History CommonKnowledge / Pokemon

* Due to a Tumblr post that began circulating around late 2020, there's a misconception claiming that the first EarlyBirdCameo of a Generation II Pokémon in the anime was Raymond's Donphan in ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie''. This is of course false: Ho-Oh appeared in the very first episode of the series, and Togepi was already in Misty's possession by the time the movie first came out. Plus, the movie was preceded by the ''Anime/PikachusVacation'' short, which featured the first appearances of Snubbull and Marill. In fact, Donphan was the ''fifth'' Generation II Pokémon to debut in the anime.

** This also comes up with the supposedly obscene price of the bike in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' - the bike costs around $10,000. While still a lot, it's not unheard of for specialty bikes to cost that much. The player's bike is most likely a high-end model, given that it folds up into their backpack when not in use. The only other trainers that ride bicycles in the games look to be semi-serious athletes, so it's also reasonable to assume that the bike shops in the games only carry high-end models. This is why the store owner in ''Red and Blue'' wants you to ride the bike around and advertise for them.

* The Pokémon world is often stereotyped by non-fans as "a bunch of kids enslaving wild animals and forcing them to fight each other". This is completely untrue, and the franchise (particularly ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'') makes a ceaseless effort to demonstrate otherwise. While the core gameplay focuses on battling by its nature as an {{RPG}}, most Pokémon are said to ''enjoy'' battling, and even seek out Trainers of their own; wild Pokémon are even said to ''envy'' Pokémon who have trainers. Various characters of all ages are also shown to use Pokémon for non-violent means like sports, nursing, or construction. Not only that, but other media outside of the games show that Pokémon are even capable of refusing to fight for one reason or another. Even the aforementioned ''Black and White'' claims that captured Pokémon don't feel enslaved unless mistreated, and are capable of leaving their Trainers of their own accord if they so desired. ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' lampshades this as well, with one person mentioning that if they were really unhappy they'd just flee the farm you leave them on. As for the claim that Pokémon are forced to fight, multiple Pokemon media, most notably the anime, show that Pokemon are to refuse to fight if they don't want to. In the mainline games, a Pokemon can ignore and disobey its trainer if they don't have a Gym Badge.

* People often assume all Mimikyu hold a grudge against Pikachu. While Jessie's Mimikyu in the anime holds a grudge against Pikachu, most other Mimikyu are depicted as lonely and kindhearted {{friendly ghost}}s who dress like Pikachu not only to protect others from seeing their true form ([[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm as doing so can be... unhealthy... for the viewer]]), but also because they want to achieve Pikachu's level of popularity and acceptance among others.

** Psychic is sometimes thought to be strong against Ghost. It does neutral damage. The reason for older fans thinking this is because the only Ghost-type family in Gen I (the Gastly line) was part-Poison, which ''is'' weak to Psychic. And while the only Ghost-type introduced in Gen II (Misdreavus) is a pure Ghost-type, it also isn't used by any trainer in the game ([[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter despite there being a Ghost-type Gym]]) and can only be encountered in the final post-game area.
* Some fans believe that a Charmander (and it evolutions, Charmeleon and Charizard) will die if its tail flame is extinguished by water. This comes from an ambiguous statement made by Brock in the anime, and the fact the Charmander in that episode is sick from being in the rain (not to mention starved and tired). This was a misunderstanding. In fact, a Charmander's tail flame is an ''indicator'' of its health, and it being extinguished is a ''symptom'' of its death, not the cause. Several later instances show Charmander and two different Charizard having their tails completely submerged, and their flames continuing to burn even underwater.