Chloé's father, aside from being in a high leadership position, also apparently owns Lumiose City's Hotel Richissime.
While Marinette is saying farewell to her parents before starting her journey in Chapter 2, Sabine remarks that Marinette's "favorite alarm clock" is their family's Fletchling to Adrien. Fletchling being the "alarm clock" references how the Player Character in Pokémon X and Y and Serena in the anime are awakened.
In Chapter 2 after Adrien temporarily leaves to give Marinette a moment with her parents, Tom jokingly kneels on one knee as if to propose, saying how much Adrien is a keeper and telling his daughter to speak up now, much like Bonnie's Running Gag from the X and Y anime. It even includes her French catchphrase from the Japanese version.
Tom: "Marinette, you must speak up now before someone else does. S'il vous plait!
Marinette meeting Gabriel face-to-face in Lumiose City during Chapter 8 mirrors the Player Character from Pokémon X and Y meeting Lysandre for the first time. Their talks about their ideals on beauty should hint at their similarities, especially with who the masked Big Bad is revealed to be at the end of Chapter 50.
After the pathway between Shalour coastline and the Tower of Mastery opened up, Alya asked Alix whether a Flying Pokémon or hot air balloons shaped like a Meowth's head would suffice in travelling to the tower without a boat.
In Chapter 26, Alya mentioned the guardian Pokémon in Alola Tapu Lele.
The Fennekin from Professor Damocles's lab evolving after beating a handful of Pokémon, which would defeat the purpose of being chosen for a beginning Trainer, is reminiscent of the plot the Advanced Generation episode, Having a Wailord of a Time.
Marinette's favorite Pokémon is Dedenne, alluding to her love for hamsters from the show.
Manon almost beating Marinette in a Pokémon battle with a wild Dedenne she befriended against Marinette's Togetic mirrors her Akumatized form, The Puppeteer's close victory against Ladybug and Cat Noir.
Adrien calls Tikki "One Punch Ledian" after she knocks out Nadja's Heliolisk with Mach Punch shortly after being sent to battle. Him making this Shout-Out alludes to his love of anime from the main show.
His love for anime shows up again in Chapter 40 as Liepard Noir by making fabulous poses with his Meowstic and newly evolved Gallade that would make Captain Ginyu proud.
Also in chapter 40, when Lady Ledian and Liepard Noir's Kirlia both evolve into Gardevoir and Gallade, respectively, their described movements as they do so are reminiscent of Ladybug and Cat Noir's transformation sequences in the show, and is even Word of God at the end of the chapter that they'll be doing these too during Mega Evolution.
Alya telling Manon that she is a Keldeo disguised as a human mirrors how she tells Manon she is a mystical Unicorn disguised as a human to distract her in "Stormy Weather".
The author's notes at the end of Chapter 41 mentions that the author originally considered nicknaming Gabriel's Absol "Felix," likely referencing the original version of Cat Noir from Ladybug PV.
While passing through the wetlands on the way to Laverre City, Marinette and Alya note that the wild Pokémon are under the leadership of a Goodra and a Blue Flower Florges.
In Chapter 47, after evolving, Alya's Medicham goes off to find a Medichamite in front of a well in Laverre City. That happens to be its location in the games, though it's only available post-game story.
Alya catches a Rotom in the Lost Hotel on a Tuesday in Chapter 49 from a trashcan west of a Punk Couple she and Alix tag-battled. This is how a player can catch a Rotom in Pokémon X and Y.
In the same chapter, the punks of the Lost Hotel themselves were loosely based off of Team Skull, though the personalities of the first three punks Marinette and the others encounter closely resemble the Team Skull Grunts from the anime.
Rose mentions the informal baking lessons Marinette's dad taught them back in Lumiose Trainer Academy in Chapter 50 like he did in "Despair Bear".
The final question Juleka solves in the Pokémon Quiz theme for the Anistar Showcase to move on to the Freestyle Performance in Chapter 54 is "Who's that Pokémon?" The answer is Jigglypuff seen from above.
In the same chapter, the meaningful words that Kagami received from her mother before leaving for her journey are "When a life meets another life, something is born." This was the recurring quote by Cynthia in the anime during the Diamond and Pearl saga meant to revolve around Ash and Paul.
Alix and Nathaniel talking about what they fear in the beginning of Chapter 55 references "Sandboy".
Alix even correctly guessed what Marinette would fear: Adrien telling her he loves another girl, much to Marinette's horror.
Chloé's mother is revealed to have left her family to pursue a career as a fashion critic in the Unova region, the Pokémon universe's equivalent to New York City.
At the end of the same chapter, Marinette's choice of words to Togetic when presenting the Shiny Stone for her to evolve with mimics how Ladybug presents the responsibility of the Miraculous to new allies.
Simon Grimault and Marc Anciel are introduced in Chapter 56 and are Psychic-users in this setting, the former specializing in hypnotism and tarot card reading and the latter specializing in Inverse Battles.
When Marinette asks Fu why he chose her in Chapter 57, she all but quotes the same lines she says in the opening of the original series.
Marinette: "I'm just... Marinette. I'm just a normal girl with a normal life."
Fu mentions to Marinette in the same chapter that when he's not travelling the region, he has taken residency in Lumiose City as a local Pokémon masseuse.
The first chapter features a Flashback on how Marinette fell for Adrien. It mentions them having a rocky start because of Chloé, just like in the Origins episode of Miraculous Ladybug. However, Adrien finds Marinette under a tree with an injured ankle. He tends to her ankle and encourages her to believe in herself after apologizing for the incident, which is similar to how Ash inspired Serena in their Pokémon summer camp when they were younger. The scene continues with Adrien helping Marinette up and escorting her under his umbrella when it starts raining while they were still holding hands. It's pretty much a combination of both romantic scenes.
Nino sometimes calls his Squirtle Bubbler and Alya mentioned doesn't give her Elekid a silly nickname like Lady Wifi because he's male. Both are shout-outs to Nino and Alya's moniker of their akumatized form.
By the end of the first chapter, Professor Damocles quotes lyrics from the Pokémon Johto opening theme song.
"It's a whole new world out there for you to live in. There's a whole new way for you to see. Outside of this school and Lumiose City, it's a brand new place to face with a brand new attitude. But you still gotta catch 'em all and be the best that you can be."
In Marinette's first battle against Adrien, Plagg's finishing Shadow Claw was described to be "cataclysmic," hinting as a reference to Cat Noir's Cataclysm.
Marinette's Sewaddle/Swadloon uses String Shot to swing around high areas like how Ladybug uses her yo-yo to travel. In some unconventional tactics, she has also used String Shot to tie up and swing opponents around, which is like a weaker version of the Savage Spin-Out Z-move on top of Ladybug's conventional yo-yo attacks.
When choosing his Pokémon, Vincent would always say, "—, look into the lens!" which is a shout-out to his Catchphrase as the Pixelator.
When Marinette was about to capture Sewaddle, she declared "No more wrong-doing for you, little Sewaddle!" and "Time to capture you!", referencing Ladybug whenever she purifies an Akuma. She does it again in Chapter 29 when about to capture a Feebas declaring, "No more Togepi-swatting for you, little Feebas".
Marinette refers to Togepi as her "Lucky Charm", in reference to both Togepi's description and Ladybug's Lucky Charm. Togepi also knows Metronome, which like Lucky Charm, uses a random move that puts Marinette's resourceful skills to the test.
Jalil would always say "—, give me your—!" when summoning his Pokémon and when activating his Key Stone, "Key Stone, give me higher power! Mega Evolve!". Both are reference to his akumatized form, The Pharaoh.
The methods that Team Akuma is said to use to corrupt, control, and strengthen Trainers and their Pokémon is through Mega Evolution energy and the Bond Phenomenon, which was a power exclusive between Ash and his Greninja in the anime.
Lady Ledian's and Liepard Noir's keystones free Ivan from his brainwashing by destroying the source of it and healing him, which reflects Cat Noir's Cataclysm and Ladybug's Miraculous Ladybug ability respectively.
Lila's hometown is Alto Mare, an anime-exclusive location from Pokémon Heroes that is based off of Venice, Italy.
The outfit that Juleka styled her Mime Jr. for her appeal in the Theme Performance resembles the appearance of her akumatized form, Reflekta. Similarly, Rose's use of her Roselia's sweet smell and her style references her akumatized form, Princess Fragrance.
The author makes a reference to Sun & Moon Episode 15 using a metaphor tying back to Rockruff’s “unique training” with Ash in Chapter 29.
Marinette has the XY&Z Japanese opening theme, covered by Jagged Stone here, as her phone's alarm clock as revealed in Chapter 31's opening line.
The Trainer that curbstomped Mr. Ramier in their Sky Battle in the beginning of Chapter 32 seems to be channeling two infamous rivals from the Pokémon franchise, Paul and Blue/Green Oak, with their known catchphrases: "Pathetic!" and "Smell ya later!" respectively.
When finally visiting her family since leaving Lumiose City, Marinette is called "champ-in-the-making" by her father, a nickname an NPC from the Pokémon games that hangs out in Gyms calls the Player Character when they ask for advice in battling the Gym Leader.
In Chapter 36, Marinette freaks out over the possibility of reopening Adrien's head injury with a flying frying pan or a drying pan while helping her babysit Manon.
In Chapter 39, Tom attempts to do the same as Meyer from the Pokémon XY anime by disguising himself as a hero and calling himself "Sceptile Mask."
In Chapter 42, Bubbler X is an obvious shout-out to Nino's akumatized form, the Bubbler. The 'X' comes from Blastoise's Japanese name, Kamex. In addition, Bubbler X's characterization is based off of Guzma's from Sun & Moon.
In a similar vein as the above, Liepard Noir due to his temporary seriousness gets poked at for having similarities of an edgelord, particularly Gladion, also from Sun & Moon.
Liepard Noir: (sending out a Pokémon) Get Out!. Gallade!
Bubbler X: Tch, what is this? Some sort of ballet? I give it a seven point eight out of ten. Too much white.
Jagged Stone uses his known phrases as Guitar Villain when calling out moves for his Salamence: "rock and rip" for sending him out, "awesome solo" when invoking Mega Evolution, and "ultimate solo" for the final Desperation Attack.
Wang's Clawitzer pulls off an Ice Aqua Jet, which was Ash's Buizel's Signature Move from the Diamond & Pearl saga, by using Marinette's Feebas's perfected Ice Beam for himself.
In the flashback in Chapter 57, , the three-thousand year old king mentioned that he would rather be a Galar war prisoner than risk countless more lives in responses to the Stripling's proposition before accepting it.
At the end of Chapter 59, the Performer that wins the Couriway Showcase is outright confirmed to be based off Marnie.
