List of references to Pokémon in popular culture

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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 even a specific Pokémon). This list 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

Main article: List of references to Pokémon in 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 [sic] for so long due to a combination of features".
• Alistra pikachu is a species of spider described by Yejie Lin and Shuqiang Li in 2021, named after Pikachu due to its yellow appearance. Another species of spider, Epicratinus pikachu, was named after Pikachu due to the female's epigynum resembling Pikachu's face.
• Bulbasaurus phylloxyron is a species of dicynodonts (precursors to early mammals) discovered in January 2017. Although officially named after the bulbous shape of its nose rather than the Pokémon Bulbasaur, the scientist who named the species made several references to Pokémon on Twitter while presenting it, noting that the similarity in name "may not be entirely coincidental." In addition, phylloxyron literally means "Razor Leaf".
• Binburrum articuno, Binburrum zapdos, and Binburrum moltres are three species of beetles found in different parts of Australia, first described in 2020 and named after the three legendary birds of Kanto to reflect their rarity.
• Chilicola charizard is a species of stem-nesting bee, which received its name in May 2016. The discoverer, Spencer K. Monckton, was inspired to name the species after Charizard thanks to its mountainous habitat and the orange coloration found in the first specimen he observed.
• Dicranocentrus pikachu is a species of springtail described in 2017 and named after Pikachu.
• Hedruris dratini is a species of nematode whose adults parasitize on the stomachs of freshwater turtles. Although the paper describing H. dratini officially states that its specific name "is an arbitrary combination of two words (dra = dragon; tini = tiny)", the Twitter account for the Journal of Helminthology (in which the paper is published) nonetheless acknowledged that the species is named after the dragon Pokémon Dratini.
• Hiperantha pikachu is a species of beetle first described in 2021. It is named after Pikachu because its elytra are yellow with black tips, similar to Pikachu's ears.
• Nocticola pheromosa is a species of cockroach first discovered in Singapore and described in 2023 by entomologists Foo Maosheng and Cristian C. Lucañas. According to Foo, he and his collaborator are both Pokémon fans, and the cockroach was named after Pheromosa due to both having similar features, such as long antennae, hood-like wings, and long slender legs.
• Parapharyngodon politoedi is a species of nematode that parasitizes on the intestines of tree frogs, described in 2018 and named after frog Pokémon Politoed.
• Pikachurin is a protein discovered by Japanese researches in Osaka Bioscience Institute in 2008, which is essential in interactions between cells that carry electrical impulses from the eyes to the brain. The name refers to the Pokémon Pikachu and its "lightning-fast moves".
• 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.
• Rathalos treecko (formerly Anyphaena treecko prior to 2022), Anyphaena grovyle, and Anyphaena sceptile are three species of spiders described by Yejie Lin and Shuqiang Li in 2021. The species are named after Treecko, Grovyle, and Sceptile due to their forest habitat.
• Stentorceps weedlei is the scientific classification of a species of wasp, named after Weedle due to its distinctive feature of having a spike in the middle of its head.

Television

Series	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 3: 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" and "a [EXPLETIVE] ice cream cone" (referencing older fans' distaste for the designs of Klink and 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."
Close Enough	Prank War	Bridgette and Emily are walking at night, when a silhouette of a man behind them says "I'm going to catch you, I'm going to catch you." The man gets closer, revealing himself, holding his cellphone, and then asks if anyone seen a Poliwrath, to which Emily replies that nobody plays that game anymore.
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 House	Perils of Paranoia	During a diagnostic at the patient's home, Dr House says "Which is why Arceus created the universe with 3 states of matter and 300 solid or liquid poisons that could cause his symptoms".
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.
Early Edition	Fatal Edition: Part 1	While Gary Hobson is in court, he receives the next day Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. On the paper, the title of the bottom left article is "Pokémon craze includes [hidden] cons."	200px
ER	And in the End...	A patient says "I am the chosen one, come to be known as Lugia."
Family Guy	Multiple episodes	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.
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!")
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.
High School 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.
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" (a mashup of Grey's Anatomyand various anime series) where a Pikachu-like character known as Checkaflu is used as a defribilator; there also is a sketch in the episode Cliffordfield / Big Time Rushmore features a skit titled "Rejected Pokémon", and in another episode, "Pokémon Park" (a Pokémon-based spoof of Jurassic Park). Other sketches have included "Big League Pika-Chew" (an advertisement for chewing gum made from shredded Pikachu), "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.
Paradise PD	Top Cops The Shartist	In Top Cops, Bullet tries to get back the money he lost by selling a knockoff Pokémon Card, of Detective Bullshit. In The Shartist, Hobbson asks how he can "fuck a Pokémon". After being tricked into having his mind uploaded to a smartphone, he is in someone's Pokémon GO game having sex with a Squirtle.
Rick and Morty	Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri Final Desmithation Mort: Ragnarick	Rick tosses a couple of capsules that look like Poké Balls, and two creatures pop out and attack each other. In Final Desmithation, Rick is fighting the employees of a fortune cookie factory where the fortunes become true. When Rick encounters one who controls Fire, and another who controls water, he decides maybe he "can Pokémon this shit." In Mort: Ragnarick, Rick had apparently trapped Bigfoot in a Poké Ball. Rick later uses it to catch the Pope (with a retro jingle upon success), calls it a "Popey Ball", and later sends him out to get beaten by a monster from someone else's Poké Ball.
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 the Good Witch of the North from The Wizard of Oz, and she is used to fight a Blastoise. In Sundancer Craig in: 30% of the Way to Crying, there is a short sketch where Tim Goodman is questioned on how he can understand Detective Pikachu, and after he is asked what Detective Pikachu is saying, Detective Pikachu tells Tim to kill John Lennon. In Max Caenen in: Why Would He Know if His Mother's A Size Queen, an exterminator finds a dead Pikachu underneath a homeowner's sink. He says to the homeowner: "There's 802 of them, you gotta catch 'em all."
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.
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.
South Park	Chinpokomon	Debuting in the self-titled episode Chinpokomon, the Chinpokomon anime, toys, and video games are a clear parody of Pokémon, which was in the midst of its peak in popularity in 1999 (the year the episode debuted). In the episode, the merchandise, marketed with the slogan "I've Got To Buy It!" is actually a ruse concocted by the Japanese government to convert American children into anti-American child soldiers. The Chinpokomon would later reappear in the video game South Park: The Stick of Truth, and a future reference in the form of "Chinpokomon GO" makes an appearance in the game South Park: The Fractured But Whole, as part of Wendy/Call Girl's special attack. The Chinpokomon creatures seen include Chu-Chu Nezumi, Furrycat, Donkeytron, Pengin, Lambtron, Roo-Stor, Gophermon, Stegmata, Pterdaken, Ferasnarf, Poodlesaurus Rex, Monkay, Mouse-tik, Fatdactyl, and Shoe, among others. Some even bear resemblance to existing Pokémon (such as Furrycat's resemblance to Meowth, Pterdaken's resemblance to Charmeleon, Stegmata's resemblance to Wartortle, Ferasnarf's resemblance to Jolteon, and Fatdactyl's resemblance to Pikachu). In addition, Kenny McCormick, fitting in with his trend of being killed off in almost every episode, suffers a seizure while playing the Chinpokomon video game (a reference to the infamous EP038 incident), and remains catatonic until the end of the episode, where a cluster of rats burst out of his dead, motionless body.
Strip Mall	Multiple episodes	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 says to her: "sorry about the Pokémon duvet".
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya	Endless Eight II	In the scene where Nagato is buying a mask at the festival, different masks refer to different anime and tokusatsu. Among them five resemble Pokémon: Chimchar, Turtwig, Piplup, and two Pikachu masks.
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.
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.
W.I.T.C.H.	Season 2 Opening (Non-American)	In the European opening for the second season, Will's bedroom wallpaper features the Generation III first partner Pokémon Treecko, Torchic, and Mudkip.

Film

Movie	Details	Image
Miracle in Toyland	When Jesse walks in shame following Gabriella's departure from Toyland, one of the shelves adjacent to him has a Pikachu doll atop it.
Paper Towns	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.
See Spot Run	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	There were many instances of Pokémon referenced throughout the film. The first, David shows Margot on Facetime his Pokémon 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.

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	The Pokémon Pikachu item is based on the Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS and is used primarily for villager favors. Telling a specific password to Tom Nook will allow him to give the player this item as well, 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.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp	From Octctober 12 to 23, 2018, a Poké Ball Scavenger Hunt event occurred where players could collect Poké Balls and use them to craft Eevee-themed furniture and clothing from the Eevee Set. Likewise, in the scrapbook episode "Welcome to Judyland", Merry upon discovering Judy's hot air balloon says "Whoa, a hot-air balloon! Did you become an anime villain while I wasn't looking?", referring to Jessie, James, and Meowth's frequent usage of a hot air balloon.
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.Related challenge is called "Poke Mans", which comes from "Pokémon". 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. Repentance adds a new item called TMTRAINER, which looks like a glitched version of Isaac's head, and causes all items picked up after to become "glitched" and have random combinations of 2 or 3 other items. It also causes the music to fade out until another music track plays.
Catherine	An unused original cover of the Battle! (Wild Pokémon) theme from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl is hidden within the game's files.
Coromon	This indie game pays homage to the Pokémon series and the classic JRPG genre. Some of the higher difficulty settings like "catching one Coromon per area" are a direct reference to the Nuzlocke Challenge. On the upper floor of Pawbury's Trainer Hub, there's an NPC named Ashton that resembles Ash Ketchum. Potent and Perfect Coromon have a sparkling animation when encountered like Shiny Pokemon, the colors determines their Potential which ranges from 1 to 21.
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair	One of the achievements for the game is Gotta Raise 'Em All!, a reference to Pokémon's old slogan. The achievement is obtained by raising all the pets in the e-Handbook at least once. In Island Mode, Gundham Tanaka states he is not very effective against "water-types."
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony	In Angie Yonaga's Love Across the Universe event, she greets Shuichi Saihara by saying Alola and then asking him out on a date. Alola is a greeting used in the Alola region in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon.
Deltarune	During the Spamton Sweepstakes event, there's a story involving Noelle Holiday obtaining a white egg that cannot be removed which is similar to the Bad Egg in the Pokémon series.
Destiny 2	The "Investigative Dance" emote grants hologram ears to the user, and mimics a dance performed by Detective Pikachu in a promotional video for the movie POKÉMON Detective Pikachu. Interestingly, the dance is not original to Detective Pikachu - instead, the promotional video is itself referencing a Key & Peele comedy skit, performing the same motions and using a similar fitness gym setting.
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."
Dragon City	The Air Dragon (originally named Wind Dragon until the v.9.4 update) is a legendary Dragon that resembles Lugia in its young and adult forms. It is available via breeding and the shop for 2500 gems. The Nenufar Dragon is a common Dragon that looks similar to Bulbasaur and its evolutions.
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.
Enter the Gungeon	The item Macho Brace and the gun Life Orb are based on the given Pokémon items, while the item Helix Bullets references Twitch Plays Pokémon.
Epic Battle Fantasy series	This series of RPG games contains various references to Pokémon including but not limited to legendary giants appearing in the first game, achievements referencing the HMs in fourth game, or slime enemies resembling Pichu, Pikachu or Dedenne in the fifth game. In the Steam re-release of the first game, the references in the first game were made far less blatant to avoid copyright infringement.
Fate/Grand Order	While visiting a resort, the player character is offered to have some rice balls, but the character making the offer begins to say "jelly do-" before correcting themselves. This is in nod to the infamous claim of rice balls being jelly doughnuts back in Primeape Goes Bananas.
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.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	There is a store in East Beach, Los Santos called Juguetes Regalos that has vector art of Ash Ketchum, Squirtle, and Pikachu on its store sign. However, the vector art was replaced in The Definitive Edition of the game.
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.
Harvest Moon 64	If Kai and Karen are married, they will eventually have a child wearing a Pikachu hat.
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 Ōgon Bat reference instead), which is a reference to the item Repel. The flavor text of card "Fossil Fanatic" is "Praise Lord Helix!", which is a reference to Twitch Plays Pokémon meme about Helix Fossil. Its Japanese flavor text is "こういうものには つかいどきが　あるのじゃ！"(literal translation: This can be used (somewhere else)!; corresponding quote in English game: This isn't the time to use that!),which is a reference to Professor Oak's quote when using item at the wrong time. The flavor text of card "Fan Club" is "Well that was weird. Yeah, I just walked up to the president of the fan club, he blabbered on for like 10 minutes, and then gave me a bike voucher..."(Japanese:いったい何だったんだろう？その、ファンクラブの会長に近づいたら、10分くらい自慢話を聞かされて、その後なぜか自転車の引換券をもらったんだ…), which is a reference to the Pokémon Fan Club Chairman who giving out Bike Voucher in Kanto. The flavor text of card "Flame Revenant" is "4x weak to water."(Japanese:4倍弱点: 水), which is a reference to the type effectiveness in Pokémon games. in this case, Flame Revenant should be dual-type Fire/Ground or Fire/Rock.
Hidden Folks	On the camping level, one of the things to find is "Pika" a reference to Pikachu.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1	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 Party 1 and 2, 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". The blue variant of the Axolotl mob was suggested by user Darkiceflame on the Minecraft's Suggestion Box Reddit community, as a reference to Mudkip, and it was added to the game in Minecraft v1.17.
Monster Legends	Thunder Eagle and Raydex has a very similar design to Zapdos. Flawless is the second creature from a Socialpoint game (the first being the Air Dragon from Dragon City) that is inspired by Lugia. Turtle and Shock Turtle mostly resembles Lapras despite their names being related to the Testudines species. Electrex is a rock monster that resemble Onix. Gigram's adult form looks similar to Arcanine. Azte's skill "Cazte'm All" is a reference to the catchphrase "Gotta catch'em all".
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 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.
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.
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.
Rocket League	An AI team that the player can come across when being randomly matched will be Team Rocket.
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 Beowulf has an alternate costume based on Incineroar (as both are wrestlers).	—
Sonic Mania	An achievement in the game is called "Gotta Catch em' All".	—
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. In the North American localization, during the Stage News segment of Inkopolis News, when the Moray Towers were announced as one of the two current multiplayer stages, Callie would reference type effectiveness, while Marie would use a snowclone of the first line of the first verse of the Pokémon Theme.
Splatoon 3	To celebrate release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, a special Splatfest was held in this game from November 12, 2022 to November 14, 2022. The Splatfest was between Team Grass, Team Fire, and Team Water, with Team Water being the winner.
StreetPass Mii Plaza	One of the puzzles distributed through SpotPass was for Pokémon X and Y and depicts Xerneas and Yveltal.
Super Mario Galaxy	Above the Buoy Base Galaxy, there's a planet filled with water shaped like a Poké Ball.
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.
Terraria	The Lightning Carrot is a pet item available for purchase from the Zoologist after completing 50% of the Bestiary. When used, it summons a Volt Bunny pet whose appearance and movements resemble those of Pikachu.
Touhou LostWord	An event titled "Capsule Crazy Gensokyo" features a nod to Pokémon battles, using Fabricated Maidens in place of Pokémon. Other references include a nod to the "light years" line from a Pewter gym trainer, types, and special capsules to contain each Maiden.
Transformice	The modules Surble, Micemon and Pokelua are based on Pokémon.	—
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	In the German version of the game, if Link talks to Zelda as a child wearing the keaton mask, Zelda will wonder whether Link is a Pokémon, perhaps due to the mask's resemblance to Pikachu.
Wario Land 3	A treasure based on a Pokémon Pikachu is a Pocket Pet, a treasure in the Green Chest that is located in the level The Big Bridge; however, the player cannot interact with it.
World of Warcraft	World of Warcraft contains several notable references to the Pokémon franchise: The achievement I Choose You, completed by defeating Grand Master Aki in a pet battle. The achievement Got to Ketchum All, completed by using the "Ketchum Tablet" to imprint the names of several hidden snails in Neltharion's Lair. The achievements I Choose You, Runemaster Molgeim, I Choose You, Runemaster Molgeim, and I Choose You, Stormcaller Brundir. The quest "The Very Best", completed by winning 5 PvP pet battles. Trainer Iris Greedsway, has a battle pet named Missing1, a reference to MissingNo., and also has a move known as DATA ERROR, a reference to glitch moves. "Brok <Master Pet Tamer>", a pet battle opponent found on Mount Hyjal. Mootoo the Younger a quest NPC that displays minor psychic abilities during the quest Escaping the Mist, as well as the NPC "Elder Mootoo", likely references to the Psychic-type Pokémon, Mewtwo. A challenger in the Brawler's Guild named Ash'katzuum, who summons various battle pets to attack you with the ability I Pick You! for the duration of the battle. The dungeon enemy The Talking Fish, a giant carp, casts an ability called Splash that causes it to "violently splash around but nothing happens", similar to the Pokémon move Splash.
Yoshi's Story	In the stage Torrential Maze, the name Pikachu can be seen on the walls.

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.
  • Avaturma (2011), a comic book story parodying Avatar, includes several blue characters from games, movies, animated series, etc. Squirtle and Totodile are seen in this comic.
  • In the story "Caramela!" (Panini's Almanaque do Cebolinha #25), the chinchilla Caramela is affectionally referred to as a "Pokémão" at some point.
  • In Geração 12 (Generation 12) issue #2, Smudge plays a Pokémon-based game called "Pokemonstro MMXIX". It includes a battle between two creatures, one of which is named "Charmosander".
  • In Turma da Mônica Jovem (Monica Teen) #51, some flying pigs (from page 102 onwards) resemble Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Chikorita, Psyduck, Jigglypuff, Spoink, Poliwag, and Torchic, as well as other characters such as Totoro, Doraemon, Hello Kitty, and Garu (Pucca character).
• 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. In Chapter 981, a Meltan is seen on Eustass Kid's shoulder.
• In Chapter 350 of the manga series Komi Can't Communicate, a cellphone saleswoman offers Komi the God Phone, which resembles the Arc Phone from Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
• In the novel Coraline, one of the illustrations depicts the head of a creature that strongly resembles Pikachu.

• 

  Character crossover from Avaturma (Monica's Gang comic), including Squirtle

• 

  Character crossover from Avaturma (Monica's Gang comic), including Totodile

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.
• 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.

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".
• The Azealia Banks song "Bitch Is Ill" makes a lewd comparison involving the electricity of a Pikachu.
• 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 three 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; and A Wild Guitar Solo Appears! is about Ash's Pikachu taking up guitar and using it to battle other Pokémon. Additionally, "Welcome to the Mario Party features various Pokémon as guests, and This Song Sucks has a line about "Chokémon" featuring Squirtle trying auto-erotic asphyxiation.
• 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.
• 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."
• In the lyric video for Little Bit by Timeflies, there is the line "road sodas, maybe one or two, need to charge it with a lighting bolt, Pikachu", while showing a gif of Pikachu from the anime.
• The music video for Romeo Must Die from Pi'erre Bourne's album The Life of Pi'erre 4 invokes lots of Pokémon-themed imagery, featuring a battle between Gengar and Hitmonlee. A song on the deluxe edition, 4L, also includes a reference in the line "I feel like Geodude, you ain't hard as me."
• The song ПИКАЧУ by MIA BOYKA & ЕГОР ШИП, is dedicated to the titular Pokémon Pikachu.
• American alternative rock band R.E.M.'s fan-club exclusive single for the 2003 holiday season depicts graffiti of Pikachu on its cover. The band were signed to Warner Bros. Records, whose parent company at the time, Warner Bros. Pictures, were also the US distributors for the Pokémon anime.

Websites

• 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.
• On the virtual pet site Neopets, a Pikachu can be seen on the Gallery of Evil page.
• One of the screensavers included in XScreenSaver is called "JigglyPuff" (sic).
• The Bank of England website states that a shop is within their rights to only accept Pokémon cards as a form of payment.
• The official Chinese wiki for Persona 5: The Phantom X uses the term "Pokedex" in the URL for its page listing the Personas in the game. The term is also used in the HTML code, where the page is referred to as "pokedex-page"

Webcomics

• 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.
• In a comic from Sandra and Woo, Yuna is playing Pokémon Sword while simultaneously playing in a chess tournament. A man tells her that she can't play Pokémon Sword during the chess tournament, although an exception would only be possible for Pokémon Ruby. Yuna's opponent Logan appears hopelessly unable to win against her, and desperately tells the man to let her play as much Pokémon as she wants.
• In Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal:
  • A comic has examples of "realistic Pokémon evolution", based on Darwinian evolution.
  • In another comic, a young girl makes her dad pretend he is a "pink Pikachu" for 7 hours of play. In a bonus panel (accessible by clicking on the red button below the comic), the girl says "Pokémon controls me, and I control you."
  • In another comic, a young girl named Ellen says she will marry Billy because he has 407 Pokémon cards.
  • In the page 221 of the book Science: Ruining Everything Since 1543, one of the children says to their evolution teacher at school: "You can skip this part. We've all played a lot of Pokémon."
• Strip #1147 of xkcd, titled "Evolving", parodies Pokémon evolution by depicting a bacteria evolving into becoming more resistant to the antibiotic methicillin, much to the chagrin of the person observing it.

Web videos

• 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
• 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.
• On The Annoying Orange, in "Marshmallow's Christmas Sock (12 Days Of Christmas)", three Pikachu were some of Marshmallow's gifts. 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).
• 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?"
• 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 to 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.
• Several Pokémon characters made appearances on Battle For Dream Island as recommended characters. Unless otherwise specified, they are all variants of David.
  • Ash and Brock appeared in Vomitaco. Ash is depicted with his signature cap from the original series.
  • Nurse Lily, shown in Bowling, Now with Explosions!, bears resemblance to Nurse Joy.
  • Charmander, Pachirisu, Pikachu, Reshiram, and Zekrom appeared in The Reveal. Pikachu and Reshiram are both crudely drawn, but are not variants of David, while Zekrom is merely a black Reshiram.
  • Pansage and Vileplume appeared in Rescission.
  • Meloetta and Porygon appeared in Gardening Hero. Porygon had the same appearance as the reference Pokémon.
  • Froslass and Shiny Lucario appeared in The Glistening. Shiny Lucario merely has a light reflection and the colors of a regular Lucario.
  • Chandelure (also called "Chandelier") and Eelektross appeared in Don't Pierce My Flesh. Both have the same appearance as the reference Pokémon.
  • In Insectophobe's Nightmare 2, the "One Person Per Recommender Sign" among the crowd says that recommended characters based on real people and copyrighted characters, including Pokémon, would no longer be featured over fear of being sued.
  • Aura Sphere, which first appeared in Return of the Rocket Ship, is based on the move of the same name.
• On Inanimate Insanity Invitational, the name, appearance, and basis of Goo is similar to that of Goomy. One of the show's former staff members, Taylor Grodin, commented that it's "VERY DIRECTLY INTENTIONAL"^[sic].
• There are several references to Pokémon in videos by Porta dos Fundos:
  • In TERRORISMO (English: TERRORISM), Sub-Lieutenant Braga was ordered to safely dispose of a bag that might contain a bomb, while Commander Peçanha was giving instructions on the phone. However, at some point the Commander ordered him to open the Pokémon GO game and search for a Pikachu instead of disposing the bomb. Sub-Lieutenant Braga was not interested in playing the game, but was ordered to do so. It was also said that catching Pikachu was needed to so they could have more Pokémon than 22th Batallion of Pilates. A Dragonite spawned, so the Commander Peçanha instructed him to catch it without letting other people know about it, and further explained that Sub-Lieutenant Braga should use a Razz Berry, throw an Ultra Ball and shout "Gotta catch 'em all!". At the end, a Sergeant from the Pilates Battalion quickly appeared and caught the Dragonite, so Peçanha ordered Braga to use "Thunder Shock", meaning that Braga should shoot that Sergeant. In the post-credits scene, a real terrorist appeared with bombs, but the Sergeant talked with him in a friendly manner and told him to go explode elsewhere because that's the location of his Gym.
  • In SACRIFÍCIO (English: SACRIFICE), some devil worshipers wanted to sacrifice a virgin man. The victim said that he is not virgin, but the devil worshipers argued that only virgins play Pokémon GO. The man further said that he was only trying to catch the Holiday Pikachu.
• 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.

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

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