List of references to Pokémon in popular culture: Difference between revisions

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This is a list of references to Pokémon in popular culture, instances where television shows, music and video clips, or other non-Pokémon media explicitly mention the Pokémon franchise (or a specific Pokémon). This includes only notable references, where they must either refer to specific details of the Pokémon franchise, or else play an important role in the work making the reference. The following list is divided by the medium of the work, then sorted alphabetically by the name of the work making the reference.

References that simply mention the Pokémon franchise, use a Pokémon catchphrase, or have a Pokémon character or item briefly appear in the background or as a visual gag are listed separately on the list of background references to Pokémon. They are also distinct from parodies, which are listed separately on the list of Pokémon parodies. This list also excludes mere resemblances between character designs, non-fiction shows mentioning the existence of Pokémon, or news shows discussing Pokémon-related news, as well as game show questions about Pokémon.

List of references to Pokémon in popular culture

Science

• Aerodactylus scolopaciceps was renamed from Pterodactylus scolopaciceps in October 2014 due to a newly discovered taxonomic separation. The name refers to Aerodactyl, a Pokémon based on various pterosaur species because it "seemed a pertinent name for a genus which has been synonymous with Pterodatylus for so long due to a combination of features".^[1]
• Bulbasaurus phylloxyron, a species of dicynodonts (precursors to early mammals) discovered in January 2017. Although officially named after the bulbous shape of its nose, the scientist who named the species made several references to Pokémon on twitter while presenting the species. In addition, phylloxyron literally means "Razor Leaf".^[2][3]
• Chilicola Charizard, a species of stem-nesting bee, which received its name in May 2016.^[4]
• Pikachurin, a protein discovered by Japanese researches in 2008, which helps carry electrical impulses from the eyes to the brain. The name refers to the Pokémon and to the protein possessing "lightning-fast moves and shocking electric effects".
• Pokemon was the temporary name of gene Zbtb7. The name officially stood for "POK erythroid myeloid ontogenic factor", likely as a reference in the form of a backronym. It was eventually renamed due to The Pokémon Company's threats of legal action, who did not wish to be associated with the cancer-related gene.^[5]
• Stentorceps weedlei is the scientific classification of a species of wasps, received scientific classification. The species shares with Weedle the distinctive feature of having a spike in the middle of its head.^[6]

Television, radio, and film

Series/Movie	Episode	Details	Image
30 Rock	Stride of Pride	Pokémon is a recurring theme in this episode with one of Jack's girlfriends. When referring to Jack's polygamy, she said that it was like Pokémon the way Jack had "gotta catch 'em all". Jack pluralizes Pokémon as "Pokémons" only to have her correct him. Jack brings up Pokémon numerous times throughout the episode in reference to his girlfriend, including referring to a text message he got as being "Pokémon'd". At the end of the episode, Liz writes a letter on her laptop, and also refers to "Pokémons" and her life as "little creatures running around".
Ai Mai Mi: Surgical Friends	You're No Friend of Mine!	During the next episode preview, Torijiro talks about how the author in her high school days was ambushed by kids throwing leaves and Poké Balls at her, yelling "Don't let her get away!" and "Weaken and catch her!"
American Dad!	Multiple episodes	In Buck, Wild, Steve is upset about being seated at the kids' table, pointing out that the kids are playing with Pokémon cards and they are not very good. He yells at one of the kids for "wasting his Charizard". In Shark?!, when Roger notices that Steve left his Bulbasaur, he says he might as well go battle an army of Jigglypuffs. In Brave N00B World, Principal Lewis explained he got 50 cats because he thought they were Pokémon, thus captured every one he could find, and got arrested when he made them battle.
Attention Please	To the sky!! At the time of departure...	The All Nippon Airways 747 Pokémon Jet, can be seen behind the Japan Airlines flight conducting an emergency landing. Plusle and Minun can be seen on the body of the aircraft, while Pikachu can be seen on the tail fin.
The Autocrats	Itse valtiaat – Kuningasmusikaali	During this special musical episode, Mauri Pekkarinen sings a song called Politiikan Pokémon. In one of the chorus verses, Mauri describes himself as "the Pikachu of Jyväskylä". This song, along with the other songs from this special, were later collected and published on a music CD titled 200 apinaa – Paavo kuninkaaksi.
Animation Domination High-Def	Scientifically Accurate: Pokémon and Pikachu Gets Pokémon Rabies	The first episode spoofs Pokémon, referring to kids being thrown into the wilderness alone, as well as some of the kinds of Pokémon such as "a pile of gears" (presumably a Klink) and "a [EXPLETIVE] ice cream cone" (presumably Vanillite). The second feature Ash's Pikachu catching "PokéRabies" after fighting a rabid dog, leading to Pikachu having to be put down.
Are We There Yet?	The Bad Dream Episode	After Nick says "You can't make a sequel for everything", Kevin says "They should've told that to the Pokémon people thirteen movies ago!" and then names all Pokémon movies up to M13, including Mewtwo Returns.
Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge	Second arc	Several of the Nonet Bakugan's abilities are named after moves from the Pokémon franchise, for example Ventus Worton has the ability "Air Cutter".
Barakamon	Guys from Tokyo	Naru hands Kousuke a Poké Ball-like capsule containing shieldbugs. Kousuke, who hates insects, immediately screams and yells "Argh! Monster ball!" and throws the capsule just like Poké Balls are thrown.
The Big Bang Theory	The Cooper/Kripke Inversion and The Perspiration Implementation	In the first episode, even after being taken off his joint checking account with his wife until he learned the value of money, Howard Wolowitz still spent his lunch's allowance on Pokémon cards. In the second, when Sheldon asks a woman out at a bar, he says "I choose you," which he claims Ash did to Pikachu. He specifically mentions that he is referencing Pokémon.
Big Mouth	Ejaculation	When Andrew tells the hormone monster that Nick looks really upset, he replies "Fucking forget about that little Pikachu and dance with a girl!"
Black	Episode 5	The teacher asks one student if he drew a Pikachu.
Black Books	He's Leaving Home	When Fran tells Bernard that he knows nothing about the modern culture, she lists a few examples of things he doesn't know, one of which is Pokémon. Bernard quickly interrupts her by saying that it's pronounced "Pac-Man".
Camp Camp	A Camp Camp Christmas, or Whatever	When the campers are opening up their Christmas presents, Nerris is seen playing with "Tapámon" cards, and a squared-out Poké Ball design can be seen on the back.
Chronicles of the Going Home Club	Ultimate Decision / A Magnificent Training Camp / Starry Sky Imagination / Mankind's Greatest Invention is Air Conditioning ...and the dead freedom that results	There are two references in this episode. First, before the opening, Sakura's suggesting ideas for things to do in a training camp, and she says "We could also carefully breed the best IVs, then train our EVs and form dueling parties." Later, the girls are talking about ultimate decisions when deciding between two things. During this, Sakura at one point says "Should your starter be a fire type or a water type?" while the screen shows images of a generic lizard and turtle. Botan then chimes in, saying "Yeah, no one goes for grass."
Community	Digital Estate Planning	Hilda's long list of conversation topics includes "old man Trainer", "fly on a bird", "cinnamon island", and "seal along the shore", a reference to the Old man glitch. Also when Gilbert is escaping from Cornelius he changes into MissingNo. for a split-second.
Daybreak	Josh vs. the Apocalypse: Part 2	After arguing which one is better, Pokémon Trading Card Game or Magic: The Gathering, Josh and Eli proceed to blindfold play the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.	Absolutely the Worst! Nendou's Father	Near the end of the episode, in order to stop Nendou's deceased father's spirit from following him, Kusuo Saiki detaches his soul from his body. He then proceeds to talk to the audience, saying "Now, boys and girls watching at home. Here's a question for you. I went from being a psychic to a ghost. Do you know what happens when a ghost-type fights a ghost-type in that world-famous video game? The answer is..." He then stops and performs an uppercut on Nendou's father, sending him into the sky, and then finishes his sentence by saying "...it's super effective!"
Doctor Who	The Return of Doctor Mysterio	The Doctor and Nardole arrive at the Tokyo branch of Harmony Shoals. Nardole comments that it is empty The Doctor replies "Yes, I created a distraction. I flooded downstairs with Pokémon".
Drunk History	Boston	After the retelling of the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft, a man says he knows how they must feel because he had $100 worth of Pokémon cards stolen as a kid including holographic Charizard (Base Set 4), Blastoise (Base Set 2), and Professor Oak (Base Set 88).
Emmerdale	N/A	Sandy Thomas plays an orange DSi, a sound effect from a Pokémon Ranger game is heard and he cries out in annoyance "Every time I get to the big boss Raikou on level 3, I need Gabby, only a child can work this wretched thing", much to his son Ashley's annoyance.
ER	And in the End...	A patient says "I am the chosen one, come to be known as Lugia."
Family Guy	Three Directors, Baby Stewie	At the end of the second story of Three Directors, Stewie says that Peter died chasing a Pokémon on the street, referencing reports of deaths of players playing Pokémon GO. In Baby Stewie, Brian tries to revert the changes to Stewie's DNA using his own machine, and one of the results is "Stewiechu".
Fillmore!	Test of the Tested	A cheerleading coach says that her team, while in a human pyramid, is "as strong as a Geodude using its Harden attack".
The Flash	Honey, I Shrunk Team Flash	When Cisco is thinking of random numbers for Cecile to guess, he then thinks "Bulbasaur". Cecile questions what a Bulbasaur is and Cisco said he wouldn't be thinking about Pokémon at a time like this. When Cecile then asks why Cisco is still thinking about Bulbasaur, Cisco says that he's the cutest one of all.
Fresh Off the Boat	Where are the Giggles?	Several Pikachu plush toys could be seen in Deidre's toy room.
George Lopez	George Drives The Batmobile	After Benny passes out George tells Angie that in the eight hours it would take for her to wake they could take her to Mexico, put her in a Pikachu costume with a note saying beat me I have candy. Shortly after George says Pikachu a couple times while swinging his arms as if he was hitting a piñata with a bat.
Good Vibes	The Grass is Always Greener	When Mondo sees Woody's room for the first time, he comments on all the awards for competitions he has. Woody admits that many of them were purchased on eBay by his parents. Mondo then asks how much they spent on the "lame Pokémon tournament participant ribbon", a gold ribbon with a Pikachu on it, to which Woody claims that he won on his own.
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san	Like a Close Encounter of the Third Kind and Great Conspiracy X	Nyaruko summons her pets Shanta and Nephren-Car from a Poké Ball-esque object, during which she says 「君に決めた！」 Kimi ni kimeta! ("I choose you!")[7][8]
The Good Cop (Israel)	Season 1, Episode 1	Pikachu plush in the background at 13:47.
Himouto! Umaru-chan	N/A	During the opening of the series, Umaru walks to a table that has her signature hoodie and three Poké Balls, and interacts with the hoodie. In addition, in the episode Umaru and her rival, after being told not to play with a cat souvenir, Umaru plays with it the next day alongside her hamster toys, calling it "Pocket Hamsters GK". She makes them battle, and during the battle, she starts by shouting "A wild Hamsaburou has appeared!" She then proceeds to summon the cat souvenir, shouting "Metal Nyankos! I choose you!" She makes the cat bob its head, saying that it makes Hamsaburou's defense fall while a health bar on the side of the screen drops by about half. She then reaches for a capsule to use to catch Hamsaburou, but trips and knocks the cat off the table, breaking it. Later, while trying to rebuild it, she remakes the head from scratch, but can't remember its face, and gives it a face similar to that of Pikachu's, with a voice shouting "Pukka!" Lastly, in between scenes, the room from the opening's reference appears, with a logo underneath it very similar to Pokémon's Japanese logo. Taihei walks up to a sleeping Umaru and tells her in a dialogue box "Umaru, starting today, you're a trainer!", to which she responds "Ugh, just five more minutes."
House M.D	Perils of Paranoia	While having a discussion with his diagnostic team, House says, "Which is why Arceus created a universe with three states of matter and 300 solid or liquid poisons that could cause his symptoms", upon which Taub asks, "Arceus?" House then suggests he look it up.
Highschool DxD	I Get a Familiar!	The familiar master, Zatouji (parody of Satoshi) is a parody of Ash Ketchum. He uses the phrase "Gotta catch 'em all" many times.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver	Chiitan	Introducing the segment, John Oliver mentions Japan as "the country that gave us Pokémon", and a Jigglypuff appears on-screen. Oliver says, to the audience, to throw a Poké Ball at it (in the style of Pokémon GO), and the on-screen Poké Ball does so, albeit too hard, resulting in the Jigglypuff exploding and spraying blood everywhere. Worth noting is the fact that, when it shows up, the Jigglypuff sings with its voice from Super Smash Bros. Later on in the segment, a Porygon plush makes a cameo.
Love Alarm	Episode 1	There is a Pichu sticker on the cash register of the convenient store that Kim Jo-jo works at.
Lucky Star	Base of the Sun and Pandora's Box	In Base of the Sun, Kagami asks Konata if she has any talents besides making faces. Konata replies by stating that she can name every Pok***n. In Pandora's Box, Konata states that Kinkaku-ji is gold, but Ginkaku-ji isn't silver, referencing both the Bell and Brass Towers, and Pokémon Gold and Silver. She also wonders if they're like Po*émon, and "if they have a Sapphire and Ruby or something".
MAD	Multiple Episodes	Several MAD sketches have included references to Pokémon. These include notably "Grey's In Anime" where a character wearing a Ash like that use a Pikachu-like character as a defribilator as well as a sketch in the episode Cliffordfield / Big Time Rushmore which features a skit about rejected Pokémon and "Pokémon Park" (a Pokémon-based spoof of Jurassic Park). Other sketches have included "Big League Pika-Chew" (in which Pikachu-based gum appears). "Pokémon of Interest" (a crossover with Person of Interest), and "Pokémonsters, Inc." (a crossover with Monsters, Inc.). Other sketches have used Pokémon to spoof other modern culture trend: "PokéHarmony" spoofing the dating website eHarmony, "The less you know", spoofing The more you know with alleged Pokémon facts, and "Psyduck" spoofing Psych using the titular Pokémon.
MADtv	Season 5, Episode 16	In the "Reality Check" sketch, Belma Button mentions that she took her kids to Pokémon: The First Movie, chastising the Japanese for sending it to America. Tovah says, "Who drew it? Stevie Wonder?" and Belma says it sounds like the name of a homosexual Jamaican adult film.
My Babysitter's a Vampire	Friday Night Frights	When the ghost of Coach ED (Clé Bennett) haunts Ethan Morgan (Matthew Knight), threatening him that he'd ruin his life if he didn't win a trophy for their school, the young boy gets into a wrestling match with Kurt the Hurt (William Greenblatt). When it becomes clear that he cannot win, Ethan exclaims that he has "never won a fight" to which his friend Benny Weir (Atticus Mitchell) replies, "False; remember that time in grade 2 when I took your Pokémon lunchbox?"
My Family	Pain in the Class	After finding out that his mother Susan Harper (Zoë Wanamaker) has invited the parents of his school bully round to solve his bullying problem, Michael (Gabriel Thomson) says 'goodbye' to some of his possessions, including his Pokémon cards, commenting that he only had 212 left to collect*.
The Norm Show	Artie Comes to Town	The first scene is a parody of Pokémon, as a boy named Tommy thought he was Ash. The skit featured actors dressed as Squirtle, Pikachu, Butterfree, Charmander, and Meowth. It features a Pokémon battle between Norm and Tommy.
Paper Towns	N/A	In the scene where Quentin, Ben, and Radar are scared while in an abandoned gas station looking for clues to where Margo can be, they wonder what they should do to calm themselves down. Quentin suggest that they sing a song — the first one that comes into their head. Ben then starts to sing the Pokémon Theme; Radar and Quentin join him as they together conquer their fear.
Rick and Morty	Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri	Rick tosses a couple of capsules that look like Poké Balls, and two creatures pop out and attack each other.[9]
Robot Chicken	Multiple Episodes	Several skits in Robot Chicken have parodied Pokémon. Notable skits include "Poké Ball High Life" showing Ash's Pikachu's party life in a Poké Ball, "The Greatest Pokémon Generation" showing former Pokémon fans in their old age and "Timely Michael Vick Joke" in which Ash and Pikachu must battle Michael Vick and his Rottweiler, and "Bloopers", in which an outtake from the Pokémon anime is shown. Other sketches appear in the episodes The Hobbit: There and Bennigan's where Ash plays tennis with Pikachu's Poké Ball to punish his Pokémon for urinating on his rug, Freshly Baked: The Robot Chicken Santa Claus Pot Cookie Freakout Special: Special Edition where Santa Claus' elves mention Pokémon toys in a musical number titled "Toys Through The Years", Strummy Strummy Sad Sad where the elderly Pokémon Day Care owner is shown to film the Pokémon breeding, and 3 2 1 2 333, 222, 3...66? which features Ash and Pikachu battling Henry Kissinger and a "Happy Monday" where Ash's Greninja is shown to have changed quite a bit after going its separate ways with its former trainer, attempting unsuccessfully to hit on a female coworker. In What Can You Tell Me About Butt Rashes?, after Pikachu is horribly injured, Ash reveals his newest Pokémon, Glinda, Good Witch of the North from The Wizard of Oz, and she is used to fight a Blastoise.
Saturday Night Live	Multiple Episodes	In the "Pokémon Parents" skit of the Jennifer Aniston / Sting episode, a boy trades his holographic Charizard for weaker cards like Metapod and Diglett. Mewtwo and the first movie are also mentioned. In the "Hardball" skit (John McCain / The White Stripes), Harry Belafonte refers to Pokémon as a slave trade wheel describing the unfair treatment of blacks. Finally, in "The Abacus Conundrum" skit of the Robert De Niro / Diddy-Dirty Money episode, a fake book is shown called "The Pokémon Directive" with a Pikachu on its cover.
See Spot Run	N/A	James tells Gordon Smith that he had a nightmare of a Charizard trying to burn him, in resemblance to Ash's Charizard. James also tells him what a Pokémon is, as some people may not understand.
Searching	N/A	There were many instances of Pokémon referenced throughout the film. The first, David shows Margot on Facetime his Pokemon t-shirt. The second time was when an online user asked Margot what her favorite Pokémon was, and she responded by saying Uxie, as it could erase memories; erase the memory of her mother's death. Margot also always has a Poké Ball keychain with her.
Servant × Service	Don't Panic, Make a Scene, or Throw Away Your Job	Hasebe joins a discussion on anime with his coworkers accompanied by a montage of games he has played, including "Pokimon", a distorted Pikachu and Bulbasaur, and a Poké Ball sound effect.
The Simpsons	Multiple Episodes	Pokémon appears in several episode of the show, most notably in Postcards from the Wedge where Bart is shown watching the Pokémon anime on TV, and wondering how it has managed to stayed so fresh, and in the short Pokémon Now? released on YouTube, which parodies Pokémon GO. Other brief mentions occurs in Children of a Lesser Clod (where it's named as a child's favorite game), Chief of Hearts where a game called "Battle Ball" is said to "makes Digimon look like Pokémon", and in Let's Go Fly a Coot where Milhouse wants his cheese cut in Pokémon shapes.
Strip Mall	N/A	In several episodes, an adult movie parody called Pokémemon is used as an on-going plot device. The lead actress of the film is seen dressed similar to Misty's original design, and her role's name is Fisty, a further play on the character.
Supermansion	Virtual Reality Bites	When American Ranger asks Cooch if she believes in God, she replies that she "believes in all of them. God, sasquatch, leprechauns, all the Pokémons--".
Teekyu	Evolution with Senpai	Marimo exclaims "Let's go catch them all!" while she, Kanae, and Nasuno hold tennis balls like Poké Balls and wear hats similar to Ash's. Yuri exasperatedly responds "Is this Poké**n?!"
Teenage Kicks	Sex	Kate (Abigail Cruttenden) wants to have sex with Vernon (Ade Edmondson). Vernon lies about David's (Jonathon Chan-Pensley) room being his and apologises to her about the Pokémon duvet.
Transformers Animated (Japanese dub)	Garbage In, Garbage Out	The episode's Japanese broadcast eyecatch is an homage to Who's That Pokémon?, with Wreck-Gar being the silhouetted character.[10]
Walliams & Friend	Sheridan Smith	A sketch involves Sheridan Smith and Morgana Robinson playing teenagers. Sheridan Smith's character mentions a game "back in the day" and says about catching monsters on your phone, Morgana Robinson's character responds with Pokémon GO.
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo	Episode 13	Si-ho's hospital roommate has a Gengar plush sitting on the windowsill.
W.I.T.C.H.	Season 2 Opening (Non-American)	In the European opening for the second season, Will's bedroom wallpaper features the 3rd Generation Starter Pokémon Treecko, Torchic, and Mudkip.

Non-Pokémon video games

Game	Details	Image
AI: The Somnium Files	Iris uses "that electric mouse from that video game" as an example of the Mandela Effect. She says that while a large number of people remember the creature's tail having a black tip, in reality it is entirely yellow.
Animal Crossing	A code for the Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS exists. Telling the password to Tom Nook will have him give the player the item stating is from a place but with garbled text. Trying to place the item in the player's house causes it to disappear as the item was never fully programmed and given a model.
Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator	In the fifth game (which takes place in Japan), turning on the television in the player's hotel room shows a program with flashing colours and a Pikachu-like character. Looking at the screen causes the game to remark "Don't stare at it too long, or you're likely to have a seizure!", a likely reference to the EP038 incident.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth	There are a many items in the game which were inspired by Pokémon. One is called "Missingno.", which will randomize all items picked up at the start of every floor. The Afterbirth DLC released a new item called a "Friendly Ball", which will be thrown when used, capture an enemy which will then fight other enemies when sent out. Afterbirth† introduced a new item called Poke Go, which looks like a cellphone and resembles Pokémon Go, where enemies will randomly join you upon entering a room. It also introduced a challenge called Pokey Mans, which is an obvious play-on of Pokémon, and uses the Friendly Ball, except it releases a random enemy each time it's thrown. It also introduced an item called Metronome, which has the item description "Waggle a finger", and every time it's used, it has the effects of a completely random item. The 1st booster pack also released an item called Mystery Gift.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth	In Chapter 4, a researcher named Akemi Suedou asks the protagonists to investigate an "Eater," a digital creature that consumes data. Arata Sanada asks Suedou if he has any "secret weapons" at his disposal such as a "camera watch that can detect hidden objects" or a "ball that captured creatures can be stuffed into." Suedou states that Arata's examples are "oddly specific."
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind	This RPG has several Pokémon references, which include Marowak's Spine in Illunibi or the body of Peke Utchoo (whose name is parody of Pikachu). In Arkngthand, there is a Weepingbell Hall while in the Urshilaku Burial Caverns, there is a section known as Kakuna Burial.[11]
Final Fantasy XIII-2	One of the possible answers to a Brain Blast quiz is Ochu, I Choose You! referring to the common catch phrase used in the anime.
HarmoKnight	Five bonus levels feature music from Pokémon games: Champion Battle from Generation I, Trainer Battle from V, and the Gym, Route 26, and Bicycle themes from II. Pokémon-shaped balloons and natural structures also appear.
Hearthstone	The flavor text of card "Thunder Lizard" is "What? THUNDER LIZARD is adapting!"(Japanese:……おや！？ サンダーリザードの　ようすが……！), which is a reference to the Pokémon evolution screen in the games. The flavor text of card "Wing Blast" is "Emeriss uses Wing Blast. It's super effective!"(Japanese:エメリスの つばさのぼうふう こうかは　ばつぐんだ！), which is a reference to type effectiveness messages in the games. The flavor text of card "Hir'eek, the Bat" is "REPEL’S EFFECT WORE OFF."(Japanese translation use a kamishibai reference instead), which is a reference to the item Repel.
Hidden Folks	On the camping level, one of the things to find is "Pika" a reference to Pikachu.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1	In Lowee, a nation that represents the Wii and Nintendo, the group has an exchange with guards that references Pokémon in various ways: Lowee Guard: Go! Dragon, I choose you! Compa: Go! Nep-Nep, I choose you! Neptune: Pika! IF: Oh! All right then! Go! Lady Vert, I choose you! Lowee Guard: Through rigorous training, people and monsters can become stronger! I've lived 'n trained with my fighting monster! And that will never change!	—
Jackbox	In Trivia Murder Pursuit, at least one of the questions can be related to Pokémon.
Little Inferno	The description text for the Giant Spider item is written in the style of Pokémon battle messages: "A Giant Spider appears! You attempt to flee! Giant Spider attacks for massive damage!!"
Minecraft	As an easter egg, if the splashes.txt file is deleted but not the META-INF folder from the game's files, the only splash text to be shown is "missingno".
Not a Hero	After the player completes a level, there is a random sequence of dialogue triggered. One of BunnyLord's lines in one of the dialogue sequences remarks how "this one time, when I lived in Justin's Vagabond Supplies Store, I damaged a Mudkip."
Payday 2	Joy, a DLC character added in August of 2018 makes numerous video game shout-outs through her mask and voice lines. One of her possible answers to a pager from a downed guard is saying she was looking for her Pokémon and then asking if the guard answering her wants to trade Pokémon with her.
Pony Island	If the player goes right when they see Louey for the first time, there are a bunch of references to Pokémon Red and Blue Versions, including the Missingno. glitch. There is an achievement called Glitch City associated with the area.
Rune Factory 4	Clorica says, "Fishing can be quite dangerous. Sometimes it's less tenta-'cool' and more tenta-'cruel.'" Additionally, Dolce quotes "I choose you," tries to command a Thunderbolt attack, and references type effectiveness.
Skullgirls	Several Pokémon quotes are used in the game. If the player wins a match without taking damage, the announcer says "It's super effective!". When facing Filia, Peacock says "Wild schoolgirl appears!" She may also say "I choose you!" when using her j.HK. The character of Molly also has a story mode portrait that references Wobbuffet, and Double has an alternate costume based on Ditto (both are able to transform into opponents and use their moves).	—
Splatoon	In commemoration of Pokémon's 20th Anniversary, a Splatfest was held on February 20, 2016 at 6:00 AM UTC, pitting players who prefer Pokémon Red against players who prefer Pokémon Blue*/Pokémon Green*. When the results of the Splatfest were tallied by game region, Red lost to Blue and Green in all three regions. In the American version of the announcement, Callie and Marie discuss Vulpix being exclusive to Blue, and reference Team Rocket's original motto.
StreetPass Mii Plaza	One of the puzzles distributed through SpotPass was for Pokémon X and Y and depicts Xerneas and Yveltal.
Super Mario Maker	A set of Mystery Mushroom Costumes themed after the playable Pokémon in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U can be unlocked by scanning their respective amiibo. The player also has a random chance of unlocking one after completing a 100 Mario Challenge. Unlike most amiibo costumes, however, the Pokémon costumes do not feature custom sounds or music.
	In commemoration of Pokémon's 20th Anniversary, an Event Course entitled I Choose You! was uploaded on February 11, 2016. When the player completes this course, they will unlock a Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle costume. Completing the course three times will unlock all three. Unlike the Super Smash Bros. Pokémon costumes, these costumes have a full set of custom sound effects and music taken from Red and Green.
Super Scribblenauts	In one level, a witch sends out monsters in a Pokémon Battle format.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice	A fictional country featured in the game, Khura'in, has a popular game that considered "Khura'inese chess". The game is called, "Kachu'demahl", a play on "catch 'em all", and the objective of the game is to annihilate all of an opponents pieces. Each piece is also capable of utilizing a special move once per game, akin to Z-Moves.
Touhou Project	The previous Eevee user in Sun and Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Sakura's Japanese name is サクヤ Sakuya, a reference to Sakuya Izayoi (Japanese: 十六夜咲夜 Izayoi Sakuya), who first appeared in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (Japanese: 東方紅魔郷 Touhou Red Devil).

Books, comics, and manga

• A FoxTrot comic strip from April 3, 2011 has Jason and Peter playing catch. After he tossed, Jason shouted "I choose you, Gigalith!" He later mentioned he had played a lot of Pokémon recently as Peter questions why the ball was shaking. This strip was released weeks after the release of Pokémon Black and White.
• In Rick Riordan's book The Mark of Athena, war-crazed Coach Hedge is sailing a ship while singing the Pokémon Theme, replacing the Gotta catch 'em all! catchphrase with "Gotta Kill 'Em All".
• In the tenth book in the Jigsaw Jones Mysteries series, The Case of the Ghostwriter, Stringbean hires Jigsaw to take the case by offering him bubblegum, a Darth Maul pencil eraser, a rubber band ball, $0.36, and a Diglett card. Jigsaw calls Diglett too common, so Stringbean instead offers a First Edition Gloom card, which he accepts.
• A Mother Goose and Grimm comic strip from May 31, 2014 featured a pair of Pikachu. It portrayed how the species got its name in a satirical manner.
• On the cover of the fourth issue of Archie Comics third Sabrina the Teenage Witch comic book series, Sabrina and her friend Chloe are playing a card game when bully Slugloaf walks by saying "Those trading cards are so lame! There's no such thing as Pocket Monsters!" Sabrina magically makes a large monster appear from his back pocket in response.
• In Volume 5, Chapter 1 of the Sword Art Online light novel series, when discussing possible ways for someone to shoot a bullet in virtual reality and kill someone else in real life, Kirito mentions an instance in which animation effects in an episode of a certain anime caused children across Japan to become sick. This reference was not retained in Episode 1 of the anime adaptation's second season, which directly adapts the chapter.
• Mangaka Ume Aoki frequently represents herself in her works as "Ume-sensei", a crude chibi representation of herself dressed as a Metapod. Ume-sensei most notably appears in Aoki's famed manga Hidamari Sketch.
• In "What She Does Next Will Astound You", the third novel based on the BBC sci-fi drama Class, one of the dares on the website truthordare.com is to "play Pokémon GO underwater".
• In a Zits comic from May 22, 2015, Jeremy asks his mother if she has seen his Pokémon cards and freaks out when she said she threw them out years ago. He tells her in the last panel that he and Pierce planned to ignite them.
• A B.C. strip from October 6, 2018 has a clairvoyant tell of various species going extinct. When he clarifies that it does not apply to all of them, the scene zooms out to show a Charizard.
• In Monica's Gang, Pokémon is parodied in several stories, usually referred to by the characters by the name "Pokemão". One of the stories is Pequemônica (Globo's Mônica #163), where the characters find an alien box similar to a Poké Ball, from which they release several monsters belonging to an alien villain similar to Ash Ketchum, and the characters end up being transformed into little monsters with powers. Another story is Pokecão (Globo's Mônica #167), where the character Glu accidentally ends up changing to resemble Pikachu after being struck by lightning in the tail. The story also features dogs parodying Jessie and James and a scene with the writers dressed as Pokémon.
• In Solitaire by Alice Oseman, the Pokémon Trading Card Game was played between the protagonist, Tori Spring, and her childhood friend, Lucas Ryan, when they were young. When they meet up many years later, they talk about how they use to play as an example of their lost connection.
• A Donald Duck comic drawn by Vicar, originally published on January 27, 2000 in Denmark as Kampkræene kommer (Battle Beasties in the English version), is a reference to Pokémon. In this story, Huey, Dewey, and Louie become fascinated by a new franchise called Battle Beasties that is the hit of the moment. Like Pokémon, this franchise includes video games, trading cards, and a TV show. They later discover that creatures are real and accidentally end up freeing them all over Duckburg. The story received a sequel on April 17, 2001, called Kampen om kræene (Battle for the Battle Beasties in the English version). This story, possibly as a reference to Generation II, introduced some creatures not seen in the first story. In some translations, including Italian and Portuguese, the creatures are referred to by titles more similar to Pokémon, like Kukemon and Bobomon.
• In chapter 980 of the One Piece manga series, Eustass Kid is seen attacking Scratchmen Apoo with a large arm made of scrap metal. Two Meltan can be seen embedded in Kid's mechanical arm.

Real life

• During a Republican debate for the 2012 United States presidential election, candidate Herman Cain quotes a "poet" saying "Life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible, but it's never easy when there's so much on the line". These are actually the beginning lines of The Power of One, the theme song for the movie of the same name. During his withdrawal speech, he reused the line but with proper attribution.
• In April 2014, the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program and CNN's Change the List project held a poll to name a pangolin rescued from traffickers as part of a campaign to raise awareness for the endangered mammal. Of the top five choices from CNN comments, the name "Sandshrew" won the official Facebook poll. Sandshrew the pangolin now lives in a Vietnamese national park.
• During a July 2016 campaign event for the 2016 United States presidential election, candidate Hillary Clinton said "I don't know who created Pokémon GO, but I'm trying to figure out how we get them to have Pokémon GO to the polls." At the time, the mobile game Pokémon GO was at the height of its popularity.^[12]
• To promote their 2016 King of Trios tournament, professional wrestling company CHIKARA used several allusions to Pokémon, including using the "Who's That Pokémon?" feature to reveal competitors, a parody of the Pokémon Theme, and even Director of Fun Mike Quackenbush dressing as Ash Ketchum.^[13]

Music

• A song from Lil' Kim's album The Naked Truth (Lil' Kim album), "Get Yours", makes a reference to the common mispronunciation of "Pokéman".^[14]
• The Azealia Banks song "Bitch Is Ill" makes a lewd comparison involving the electricity of a Pikachu.^[15]
• The Nintendocore-band "Oak's parcel" is named after Professor Oak and has several Pokémon-themed songs.
• The music group Starbomb features many songs that parody other video game franchises, but two in particular parody Pokémon. The first song, I Choose You to Die, tells the story of Ash Ketchum being sent to jail for beating up his Pokémon out of pleasure after defeating the Elite Four, before being shot in the groin by Pikachu after Pikachu posted Ash's bail; the followup song, The NEW Pokérap!!, features Brock describing to Ash all the new Pokémon that were discovered during his time in the hospital after the events of the first song.
• A song from Japanese musician Kenichi Maeyamada, リア充ってこんなもんだっけ？feat.ディスクン星人 Is this what it's supposed to be like to have a girlfriend?, mentions the wish of catching a girlfriend in the same manner Ash celebrates catching a new Pokémon, as well as the slogan of the franchise in Japanese, saying "念願の彼女ゲットだぜ!! Nengan no kanojo getto da ze!", as the character singing the line has Ash's face, holding a sphere with a female face inside, much like a Poké Ball.^[16]
• German rap group "Dicht & Ergreifend" mention Pokémon GO in their song Don't believe the like.
• South African band "Die Antwoord" made several references to Pokémon:
  • In the music video to Baby's on fire, singer Yolandi Visser is wearing shoes looking like Pikachu.
  • In Banana Brain, there is the line "You're so cute like Pikachu".
• A song by Peabod with the title "Dreamin" states in one line, "Cause back then Pokémon cards were the currency."

Websites

• On The Annoying Orange, in "Marshmallow's Christmas Sock (12 Days Of Christmas)", three Pikachu were some of Marshmallow's gifts.^[17] The series also features multiple parodies of the Pokémon franchise itself, including KitchenMon, KitchenMon 2 and KitchenMon 3 (parodies of the Pokémon anime), Pokémon Orange (a parody of the core series games) and KitchenMon GO (a parody of Pokémon GO).
• Cyanide and Happiness has referenced Pokémon in a few comics.
  • One comic made a joke about Ash catching all the STDs.
  • A second comic had two people playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with one declaring "Bulbasaur beats everything".
  • A third comic had Ash releasing a dead Pikachu from a Poké Ball because he forgot to make air holes.
  • A fourth comic had two people saying they were a fan of Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda.
  • A fifth comic has Ash try to catch a dog before the dog takes the Poké Ball and catches Ash instead.
• Death Battle has six battles featuring Pokémon:
  • The first was Ash's Pikachu vs. Blanka. Blanka was declared the winner due to his self-taught survival skills, electric resistance, and his greater strength and size compared to Pikachu giving him an edge over Pikachu's Electric typing and reliance on a Trainer.^[18]
  • The second was a three-way free-for-all between a wild Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise. Blastoise was found to win 48% of over 7,000 simulated Pokémon battles between the three Pokémon using game mechanics and was thus declared the winner of the battle.^[19]
  • The third was a battle between Red and Charizard against Tai and Agumon of Digimon fame; the battle ended in Tai's favor, due to the superior bond between Tai and Agumon as opposed to Red and Charizard.^[20]
  • The Fourth was a battle between Mewtwo and Shadow the Hedgehog; the winner was Mewtwo, due to having a wide range of abilities from reading minds to being able to heal itself, as well as using it's knowledge against Shadow. Mewtwo also appeared in a joke episode against Vegeta of Dragon Ball where the winner was the Internet.
  • The Fifth was a battle between Lucario and Renamon of Digimon; the winner was Lucario, due to a wider arsenal and greater physical strength.^[21]
  • The Sixth was a battle between Goro of Mortal Kombat vs Machamp; the winner was Machamp, due to its power input, the ability to adapt and counter all of Goro's moves, and the ability Guts.^[22]
• Epic Rap Battles of History featured a battle between Ash Ketchum and Charles Darwin. Jessie and James make a cameo appearance, as does Ash's Pikachu, and several other Pokémon including Charizard, Butterfree, Alolan Exeggutor, Lapras, and Magikarp. Jigglypuff is also mentioned.
• During the Hetalia: Axis Powers 2011 Christmas event, Ladonia was passing the time playing Pokémon on his Game Boy and stated his favorite Pokémon was Stunfisk in his rushed introduction to Denmark.^[23]
• Homestar Runner has made a number of references to the series, usually playing on Pikachu's similar appearance to the character of The Cheat.^[24] In particular, Pikachu appears on screen during "The Cheat Theme Song", when the lyrics are "Who's the man that looks like The Cheat?"
• On the virtual pet site Neopets, a Pikachu can be seen on the Gallery of Evil page.^[25]
• In the third installment of SamBakZa's There She Is!! series, the character Doki chases and tries various methods of capturing a fleeing Nabi. When all of her attempts fail, she uses a Poké Ball, throwing it at Nabi's head and knocking him down.
• One of the screensavers included in XScreenSaver is called "JigglyPuff" (sic).^[26]
• TeamFourStar's Dragon Ball Z Abridged contains a running joke in Season 1 where Nappa calls Chiaotzu a "Pokémon". He tries to throw a Poké Ball to catch him, but this fails, as Vegeta tells him he has damage him significantly first.
  • In the stinger at the end of Episode 47, Imperfect Cell is shown "evolving" into Semi-Perfect Cell, in the same Game Boy style of a Pokémon evolving in Pokémon Red and Blue, complete with background music.

See also

• List of references to popular culture in Pokémon
• List of background references to Pokémon
• List of Pokémon parodies

External links

• Pokémon at Wikisimpsons

References

This article is a part of Project Fandom, a Bulbapedia Project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every aspect of the Pokémon Fandom.