View source for List of cross-generational references

{{fan speculation}}
The five [[generation]]s of [[Pokémon games]], taking place in the same {{pkmn|world|universe}}, have had multiple references to each other. Not only do the games reference their same-generation counterparts (with the {{player}}'s default name being the version played and the [[rival]]'s being the counterpart version in the first two generations), but games released later in the series typically will feature references to events of past generations.

This does not include Pokémon. While Pokémon released in previous generations will always appear, they are not a reference to the generation itself.

==List of references==
===Generation II===
====To Generation I====
* Not only is the [[Kanto]] region a playable area during the games, but several of the events of [[Generation I]] are spoken of as having happened three years previous. Many characters also reappear because of this, though some of them undergo design changes.
* {{ga|Red}}, the player character of the first games, is found training in [[Mt. Silver]] and can be battled.
* {{ga|Blue}}, the rival character of the first games, has become the [[Gym Leader]] of [[Viridian City]]. His team is based on the Pokémon he used in the final battle in {{game|Red and Blue|s}}.
* A man in the [[Violet City]] Pokémon Center states that the former [[Team Rocket]] was broken up by a "{{ga|Red|young kid}}."
* The parents of the Copycat in [[Saffron City]] mention that her Clefairy Doll was given to her by {{ga|Red|a boy}} three years before.
* The [[Berserk Gene]], a held item, is found near the former entrance of the now-collapsed [[Cerulean Cave]], where {{p|Mewtwo}} once hid.
* There is a [[Pokémon doll]] of a {{m|Surf}}ing {{p|Pikachu}} available to decorate the room, which references the special minigame in {{game|Yellow}}.
* A man in [[Cerulean City]] says there used to be [[Cerulean Cave|a cave near the city with powerful Pokémon]].
* If the player checks the poster in the [[Rocket Game Corner]], the player will be informed that there's nothing there, referring to the secret switch under the poster in Generation I.
* The master of the [[Saffron City]] [[Fighting Dojo]], [[Kiyo]], can be found and battled in Mt. Mortar. Like in Generation I, he gives the player a {{p|Tyrogue|Fighting-type Pokémon}} upon defeating him.

===Generation III===
====To Generation I====
* [[Brawly]] is said to have once trained alongside [[Bruno]], who is a member of [[Kanto]]'s [[Elite Four]].
* The Oceanic Museum in [[Slateport City]] has two water samples, one of which is from Kanto. Its background music theme is also an arrangement of the S.S. Anne theme.
* On [[Faraway Island]], a series of smudged messages, which may have been left by [[Mr. Fuji]], appear on a [[signpost]].
* A boy in [[Lilycove City]] says that he and his family came from the [[Kanto]] region before he asks if there are any Pokémon found only in the [[Hoenn]] region.
* In {{ka|Victory Road}}, there is a small crater where {{p|Moltres}} used to be.

====To Generation II====
* In {{game|Ruby and Sapphire|s}}, the player-controlled character of {{game2|Ruby|Sapphire|Emerald}} is said to have moved at the beginning of the game with his/her family from the [[Johto]] region, the main setting of the Generation II games. In {{game|Emerald}} the character who said this instead states that the player character's family moved there from a faraway place.
* The [[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire beta|beta versions of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire]] contained remastered versions of the themes played on [[Route]]s [[Johto Route 38|38]] and [[Johto Route 39|39]], [[Team Rocket]] encounter, [[Legendary beasts]]' battle, and [[Saffron City]].
* The Oceanic Museum in [[Slateport City]] has two water samples, one of which is from Johto.
* A man in [[Mt. Moon]] says that [[Brock]] sometimes helps excavate [[fossil]]s there. This explains how he acquires the {{p|Kabutops}} and {{p|Omastar}} which he uses in the second generation of games.
* At the [[Cerulean Cape]], a dame says [[Misty]] has high hopes about the location, which is known as a famous dating spot. In the second generation of games, she is first encountered there with an unknown male character.
* [[Janine]], [[Koga]]'s daughter and future [[Gym Leader|Leader]] of [[Fuchsia Gym]], appears in [[Fuchsia City]], and tells the player that she is training to use {{t|Poison}} Pokémon like her father. She is misnamed as Charine in the English translation of FireRed and LeafGreen, however.
* The branch of [[Team Rocket]] in the [[Sevii Islands]] seems to be the same branch which attempted to revive Team Rocket during Generation II, with plans to use magnetic waves to evolve Pokémon. Their lead scientist also tells that [[Giovanni]]'s child has red hair, a reference to {{ga|Silver}}.
* One of [[Professor Oak]]'s assistants will state that he is to get a [[Professor Oak's Pokémon Talk|radio show]] sometime in the near future.
* [[Celio]] mentions that some members of [[Bill]]'s family live in [[Goldenrod City]].
* A woman on [[Boon Island]] in [[Bruno]]'s section of the [[Fame Checker]] mentions the [[RageCandyBar]].
* A kid in [[Indigo Plateau]] in [[Lance]]'s section of the [[Fame Checker]] says he has a [[Clair|cousin who is a Gym Leader]] [[Blackthorn City|somewhere far away]].
* [[Whitney]], [[Jasmine]] and [[Pryce]] lookalikes appear as audience members in {{pkmn|Contest}}s.
* The man who digs [[Three Isle Path]] and gives the player a Nugget says that he'd like to buy a house in [[Kanto]]. He likely is the same person who gives away a Nugget in [[Generation II]] in his house on {{rt|2|Kanto}}.
* The themes used on the [[Sevii Islands]] are remastered versions of the routes around [[Mahogany Town]] as well as remastered versions of {{ci|Violet}}/[[Olivine City]] and [[Azalea Town]]/[[Blackthorn City]].
* In Mt. Battle, there is an {{p|Abra}} that will {{m|Teleport}} players to the entrance. In the Generation II games, the player can use an Abra at [[Indigo Plateau]] to Teleport [[New Bark Town|home]].

===Generation IV===
====To Generation I====
* [[Professor Rowan]] is said to have developed the [[List of Pokémon by Sinnoh Pokédex number|Sinnoh Pokédex]] with help from [[Professor Oak|a Pokémon professor from Kanto]].
* Professor Oak himself comes to [[Sinnoh]] to give the player the [[National Pokédex]], and can always be found in a house in [[Eterna City]] thereafter. He gives the player an {{DL|Evolution-inducing held item|Up-Grade}}, which was sent to Oak by his acquaintance from [[Kanto]].
* In the [[gate]] east of [[Canalave City]] is a guard who complains that he is thirsty, like the guards in Kanto who will allow the {{player}} to enter [[Saffron City]] if they are brought a drink. Unlike those guards, however, this one does not do anything if brought a drink.
* One of the [[Elite Four]], [[Bertha]], shares a similar name (in Japanese and English) and design to [[Agatha]]. It is possible they are related, or that Bertha was at least modeled after Agatha.
* {{tc|Black Belt}} Eddie from {{si|Victory Road}} mentions that he trained in [[Fighting Dojo]] at {{ci|Saffron}}.
* In [[Amity Square]], some Pokémon may be let out of their [[Poké Ball]] to follow their Trainer around. One of the few available is {{p|Pikachu}}, which did the same (however, throughout the game) in {{game|Yellow}}.
* [[Bebe]]'s buddy [[Bill]] is mentioned to have developed the basic storage system.
* Part of the Veilstone Game Corner music is a techno remix of the Rocket Game Corner music.
* One of {{ga|Lucas}}'s alternate names was Ash in the English versions of {{game|Diamond and Pearl|s}}. This is one of the default names of {{ga|Red}} in the games {{game2|Red|Blue|Yellow}}, {{2v2|FireRed|LeafGreen}}. It may even be a reference to the {{pkmn|anime}}'s [[Ash Ketchum|main character]].
[[File:Nostalgic Wallpaper.png|thumb|Wallpaper]]
* As a direct tribute to the original games, one of the wallpapers has been designed to resemble the design of the [[route]]s of the first games, complete with the graphics and sprites when the games are played on the [[Game Boy]]. The wallpaper showcases typical features like both types of fences, low and high [[Tall grass|grass]], normal ground, a [[sign]] and a house.
* As {{game|HeartGold and SoulSilver|s}} are remakes of {{game|Gold and Silver|s}}, the references present in the original games to Generation I return.
* During a special {{p|Celebi}} event, the character will, in fact, travel in time back to shortly after {{ga|Red}} has defeated [[Giovanni]]. Giovanni tells his {{ga|Silver|son}} that he has decided to disband [[Team Rocket]]. Afterwards, he will run towards the [[Johto]] region and is found in a cave. When the player has defeated him, he will make a remark that the player reminds him of the boy that made him disband the team in the first place.
* In HeartGold and SoulSilver, a man mentions that Professor Oak once said there were 150 Pokémon, the amount known during Generation I, although there are now almost 500 (which appears to imply that all the games, or at least the remakes, take place at the same time as Generation IV).

====To Generation II====
* A news report of a [[red Gyarados]] begins {{game|Diamond and Pearl|s}}. The cameraman who filmed the documentary appears at the [[Survival Area]].
** In {{v2|Platinum}}, the game instead begins with a report about Professor Rowan. However, the cameraman from the red Gyarados report is seen blocking the entrance to [[Lake Valor]], hoping to get a shot of the {{p|Azelf|legendary Pokémon}} said to live there.
* A man, who gives the player a {{p|Happiny}} {{pkmn|egg}} in {{2v2|Diamond|Pearl}}, says that [[Professor Elm]] announced that eggs kept [[party|with a Trainer]] will eventually hatch.
* [[Jasmine]], one of Johto's [[Gym Leader]]s, appears to give the player {{HM|07|Waterfall}} and participates in Sinnoh's {{pkmn|Super Contest}}s.
* A man in [[Valor Lakefront]] states that he would like to see a {{p|Lugia|silver-colored Pokémon}} that resides in the [[Whirl Islands]], a {{p|Ho-Oh|rainbow-colored Pokémon}} that resides in the [[Bell Tower|Tin Tower]], and {{p|Clefairy}} [[Days of the week#Monday|dancing]] in [[Mt. Moon]] sometime during his life.
* A {{tc|Ninja Boy}} on {{Rt|210|Sinnoh}} near [[Celestic Town]] says he wants to train with a [[Janine|ninja]] [[Gym Leader]] in a faraway land.
* {{tc|Dragon Tamer}} Hayden on {{rt|224|Sinnoh}} mentions that he left the [[Dragon's Den]] several years ago.
* The [[Poké Ball]] design on the floor of the Sinnoh Pokémon Centers is colored {{game|Gold and Silver|s|gold and silver}}. Park Balls are also colored gold and silver, and the normally black stripe in the middle is actually a light blue, {{game|Crystal||crystal}}-like color.
* {{tc|Dragon Tamer}} Geoffrey on {{rt|225|Sinnoh}} mentions a [[Lance|Dragon Tamer Champion]].
* The {{p|Eevee}} which [[Bebe]] gives to the player was obtained originally from her [[Bill|friend]] in [[Johto]].
* [[Cynthia]], who somehow was able to obtain it (possibly from Jasmine, since she is in Sinnoh), gives the [[SecretPotion]], the medicine from [[Cianwood City]] that cured [[Amphy]] in [[Generation II]], to the player to cure the group of {{p|Psyduck}} blocking {{rt|210|Sinnoh}}.
* In [[Stargazer Colosseum]] in [[Pokémon Battle Revolution]], some of the Pokémon in the last battle depend on which game is linked to the Wii. If Diamond is linked, one of the Pokémon is {{p|Ho-Oh}}, Gold's [[version mascot]], and if Pearl is linked, one of the Pokémon is {{p|Lugia}}, Silver's version mascot.
* When a {{shiny}} {{p|Clefairy}} appears during a slot game in [[Veilstone Game Corner]], a remixed version of [[Mt. Moon Square]] music from {{3v2|Gold|Silver|Crystal}} is played.
* In Pokémon Platinum, one of the women in the basement floor of the [[Veilstone Department Store]] mentions that the store is sold out of [[RageCandyBar]]s, the local specialty in [[Mahogany Town]].
* In HeartGold and SoulSilver, the [[Gym guide]] of [[Vermilion Gym]] states that the gym's traps were temporarily out of order, a reference to Gold, Silver, and Crystal.
* In the Pokégear's description of [[Cerulean Cave]], it states that the cave had collapsed.
* A Hiker in the {{rt|3|Kanto}} [[Pokémon Center]] states that the Pokémon Center didn't exist when he was climbing the mountain, which is only true in [[Generation II]].

====To Generation III====
* A man in [[Hearthome City]], who says he is from the [[Hoenn]] region, will show the player to the [[Contest Hall]], a feature originally introduced in Hoenn.
* A man in [[Valor Lakefront]] states that he would like to see a rocket launch from the Space Center in [[Mossdeep City]] sometime during his life.
* A woman in Valor Lakefront claims to have lost her Suite Key. If the player finds it near the [[Hotel Grand Lake]] using the {{DL|Pokétch|Dowsing Machine}}, she will offer a reward of one {{DL|Status ailment healing item|Lava Cookie}}, a specialty of Hoenn, possibly implying that her home is in that region.
* A {{tc|Swimmer}} south of the Valor Lakefront says she would like to vacation in [[Hoenn]] because it has more routes on which to {{m|Surf}}.
* A woman west of [[Pastoria City]] used to work at the [[Weather Institute]] of Hoenn and will give out [[weather conditions|weather]]-changing [[TM]]s for [[Shard]]s.
* An old woman living at the base of [[Stark Mountain]] acts in the same way that another woman does on {{rt|111|Hoenn}} in Hoenn, insisting that the player keep healing his or her Pokémon with her in a creepy manner. Strangely, they both also live just north of a sandstorm-ridden desert.
* A Swimmer north of [[Sunyshore City]] wishes to visit Hoenn's seas.
* A {{tc|Socialite}} in the Valor Lakefront restaurant will occasionally mention the sauce of her dish was made from spicy [[Cheri Berry|Cheri Berries]] with a Hoenn-style recipe.
* {{tc|Bird Keeper}} Audrey on {{rt|225|Sinnoh}} says she was born in [[Hoenn]].
* A woman in the {{Si|Battle Tower}} claims to have been from Hoenn, where another {{Ho|Battle Tower}} presides. In Platinum, her reference could mean either the Battle Tower itself or the {{gdis|Battle Frontier|III}} that is present in Hoenn. 
* A catalog in [[Rad Rickshaw]]'s Cycle Shop in [[Eterna City]] advertises the [[Mach Bike]] and [[Acro Bike]].
* In [[Stargazer Colosseum]] in {{g|Battle Revolution}}, some of the Pokémon in the last battle depend on which game is linked to the Wii. If Diamond is linked, one of the Pokémon is {{p|Kyogre}}, Sapphire's [[version mascot]], and if Pearl is linked, one of the Pokémon is {{p|Groudon}}, Ruby's version mascot.
* The [[Meister|fourteen foreign Pokédex entries]] in Diamond and Pearl are all from the respective translated versions of {{game3|FireRed and LeafGreen|Pokémon LeafGreen|s}}.
* In {{game|Platinum}}, the {{DL|Legendary artifacts|Adamant Orb}} and {{DL|Legendary artifacts|Lustrous Orb}} are required to summon {{p|Dialga}} and {{p|Palkia}}, much like the {{DL|Legendary artifacts|Red Orb}} and {{DL|Legendary artifacts|Blue Orb}} were required to summon Groudon and Kyogre. 
* In {{game|HeartGold and SoulSilver|s}}, many buildings and lengths of most Routes and areas in [[Kanto]] are heavily based on [[Generation III]] Kanto rather than [[Generation II]] Kanto. Furthermore, many areas and other aspects not present in the Generation II Kanto have returned in order to resemble the Generation III Kanto more closely.
* [[Mr. Pokémon]] is said to have gotten the {{DL|Legendary artifacts|Red Orb}} or {{DL|Legendary artifacts|Blue Orb}} from a friend in [[Hoenn]].
* [[Steven Stone]], Hoenn's former champion, is present in [[Vermilion City]], and will speak of [[Eon duo|a strange Hoenn-native Pokémon]] that has been reported {{pkmn2|roaming}} [[Kanto]].
** He also appears in the [[Silph Co.]] building in [[Saffron City]] after the player defeats [[Red (game)|Red]] and gives the [[Player character|player]] one of the [[Hoenn]] region's starter Pokémon.
* When the player first encounters [[Bill]] in the [[Pokémon Center]] in [[Ecruteak City]], he will mention that [[Lanette]] from [[Hoenn]] helped him develop the [[Pokémon Storage System]].

===Generation V===
====To Generation I====
* The [[Pokémon Center]]'s theme is a direct remix from the original theme from {{game|Red and Blue|s}}.
* {{ga|Blue}}'s theme as [[Kanto]] {{pkmn|Champion}} is remixed in the final battles of official competitions.
*After a {{tc|Swimmer}} in [[Undella Bay]] is defeated, he claims he will challenge [[Gym Leader]]s all over the world, then asks where he can find {{type|Water}} [[gym]]s, asking for confirmation that they're in [[Cerulean Gym|Kanto]], [[Sootopolis Gym|Hoenn]], and [[Pastoria Gym|Sinnoh]].
* A {{tc|Black Belt}} in the [[Icirrus Gym]] says that he trained in a [[Fighting Dojo]] in [[Kanto]]. 
* An {{tc|Ace Trainer}} aboard the [[Royal Unova]] mentions that she is from the [[Kanto]] region. 

====To Generation II====
* [[Shauntal]] mentions the {{DL|List of key items in Generation II|Silver Wing}} and the {{DL|List of key items in Generation II|Rainbow Wing}} in one of her conversations at Caitlin's Villa. These are the main items used to summon {{p|Lugia}} and {{p|Ho-Oh}}, respectively.
* The lone {{tc|Team Rocket Grunt}} who stole the {{DL|List of key items in Generation II|Machine Part}} from Kanto's [[Power Plant]] is revealed to live in [[Unova]]. He says that while he had planned to revive [[Team Rocket]], soon after returning [[Icirrus City|home]] he fell in love and then married.
* The [[RageCandyBar]] returns. The wife of the Ex-Team Rocket Grunt, as well as [[Professor Juniper]], gives the RageCandyBar to the player. The wife mentions that the candy is the favorite sweet of one of her husband's past coworkers in Team Rocket.
* Team Rocket's [[Goldenrod Radio Tower|Radio Tower]] takeover theme can be heard in the [[Game Freak]] headquarters in [[Castelia City]].
* When Mr. Locke opens the [[Lock Capsule]], he also finds a letter that explains that [[TM95]] has been kept hidden from Team Rocket.
* {{p|Zorua}} is said to have waited for {{p|Celebi}} for a long time.
* According to one of the Plasma Grunts in [[N's Castle]], "[[Team Galactic]] and [[Team Rocket]] drew too much attention to themselves. That's why their plans were thwarted."
* A lady at [[Village Bridge]] references the [[Pokéathlon]] as a very popular competition in [[Johto]].
* A {{tc|Clerk ♂|Clerk}} aboard the [[Royal Unova]] mentions that he came from [[Johto]] for a business trip. 

====To Generation III====
*A guy in the [[Desert Resort]] will mention that he doesn't need [[Go-Goggles]] to go through the sandstorm there, a reference to how they were needed to do so in [[Hoenn]].
* Some of the themes, such as [[N]]'s final battle theme, the [[Team Plasma]] battle theme, and the [[Elite Four]] theme have segments of [[Hoenn]] themes in them.
* {{tc|The Riches}}, the family who offers their own battle challenge to the [[player]], may be compared to the [[Winstrate family]] in {{game2|Ruby|Sapphire|Emerald}}.
* Returning to the former [[HM]] {{m|Dive}}, which is required to access [[Abyssal Ruins]], may be paralled with the [[underwater]] in [[Hoenn]].
*In [[Undella Town]], two residents that reside there during the summer mention that they came from the Hoenn region for a vacation. One of them also mentions [[Steven Stone]]. 

====To Generation IV====
* In [[Nacrene Gym]], the book called "Sweets for Pokémon" describes [[Poffin]]s and mentions that they are made in the [[Sinnoh]] region.
* [[Caitlin]] of the {{DL|Battle Frontier (Generation IV)|Battle Castle}} appears as an [[Elite Four]] member in [[Unova]]. She references her prior inability to battle, and mentions the Battle Castle's presence in [[Sinnoh]] and [[Johto]].
* [[Looker]] appears in search of the [[Seven Sages]] of [[Team Plasma]].
* [[Cynthia]] will meet the player at Caitlin's Villa in [[Undella Town]] after getting the [[National Pokédex]]. The player will be able to battle her in Spring and Summer.
** In addition to this, after defeating her in a battle for the first time, she will mention that the player looked like the {{ga|Lucas|Tra}}{{ga|Dawn|iner}} who faced {{p|Giratina}}.
* According to one of the Plasma Grunts in [[N's Castle]], "[[Team Galactic]] and [[Team Rocket]] drew too much attention to themselves. That's why their plans were thwarted."
* Shauntal mentions the [[Distortion World]] in one of her conversations at Caitlin's Villa. She states that {{p|Giratina|the only Pokémon living in the Distortion World}} was spectacular.
* Before her rematch, Shauntal quotes a line about [[Volkner]], which comes from her novel.
* A man who gives away [[Fossil]]s everyday at [[Twist Mountain]] said that when the player looks carefully and digs at the walls of empty places like caves, the player will find many different kinds of items such as Fossils, a reference on how the player can dig up different kinds of items, especially Fossils, at the [[Sinnoh]] region's [[The Underground|underground]].
* {{tc|Ace Trainer}} Henry aboard the [[Royal Unova]] mentions that he is from the [[Sinnoh]] region.
* Upon meeting Skyla for the first time, she tells Cedric, "You are talking like places like Kanto and Sinnoh are right around the corner!"

==Related articles==
*[[List of cross-canon references]]

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