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== [[Fridge Brilliance]] ==
 
=== The Anime and Movies ===
* [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Tobias This guy] won the Lily of the Valley Conference using multiple legendary Pokémon, when the last time someone caught a legendary [[Pokémon: 2000The (Anime)Movie 2000|it almost caused the end of the world]]<ref>though to be honest, they've never really been consistent with how "legendary" the legendaries are.</ref>. But then I realized: in the games, don't players usually use the [[Olympus Mons|legendaries]] they caught to beat the Elite Four [[Nintendo Hard|relatively]] easily? The entire fiasco could be a [[Take That]] to those sort of players!
** From a less cynical standpoint, the battle is one of the final events that convinces Ash to continue training and head to Unova. People familiar with the plot of ''Pokémon Black and White'' may notice that {{spoiler|you are expected to catch one of the headliner legendaries and use it in battle to resolve the plot}}. Combine this with the mandatory legendary battles in RSE and DPP, and earlier legendary-training characters like Brandon and Noland (ever notice that he uses one of the legendaries that was causing problems in 2000?), and the plot seems to be moving away from the message of the second movie and arguing that responsible and respectful use of legendaries isn't reprehensible. Nobody seems to have a problem with Tobias, after all, and the Heatran user wasn't even brought up. - [[Tropers/Falcon Pain|Falcon Pain]]
*** Well, I imagine it depends on ''which'' legendaries one is capturing. Darkrai, Articuno, etc. probably have multiple members of their species (in the Jap version of ''[[Pokémon Heroes (Anime)|Pokémon Heroes]]'', there's a sequence with ''many'' Latios & Latias), and the legendary birds in the Orange Islands are established as special cases. Catching certain ones - such as [[God|Arceus]] - is insane (at least permanently), but when there are many members such as the Regi trio (Brandon's), having their power under a responsible trainer doesn't seem morally questionable (and despite how people feel about him, Tobias didn't seem like a bad sort). We'll have to see where this goes in the future, though - [[Tropers/Caellach Tiger Eye|Caellach Tiger Eye]]
** This troper had a bit of fridge brilliance regarding the character's choice of dub name (and may possibly imply something about his origins). He's called Tobias, which doesn't sound like the name of a legendary-wielding champion. But it turns out that "Tobias" is also the name of a biblical figure in Hebrew religion- this Tobias went on a journey, guided and protected by the archangel Raphael. And, get this- one of Raphael's patronages is ''nightmares.'' - [[Tropers/Dominus Temporis|Dominus Temporis]]
** It may be a reference to The Battle Tower. As you rack up wins the game does whatever it can to stop you, including using Legendary Pokémon. Now that Ash is getting better and better, the writers are doing whatever they can to stop him, like giving his opponents Legendary Pokémon. - [[Tropers/Fat Pat|Fat Pat]]
*** Except that Ash isn't stronger and he gets dumber with each series, i.e. forgetting how to catch Pokémon in Unova. Infectedglory
**** Well in fairness, it seems there's some kind of ''ridiculous'' contract which declares the first attempted capture in each major Pokémon "series" absolutely ''must'' involve a trainer being inexperienced/stupid. And if Ash's first attempt at a Treecko is any indication, the guy has some [[Ambiguous Disorder]] which causes him to forget basic knowledge (only temporarily, though - it's only in the ''first'' episode that he outright had '''no idea''' how to catch Pokémon. You can also chalk up some of his early slip-ups - especially [[Rant-Inducing Slight|that second battle with Trip]] - to overconfidence. I mean, if Ash's first loss to Trip was mostly due to Zekrom being an (apparent) [[Jerkass God]], then of ''course'' he's not going to think Trip has a perfect strategy to pulverise his entire team. It's not like Ash was ''ever'' one who specialised in pre-planned strategy - this is the guy who often invokes [[Heart Is an Awesome Power]] through his bond of trust with his [[Mons]]. It's not an ideal justification, but it at least makes the series less migrane-inducing. - [[Tropers/Caellach Tiger Eye|Caellach Tiger Eye]]
* Why did that recurring Jigglypuff [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome|suddenly disappear]] after the first Advanced season? Could just be that the joke was getting old... or it could be that that time corresponds to the first time in the game where there are Pokémon ''naturally immune to sleep'', thanks to the abilities Insomnia and Vital Spirit? Jigglypuff's whole purpose for travelling was to find someone who would listen to her song without dozing off, so she probably found some Pokémon with those abilities and sang for them full-time. - Tropers/Stardf29
** True, but some ''on-screen'' resolution for a long-running recurring character would've been nice.
* The message in '"'[[Pokémon: theThe First Movie (Anime)|Pokémon the First Movie]]'' wasn't so much as fighting is bad, but certain types of fighting is bad. Take for example the fight near the end of the first movie. Very gritty and violent, much different compared to the first fight in the beginning where it wasn't so violent.
* I just realized why Gary [[Took a Level In Kindness]]. Gary's based off Blue (or Green), who becomes nicer in Gen 2. He also seems to like Red, who Ash is based on, in HG/SS.
** How's this [[Fridge Brilliance]]? It's ''obvious.''
* The short at the beginning of ''[[Pokémon: theThe First Movie (Anime)|Pokémon the First Movie]]'' climaxes with Charizard stuck in a plastic tunnel with just about every other Pokémon there trying to pull him out, his firebreathing until recently always struck me as being useless until i realised that he was trying to make the tunnel expand even slightly. That Charizard might not be as boneheaded as he looks!
* The first movie struck this troper as poignant, artistically and emotionally, when I was thirteen but I couldn't understand now. Even then it seemed like Mewtwo's use of Pokémon was commenting on something. Many years later, after many viewings of the movie, I finally realized that Mewtwo was consciously deconstructing competitive Pokémon training while also subconsciously seeking to become human, all because of his feelings of a lack of power in his life. I also connected my identification with this struggle to my own issues, but that goes somewhere else.
* Ash not taking any of his previous Pokémon (sans mascot Pikachu) for his Hoenn adventure may seem like a pointless way to have him catch new Pokémon. But considering that players couldn't trade their Pokémon from the first two generations of games to their copies of Ruby and Sapphire, it wouldn't be fair for Ash to do what players couldn't. It seems this logic is broken when Ash doesn't bring over his old Pokémon to Sinnoh, when players were able to bring their GBA Pokémon into the DS games. But, when you consider the fact that access to GBA Pokémon is restricted until players beat the League and get the National Dex, and that Ash uses his old Pokémon for the Sinnoh League tournament, Ash is in a way still emulating when players have access to old Pokémon.
** To add to that last point, Ash usually gets a Pokédex upgrade from the local professor of a new region once he gets there. He already ''has'' the National Dex!
* When I first saw a Japanese preview for ''Arceus and the Jewel of Life'', I was extremely surprised to see the voice actor they chose for the eponymous [[Olympus Mons]]: Akihiro Miwa. The voice fit perfectly, but as for everything else... in hindsight and after research, he may have been the aptest choice possible for the role. He has many traits in common with Arceus: [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|more age than appearances suggest]], [[Drag Queen|ambiguous gender]], golden highlights, high popularity among the other characters despite holding strong beliefs and having some [[Jerkass]] tendencies, [[Nuke'Em|first-hand experience with "judgment" raining down upon a city]]... - [[Tropers/Falcon Pain|Falcon Pain]]
** On a related subject, Arceus's dub voice. A lot of people say it doesn't fit him, and in several ways, it probably doesn't. But rather than discussing that aspect, let's discuss how, when asked who ''should'' have voiced him, a lot of people immediately suggest someone like [[Dan Green]]. The fact is, despite his many roles, Dan has only voiced two legendaries to date. The first was a man-made clone of an existing Pokémon that doesn't speak telepathically and sounds far cuter. The second was an illusion created by the Unown, based upon a little girl's memories, and the creature they emulated merely roars. The logical conclusion is apt, not only for the show, but also for the fanbase. Dan Green is not what legendary Pokémon sound like. Dan Green is what humans think legendary Pokémon ''should'' sound like. - [[Tropers/Falcon Pain|Falcon Pain]]
*** You just gave this troper a [[Fridge Brilliance]] moment as well. Both of these Pokémon specifically were created by the human mind. Mewtwo by Team Rocket who probably wanted the voice to sound more like the way he speaks and Entei by Molly Hale who was reminded as her father, plus Entei would sound like that as far as humans would like it to be.
**** I don't know what you mean by "wanted the voice to sound more like the way he speaks" (such as if the "he" in what I quoted was Dan Green or Mewtwo), but that ''is'' the voice Mewtwo projects psychically. If [[Dan Green]] (or Philip Bartlett's Majestic Voice Mode) is how humans think Legendaries should sound, and Mewtwo was created by/raised by humans, maybe that's how ''Mewtwo'' thinks Legendaries should sound. -[[Tropers/JET 73 L|JET 73 L]]
* I'm still not sure how I should be reacting to this one, but it clicked after seeing the entry for Brock on the [[Lovable Sex Maniac]] page... I never really thought twice about that - it was business as usual, after the third episode he was in- but now that I've looked back over the Indigo League, it makes a strange amount of sense. What was Brock's motivation during that saga? To be the world's best Pokémon ''breeder''.
** Another theory is possible. When Brock was growing up, he had to devote all his time to either running the Gym or taking care of his own family; he had no time for himself. How old is Brock supposed to be? Fifteen. Meaning he missed out on the beginning years of puberty doing the work that should have belonged to his father. His outrageous pursuit of women is two or three teenager years exploding at once.
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** Okay, so where did Brock get the Metal Coat?
*** Forrest probably had it and gave it to Onix, since the anime already established that Pokemon who evolve by a specific evolutionary item need only to hold that item to evolve.
* This is almost definitely coincidental, but Gary is an anagram for (the American English spelling of) Gray, and Ash is a shade of gray. Compare Red, Green/Blue, and Green from the games. -[[Tropers/JET 73 L|JET 73 L]]
* In the episode "Purrloin: Sweet or Sneaky?", the titular Pokémon [[Dropped a Bridget On Him|Dropped a Bridget]] on TR's Meowth and Ash's Oshawott. I get why Meowth might be fooled, since he's from Kanto, but what's Oshawott's excuse? ''He's'' Unovan. -[[Tropers/Gamer From Jump|Gamer From Jump]]
** Me again. I always wondered if Team Rocket ever really ''thought'' about the implications of stealing other people's Pokémon. The way I see it, there are two possible outcomes: 1) Every Pokémon, the moment it's released, demands to see its Trainer, and opens up on them when they refuse; 2) Pokémon morality states that "he who holds the ball, makes the rules", which is kinda disturbing.
* Just a silly little thing, but in 'Beheeyem, Duosion and the Dream Thief' the [[Power Trio]]'s reactions to Officer Jenny's entrance make a lot of sense. Iris waves her arms around, Cilan stays (mostly) still, but apologizes profusely, and Ash bows several times in quick succession. It struck me as odd at first, since you often see everybody bow when they apologize for something, but that was in any one of the Japan-based regions, and Unova is based on New York. Unovans wouldn't bow when apologizing, but Ash-- from Kanto, as we all recall-- would and does.
* It would seem random that Ash would catch a Palpitoad. However, the Tympole family it belongs to are considered [[Expy|expies]] of the Poliwag family. So by extension, Palpitoad is an expy of Poliwhirl, which happens to be Satoshi Tajiri's favorite Pokémon and a Pokémon that Red (Ash's ''[[Pokémon Special (Manga)|Pokémon Special]]'' counterpart) had.
* I always wondered why Pikachu never seems to grow in power, until I read this very page and realized something. Pikachu can't get any more powerful, because he can't evolve. Because he never evolved, he never learned better moves, and never got the stat boost becoming a Raichu would give him. Because of his/Ash's lack of foresight in his third (?) gym battle, Pikachu can be defeated by many lower level Pokémon (for example, Cress' Panpour, a ''water'' type, early on in ''Best Wishes'') and is probably lucky to have ever defeated anything better than him.
* In ''Best Wishes'', Team Rocket start off as promoted elite agents wearing black versions of their usual attire and taking orders directly from Giovanni, who was now wearing a black military-stile uniform. As of episode 25, Giovanni became too busy to oversee their missions, so they demoted themselves and switched back to their familiar white uniforms. Who are they working for now? Dr Zager, a guy in a ''white'' lab coat. It fits the ''Black and White'' theme!
* Here's a subtle one - Tepig's [["Well Done, Son" Guy]] tendencies {{spoiler|prior to his evolution}}. While it's understandable that he's have low self-esteem after an abandonment by a previous trainer, having it so bad that even Lenora points out he tries 'really'' hard for Ash stands out (and he's upset when he ties with a Vanillite, even though he battled well). Then come the episode we finally meet his former trainer - who as it turns out, claimed to have left Tepig behind because he felt it would be better for a weak Pokémon to not be forced to battle (hint: he's lying). Suddenly it makes sense - while Ash would never ditch a Pokémon friend even if they had a losing streak, Tepig ''does not believe such a thing exists''. It takes confronting his trainer on the truth to invigorate his self-esteem.
 
=== [[Red,Blue,Green,Yellow,Fire Red And Leaf Green]] ===
 
== [[Red,Blue,Green,Yellow,Fire Red And Leaf Green]] ==
* Lance is infamous for having illegal Dragonite. However, him owning three underleveled Dragonite is ''deliberate''; Lance had been hanging around Mahogany Town a lot, which is precisely where Team Rocket were conducting experiments to make Pokémon evolve. It's taken this troper ''nine years'' to figure that one out.
** His Dragonite also know Barrier, a move which is still impossible for a Dragonite to learn even in Gen IV. His Aerodactyl also knows Rock Slide, which it can't learn.
*** Aerodactyl [http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-dp/142.shtml can learn Rock Slide in Gen IV] with TM80. However, [http://www.serebii.net/attackdex-dp/barrier.shtml You're right that Dragonite can't learn Barrier.]
**** Not even in [[Pokémon Black and White (Video Game)|Gen. V?]]
***** Not even in [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Dragonite#Learnset Gen. V]. Looks like they never noticed?
****** It actually does make sense. In Dragon's Den, you are capable of, through answering a set of questions to the elder correctly, getting a Dratini that knows ExtremeSpeed... which cannot be learned by the Dragonite line. Maybe Lance got one with Barrier instead?
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** Orrrrrrrrr, he just shoved Raticate in the box after it outlasted its usefulness. The rival captures a lot of Pokémon that he doesn't use or care about (over 50 species by the S.S. Anne, for heaven's sake). Not to mention he doesn't ask what it's like to have a Pokémon die. He asks "What are you doing here? Your Pokémon don't look dead to me!" As he says, he's looking for more Pokémon (he leaves since he can't find Marowak), and he's just being a dick to the player.
*** He still has a space in his team, though. Unless he left a space open for a Marowak, then walked all the way back through the tower and across town to put the Cubone in the PC Box just to go back for a Marowak (which I consider a perfectly reasonable assumption if he also went to heal his team), he probably has neither the Raticate nor the Cubone. I still don't see why he would leave a space in his team just so he doesn't have to wait to use his new Marowak if he got stomped to the point of running to a Pokémon Center when trying to catch a Cubone, so Occam's Razor still says he probably only has five Pokémon at that point.
** Lavender Town's Pokémon tower holds mostly Ghost types, right? Raticate's a normal type who can only learn Normal attacks without the use of [[H Ms]]HMs or [[T Ms]]TMs in Generation I. Normal doesn't affect Ghost. The Raticate isn't neccessairilynecessarily _Dead_. Gary may just not want a guaranteed-to-fail on him, opting to keep the space open because the other Pokémon are too weak to contend with this area's wild Pokémon, and that a freshly captured one would fit well; with the idea in the player's head that they caused his Raticate's death instilling a guilt trip in the Player being a bonus.
*** Doesn't explain why he replaced it with a Kadabra. Psychic types are weak to ghost, remember? If he wanted a type advantage, then he wouldn't have swapped his Normal Ratticate for a Psychic Kadabra.
**** All the Ghosts in the Tower are part Poison. And Ghost doesn't offer any resistance to Psychic.
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* This troper was playing FireRed and she was wondering about something. Your rival says that you're a "chatty gossip", which doesn't make any sense considering your [[Heroic Mime]] status. Then she got to noticing that the player character actually ''does'' talk. You always talk when you call out your Pokémon, you introduce yourself to people, and you even say sentences to Copycat that she echoes. Combined with the fact that you and your rival were childhood friends, who's to say that you never were a gossip?
** It took you until [[Fire Red]]? I figured that out in the Blue Version... the first time I answered "Yes" or "No". Also, this little exchange occurred within a week of the purchase.
{{quote| '''[[RifftraxRiff Trax|Copycat (mimicking Red)]]:''' blahblah I'll get your Dolly for you blah<br />
'''[[RifftraxRiff Trax|Me]]:''' Wait, I never said that. I thought she only spoke by repea-- oooohhh... }}
* The Legendary Birds are given an internal numerical order via Spanish: [[Artic UNO]], [[Zap DOS]], [[Mol TRES]]. One, two, three.
 
 
=== Gold, Silver, Crystal, [[Heart Gold]] and [[Soul Silver]] ===
* Blue's rematch team includes a Pidgeot with Return, [[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard|which is always at maximum power when used by the AI.]] Checking his team in the original games, a Pidgeot is on his team (in varying evolutionary stages) in every battle but the one in the lab. It's probably the same Pidgeot, which he's had for three years - it makes sense that it would like him!
* In ''HeartGold and SoulSilver'', when you visit Copycats new home, her parents mention that she lost the doll a boy gave to her a few years ago. Go upstairs and visit Copycat and what Pokémon does she have? Banette, the abandoned doll Pokémon.
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=== Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald ===
* A little thing I noticed about Latias and Latios: their normal colors are red and blue respectively, obviously representing ''Ruby'' and ''Sapphire''. But then, you also notice that their shiny colors each add green (''Emerald'')-- red + green = yellow, and blue + green = cyan! Possible [[Genius Bonus]] for those who are familiar with the light spectrum? --[[Blueeyedrat]]
** Red and green absolutely do not make yellow, neither do blue and green make cyan. Yellow is a primary color and therefore cannot be made, and cyan is cerulean blue with a touch of yellow and white in it. I prefer to think that Latios and Latias' shiny forms are a shout-out to the first Gen. colors - Red, Blue, Green and Yellow.
** On the light color wheel, red and green do make yellow, and blue and green do make cyan.
* A lot of people complain that May is too busty for a kid her age. Ignoring the fact that it is possible for someone of ten years old to be that size, May's never said to be ten in the games. The only protagonist with an age is Red (and by connection, Leaf) who is ''eleven''. May can be anywhere from eleven to thirteen for all we know.
* When one travels to Navel Rock, there is no mountain in the overworld, but Ho-Oh is on top of a huge mountain that you have to travel up 10 or so ladders to get to. This troper thought that was weird at first, but then I realized that you first enter the chamber, then go down a ladder, and then walk down an extremely long hallway. The mountain that Ho-Oh is on top of is a long way behind Navel Rock, you just can't see it.
 
 
=== Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum ===
* In Diamond and Pearl, you can find Hoppip and Skiploom. In Platinum, you can't. The reason? Sinnoh got colder, and the dandelion Pokémon couldn't handle it, so they left.
* In Platinum, you can find Absol on Mt. Coronet. The reason? Impending disaster of an inter-dimensinoal variety.
 
 
=== Black and White ===
* The world of Black is tech-savvy and the world of White is nature-based. Their respective legendaries have opposite themes. There are two reasons for this. One, this ties in the Tao theme really well; they are the other, opposite colored dot of the world. Two, {{spoiler|N tries to fight you with the correctly-themed dragon; this is the dragon who probably won over the other the first time, hence how Unova came out.}} You conquering the opposite-themed dragon and it conquering the other shows that what it represents is just as valid as the other, not better or worse. -[[Tropers/The Violent Tomboy|The Violent Tomboy]]
** Precisely. Not just simple colors on opposite ends of the spectrum, but the ideas of differing world views that can be seen with "Black and White morality" as opposed to "Shades of Gray". N says that straight up at one point.
* As of June, 2010, a new Gen V Pokémon was revealed as the local bird. It was a pigeon. At first I was all like, "WTF", but then, I remembered that Unova is filled with CITIES!
* Little minor thing, but the Waiter sports fan who battles you in the Stadiums has a CLAMPERL and gives you a FRESH WATER. So, basically, you're (or your team members, really) drinking Pokémon spit. Fridge squick, indeed. Is that the case if you're stranded in a desert with only a water Pokémon? Would that be your means of survival?
** Isn't it just possible that the Waiter was carrying around a bottle of water from a vending machine or a store? Plus wouldn't having your water Pokémon use up its own water while in a desert be a bit hazardous if survival is at stake since it might dehydrate if it doesn't retain as much water as possible? Plus regurgitated water would likely make you sick.
** Thinking back, the waiter probably the bottle of water with him so that his Clamperl could stay hydrated, regardless of where the two of them went.
** This troper was just hit with some fridge brilliance. Waiter sports fans handing out water... water boys!
* The mascots are Dragon / Fire and Dragon / Electric dual types. Team Plasma tries to get one. Plasma is a state of matter that can be formed by FIRE and is typically part of LIGHTNING. So, Team Plasma is getting a component of itself. A helluva lot better than the "Galactic wants Time/Space/Antimatter" from D/P/Pt.
* In Opelucid City there is a man in White that wants to get in contact with his son in the future to see how he turned out. I ignored this until my friend showed me her Black version: Opelucid City is completely high tech and non-relic looking like it was in mine. When she went to the same building there was the guy's son, wanting to reach the past. It then occured to me that this means that White takes place in the past, and Black takes place in the future, and the comment about the battle with the legendaries being a repeating cycle hit me like a brick. ~[[Ultima Wraith]]
** Actually, this isn't quite true. It is heavily implied by other characters in the game that Black and White happen at exactly the same time, but in different, parallel worlds.
*** Wonder how they will adapt that for the Anime...
**** There are two movies coming out with similar plot lines and minor differences in each Victini and the Black Hero Zekrom and Victini and the White Hero Reshiram
* [[Word of God|The creators stated]] that the three starters of Isshu/Unova are each based on a different part of the world: Japan, China, and the West (specifically, France). Now, counting the version mascots (and assuming that Kyurem will be the third version mascot), we also have three legendary trios. What are they each based on? Japanese gods, the Chinese concept of Yin and Yang, and the French novel [[The Three Musketeers (Literaturenovel)|The Three Musketeers]]. -- Dragoryu3000
* Chargestone Cave might seem like a cheap gimmick of a cave. It's basically an electrically-charged cave that doesn't seem to exist for any particular reason. However, when one looks at the Pokémon in the cave, they seem to be rather odd. We normally associate plants and insects with nature and metal and electricity with technology. The cave itself is a blend of nature and technology, as well as the Pokémon who inhabit it, who are a blend of nature and technology themselves; Ferroseed is a mix of nature and technology because it's a plant (natural), but it has a metallic coating (unnatural) and Joltik is a mix of nature and technology because it's a bug (natural), but it can manipulate electricity (unnatural).
** Interesting if you consider the version mascots representing nature and technology. The Aesop of the game is not the clashing of two different things, but understanding and adapting each other, right? In fact, what about Genesect?
* [[Tropers/Delpolo|I]] realized on a second playthrough that after saving Bianca's Munna early on, Iris gives you a Yache berry. Of course the Dragon Gym Leader gives you a berry lowering Ice damage!
* Some may find it strange that Reshiram (a white Pokémon) is the mascot of Black Version, and Zekrom (a black Pokémon) is the mascot of White Version. But let the fact that they're based on yin and yang sink into your mind for a bit. What does the symbol for yin and yang contain? A white dot in a black area (Reshiram) and a black dot in a white area (Zekrom). --[[Tropers/Silver Heart Star|Silver Heart Star]]
** In philosophy we were learning about Taoism and Yin & Yang. Reshiram and Zekrom came to mind immediately, but it wasn't until the professor mentioned the dots in the symbol that I understood why they weren't the mascot of the corresponding game.
** On the same note, the concepts yin and yang for Americans are [[Viewers are Morons|backwards]]. Yang is not [[Dark Is Not Evil|dark]] and Yin is not [[Light Is Not Good|light]]. They're reversed since the Chinese read right to left and Americans read left to right. Whether this is [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] is [[Your Mileage May Vary|optional]].
** Also that the mascots would be almost invisible on the game covers due to them being almost entirely one color with no shade variation.
* At first the Unova Dex's terrible learn sets (most Pokémon can't find anything beyond STAB and normal moves) seemed like bad design, then it struck me. ''Gen V was meant to evoke Gen I''. Gen I ''did'' have terrible learn sets all around, all with the exact same issue!
** This is both [[Fridge Brilliance]] and [[Fridge Logic]] at the same time -- "bad on purpose" is still ''bad''. - [[Tropers/Metz 77|Metz 77]]
** Or, it was because now that [[T Ms]]TMs are no longer single-use, you don't need to rely on a Pokémon's natural learnset anymore.
* In the OST, the theme that plays when N appears is called 'The Equated Captives'. When this troper first read that, before I finished the game, I assumed it was a reference to the way N equates all Pokémon as being captives of trainers. But on checking the OST again after finishing it, it became obvious: {{spoiler|the 'equated captive' is N himself! He was kept captive in his room by his father, in order to satisfy an equation for power he had worked out! To drive the idea home, a remix of the theme - 'The Child Of Pokémon, N' - plays when you visit the room in which he was held captive! This makes even more sense in Japanese - the language doesn't designate plurals, so you'd go through the game reading the title as 'The Equated Captives', until you reached the end and realized that it was actually 'The Equated Captive', singular!}} - [[Tropers/Clock Stopping|Clock Stopping]]
** Another common translation for that track is "One Captivated by Formulae". This can of course allude to N's general [[Mad Mathematician|interest in mathematics]], but then again, also stand for {{spoiler|his near-obsession with finding the "equitation that changes the world" (i.e. freeing the Pokémon). And then of course, him being held captive by his father in the Plasma castle is still valid too}}.
* You can trade for a Basculin that has an ability no other Basculin has. I have recently gotten into trading on the GTS for the Shiny breeding benefits and Dex completion, but am paranoid of hacks. But you can trade for an "illegal" Pokémon right in the game! Perhaps [[Game Freak]] was just slipping in the message that they really don't care if you hack Pokémon? There's so much hack-exclusive bonus material in ''all'' the games, so I really shouldn't be surprised by this. - [[Alternate Mew]]
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* N is this so much. His party changes each time, because he's the leader of a Pokémon Rights Group which doesn't believe in keeping Pokémon. When this philosophy begins to break down, he appears to keep a Pokémon and even evolve it. His full name is Natural Harmonia Gropius. N and Harmonia creates "enharmonic". N is an empty variable, the same as the character is an empty variable in Team Plasma's plot. N means natural number, and he's a mathematician. The Menger Sponge around his belt has infinite value (N becomes king) and no value (he's a figurehead) at the same time. It seems like N was designed just to radiate this trope.
* Just realised. Kyruem has just got a "Zekrom" form and a "Reshiram" form. However, these still have ice on them. This is because it's ''not complete''. Kyurem is the body from which ''both'' Zekrom and Reshiram came from. It's not complete without ''both'' of them.
* Unova's Victory Road is a tall, dome-shaped hill pockmarked with a multitude of random entrance/exit holes that lead to a vast network of caverns. While you'll find the typical rock-types and bat pokemon inside, the most common wild pokemon nesting in the cave is the bug/steel hybrid, Durant. Outside, your most common opponent is the fiery anteater, Heatmor (Durant's natural predator). Victory Road is a giant termite mound appropriated by the Pokemon League as their "final gauntlet" for prospective challengers.
* Similar to how Gen 1 hid Spanish in the Legendary Birds' names, there is German in one of the Gen 5 pseudo-legendary evolutuion families: dEINo, [[ZWE Ilous]], and hyDREIgon. Again, one, two, three.
* It just occurred to me: according to Bulbapedia, Genosect is an abandoned Team Plasma experiment. It uses "drives" to change its type. Arceus uses "plates" for the same purpose. Team Plasma was trying to create the god and creator of Pokemon in their own image!
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=== Spin-off Games ===
* In [[Pokémon Ranger (Video Game)|Guardian Signs]], there's a [[Stable Time Loop]]. Ben goes back in time and inspires Ravio to become the hero of Oblivia. Ben is then inspired by Ravio to become the next hero of Oblivia. But why did Celebi take Ben back? Considering Celebi's nature, could it be to preserve the time loop?
* So, I was playing [[Pokémon Ranger (Video Game)|Shadows of Almia]] the other day, and I noticed TWO interesting bits of Foreshadowing: first, [[{{spoiler:|the swirl in Kincaid's hair; it doesn't have significance other than being silly earlier on, but after [[The Reveal]]...''it is Team Dim Sun's logo. Kincaid is [[The Dragon]] to Dim Sun.''}} Another interesting piece is {{spoiler|the dark sunglasses Kincaid gains in his Dim Sun outfit. ''They're identical to Blake Hall's sunglasses, and HE is the [[Big Bad]] of this game!'' (Though arguably, Kincaid is a far worse human being. And basically the predecessor to Purple Eyes, no less.)}}
* Why is {{spoiler|Darkrai}} such an irredeemable, cold-hearted, cowardly villain in [[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers (Video Game)|Time/Darkness/Sky]]? {{spoiler|In this universe the Pokémon all have human-level intelligence. Darkrai didn't start out evil as shown when he joins your team after the memory wipe. His ability, Bad Dreams, no doubt kept away people. He felt lonely and, eventually, angry at all of the Pokémon whom were able to be surrounded by friends and loved ones. The solitude and seclusion would drive anyone insane, especially over the many years he's implied to have lived. He wanted everyone to share in his despair, hence his plans to corrupt the Gods and plunge the world into eternal darkness. Losing his memories was likely the only way to free himself of all that hatred. A new life that eventually gets friends for him thanks to you.}}
** And now {{spoiler|Dakrai}} has gone from [[Complete Monster|a maniacal]] and [[Dystopia Justifies the Means|utterly]] [[For the Evulz|sadistic]] entity to a [[Jerkass Woobie|sad]] and [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|destructive]] being. Giving {{spoiler|Ghetsis}} the gold medal for [[Complete Monster|worst sentient in the known Pokémon multiverse.]]
** Nope, [[{{spoiler:|that honour belongs to Purple Eyes}} from [[Pokémon Ranger]] Guardian Signs. [[Misanthrope Supreme|He not only tried to]] [[Complete Monster|to kill every human in existence]], even [[God|ARCEUS]] deems it unsafe for him to be in the mortal plane. Even Ghetsis wasn't whisked off to be judged. [[Paranoia Fuel|Yet.]]
* Finally figured out why Double Battles are the default battling style in the Orre region. The bad guys there are much more willing to directly attack defenseless people (i.e. people who just lost a battle), so having two Pokémon out at once covering for each other lessens the chance.
* In ''[[Pokémon Colosseum (Video Game)|Pokémon Colosseum]]'', when you first capture a Shadow Pokémon you can't order it to use any of its none Shadow moves until you open up its heart a certain amount, yet the trainers you snagged them from can have a Shadow Pokémon use all of its moves(Except for the opens replace by Shadow moves). Why is that? Because the Shadow Pokémon opened its heart to ''them''. Nowhere does it say that you're the only one who can open a Shadow Pokémon's heart. You basically kidnap them, so of course they're going to shut their heart to you.
* The first 3D games were titled ''[[Pokémon Stadium (Video Game)|Pokémon Stadium]]'', which underlines the "battle as sport" theme of the main series RPGs. "Colosseum", however, is an allusion to ancient Roman mortal combat between slaves...and the plot depicts Pokémon who are stolen and robbed of their free will.
 
 
=== The Pokémon themselves ===
* Have you noticed Drifloon/Drifblim's stats? Insane amounts of HP (150 is more than any other Flying or non-legendary Ghost has ever had) but its defenses are quite pitiful. Balloon. It bursts like a balloon!
* [[Tropers/Tommy X|Tommy X]]: Elgyem's Pokedex entry says it first appeared in the desert, so why does it appear in a tower further north? Elgyem is Psychic, and there are two Dark types native to the area, as well as a couple Bug types and Ghost types. So it left the desert and went to live in the Celestial Tower. Why it's living with another Ghost type, though, I can't figure out.
** Another thing I realized: Elgyem is more common the further you go up in the tower. That's because it's trying to get the attention of its friends in space!
** Another reason they're interested in the Celestial Tower? It's a good place to study certain attributes of human society, considering they're an alien race and all...
* In psychology, this troper was watching a film on MPD called 'The Three Faces of Eve.' Suddenly, she realised where Eevee's name comes from - it evolves into one of three 'faces'.
** Or it could just be from saying the first two letters of EVolution - which is what Eevee does best.
* In ''[[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (Video Game)|Pokémon Diamond and Pearl]]'' and ''Platinum'', there are no wild Riolu, but in Black and White, there's a cave filled with the little buggers. This can mean only one thing: Riolu is actually native to Unova instead of Sinnoh! By extension, this may also mean that Riley (who gives the Riolu egg) is from Unova!
** In Ruby and Sapphire, there are no Beldum in the wild, but you can catch them wild in Diamond and Pearl. So Steven got his Beldum from Sinnoh and gave it to you because they are actually native to Sinnoh.
*** Nope. They are swarms of beldums that come from Unova. They are found normally in the Giant Chasm. Looks like it's a great place for mystic, magic or simply strange pokémon. Kyurem's presence attracts all sorts of strange pokémon
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** Except female machops can mate with any male member of the Human Like group.
* I was wondering, "How come Kingdra is a Dragon type?". Then it hit me. It's based off of the [[wikipedia:Leafy sea dragon|sea]] [[wikipedia:Weedy sea dragon|dragon]].
** Actually, the word seahorse has the word "dragon" in it in Japanese. That's why Hattorri transforms into a seahorse when he's the Dragon of the Zodiac in ''[[Fruits Basket (Manga)|Fruits Basket]]''.
* If Arceus is God and created everything, he technically created humans too. Which means that in the Pokémon universe, humans are technically Pokémon too. Which makes the fact that people eat Pokémon (Slowpoketails, anyone?) totally valid.
** It also explains why attacks are relatively harmless-we're as tough as Pokémon!
** In episode 27 of the original series, Ash says "That Magikarp looks ready for the deli counter." proving Pokémon are eaten.
** It also explains why there are so many psychic trainers as if such an ability isn't uncommon. People are Psychic-type Pokémon. The psychic trainers are the ones who leveled enough to learn psychic moves.
*** This also explains the Dark type Pokémons' abysmally low reputation. Not only are those [[Combat Pragmatist]] predator's signature attacks super effective against us -- they are also the only ones ''completely immune'' to our signature [[Mind Rape|mind fuckery]].
* I an still using Serperior, Simipour, and Victini after obtaining 7 badges. Then I realize: ''this is why the Snivy line has such a bad moveset!'' You get your starter at the beginning of the game, then shortly after get the elemental monkey with a type weak to your starter, then by the time you are ready to get your third badge, you can get Victini. If you do not get Snivy, you end up with two good Fire-types (Tepig for those who choose it and Pansear if you choose Oshawott). But if you have Snivy, then you have a good Fire, Water, and Grass Pokémon. To keep things a bit more fair, they made it weaker. - [[Stinkoman 87]]
** Except Victini is an event-only Pokémon. -Mogotoo.
*** That is available during the first couple of months that the game is out; that's when the bulk of the games were sold.
* [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Vullaby_(Pok%C3%A9mon) Vullaby]. The cute baby vulture. at first I was: "Ooh! she's wearing a bone as a diaper! And theres a heart shape on it! And three small bits on top..." Then I realized ITS WEARING A HUMAN SKULL!! (Can't find it? Turn the "diaper" upside down.)
* For a while now, people have debated Arceus' pronunciation. In Japan, they say 'ar-SAY-us' whereas in the US, it was dubbed as 'ar-KEE-us'. Well, this troper just stumbled across an article that explained how the 'archeus' (pronounced 'ar-KEE-us') is the lowest astral plane that watches over all of creation... genius.
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** A lot of people are obsessed with viewing the legendaries in trios. After beating Platinum this troper deiced to puzzle out just exactly who would fall under where in the whole mythologies. Giratina, it turns out, fits amongst all the major legendaries in the game as a counterpart. It is counter to the Uxie/Mespirit/Azelf as a being of human NEGATIVE emotion, it's counterpart to Palkia and Dialga as outside either of their realms, 'of everything else' if you will, and counterpart to Arceus as ruler of the world opposite of ours, and it's sole inhabitant. Giratina is basically equal-but-opposite every other legendary set in DPP.
*** Adding on to the idea that Giratina is a being of negative thought and emotions is its location- where are the pixies found normally? In three caves that are in lakes. And where is Giratina found (Asside from the distortion world)? A cave in a hidden fourth lake.
* Time for some pseudo-theological rambling, as this had bugging me for a while. Why would Arceus (and by extension ANY legendary) let itself get caught so (relatively) easily? I mean, he's the freaking creator of the Universe (at least in this/that plane of existence), he has power over everyone and everything (supposedly, either directly or not) and is supposed to be God... Then one fine day, the truth struck me in the head like a snowball coming from nowhere. It's actually simple: Arceus, being God, is immortal, while us puny mortals get to live... how much? 70 years? 90 at best? Guessing that such a short amount of time could barely mean anything to God, I've come to the conclusion it's a fair deal (and admittedly a pretty devious one): you get to "own" God for a while, then after your time has come, he either OWNS you (if some people's beliefs are to be right) or simply he sets himself free and continue with His business. After all, what's a human lifespan to Arceus - ever thought of that? Maybe he had been flipping you off all the time, or just wanted to give you the illusion of having caught a GOD FOR REAL! and gloat about it while it lasts. Or, simply put, he took a liking to you and wanted to be [[Pals Withwith Jesus|pals with you]], again while it lasted. As frightening such a thought could be, it's true - such things can happen in the great scheme of things (provided there's one), so I have to say, kudos to you, good sir!
** Edging slightly into WMG, but it always seemed a little unlikely that demi-grade Pokemon like Rayquaza or Arceus would allow themselves to be captured by mortal trainers. But some, like Dialga, are essentially described as literally the element they represent (e.g.: time). It seems more plausible that the Pokemon is a mere fragment of this god made in flesh and gifted to a worthy trainer. It explains the abundance of the non-event ones, at any rate.
** Not to mention, you did help ''save the entire universe'' from [[A God Am I|Cy]][[Omnicidal Maniac|rus.]] Arceus would owe you some gratitude...
* It bugged me that Kyogre has type advantage over Groudon, when they're supposed to be equals in strength. Then I realized that they ''aren't'' supposed to be equals in strength: In their battle years ago, Kyogre created the ocean, while Groudon created the landmasses. Now, what is there more of on Earth's surface, continent or sea? --Dragoryu3000
** Fridge Brilliance on the Fridge Brilliance: Groudon and Kyogre have the same base Speed stat, so it's a tossup as to which one would strike first. Both could get Super Effective hits on each other. They are almost completely evenly matched. --Darkelourd
** [[Fridge Logic]] on the ''that'' Fridge Brilliance in regards to the OTHER Fridge Brilliance: Except that they're not. The move Groudon uses in order to KO Kyogre is the special, Grass-type Solarbeam. Kyogre can use any Water attack or Ice attack to KO Groudon. Not to mention that Groudon is playing off its weaker Attack stat and Kyogre's stronger Defense stat AND doesn't get STAB, while Kyogre is getting the better end of both conditions. Groudon is still pretty much screwed against Kyogre. -- [[Tropers/AOT Korby|AOTKorby]]
*** Why else does Hoenn have more water and surf routes than any other region? And why else is the amount of land and water more even than most other regions? It's Kyogre and Groudon fighting for dominance over the region. [[K Man]]
* [[Tropes Will Ruin Your Life]] in action here. Over on the Pokémon [[Fetish Fuel]] page, someone mentioned Combusken among Pokémon that look somewhat...[[Freud Was Right|phallic]], and it's kinda true. Combusken also happens to be a 3-foot-tall ''chicken'' that, like all starter Pokémon, is primarily male. In other words...[[Stealth Pun|it's a giant cock.]] --[[Spiri Tsunami]]
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** This troper read the whole thing and realized Lugia IS the master of the beast trio, with Suicune (Water-typed, the rain in the storm), Raikou (Electric-typed, the lightning bolt), and Entei (Fire-typed, the Fire that burned it down) that were created DURING the incident.
** Yet all three of them died from the fire, and Ho-Oh is the master of them for bringing them back to life.
*** Reading these two previous statements, it makes even MORE sense the Lugia is the Master of the Bird Trio. They all fly, staying in the sky, and as such it can be taken that they represent snow storms (Articuno) thunder storms (Zapdos) and heat storms (Moltres). Lugia can both calm and give rise to storms!
**** Only one little problem with that theory: What the heck is a "heat storm"?
***** Probably meant fire storm. Like during the Victoria bushfires in Australia a year or two back...
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***** And another bit of [[Fridge Brilliance]]: the Pokémon that died in the storm were probably Flareon, Vaporeon and Jolteon, but came back as Entei, Suicune and Raikou due to Ho-Oh's powers.
****** ...Which is backed up by the Beast Trio's Dream World abilities being the same abilities said Eeveelutions possess normally!
* All official media has red-striped Basculin and blue-striped Basculin listed separately, even though they are the same species and are functionally identical. It wasn't until catching one and reading the Black version Pokédex entry--which states that they are very hostile in general and that the red and blue ones start fighting with one another instantly--that this troper realized that, this generation being based on America rather than Japan, they're a subtle reference to the Bloods and the Crips. -[[Tropers/Spiri Tsunami|Spiri Tsunami]]
** I always thought it was Republicans vs Democrats...
** Basculin is way more likely to be based on [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]. Yeah, they're both violent, but the blue one looks calmer.
* I've heard that some people really dislike Klink, because it's a strange design. But think about this: Unova is a very technologically advanced region, compared to others, right? Couldn't it be that they reverse-engineered this from the Pokémon? -Beyondnor-
** And why exactly does Klink's evolutionary line have the least drastic changes with each stage? Consider this: Prof. Juniper stated that Klink appeared in Unova only a hundred years prior to the events in the game. Since Klink naturally existed for only a short period of time, it didn't have the time to make the drastic changes that, say, the Bagon line has made. And note that I said "naturally" for Klink, since the Porygon line (which has made drastic changes in each of its stages of evolution) was created digitally. -[[Kingdom Xathers]]-
* As I took a peek at the new Pokémon, I rejoiced as I saw there was an anteater/ant duo! But then I noticed the anteater was a Fire type, and the ant was Bug/Steel, which meant the anteater clearly had the upper hand, a very odd thing for a rivalry. Until I realized [[Carnivore Confusion|it wasn't supposed to be a rivalry after all]]. -[[Tropers/Pro-Mole|Pro-Mole]]
* Scraggy and its evolution Scrafty are two lizards dressed in a punk-style getup (the latter sporting an additional mohawk and hoodie), and its type is fittingly Dark/Fighting. When I saw that it was weak to Fighting, one of its own types, I came up with an idea. Other Fighting types like Machoke and Hitmonlee are based on martial artists with training and some combat strategy, while Scrafty represents an untrained thug. Normally, a trained fighter has an advantage in a fight over someone with no training. Even if two Scrafty fight, it'll be like two gang rivals dueling, since both will use Fighting type moves and go down quickly.
* I now know why the "gift" Pokémon (ex. the starters, Castform, Lapras, Eevee) are all so rare and can only be given to you in captivity. All gift Pokémon have a natural male-to-female ratio of 7 to 1, meaning that there are very few females in the wild to impregnate and give birth. It is a scientific fact that a single male with a group of females will produce more offspring than a single female with a group of males, causing an entire species of Pokémon to be very rare. - [[Waxing Name]].
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** Black and White is also basically a big reference to the first games. About 150 Pokémon, none from other regions. So, there are some repeating themes. Like the pollution (Grimer and Muk) Pokémon and the trash Pokémon. Theres also the new Electric / Flying- and pure Flying-type Pokémon and Pikachu.
** Here's what I think it is. In the first generation, we had the poison-type Pokémon Grimer, Muk, Koffing, and Weezing. Those two families represent toxic sludge and poison gas, or rather, pollution in two states of matter, liquid and gas. Now that we have Trubbish and Garbodor, the trio is complete with the Solid Waste (ie, garbage) Pokémon.
* Why does Raticate/Rattata has the ability "Guts"? Because of the saying "A cornered rat will bite the cat".
* Deino and Zweilous have the "Hustle" ability, raising their attack, but lowering their accuracy. At first I thought this was just to make it harder to get Hydreigon, but then I realized, Deino and Zweilous are blind! Of course they have a hard time landing hits, they don't get eyes until their final stage!
* Dark types are usually cruel, but Absol warns people of disasters before they happen. The 'Dex says that since they were easy scapegoats for the disasters, people hunted them down. I figure that to protect themselves, they [[Combat Pragmatist|developed more vicious moves]], which is why they're Dark typed. But they [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|never dropped their old habits]]. [[Tropers/Kingler|Kingler]]
* Gardevoir looks feminine, but can be both genders. And its/"her" Pokedex entry suggests that it/"she" will always watch over its/"her" trainer, even if it meant endangering it/"herself." Acccording to Bulbapedia, Gardevoir wasn't intentionally designed to look female.
* Togepi has tan skin, but its evolutions are white all over. Why the change? Togepi is a baby bird, its feathers grow in when it evolves!
 
 
=== Moves and Types ===
* Has anyone else ever wondered why there was never a pure Flying-type Pokémon prior to Gen V or why no Flying-type Pokémon has Flying as its primary typing? What if Flying isn't a stable type? Also, the only pure Flying-type Pokémon is a legendary because only a Pokémon of legendary status and specialty in Flying-type attacks can remain stable enough to not need another type to take over as its primary typing. Anything weaker would probably result in an avian Pokémon similar in metamorphic biology to Eevee.
** Flying-type moves are all things like "gust" and "air cutter", so I always imagined that 'Flying' meant the actual wind or air. There aren't any purely Flying-type Pokémon because they're animals as well, with physical body.
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** More likely "two birds with one stone", since it works for smaller stones against bigger birds as well.
** [[Rose Spirit|This Troper]] always figured it was because birds' bones are hollow and rather brittle to allow them flight. Getting hit with a rock would likely hurt them a lot more than, say, a Ground-type, whose entire body is akin to earth and therefore more solid and sturdy.
** Or, try and maintain a forward flight path (and therefore remain airborne) with a giant rock in your face. -[[User:Plumbum]]
* I was wondering how the [[T Ms]]TMs work, since the animation from Gen III just shows a CD being placed onto the Pokémon's head. But then I read something on the series's main page that mentioned the players' items possibly being converted into information the same way Pokémon are. That's when I realized: The CDs aren't being placed into the Pokémon; they're being loaded onto the Poké Balls ''containing'' them! -phazonfarmer
** This can also be used to explain the [[Hyperspace Arsenal]]: Instead of carrying around ridiculous amounts of enormous supplies, you're just carrying around cards (or something) that have the information for the supplies on them! -phazonfarmer
*** Well now hey, there are little teleporters scattered all over the place in Gyms and basements of villainous teams, who's to say there aren't bags that utilize this technology?
*** Or you could just go by the first set of manga. The [[T Ms]]TMs are audio-books, and the player puts the headphones on the Pokemon.
* Dark types have never had a Gym, because it's the villainous teams who use them.
** Err, no. The Dark-type is actually "''Evil'' Type" in Japan, which is why the Gym Leaders don't use it and the bad guys ''do''.
*** Explain the Elite Four in Johto, Hoenn, and Unova, then.
**** The Elite Four are supposed to test your abilities as a trainer, so of course they're going to throw curveballs at you by using Pokemon types that didn't have a Gym and even using types villains would use. If you can beat them then they assume you're ready for whatever the current Champ can throw at you.
* It just struck this troper a possible reason that Bug Pokemon are more effective against Dark Pokemon. The whole thing about Dark types is that they cheat and fight dirty. But how can you cheat or distract something that is essentially single minded like a bug?
** So bugs are too stupid to be tricked? Make sense to me.
*** Not stupid, just alien. They can't be tricked by feints abused by Darks because they think differently.
** For me, it's always been something like "You know what kind of animals is able to create light? Bugs. You know what does not like light? Darkness."
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** I like to think that Bug-types are good against Dark-types because of their compound eyes, and I don't mean the ability. These allow insects to better see things that are moving rapidly as well as being much more sensitive to light waves. So I'd say that the quick movements and dark abilities of Dark-types just simply wouldn't work due to the Bugs' developed eyesight, thus leading to a huge advantage on the latters side.
* The fact that bugs are resistant to Fighting-type moves made no sense to me, since bugs are easy to crush. But then it hit me... cockroaches are hard to kill using only Fighting-related moves.
* Realized why Bug beats Dark. When are bugs most active? At night. What is night? Light or Dark? - [[Tropers/Drake Dragonhide|Drake Dragonhide]]
** But no, in the games Dark Type =/= Opposite of Light. And that reasoning would at best cause Bug and Dark to be neutral to each other. It's the "Evil" type in Japan, in that moves and Pokemon with this type play dirty. So the above reasoning "a bug is [[Too Dumb to Fool]] probably works the best".
* It always bugged me that Bug attacks ([[Incredibly Lame Pun|I get it. But this fridge brilliance revolves around this]]) are super-effective against Psychic and Dark types. Then it hit me: Psychic types focus spiritual energy for power, and cutting off their focus hurts them. How do you do that? Contaminate their minds with evil thoughts; (Dark) scare the living piss out of them; (Ghost) and bother/distract them, also known as ''bugging'' them ([[Captain Obvious|Bug!]]). As for Dark types, remember that in Japan, it's literally called the Evil type. Almost every [[Smug Snake]], [[Manipulative Bastard]], or [[Magnificent Bastard]] is evil. In a lot of movies and books I've been exposed to, said villain considers the hero protagonist to be nothing more than a pest. The villain often [[Pitiful Worms|compares the hero to a Bug]]. In the end, the hero defeats the villain who called him a bug. Bug beats evil. Therefore, Bug beats Dark. -- Spenny
* Many of the type advantages make sense to this troper, but he had trouble figuring out exactly why Ground-type moves are super-effective against Steel, of all things. Then it hit him: ''large steel buildings are most easily damaged and toppled by earthquakes.'' -[[Tropers/Death To Squishies|Death To Squishies]]
** It may be an architecturally political [[Take That|reference]] regarding Japan's building designs having evolved originally from bamboo and wood, and their skyscrapers having been engineered to weather their earthquakes, as compared to the British Empire's descendants mostly using designs that evolved from wood and stone and have only recently (within the scale of our use of tall buildings) been built to deal with earthquakes instead of last through them by brute force of the materials used. -[[Tropers/JET 73 L|JET 73 L]]
* Just realized why the "Brine" attack in Pokémon inflicts double damage when the opponent is low on health. Saturated salt water in your wounds? ''Ouch.''
* Finally figured out why Curse is different between Ghost types and other types. Imagine a Slowpoke cursing!
** [[Literal -Minded|Yooooouuuuu... ...mooootthhheeeeeerrrrr... ...fffffffuuuuuuuuckkeeeeeerrrrr.....]]
** OR, Ghosts just know how to use it properly, as Curse was reclassified as Ghost-type in Gen V.
*** And then there's Snorlax, whose most-used moveset has it doing very little but resting and cursing. (And eating, as is standard among Snorlax.) Chances are that sounds like someone you know.
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* For a while, the move Hypnosis confused me - how do you knock someone out just by mentally telling them to go to sleep? Then I read ''[[The Heroes of Olympus|The Lost Hero,]]'' which mentioned a minor Greek god named Hypnos. Now it makes sense -- the word "hypnosis" was derived from Hypnos's name, and he's the god of sleep!
** I don't know how to break it to you, but Pokemon didn't come up with the concept of "hypnosis".
* I couldn't understand why Dark-type moves weren't effective against Fight-types. Fighting dirty should bring an advantage to the Dark-type, right? I only realized otherwise when I saw Throh in Gen 5, and my mind first made the connection -- Fighting-types aren't just using strong attacks, they're ''actually using martial arts''. Now imagine someone trained in martial arts going up against a street thug... ~ Farmelle
* A different thought about Ghost/Dark relations: In some Eastern cultures (and, I assume, many cultures around the world), a good deal of emphasis is placed on respectful treatment of the dead. This can even extend to the point of praying to the spirits of one's ancestors. Now, Dark-type attacks are known for their..."pragmatic" nature. So, using such an underhanded (or "dishonorable") tactic against a Ghost is comparable to dishonoring the dead. It's not that the attack itself is particularly effective, it's the disrespectful nature that the attack ''represents'' that's so powerful against Ghosts. From the other side, too, Dark-types can resist Ghost-type attacks because they have no respect for the dead, and so the dead can do little against them.
* So, think of it, Dark types are just pragmatic fighters, how does that make them immune to Psychic attacks? Well, maybe it's because their mind is filled with thinking about how they're going to take out whatever's in front of them, except maybe a bit more... viscerally than how other types do it? Who would want to read that, and similarly to the Ghost example above, maybe those thoughts add extra hurt to someone attacking a mind reader? ~ Plumbum
 
 
=== Other/Overlapping ===
 
* This might overlap with continuity nod, but take a look at Moltres' pokedex entry in the Sinnoh games. They mention that its arrival signals an early spring. Now take a look at its entry in the Johto games. They state that Moltres ends winter early when it travels to cold climates. The people of Sinnoh think that Moltres merely signals that Spring will come early, like the Groundhog myth, which explains the wording in the pokedex!
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** Alternatively, the scientists have their names sewn onto their coats (like on the pocket). I can't see them telling you their names, but if they had identifiers on their clothing, it would be inevitable.
** To extend on that, Cipher Peons have the opposite issue - they do give out their names, but only their mouths are exposed. No eyes, no facial features other than their lips, NOTHING! Aside from in-suit registration devices, how the flying fudge is anyone supposed to tell who's who, ''especially'' the police? Doubles as [[Fridge Horror]] if you think about it long enough. --[[Cerotech Omega]]
* When you get an egg from they Day Care Center, they always say they don't know how it got there. I've always thought of this as a not-so-clever way to [[Hand Wave]] it, keeping the game rated E. But then I realized they're saying it because ''the protagonist'' is 10 years old - they don't want to talk [[The Talk]] to him/her. --[[Barry Ogg|BarryOgg]]
** That seems a bit patronizing to this troper. I remember getting the sex talk some time before I was 10.
** Makes you wonder how they're going to sidestep it in Gen V, what with the protagonists being 15...
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*** They in no way look 11 and definitely appear to be within the ages of 15 to 16.
*** They may be older now, but since it's hard to give [[The Talk]] to your own kids, they won't give it to OTHER's kids.
*** The talk might be even more awkward since it might have to explain [[HotImprobable Skitty-On-WailordSpecies ActionCompatibility]] . Also, depending on the context and the possible need for charts with that example, I think someone might call the cops if you just randomly start talking about those things to random children.
*** Or, in Black and White, they assume that, since you're older, you already know. Either way, eggs appear from nowhere because Arceus creates all of them with the power from Earth and all its beings. No sex, just a God Pokémon making eggs from scratch every few seconds in every region in the world, even the ones we don't know about yet!
Either way, eggs appear from nowhere because Arceus creates all of them with the power from Earth and all its beings. No sex, just a God Pokémon making eggs from scratch every few seconds in every region in the world, even the ones we don't know about yet!
*** And either way - the ''games'' never states the Trainers to be exactly 10, that's mostly anime canon. Red and Leaf actually have a confirmed game age, and they're 11 anyway.
* Sevii = Seven + VII!
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* Oh, here's a minor one. I always wondered why the PC could never run without the Running Shoes. Was he that picky that he had to be wearing Nikes to run? Then I realized: Oh, hey, he could be wearing flip-flops. Those are impossible to run in, without losing one anyway.
** Except, that's not right. Every main character has sneakers on, except Dawn and Hilda, who wear boots.
* A relatively small one, but one that could double as a possible [[Brick Joke]], in a sense of the term. Back in the first generation, when you fought either of the two available Snorlax and defeated them, instead of catching them, you were given dialogue that they "returned back to the mountains", indicating that Snorlax's natural habitat is in the mountains. At that point, most would simply write it off as the mountains appearing to the north of Kanto in whatever printed artwork was available for the game. Come Gen III we are introduced to Munchlax, the perceived pre-evolution of Snorlax. Luckily, these guys ''can'' be found in the wild, albeit annoyingly rarely. Now, what nation can they be caught regularly in? The Gen IV region, Sinnoh, which is, to date, ''the most mountainous region in the series''. ~[[User:Shadow Stained Sky]]
** Seeing as Snorlax can learn Surf...
*** Speaking of Snorlax learning Surf, did you know that fat is less dense than water?
* With the upcoming Fifth Generation, I'd been wondering about the possibility of Gen III remakes. I'm not saying I'd support them (Gen III felt like a low point to me), but since there have been remakes of the first two generations, I figured it was inevitable. But then I started thinking, "What was the point of those remakes, anyway?" and I came up with one, maybe two reasons. The first was to update those games with the new functions: the EV and IV system, combat, and so on were all rebuilt between Gens II and III. The second was to put some ointment on the wounds that were made when people discovered they couldn't send their Lvl. 100 Legendaries into their new games. Once I realized this, I remembered that Nintendo had promised that Black and White would be backwards-compatible with all the games from Gen III onwards. Then I asked, "If the games are compatible, would they really need remakes of the older versions?" I believe the answer is no, which means we may finally have moved to an era of Pokémon that's not [[One Game for Thethe Price of Two|One Game For The Price Of Seven]]. -[[User:phazonfarmer]]
** I'm sorry, but I doubt your second reason applies. The fifth generation is being marketed towards the [[D Si]] and [[D Si]] XL. The DS and DS Lite could read Game Boy Advance games, but the [[D Si]] can't. This means that you won't be able to transfer your Gen. III Pokémon again. Oh, and Game Freak likes money. They'll probably re-release Ruby and Sapphire again, and we'll all complain about it, but buy it anyway. -[[User:Neopolis]]
*** No, I checked Bulbapedia. The page for the Black and White versions says "DS". Not [[D Si]], not [[D Si]] XL, just DS.
*** Of course, the game itself WAS designed with the [[D Si]] in mind, though it's compatible with the DS, hence why you lose the bonuses the [[D Si]] version gets. They're going to cater to those who have a [[D Si]] instead of a DS, hence why we're more than likely going to get R/S remakes.
**** But Black and White have the Pokéshifter, similar to Pal Park where you can transfer Pokémon from a Gen IV game to them. By utilizing both Pal Park and the Pokéshifter you can transfer a Pokémon straight from a Gen III game to a Gen V game, thus making the need for R/S remakes null.
***** In theory, if you have an earlier model DS. But they've stopped making the DS and DS Lite which had the GBA slot in favor of the DSi and DSi [[Bigger Is Better|XL]] which don't. Pretty soon, probably not too far from the March 6, 2011 North American release of B/W, they're going to premiere the 3DS in the West, not only [[Fridge Logic|completely nullifying anything that was special about the DSi and making it an utterly redundant piece of technology]], but removing the DS line yet another step from the [[Game Boy]] line that preceded it. They won't want a gamer picking up an earlier DS cheap at a pawn shop to get their precious Rayquaza from Generation III to B/W; rather, they'd want you buying one of their new pieces of hardware which can make them some money. Hence the probability of a Generation III remake. Just because it's possible doesn't mean Nintendo wants you doing it, especially if they can make money off of a different way of doing it. Hence [[Scrappy Mechanic|event-only Pokémon]], and for that matter the whole [[One Game for Thethe Price of Two]] system. Also, another set of Generation I remakes: possible, or no? The same tech changes that just made R/S/E obsolete also took down FR/LG. Maybe they could use the 3DS Virtual Console to get the original R(/[[No Export for You|G?]])/B/Y out there and make a system to transfer them to B/W? OK, that's very unlikely. Maybe merge their Pokémon diversity with the likely R/S/E remakes? Only slightly less unlikely. Maybe a Wii spinoff of some sort? Dear God, please prevent that from happening.
*** R/S/E remakes (or rather, two Emerald remakes with elements from Ruby and Sapphire to distinguish them) are inevitable, for the above stated reasons. The third version to Black and White will probably be out for the holiday season 2012, and the Gen III remakes will follow either in mid-2013 (and then Gen VI in 2014-2015 etc). But Gen I re-remakes are unlikely because of...Johto! The Gen II remakes include the full Kanto Pokédex, split between Red/Gold and Blue/Silver. The plot of Gen. I is lost to time, but the point of the remakes is ostensibly so every Pokemon can be obtainable between the current generation and the last one. If all of the Kanto Pokemon can be found in Johto, there's no need to re-redo Kanto.
*** By the way, the remakes have been [http://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Masuda_replies_to_tweet_regarding_remakes_of_Generation_III_games possibly confirmed.]
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*** And what's near Johto? Say it with me...KANTO!
*** ...Johto IS Kanto now? And Fire Red and Leaf Green are remakes of Gen 1 games, technically, so I doubt Kanto would be included in a Gen 3 remake anyway.
** The way it is now, it's still kind of [[One Game for Thethe Price of Two|One Game For The Price Of Seven]], given how... You still need all of the older versions to get dex completion. Not only do you need the gen 3 games (which are fairly old by now, Emerald came out back in 2005), you need to transfer them to a gen 4 game and ''then'' to a gen 5 game. Having a gen 5 remake of gen 3 would simplify things quite a bit as you could trade ''directly'' between them.
* In RBY, you get to capture a Snorlax. There are two Snorlax in RBY. In GSC, when you go to the Kanto region, the setting of the previous game, you can catch also catch a Snorlax, but there is only one. Because Red, the protagonist of the previous generation, caught the other one.
** Well, for one, you can catch both of them in Gen I, and two, do you really think that big bastard was just hanging around for three years?
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* This troper never got why [[Trauma Inn|sleeping]] would heal your Pokémon, but then she remembered the move Rest.
** In addition, Pokémon Centers don't charge anything because they just speed up the healing process. Who would pay for something they could just get by sleeping?
* I was wondering how the people in the games would have discovered Leafeon and Glaceon. I doubt it was something as random as "Hey, what would happen if Eevee touched this rock?", but for anything else to work, they would have to have already known about it. But then it occurred to me that Sinnoh, the first region to feature those two evolutions, is also the only place where you can find Eevee in the wild. Prior to Gen IV you had to receive Eevee from an NPC. In fact, when playing R/S/E, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130509065709/http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Regions.png which take place in the region furthest from Sinnoh], you don't even get that; you have to import one from FR/LG/C/XD! But I digress; the point is, it's probable that Eevee are native to Sinnoh, and that people have known about Leafeon & Glaceon for as long as they've known about Eevee. The reason they haven't been mentioned in the games sooner is probably because the information is useless outside of Sinnoh. -[[User:phazonfarmer]]
** Except that the only place in the wild that you can find wild Eevee in is the Trophy Garden. Even then, they don't become available until after you beat the Pokémon League. According to Bulbapedia, Mr. Backlot's butler imports the Eevee in after Backlot tells you that there are Eevee in his garden so that he doesn't get outed as a liar.
* I was trying to make sense of how trade evolutions could happen in the wild, and I looked at the other methods of evolving to find similarities, and then it hit me. The experience points you collect after knocking out a Pokémon are electromagnetic waves that Pokémon naturally give off when they lose consciousness. All evolutions, even if they are more metamorphosis, are essentially mutations brought upon by these EM waves. This theory could also be applied to other methods of evolution. The evolutionary stones have already been stated to emit some sort of radiation, which would be on the EM spectrum. Evolutions dependent on location would be because different areas have different electromagnetic resonances.
** By extension day/night evolutions can fall under this as well... but I think one difference is in trade evos that deal with items, like Porygon. I always thought that the Pokemon distorts during the trading process because Pokemon seem to temporarily become data in a trade (in-universe as well). I figure maybe certain Pokemon merge with their hold items due to a glitch that is never quite understood. Granted, this can still follow the above in addition to my idea.
** If Pokemon gain experience because of EM waves, then Team Rocket was able to make Pokemon in the Lake of Rage evolve by using radio waves...which ARE EM waves.
* This troper always wondered why using an evolutionary stone on the majority of pokemon caused it to get a huge stat boost, but then made it unable to learn any new moves. Then it hit me; I remembered reading or hearing that stones, "radiates a mysterious energy." So I start thinking, "they're radioactive," and then it made sense. The stones radioactivity force the pokemon to move beyond its normal final stage, into a powerful creature (think about the three-eyed fish from the simpsons), but stunt its growth permanently, which is why they stop learning other than from the [[T Ms]]TMs! This made me think that some pokemon are better conditioned for this (Isn't Eevee's genetic code already unstable?), which is why they still learn moves, or that the method had been lost to time, or they're unique, which could also be why, "area methods," work. How rare is it to find another mossy stone radiating an energy Eevees can use? -- [[Deimel Longshot]]
* I've always wondered how you could see your pokemons condition. After seeing the Manga with translucent pokeballs, all the times a trainer looked at their pokeballs in the anime, somehow seeing their pokemon, made sense. It also explains how the player can see their pokemon's stamina (health), condition, and so on. -- [[Deimel Longshot]]
* It bugged me a little to find that there were none of the Pokemon seen in the last 4 generations were available in Generation V. But then I realized, why would a region based off of the American East Coast have the same wildlife is areas based off of Japan?
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* I just realized why the evil teams back off once you beat them. Imagine Pokemon in a wild west setting. Everyones got a gun/Pokemon. Everyone is walking around with a [[Revolvers Are Just Better|revolver]] hanging off their belt. With a limited amount of bullets. You get in a fight with a baddie and you out shoot them, knocking their gun from their hand or they use up all their bullets. There you are, gun out, bullets loaded, and they have nothing. Gen V establishes that there are no guns, so Pokemon are weapons for evil teams. You have Pokemon at strength and theirs are gone. Would you mess with someone who has just disarmed you and can make you their next target? --[[May Be Thomas]]
** And how many Pokemon can you carry at once? Six...just like bullets in a standard wild west gun.
* The Lava Cookie being found by the infamous truck in [[Pokémon Red and Blue (Video Game)|FireRed and LeafGreen]]? The Lava Cookie is tied to the Hoenn region. And how did the player character start [[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (Video Game)|Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald]]? In a very similar truck. Perhaps the truck at the Vermilion dock is the same moving truck? --[[Tropers/Kool Kid Joe|Kool Kid Joe]]
* It always bugged me that in the anime and games, every place they went to in Kanto was named after a color...except Pallet Town. It seemed random, and for a while I wrote it off as "It's the hero's home town so it's special. [[MST3K Mantra|Don't think too much]]." Then I realized "Duh, colors, ''palette''."
* Expanding on the above, with the names of Pokemon games becoming more and more valuable things, people wondered how they could top the value of "Platinum". Since "Black and White" is referring to the philosophy of seeing things in black and white (a major theme in the game), one could say it has transcended materialism. Whether or not that is more valuable is a matter of opinion, but it's certainly clever and no other naming scheme would have worked the same way.
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* I just figured out why Teams Aqua/Magma are so lethal. Think: the idea of "berries" was greatly expanded upon in Generation III, with 43 berries in Ruby/Sapphire compared to ''10'' in GSC and NONE in the originals. Clearly, the soil of Hoenn is far more fertile than in any previous region. Bring in Team Magma, with the blazing sun caused by Groudon; and Team Aqua, with constant rainfall from Kyogre. Plants need both sunlight and water to survive, but having too much of one, with little of the other, will probably kill plants or stunt their growth. Realizing that Hoenn's way of life is clearly centered around its climate and crops, Team Magma and Team Aqua may actually be the most devastating villain team of any Pokémon game.
** Dear sir, I applaud you. Finally, a feasible explanation!
** A bit of expansion here. In Emerald, these two extremes of rain and shine alternate instead, making the weather unnatural. While it could also destroy plant life (although some plants can live with it), it also has a more noticeable effect on animals and even humans, like your allergies acting up. Not to mention, one of the two warring Pokémon will have to win eventually anyway. - [[Tropers/Aenthin|Aenthin]]
* [[Tropers/Tommy X|Tommy X]]: I knew for a while that Route 4 and Relic Castle was supposed to be based off Egypt. When I first got to the Relic Castle, I wondered why Sandile were there. It's final form's name, Krookodile, is a corruption of "crook" and crocodile. The Sandile and Krokorok in the Relic Castle are supposed to be grave robbers.
** Being Egyptian I also have some inside information. The ancient Egyptians also had a god named Sobek. What did he look like, you ask? A crocodile.
*** Krookodile's Japanese name, Waruvial, is a combination of warui, "evil", and "gavial". Nothing to do with crooks, unless the evil bit has to do with something. Also, don't crocodiles live in the Nile River and the Nile River is in Egypt?
* In the [[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (Video Game)|third generation games]], a scientist in a building in Rustboro Town says that they're working on a device that visually reproduces the dreams of Pokemon. Come [[Pokémon Black and White (Video Game)|Gen V]], there's the Pokemon Dream World.
** May or may not imply that Fennel is the scientist's daughter. Seems kinda logical.
* Stone edge- ''"The user stabs the foe with sharpened stones from below. It has a high critical-hit ratio. "'' [[Groin Attack|Why do you think it has a high critical hit ratio?]]
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* In Sinnoh, he two Pokemon Nosepass and Magneton can only evolve into their final forms by being leveled up in Mt. Coronet. In Unova, Chargestone Cave fills this role. That got me to wondering, why those two Pokemon? What do they have in common? Then, it hit me. Nosepass and Magneton are both associated with ''magnetism''. After all, Magneton is just a bunch of magnets, and Nosepass acts like a compass with its gigantic nose. Mt. Coronet has been explicitly stated to have an unusual magnetic field. Chargestone Cave has ''floating rocks'', so it must also have some interesting magnetic activity.
** Word of God also states that in the Japanese version, Coronet was Tengam. Or rather magneT. It was just lost in translation.
* In a similar vein to the above Fridge Brilliance, it took me a while (and a little bit of research) to realize the connection between the three Pokemon that evolve from knowing <nowiki>AncientPower:</nowiki> Mamoswine looks like a mammoth (obviously), Yanmega is based off a prehistoric dragonfly called the ''Meganeura'', and Tangrowth is based off a caveman! ~khfan429
* Someone this troper knows provided a double Fridge Brilliance (for themselves and the actual troper). Koga is a Kanto Gym Leader and later in the Johto Elite Four. He specialises in Poison Pokemon, and is a ninja. In Japan, there's group of ninjas that identified as "Koka". Koka ninjas were experts in poison. They are also known as "Koga". Makes his name make more sense.
* Notice how out of the 5 main series regions, Sinnoh has the harshest environments. Looking at the final evolutions of each starter, it seems as if they were tailor made to be adapted to the harsh environments of the Sinnoh region. Torterra being part ground type (as well as its appearance making it out to look like a rugged pokemon in general) means that it would be able to traverse rocks and cliffs with ease. Infernape being part fighting type as well as being a monkey would suggest that it would be very agile. This would allow it to climb steep cliffs and allow it to jump across short chasms if necessary. Empoleon is based on a penguin which means it would be able to cross icy waters without freezing to death, as well as just handling snow and cold temperatures in general. Rowan knows you'll have to cross Mt. Coronet and travel to Snowpoint City at some point in the journey. So he wants to give you a pokemon that can handle cold, mountainous environments well (Although in Torterra's case it would at least be able to handle craggy areas well, I don't know about the cold part) And Look at their secondary typings. What do you encounter mostly in mountains? Rocks. They each have the three types resisting rock, making Torterra and Empoleon resistant to rock and removing Infernape's rock weakness. And of course they can all learn rock climb.
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* This is kind of meta, but bare with me. In Black/White, Team Plasma's goal is to separate humans and Pokémon and one way is by making propaganda speeches. Do you know what would be the ultimate counter-propaganda to that? The first American theme song of the Pokémon anime.
* At first it seems strange that the only trainer you seem to battle in each generation with a full team is the champion. Then I realized that in each generation, you always encounter the champion long before you battle him or her. This would seem to indicate that the champion probably has traveled all over the region and has thus been able to obtain a full team. The other trainers you encounter(including the gym leaders) probably never leave their hometown(except when helping the hero battle the evil team), so they never have time to catch any more Pokemon.
* Just something about the games in general: [[NPNon-Player CsCharacter|NPCs]] are always telling the player about how much respect and love he has for his Pokemon. This seems a little strange, since the game is about him forcing them to fight other Pokemon for fun and profit. But when his whole party faints, he passes out and wakes up in the Pokemon Center. The player has such a strong emotional connection to his team that he literally collapses when they've been hurt too badly. Compared to other trainers, who stick around and sometimes even make jokes after you defeat their Pokemon, you really ''are'' the world's most caring trainer!
* The original Pokemon games were originally based on the [i]real[/i] world, examples; The origin of Mewtwo was that it was born from a genetic experiment on a Mew which was said to have 'given birth to', they even mention that Mew was found somewhere in South America. Lt Surge is explicitly mentioned that his nationality was American. Plus there's a model Columbia spaceship inside the Pewter Museum which was edited any mentioning of the ship's name itself and just called it a generic spaceship. (There was also the case of the RBY region being called Kanto; named after a real place in Japan)
** I assume that they Retconned the geography to remove any real world references, Mewtwo in the anime DID come from a cloning experiment....though they couldn't wipe Surge's Americanism away though, barring his gratuitous use of English in the manga and naming his traded Pokemon Volty. (That was a Pikachu in HG/SS...?), Pokemon probably turned out to be a giant success by the time G/S was almost released in Japan, proving that they were onto a cash cow and have to make their world more fantasy-based so that future games didn't seem TOO Japanese by using too well known references.
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== [[Fridge Horror]] ==
 
* In the ''[[Pokémon (Animeanime)|Pokémon]]'' anime:
** In the episodes centred around Sabrina: When Ash comes and challenges her, she says they have to "play with her" if he loses. In this case, that means getting teleported to a town model and getting run over by a giant ball, or getting turned into dolls to literally be used as such. Ash and company escape thanks to Sabrina's dad...but suppose [[And I Must Scream|not everyone who lost received the same privilege]]...
** Pretty much everything about the premise of Pokémon is horrific. The whole story is about enslaving sentient creatures and forcing them to take part in gladiatorial contests for our entertainment. The fact that some of them do get eaten adds to the fridge horror, but honestly there is nothing really nice about that society...
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* Ditto can breed with any other Pokémon, which makes perfect sense since it can Transform. But really think about what that means. It is Transforming into other Pokémon to induce them into having sex with it (or however it is that Pokémon breed). And of course when you leave Pokémon at a day care center you don't actually tell them the purpose of such is to get them to breed, so Ditto is doing this ''of its own will''. Ditto is an ''in-universe'' [[Memetic Sex God]]/[[Memetic Molester]], able to seduce any (non-gender neutral) Pokémon by shapeshifting into their image of a physically ideal mate.
** And the real kicker - ''who's to say it doesn't do this to humans?''
* In ''[[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (Video Game)|Pokémon Diamond and Pearl]]'' and ''Platinum'', you can find an Antidote in the [[Nightmare Fuel|already creepy]] Old Chateau. This Antidote is found in the ''dining room.'' Let that sink in for a second.
** Anyone find it weird that Trainers battle you at places like the Pokémon Tower, Mt. Pyre, and that one tower in D/P/Pt? People are mourning their Pokémon passing and these guys are hanging around. Why? Because they know that the people coming will be trainers. [[Jerkass|Screw the fact that one of your Pokémon is dead, I want to BATTLE.]]
*** Lampshaded by Awkward Zombie... yet again. Seriously, this dude must read our writings. HE'S AMONG US!! http://awkwardzombie.com/index.php?page=0&comic=050911
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**** Also, many of the items you find in those places get [[Fridge Horror]] applied to them.
*** Another thing to consider about Lavender Town: In the original game, it's speculated that you might actually kill your rival's Pokémon, [http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/907714-pokemon-blue-version/54152005 see here].
** Giratina. First of all, where it's located is filled with [[Alien Geometries|floating land-masses, inexplicably growing giant flowers, and land masses that just appear and disappear for no logical reason]], and that the ENTIRE area is an alternate dimension comprised of anti-matter in which Giratina is the ''only'' living thing that dwells there. Second, it's essentially an [[Eldritch Abomination]] in Ghost-Dragon form. In other words, you're trying to capture/defeat something that simply should ''not'' exist. Think about it. You're pretty much fighting a Pokémon version of [[HPH.P. Lovecraft|Yog-Sothoth himself]].
** How about the fact that ''almost, if not every Pokémon can learn the move Toxic''? Does the Pokémon vomit on the opponent? [[Squick|ewwwwww]]...
** I wonder why every Cubone I see is wearing a skull for a helmet. There are hundreds of them, all of them wearing that creepy skull, all from their mothers. Are the mothers of Cubone destined to a horrible fate upon the birth of their offspring?
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** Yeah, there's a huge desert in New York, too. Haven't you seen it before?
*** The desert could be the equivalent of Ground Zero, which is essentially in ruins. The whole Egyptian motif doesn't fit, though.
** And there are Ghost-type Pokémon in there: the Yamask and Cofagrigus.
** The official Pokédex text describing Spoink says it "bounces around on its tail. The shock of its bouncing makes its heart pump. As a result, this Pokémon cannot afford to stop bouncing - if it stops, its heart will stop." ''What do you think will happen when it faints in a battle?''
*** [[Fridge Brilliance]] here -- in ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]: Explorers Of Sky'', a Spoink says that he's lost his pearl, and without it, he's bouncing unpredictably. Since bouncing is what makes their heart pump, erratic bouncing is causing irregular heartbeat -- which the pearl is there to balance out!
** [[Pokémon Colosseum|XD]] has the two sailors thrown overboard in the opening, without even a life-vest and are explicitly missing 3 days after the event. It is not so much "fridge" as "we can't flat out say they died with an E rating".
*** Now that one thinks about it, Orre is a Nightmare Fuel Refinery, and [[Fridge Horror]] is merely a byproduct. A desert region with almost no wild Pokémon, criminal presence out the ass, a [[Police Are Useless|horrifically ineffectual police department]] ''even by Pokémon standards'', and [[Complete Monster|Cipher]], who [[Mind Rape|mindrapes]] Pokémon for power and profit, trains their personnel in the arts of spreading terror, and has no qualms whatsoever about hurting - or even ''killing'' - anyone who obstructs their dominion (see the note above about the missing sailors - that's Cipher's handiwork). Researching every brand of [[Fridge Horror]] in-depth is such an arduous process that I will instead redirect you to Pokémon's [[Pokémon (Franchise)/Nightmare Fuel|Nightmare Fuel page]] so you can research the Orre folder for yourself. But what's scarier about all this? How many games outside of ''Colosseum'' and ''XD'' reference Orre by name? {{spoiler|Fucking zero - not even Black and White utter a word of this.}} Then again, what's listed above may have something to do with the lack of references... sweet dreams.
**** Actually in Shadow of Almia it talks about Orre in a newspaper.
** In Pokémon Black/White, the battle sprites are more animated, and there are some special details like Pokémon's eyes closing when they're put to sleep. Aw, that's so cute! And when you use a sleep attack on a Kangaskhan, its baby closes its eyes too! Awww, that's adora--wait. Oh dear, does that mean that every status ailment affects a Kangaskhan's baby as well? Paralysis? Burns? Even Toxic?! Oh boy, what kind of monsters are we?!
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* In Platinum, after you defeat Team Galactic in the Valley Windworks, the little girl tells you, "I think the balloon Pokemon will come visiting again!" The only Pokemon she could mean is Drifloon, who can be found there on Fridays. Drifloon are also said to abduct children. Let that sink in for a moment.
** Except the Pokedex says they always fail.
* In Platinum, Mr Backlot likes to lie about the Pokemon you can see in his garden. His butler then goes to get the Pokemon, and suddenly, you can catch them there. Where did the butler get them from, Team Rocket? And what if they can't survive there? Is that why you can only catch two of the rare Pokemon at a time? Also, consider that these are mostly baby-Pokemon.
** Um... Nowhere does it imply he lied. He just seemed to be lying AT FIRST, but then the butler proves his words. So not a fridge horror.
* Remember the S.S. Anne? The luxury liner that sails the world? As we know, it's never come back (even in G/S/C and it's remakes, where it is replaced by another ship). In R/S/E, you come across the Abandoned Ship, which is, well, [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|abandoned]]. Here's my idea. The Abandoned Ship is the S.S. Anne. It was on it's way to Hoenn when it crashed. It began to take in water, [[Nightmare Fuel|perhaps some passengers (and unsuspecting Pokemon) drowned]], while others (probably those who had Water-types) made it out alive. - Ahatake5000
** The only problem is that the Abandoned Ship was originally called the "S.S. Cactus". - [[KZN 02]]
** In the anime, didn't the S.S Anne actually sink? Or am I mistaken with another ship? - Master K
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* A ''ton'' of battles in the anime and in the games have Pokemon getting knocked out. Obviously to a child this is bad, but not necessarily devastating. The Pokemon's just going to sleep as far as they know. But once you learn more about health and anatomy you realize that these Pokemon are taking hits serious enough to knock them unconscious. In other words, it is entirely possible for the majority of human-owned to be suffering from brain damage, internal bleeding and major damage to their organs because they live in a world with irresponsible trainers and a healthcare system of one girl and a few Chansey's per town. And that's not even getting into the long term affects of being repeatedly poisoned, burned and electrocuted. It's a wonder if the Pokemon you have will make it past their equivalent to middle age.
** Except that if you check on the Pokemon after its fainted it'll say that it has no energy left to right so its not nesccarily knocked out unconsious. Just lost too much energy to fight. Also in the anime, they'll just dizzy for a sec and is still conscious and can utter sad moans. Most often seen with Pikachu.
* The Pokemon have short lifespans, sure, but what about their Trainers? A lot of registered trainers are around 10 or 11 years old when they start their official journies, and we don't know how they got to actually obtain a lisence to train Pokemon (except for in the [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pokemon_Trainer%27s_License Electric Tale of Pikachu manga].) I highly doubt that every single one of those children has been taught a full arsenal of wilderness survival skills, or that they all know how to actually take care of themselves properly. Injuries could occur very easily, or the kid could get lost and vanish, or they could not have proper nutrition. Even car accidents (cars exist in the anime and manga) could be a very credible threat to a kid travelling with his team of trained monsters. Any number of things could happen to a kid on his journey, dangerous things. ''Don't these kids' parents '''realize''' this''? What eleven year old is ready to live on their own? Really? This always bothered me as a kid - I get the feeling that the number of Pokemon-journey-related deaths is underreported, and almost certainly glossed over by the media (the society glorifies Pokemon training, for chrissakes!). God, all those poor parents who wouldn't know what happened to their son or daughter...
** It's heavily implied in the games that the routes you take in the games are pathways specifically created for trainers to get from "Point A" to "Point B" as quickly and safely as possible. Likewise, you can still visit (or call in some games) your mom and let her know you're ok. Not to mention that (at least in the ''Electric Tale Of Pikachu'' Manga) you have to pass a test before you can start your journey as a Pokemon trainer. Plus, going outside and going (relatively) far away from home is/was rather ''normal'' for many children.
* Vacuum Wave is a Fighting type move, so its not very effective against Flying types. But a move that sucks the air away from you should screw you over if you're airborne. - [[Tropers/Kingler|Kingler]]
* The Pokemon Paras is said to be a bug that is being controlled by sentient mushrooms. On its own that's creepy enough but what would happen if those mushrooms ever decided to take over a human? It would be a regional zombie apocalypse!
** You think that's bad? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgkL8PulPdE Watch this.] The mushroom on its back is slowly taking over the Paras, and by the time it evolves it has explicitly been entirely taken over by the mushroom and is nothing but an empty shell. The first stage is implied to have the same level of sentience as most Pokemon, but the second is just a mindless zombie. Imagine ''yourself'' as the Paras...
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** Detecting energy signature and plugging into GPS?
*** But shouldn't the Pokédex already know the locations of the Pokémon? I mean, shouldn't the energy signature information be stored in a central database and then transferred to every new (and old for National Dex) Pokédex the moment it's manufactured? It would make the trainer's work a lot easier.
*** Given the uniqueness of the protagonists, they may likely be receiving training to be something along the lines of pokemon researchers. Think about it: Most other trainers just have a couple of pokemon they likely met around the park down the street. The protagonists on the other hand receive their instructions directly from senior researchers, and they are encouraged to "catch 'em all" instead of just training a select few intensely. This would typically be called sample collection. To find out about specific pokemon, you would have to either go look it up yourself at the library (like how most students start their research) or go out and discover them yourself. The professors can't be expected to just hand all the answers to you, since they want to encourage the habit of scouring the entire region to find new and possibly undiscovered pokemon.
* Barry, your rival in D/P/Pt, is characterized as a hasty and impatient guy. Then how come he has 2 rare Pokémon in his main team that you can only encounter in ''Honey Trees'', where you have to ''wait'' for them to come out?
** There's actually an "easy to miss if playing a game, yet easy to see if you take it as real life" way: He put the honey in the trees before he went to bed! The ultimate form of multitasking!
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** Its just an extra layer of trial for you to overcome. YOU have to heal the Pokémon with something, since few if any Pokémon Moves result in nullifying Status effects.
* It seems that the only non-Pokemon are humans. Just like it's a bit of a stereotype to consider humans the only non-animals. Humans could be Pokemon too. Among the most highly advanced species in intellect, they can learn a variety of different things. But they are not much different from other Pokemon. They can converse with other Pokemon. Just a theory, but who knows? What is a "Pokemon" anyways? A "Pocket Monster"? A term created by humans, who created devices to encapsulate all living beings with the exception of themselves (presumably). In the grand scheme of things, what are they? Are "humans" any different?
** More on that. What if Pokémon aren't some sort of [[Starfish Aliens]] from an alternate counterpart to our world? What if the Pokémon world is actually Earth, ''our Earth'', only set in a distant future after [[The End of the World Asas We Know It]], and 'Pokémon' is just a newly created all-around term to classify everything with a certain degree of intelligence? It would not only mean that humans are Pokémon as well, but explain why plants (as long as they're sentient) and creatures obviously dead or inert such as Ghosts and many Rock and Ground types are also classified as Pokémon. It would also explain why Pokémon such as Deoxys (a virus from space) and Elgyem can be captured and contained in Pokéballs, even though they come from outer space and should lack whatever kind of DNA or else the Pokéball recognizes in Pokémon to capture them.'' It's not that Pokéballs are engineered to capture all Pokémon. It's that they're engineered to capture '''everything''' but '''humans'''.''
*** Imagine now what would happen if any of the 'Teams' managed to get around the Pokeball's [[Hoist Byby His Own Petard|anti-human capture]] [[Failsafe Failure|failsafe]]. Cue [[Fridge Horror]].
**** There's one flaw to that and that is [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Animals Bulbapedia proves there are real animals as well as Pokemon] means it really is an alternate universe made by Arceus.
***** with the exception of the barnacles in guardian signs and the refernce to being "mad as a hornet" in the battle subway, very few references to real life animals have been made since the first generation in the anime, leading one to beleive that they have suffered either the same fate as [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome|Chuck]] or have been [[Retcon|retconned]] out of existance.
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** Um, Sandile/Krokorok/Krookodile are actually based off of the crocodiles in general (In particular the Spectatled Caiman). They feed on far more than just insects. Plus, eating a Bug-Type Pokemon as food and battling it in a trainer-based battle are two completely different things.
 
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