List of references to Pokémon in popular culture

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References to the Pokémon franchise are often made in other media. While Pikachu is a common target due to its prominence as the mascot of the franchise, other Pokémon, characters, and elements of the various Pokémon series are often lampooned.

References in TV and movies

Series/movie Episode Details Image
American Dad! A Piñata Named Desire While Steve was remembering about he and his friends use to have sleepovers when they were little, a pink and purple Pikachu is seen on the t-shirt worn by his friend Toshi. APinataNamedDesire.png
Austin Powers in Goldmember N/A The movie features people in costumes of Charmander and Pikachu among those running from "not Godzilla" in the Tokyo scene. The deleted scenes also feature background appearances of Meowth and Celebi costumes, the Pikachu car and a Dragonite plushie.
Arthur Arthur Loses his Marbles Muffy says that she has fifty-four Dopémon cards in a pack, in resemblance to Pokémon cards, and with one card a take on a Pikachu called "Stinkachu". ArthurLosesHisMarbles.png
Bad Santa N/A One child asks "Santa" for Pokémon.
Beast Machines Revelations, Part I: Discovery Jetstorm says "Gotta catch 'em all!"
Bernard's Watch Many episodes Bernard's room is often shown to have first-generation Pokémon posters.
Brum Unknown Pokémon plushes can be seen at a stall in a fairground.
The Cleveland Show Ain't Nothin' But Mutton Bustin' While Cleveland and Rallo visit the County Fair, one of the stands has Gengar plushies. AintNothinButMuttonBustin.png
Codename: Kids Next Door Operation: A.R.C.H.I.V.E. A character that can be seen in the audience looks similar to Ash. OperationArchive.png
Detective Conan Unknown Ash, Misty and Brock make a cameo appearance as kids who were staying in a certain train station. However, the distinct facial features each possess, such as Brock's eyes, their hairstyles, etc., were slightly altered and switched between the three kids.
Drawn Together N/A One of the main characters, Ling-Ling, is a direct parody of Pikachu. He mentions that one of his pastimes is giving children seizures.
Dustin in Fowl Play N/A When Dustin the Turkey was wondering what new job he should get, Socky asks "are we going to become Pokémon Trainers?"
Eastenders N/A Doctor Anthony Trueman explains Yin and Yang to his ex Kat Slater, who then replied "Yin? Yang? You're not letting Pokémon characters take over your life?"
ER And in the End... A patient says "I am the chosen one, come to be known as Lugia." File:AndInTheEnd.png
Everybody Loves Raymond Hackidu The episode focuses "Hackidu", which is a spoof of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!. Ray's daughter Ally makes a trade with a boy, giving him a sizable stack of cards for just one of hers. Ray thinks the trade is unfair, so he talks to the boy's father and the trade is reversed. Ray then learns that he shouldn't have gotten the trade reversed, and attempts to get the card back. Hackidu is also watched on TV during the episode. Hackidu.png
Family Guy April in Quahog A poster depicting a superhero that strongly resembles a Machoke can be seen in Chris's room. AprilInQuahog.png
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". TestOfTheTested.png
George Lopez Unknown When George and Benny discuss ways to make money, the former suggests that the latter pretend to be a Pikachu in Mexico.
Ghost Stories (dub) Akane-san of the Broadcasting Room!! Voice of the Dead The Pokémon anime is referenced when Leo states that the broadcast begins right after Pokémon. File:Ghost Stories.png
Good Luck Charlie Unknown A picture of an Eevee is drawn on a chalkboard in the basement.
Green Lantern N/A A cartridge of Pokémon Sapphire can be seen in Dr. Hector Hammond's apartment.
The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy It's Hokey Mon! The episode features a trading card game named "Hokey Mon". ItsHokeyMon.png
Hayate the Combat Butler N/A Pikachu has made background cameos; the pet tiger has referenced Pikachu when assuming himself to be the mascot character and in one episode the cast travel on a plane based on ANA Flights. In the sixth episode, a framed image of a blue Pikachu can be seen near the beginning of the episode. The image was based on one of Pikachu's anime art. In some episodes, various sound effects and background music make a reference to Pokémon.
Hetalia: Axis Powers (dub) Episode 18 During a battle against the Axis Powers, America chooses China to fight and says "China, I choose you!"
Jackie Chan Adventures Unknown A franchise called "Gnomekop" appears in an episode, which is Pokémon spelled backwards plus a "G". It also uses the slogan "Gotta collect 'em all", similar to Pokémon's Gotta catch 'em all!
Johnny Test Johnny'mon and The Return of Johnny'mon Two episodes featured Tinymon, with a Tinydex, Tiny Cubes that contain creatures, a character named Blast Ketchup, and the slogan "Gotta snatch 'em all!". The episodes feature a Tinymon known as "Screechereen," which greatly resembles Shadow Lugia. Blast Ketchup's Tinymon, Kadoomerang, also slightly resembles Squirtle. Evolution and attacks are also featured. For example, Screechereen evolves from Cuddlebuns.
Lucky Star 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. File:BaseOfTheSun.png
Lucky Star The Famous Shooter The characters go to a festival, and Kagami has trouble catching fish as they just swim away from her. When she finally catches one, she shouts "get da ze!", which is "Gotta catch 'em all!" in Japanese. File:TheFamousShooter.png
Lucky Star 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". File:PandorasBox.png
MAD Grey's in Anime In the "Grey's In Anime" skit, one of the doctors (who wears a hat similar to Ash's) throws a Poké Ball-esque object, and a Pikachu lookalike, known as "Chekaflu", shocks the patient as the doctor says "clear!"
MAD Cliffordfield / Big Time Rushmore The episode features a skit about rejected Pokémon. Among these is Punchachu, a punching mouse with huge arms and small feet, whose Trainer looks like Max. Ironically, its special attack is kicking. Another rejected Pokémon is Glasstar, a bear-like creature made out of glass. Its special attack is "frailty". Another reject Pokémon is Buzzkill, an owl-based Pokémon, whose special attack is indifference. When told how it loves battles, all it said was, "meh" while shrugging its shoulders. The last reject Pokémon is Uncle Hank. His special attack is Confusion; all he does is get confused about what was going on.
MAD Pokémon Park The episode that features ths skit "Pokémon Park", a spoof of of Jurassic Park. An unknown Professor invited Ash (who had black curly hair and glasses), Misty (who is holding a DS and has blond hair), Jessie (who had blue hair) and James (who had green hair). It features characters similar to Charmander, Charizard, Magikarp, Gyarados, Pikachu, Pidgey and Bulbasaur. "Yu-Gi-Oh! Island" and "Digimon Island" are mentioned too.
MAD Gaming's Next Top Princess Misty is among the contestants in "Gaming's Next Top Princess," among the likes of Samus Aran, Princess Peach and Zelda, the three finalists.
MAD Pooh Grit / Not-A-Fan-A-Montana One skit features a brand of gum called "Pika-Chew", made of real live Pikachu, and it helps people in baseball by giving the ball a shock when they hit it with a bat.
Malcolm in the Middle Company Picnic (Part 1) Dewey is sitting at a picnic table with a boy and both Pokémon cards in their hand, and can be seen making a trade. There are also cards laid on the table. The boy then offers Dewey some candy, which he is not supposed to be eating due to hyperactivity. After eating it, Dewey freaks out and throws some of the cards in the air. CompanyPicnicPart1.png
Malcolm in the Middle Unknown A Charmander doll can be seen sitting on the bed in some episodes, along with a Squirtle doll.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Endless Eight (part two) Two Pikachu masks, a purple Turtwig mask, a yellow Chimchar mask, and an orange Piplup mask can be seen on display. EndlessEight.png
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. ArtieComesToTown.png
Osmosis Jones N/A When Ozzy tries to stop Drix from leaving Frank's body, one of the germs carries a Pikachu, as a joke on allergies.
ReBoot My Two Bobs The episode's featured game is a game entitled "Pantsu Hebi X", which is a parody of both Pokémon-styled battles and anime in general. In it, the dog character Frisket reboots itself to resemble Pikachu.
Recess The Game The addictive card game featured in the episode, named "Ajimbo", appears to be a a parody of the Trading Card Game. Ajimbo.png
Robot Chicken Cracked China A skit titled "Pikachu Secret" in the episode parodies the anime. In its running time of 62 seconds, things happen such as Ash wondering when Misty is going to "shut up and make dinner", Gary calling Ash "ass", and Ash's Pikachu grinding another while inside its Poké Ball. PikachuSecret.png
Robot Chicken Junk in the Trunk A skit titled "Bloopers!", which runs for 5 minutes and 13 seconds, has 26 seconds which is devoted to parodying the anime. Pikachu and Squirtle are having a conversation in Pokémon speak. Eventually, Squirtle breaks custom and starts speaking with profanity-riddled dialogue in human tongue, claiming the Pokémon speech makes no sense at all. Pikachu asks "Earl" to say the line or he'll get the gas, to which Squirtle asks the kids to "go read a book or something". File:Pokémon Bloopers.png
Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Not Losing to Elbows, Not Losing to Knees When Abiru says Nozomu would look good with a tail, he was pictured with various tails including those that resemble the tails of Pikachu and Glameow. NotLosingToElbows.png
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.
Sex and the City Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl... While looking at pictures at Charlotte's gallery, Samantha says, "you know, women dressing like men is very popular right now," to which Carrie replies, "and here I thought it was Pokémon." File:BoyGirlBoyGirl.png
The Simpsons Bart vs. Lisa vs. The Third Grade Pikachu can be seen in Bart's satellite TV-induced hallucination BartVsLisaVsThirdGrade.png
The Simpsons Children of a Lesser Clod The family are watching an episode of Kids Say the Darndest Things when the host, Bill Cosby, is interviewing a guest:
Cosby: What do you like to play?
Child: Pok-ee-mon!
Cosby: Pok-ee-mon?! With the Pok-ee and the mon and the thing where the guy comes out of the thing...
File:ChildrenOfALesserClod.png
The Simpsons Pokey Mom The title itself is likely to be wordplay on "Pokémon".
The Simpsons Postcards from the Wedge Bart watches the Pokémon anime on TV, with Ash in his Diamond and Pearl attire and his Pikachu; and Bart questions how the series "has managed to stay fresh all these years", as a possible reference to how both the Pokémon anime and The Simpsons have been on the air for over a decade. This episode aired on the same day as the release of HeartGold and SoulSilver in the United States. PostcardsFromTheWedge.png
The Simpsons 'Tis the Fifteenth Season
and
Fraudcast News
In the couch gag, Maggie is dressed up as a Pikachu. TisTheFifteenthSeason.png
The Simpsons Thirty Miunutes over Tokyo The effects of Electric Soldier Porygon are experienced by the family in the episode, after they watch the local program "Battling Seizure Robots".
The Simpsons Chief of Hearts Bart plays a game called "Battle Ball" (a take on Bakugan) and one boy says that the game "makes Digimon look like Pokémon.
South Park Chinpokomon The episode parodies Pokémon and fad culture in general. The line of toys have additionally made cameos in many subsequent episodes. During the episode Kenny dies of an epileptic seizure as a reference to the banned episode EP038. The episode additionally heavily parodies the anime and video games to a lesser extent. Ash Ketchum and James are both parodied. Chinpokomon.png
The Suite Life on Deck Unknown Woody can be seen reading a Pokémon book.
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody N/A In multiple episodes, a toy Poké Ball can be seen on a shelf in Zack and Cody's bedroom.
That's So Weird Unknown Pokémon has been mentioned multiple times in the series.
Toradora! No Matter What Minori Kushieda finds Ryūji Takasu thinking and says 「ため息ゲットだぜ!」 Tameiki getto da ze! ("I caught your sigh!"), a shout out to the Japanese slogan of the Pokémon franchise, 「ポケモンゲットだぜ!」Pokémon getto da ze!. She also referenced other popular franchises, such as Yu-Gi-Oh!. File:NoMatterWhat.png

References in non-Pokémon games

  • In Yoshi's Story, the stages Stage 2-3 and Stage 2-4 are made out entirely out of newspaper clippings, the text: Pikachu, among others, is seen. So far, it has only been seen in one or two areas.
  • In the Zelda series, the Keaton Mask introduced in Ocarina of Time bears a strong resemblance to Pikachu. It is mentioned in the game that Keaton "has been really popular lately", the game was released in 1998 when the fad level of Pokémon was still sharply on the rise. The item returned in Majora's Mask where wearing it in certain areas would lead to Keaton himself appearing, though this version of the character was revealed to be a kitsune. The mask also has a background cameo in Wind Waker.
  • In Harvest Moon 64, if the characters Karen and Kai were to marry and have a child, their child will be dressed in a Pikachu costume.
  • The Simpsons Game features "Sparklemon" in its Japanese level. Homer and Lisa must travel to three temples where they fight the Sparklemon in turn-based battles before they can collect them in a "capturing ball". The first two Sparklemon are based on Pikachu and Squirtle.

Other references

  • In The Simpsons Comics, there is a story called An Anime Among Us, in which Bart has a dream sequence which contains numerous references to Japanese traditional and popular culture, including anime such as Sailor Moon and Pokémon. The most prominent references to Pokémon are Bart dressed like Ash Ketchum, a Pocket Goblins (Pockegob) Trainer, and Santa's Little Helper is a reference to Pikachu (Santa-choo). Bart fights against a trio from "Team Sprocket", with Jessica Lovejoy appearing as Jessie, Nelson Muntz appearing as James, and Martin Prince in a Meowth costume (Cat Scratch-eth). This story is available in Bart Simpson Comics issue #12 as well as the collection book Big Bratty Book of Bart Simpson.
  • In 2008, Japanese researchers discovered a new protein which helps carry electrical impulses from the eyes to the brain and named it Pikachurin. According to the researchers, the decision was based on both Pokémon and protein possessing "lightning-fast moves and shocking electric effects".
  • Homestar Runner has made a number of references to the series, usually playing on Pikachu's similar appearance to the character of The Cheat. In particular, Pikachu appears on screen during "The Cheat Theme Song," when the lyrics are "Who's the man that looks like The Cheat?"
  • Parts of the insert song in part three of the popular flash cartoon series Charlie the Unicorn bear resemblance to the original Pokérap.
  • In the book Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon, Pikachu is one of the many "people" seen watching an interview. It is later assumed that the same Pikachu was one of the two thousand "people" to buy Babymouse's cupcakes, as referenced by the narrator asking Babymouse how she was going to get her cupcakes to Japan.
  • In Neil Gaiman's novella Coraline, the illustration on page 88 shows a Pikachu head among several other toys.
  • On an episode of Winter Wipeout, John Henson said that Mika was Jigglypuff'd about the height of the hurdles.
  • In the Love Hina manga, the main character, Keitaro Urashima, can be seen with a Pikachu photo sticker while he checks his photo album filled with pictures of himself.
  • In The Lonely Island song, Japan, they mention Pokémon.
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