as his Contest skill, for him, it's the joy of the battle that's more important than the win or loss.

* For some, Nando's early loss in the Sinnoh League after putting on an impressive performance at the Grand Festival seems to be a case of BrokenAesop -- was Zoey right about him wasting his time by deciding to do both Gym Battles and Contests? [[DeconReconSwitch But, no, she wasn’t.]] The fact that he managed to amass 8 badges and 5 ribbons, in a space of time when most Trainers are struggling to finish a single set, is already a testament to his skill, but: watch him during and after his Grand Festival and League battles. He is clearly having the time of his life and accepts defeat with grace and poise, even commenting that he feels great after his battle with Ash. Even if his battle skill isn’t quite on the same level as his Contest skill, for him, it's the joy of the battle that's more important than the win or loss.

* Sometimes it feels like Ash's rank increases can feel like their level of increase isn't the most consistent. However especially given the massive number of trainers in the normal classes the likely explanation is that ranks for most trainers, bar someone like Leon, change without battle results as others win and lose around them. For an example Ash could go to sleep one day ranked the 1,345th and wake up the 1,543rd trainer on the rankings.

** Gengar contrasts the backstory of Ash's Fire-type Starters (save Cyndaquil and Litten). Charmander, Chimchar and Tepig were abandoned by their trainers for being weak recently-in Chimchar's case, right in front of Ash. Meanwhile, Gengar was abandoned three years ago because its former Trainer believed it brought him bad luck. Likewise, while the three had issues with themselves as a result of the abandonment, Gengar became resentful toward Trainers and spends its first appearances lashing out at the Cerise Institution.

* Goh's newly captured Dewgong actually shares a similarity with his trainer: a one-sided determination to obtain something to the point that they disregard logic. Goh was so focused on capturing Dewgong without battling it first that he lost all his Pokéballs while Dewgong is fixated with a female Dewgong that got Goh and Ash lost in a storm.