Talk:List of references to popular culture in Pokémon

So, this page is essentially the opposite of List of references to Pokémon in popular culture. However, this needs to be clear references, not "might be a reference". Pokémon origins should not be placed here unless they are officially confirmed to be a reference to the claimed thing. References to the real world go on Pokémon world in relation to the real world. Pulseman references go on List of references to Pulseman. This page should be reserved for references to other works of fiction, so referencing sports teams still belongs on "Pokémon world in relation to the real world", but song titles are still fine here. References within Super Smash Bros. games and Pokémon Conquest do not count.

Having said all that, the whole reason for me making this in my userspace first is because I don't know many right away, but I know that there are a lot that I don't know about or simply can't find quickly, so it would be great if everyone could help out. Even anime episode titles count. --SnorlaxMonster 14:10, 8 June 2012 (UTC)

Now it's mainspace, so my rules no longer apply, but I think they are still reasonable. If you object to them, please put it on the talk page. --SnorlaxMonster 15:53, 6 September 2013 (UTC)

Contents

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• (Return to top)
• Possible reference
• South Park reference?
• "My Tank is Fight!" Reference in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
• Gypsy Juggler
• Pulseman
• Mickey Mouse Reference
• Hal and Lois
• The Beatles reference
• Mario reference
• N's Exodia

Contents

Possible reference

In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, there is a cabinet in Room 4 with broken glass in front of it. The message given when investigating the glass is "These shelves look like they might fall apart at any moment. There's an old game system with two screens... Something about it is different from the system you have..." I have a few theories:

1. The game is referencing the Game & Watch, of which some versions had a dual-screen design like the 3DS.
2. The game is referencing a Nintendo DS or DS lite, since the game simply says "something". It could be a DSi or DSi XL, but I doubt it.
3. Along with one of the other two theories, the PokéNav Plus has only one screen, meaning that the game is probably breaking the fourth wall by referring to the system that you, the player (not the player character) have.

Bigpboy (talk) 23:50, 28 December 2014 (UTC)

Room 4 of what? Game Freak's never done anything with the Game & Watch line of console/games, so that's not likely.glik^glak 00:05, 29 December 2014 (UTC)

Room 4 in Sea Mauville. Kai * the Arc Toraph 00:35, 29 December 2014 (UTC)

South Park reference?

I forget which specific trainer it was, but I remember in B2W2 in Pinwheel Forest, there was a teacher who says that she often has to yell at her students to "sit down and shut up". I'm pretty sure this was a reference to the bus driver in early seasons of South Park. Morgil (talk) 05:27, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

Pretty sure that's a common expression that predates that particular episode. Googling the term doesn't even give me any results relating to South Park, indicating that it's not strongly associated with it. --SnorlaxMonster 06:32, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

"My Tank is Fight!" Reference in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum

In the English version of Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, one of the trainers early in the starts the battle with the line "My Pokémon are fight!", which is a reference to "My Tank is Fight!", a series of satirical columns written by Zack Parsons for the website SomethingAwful. ([1]). Nob Ogasawara, lead translator for the localization team, was a Something Awful member at the time (noted in the Roxy and Oli article).

The line "My Tank is fight" was originally a lyric in the song "My Tank" by the band "Darkest of the Hillside Thickets".

--Obbi (talk) 17:41, 12 December 2019 (UTC)

Gypsy Juggler

I wasn't sure whether to post this, so will put it here. In Generations I and II the Juggler's Japanese name is ジプシージャグラー (Gypsy Juggler). In 1978 there is an arcade game called Gypsy Juggler. Adding to the possibility of it being a reference is Game Freak being really into arcade games in their early years, and the game being mentioned in the Game Freak magazine volume 1. Chickasaurus (talk) 19:42, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

Pulseman

I disagree to this (talk) page's preamble in that Pulseman references shouldn't go here, or at least I don't understand that. Instead, I want to propose the List of references to Pulseman page to be merged into this page. Is there any reason I should not be doing this? Nescientist (talk) 11:46, 27 June 2021 (UTC)

Mickey Mouse Reference

In Raging Rhydon in the manga, Red said to Misty that Pika isn't Mickey Mouse. Should this be added? MageMagius (talk) 01:40, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

Hal and Lois

Hal & Lois (named after the parents from Malcolm in the Middle) are present on the Abandoned Ship in Sapphire (and presumably Ruby, but I haven't confirmed that). I only recently discovered that this was changed in Emerald for unknown reasons. The timeline would make more sense for this reference since the show didn't end until [checks the Wikipedia page] oh, wow, after the release of RSE? Okay, I see why it was removed in Emerald now. I mostly know of Malcolm in the Middle because of an online friend, so I don't claim to know if their Pokémon are a reference to anything in the show. Should someone add this to the article? Reginald Cosmic (talk) 08:44, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

The Beatles reference

So actually, I reached out to Nob Ogasawara himself and he confirmed it. I remember hearing (or at least was under the impression/believed it) Nob translated that too; but neither "Nob"/"Doug" are in the credits according to the article?. Can someone clarify (if he translated Colosseum). Thanks. Chickasaurus (talk) 15:24, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

The credits do credit him under "Text Translated by", so it seems our current staff page is incomplete. Minibug (talk) 15:30, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

Mario reference

The "In the games" section lists a Mario outfit as a reference from the Alola games. However, I think this outfit is actually just the Pokémon Breeder outfit from the same games. Can it be agreed on that this is the case and it can be removed? --FinnishPokéFan92 (talk) 03:03, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

I agree that it's the same outfit used by male Pokémon Breeders. However, I don't know that it needs to be removed. I mean, why not just say that the male Pokémon Breeder's outfit is potentially a Mario reference? I think the only reason the boutique outfit registers as a Mario reference and the Breeder's outfit doesn't is because Breeders wear a towel around their neck that covers up the overall straps. If a Breeder took off their towel, then the resemblance would be much stronger (and that's what the boutique outfit demonstrates). So, still a reference. Storm Aurora (talk) 07:09, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

Something I neglected to mention when writing my original post is the fact that I think it's more likely that the Breeder outfits in Alola are just references to the Rancher and Cowgirl outfits from Sinnoh rather than Mario, which would make them just regular farmer clothes. Does that make sense?.--FinnishPokéFan92 (talk) 22:42, 15 May 2026 (UTC)

Yeah, I see what you mean; blue overalls are pretty standard farmer clothes. But BDSP changed the design of the Rancher's overalls to have yellow clasps rather than yellow buttons, making them resemble Mario less. The fact that the Alola games kept not just the blue overalls, but also the yellow buttons and the red shirt makes me think that it's a deliberate choice to make them resemble Mario. Storm Aurora (talk) 16:33, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

I didn't consider that possibility. You are correct. --FinnishPokéFan92 (talk) 16:35, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

N's Exodia

The Ascended Heroes Player's Guide makes a Yu-Gi-Oh! reference. I wonder if anyone with the booklet could check whether there are more popculture references in there? 𝐍𝐚𝐌𝐫𝐨𝐳 _►Talk 08:02, 24 February 2026 (UTC)