Shout Out / Pokémon

Games

• Gen I Pokémon Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan were explicitly named after Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.
• Snorlax is stated to being docile enough to allow children and small Pokémon to bounce on its large stomach, and its general design is rather similar to Totoro.
  • Snorlax's Japanese name itself (Kabigon) is based on Kirby (Japanese: カービィ Kābī). According to a 2019 interview by Game Informer, Junichi Masuda stated that Snorlax's primary inspiration (Game Freak employee Kōji Nishino) was nicknamed "Kirby" by the other Game Freak staff because of his Big Eater tendencies, and that nickname carried over to Snorlax's Japanese name. Even Snorlax's Chinese name, 卡比獸, literally translates to "Kirby beast".
• Bill's Japanese name, Masaki Sonezaki, is suspiciously similar to Masayoshi Son, founder of the massive Japanese software and telecommunications corporation Softbank. Combine this with the fact that his English name is also shared with a very famous founder of a massive American software corporation, and the reference is really quite clear.
• In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, one of the shelves on the abandoned Ship has a game device with two screens, but it's different than the one you're holding. It's either referring to an earlier model Nintendo DS or (more likely) one of the Game & Watch systems, some of which also had two screens.
• Pokémon Diamond and Pearl has several references to Something Awful as a result of Nob Ogasawara, one of the series' lead translators, frequenting the forums under the pseudonym Douglas Dinsdale. For example, a female trainer with a Wooper is named "Roxy" after the name chosen for the main character of Chorocojo's Let's Play of Pokémon Crystal that decided to get rid of her Totodile because it was evil, and replaced it with a Wooper. Also, after you fight an Artist trainer, he tells you he's been inspired to paint a picture called "My Pokémon is Fight!", a reference to Zack Parson's book My Tank Is Fight!
  • The writer of said Let's Play became aware of this. His response? "Still one of the best things ever and I'm still grateful for/astonished by it."
  • The references are still there for Pokémon Black and White: In that Let's Play from Crystal, Roxy finds a Pikachu and names it Gesundheit. The only non-Unova Pokémon before the National Pokédex is a NPC Pikachu in Castelia City, more specifically in the Name Rater's house. The name? Gesundheit.
    • Nob Ogasawara has actually been part of the translation teams of the franchise from the beginning to Platinum, but Diamond and Pearl was the first time he actually started putting memes into the translation.
  • Even in Pokémon X and Y, it's possible there's reference to Chorocojo; this time to Platinum, which Nob actually actively commented in. It's not impossible that the first Gym Leader of Kalos, who uses Bug-types, is named Viola after Lady's signature Kricketune. However, it's unlikely that the last two examples have anything to do with Ogasawara, as Nintendo brought translation in-house with HeartGold/SoulSilver and he is no longer involved with the franchise as anything but a fan.
• At Dragonspiral Tower, as you get closer to the top, you can hear things going crazy and someone is shouting "Burn, baby, burn!"
• There is also an old lady who tells the player character that she doesn't have any stairs in her house, a Shout-Out to an IRC prank-cum-sign/countersign which was popular on the forums for a while.
• In Diamond and Pearl the receptionist at the Team Galactic HQ exclaims "Cosmic energy for the win!"
• The Pokémon series in general, but Diamond and Pearl especially, reference the also-developed-by-Game Freak Pulseman. The St. Anne (English's S.S. Anne), Volt Tackle (named for Volteccer, which was in turn named for Voltekka), and even the main villains of Diamond and Pearl are shout outs, as is the Pokémon Rotom and Boltund's Japanese name (Pulsewan). There's also that one point in the original games where, upon viewing an SNES console, you're told it's a game featuring Mario with a bucket on his head.
  • Speaking of Mario, Probopass has a red hat, a big nose, and a mustache much like him.
  • Shinx◊ looks rather like the famous Osamu Tezuka character Kimba The White Lion◊.
• In the original games, a Hiker in Rock Tunnel (a Camper in Let's Go) says "Doh! You win!" after being defeated.
• Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen: In the player character's house if they are female, a movie is playing on the TV. It features a girl with pigtails walking on a brick road. For the male character, as well as in the original, it features four boys on railroad tracks. In addition, the four boys appear at the start and end of GOTCHA!, walking along the railroad track, though without their features.
  • The player's TV in other games also references real-life movies, such as Big. Additionally, the French translations mention such things as a little boy with a monkey tail and a cool guy in a taxi.
  • Registeel, a Steel-type Golem-like Legendary Pokémon has a cry that sounds a bit like the Transformation sound.
• In the German version, the Spearow in the house in northeastern Viridian City is called Willi.
• In the French version, the fighting game on the third floor of the Celadon Department Store appears to be Street Fighter II, thanks to mention of Ken vs. Ryu, albeit misspelt. The same location additionally appears to display Tetris 2 as the puzzle game and (per an exclamation of "Vive le foot!") International Superstar Soccer Deluxe as the sports game.
• Beauty Nevah in XD has a Cacnea and a Chimecho on her team, and her introduction speech says that there's someone else out there with those two Pokémon. That statement isn't true anymore, but since this was a Generation III game, she was talking about James.
  • If you get the villa in Platinum, then people will come and visit you there every day. On the days that Volkner and Flint visit you together, he mentions to Volkner his idea of having his Pokémon hide in his Afro and jump out to attack instead of using Poké Balls.
• Gold and Silver has Earl, the strangely-speaking Pokémon teacher in Violet City, asking "want to be A Winner Is You?". HeartGold and SoulSilver, meanwhile, has your rival ask "Why so serious?" when sending out his last Pokémon.
  • In the French localization of Crystal, the three Sages that test your worthiness to enter the Tin Tower are named Ken, Shuu, and Raoh.
  • We also get Sailor Eugene, who has a Krabby. Spongebob's boss, Mr. Krabs, is named Eugene.
• Pokémon Black and White introduce Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, and Keldeo, which are shout outs to The Three Musketeers.
  • The games also introduced the alien-like Elgyem, who evolves into Beheeyem at Level 42, a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. They also bear a resemblance to the aliens from The War of the Worlds.
• In the French version of Pokémon Gold and Silver, a NPC trainer near Tohjo Falls will say, after being defeated: "Enfant du Soleil, tu parcours la terre le ciel, cherche ton chemin, c'est ta vie c'est ton destin". Those are the first lines of the French version of The Mysterious Cities of Gold's opening song.
• Pokémon fight! Ready, go!
• Hit me with your best shot! (loses) Fired away!
• I'm a ramblin', gamblin' dude!
• We'll KNOCK YOU DOWN!
• Never give up, never surrender!
  • In return, we'll refrain from causing massive damage to your assistant.
  • Generation IV brought us a red-haired miner named Roark. Sound familiar?
  • Also from Generation IV is Volkner◊, who bears a suspicious resemblance to the Fourth Hokage◊.
• In Generation III, you may have indulged in a double battle against "Young Couple Hal & Lois". Their names were changed in Emerald, then changed back in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire.
• Generation III liked these; there was also a Guitarist Kirk in Wattson's Gym.
• Lt. Surge's outfit◊ in HeartGold/SoulSilver bears more than a passing resemblance to Guile.
  • They had been leaning this way for a while, but in Black and White, Black Belts have a design that can be summed up as "what if Ryu was a Pokémon character?"
• Mother shout outs are a recurring trend in the series, with examples present as far back as the original Red and Blue. The involvement of Creatures, Inc. on the series may have something to do with it.
  • Look at Giegue from MOTHER◊. Then look at Mewtwo from Pokémon◊. Did we mention the psychic powers? Mewtwo also shares Giegue's hatred of humanity.
  • Similarly, compare Red and Ness. Both are preteen Heroic Mime protagonists of modern/urban based JRPGs (rather than medieval times/fantasy). Both are Primary Color Champions with caps, backpacks, and bicycles. Both have to collect 8 Plot Coupons over the course of the game. Both have a friend/jerk next door neighbor who, after showing up in random places throughout the adventure, ends up being part of the Final Boss battle. Both look very similar, though Red's redesign lessened the resemblance. In what may be a subtle nod to this, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, after Ness courageously sacrifices himself to save Lucas, Lucas immediately teams up with the similarly confident and heroic Pokémon Trainer.
  • Pokémon Black and White hits Mother 3 in particular: the Waitress trainer class bears a strong resemblance to Tazmily villager Tessie, Drilbur (who strongly resembles the Mischievous Mole enemy) evolves into Excadrill (a mole with drill hands like Reconstructed Mole), there is a Dark/Dragon line, and the song "N's Farewell" contains note for note a portion of the Mother 3 Love Theme, as well as fragments of "Letter to You, My Sweet."
  • HeartGold/SoulSilver adopted a quirky self-referential style of humour which reminds one somewhat of the MOTHER series' humour style.
  • In X and Y, a man in a Center remarks about a game he's been playing recently, where you play as a boy that goes around beating up enemies to the beat of music. It could be referencing HarmoKnight or Mother 3.
• Gadgeteer Genius Clemont resembles a mix of Digi-Boy, Dr. Clash, Dr. Octopus, and Jason Fox.
• At the Poké Transfer Lab: "This kid is a Pokémon Trainer who has all the Gym Badges. All of them!"
  • It gets better. The first time you transfer Pokémon, the Professor says "Well, let's begin. Allons-y!" After you're done: Great! Molto Bene!
• In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, you fight a trainer named Kirby. He has one Cleffa on his team, a species generally known as the "Star Shape Pokémon". It's also pink, round, and cute.
• Cacnea heavily resembles a Mook from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.
• Mareep is... an Electric sheep.
  • Using the QR scanner to scan the QR code generated by a Windows 10 Blue Screen of Death always results in a Mareep. Androids really do dream of electric sheep.
  • Its name is an anagram of "ampere".
  • An episode of the anime was called "Do Magnemite Dream of Electric Sheep?" in Japan, and two background characters in the episode were revealed to be named Philip and Dick.
• Krookodile, the final evolution of Sandile, looks an awful lot like a Kremling, not to mention it uses the Xtreme Kool Letterz trope.
• One trainer you can fight in Pokémon Black and White's Undella Town is a rich young boy named Draco. His father owns a large villa.
• Several Pokémon are based off of various Kaiju from the Toho films.
  • Tyranitar and Baxcalibur are based off of Godzilla.
  • Duraludon, which has a rivalry with Tyranitar, is based on Mechagodzilla. Its Gigantamax form is partially based on the Shard, the tallest building in the UK, and its nature as a T. rex-like robot may be a reference to either Metal Gear REX, Grimlock, or Beast Wars Megatron.
  • Nidoking and Nidoqueen, especially the former, have a strong resemblance to Baragon.
  • Hydreigon seems to have a purposeful resemblance to King Ghidorah, both sharing a very destructive nature and having the same basis in the Yamata no Orochi.
  • Larvesta and Volcarona have passing resemblances to both the Larva and Imago forms of Mothra, respectively, and the latter is even named Ramoth in the German translation, being a rather obvious anagram.
  • Aerodactyl is a pterosaur-based monster whose real world inspiration is allegedly a Pteranodon (to the point that its name in Japanese, "Ptera", is derived from it) but looks nothing like one, with a short toothy snout and nubby horns. This gives it more than a passing resemblance to Rodan, another pterosaur-based monster allegedly based on a Pteranodon to the point of its Japanese name being derived from it ("Radon" as in "Pteranodon") and has a short toothy snout and nubby horns.
• According to designer James Turner in a series of now-deleted tweets, Vanilluxe's design is meant to evoke American food mascots such as the Pillsbury Doughboy, and the fictional Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.
• In Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, on Route 127, there is a fisherman named Jonah who has a Wailmer.
• The Dark (Evil in Japan) type is weak against Bug and Fighting. Ledian, Pawniard, and Bisharp also bear a good resemblance to tokusatsu heroes.
• To build on music references, in Pokémon Black and White 2, the guitarist of Roxie's band is named Billy Jo. The band is also a three member band with a guitarist and a bassist providing vocals. It should be mentioned, though, that said guitarist is female.
  • The Poison-themed Gym featuring a rock band is a bit of a pun referencing the band Poison.
  • Speaking of Gym Music in B2W2, there's Elesa's Gym theme: when she makes her entrance, and the traditional Gym tune kicks in, you can hear that the soundfont used borrows some vocal bits from "Dancer In The Street"^note (Heard when fighting Pig Noise).
  • Roxie's name and specialty might also combine into a reference to Final Fight, whose female enemies were named Roxy and Poison.
• During the Memory Link between Skyla and Elesa, we get the following conversation:^note Made even better by the fact that Skyla is a pilot
  Skyla: Hey, as long as we're hanging out, surely you wouldn't mind having a Pokémon battle with me, right?
  Elesa: You bet! And don't call me Shirley!
• In Generation II and IV, there are three Bug Catchers on Route 2, named Rob, Doug, and Ed.
  • There are a pair of Bug Catchers, fought as a double battle in Gen IV, who share their names with the Everly Brothers.
• In Black and White 2, there are two Black Belts named Rocky and Drago in Seaside Cave, who use Roggenrola and Scrafty, respectively.
• Ghetsis faces down Gym Leader Clay, a sheriff strongly reminiscent of John Wayne, with a small army to demand the return of his imprisoned gang members. That's the plot of the John Wayne classic Rio Bravo.
• In HeartGold and SoulSilver, there is a trainer called Fisherman Tully.
  • Route 20 has Bird Keepers Bert and Ernie and a Swimmer Elmo. Even furthering the connection, Bert from the source show is obsessed with pigeons, while Ernie's favourite item is a Rubber Duck.
• In Diamond and Pearl, there's also a Lass which challenges you by saying "I spy with my little eye"...
• Generation V introduced a move called Smack Down. It's Rock-type, of course.
• One of the battlers in the Battle Tower is named Bug Catcher Tajiri. The creator of Pokémon is Satoshi Tajiri, who says that he based Pokémon on his childhood pastime of bug catching.
• At the Village Bridge in Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2, you can find an Artist named Gough, whose only Pokémon is a Sunflora. The reference is made more blatant in Japanese, where his name is Vincent.
• Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre's "Primal Reversion" transformation was triggered in the past by absorbing massive amounts of "nature's energy", which gave them a massive increase in power, in addition to unique markings and physical transformations to their body. Sounds like Groudon and Kyogre were the first to use Sage Mode.
• Fire Blast explodes in the shape of, and in the Japanese version is named after, the Daimonji, the climax of the Japanese Bon Festival.
• Cyrus's goal was to create a universe where emotions were a thing of the past because they caused violence, where logic and order were the rule, and, looking at his followers, where bowlcuts are as far as the eye can see. Combine that with the overall space/sci-fi look of Team Galactic, and his inspiration seems obvious.
• In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, an old man says, "One does not simply walk into a Mirage spot", which is a nod to Boromir saying that one does not simply walk into Mordor.
• In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, there is a doll of a Skitty wearing a dress (Though the player doesn't actually see it), and it's called "Hi Skitty".
• In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, when the language is set to French, Brawly mentions power coming from staring at a Helix Fossil for days on end.
• Your rival in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum who runs everywhere? His default name is Barry.
• The infamous Pike Queen Lucy from Emerald greets you before her first battle against you by stating that she is the law, directly quoting Judge Dredd.
• The robotic Genesect is something of a mishmash of various Transformers: It uses tapes like Soundwave and Blaster, is purple and has a cannon like Shockwave and Galvatron, and has a UFO-like travel mode like Cosmos. The fact that it's a purple robot bug also makes it similar to the Insecticons.
  • It also seems to reference the EVA units, being a cyborg created as a weapon from an ancient, powerful creature by an evil organization pretending to be good people. Its normal form's purple like Unit 01 and its shiny form's red like Unit 02.
• Hoopa is a reality-warping trickster who uses portals to get around places. Sound familiar?
• A rich man in Kalos mentions his one hundred and one Furfrou.
• In the official card game, most of the types gets a different symbol. Dark's symbol is a black upside-down crescent moon.
• That Dark symbol isn't the only one — in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, a Fairy Tale Girl challenging you for your seat demands that you move, or else!
  Fairy Tale Girl Meggi: In the name of the fairies, I'll punish you!
• In the art museum in Lumiose City, one of the patrons is accompanied by an Espurr. Talking to this Espurr will have it say "De-Gahhh!," alluding to Edgar Degas, a 19th century Parisian painter who made portraits similar to the one the patron is looking at.
• In Sun and Moon, Mario's outfit (sans hat) is on display in the Hau'oli City apparel shop.
• In Sun and Moon, a Pokémon Breeder runs the Fossil Restoration Center, with the dream of one day building a theme park featuring prehistoric Pokémon. Notable considering the films were filmed in Hawaii, which Alola is based on.
  • And speaking of Fossil Pokémon, Grant from X and Y uses two Fossil Pokémon that are based on dinosaurs, one of which is basically a T. Rexpy. Kinda reminiscent of another guy named Grant who worked with dinosaur fossils and had a run-in with a T. rex.
• UB-05: Gluttony, also known as Guzzlord, is a shout-out to the Gaping Dragon◊ from Dark Souls, as both are otherworldly dragons that are obsessed with eating and are notable for their gargantuan amount of hit points.
  • On that note, Guzzlord is a Lovecraftian Horror-like creature that eats practically anything in sight and also ate a girl, and only special people could fight against it. This is very similar to Charlotte, who caused the death of Mami.
  • Also, let's take a gander at Guzzlord's codename. Gluttony, hm? Let's see, Eldritch Abomination, check, eats anything, check, named after one of the Seven Deadly Sins? Check. This is also similar to another Anime antagonist, Gluttony of Fullmetal Alchemist fame.
  • Guzzlord also shares many similarities with the monsters in The Langoliers: Both Guzzlord and the Langoliers are large, vaguely spherical creatures with muted colors that consume all matter in front of them and leave no waste material. In addition, both are found in parallel realms that mostly resemble the so-called "real world," except that said realm is in the process of complete annihilation by these monsters and is on the verge of being uninhabitable.
• UB-04: Blaster (Celesteela) is a Pokémon based on the Japanese legend of Kaguya-hime, and has a main motif based on large-scale projectile fire and bullets.
• Nihilego's a parasitic alien jellyfish that attaches to its victims' heads. Sound familiar? Ironically, its Rock type means it's strong AGAINST ice.
• Blacephalon's design and characterization seem to be rather reminiscent of Pennywise.
• Very early on, you run into Kukui experimenting on moves with his Rockruff, and he directly quotes Reggie Fils-Aime's infamous "My body is ready."
• Another Kukui example: Kukui moonlights as a Pro Wrestler called 'The Masked Royal'. At one point, he tells Guzma that, "to be the man, you gotta beat the man!"
• Vikavolt resembles the Vic Viper.
• Stufful and Bewear are cute, but surprisingly aggressive, red panda Pokémon that are also popular with women and first appeared in a game published in 2016. Retsuko is a cute, but surprisingly aggressive, red panda whose series premiered in 2016 and is popular with women (especially those with annoying coworkers and bosses).
• Wishiwashi is a Pokémon based on a Pacific sardine, making its School Form a literal Sardine Submarine.
• Golurk's design is based on the Super Robot Gigantor. Its Japanese name, Goloog, is a nod to another iconic Humongous Mecha, the MS-14 Gelgoog from the original Mobile Suit Gundam.
• Xerosic bears a strong resemblance to Dr. Eggman.
• In Sun and Moon, when the player first visits the Altar of the Sunne/Moone, Rotom Dex says "Zoinks! Would you look at those stairzz?".
• In Sun and Moon, examining the refrigerator in the restaurant at Seafolk Village gives a rather interesting observation:
  "Now this is a hardy refrigerator that looks like it would last through the end of the world!"
• In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, a sidequest involves reuniting two Pyukumuku's who are nicknamed Mukeo and Mukiet.
• The movies in Pokestar Studios are a few shoutouts.
  • "Timegate Traveler" Channels both Planet of the Apes and Back to the Future
  • "Big Monster" Has a Tyranitar as the titular Big Monster. And there is a Mecha-Tyranitar. Tyranitar was designed after Godzilla, by the way.
  • "Full Metal Cop" Is RoboCop (1987) and Full Metal Jacket
  • "Giant Woman" is Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
  • "Invaders" is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial or alien invasion movies in general
  • "Ghost Eraser" Who you gonna call? Ghost Erasers! Oh and Slaking
• In Sword and Shield, the player can pick out of various poses they can use for their League Card, one of which is Jonathan Joestar's signature pose from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
• On Galar's Route 4, there are 2 Poké Kids next to each other named Mia and Rhys.
• Obstagoon's appearance is obviously based on that of Gene Simmons. Its shiny form's colors may remind some of Spring Man.
• Inteleon is pretty obviously based on James Bond. It helps that it's from the UK-based Galar region and that its first form, Sobble, is number 007 in the regional Pokédex.
• Fellow Galar starter Rillaboom is a drum-playing gorilla, much like Donkey Kong, who had several games developed by the UK-based Rare. It might also be a reference to The Monkees or, since Galar is based on the UK, the British band Gorillaz.
• Orbeetle is a ladybug (a type of beetle) that can control gravity. It'd hardly be the first one. It's also the first Bug/Psychic Pokémon, and its idle pose is somewhat similar to Psycho Mantis's.
  • Speaking of Rare, the regional rodent Skwovet's evolved form is Greedent, a greedy red squirrel-based Pokémon.
• Thievul has whiskers that resemble a mustache and facial markings that resemble a mask. This could be a reference to Zorro. Likewise, the word "Zorro" is Spanish for "fox".
  • Thievul's pre-evolved form is named Nickit.
• The Spikemuth Gym is basically a Pokémon take on side-scrolling beat-em-ups like Streets of Rage, Final Fight, and Double Dragon, with the neon signs that light up once the player can proceed being similar to the "Go" symbols that appear at similar moments in beat-em-ups.
• Falinks is a line of Waddling Head soldiers that may remind some of Patapon.
• Eternatus, a dangerously powerful, Poison-type legendary, seems to be something of a Xenomorph Xerox. Its multiple blank eyes may also bring Crocomire to mind.
• When you shake a tree on the Isle of Armor to draw out its Vespiquen, she yells "Oh bee haiiiiivvv!"
• Nimbasa City's "Hooper LaMarcus" is almost certainly a nod to 7x NBA All-Star and 5x All-NBA big man LaMarcus Aldridge, who has played for the Portland Trailblazers and San Antonio Spurs.
• Breloom is part Fighting-type, is a Rubber Man who uses punches, has a red color scheme in its Shiny palette, and it looks like it's wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Sound familiar?
• Scrappy is an ability that lets Normal and Fighting moves hit Ghost types.
• In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Sneasler's way of carrying the Player is reminiscent of Tanjirou carrying Nezuko while she sleeps in day time.
• Hisuian Samurott's blue with white hair, uses a katana-like weapon, and has dark powers. If Vergil was a Pokémon Trainer, he'd probably have one of these on his team.
• Midnight Form Lycanroc has a notable use of red in its color palette, a head design that looks like bangs covering its eyes, a very savage disposition, and notable connection to the moon. Sounds a lot like Iori.
• Nymble and Lokix are obvious homages to Kamen Rider, especially evoking the image of grasshopper Riders like Rider #1, BLACK/BLACK RX, and Zero-One.
• The person overseeing your Gym test at Montenevera is named MC Sledge. What's a word that follows "sledge"?
• In Alola, there's a Pokémon Breeder named Ikue who owns a single Pikachu and mentions that she knows how to speak its language.
• Scarlet and Violet:
  • Nemona has a painting in her house that depicts a Greninja in the style of real-world Spanish artist Joan Miro.
  • Question five of the history midterm exam is " Those seeking ______ need look no further than the oranges/grapes of Paldea." The answer choices are power, courage, and knowledge.
  • Iono renames her hide-and-seek challenge "Where in Levincia is Mr. Walkabout?"
  • One of the members of the Paldea Elite Four is named Poppy, whose signature ace-in-the-hole Pokémon is a Tinkaton, a somewhat small Fairy/Steel-type that is 70-centimeters tall which wields a giant hammer around twice its size. That couldn't have been a coincidence, right?
  • A small group goes in to investigate a quarantined area full of strange phenomena stemming from a meteor impact to find out just what happened to the last group that went in there, with their goal location being a tower at its epicenter. This area is marked by a strange shimmering haze, mutates other lifeforms, and is populated with anomalous and often wildly aggressive fauna. The loved one of one of the party members is the only known survivor of the area, but is acting strangely and is clearly off. At the very end, one of the party members engages in a battle with a clone of itself. In short, "The Way Home" is a Whole-Plot Reference to Annihilation (2018).
  • Annihilape is the result of an extremely violent Blood Knight purging itself of all emotion to become a being of pure fighting will and killing intent. Sounds like someone else we know.
  • Clodsire, the evolved form of Paldean Wooper, is a brown, poisonous, big-mouthed salamander that's larger than Quagsire. Del Lago, anyone?
  • Both Koraidon and Miraidon resemble Kaneda's bike from AKIRA, and Miraidon also resembles a Light Cycle and Sideways' alt-mode from Transformers: Armada.
  • The robotic, lightsaber-wielding Iron Valiant is pretty reminiscent of Zero.
  • Skeledirge, the final form of Fuecoco, is a crocodile with a rock singer motif. Crocodile Rock, maybe? It might also be a reference to another rock-singing crocodile.
  • The Nacli line seems to be based on the Cubism art style that was pioneered by real-world Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and you can also find Bruxish, based on the Picasso triggerfish, in Paldea. Nacli also looks like the mushroom items from the Mario series and the line's appearance has been compared to the cubic aesthetics of Minecraft.
  • Palafin's Hero form resembles Superman, and it evolves from Finizen at level 38, referencing how the first Superman comic came out in 1938.
  • The trailer for the Teal Mask DLC frames Okidogi, Munkidori, Fezandipiti, and Ogerpon as references to the popular Japanese folktale Momotarō, where a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant help a human child slay marauding oni.
  • In the savannah section of Blueberry Academy's Terarium, you can find a rock formation that looks a lot like Pride Rock, complete with a male Pyroar standing at the edge.
• The ending of Darkrai's Burst Attack in Pokkén Tournament is somewhat similar to Dormammu's Dark Dimension Hyper Combo from Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Anime

• The season one episode "Sparks Fly For Magnemite!" is known in Japanese as "Do Coil Dream of Electric Mice?" ("Coil" or "Koiru" being the Japanese name for Magnemite).
• The episode Un-BEAR-able features a Teddiursa who steals food from travelers, much like Yogi Bear and Boo Boo.
• The Indigo League episode Abra and the Psychic Showdown has an extensive plot reference to The Twilight Zone (1959) episode "Stopover In a Quiet Town", where the group is sent into Sabrina's toy model village. We even have the giggling little girl chase sequence to hammer it in further.
• "Team Rocket's Secret Strategy", the instrumental Leitmotif which plays when Jessie, James, and Meowth are devising their schemes, is similar in style to the theme from The Pink Panther.
• In "Misty Meets Her Match", Squirtle flies using Hydro Pump by withdrawing into his shell and firing water jets out of its leg openings — a reference to Gamera.
• In the English dub of the fourth movie, Celebi: Voice Of The Forest, there's a trainer named Dundee. He's got a Croconaw, a crocodile Pokémon.
• The fifth movie, Pokémon Heroes, takes place in a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Venice, Italy. Fittingly, one of the major supporting characters, Lorenzo, dresses in the same red-and-blue overalls as Mario.^note Coincidentally, Super Mario Sunshine, which also features a Venice knockoff, was released less than week after Pokémon Heroes in Japan.
• "The Joy of Water Pokémon", from the Johto series, features a book called "A Spring Without Pokémon" and a Nurse Joy who dedicated her life to studying and restoring a polluted environment. It's an allusion to biologist Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, which kickstarted the American grassroots environmental movement.
• The episode "The Mighty Accelguard To The Rescue!" has Charles as a parody of the Showa Era Kamen Rider with Charles attempting to be a superhero complete with a motorcycle, fighting with a Rider Kick, and villains based on the Shockers.
• In episode 14 of X and Y, Serena becomes convinced the mansion they're in is alive and eats people. After seeing pictures of an old woman in it, she adds to that theory the woman's ghost is possessing the house. Both of these are references to the film Monster House, with Serena's Imagine Spot even looking like the titular house in the film.
• One to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Episode 57 has Meowth striking poses resembling Funny Valentine's◊, Joseph Joestar's◊, and Jonathan Joestar's◊, all while spouting Dio's familiar phrase.
• In the Best Wishes series of the anime, there is a rescue team that travels by aircraft, is lead by Jeff, and the main team consists of his sons. One of the sons is named Virgil, just to drive the point home.
• Musical shout outs can be found from time to time, usually in episode titles such as "Smells Like Team Spirit", "Tears for Fears", and "Riding the Winds of Change". The stealth shout-out award goes to Casey, however, when watching a (losing) baseball game, she says, "Where have you gone, Cory DiMario?" Meowth does one in XY17: "You gotta keep 'em separated!"
• Oscar and Andi in "The Bicker the Better" to The Rose of Versailles.
• BW057 has Charles, a Kamen Rider homage so obvious it hurts.
• Wild Jenny in "Stealing the Conversation" is suspiciously similar to Dirty Harry.
• The contraption AJ put on his Sandshrew is a reference to the 1960s baseball anime Kyojin no Hoshi.
• In the Japanese version of "Bulbasaur and the Hidden Garden", James says "Tornado!" before striking a baseball pitcher pose and says a wind storm caused by Ash's Pidgeotto is like Nomo Hideo, a reference to a Japanese baseball player whose nickname was "Tornado".
• In "Electric Shock Showdown", Jessie does a cheer pose similar to the protagonist of Aa! Hana No Ouendan.
• In XY100, "A Dancing Debut", Meowth looks at a strange drawing and thinks it might be an Ekans that has swallowed a Mamoswine. Jessie decides it's a hat. (They're both wrong.)
• The Latin American Spanish dub has James reference love songs. Here's just the ones from the RocketShipping page.
• The series has a girl named Sakura, who has an Espeon, a Pokémon which resembles the Clow Card Dash. In addition, at the beginning of the Wallace Cup, two minor characters are shown who resemble Sakura and Tomoyo.
• In the episode, "The Pi-Kahuna", the Japanese name for the giant wave, Humunga-Dunga, is "Big Tuesday", a reference to the 1978 surfing movie Big Wednesday, and the Japanese names for Jan, Puka, and Victor are Jan, Michael, and Vincent, respectively, each named after the film's star, Jan-Michael Vincent.
• Episode 20 of the original series: Gastly, the ghost Pokémon, gives a speech in which he recaps the forms he's taken in the episode so far before revealing his true identity. In Japanese, this speech is virtually identical to the one given Once an Episode by Cutey Honey, which is itself a shout-out to the popular Japanese film series Bannai Tarao.
• In the episode "Lights, Camerupt, Action!", there's a movie about a Plusle and Minun who have to rescue Princess Kirlia who has been kidnapped by an evil Exploud and imprisoned in a castle. It is a blatant reference to Super Mario Bros., with Plusle and Minun as Mario and Luigi, Kirlia as Princess Peach, and Exploud as Bowser.
• In Episode 258, Team Rocket are disguised as Heidi and Peter from Heidi, Girl of the Alps. While this reference is lost on most Americans (since the only thing to come out of the series in English was a compliation film), the Italian dub goes further with this by including lines from the theme song.
• Speaking of references lost on Americans, look at Jessie's Jessilina disguise◊. She looks an awful lot like Candice White, doesn't she? Hell, her name in the original Japanese is Candy Musalina.
  • Her Jessadia outfit◊ is probably more familiar.
• The episode "Hocus Pokémon" features a Witch as a character of the day. In the dub, her name is Lilly. And she has a cockney accent as well.
• Aria from episode 21 of XY looks an awful lot like Aira and Sophie.
• In XY episode 43, when Korrina orders her Machoke to use Focus Blast the way it charges and fires the attack blatantly looks like it's using a Kamehameha.
• XY episode 70, has Goodra using Dragon Pulse◊ to get onto a airplane, in a manner similar to the way that Godzilla uses his Atomic Breath to fly◊
• In Pokémon XYZ episode 24, the sunken ship S.S. Cussler is named after Clive Cussler, a novelist and marine explorer known for discovering a large number of historic shipwrecks.
  • In addition, the appearance and fate of the Cussler mirrors the story of the RMS Titanic, minus the undersea currents dragging it around. The submarine they use to locate it even resembles Alvin, the submersible that first discovered the Titanic's wreck.
• In XYZ episode 37, Hawlucha enters a state where it is glowing red and occasionally emitting steam, very reminiscent of Gear Second.
• In Pokémon XYZ episode 42, Ash-Greninja used its heightened senses to pinpoint Chespie inside the Megalith Zygarde and marked the crystal part as the main target, similar to the Byakugan of Naruto.
• In Pokémon XYZ episode 43, Squishy and Z2 gathering all Zygarde cells inside planet earth on one spot and combining into Zygarde Complete Forme is a direct reference of doing a spirit bomb and fusion from Dragon Ball Z.
• In Pokémon XYZ episode 43, Zygarde's complete form does an attack that looks almost identical to Giga Drill Break.
• The first Sun and Moon opening has a punching scene that is very similar to the end of One-Punch Man's opening.
• Mewtwo's backstory in Pokémon: The First Movie is one big shout out to Astro Boy. Both involve similar-looking scientists whose children died in car accidents (Amber's only being depicted in the original Radio Drama). The scientists react by creating a Replacement Goldfish, but end up failing (AmberTwo died, while Astro was not a perfect replica of Tobio).
• In the Japanese version, Meowth's crush Meowzie is named "Madonnya" after Madonna.
• Hoenn episode "A Poké-block Party" is one big shout-out to Takeshi's Castle, from the crazy presenter to the challenges: a maze, crossing a river on logs, Dragon Lake...Team Rocket adds an extra shout-out when Jessie fakes a collapse.
  "Oh no, I've fallen and I can't get up."
• In Pokémon S&M episode 18, Bounsweet's evolution to Steenee is inspired by the Magical Girl genre.
  • The same thing happens when she evolves into Tsareena, with her finishing pose resembling part of Sailor Moon's transformation in the Death Busters arc.
• In an episode of Pokémon S&M, Akko Kagari can be seen in the distance.
• Buzzwole's first appearance is absorbing Snorlax with his stinger◊, in a similar way to Cell absorbing a man.
• In the episode "True Blue Swablu", Max uses "Magic Powder" to motivate an injured Swablu to fly, which helps motivate it until it "wears off", but May tries to convince it that is was fake. Sound familiar?
• Sun & Moon episode 64 features an homage to, of all things, Amuro's fight against the Black Tri-Stars. One of the Passimians even mimics Gaia's face in reaction to being used as a springboard.
• SM78 has a notable scene where Blacephalon does a dance routine most viewers will recognise...
  • The same episode also has Ash and Kiawe pull shocked faces resembling Popuko. The first episode of that series' anime had a Pokémon reference, so it comes full circle.
• The whole Ultra Guardians setup is a shout-out to various Sentai series like Super Sentai/Power Rangers, especially Lusamine's Elaborate Underground Base and Gladion joining "late" as a Seventh Guardian with a different outfit than the others. The (main) uniforms themselves^note sans helmets and the launching lifts are straight out of GoLion/Voltron^note though in that series, it's just the command chair that's on a lift into the respective lion. Also the video in question is of the first launch for the elder series, so Ash's equivalent would be launching the equivalent of Flygon and not Garchomp.
• The Ultra Guardians' departure Stock Footage features two rows of Alolan Exeggutor leaning out of the way to make room for their Ride Pokémon, mimicking the palm trees in Thunderbird 2's launch sequence from Thunderbirds.
• When Keldeo first fights Kyurem in the 15th movie, it performs a move similar to Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick.
• Launching out of a waterfall in said launching sequence may be a Shout Out to Great Mazinger, though both could also be influenced by the Hawaiian goddess Hina.^note The mecha in GM was a Fem Bot.
• SM079 features a Leitmotif associated with the Minior which sounds a lot like the opening bars to Star Light Zone.
• SM093 has Lillie dressed as a female knight and Mallow as a short-haired princess. At one point, the two costumes change form to resemble the main characters of Revolutionary Girl Utena. Lillie's outfit in the play is also a reference to Princess Knight.
  • The same episode has an Actor Allusion extraordinaire for Jessie's seiyuu Megumi Hayashibara.
    • A small bit of this was kept in the English dub. During the scene where Jessie appears as Lina Inverse, her voice is temporarily replaced by Lisa Ortiz, who voiced Lina in the dub of Slayers.
  • The End-of-Episode Silliness has a reference to one of the promo posters of A New Hope.
• Some of the expressions in SM110 has expressions from the manga and anime Pro Golfer Saru, fitting for a golf-themed episode.
• Two visual shots in SM112 mimic scenes from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
  • Doubling as a Mythology Gag, when Rowlet comes up with an idea◊ to find Meltan a replacement for its mechanical nut, a classic Game Boy appears above its head while its eyes turn into the logo for Game Freak (the games' developers).
• SM103: Team Rocket's mech bears more then a passing resemblance to the Devil Gundam. Appropriately, Brock helps Olivia out with her Z-move which looks like the Sekiha Love Love Tenkyoken to defeat it.
• SM113 has the girls transformed into Magical Girl Warriors for a TV show. The inspiration is fairly clear.
• The two-part adventure in Malie City has a ninja guide named Chikuwa, whose Verbal Tic is "datte yo" (his armor also references his namesake, like Naruto has wooden naruto on his coat). The second part has a shout out to the Ninja Warrior series in some of the obstacles in Ryuji's Gym.
  • Togedemaru wears face paint during Ryuki's jam session that resembles Paul Stanley's.
• SM124 seemed to have been produced after Monkey Punch's death, as there are quite a few references to Lupin III in it as a tribute. Kartana's cry is Goemon's catchphrase played backwards, and it was voiced by his current seiyuu Daisuke Namikawa. Team Rocket's motto is also done in the style of the more recent parts of the anime.
  • The Furfrou groomer is based on Ryuji Akiyama of the Japanese comedy trio Robert in his Yoko Fuchigami drag persona.
• The Pikachu Pikarla brings to the Alola League has both Boruto's hairstyle and is also named Boruto (in the Japanese version, in the dub, he's renamed Bolt).
• The girls that help Erika are designed after Wedding Peach characters. In also serves as an Actor Allusion as Erika's Japanese voice is Wedding Peach's actress Kyoko Hikami.
• For Pikachu and Tapu Koko's final clash, Pikachu's 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt has it make Kamehameha hand gestures (later transitioning to a Spirit Bomb pose). Rather clever when you realize the attack name has Hawaiian origins.
• Soren and Rocko, the twin boys that appear in the Best Wishes episode "A Surface to Air Tag Battle Team" are named Sora and Riku in the Japanese version. This episode was aired six months after the release of Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance].
• In JN057, one of the Psyduck merchandise featured is based on The Dark Side of the Moon.
• The adventures of the Pichu Bros. are heavily inspired by both the Golden Age of American Animation and the various cartoon series from the 1980s and 1990s showing younger versions of established characters (the latter being an overall influence on the concept of Baby Pokémon).

Pokémon Adventures

Has its own page here.

Misc

• Once when Ash names his Pokémon in the Viz translation of The Electric Tale of Pikachu. "Jean Luc Pikachu", "Felix the Cat-erpie", and "Walter Pidgeotto" (there's a Canadian actor named "Walter Pidgeon").

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