History Fridge / Pokemon

*** I thing this shows things well...
http://img.kyon.pl/static/img/remiq.net_16877.jpg

** 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 ''Pokemon Black/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 in the anime seems to have a problem with Tobias, after all, and the Heatran user wasn't even brought up.

***** 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=] [[BiggerIsBetter XL]] which don't. Pretty soon, probably not too far from the March 6, 2010 North American release of B/W, they're going to premiere the 3DS in the West, not only [[FridgeLogic 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 GameBoy 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 3 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 3 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 [[ScrappyMechanic event-only Pokémon]], and for that matter the whole OneGameForThePriceOfTwo system. Also, another set of Generation 1 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(/[[NoExportForYou 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? [[NoJustNo Dear God, please prevent that from happening]], this is my first real chance at catching 'em all since I had that GameShark for my old Game Boy during Generation 1 and I don't want to need to buy yet another console to do it...

* We all thought it was kinda odd that [[{{ptitle2gli7wce}} the main Generation 5 games]] went back to the simpler "color" names of ''Black'' and ''White'' after three generations of "precious" names. Then details emerged on [[AntiVillain N]], a man who may have [[spoiler:[[AdultChild failed to grow up psychologically]] because of his [[AbusiveParents dick of a dad]].]] Like [[spoiler:MichaelJackson]], almost. You know, [[spoiler:the guy who sang ''Black or White''?]] Now, we'd all been telling [[spoiler:Jacko]] jokes almost since the names were announced, [[AscendedMeme with even Pokémon Sunday getting in on the fun,]] but that there might be an element of truth to the jokes? Someone at Game Freak had this planned out.

** Yooooouuuuu... ...mooootthhheeeeeerrrrr... ...fffffffuuuuuuuuckkeeeeeerrrrr.....

* You wanna know why Gardevoir has that [[BuffySpeak red blade-fin-thing]] sticking out of its chest like it was stabbed from behind? Part of its Sapphire Pokédex entry says, "This Pokémon will try to protect its Trainer ''even at the risk of its own life."'' [[{{Tropers.Snowsky}} Snowsky]]

* You wanna know why Gardevoir has that [[BuffySpeak red blade-fin-thing]] sticking out of its chest like it was stabbed from behind? Part of its Sapphire Pokédex entry says, "This Pokémon will try to protect its Trainer ''even at the risk of its own life."''

* 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/CherryLugia300

* In each manga arc(the pair arcs, not counting the 3rd game arcs), the protagonists/antagonists follow the same rule of the games: the main character gets a starter and the rival gets one which is good against it. So we have Red(Bulbasaur) and Green(Charmander); Gold(Cyndaquil) and Silver(Totodile); even in the fourth generation, the two friends Diamond and Pearl get Turtwig and Chimchar, respectively. Then in Ruby/Sapphire, Ruby/Brendan gets Mudkip while Sapphire/May gets Torchic. That means that in the third generation arc it's the girl who's the main character! --Tropers/{{Pro-Mole}}

*** I thing this shows things well...

* In the anime, [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Tobias this guy]] won the Lily of the Valley Conference using multiple legendary Pokemon, when the last time someone caught a legendary [[{{Pokemon 2000}} it almost caused the end of the world]][[hottip:*:though to be honest, they've never really been consistent with how "legendary" the legendaries are.]]. But then I realized: in the games, don't players usually use the [[OlympusMons legendaries]] they caught to beat the Elite 4 [[NintendoHard relatively]] easily? The entire fiasco could be a TakeThat to those sort of players!

* 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 in 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/CherryLugia300

* This troper only just realised that the pokemon name Kangaskhan is a pun on Genghis Khan.
* Lance is infamous for having illegal Dragonites. However, him owning three underleveled Dragonites 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 Dragonites also know Barrier, a move which is still impossible for a Dragonite to learn even in the 4th gen. His Aerodactyl also knows Rock Slide, which it can't learn.

* This troper, after a while, thought he started to see the childishness of ''{{Pokemon}}'' when he realized how much glorified cockfighting was SeriousBusiness in the game world. After all, if TeamRocket (or whatever other team is currently relevant) are all thugs and gangsters, they should have no problems with beating up that ten-year-old kid that keeps messing with their plans, right? The other day, it finally hit him--if the player character is skilled enough and has strong enough Pokemon to beat the grunt, he wouldn't dare touch that trainer, because if he crosses the line by hitting the kid, the kid can call on his giant dragon with ElementalPowers to hit back. --[=HerbieHero=]
** [[TheRecreator This troper]] got to thinking about why Team Rocket arms its members with nothing Rattata and Zubat - after all, it isn't that hard to go out into the wild and catch a few Pokemon with more type diversity. Then one thinks about Team Rocket as an organization: in general, they steal everything they want. And what sort of creatures are best for theft in dark places? Rats and bats. Team Rocket thinks of their Pokeon as tools to the point that they don't even consider training them for direct encounters with other Pokemon.
*** They're also fairly common, easy to catch. Not too great in terms of of Pokemon. Much like military standard issue weapons, nothing fancy, gets the job done.
*** In a big, power-centric criminal organization like Team Rocket, do you want to give your grunts powerful monsters with which they have a chance to rally together and usurp you? No. That's why you give them low-level weak Pokemon species with which they'll probably be able to repel most intruders, but not you. The same principal works with the Executives; They need powerful Pokemon to protect themselves from their subordinates, but you, the Boss, will keep the most powerful monsters for your own protection.
* This Troper thought Giratina was a nonsensical Pokemon that seemed to be thrown into what seemed to be a carefully crafted mythology. All of the other Pokemon Arceus created had a clear role - time, space, memory, willpower, and emotion. Giratina was just sort of there. And the explanation that it lived in a parallel dimension that was integral to the existence of the real world when it was so small was pretty silly. Then Junichi Masuda clarified that Giratina was the personification of anti-matter and now it all makes perfect sense and is kind of awesome. The reason Giratina's world is so small is because of baryogenesis, and the reason its cut off from anything else is because logically it should explode if it went to the real world (instead it just transforms to handwave it not exploding). And its creation by Pokemon God actually has a purpose and sense. How many series have a God of Antimatter in them?
** 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

* Pokemon's Pokedex entries contain a lot of information that are completely scientifically incorrect, like Alakazam having an IQ of over a thousand, or Moltres being hotter than the surface of the sun. But who's writing these Pokedex entries? It's ten-year-old trainers that don't have a good grasp on science, so they end up grossly exaggerating things!
** Well, to be fair, lightning is hotter than the sun, too.
** Somehow I feel like a giant flaming bird that is hotter than the sun would have a worse effect than a fraction-of-a-second lightning bolt.
** Plus, some of the Pokedex entries imply that the player characters are sadistic little bastards. I mean for instance, one of Raticate's entries says that it can't balance itself if its whiskers are cut off, and one of Golem's says it can survive being blown up by dynamite. Just HOW did the trainer writing these find out?
*** By fighting other Pokemon, probably. There are plenty of attacks that involve cutting and a few that involve explosions. (speaking of which, Golem can explode itself and only be knocked out)
* Just realised why the "Brine" attack in Pokemon inflicts double damage when the opponent is low on health. Saturated salt water in your wounds? ''Ouch.''
* When you meet your rival in Lavender Town in the original Pokemon games, he asks you if any of your Pokemon died. Then you realise not long after that his team has an empty spot, and that his Raticate vanished.

** And here I thought he was just calling my Pokemon weak... [[FridgeHorror oh God...]]
** I just thought of something: that question about your Pokemon dying was presented in a mean-spirited manner. And he did say he caught a Cubone in the Tower. This brings the possibility that he just didn't care about Raticate's death at all. Then this ties in to his actions at Silph Co. And that makes what Oak tells him after the final battle carry more weight.
** Orrrrrrrrr, he just shoved Raticate in the box after it outlasted its usefulness. The rival captures a lot of Pokemon 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 Pokemon die. He asks "What are you doing here? Your Pokemon don't look dead to me!" As he says, he's looking for more Pokemon (he leaves since he can't find Marowak), and he's just being a dick to the player.
*** Sounds like you're playing Fire Red/Leaf Green. This point is about the original red/blue (maybe yellow, I never played it)
*** Even if that's what he says, ("What are you doing here? Your Pokemon don't look dead to me!") that implies that he's there because one of his Pokemon died. He's wondering why anyone would come to the tower unless one of their Pokemon have died, yet... The whole "trying to find Marowak," in my opinion, is simply his way of trying to come off as if nothing's wrong so as to appear more macho than his rival. (If he had already caught a Cubone, there's nothing stopping him from raising it until it becomes a Marowak)
*** ...that doesn't imply it at all. Again, he's just being a jerk to the player. The dialogue is the same in every version, and there's no reason why they would say the mother Marowak died but not his Raticate. He also has a Fearow in Yellow that he stops using at some point, and in both sets of remakes he switches out Pokemon. Don't forget that Blue only cares about strong Pokemon anyway, he probably wouldn't want to bother taking the time raising a Cubone if it started out weak. Raticate's in the box, plain and simple.
**** Pokemon Yellow is based on the anime, and as such can't be used in this argument very well (only think even coming close to saying it is canon is Red's team in GSC). And Raticate can learn Super Fang. It cuts the targets HP in half. Why wouldn't he want that on his team? It would be quite effective, plain and simple
* Finally figured out why Curse is different between ghost types and other types. Imagine a Slowpoke cursing!

* Psychic-type weaknesses have been a bit confusing. Ghosts were obviously meant to keep them from being [[GameBreaker Game Breakers]] despite the coding error that made them useless against Psychics and Dark was introduced for that same purpose as well but Psychics being weak to Bugs always confused me...until I realized that Psychic weaknesses are based on three of the most common phobias that young kids go through: fear of ghost, fear of the dark and fear of bugs.
** There's that. Yet, you can say that psychic attacks hit you in the mind. Bugs, having no actual brain (not in the [[HiveMind indvidual form]], at least), clearly have an edge against that. Dark-types might have minds so dark and evil that psychics can't mess with them
** Bearin mind that the "Dark" type isn't the "lack of light" type; in Japan, the type is actually called the "Evil" type. Psychics and Ghosts are both have heavy associations with souls. Dark type attacks are super-effective because they (thematically) steal souls! Also this might explain why psychic attacks don't work on Dark-types. Despite depictions of these attacks in the anime, Psychic attacks work by assaulting the enemy's mind, again with the connotation of manipulating souls. They don't work on Dark-types because ''they have no souls!''
*** Actually, Dark type attacks are just dirty fighting, not evil in the CosmicHorror sense. The honorable Fighting type brings them down, though.
*** Either that, or a Fighter's Soul is too strong to corrupt.
*** It has nothing to do with souls. A ghost type is literally nothing but a soul but psychic attacks don't do increased damage to them (anymore) so, psychic attacks most likely don't manipulate souls. Dark types also probably DO have souls, seeing as DarkIsNotEvil in pokemon, surprisingly since they type is called evil in Japan. The "evil" in "Evil type" is probably more akin to criminals than a CosmicHorror though, since as mentioned above, their techniques are pretty much all just fighting dirty. Additionally, the only pokemon type that tends to be depicted doing anything with souls is the ghost type, not dark. I always thought that in order to attack psychics have to link their minds to their target somehow and manipulate that into the attack. Dark types can probably just flood that link with malicious and negative thoughts like when they use Dark Pulse. Similar to how Sabrina laughing at Haunter's antics in the anime caused her Kadabra to laugh too since it got sent through their own psychic link. That overwhelms the psychic to the point that psychic types break the link to protect their own minds from being influenced.
* This troper just put two and two together. Lugia used to reside on the top of one of two towers in Ecruteak City, though it now lives deep in the Whirl Islands. It is known to have the power to both calm and give rise to storms. Several Pokedex entries mention that Lugia isolates itself because its powers are too strong. Now, back to the two towers in Ecruteak. One of them is still standing; the other one burned down when it was suddenly struck by lightning. Guess which one Lugia used to roost on?

* For a long time I thought the grunts of any criminal organization not having names while other trainers do was just a result of a combination of laziness and a cheap way of keeping anyone from sympathizing with them. Then I realize, ''[[{{Namedar}} how would you know what their names are in the first place]]''? Trainers tell you their names (offscreen) so you'll remember them especially if they want a rematch, Gym Leaders introduce themselves because that's part of their job, and important villain tell you their names mostly out of ego (the same goes for the Scientist working with Team Rocket and Team Galactic), but grunts are just battling to get you to go away and wouldn't ''want'' you to know their names because that would make it harder for them to evade law enforcement if they left the team. --{{thatother1dude}}
* TVTropesWillRuinYourLife in action here. Over on the Pokemon FetishFuel page, someone mentioned Combusken among Pokemon that look somewhat...[[FreudWasRight 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...[[StealthPun it's a giant cock.]] --{{SpiriTsunami}}

* I was wondering how the TMs work, since the animation from Gen 3 just shows a CD being placed onto the Pokemon'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 Pokemon are. That's when I realized: The [=CDs=] aren't being placed into the Pokemon; they're being loaded onto the Poke Balls ''containing'' them! -phazonfarmer

*** Well now hey, there are little teleporters scattered all over the place in gyms and basements of Team Whoever, who's to say there aren't bags that utilize this technology?

** FridgeLogic on the ''that'' Fridge Brilliance in regards to the OTHER Fridge Brilliance: Except that they're not. The move Groudon uses in order to kill Kyogre is the special, Grass-type Solarbeam. Kyogre can use any water attack or ice attack to kill 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.AOTKorby AOTKorby]]
* 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 HandWave it, keeping the game rated E. But then I realized they're saying it because ''the protagonist'' is 10 years old - they dont want to talk TheTalk to him/her. --[[BarryOgg [=BarryOgg=]]]

* As of June, 2010, new Gen V Pokemon was revealed as the local bird. It was pigeon. At first I was all like, "WTF", but then, I remembered that Isshu was filled with CITIES!
* After a side-by-side comparison with Sinnoh Myths implying that Pokemon and humans were one and the same and continuously inquisitive fan drawings of muscularly human Digletts and Dugtrios, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH IT'S MORE POSSIBLE THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH.
* Giovanni is the leader of Team Rocket. He's also the last Gym leader you battle. After you get a badge from him, all Pokemon will obey you, [[UnfortunateImplications regardless of if you captured them or not.]]
* Realized the other day that in the Japanese, the Badges in Red and Blue(Green) were named after their respective colours instead. Now the last Gym Leader you face is Giovanni, who gives you the Earth Badge (Green Badge). In GSC, you hear the tale of Red who beat Team Rocket, became the League Champion and disappeared. In Giovanni's place is Red's rival... Green! Now it makes more sense that his team was multi-type in the Earth Gym.

* This troper could never get his head around why the pokédex even needed building in the first place. You go through the game, being told that the region your in has got newly disocvered pokémon, but the trainers and legends you keep running into would imply that most of them have been known about for ''years''. So whats the point? Then I read PokémonX, and the answer hit me harder than a ton of bricks. In the webcomic, whenever Brendan brings up a pokémon from his home region of Johto, which happens to not be in Hoenn, May scoffs at him for talking about make belief pokémon. Take this idea, and apply as well as isolate to an entire region. The reason Oak set about with the pokédex in the first place, is because whilst people will obviously know about the pokémon they've seen or been told of in their local communities, anything outside of that is completely foreign. If a person lived in a place that was surrounded by Rattata, Caterpie, and Pidgey for example, and no other pokémon lived there or were talked about, the instant someone shows up with a Mankey, they'll be utterly baffled. So the pokédex is meant to ensure this sort of thing doesn't happen. As for why noone had tried this before Oak came along? ''It's too damned hard''. Seriously, most of the professors we've seen are either old as hell, or young but useless at saving their behinds in battle. Even Oak complains he's simply too old to search the entire region, and make sure he's listed off every pokémon that's even slightly mentioned.
* 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 Snorlaxes and defeated them, instead of catching them, you were given dialogue that they "returned back to the mountains", indicating that Snorlaxes' (Snorlaxs? Snorlax? Snorlaxi?) 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''. ~@/ShadowStainedSky
* 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: Stat XP, 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 age of Pokemon that's not [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo One Game For The Price Of Seven]]. -@/{{phazonfarmer}}
** I'm sorry, but I doubt your second reason applies. The fifth generation is being marketed towards the DSi and DSi XL. The DS and DS Lite could read Gameboy games, but the DSi can't. This means that you won't be able to transfer your Ruby and Sapphire 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. Rrrrrinse and repeat. -{{@/Neopolis}}

* In RBY, you get to capture a Snorlax. There are two Snorlaxes 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.

** [[{{RoseSpirit}} 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.
* This troper never really understood the Poke Walker, figuring it was just another bright idea of Nintendo's to make nerds get some exercise. A few days ago, she remembered something- the Pokemon Pikachu 2, a step counter that was released around the same time as the original Gold and Silver. Not only did they reboot the games, they rebooted the accompanying gadget! -Quillpaw
* I've heard that some people really dislike Gear, because it's a crappy design. But think about this: Isshu is a very technologically advanced region, compared to others, right? Couldn't it be that they reverse-engineered this from the Pokemon? -Beyondnor-
* As I took a peek at the new pokemon, I rejoyced 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 [[CarnivoreConfusion it wasn't supposed to be a rivalry after all]]. -{{Tropers/Pro-Mole}}
* Zuruggu and its evolution Zuruzukin are two lizards dressed in a punk-style getup (the latter sporting an additional mohawk and hoody), 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 Zuruzukin represents an untrained thug. Normally, a trained fighter has an advantage in a fight over someone with no training. Even if two Zuruzukin fight, it'll be like two gang rivals dueling, since both will use Fighting type moves and go down quickly.

** 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 recieve Eevee from an NPC. In fact, when playing R/S/E, [[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/XD/C! But I digress; the point is, it's probable that Eevee are native to Sinnoh, and that people have known about L & G for as long as they've known about E. The reason they haven't been mentioned in the games sooner is probably because the information is useless outside of Sinnoh. -@/{{phazonfarmer}}

* I wondered why your rival in the first generation had a Gyarados, as he didn't exactly strike me as the guy willing to train a lowly Magikarp up to level 20. However, I then realized that you never actually fought his Gyarados as a Magikarp. In fact, it is the ''only'' member of his team who never fights you in its basic form. He probably took a shortcut and just caught a Gyarados instead of a Magikarp, illustrating his lack of patience, dislike of weak Pokemon, ''and'' unwillingness to commit to a lasting friendship with his Pokemon. --Dragoryu3000

* This troper always found it strange that Misty only had two pokemon, level 18 and 21 Staryu and Starmie respectively, yet she trains at Seafoam Islands where the lowest level pokemon there is probably level 26. The more I thought about it, I realized that the Staryu and Starmie aren't her only pokemon, and she has a set thats levels are much higher. Then I realized that all gym leaders probably have a set of pokemon used to face each challenger based on their skill level. For example, if Giovanni would have been present as Red's first gym leader, he would have used the level of pokemon that Brock used to face you, then Brock would've used the level of Misty, etc.