History Headscratchers / Pokemon

** What sort of wild battles are you talking about? It is my understanding that most wild pokémon will randomly use whatever moves they currently know, regardless of type effectiveness. Even the seemingly wild Totem Pokémon are noted to have been trained by Trial Captains to some degree.

* How exactly is it that every pokémon knows the typing of each other pokémon and apparently the ''entire type weakness chart'' (as evidenced by them always using moves with the best effectiveness despite that a Pikachu that's spent its life in the Viridian Forest should have no way to know anything about the pokémon you caught half a continent away)?!

*** That'd just be another set of [=IV=]s, and it's frustrating enough already trying to get a Pokemon with [=IV=]s that compliment the base stats of its species.

* Why hasn't the concept of Pokemon sizes been introduced in the games yet? Its commonplace within nature, that there will be variation between animal sizes of the same species that can be advantageous and disadvantageous depending on the circumstances. Heck, the anime has often touched upon this theme.
** Once in a blue moon, you could come across a ''Giant Pokemon'' that has insane attack power and defense. They're like tanks, they can take a lot of damage thanks to high stamina, but their speed is poor, they'll almost never get first turn. On the other end of the spectrum, you might encounter the equally rare ''Mini Pokemon'', with low attack power, but speed and evasion is incredible, thanks to its very small size.

* How did society ever function before the invention of the Pokeball? If wild Pokemon (feeling threatened for no good reason) supposedly attack people, without Pokemon to protect themselves with, how could they ever farm, live off the land, or do anything? People back then must have been at their ''[[NatureIsNotNice mercy]]''.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonConquest'' shows that before Pokeballs (or at least in a region that doesn't use Pokeballs) trainers tamed Pokemon, rather than catch them. The Pokemon became their partners because they sensed a kinship, or were impressed by their strength. This seems the most likely answer. Not to mention before Pokeballs they used Apricorns. But how long ago that was, or how many centuries they used them is unknown.
* '''Why''' can't you catch a wild Pokemon if it faints?
** Because it's dead, but don't tell the kids, a trainer's pokemon is a different story
** Would you really want to be prompted to catch every single wild Pokemon you defeat? How do you want the game to differentiate between defeating it to capture it or defeating it for exp, etc., or just to get rid of it?

** Its just an excuse to have stronger Pokeballs and weaker Pokemon.

** In the original game plan for Red and Green, trainers were supposed to keep Pokemon in line with whips, before the ball idea was invented. That's why the Cooltrainer sprite still had whips in the first generation.
** In the real world, [[TapOnTheHead being hurt so badly that you faint means you have a concussion at best and serious brain damage at worst.]] My explanation is, when they faint, they're either dead or dying, and if they've sustained that much damage the pokeball can't log them/register them because they're too damaged for it to recognize them. But once you've caught a pokemon the pokeball is customized to recognize that pokemon and nothing else. (which is why you don't get a pokeball back when you release your pokes.) So! When you battle and your pokemon faints, you can return it to the pokeball and keep it in a time-stasis like state until you reach the pokemon center and get it medical attention. But with wild pokemon you can't.
*** Look, seriously, that's impossible. The whole point is that Pokemon [[NonLethalKO DON'T die.]] Seriously, eating some berries or DRINKING SODA/LEMONADE heals off getting flattened, slashed, burned, '''poison and worse poison''' not to mention several methods of paralysis, there is NO reason to think they fucking die every time they lose all their HP.
*** They don't? '''Explain Lavender Tower then.''' People there even say outright their pokémon ''died''.

* Why do the games not give a way of finding out which Pokémon are in which egg groups? If there was a brief explanation somewhere in the games of how egg groups work, if the Pokédex listed each Pokémon’s egg groups (and if they could only breed with Ditto or not at all, it would say so), and you could filter by egg groups in the Pokédex to see which of your Pokémon could breed with each other, it would make breeding a lot easier so people wouldn’t have to go online to look up the egg groups. How are you supposed to know that Delibird can’t breed with most other bird Pokémon, or that Nidorina and Nidoqueen can’t breed at all but Nidorino and Nidoking (and both Nidorans) can? Especially since the Pokédex does bother listing stuff with less practical utility, like body shape or colour.

** ''Headscratchers/PokemonSwordAndShield''

* Is it just me or are Pokémon who are able to learn certain moves seem like they shouldn't? For instance, many Pokémon can learn Aura Sphere, but going by lore, only Lucario should be able to learn it due to being able to manipulate Aura. Lucario can also learn Bone Rush despite not being associated with bones (Mandibuzz is a vulture hence why she can learn it. The anime and ''VideoGame/PokkenTournament'' have Lucario's Bone Rush being a staff of energy but the point still stands). Finally, Grapploct, Horsea and Remoraid can learn Octazooka despite the move being called ''Okutank'' Cannon which means Octillery Cannon and as such, only Octillery should learn it.

*** The ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' manga explains this in ''A Flaaffy Kerfuffle'': Six Pokémon is the limit because that's the maximum amount a trainer can give all of their Pok;eacute;mon sufficient care and attention.

** Agreed. And grass ''is'' a plant, after all.

* [[IncrediblyLamePun Scizor takes neutral damage from Rock type attacks]]. Why?

*** In the first generation games, there's a message that says the Poke Ball missed, where in the later games you see the Pokemon go into the ball and break out immediately. (No shakes.) And as for the legendary Pokemon disappearing at the end of the battle if you accidentally defeat it, that's not fake difficulty, that's just common sense. It probably leaves or something, embarrassed at being beaten by a mortal.
*** Actually I'm talking about the whole missing the Pokemon, you know the thing I was complaining about. It feels like fake difficulty because it hinders me without anything I can really do to fix it. I'd rather get the message where it says that the Pokémon broke free because at least then my Poke Ball would have been doing something.

* [[IncrediblyLamePun Why is Fire not super effective against Fire?]]

** There's an IJBM earlier in the page that contrasts Misty's "offensive boasting" with her in-battle "defensive" strategy. Perhaps that also applies here. She has the tomboyish attitude [[RealWomenNeverWearDresses as a "front"]]; i.e. she thinks people won't take her seriously as a battler [[StayInTheKitchen if she acted like a normal girl]]. And while that may be tactically advantageous, she's relatively low on the totem pole and likely has a higher priority on image than subtlety. (Only being allowed to use Pokemon half as powerful on her "trainer team" as Blaine's "trainer team" may have something to do with that.) She may have grown out of that conflict by HG/SS, though.

** People don't die right away when their heart stops; only when the brain shuts down are they considered dead. So if a Spoink stops bouncing after fainting, there's still time to get it healed before it actually bites the dust.

*** [[CriticalResearchFailure Spark actually makes contact.]] Psycho Cut is more or less a blade formed by psychic power. Water Shuriken is made of compressed water. Fusion Bolt is Zekrom/Kyurem charging into the opponent... which makes no sense, actually. Nothing on Natural Gift.

** VideoGame/PokemonConquest shows that before Pokeballs (Or at least in a region that doesn't use Pokeballs) trainers tamed Pokemon, rather than catch them. The Pokemon became their partners because they sensed a kinship, or were impressed by their strength. This seems the most likely answer. Not to mention before Pokeballs they used Apricorns. But how long ago that was, or how many centuries they used them is unknown.

** In the real world, [[TapOnTheHead being hurt so badly that you faint means you have a concision at best and serious brain damage at worst.]] My explanation is, when they faint, they're either dead or dying, and if they've sustained that much damage the pokeball can't log them/register them because they're too damaged for it to recognize them. But once you've caught a pokemon the pokeball is customized to recognize that pokemon and nothing else. (which is why you don't get a pokeball back when you release your pokes.) So! When you battle and your pokemon faints, you can return it to the pokeball and keep it in a time-stasis like state until you reach the pokemon center and get it medical attention. But with wild pokemon you can't.

** Think of it like [[RanmaOneHalf Ryoga's]]... uh... *does quick research* "Bakusai Tenketsu". For a normal person, punching a rock is an incredibly stupid move that does little damage to the rock and probably hurts your fist. But a trained martial artist who can identify the weak point in the rock can break it easily. Both people punch it, but only one knows ''how''.

*** Please, please, this is an E-rated game! We can't go beyond the boundaries of what can slip past the radar, this isn't Banjo-Kazooie!

** Haven't you played VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers of Darkness/Time/Sky? There are plenty of Pokemon criminals, and there are bounty rewards for explorer teams that capture them.

*** Like [[{{VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising}} Viridi.]]

** Obviously she shops online at [[IncrediblyLamePun Pok-E-Bay]].

** He made the game(duh) and adventures/special is his favorite adaptation of them (at least it was 10+ years ago). At the very least we know he prefers the manga comics but he probably doesn't hate what makes him so much money in royalties. Why get involved when he can focus on what he does like? It's not as if he's retired from making video games.

** I'd like to assume berries replace fruit like Pokemon replace animals. "Lemonade" may just be GrandfatherClause in action. The only other problem is apples instead of Leppa Berries in the Mystery Dungeon games. While on the subject of fruit and berries, can someone tell me what Iapapa is based on? I thought papaya at first, but then we have Payapa Berries. The only other fruit that gets repeated is Yache and Custap Berries, but those are at least different names for the same fruit. Finally, why are there Shuca and Charti Berries if their inspiration isn't fruit (Cashew and Artichoke.)?
*** So, Iapapa is definitely Papaya(it even looks like one), while Payapa is a Calabash(though the ''name'' is based on Papaya). [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Twin_Cashews_From_Kollam_Kerala.jpg Cashew is obviously a fruit]]. Artichokes... not much, but the berry is based on the core of the thing, which might count so, since the artichoke is a flower.

** While I agree with the Nidos, (they ''are'' the Drill Pokemon) Fearow actually makes perfect sense. It's already shown drilling capacity- Drill Peck!- and [[strike:[[Anime/CodeGeass you know full well what that badass mother can do]]]] its Japanese name is Onidrill, which can be translated as both Demon Bird and Demon Drill. It's par for the course for him, though this raises the question of why Beedrill (admittedly "Spear" in Japan, but ''still'') didn't get it. Incidentally, the only Pokemon besides Fearow that get it are Rhyhorn's family and the drill moles. Personally, I'm calling Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann shout-out, but who knows?

** [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Acrofatic Acrofatic?]] Several Hikers in Sinnoh mention how much they love food.

** They're not. Your perception is skewed due to familiarity since you were exposed to those designs at a younger age. There were 3 metal eyeballs clustered together with magnets stuck on, Mimes with misleading names, globs of toxic moonsludge, headless humanoids with springy legs, a fighter based on (of all things) a SPINNING TOP. I don't even know what to say about the designs of Weezing, Lickitung, and Jynx. Every gen has its oddball designs, but the likes of jynx and lickitung will never be out " bizarred" IMO .

* In PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure, if you stand still in the Iceberg zone for a few seconds, Pikachu will shiver. Why does he shiver if he has fur to keep him warm?

* On the Character pages, Dark-type Pokemon, as well as Pokemon capable of learning even one Dark-type attack, are listed as having the {{Casting A Shadow}} trope. This troubles me because 1) Most attacks that actually deal with manipulation of darkness as an element are of the Ghost-type, not the Dark-type; 2) Aside from Dark Pulse and Night Daze, the latter of which is restricted to Zoroark, there are ''no'' Dark-type attacks that have anything to do with manipulating darkness as an element; and 3) The majority of the Pokemon listed with the {{Casting A Shadow}} trope cannot learn Dark Pulse. It just seems ''ridiculous'' to me that the very first trope listed for Jesse's Arbok is "{{Casting A Shadow}}" just because it can ''bite'' things. And on a similar note, it's even more ridiculous that Jesse's Lickitung has the {{Soul Power}} trope because it can ''lick''.

*** Giritina is actually [[GravityMaster Gravity]], not Antimatter.

* This troper does not entirely understand the problem with poaching in the Pokemon world. I know that in the real world it's a serious problem, but in a lot of the cases it seems to me that poachers are, for the most part, catching Pokemon just as everybody else does, albeit with different methods. I understand them drawing the line at stealing other people's, but in a world where you are supposed to CatchEmAll (at least at first)...

** Bugs usually operate under [[HiveMind Hive Mind]]--the ability that powers up Bug-type moves is ''Swarm''--while Dark types are implied to be either evil or some kind of psychic void and Ghosts are... well, [[DemonicPossession gho]][[SpookySeance sts]]. Same answer as above for Poison. (Or, if you're in a more Doylist mood, Psychic types ''really'' needed to be nerfed after the first generation and they didn't want Poison types to be overpowered.)
* In [[VideoGame/PanelDePon Pokémon Puzzle Leauge]], Sabrina keeps saying "I told you so". What did she say exactly? Is there some sort of subliminal message I'm not getting?

** [[AsyouKnow Simple;]] Aspear berries contain juices that induce higher body temptatures in pokemon, so by squeezing the juices over a 'mon, they'll warm up and defrost themselves. (Though throwing them like one would a rotten tomato could suffice in a pinch.) Also, I refuse to believe the pokemon are put in a block of ice, instead the body is partially covered with enough frost to simulate being frozen completely. Many parts of the body are still exposed, but not enough to simply shake off the cold.

** By this point, I'm pretty sure it's less about the Professors getting all the data and more about ''you'', the [[PlayerCharacter Player Character]], getting all the data--the series has gone from "take this starter and go out on this big journey specifically to fill out the Pokedex for me, the local Professor" to "take this starter and go out and have a big adventure! Oh, and take the Pokedex along, you might find it useful, I dunno". The Pokedex and the idea of 'gotta catch 'em all' has become such an [[TheArtifact artifact]] of the series (understandably, what with 717 Pokemon running around) that I wouldn't be surprised if it's just tradition at this point to toss in a Pokedex along with the kid's flamey/sludgy/leafy thing.

** [[GameplayandStorySegregation Linking together flavor text and the actual game has never been Pokéemon's forte]].

** It's probably the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westermarck_effect Westermarck Effect]]. The psychological effect where two people, such as siblings, who grow up next to each other during the first few years of the lives don't find each other sexually attractive. A Pokémon Trainer and their Pokémon form a "family unit" of sorts where the Trainer is the "parental figure" and the Pokémon are the "children". They probably don't feel comfortable breeding with Pokémon they view as "siblings".

** Agreed, And grass ''is'' a plant, after all.

* Why is it called the Grass type, rather than Plant type? Not all Grass Pokémon are related to grass, but they're all related to plants and vegetation.

* If looking another trainer in the eye is what's supposed to trigger a battle, why does it still happen if you're facing a different direction?

** The real, canon answer is that Pokémon shrink upon being defeated, which helps them heal and makes them too small to catch. This was mentioned by Lucian in the Japanese versions, and reaffirmed by the battle animations showing them shrinking out of view upon fainting.