Fridge Brilliance / Pokémon: The Series

Fridge Horror and Fridge Logic entries can be found here.

Fridge pages are Spoilers Off by default, so all entries have been folderized as a security measure. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned!

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Humans & Pokemon

• 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!
• Nurse Joy's name suits her when you realize that her name in Japanese (joi) literally means 'woman doctor'.
• Together Forever makes perfect sense if it is viewed as being about Ash and Pikachu's relationship, not just because the title may end up being literal at this rate, but due to this particular lyric: "We've got lots of friends but they come and go." Yes, Ash has made several friends throughout his travels that he's all eventually had to say goodbye to, but Pikachu has been by his side from the beginning of his journey and will almost certainly be there until the very end.
• Gary Took a Level in Kindness after Johto. He also owns a Umbreon, who can evolve from Eevee only when it has high friendship.
• Why was it that Gary was always a step ahead of Ash in the first season? Because he had a car that allowed him to travel across Kanto quicker.
• Brock's Lovable Sex Maniac tendencies during the Indigo League make 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.
  • Or better yet, he's fifteen years old! Hormones and the attraction to girls are exploding around that age anyway, especially as compared to his ten and twelve year-old companions. So it's justified in comparison.
  • Speaking of which, Brock's actions around women he's attracted to becoming more over-the-top and a greater part of his character is often considered an example of flanderization. But maybe it's actually him getting increasingly desperate.
  • Of note, Brock tend to always be attracted to older women typically who have jobs. Considering his backstory of raising all of his siblings by himself with the Gym being his main source of income (which he shows time and time again that he doesn't want to even run) it seems like Brock is looking for A) A woman old enough to handle raising multiple children who's not too much older than him and B) A woman who can support their family so he can focus on his ambitions and/or so he can be the man of the house doing all the cooking an cleaning which he does seem to enjoy. Considering that he left to stay with Professor Ivy to do just that at her lab, it seems to track.
• There's a brilliant explanation for the 'Onigiri is a Donut' bit in the dub, at least for the episode where Ash's Mankey/Primeape debuts. Brock is regarded as a Supreme Chef, by people and Pokémon alike, so it's no surprise if he occasionally makes one food look like something else like some real life cooks and chefs do.
• In earlier seasons, we repeatedly see the Team Rocket trio whining about how they haven't eaten anything for days because they don't have any money. Around Hoenn and Sinnoh, these complaints stopped. Why? Because all of the stuff they sold at various contests and little tournaments proved wildly popular and thus paid for their Humongous Mecha and food. It may also play into why their gadgetry has become more and more sophisticated and powerful in later seasons.
  • To punctuate this, in Kalos they sparsely seem to be deprived of the finer things, conversing in fancy restaurants and attending high etiquette dance parties. Episodes such as the summer camp arc show them having part time jobs. By this point they've become so competent at being able to do any part-time gig that comes their way that they get multiple raises in salary.
• The Team Rocket trio have managed to stay employed to Team Rocket despite their perpetual state of mediocrity at best and utter failure at worst. There are several plausible reasons for this if you think about it:
  • In their persistent stalking of Ash and Pikachu, who are two Weirdness Magnets, they inadvertently became instrumental in stopping rival criminal teams and saving the world several times over. This, in turn, helps Team Rocket's overall bottom line in the long run. If Giovanni has realized this, it makes sense to just keep the trio around as a form of insurance. This becomes partially confirmed when at the end of Diamond & Pearl the trio manage to convince Giovanni that they've shut down Team Galactic (although in reality they only played a minor part) and then later proceed to also take credit for stopping Team Plasma and Team Flare.
  • Supplemental materials to Pokémon: The First Movie revealed that Jessie is the daughter of a highly ranked Team Rocket agent who was the first person to record audio evidence of Mew, before ultimately going M.I.A. This audio recording was the reason Team Rocket was able to find Mew's DNA to create Mewtwo in the first place. If Giovanni knows this about Jessie, he could simply be allowing her (and by extension, James and Meowth) to remain on the team out of unspoken honor to her mother, regardless of Jessie's terrible track record.
  • Another simpler reason might also be that when the trio have to do actual criminal activities instead of petty Pokémon theft, they are shown to be really good at it (as shown in Unova).
  • Another thing to consider is that the Rocket Trio are kept on because of their sheer tenacity. The simple reality is that out of nearly every Rocket we've seen, the Rocket Trio are the only ones who have always kept. coming. back. No matter how many times they failed, no matter how many times they've made a mess of things, no matter how many times it would be easier for them to give up and find a better life, they just don't quit. Giovanni, for all of his understandable frustration and varying degrees of displeasure at their incompetence, does to some small degree value that kind of single-minded determination. It's especially something that sticks out given that their former rivals Butch and Cassidy eventually retired, and there are no shortage of random grunts and former friends of the trio who have given up on Team Rocket to pursue other ventures.
• Brock ended up giving his Onix to his brother Forrest and later when Brock returned to the Gym, he found his Onix is now a Steelix. When thinking about it along the video game lines, it makes sense. In the game, the only way to evolve your Onix to Steelix is to trade your Onix while it is holding a Metal Coat. As for 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.
• Georgia's name in the anime makes more sense than just being based off a famous Dragon Slayer. The slayer was a male in the stories, which fits with her tomboyish way of dressing, fitting it even further.
• The Strawman Has a Point page mentions Paul as curbstomping Ash all the time and generally being a skilled trainer despite being a massive prick. However, think about it. Paul is the Pokémon world version of the "Stop Having Fun" Guys section of the fandom that only care about breeding the ubermon for competitive play. They may not care about the story or what some consider fun^note they must find constantly hatching eggs for a perfect nature and such fun if they keep doing it. Ah well. To each their own., but that doesn't mean they're not good at the games. It's just that, unlike Paul, they don't abuse living creatures and are thus not nearly as jerkish (though, some can get annoying at times).
  • The problem with the StopHavingFunGuys/Paul comparison is that trying to achieve ideal stats in Pokémon outside of hacking the game usually results in a massive eugenics program that neglects potentially dozens or hundreds of living creatures in-universe. Abuse and neglect are both problems.
  • Similarly, Trip is rumoured among fans to be a stab at 'GenWunners' (people who insist nothing can compare to the original generation of Pokemon) with his disdain for the Kanto region "boonies".
• The Togepi line is said to spread joy and promote peace yet can be bred to know Nasty Plot, which is described as "[stimulating the] brain by thinking bad thoughts". Hence, the evil Togepi from DP142.
• The Animé-styled cries can induce Fridge Logic once one realizes that the World of Pokémon is implied to be multilingual (due to the Dub Name Changes of the Pokémon themselves). However, in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the Pokémon of two important NPCs uses said Animé-styled cries in an interesting way - instead of repeating their species name, they instead, repeat their nicknames. In other words, the actual in-universe Pokémon Speak is not their species name, but what everyone else calls them.
  • One interesting case is Onix's cry. It has always sounded like a regular roaring sound, but in reality Onix is actually saying its Japanese name: "Iwark."
• It might seem that the female companions getting so incredibly pissed off about Ash destroying their bikes might be a little ridiculous, especially with the insistence that they travel with Ash until he pays them back... but then you remember how much money a bicycle costs in-game.
• Harley is May's rival with the strongest grudge against her, ironically mostly for incredibly petty or contrived reasons. He has a Banette, a Pokémon said to have been brought to life by a grudge. Its pre-evolution Shuppet feeds off of negative emotions — including grudges, which it specifically seeks out.
• Why doesn’t Iris have many Dragon type Pokémon in her party (and why is she having issues in getting Axew to evolve and for Dragonite to obey her)??? Simple, because Lance said it best on FR/LG about Dragon types: “They're hard to catch and raise, but their powers are superior!.”
• Why are Pikachu's electric attacks so much stronger than just about every other Electric Pokémon, including Pokémon far larger than him? In the very first episode, Pikachu discharged a massive Thunder Shock in the rain while being struck by lightning. Is it possible that the experience super-charged him?
• There are many examples of Pokémon with illegal move sets that may have been Hand Waved by Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!, in which Ash's Bulbasaur learns Dig in a life threatening situation.
• Pikachu never seems to grow in power because he can't evolve. Because he never evolved, he 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.
  • There's another way to look at it. A big thing to remember about the Pokémon in the anime is that they aren't just pieces of data in a video game, they're living beings. One way to look at Pokémon training in the anime is that it's something similar to how people train for martial arts matches in real life. They have to train constantly to keep getting stronger or remember moves. If they don't keep training, they lose their edge and power and have start over from square one. That could explain how Pikachu seems to lose strength between each season; to keep things fair in each new region and to not completely destroy new trainers in a region Ash and Pikachu travel to, they take time off from training so Pikachu loses enough strength that he can plausibly be beaten by the Pokémon new trainers have. While Pikachu will still have the knowledge on how to fight well, he isn't as strong or in shape as he was before, so his general fighting ability will seem to decrease. If Ash seems to make stupid decisions in battles or move selection, it could be a self-imposed challenge for him, to see if he can still win the battle or go around the region with a certain moveset. He gets a bigger challenge, and his opponents, if they are new trainers, get a decent chance of winning. Of course, if Ash and Pikachu didn't take any time off between regions, this theory falls flat, since Pikachu hasn't stopped training long enough to be plausibly defeated by mostly inexperienced Pokémon without sheer dumb luck.
• Why is Ash's Charizard so disobedient to him when only traded Pokémon don't listen to their trainers if they're too strong? Ash didn't actually win around half of his Gym Badges in Kanto. Charizard wouldn't respect him because he didn't earn the Gym Badges in a fight.
  • It's also a form of Drama-Preserving Handicap. The early anime strives very hard to prevent Ash from collecting powerful, fully-evolved Pokemon (he releases Butterfree into the wild, gives away Primeape in the same episode it begins to listen to him, and releases Pidgeot the very episode it evolves), only allowing him to keep Charizard by giving it serious attitude issues. By having Charizard be a huge flake (Charizard spent the Kanto arc and most of the Orange Islands being a lazy and disobedient freeloader), the writers could pile on Ash for being a poor trainer when it suited their purposes.
  • Could this also be why Charizard evolved when Bulbasaur and Squirtle didn't? Boosted exp? That could also explain why it was the strongest of Ash's Pokemon but weak compared to other Charizards; fewer EV's per level!
  • On the topic of Ash's Charizard, why was it that it evolved so quickly from a Charmeleon? It's because it gained a buttload of experience defeating a massive herd of Exeggutor as a Charmander.
  • Well, maybe it was because Charizard just stopped being loyal towards Ash after it evolved since its loyalty to its previous trainer was the reason it almost lost its life in the rain while waiting on the rock. As quoted by a Youtube user:
    Youtube User: Charmander was an abandoned and neglected Pokemon who was left compromised and vulnerable until rescued by Ash, and its loyalty to its previous trainer almost cost it its life. That's bound to have a fundamental effect on its perception of people and any new trainer. As a Charmander, Ash was its safety net but I don't think it's a stretch to consider that it even then harbored ill feelings for people. The turning point was evolving into Charmeleon and becoming much stronger and as such not needing a caregiver any longer and evolving again into Charizard only exaggerates those feelings, I believe the subtext of the relationship between Charizard and Ash is that Ash loves Charizard but Charizard is unwilling to accept that bond for fear that it might someday be abandoned again so what does it do? It distances itself from Ash and refuses to listen and it is so over confident in its own power that it chooses to fight only when confronted with a foe it sees as worthy and even then ignores the commands it is given, Charizard wants to prove its strength for itself so that it knows it won't ever again have to be that vulnerable Charmander left alone when it isn't strong enough for its trainer. It was never about badges or being an experienced trainer, that wasn't important to Charizard. The reason their relationship changes is because when Charizard once again finds itself compromised after the battle with Poliwrath Ash stays with it and nurses its injuries until his hands are raw, the situation it always feared plays out and Ash rises to the occasion with an act of care and compassion that allows Charizard to to see the heart of its trainer. The love and respect that it was too afraid to reciprocate for fear of eventual rejection is finally realized and the unbreakable bond between trainer and Pokemon is forged through literal fire and ice. Ultimately Charizard is able to realize its true strength by fighting with Ash and for Ash, the collaboration makes them a better team and better friends. I know it's cliche but as far as I'm concerned it is proof of unwavering love that brings Charizard the ability to trust in its trainer and reach its potential.
  • There's also an alternate but similar way to looking at Ash and Charizard's relationship. Charmander was abandoned by Damian for being "weak" but saw that it started to gain his respect when it proved its strength. But then Ash & co. made it clear that they didn't care about that, making Charmander view that he wouldn't have that his battle prowess wouldn't matter with Ash. But then what happened? After Pikachu, he became Ash's main battler as when you look back on it rarely was ever brought out of his ball outside of when the situation was dire. From battling a raging, fully evolved Pokemon by tapping into his inner rage to being in a submerged flooding ship to being lost in the mountains to fighting a Gym Leader who primarily uses status ailments and it starts to paint a picture. Charmander doesn't even seem to like battling, it looks visably uncomfortable in most of its fight (just look at how it performs Ember). The last time we see it as a meek Charmander, not only does it get put in a box with the much more stand-offish Bulbasaur and Squirtle, but it also has to push itself to the limit to stop a heard of fully evolved Pokemon, being congratulated for its strength before evolving and this is probably the moment that Charmeleon thought to itself "Well I guess Damian was right, how strong I am is all that matters. Even my new trainer thinks so. So if that's all I'm good for, then that's what I'll be. I'll show I'm the strongest." This is the birth of his Blood Knight peronality, where it decided it would only battle strong opponents to prove it's stronger and disobeying Ash because by this point it felt Ash didn't really care about him, ONLY how strong he was. So Charmeleon, then Charizard thought "Hey, I'll do they thing you want me to do, just give me someone strong to fight, until then, leave me alone." This was probably exaserbated by the Indigo League, where Charizard thought he was being tough by refusing to fight someone clearly weaker than him...then was declared the loser. So while he did act out more after this, he was more constructive in a passive-aggressive way (like forming a perfect ice sled for Ash but totally not because Ash told him to.) Then we get to Charizard Chills, where Charizard saw Ash selflessly try to save him, rubbing him to keep him warm to point of wearing the skin off his hands, which is the moment Charizard realized that Ash did always care for him, even if he lost. After this moment you can even see more of his happier, goofier Charmander traits start to reemerge. The point is that Charizard wasn't disobeying Ash because of and arbitrary number of badges or because it believed it own hype, it was ACTING the way it THOUGHT Ash wanted it to until it realized that he'd care for it no matter what.
• In Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden, Bulbasaur was refusing evolution, which made the Venusaur and Ivysaurs mad. This was right before Bulbasaur learned Solar Beam, and in the first generation games, Bulbasaur learns Solar Beam six levels before Ivysaur. What if refusing to evolve was what allowed Bulbasaur to save Venasaur and the Ivysaurs?
  • One could suggest the same thing for Squirtle and its Eleventh Hour Hydro Pump.
  • Not to mention tying into the previous example, they'd saw firsthand what may happen to their personality and relationship with Ash if they did evolve. Both those incidents occurred after Charmander evolved into Charmeleon, and then Charizard, and stopped obeying Ash.
• The infamous "dodge" move in the anime. Only it's not really a move. It's the equivalent to an attack missing in the game. Looking at the bigger and flashier moves, like Hydro Pump and Fire Blast, you notice they have low accuracy. The Pokémon sees the move coming, and dodges it, so the attack misses. The same thing happens in the anime.
• Meowth hates Persians. That's why he never evolves, because he doesn't want to become what he hates.
• So why did Piplup not want to evolve? It might also be because he never really fights, often operating off the field of battle.
• A possible explanation for why all of Ash's Fire-type starters have a similar backstory of being abandoned by a cruel Trainer: Fire-type Pokémon are known for being fast and powerful attackers, or in other words, something that Trainers like Damian look at and think "instant death machine". But when it doesn't turn out to be the super strong Pokémon they want right off the bat, they don't have the patience to train it to its full potential, and throw it away.
• So, throughout this wiki, it's commonly stated that after the seizure incident, Porygon and its evolutions were banned from appearing in the show, and that this was a case of Misblamed because Pikachu was the one whose attacks actually caused the flashes that resulted in the seizure. It's further assumed that Pikachu's popularity was what kept him from being written out himself and that Porygon was merely a scapegoat to take Pikachu's place. However, it seems more likely that the thinking was that Porygon, whose name was in the title of the episode and who hadn't appeared before then, would be more of a reminder of the incident to viewers than Pikachu, who had been part of the show from the beginning and thus wasn't as closely linked to that particular episode. It was more of an attempt to avoid reminding people of the incident than actually blaming the fictional character for the real-world problem caused by the animators. (Though, it's still somewhat puzzling that the species and its evolution are still considered taboo so many years later...)
• Clemont's Bunnelby knowing Wild Charge seemed pointless at first, but it actually is a call back. Several gym leaders used non-specialty types with the moves the type is known to have, like Sabrina with Venomoth and Volkner with Ambipom.
  • Wild Charge is also explicitly used to counter Ash's strategy of letting Bunnelby catch Pikachu's Iron Tail and following up with a point-blank Electro Ball, which Clemont saw during their first battle against each other. Choosing Wild Charge for this purpose makes sense, as all of Bunnelby's other attacking moves (Dig, Double Slap, and Mud Shot) required the use of its ears.
• Ash's Pikachu has slimmed down since season 1 because he is always walking outside of his ball.
• Iris's Dragonite, which she caught near the end of season 15, doesn't know his species ultimate attack, Hyper Beam. It doesn't learn that attack until level 75 in the Unova games. So what if the reason he doesn't know that move is because he had just recently evolved from Dragonair? That also explains why he hasn't learned Outrage either.
• Serena is the only female travelling companion with confirmed feelings for Ash rather than implied. Kalos is based on France, a country known for being romantic. See the connection.
• At first glance, it seems like Serena just does the same routine for her performances over and over again. However, it's actually an evolution of her performance each time, with each performance growing more and more elaborate with similar but different combinations and techniques used, like it's evolving with her character as well. Especially highlighted by the fact that her final performance uses a blooming flower, as though she's reached the ultimate stage of her own evolution and bloomed as a trainer and person.
• Meowth is the one who first came up with the Boss Fantasies showing a very silly Giovanni using Pokemon for strange things a tool would be better suited for. What did Giovanni do when a talking Meowth joined Team Rocket? He made him his personal waiter, at least until he proved disastrous at it. No wonder he has these sort of ideas about what Giovanni does with Pokemon!
  • Giovanni used a talking Pokemon, which probably would have earned him a pretty penny, as a glorified waiter. Maybe those Imagine Spots aren't as crazy as they seem...
• Why exactly did Dawn's Buneary have a crush on Pikachu? Well, since the two are in the same egg group, they can breed. Made even better by the fact that Buneary was confirmed to be female in the dub.
• The reason Ash is kinda..."not all there" and forgetful in later parts of the series? (Besides him being, at least initially, a traditional Idiot Hero.) It's because he's been through so many Flatline Plotlines. When your heart stops, your brain is deprived of oxygen because of the lack of blood flow...and when that happens, brain cells (which are real oxygen and energy hogs) die off rapidly, and aren't regenerated.
• In the games, the bug-type Pokémon Vivillon has different appearances depending on real-world location. Kalos is largely inspired by France, so it makes sense that this would be the form shown in the XY anime.
• There have been jokes made that Ash isn't depicted as physically strong as he tended to be in Sun and Moon and Journeys. Beyond the likely intended goal of humor by him struggling to lift things intended, a in-universe reason can be extrapolated. In both series he is not actively walking across a country so he isn't training his body like he'd naturally do crossing a country's interior by foot.
• Why does Ash keep taking out the Pokédex for Pokémon that he already knows about? While the easy answer can be that he simply forgot, a second often overlooked reason would that he is checking if their entries had any changes from last time. This parallels how they would change with each new generation in the games.
  • Credit to Suede for this one, but here is another one that applies mostly to Gen 3 and beyond. He probably knows, but do May/Max/Dawn/etc know? As a bit of evidence look to the 20th episode of Journeys where Ash was very clearly scanning familiar Pokemon for the benefit of the young kids he was leading at the time.
• Bonnie's Running Gag involves her trying to find a wife for Clemont (much to his embarrassment), but there are three things to consider. One, she specifically says she wants someone to "take care of" her brother. Two, the women she keeps going after are, well, women, noticeably older than her ten-year-old brother. Three, their mother has never been seen and may not even be around anymore. She doesn't actually want a wife for Clemont; she wants a substitute mother.
• Throughout the series humans are shown to survive injuries with little damage that would kill a real human (such as the countless times Team Rocket survives being blasted hundreds of feet in the air and then falling the same or anyone who gets shocked by Pikachu) and be capable of feats of strength that even the strongest humans in real life would never be capable of. This is not just cartoon Amusing Injuries but an adaption. Humans in the Pokemon evolved to be much much stronger and more reslilent than humans in real life because in a world of monsters capable of generating fire/electricity/ice/etc on command and knocking down skyscrapers and such not to mention reality warping humans would have to in order to avoid going extinct.
• Butch and Cassidy are absent from the series midway into Diamond and Pearl and are revealed later on to have retired from Team Rocket, claiming to have gotten tired of dealing with the same lectures and regulations the main trio were complaining about suffering from with Matori. Matori also debuted during the Diamond and Pearl series.
• Meowth claims to be unable to learn Pay Day, though with some hints that he could but just doesn't want to. The key reason Meowth learned sapience was to impress a female Meowth, only for it to turn out she only liked humans because of their money and spoils. Meowth likely doesn't want his heart broken by the same toxicity again and would rather his comrades appreciated him for who he is, rather than being a walking money bank like his species is known for.
• Historically, Ash has struggled the most with Pokemon who are Mighty Glacier type battlers with Torterra, Sirfetch'd, Boldore, and Goodra to a lesser extent being infamous for their tendency to be worfed. Yet Snorlax, the slowest and bulkiest of them al, has frequently shown himself as one of Ash's best Pokemon time and time again? Why? A few reasons.
  • Snorlax has always been that, while both Torterra and Boldore were originally a lot more nimble before evolving. Ash has never gotten into the habit of expecting them to dodge as much. This is also why Goodra has a better track record than the others: Goomy always was pretty unnimble and Bide was always part of Goodra's moveset, so Ash played to that since the beginning and Goodra's performance at the league was probably a result of semi-retirement and not bad habits.
  • Snorlax has spent most of his time at Oak's lab, and Ash's team train at Oak's lab. Snorlax can train himself there, while Ash has the others in his party frequently and he just isn't as in synch with battle style. He does try to work with it, but it is never as instinctive for him as a speedy Pokemon. The above point woud also apply to Kingler, who was pretty much entirely on Oak's lab and not Ash training wise.
• Why do Ash and friends keep falling for Team Rocket's disguises? Remember: the Pokemon anime is filled with characters who inexplicably look alike (Nurse Joys, Officer Jennys, Don Georges, etc.) and Jessie is established early on to be virtually identical to another unrelated woman named Jessibelle in everything but hairstyle and accent. They probably want to give the benefit of the doubt, or may even view the physical similarities as unremarkable or even not notice them at at all!
• Jessie and James are foils of each other.
  • Jessie grew up extremely poor and most likely her mother (who is known to love her daughter a lot) had to join Team Rocket to raise her. So she must have known the worse part of society, making her more meterialistic and cynical, hence being the cruelest of the two. She probably joined Team Rocket for the same reason of her mother and perhaps she thought she might eventually find her if she were to join the same organisation her mother joined before going MIA.
  • James grew up at the peak of nobilty, but his parents clearly don't love him a lot if they were willing to fake their own deaths to trick him into coming home and marry him to someone he hates. It's easy to see him as the nicest of the two considering he grew up rich; a common thing with rich kids is that they are sheltered most of their lives so they have a more white vision of the world, which is shown with James several times. And unlike Jessie, James was searching for a way to escape his overbearing parents and fiancee, so no wonder he joined Team Rocket. Which noble would think their child joined a criminal organization?
• Considering how Trip relies mainly on his starter, that being Serperior, all of his team seems to fall behind with almost all of his Pokémon not being fully evolved yet (for all we know). Perhaps Trip didn't have the patience (or the will) to train all of his Pokémon. This might mirror some players in real-life. After all, who didn't have a file where the only Pokémon they used was their starter?
  • Trip's only fully evolved Pokémon are Serperior and Conkeldurr. If you think about it, that's pretty interesting. We already established Serperior, but what about Conkeldurr? It's a small, easily forgettable detail, but Trip has won the Basic Badge. In the games, it's not unheard that players go and search for a Fighting-type in the Route next to Nacrene City before fighting Lenora and Timburr is among the most common Pokémon to be found there. The battle might have triggered the evolution in Gurdurr. Trip then would only need to find a way to trade his Pokémon and then trade it back, and that's how he got Conkeldurr.
    • Take all this together and it's not strange that Trip has perhaps the worst track record among Ash's rivals. Players that rely exclusively on one or two Pokémon are known to lose several times in the games.

Original Series

• The recurring Jigglypuff suddenly disappeared for over a decade of real time and several Ash regions in anime time after the first Advanced season. Could just be that the joke was getting old... or it could be 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 traveling 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. She returned in Sun & Moon, however, and she's still looking for someone who would listen to her singing.
• The first Pokémon that evolved under Ash's control was Caterpie, who evolved twice into Butterfree within a few days or so after he caught it; so it's understandable that Ash associated his first Pokémon far more with the Butterfree he kept with him than the Caterpie he initially caught it as. But what was the next Pokémon of Ash's that evolved? Charmander. Ash witnessed first-hand Charmander evolving into Charmeleon, and later into Charizard, and completely stopped listening to him. Not only that, but Charmander had never expressed an interest in evolving; it just did so. Noting this, it's understandable that Ash wouldn't want to go out of his way to evolve any of his other Pokémon that didn't directly express an interest in evolving; he risks them not being as loyal to him when they evolve, and doesn't want to force them to evolve in order to become stronger, because he saw first-hand what a Pokémon evolving for the purpose of strength can do to the Pokémon's nature. Sweet Charmander turned into the borderline Blood Knight Charizard out of his obsession with his own power. However, because he truly loves his Pokémon, he would never STOP them from evolving, either. He just wouldn't intentionally force it because he loves them the way they are.
• The episode "A Chansey Operation" may seem a little weird to American audiences. When there's no Pokémon center around for miles, they take Pikachu to a human hospital and there's only one doctor on staff. In Japan where the show is made, hospitals aren't open 24 hours or on weekends and usually have a limited number of staff later in the day.
• In Ash and Gary's battle in the Johto League, it's noted that they refrain from using what's basically their signature Pokemon, Pikachu for Ash and Eevee/Umbreon for Gary. Instead, they end their battle with Charizard and Blastoise respectively, the signature Pokemon for Red and Blue/Green.
• When she first shows up, Misty has a bike. Where do you get a bike in the first generation games and their remakes? In her hometown.
• Why is Misty so keen on following Ash to get her to pay for a replacement bike? Those things cost 1,000,000 Poke, where some of the most expensive transactions the player of the games can ever make for a single item are less than 10% of that, most of the time. Misty is totally justified in being furious that it got destroyed.
• Drake from the Orange Islands uses Onix, Gengar, and Dragonite, all major Pokémon of the Kanto Elite Four. The only Elite Four member he doesn't use Pokemon from is Lore....Prima, who appeared in the Orange Islands arc.
• In early episodes, Meowth was more cat-like. His upright stance was more awkward with his arms always facing in front of him and he sometimes reverted to walking on all fours. He also had more reflexive impulses to his species, playing with balls of yarn or sticking "meows" within his sentences. This makes sense when you realise Meowth may not have learned to act human for very long by that point, and by later points was more adjusted to being anthropomorphic.
• Why does the butler from "Holy Matrimony" constantly use a megaphone to talk? Well, considering how ridiculously huge the mansion is, he probably has to use it to call out to people on a regular basis. Because he had to do it so often, talking through the megaphone became a force of habit.
• A dub-only example. In the Japanese version of the Legend of Dratini Ash and company tell Professor Oak they will keep the fact they found Dratini and Dragonair secret. They do this in the English version, but so well that their fans don't see the episode and see Dratini at all! The banned episode has a actual in-universe reason to have never been seen on TV!
• Gary's starter was hidden for a lengthy length of time, however there was a slight hint as to who it was early on the series. After all, what episode did Gary first appear in after the first episode but the Squirtle episode.
• Kanto as a whole is filled with such cynical, curt and morally ambiguous figures compared to most other regions that it almost comes off as a Crapsaccharine World. Ash spent most of his journey there getting No Sympathy and berated just for making general rookie mistakes, while it's region's criminal organisation Team Rocket is still active, with the Terrible Trio themselves owing their Freudian Excuses to being treated like crap in the region throughout their childhood. Is it any wonder Ash takes any and every opportunity to travel to a new region (with the Team Rocket trio following him)? Also note Ash and Misty's Character Development into far less frustrated and insecure people during their trips to the relatively more pleasant Orange Islands and Johto.
  • Or more likely its due to the huge crime wave going about. Team Rocket has so far been a huge threat in the Kanto Region especially since Giovanni was the first to got away with creating a brand new Pokemon. Before getting their Butt-Monkey status, Jessie, James and Meowth were legitimate threats. Most of the Elite Four, Gym Leaders and several other people especially Oak and Delia are on edge because of this. However thanks to Ash and co, they were able to hamper much of Team Rocket's progress allowing the authorities to handle the situation.
• Harrison, who defeated Ash in Johto, lost the next round and wasn't able to use Blaziken in it because he was wounded and not fully recovered after fighting Charizard. After facing three of Gary's Pokemon (two which he had a disadvantage against) in a row including his strongest one and starter Blastoise, perhaps Charizard, when facing Blaziken, hadn't recovered from fighting them either. If he was at 100 percent, Ash may have been able to beat Harrison.
  • While we're on the subject, this might also be a factor in explaining him being defeated by Entei in the third movie. It's not unreasonable to suspect he might have been tired from presumably flying as fast as he could for several hours.
  • To further take from the idea above, it could even factor into Ash's losses in the Hoenn and Kalos leagues. In those leagues he didn't have any reserves, and notable the Hoenn team had three full battles in a row. They may not have been at a hundred percent during the rather close Tyson battle. Kalos didn't have those but Ash's team did have a much harder six on six fight in the Top Four than Alain did (who only had to use two Pokemon in his Top Four battle) and whose Charizard had experience with gauntlet challenges.
• Of note, by the time of the Orange Islands James started using his Victreebel more regularly and by Johto it pretty much became his main battler. This makes sense since he pretty much spent all of Kanto using just Weezing and so Victreebel would have fallen behind in experience. James always tends to have a closer bond to his Pokemon than Jessie, so it makes sense he would be the one to consider keeping his Pokemon's levels even.
• Gary really seems to have liked that tail-boosted jumping strategy he learned from Ash in their Johto League battle. His Nidoqueen copies it from Ash's Bayleef, his Electivire is shown dodging attacks in the same way in AG192, and in DP085, Gary teaches Ash's Gligar how to do the same thing.
• Both Gary and Ash's defeats in their respective placements in the Indigo League not only makes a lot of sense, but also ties in well with their respective variants of egotistic behavior:
  • Gary was a giant punk and jerk who thought extremely highly of himself, and for the longest time had the skills to back it up, especially compared to Ash's sloppyiness and lack of discipline. Furthermore, to inflate his ego, he went and collected more badges than needed and boasted several times that he was the strongest trainer of Pallet Town. However, this same egotism would end up blowing up in his face, both against the dangerous Mewtwo in the Viridian City Gym, and especially afterwards, when his reputation and prior bragging probably would have led to some of the other contestants finding him particularly dangerous. As a result, they probably built some countermeasures for his tactics and caught him flatfooted, forcing him to face his limitations.
    • This would be something seen in later leagues, where Ash was fully capable of researching his opponents ahead of time (one notable example being Ash looking up Macy's team to know she has an Electabuzz to deal with Water Pokemon). While this wasn't a feature of Indigo, it is not hard to see this being in place in retrospect.
  • Ash on the other hand, was slovenly and unprepared much of the time, essentially relying more on his sheer determination, luck and pity badges to compensate for his lack of preparation and skill. While his potential to be a great trainer was always there, the fact that his journey was inconsistent and oftentimes only met with success due to his opponents being less competent than him meant that by the time he entered the League, he was very arrogant and refused to recognize just how far behind he truly was as a trainer. This is reflected in his lackluster training regime for the many episodes prior to the League itself, and while he might have managed to pull off some good wins due to his creativity and determination, his ultimate loss against Ritchie only proved that those would only go so far in the face of a trainer with far better discipline and skill.
    • It's easy to see the disappointment towards his behavior after the loss as being too excessively harsh, especially given that his team was exhausted due to being kidnapped, and having to make it back to the stadium on his own. However, while it was somewhat unfair, it was also not entirely unjustified given that if he HAD been more prepared as a trainer and had done more to improve his team's skills, he likely might have been able to get free and get back without as much exhaustion, and not have lost the way he did (or at the least not as badly). After all, the only reason he lost in the end was because of Charizard's discipline problems, something that, regardless of his justified situation for being absent, was the end result of HIS poor training habits and lack of proper discipline. It would certainly explain why he takes training more seriously from that point forward.
• An episode reveals that Jessie and her mother lived in very poor conditions, enough that during winter they literally had to eat snow. That might make more sense on why her (and her mother before her) joined Team Rocket. What do poor people do when they're desperate? They resort to crime.
  • Jessie's terrible childhood also explains her extremely vain and selfish personality. She's trying to overcompensate.
• An early interaction with Ash and Misty has Ash mocking Misty's dislike of carrots, peppers, and most plot-relevantly Bug-types. Now Ash mocking Misty for disliking them is perfectly in character for Kanto Ash, but Ash having a less childish (in Japan where the two are seen as foods that kids don't like) preference for food isn't just a bit in his favor. His mom is commonly shown to be a gardener, and carrots and peppers are often grown in backyards. It's very likely that Delia grows and cooks her own vegetables, and being as close to her as he is Ash would be fond of them too.

Advanced Generation

• Several things from the end of the saga are foreshadowing elements that would be prevalent in the Diamond and Pearl series.
  • May leaves the group to find her own unique style as a Coordinator, and it's partially implied she does this because she's been taking too much influence from the battle-oriented Ash (a common criticism of May's early Contests was how often she would knock out the opponent with sheer brute force instead of focusing on style). This is an issue that would be addressed with Dawn, whose battle style is actually benefitted by Ash (and vice versa) through the various battle tactics they would borrow from each other.
  • Pikachu learns Volt Tackle in late Battle Frontier, and it's implied that it's a very prestigious and high-level attack for him (it was an Egg Move in the games at the time, but the anime has always worked on different rules). Come Diamond and Pearl, it becomes a very iconic part of his moveset, to the point where even Paul takes an interest in Pikachu just for knowing it.
  • Ash is inspired to head to Sinnoh after losing to Gary's Electivire. Ash's original rival serves as the transition into another intensely heated rivalry with Paul, whose main Pokemon would also be an Electivire.
  • Furthermore, there's a brief subplot in the Kanto Grand Festival about Drew's harsh attitude toward his Absol, where May is shocked to see him be so hard on his Pokemon. Ash, in turn, brings up he's never had to question any of his previous rivals' training styles, simply dealing with them in battle. Once again, this foreshadows how his rivalry with Paul would go down, which heavily revolves around Paul's extraordinarily tough regimen.
  • Ash's final battle with Brandon is something of a Cliché Storm, playing Underdogs Never Lose and The Power of Friendship very straight in just about every match (most infamously when Pikachu one-shots a fully healed Regice with Volt Tackle). This would go on to play another heavy role in Ash's rivalry with Paul, as not only is the rivalry a heavy deconstruction of that trope, but Brandon himself would mark a massive turning point with his return to the anime. Paul has spent the whole series scorning Ash for his belief in love and friendship, so to learn that Ash beat Brandon with those exact things completely flips the rivalry on its head as Paul starts to question his own beliefs.

Diamond and Pearl

• It might seem odd that Ash struggled so much with Gym Leaders throughout Sinnoh despite almost everything suggesting he'd kept his experience from the last two series. But in retrospect, Sinnoh's Gym Leaders in particular were really not fooling around; Roark, the very first one Ash fought, was using strategies like Stealth Rock along with a Cranidos that knew Head Smash, which is an incredibly high level move for a first challenge. Most of Ash's Sinnoh Gym battles felt far more competitive and challenging than ones from previous series, and Volkner is heavily implied to be on the level of the Elite Four. Ash wasn't really nerfed, his opponents were just buffed to keep up with his current abilities.
• Tobias won the Lily of the Valley Conference using multiple legendary Pokémon, when the last time someone caught a legendary it almost caused the end of the world^note though they've never really been consistent with how "legendary" the legendaries are. In the games, don't players usually use the legendaries they caught to beat the Elite Four 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 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.
  • It also depends on which legendaries one is capturing. Darkrai, Articuno, etc. probably have multiple members of their species (in the Japanese version of 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 Arceus — is insane (or at least keeping them 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.
  • Tobias's choice of a dub name. It 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.
  • It may also 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.
• Why is the only one who likes Dawn’s first attempt at cooking Poffins Meowth? Because the recipe she used was created for Glameow. Now what motif do Meowth and Glameow share?
• In the episode, "Crossing the Battle Line", Jessie remarks that one grab of Lucario would break Meowth. She's right. Lucario is a Fighting-type, which is super-effective on Normal-types like Meowth.
• A lot of people have complained about Ash's chosen team to fight Tobias; Heracross, Torkoal, Gible, Sceptile, Swellow and Pikachu, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Heracross was the best Pokemon possible to fight Darkrai (a fact people generally admit when criticizing Ash) due to typing and sleep talk, and Gible had Rock Smash, plus a attack in Draco Meteor that even Tobias admitted could have knocked out Darkrai if it hit. The other four Pokemon, however, had fought legends in the past; Torkoal battled Registeel, Swellow had fought Deoxys, Sceptile fought the same Deoxys and Regirock, and Pikachu had defeated Regice. Ash actually had a decent plan in mind; particularly with several of the other logical choices being unavailable (Charizard wasn't around for this arc, Snorlax would have been a poor choice for rather obvious reasons and Infernape was utterly beaten down from battling Paul).
• How were Paul and his Chimchar able to climb down the cliff when he and Ash were blown off of it in "Different Strokes For Different Blokes"? They were using the Rock Climb HM move, which Chimchar (and all the other Sinnoh starters) can learn, and it can be used to travel down the rocky cliffs as well as up them.
• Brock hatching a Happiny was foreshadowing his change in goals to become a doctor, since Happiny evolves into the Pokemon often seen in a Pokemon Center.
• Paul. While it's hard to deny that he's a Jerkass, the episode of DP in which he fights Brandon explains a lot. Wears safari gear, similar hairstyles, prone to dropping The Reason You Suck speeches, cold demeanor, insistence on only using the strongest Mons available... He's trying to be Brandon, but doesn't have the maturity to realise that it isn't all about power.
• In the Wallace Cup, Dawn is able to defeat May, which seems odd given her shorter duration of experience and losing streak at the start of Sinnoh. Until you remember that Dawn had to pick up slack more regularly than May, only able to win by changing her approach regularly, along with other factors like a greater array of rivals with even Jessie now being experienced enough to win contests and be a legitimate opposition. The Sinnoh Contests come off as fiercer competitions than those in Hoenn and Johto.
  • Dawn also needed it more. May was in a bit of a funk, sure, but that funk was nowhere near as bad as Dawn's. In the time it took Dawn to win one ribbon and lose three contests episode-wise, the same time that as a rookie May had won two contests, lost two, and was getting ready to win her third ribbon and in Kanto May won her five ribbons, May had won three. She was having issues with Drew and Harley, but she was still making considerable progress rather quickly. If anything, May just needed a contest with those two far away, Dawn just needed not even a win, but actually getting passed the appeals round again. This also means that for May, Second Place Is for Winners, because she got what she needed too, given her lesser funk, and given her level of fame we see come Journeys, May didn't suffer in the long run from the loss.
• For some, Nando's early loss in the Sinnoh League after putting on an impressive performance at the Grand Festival seems to be a case of Broken Aesop — was Zoey right about him wasting his time by deciding to do both Gym Battles and Contests? But, no, she wasn’t. The fact that he managed to amass 8 badges and 5 ribbons, in a span of time when most Trainers are struggling to finish a single set, is already a testament to his skill, but: watch him during and after his Grand Festival and League battles. He is clearly having the time of his life (aside from a few moments of getting flustered) and accepts defeat with grace and poise, even commenting that he feels great after his battle with Ash. Even if his battle skill isn’t quite on the same level as his Contest skill, for him, it's the enjoyment and excitement of the battle that's more important than the win or loss.
  • And even then, Nando really didn't do poorly if you think about it. Sure, he technically lost in the first round, but he did so to Ash, the main character, who was using a team specifically to counter Nando's. When you consider that Ash was effectively the second-strongest trainer competing (being the only one to knock out any of Tobias's team), had multiple counters prepared for Nando's battling style, and Nando still put up a fairly close fight, his performance in the Sinnoh League was actually very respectable. He just happened to be the first one going up against Ash.
• Ever wonder why Torterra seemed to get worse and worse as it evolved? It's actually pretty simple, Torterra build and speed simply don't work with Ash's battle style. Ever since his battle with Lt. Surge, Ash's battle strategy has pretty much revolved around speed and positioning. When he was a Turtwig, Ash could use him effectively because he was small and fast, like Pikachu, and could pull off moves like the mid-air dodge. But as he evolved and got bigger and bulkier, Ash just couldn't use him effectively anymore and never considered changing his battle style up to accommodate Torterra, so he naturally fell behind. Ash even taught Torterra a move that could allow it to move more effectively, with Rock Climb, but it was a non-STAB move that not super effective on anything, limiting what could be done with it. This is also why Paul's Torterra seems so much better, because Paul plays into its tankier nature with moves that don't require much movement and moves that sap his opponent's HP and restore Torterra's, which Ash refuses to use. This is actually Paul's typical M.O., letting his team tank damage from his opponents then dish out twice as much, like he didn't in his battle with Barry. This also seems to be why Paul has such trouble using his Weavile, which is a Lightning Bruiser Glass Cannon so it can't eat up hits and fits Ash's battle style much more. If anything, the failures of Ash's Torterra (and by extension Paul's Weavile) both helps to show Ash's limitations as a trainer and the validity of Paul's battle style, without invalidating one or the other or stating it outright.
  • This logic is backed up further when you analyze Ash and Paul's respective battle tactics. Ash's signature Sinnoh strategy is the Counter Shield, a technique that uses offense as a form of defense, while Paul's favorite strategy seems to be trapping his opponents after baiting in a close-range attack (he does this with Torterra at Lake Acuity and with Drapion and Electivire at the Sinnoh League). Notice how Ash's style revolves around avoiding damage, while Paul's exploits damage to hit back even harder. It goes even further knowing that Ash and Paul would borrow each other's respective techniques in their final battle: Paul's Gastrodon uses Counter Shield with Muddy Water, while Ash intentionally baits Electivire into activating Infernape's Blaze. It really drives home the theme about the two being equal Trainers that raise equally valid points about battling.
  • As to why Ash and Paul are more in-tune with Lightning Bruiser and Mighty Glacier teammembers to a point that the team members who aren't this often strugle? Well, which Pokemon did they start with? Ash's initial tactics, which he built on to get him this far, started with Pikachu, while Paul's began with Turtwig. Their starters dictated how their battle preferences developed.
• Ash's two unevolved Sinnoh Pokemon (Buizel and Gible) are the only two that didn't have any major significance to the Ash/Paul rivalry: Staraptor actually kickstarted it when the two argued over how they caught their Starly, Torterra was Ash's main player before he caught Chimchar and received mentorship from Paul's own Torterra, Infernape probably doesn't need much explanation, and Gliscor stuck out as The Load of Ash's team before it evolved (playing into Paul's belief that it's not worth trying to train a weaker Pokemon over a stronger one). While Buizel did battle against Paul, it never had anything specific to prove against him, and Gible simply didn't battle Paul at all.
• The way Ash handles Volkner is an intentional Bookend to his earliest Gym battles. Rather than accept one of the "pity badges" he was so infamous for in Kanto, Ash demands to win his final badge properly, showing how much he's grown as a Trainer since then.
• Ash and Paul's final battle occasionally gets criticism for Paul not using most of his iconic powerhouses, forgoing Torterra, Ursaring, Honchkrow, and Magmortar for a seemingly less powerful team. However, there's a few possible explanations for this:
  • The most well-known one is that it keeps him less predictable. It's directly discussed in the battle that Ash is at a disadvantage because he's using the same team as before, meaning that Paul is familiar with how every single member battles. With the exception of Electivire (which was still an Electabuzz the last time Ash battled it), Paul is using completely different lineup, and given that it's Paul, you have to assume none of his Pokemon could be that much weaker than the others.
  • Ursaring and Magmortar likely needed to rest after all the damage they took against Barry. This may seem far-fetched given Paul's established personality, but consider this: Paul only pushes his Pokemon so hard because he wants to win. If they're too exhausted, that actively harms his chances of winning; even with Chimchar, the reason he crossed the line so far there was because it specifically had a power connected to intense injury. Furthermore, he's developed quite a bit since the Tag Battle tournament. As Electivire was still healthy (if you notice, it didn't take a single hit against Barry outside of Spikes), Paul likely decided it was his best Pokemon to use against Ash.
  • He was saving most of his reserves for Tobias. Keep in mind that when it comes to battle, Paul always considers the bigger picture; that would extend to his future battles as well, as there's zero chance he didn't know about Tobias given his reputation during the League. Paul most likely knew he couldn't afford to use up all his biggest powerhouses on Ash alone. Instead, he devised a team that he was still confident could beat Ash, but only using a few of his strongest Pokemon (and to his credit, he still came about as close as he possibly could).
• One thing that Paul does that Ash doesn't is using his reserves. Torterra, Honchcrow, and Weavile are all explicitly caught in regions before Sinnoh, and this list is certainly not just them even if we may never know the full extent of it ourselves (many would suspect Nidoking as a old guard, for example). Now given that Paul is certainly unafraid of calling Ash out if he thinks Ash is being hypocritical or stupid, and does know that Ash's not a rookie trainer (and presumably could have figured out Ash has other Pokemon but his Sinnoh catches at any point before the league showed them outright), why don't we hear Paul tell Ash he should use his reserves? Simple, Paul might do that, but it doesn't actually make him any closer to his goals. Heck, Paul might have a firm grasp of the limitations of the method and doesn't see it as anything superior or smarter than raising a new team up, especially given his own experience.
• What was an early sign that Ash, in the end, would ultimately prove Paul wrong and show the value of his less than immediate power focused training? Simple, it isn't just Brandon where Ash and Paul have visible result differences. Ash very clearly won a Coal and a Cobble Badge against a stronger Roark and Maylene than Paul did (Paul defeated Cranidos while Ash won after Cranidos evolved. Meanwhile Maylene was not in sync with her team at the time Paul crushed her, while Ash matched a fully synchronized Maylene). Depending on Paul's timeline, this may also apply to the Relic Badge (as Fantina's Drifloon hadn't evolved prior to first meeting Ash). Also, while Paul very much did not take a free Beacon Badge, Ash won his against one of the strongest Gym Leaders in the world, and the strongest in Sinnoh, in a full heated battle. Ash ultimately won greater victories than Paul on several occasions prior to their final battle.
• There's a subtle cleverness to why Reggie specifically suggests a full battle between Ash and Paul: because it emphasizes the maximum amount of teamwork between trainer and Pokémon. If you pay attention, you'll notice that every previous battle between the two had been a 1v1 — even when they used more than one Pokémon, it was merely a set of 1v1s with no switching. That format highlights Paul's power-hungry mindset, only valuing overwhelming strength rather than working with his Pokémon as partners. Contrast that to Lake Acuity, where Paul's constant switching and strategies involve a surprising amount of teamwork (e.g. using Light Screen to support other team members, or Flame Body to indefinitely cripple Pikachu). This is the first early nod to Paul's change of heart.
• In the Lily of the Valley Conference, outside of his battle with Paul, Ash uses Pokémon from his Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh teams when in Hoenn and the leagues afterwards, Ash only used Pokémon he caught in the region. Why would Ash use Pokémon from other regions in Sinnoh? Simple, it's a subtle way of advertising Pal Park which allows you to transfer Pokémon from your GBA games to DPP (Given that in the anime, trainers can simply transfer their Pokémon to the regional Professor's lab and back, Pal Park doesn't exist, as shown that Dawn as the Kitchen Timer app on her Pokétch whereas in DPP you have to transfer a Snorlax via Pal Park and show it to a girl in the lobby).
  • As for an in-universe explanation: Ash most likely knew after getting thrashed at Lake Acuity that he needed to expand his options. If he didn't, Paul would have been able to just counterteam him again (and while he does of course use the same team in their rematch, it stands out specifically because of his reserves). His older Pokémon were more than just fanservice, they were critical to the structure of the Sinnoh League as a whole.
• Nando being a musician who prefers Bug-types is a possible Stealth Pun. What do music and some insect species have in common? Scales!

Black and White

• Ash's lackluster performance in the Unova campaign is likely more than just a result of a Reset Button for the series. Along with it being implied that Ash took a break in between the Sinnoh and Unova journeys, this is also the first time Ash truly wasn't traveling with Brock since Brock left to learn how to become a Pokemon Doctor. Ash was just rusty and spent much of his time in Unova learning how to get his groove back without Brock or Misty's subtle guidance.
• Similarly to Tobias, the team Ash used against Cameron is often criticized for including most of his weaker Unova Pokemon, but with all the information Ash had it was a good lineup. Ash only knew about Riolu, Samurott, and Ferrothorn at the time, and the team Ash brought with him (Boldore, Oshawott, Pignite, Pikachu, Unfeazant, and Snivy) had Pokemon who could counter those Pokemon in theory. Meanwhile Krookodile, who is generally accepted as Ash's strongest Unova mon, would have been weak to all three of those known Pokemon.
• In the episode "Purrloin: Sweet or Sneaky?", the titular Pokémon Dropped a Bridget on TR's Meowth and Ash's Oshawott. While Meowth being fooled is justified since he's from Kanto, Purrloin don't have visible gender differences, so Oshawott wouldn't be able to tell.
• 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 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 Adventures counterpart) had.
  • It's also rumored that Krokorok was meant to be captured during the cancelled two part Rocket vs Plasma episode, so it was likely a last minute replacement for Krokorok (which would explain the lack of use as it never was supposed to be captured). As to another reason for Palpitoad specifically, it is likely that Cilan capturing Stunfisk was already set and it was easier to fit in a Palpitoad capture there than the only other ground-type (Golett/Golurk) that was not tied to another character (with Ash and Krokorok, Iris and Excadrill, and Cilan and Stunfisk).
• 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 prior to his evolution. While it's understandable that he has 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 comes the episode where 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.
• In "All For The Love of Meloetta", we see Meloetta sing a calming song, soothing the fight out of two Pokémon. In the "Rise of Darkrai" movie though, they had Oracion, which did something similar. Perhaps Meloetta is where they got the song from?
• As of B/W episode 98, we've seen Pignite get mad at Oshawott for stealing his food at least twice — and it's shaping up to be a real Berserk Button. This makes sense, since, when we were introduced to Pignite as a Tepig, he was unable to eat and more than half-starved. Taking food from a Pokemon that's learned to value it that much is a really, really bad idea.
• Back in early B/W, when Ash first met Burgundy, she makes the suggestion for him to get rid of his Sewaddle (at the time) for a different one that has the ability Chlorophyll. One of the main strategies that Ash uses that often is speed, and Chlorophyll raises speed in sunlight, so maybe Burgundy was on to something.
• A lot of complaints have been made about how Ash's Unova team is "weaker" than his teams from other regions. However, he's been using more Pokemon than usual (ten instead of his usual six), so it would be logical that he wouldn't be able to raise his Pokemon as much in the same amount of time.
  • Previously it was more beneficial to train small numbers of Pokemon; three or four would become over leveled and defeat anything barring a really bad type disadvantage. In Unova, returns drastically reduce when levels are equal but increase by just as much when they are lower, encouraging you to use a wider variety of monsters for multiple scenarios.
  • Also, consider what changed in Black and White; Ash was not sending his Unovan Pokemon to Professor Oak, but instead Professor Juniper. Oak's lab is a wide open space filled with other Pokemon willing and able to battle with Ash's extra Pokemon, while Juniper doesn't have the same space. At the same time, Oak studies Human-Pokemon interactions, while Juniper studies Pokemon Origins (Like where Klink come from). Pokemon at Oak's lab self-train, or are possibly even trained by Oak himself in observing trainer dynamics sort of like a daycare, which is why Pokemon come back from Oak's lab with new moves (Sceptile with Leaf Storm, Heracross with Sleep Talk, and Noctowl with Extrasensory, Sky Attack, and Air Slash to name but three)
  • May also add Fridge Brilliance to why Team Rocket's smaller rosters tend to remain Not So Harmless against the twerps for longer than their larger ones. Their Hoenn team for example quickly proved fairly useless, with only long running members getting some palpable effective moments, their Kalos team however, proved a threat and managed to keep up with Ash's team for a palpable amount of time, likely because Jessie and James could devote all their time to training just Inkay and Gourgeist (even if this caused another handicap of being outnumbered frequently). Incidentally the two Pokemon to have the most phenomenal displays of power are Meowth and Wobbuffet, who have been with them nearly the whole series.
  • This statement also holds true considering his Kalos team. This time around, Ash only caught 5 Pokemon, adding in Pikachu, that's only enough to fill the max party size. But that also means that he has more time to spend with each of them, by the end of season, all of his Pokemon that are able to evolve got to their highest level and his team managed to get him to 2nd place, his highest placing in any league tournament. Taken a step further with the existence of Ash-Greninja.
  • And even farther with Alola: Ash basically had only three new Pokemon on him for wide stretches of time in Rowlet, Torracat, and Lycanroc. Others like Meltan and Poipole were not there for as long. Even with a relaxed atmosphere, Ash got to win the league.
• Why did Pikachu not win against Trip in his first battle when he used his physical attacks if only his electric attacks were blocked by Zekrom? Because he exhausted himself when tried to use his electric attacks.
• Why was Cilan Ash's designated Gym Leader friend to accompany him in Unova? In Black and White, Cilan is your opponent if you picked Oshawott as your starter and Oshawott was Ash's first Unova starter.
• During the last episode of BW, Oak was shown to have all base form regional starter birds. While Pidgey and to an extent Hoothoot could be explained due to new trainers, Ash's Swellow, Staraptor, and Unfezant are the only known members of their species to be around Oak's lab. Heck, perhaps that is what Unfezant had been doing since Ash swapped her out for Charizard?
• In Best Wishes, after Meowth reveals himself as The Mole after faking a Heel–Face Turn, Ash, rather than getting angry, just smugly laments the past while travelling with him was fun, infuriating Meowth. This retort makes even more sense keeping in mind during most of that time, Meowth was even more the heroes' Butt-Monkey than before (eg. the Dream Thief episode, where they continuously attack him to keep him awake) and unlike the norm, couldn't even antagonise them back to keep up the facade. Even worse, the plan failed, so it was all for nothing. What sounds like a goody goody hand wave was Ash essentially gloating that, in whatever situation Meowth cooks up, he still makes him his punching bag.
  • Add to that, in trying to suck up to the heroes and prove his loyalty, Meowth ended up helping with a lot of the heroes' dilemmas, even ones unrelated to his cause (he didn't really have to help the wild Scrafty or Mandibuzz with their problems). Ironically through all his efforts he did a lot more good than harm.
  • Of course, Ash being Ash, he was probably being completely sincere. Of course Meowth is going to be angry, it's not just that they failed to steal Pokémon, Ash's takeaway from the experience is the good times they had together, not the faked friendship or betrayal.
• Meowth seems to have become slightly more battle competent, since Best Wishes, he could dodge or pick himself up from attacks better and the rare times he fights in XY he's been getting in Curbstomp Cushions, even against Pikachu. In a late Diamond and Pearl episode beforehand, Meowth, in a fit of rare emotion, fury swiped and defeated five Pokemon at once (some such as Ash's Pokemon were top fighters). While he inevitably lost the rush and reverted back to normal, he still likely gained some palpable experience from such a win, improving his battle level slightly. Similarly he defeated several Purloin of Team Plasma in another isolated second wind in Best Wishes, explaining his second small power boost in XY.
• While Best Wishes made the trio more competent as villains, most of their long term victories that actually earned Giovanni's approval tied in with their usual Redemption Promotion, eg. stopping rival Team Plasma in an Enemy Mine with Ash, saving Brainwashed and Crazy Giovanni from destroying Unova, handing him Pokemon they earned through legitimate circumstances rather than stealing. Even Meowth's plot to act as The Mole only got so far because he was genuinely helpful to the heroes and did good deeds. It only makes sense that after that, they decide to just go back to doing things their own way, where they do well in benevolent circumstances anyway, something XY has stayed consistent with.

X and Y

• Froakie being able to see through Team Rocket's disguises might make sense when you take into account that his final evolution is a thief (well, ninja, but considering the Fighter, Mage, Thief dynamic he has with the other starters). It takes a thief to know a thief.
• What was Clemont doing between getting kicked out of his gym and meeting Ash? Why, going to find a Pokemon that could use Ground moves like Bunnelby so he would have an advantage against the Clembot.
  • Apparently exploring the Lumiose City subway system.
• There have been complaints (at least from Bulbagarden) about how Korrina's Mega-Lucario vs (Ash's) Pikachu have been utterly one-sided. The thing is, Pikachu was against a Pokémon that is essentially the closest thing you'll have to a legendary: Mega-Lucario is on Smogon's Uber-tier list. Even the non-mega version is not much of a slouch if you actually played the games. If anything, this make more sense that Lucario was featured in an earlier movie - maybe Lucario is a special type of Pokemon; the anime version of a semi/pseudo-legendary species.
• Of why Clemont's invention always explode when he's supposed to be a genius inventor. Well, this is played for lighthearted hilarity. Given that Clemont probably came up with the inventions with only 30 second notice, and given that most of his invention do work - if briefly - before exploding, his problem is the lack of testing the invention and making sure the invention is fail-safe.
• In XY008, Ash's Pikachu is blinded by an ink shot from James' Inkay, but Ash and Pikachu still battle Team Rocket with no trouble. Ash gives Pikachu commands about how and where to move and attack, and Pikachu delivers perfectly. Not only is this moment awesome in and of itself, it also makes sense in hindsight. Several times over the course of the anime, Ash has been in situations where his Pokémon either can't see their opponents or where it would not have been wise for them to do so. Each time, Ash told them to simply listen for their opponents or sense their movements and react at just the right moment. This could mean that part of the reason Ash and Pikachu did so well when Pikachu was fighting blind, aside from their deep bond and mutual trust, was because Ash has had to do things like this before.
• Serena's Fennekin really hates getting dirty. Why is this? She's a Fire-type Pokemon, and most of the things that make you dirty consist of water, soil (e.g. ground) and debris (e.g. rock).
• When watching Serena's flashback where Ash sings "Pain, pain go away" to the tune of "Rain, rain go away" you might just realise that that's the song that plays when you use the healing machine at a Pokemon Center!
• Tying with that, the heroes almost always use a combination of Pokemon attacks to blast off Team Rocket in XY. This seems like standard flashy overkill at first, but in keeping with Team Rocket's increased competence, a standard attack may not work anymore. Not to mention their tendency to bring out Wobbuffet to Counter more moderate attacks.
• After the Kalos finals, Ash's friends comforting him telling him that the loss isn't that bad is no doubt callous, then you realize that they are probably thinking that Ash only had just taken part in his first or second tournament and is telling him not to be a sore loser. If Ash ever told them that this is his 6th league loss in a row, his friends will no doubt be singing a different tune. Not a Betrayal Fic or a 'you suck because you can't win' speech of course: contrary to what stupid fanfictions will say real people do not turn on you on such drops of the hats. No, they'd probably be congratulating him on how far he went.
• The reason Articuno did not appear in the XY anime like Moltres and Zapdos is because of what starter Pokemon triggers Articuno in the games: Chespin. Clemont isn't the anime protagonist, nor is he based on the game protagonist, so he does not trigger the event.
  • Alternatively, the episodes featuring Moltres and Zapdos have one thing in common: a Flying-type Pokémon in Ash's team evolves into its final form (Fletchinder for the Moltres episode and Noibat for the Zapdos episode). The only unevolved Flying-type in Ash's team now is Hawlucha...which has no evolved forms at all.
• Korrina's subplot in XY seems like just something to introduce Mega Evolution, giving a side character, at best, an arc about working as one with their Pokemon and needing to have two viewpoints come together as one. What exactly is it that Ash and Greninja are forced to do 60 plus episodes later? It was pretty much hinting at it the whole time!
  • In fact, a lot of things in early XY could be missed but have a huge impact with Ash and Greninja: Froakie choosing Ash, Ash and Froakie doing the same training exercises together, Ash continually blaming only himself for any loss he suffers, and Ramos' words about not rushing ahead or you'll miss the important things. All of them actually come back to bite Ash in the butt during the Ash-Greninja arc.
• Serena is noted for surviving the entire XY anime without a proper defeat, despite being the least experienced of the female trainers throughout the anime, focusing more on her bonds with her Pokemon than level grinding (her standard battle strategy was spamming "Dodge!" and her Pokemon's best attacks in hope of a One-Hit KO). This links to her representing game series, which introduced Pokemon-Amie, which through bonding and feeding your Pokemon, can boost their performance in battle, with far greater chance of them scoring critical hits and dodging attacks.
• Ash-Greninja's fairly easy win (only taking a single hit from a Leaf Storm) against Sawyer's Mega Sceptile makes sense, as not only did Greninja receive a major power increase, Sawyer had Sceptile use Leaf Storm quite often, which lowers the user's Special Attack Stat.
• Alain's team, as the boss set the farthest Ash has ever gone, has a team fittingly set up of previous challenges before his Charizard.
  • Tyranitar is the evolved form of Pupitar, a Pokemon used by Ritchie who defeated Ash in Kanto.
  • Weavile is one of Paul's main Pokemon, a trainer who gave him hell in Sinnoh.
  • Bisharp is one of dragon buster Georgia's Pokemon, a trainer who his companion Iris never truly defeated (battles all being ties or 'Dragonite's victory') and whom Ash only beat thanks to the ground (at least in her eyes).
  • Unfeazant is the evolved form of Tranquil, a Pokemon used by Trip in their first large scale battle and took out two of his Pokemon.
  • Metagross is a Pokemon used by Tyson, who defeated Ash in Hoenn and took out two of Ash's best Pokemon he had on that region's team (Grovyle and Swellow) while battling Pikachu intensely before falling.
  • In overcoming them, Ash showed that he had bettered himself against past defeats and struggles, even if the final challenge to overcome, Charizard, still remains.
• The lyrics to "Stand Tall" foreshadowed the outcome of the Kalos League for Ash: "I stand tall, 'cause I know I'm a winner / Knock me down, I'll just get up again" Losing to Alain may have knocked Ash down, but when Team Flare launched their attack on Lumiose, he got up again. He stood tall against Lysandre and proved himself a winner in every way that mattered.
• As disappointing as Goodra's Badass Decay in the Kalos League was, it makes sense when you consider the context. In contrast to most other Pokemon that had left Ash's party, such as Charizard, Gliscor, and Naganadel, Goodra didn't leave to become stronger — it left because it was already strong. It stayed behind in its homeland because it was now powerful enough to be its new defender. The fact that it's now effectively the strongest Pokemon around, combined with the only potentially threatening opponent (Florges) pulling a Heel–Face Turn, and there's really no motivation left for Goodra to keep training. It's also subtly hinted at by the fact that Goodra was one of the few Pokémon that didn't learn any new moves upon returning. It was most likely at about the same level of power it was at when Ash left it: a powerhouse by Gym standards, but just okay by league standards.
• Serena's crush on Ash is more than just Ship Tease for the fans. It's a metaphor for Serena's self-doubt and indecisiveness on her life. She makes it clear that she doesn't want to be a Rhyhorn Rider, not budging one bit when being pressured by her mother. Likewise, Serena makes it clear that she has a crush on Ash and only Ash, politely rejecting every other boy that purposes to her. But beyond those two stances, Serena has trouble with confidence. She may reject Rhyhorn Racing as a career, but she doesn't know what to replace it with. Likewise, she wants to confess her love for Ash but cannot spit it out due to fear that Ash may not reciprocate them back. This is also why her crush is Played for Laughs; it represents her immaturity. Over the course of the XY series, Serena learns to be confident and take initiative for herself, culminating her a choosing a career to become a Pokémon Performer and choose her own path rather than letting someone, like Palermo, choose it for her. But while Serena is more confident and mature than she was at the start of the series, she wouldn't fully complete her arc without resolving her crush on Ash, which has only grown stronger rather than fade away. That's why Serena gives her Sacred First Kiss to him before parting. Not simply to confess her feelings like she always wanted, but to also mature her childish crush into genuine love so that they reunite once again, they would have an equal relationship dynamic rather than a fan meets idol relationship.
• Froakie's backstory implies it was a disobidient Pokemon who rejected trainer after trainer due to high standards, something that comes off as an Informed Flaw for the large part. However, the one time it did disobey Ash was because it was hell bent on paying out Fletchling for upsetting Bonnie. This was immediately resolved by Ash showing he understood what was wrong and reasoning with Froakie, something it is surprised and touched by. In all likeliness, Froakie wasn't a renegade simply because trainers weren't good enough, it was because they didn't get its personality, and likely fed stories to the Professor about how seemingly elitist it was.

Sun and Moon

• Hala's team in the anime. Both of his Pokemon had Dark-type moves, while Hariyama blocked Iron Tail much the same way Tyson's Hariyama blocked Swellow's Peck. Subtle and unspoken, but it is a nice showing of how Hala has trained to deal with type disadvantage without him catching a M.C's Pokemon in them.
• Mimikyu takes an Iron Tail, which would normally be super effective, without taking damage. This might look weird, until you remember Mimikyu's ability, Disguise, lets it shrug off a free hit.
• Ash being on the receiving end of a plethora of Amusing Injuries in Alola. A normal person would probably be in the hospital after going through the punishment he experiences, but compared what Ash has experienced in the past, which include turning to stone, being brainwashed and possessed, nearly dying from using all of his aura, dropping to his doom from great heights, and, most recently, sharing the pain his Greninja feels after it turns into Ash-Greninja, being electrocuted, frozen, and burned on a daily basis is like a slap on the wrist. The kid's had nearly two decades worth of experience to make him resilient enough to withstand virtually anything.
• Team Rocket managing to get the Darkinium Z: in the process of the episode they managed to incapacitate the assist Pokemon and defeat the Totem Pokemon while showing they do care for Meowth. In a sense, they completed a trial a la the Poni Island Trial.
• During the baseball episode in the Sun and Moon season, Ash brandishes his metal bat with a flourish that is nearly identical to the way Pikachu swings his tail around when he's about to use Iron Tail. It's instantly apparent that he really put the finishing touches on Pikachu's technique with that particular attack. His excellent batting skill also definitely underscores why Iron Tail quickly became one of Pikachu's new signature attacks in the anime once Ash taught him how to master it.
• The fact that we don't see any of Ash's other Pokemon from the other regions when he comes back to Kanto (outside of a possible cameo appearance from his Corphish and Tododile) for a school trip. The whole point of the class going to Professor Oak's lab was for them to primarily see Pokemon from that specific region. If Professor Oak were to let out all of the Pokemon Ash caught from the Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos regions, they'd all flock towards him once they heard he was back and Ash would have to introduce all of his Pokemon to his classmates, thus defeating the entire purpose of the trip.
  • It is worth noting that in the first episode that showed how Professor Oak's ranch worked, Showdown at the Po-Ke Corral, has him choose what Pokemon he lets out of their balls at any time. Given the callbacks this fact could likely be in play. As to why Totodile and Corphish are out.... well neither is all that obedient and neither Oak nor Bulbasaur can get them out from deep in a lake.
• Meta example in the Japanese dub. Despite sharing many-to-all of the similarities to Ragyo Kiryuin in the games, Lusamine isn't voiced by Romi Park, instead having a much softer and more motherly voice. The reason? Lusamine's anime incarnation received a massive Adaptational Heroism.
• Why does 'the Masked Royal' have Incineroar in the anime? Simple, in the games the guy has the stronger starter to you and Ash's first Alolan Pokemon was Rowlet, the grass starter.
• Throughout Sun and Moon Giovanni and Matori seem to be inspecting the Team Rocket trio's progress far more often than usual. Their previous trip to Kalos was actually their most stagnant, only capturing one Pokemon per trainer at the start of the series. The trio had got back into their usual obsessive rut with the twerps, and eventually got surpassed by them so badly that they even acknowledged it and lied low for the final points of the mission (though they managed to keep in Giovanni's good books by defeating rival organisation Team Flare "single handedly"). It would make sense that next time round, the trio are made sure to keep up a more consistent pace instead of wasting time against Pikachu.
• Nanu not giving Ash a Darkinium Z-crystal because the Dark-type didn't suit him was a bit of an odd statement and more than a little trolly, given that he knew Lycanroc knew Bite (at least at the start of the match, it is unknown if learning Counter removed Bite) and that Ash had a Torracat, which evolves into a Dark-type. Ash also having a Scraggy, Krookodile, and Greninja is a bit of a counter to this. However despite their typings, all of them (and Ash's Pokemon in general) do not know Dark-type moves and what ones did know them (Torterra, Krookodile, probably Lycanroc) forgot them. Either Nanu was one of the first characters in ages to look Ash up as he was before the current series and noted this, or he's a better reader of people than many give him credit for. It just happened to have the bonus of trolling on top of it.
• Why is Tapu Fini a Psychopomp, despite never really being depicted as such in any other medium? The Ruins of Hope the Pokemon resides in are known as 'the place life ends its journey' and the attribute was likely taken from there.
• Some people have raised issue with Tsareena's evolutions, as Mallow is not particularly known for training her yet she still evolved twice and shows herself to be rather powerful. However, an answer did pop up for why this happened as of the Poni Island arc: Tsareena's one of the older Pokemon in the group, even without trying to figure out what sort of time warp Ash and Pikachu are in: Bounsweet was caught by Mallow's mother years ago, while Pokemon like Popplio are much more recent captures. Light training for years can pay dividends later.
  • Add to that Tsareena was almost exclusively played against harmless villains like Team Rocket's Meowth, of course by comparison of her opposition she would look like an Invincible Hero. When the league came and Mallow was pit against the relatively more trained Primarina, the lack of experience quickly came into play and Tsareena was soon eliminated. This is a show that has repeatedly pointed out that evolution can help with power but doesn't automatically mean more experience.
• During an episode that Mallow's mother appeared as a ghost, a Shaymin appears. This is to reflect on this Pokemon species being partially based on angels.
• Shaymin's bond with Mallow is succinctly close and obedient despite being a wild mythical Pokemon. The earlier Mallow focused episode where she quarrels with her father brings to attention that she is insecure over lack of appreciation or approval. Her parting words with her mother's spirit fittingly are them expressing their appreciation for each other. What more fitting Pokemon to show compassion to a "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl like Mallow than Shaymin, the Gratitude Pokemon?
  • Eagle-eyed viewers will also notice that this particular Shaymin in its Land Forme has eyes that resemble those of Mallow's mother. Possible reincarnation, anyone?
• In Sun and Moon, Mimikyu softening up to Jessie rather quickly make sense once one recall how it was captured with a Luxury Ball. Those are designed to make the captured Pokemon in them friendlier much faster than any other ball.
  • Additionally, Jessie wasn't able to catch it after multiple tries with regular Poké Balls. So she swiped the Luxury Ball, which belonged to James, and it went right in. Keep in mind, Mimikyu just want to be loved. Maybe it was just waiting for the right Ball to be caught with.
• Though some consider Rowlet quickly defeating Hau's Decidueye after waking up an Ass Pull, the dex entry for Rowlet specifically states that the species fall asleep to store energy from photosynthesis. Essentially taking a nap allowed it a power surge and to regain energy while Decidueye was still worn out from their battle.
• A viewer noted that Ash's battles in the Alola League avenged ALL his previous tournament losses:
  • Won a battle after his Pokémon fell asleep (Rowlet) — Indigo League
  • Beat a Fire-type starter with another Fire-type starter (Torracat) — Johto League
  • Won with unevolved Pokémon wearing clothes (Rowlet again, as well as Pikachu) — Hoenn League
  • Beat two legendaries and got two legendary-like Pokémon of his own (Naganadel and Melmetal) — Sinnoh League
  • Beat a Lucario, and avoided the usual Deus ex Machina midbattle evolution with Torracat, who only evolved after it had defeated its opponent — Unova League
  • Beat his black-wearing, angsty rival in the (tournament) finals and not only survived but also absorbed a Blast Burn — Kalos League
  • As a cherry on top, the true final battle was won by his longtime partner Pikachu instead of the regional ace, possibly harkening back to Ash's original League victory at the Orange Islands.
• The Ultra Guardian Pokemon have something in common with their riders. Ash rides Garchomp, Kiawe rides Charizard, Sophocles rides Metagross, Lillie rides Altaria, Lana rides Dragonair, and Mallow rides Flygon. What are these similarities? Ash has a Gible, which is Garchomp's base form. Kiawe specializes in Fire Pokemon so he has Charizard, and it was his grandfather's. Metang is intelligent, said to be smarter than a supercomputer to go along with Sophocles as the brains of the group and can learn Magnet Rise and Thunder Punch to match him specializing in electric Pokemon. Dragonair live in bodies of water and in the games can be caught by fishing which matches Lana specializing in water Pokemon. Lillie the girliest of the group has a feminine looking Pokemon in Altaria and Altaria's pre-evolution Swablu starts off weak but has potential which it taps into as Altaria reflects how Lillie started out as fearing touching Pokemon but has grown stronger by conquering that fear and gotten more confident. Mallow having Flygon is comparatively grasping at straws, but Flygon is capable of learning Grass-type moves like Solar Beam and Giga Drain.
• Ash winning the Manalo League Conference/Alola League? A translation of Manalo is WIN. Let that sink in.
  • It also mirrors the games. In Sun and Moon, the main character is the first Champion of Alola.
• The reason Team Rocket are able to survive so many encounters with Bewear, a Pokemon that's known for being dangerously strong even to its friends, is because they already have so much experience being pummeled to total oblivion. A bear that can knock down trees with a single swipe isn't actually all that much compared to the countless beatdowns they've experienced in previous series.
• In Rowlet's debut episode, when living with its adoptive Pikipek family, it's shown to be a Sleepy Head, even falling asleep when Trumbeak is scolding it for bringing back a wind chime instead of fruit. If we assume Rowlet is naturally nocturnal like real owls, then of course it would be sleepy all the time if it's living with the Pikipek family. Since they're diurnal, Rowlet has to force itself to be awake during the day when they are, which conflicts with its natural sleep schedule.
• In the Japanese dub, Guzzlord isn't screaming a random sound. It's shouting the first letter(ア) of its name(Akujiking/アクジキング). It's a sort of warped Pokémon Speak!
• Ash succeeding in the Alola League can at first seem to be a vindication of one of the earliest episodes in the series, The School of Hard Knocks. After all, on the surface level he failed to succeed in any of the prior 6 leagues despite having spent ages on the road collecting badges in the expected way, and only succeeded after taking part in a school on Alola before being allowed into the League. However it's not that straightforward. The reality was that early Ash started off as a Jerk with a Heart of Gold entitled brat who certainly had a lot of potential, but was held back by his own inexperience and arrogance. Even not factoring in that he likely wouldn't do well in a school environment at the time due to his Book Dumb tendencies and generally stubborn behavior, a large part of why the Alolan League worked the way it did was in part because of his past successes and failures. He might not have won the leagues, but he DID gain valuable experience and matured and grew beyond the idiot he started off as, something that was incredibly invaluable to him becoming better as a trainer overall, and something that he might not have gotten if he'd just been fast-tracked through to the Pokemon League from the start. Where Alola helped was shoring up his deficiencies as a trainer in a structured and more academic level, and it's the combination of this and his past experiences that finally allowed him to win.
  • Plus, one of the things that was shown in that episode was that no amount of high levels and technical knowledge could compensate for a lack of real world experience and adaptability, since once Ash started using a mixture of smarts and unorthodox combat moves, he was able to get one over Giselle's higher leveled and type advantaged Cubone.
  • Another reason Alola succeeds in completing Ash's evolution to not only becoming its first-ever champion but eventually World Champion as well can be traced back to, among other things, he and Pikachu having actual mentors to help them buff out those rough edges, Kukui for Ash and Tapu Koko for Pikachu. While Ash has been given lessons before, this is the first time the mentor figures were long term presences in their lives, and Pikachu has rarely, if ever, had a mentor in the same way Ash has had.
  • The Alola Region resembles an expanded version of the Orange Islands. While there, Ash acquires his first significant triumph as a trainer by completing an unconventional gym challenge that teaches him valuable lessons about being a trainer, aside from the regular battle-based gym challenges. This unorthodox approach to gym challenges likely contributes to Ash's unbridled thinking in his battles, which would later prove advantageous. Similarly, Alola would help Ash develop into a trainer capable of dominating the Pokemon Battling World by teaching him unique lessons in Pokemon Training and life through its culture, people, and, of course, Pokemon.
  • During their toughest battles, Ash and Pikachu often find themselves in a state of white space, dubbed "The Power of Alola" by some online communities. By embracing Alola as their second home, they establish a deep connection that helps them overcome adversity and secure victory even when the odds are against them. In their match against Leon, it's possible that Ash and Pikachu tapped into a more potent version of this power, thanks to the presence of all their Pokemon friends, which could be considered the Pokemon World's answer to "The Force." We've seen this state of mind in action during Ash and Pikachu's Manalo Conference Exhibition Match against Kukui and Tapu Koko, as well as in the Masters 8 Finals against Leon and Charizard.
  • During their matches, Ash and Pikachu utilized a powerful Rainbow Electric attack, known as the 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt, to take on Kukui. In their match against Leon, they employed an improvised Rainbow Volt Tackle. Throughout their journey, rainbows and Ho-oh have played a pivotal role, and it's possible that the Pikashunium Z acted as a training wheel for them to harness that connection and turn it into raw power, eventually allowing them to execute these moves without relying on the Pikashunium Z.
• Ash's Rowlet appearing to be knocked out during his battle with Hau's Decidueye only to be revealed to be sleeping comes across as an Ass Pull at first but it's more likely a massive Take That! at Ash's Squirtle being declared unable to battle after Happy's Sleep Powder hit him in the Indigo League. This shows that a Pokémon can fall asleep and keep battling when it wakes up.
• Why do Kukui's Pokémon suddenly vanish during the last few episodes? Easy, they were in the Pokémon Center after all the massive damage they took (Incineroar was slashed by a sharp stone, used Darkest Lariat through Flash Cannon, had to take some damage from catching Double Iron Bash and got into a slugfest with Torracat, Braviary had his Rock Slide deflected at him by Counter, got Bitten on the leg and was hit by an Everstone and a Brave Bird, Venusaur was hit by the flames from Torracat's Fire Fang when he tried a Vine Whip and the flames traveled down the vines and burnt the guy and then he was finished off by a Blast Burn powered Fire Blast, Empoleon was hit by a Double Iron Bash while blocking and landed on and rolled with Professor Kukui before stopping and Lucario was zapped, hit via X-Scissor (Nagandel has a massive stinger) and finished off by a point-blank Dragon Pulse) akin to how Ash's team had to be healed for a long time after being beaten by Paul's team in the Lake Acuity battle.

Journeys

• The fact that Goh catches his starter Pokemon, throws a curve Pokeball, catches most of his Pokemon by simply throwing Pokeballs at them, and transfers most of the Pokemon he catches to an institute suggest he was inspired by the Player Character in Pokémon GO.
  • For one of his captures, his ball gets knocked away by the Pokemon he's trying to catch, only for Scorbunny to knock it back again. Your Buddy Pokemon can help you in the exact same way.
• Ash's Pokemon in Journeys are often those that both contrast and yet are similar to his previous captures:
  • Dragonite goes against Ash's usual tradition of him catching either a regional bird or a Starter Pokemon. But the circumstances also alludes to one of Ash's first captures; his Pidgeotto, which was captured in its mid-form and released in its final form. Except this time, Ash meets his Dragonite as a wild Dragonair, but catches it as a fully evolved Pokemon. And by technicality, Ash also doesn't go entirely against his tradition because Dragonite is part Flying-type.
  • Gengar contrasts the backstory of Ash's Fire-type Starters (save Cyndaquil and Litten). Charmander, Chimchar and Tepig were abandoned by their trainers for being weak recently - in Chimchar's case, right in front of Ash. Meanwhile, Gengar is a fully evolved Pokemon that was abandoned three years ago because its former Trainer believed it brought him bad luck. Likewise, while the three had issues with themselves as a result of the abandonment, Gengar became resentful toward Trainers and spends its first appearances lashing out at the Cerise Institute.
  • Riolu/Lucario contrasts Ash's hatched Pokemon (Phanpy/Donphan, Scraggy, and Noibat/Noivern). Riolu is actually a Baby Pokemon and has an independent and stubborn attitude right after hatching, even more so compared to Scraggy.
  • Farfetch'd/Sirfetch'd is the opposite of Ash's previous avian-based Fighting type Hawlucha. While Hawlucha was an honorable warrior and defender, Farfetch'd is a Blood Knight that seeks out challenges. However, both do struggle with a problem that hampers their fighting ability; Hawlucha posed before doing Flying Press while Farfetch'd heavy leek makes it vunerable while preparing to strike. Both also have a connection with Ash's hatched Pokemon though in different ways; Hawlucha's relationship with Noibat/Noivern is akin to a paternal one while Farfetch'd views Riolu/Lucario as a Worthy Opponent and sparring partner.
  • Dracovish is the cute and bumbling Water-type in the vein of Totodile, Corphish, and Oshawott. However Dracovish is a lot more of an Ugly Cute than they were, and appears to lack their more mischievous and trouble-making personality quirks. The earlier mons were also fairly adapt Magic Knight types able to use both close and long range attacks effectively while Dracovish is far more a Close-Range Combatant than they were.
• In JN001, we get to see Ash's Pikachu as a Pichu. He spent a good amount of time adopted by a Kangaskhan, being good friends with its baby. Pichu eventually evolves into Pikachu. This makes sense, as the prerequisite for Pichu to evolve into Pikachu is high friendship.
• "Mimey" calling quits on a fight with a Mightyena in JN007 before it even begins is a crystal clear case that he's well-aware of type advantages and realizes that he, a "Psychic/Fairy"-type, going up a pure "Dark"-type, is a one-sided beating just waiting to happen, one "Mimey" does not want if he can avoid it.
  • Moreover, given how quickly Mimey threw in the towel, said Mightyena might've had Intimidate which would've decreased his Attack stats, meaning that Focus Punch just wasn't going to cut it.
  • It's also implied Mimey does not know any Fairy-type attacks (which are super-effective against Dark-types), giving Mimey a further disadvantage.
  • Add that Mimey is probably exhausted. Using several moves of chinese martial art to evade Hariyama's attacks and then trapping him in a cage of Reflect must have took a toll on him, also considering that he doesn't fight often.
• Goh's Dewgong actually shares a similarity with his trainer: a one-sided determination to obtain something to the point that they disregard logic. Goh was so focused on capturing Dewgong without battling it first that he lost all his Pokéballs while Dewgong is fixated with a female Dewgong that it got Goh and Ash lost in a storm.
  • Goh's Scyther in JN007 was eager to join in the Battle Frontier in contrast to Goh's Pinsir who looks like he'd rather not. It shows a conflict between Goh: he wants to prove his stuff in his first official trainer battle but he also shows reluctance throughout the entire ordeal.
• The Pokemon type that consists of most of Goh's caught Pokemon are Bug-types, a Pokemon type commonly associated with beginner trainers, which Goh is.
  • Likewise, the majority of Ash's current team are Dragon and Fighting-types, two types which have associations with discipline and power, which subtly alludes to Ash being a more experienced trainer compared to Goh.
• In JN010 it seems odd that Gengar would easily be defeated by a simple Spark from Yamper...but then again, that's probably the point. Gengar probably pretended to be defeated easily to make it so that the residents in the laboratory would think it will disappear. That way Gengar could attack when their defenses were down.
  • Gengar is also a Glass Cannon, as it shown struggling with very fast and hard-hitting opponents (such as Visquez's Electrode and Korrina's tag team with Mienshao and Lucario).
• So, as we see in JN012, Ash, who won the Alola Pokémon League and was their Champion, was not invited to the World Coronation Series being held in Galar. Snubbed? Perhaps not. Remember, Ash is the first Champion of Alola. Also, qualification for the World Coronation Series may not have to do with being a Champion, as Ash has to do battle with previous rivals to build up his global ranking.
• Ash giving Goh an Armor-Piercing Question in episode 22 makes sense — after all, he tried to leave Pikachu behind for his own happiness without consulting his partner early in the series too, and he doesn't want Goh to make the same mistake.
  • In addition, Ash has had experiences with Pokémon who had been abandoned by their trainers; he's well aware of the damage that abandonment can cause to a Pokémon psyche. Ash didn't want Raboot to spend the rest of its life feeling that its trainer deemed it worthless.
    • Another reason why Goh was quick to change his mind? He knew what happened with Ash's Gengar a few episodes ago. He probably didn't want to be just like that Jerkass trainer who abandoned Gengar in the first place.
• Visquez and Korrina were the first and the last opponents Ash faced against in the Normal class. Both are gym leaders with previous knowledge of Ash's battle style who fought him two on two. Each of their Pokemon battled both of Ash's two Pokemon at one point during their battles. However Visquez knew of Ash second hand from Lt. Surge while Korrina had battled him herself. Visquez was the substitute gym leader while Korrina was the official gym leader. As a result of these points Visquez suffered a knock out first while Korrina gave a knock out first to Ash (notably the same Pokemon, Gengar, was involved in both fights). Visquez's secret weapon came at the end of a fight in Electrode's Aftermath while Lucario's came earlier in Mega Evolution.
• Goh catching Sobble makes more sense when you realize that this time Ash is participating in the World Championship, which makes Sobble a rather impractical choice to train and fight with due to its timid nature, which makes Goh a better choice as a trainer due to the lack of battling he faces in comparison.
• Chloe being the one to figure out that Pikachu was jealous of Riolu as well as being the one to call out Ash for it makes sense since she had experienced the same issue with Yamper just one episode prior.
• Why did Pikachu get so tired from walking to Pallet Town with how much travelling he did with Ash in past series? Because during their travels, Pikachu generally just sat on Ash's shoulder while Ash did most of the walking.
• Sometimes it feels like Ash's rank increases can feel like their level of increase isn't the most consistent. However especially given the massive number of trainers in the normal classes the likely explanation is that ranks for most trainers, bar someone like Leon, can and does change without battle results as others win and lose around them. For an example Ash could go to sleep one day ranked the 1,345th and wake up the 1,543rd trainer on the rankings.
• Korrina beating Gengar so readily might have been more than just setting up The Worf Effect. In game Korrina has a slight quirk in her movepool design that makes her team basically unable to do anything against a Ghost Pokemon. Specifically being shown demolishing a ghost is a small little way of showing improvement in that sense.
• Goh having to go to school for a test, despite not really going at all, might seem an odd quirk. However that is how some, at least American, colleges operate. Students can, if they so choose, only attend class on test days and still pass the class. Now why this is in place for children that are most definitely not intended to be college age is anyone's guess, but there is a possible reason for it.
  • One possible reason is that students may want to be a trainer. Being a Pokémon trainer is often a profession paired with another such as being a professor, doctor, and even office work which may require some form of education. This curriculum ensures they are equipped in both aspects.
• Bea's first two appearances give a fair bit of context as to why Ash's first battle with her went so badly: she's not just a Fighting-type specialist but a specialist at battling other Fighting-types. It's what she's been shown doing (Karate Dojo Master, Korrina, and Chuck) and her Hawlucha is perfectly set up for the job in general with its part-flying typing. She is course not as limited in this focus than Georgia against non-dragons: she can match Ash blow for blow when he uses the Electric-type Pikachu after all, and she seems to have a bit of a blind spot for Aura-based fighting tactics. However trying to beat her with her own specialization is going to end badly for the participant as Ash found out the hard way.
  • On the note of Bea and an Aura blind spot none of her Pokemon can learn Aura Sphere. This seems like an minor detail but look at the native Galarian fighting types that can use Aura Sphere and you'll find that Bea isn't shown with any of them: Lucario, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, and Kommo-o. She has the one Hitmon Pokemon, Hitmontop, that can't use Aura Sphere.
• The Rocket Prize Master, as of the 58th episode of Journeys, has only sent one one Pokemon from a region introduced after Unova: the Chewtle Team Rocket obtained onscreen. It's a bit of an odd set up, but if you think about Team Rocket's set up for Alola it's pretty obvious they don't have any branches there. They were clearly expanding into Unova in Gen 5 (even without the Rocket vs Plasma arc lost to earthquakes) and had interest of doing so in Hoenn. They probably managed to get a foot in the door with Sinnoh as well. Why they may not have a presence in Kalos is up for debate but the regions absent from the Prize Master may show the limits of where Team Rocket has reach.
• This series, while not saying it aloud, does give Ash a reason he sometimes forgets to bring out any other Pokemon but Pikachu against Team Rocket (or resorts to tackling them instead of using Dragonite or Lucario): he doesn't automatically bring all his Pokemon with him on his adventures. If he doesn't think to bring them, they'd stay at the Cerise Institute instead. A lot of the one on one battles Ash and Pikachu had were probably when he only had Pikachu on him. For all the inconvenience this can cause there are some benefits: Pokemon can self-train at the institute without him for example.
• A few people have wondered why Iris, a Champion, is only in the Great Class. Given that by the time Ash entered the World Coronation series there were over 10,000 entrants, and Rinto's own skill despite his Normal ranking at first appearance, it is likely that Iris (and Rinto) entered the series later than Ash did, which is mentioned to be the case for Iris. Also, Ash did end up falling back into Normal Class for a period during a slump and had to take some time to get back to Great Class, so that staggering was another reason for them being in the same class despite their different entering times.
• Why does Iris's Dragonite fall so easily to an Ice Fang by Dracovish despite being shown to tank Ice-type attacks multiple times in the past? There are some reasonable explanations for this:
  • In the past, Dragonite took Ice-type attacks such as Ice Beam and Ice Shard aimed towards the body. Ash had Dracovish go for Dragonite's neck, holding him inside its mouth. Besides rendering him unable to hear Iris's commands, it also meant Dragonite took a super-effective attack starting from the head, a far more vulnerable area.
  • As confirmed in JN118, Dracovish’s ability is Strong Jaw, which increases the attack power of biting moves, as Iris realizes that it is more dangerous up close. The two moves it uses against Dragonite are Fishious Rend and Ice Fang, two moves that are powered by Strong Jaw.
  • On that note, Fishious Rend has a secondary effect where the power of the move doubles if the user attacks first, which is also later confirmed to be the case in JN118 by Goh. Dracovish strikes before Dragonite could act, fufilling the requirement for the secondary effect to activate, thus Fishious Rend ended up doing a hefty amount of damage to Dragonite, also enough for a enhanced Ice Fang to finish him off.
  • Dragonite had already taken some damage from Ash's own Dragonite using Hurricane at the very least before it was switched out, so he wasn't a hundred percent fresh either.
  • Furthermore, Dragonite is an Dragon/Flying Type, which has a x4 weakness to Ice in the games.
• The outcome of Ash and Iris's battle is a nod to the games: Ash's Dragonite learns Draco Meteor after Iris taps into its heart and shows it the joy of battling. In the games, Draco Meteor is taught to Dragon-types with a high level of friendship, while Iris herself is the tutor for Draco Meteor in Black Version.
• In JN091, Gengar was able to use Psychic to lift Goh’s Absol, despite it being a Dark type, meaning it should have no effect on it. While this could be chalked up as another inconsistency within the anime, it could also be explained that Gengar’s Psychic could lift Absol was because it was used outside of a battle to help it rather than using the move to attack it.
• Butch and Cassidy have left Team Rocket, with their stated reasons in both cases being that they got tired of the routine there. At first glance this doesn't make sense; even after they became less serious and more comedic, Butch and Cassidy were always defined by their rivalry with Jessie, James, and Meowth, always trying to one-up them. So for them to just leave Team Rocket would seem out of character. However, the last time we saw them was in Sinnoh. After the Sinnoh arc concluded, we were introduced to Matori, Giovanni's coldly efficient second-in-command with her own elite force of Team Rocket members. Conspicuously, Matori has all but taken over Butch and Cassidy's role as Jessie and James's "rival". Read between the lines, and it's implied that Butch and Cassidy quit Team Rocket sometime during the Unova arc because they didn't want to deal with Matori.
• When Goh's Pinsir was feeling like she was losing Heracross's attention to the new Liligant, Ash suggested training one on one to help. While it was quickly turned down by Goh, it was actually a very good idea. Confidence is considered by many to be a very attractive quality that in turn boosts other attractive traits, and one way self confidence is gained is in training. At the end of the episode Pinsir got Heracross's attention again was in tanking a Solar Beam and then defeating Team Rocket's Lurantis, showing that not only did Ash have a good idea in general in this matter, but it was a right idea in this situation specifically.
• One of the initial observations of the Masters Eight are in their similar team rosters. If we count Ash's reserves and discount any Pokemon not seen in the anime under their ownership we have three Dragonites (Lance, Iris, and Ash), three Charizards (Leon, Alain, Ash), two Metagross (Steven and Alain), two Hawlucha and Goodra (Diantha and Ash), and two Unfeazant (Alain and Ash), and if we add in their game teams the list expands further with such Pokemon as Aggron (Steven and Iris), Haxorus (Leon and Iris), Lucario (Cynthia and Ash), and a fourth Charizard with Lance. Anyone who does see a real life competitive Pokemon tournament would see that this sort of overlap is actually fairly common. While none of them likely went in with that same idea in mind, the same factors would naturally have leaned in on their teams having some similarities.
  • There is also a case where different dynamics of competitive Pokemon is also present. Some of the shared roster, like Steven and Alain's Metagross, had moved into having similar moves and strategies (Agility Metagross). Meanwhile others go for completely different 'stat spreads' as it were, as Leon's Gigantamax Charizard used special attacks while Alain's Mega Charizard X's moveset was physical. Both of these aspects of competive battling, competing yet equally valid, are present with the Masters Eight.
• Ash's team in this series has been noted as very different from his previous teams. He would always have Pokemon native to the region, the regional bird, starters, and the Fire-Water-Grass trio which is similar to most playthrough teams. Come Journeys, his team is actually more in line with a competitive lineup. They won't always possess the Fire-Water-Grass trio as only one or two of them may be needed to cover threats of that generation's meta, overlapping types is fairly common as there are one or two members designated to cover them, starters won't always be present as it is rare for them to be viable, and they have powerhouses from the previous generation. Fitting since he's no longer actively traveling but competing in a world-class event.
• Erika being supportive of Goh using her flower arranging class to make Heracross fall in love with Pinsir makes a lot sense. She runs a perfume shop, and perfume is primarily used to make someone more attractive. She’d love the idea of using her flower arranging class for the same thing.
• A bit of fridge awesome for Ash in his fight with Cynthia: Spiritomb is implied to be a secret weapon of Cynthia's. No one knows she had one before she sent it out and its unusual movements and behavior makes it a rather unusual opponent to battle. Yet against Ash, she didn't just bring Spiritomb when she has at least two other Pokemon to choose from that she didn't use instead of Spiritomb (Glaceon and Kommo-o), she brought it out first. If she could have kept Spiritomb a secret, it would have likely been a good surprise to use against Leon, just like it was very good at throwing Ash off. Yet she used it against Ash. The thing about Cynthia is, perhaps more than even Iris, she knows more about Ash than anyone else at the Masters Eight. She felt like she needed to use a secret weapon against him instead of risking it and saving Spiritomb for Leon. Cynthia respects Ash enough as an opponent she cannot afford any risks against him.
• It first seems like Fauxshadowing for Paul to use Gyarados given that Ash never ended up fighting Lance. That said, notice how Paul's Prehensile Tail strategy is very similar to how Cynthia's Milotic battles, a fellow snake-like Water-type that traps opponents in place for a point-blank physical move. Evidently, Paul's training with Gyarados held at least some weight, as Dracovish managed to get off a final attack while trapped, while Iris's Dragonite was completely helpless against it.
• During Ash's fight with Cynthia, her Togekiss used Air Slash (mind that its ability is Serene Grace) on Lucario, but unlike before it didn't make him flinch. A week later, Ash's Lucario is released in Sword and Shield as a Mystery Gift and it turns out his ability is Inner Focus.
• Ash's Gengar and Dragonite got utterly demolished by Cynthia, but the games have a very good reason for that. In Diamond and Pearl, as well as Platinum, the National Dex at the time included all the Pokémon from Generations I through IV, including Dragonite and Gengar. Given Cynthia is loads more experienced than Ash, she's well versed with these two Mons and how they work, giving her the edge to take them down easily.
• Garchomp, Dragon/Ground Type against Lucario, a Fighting/Steel Type. In a normal perspective, Garchomp would have dealt serious damage with Ground-type attacks such as Dig but only has 3 damaging moves all of which are Dragon-type with one status move. It is believed that she was training her Garchomp to face Leon's Charizard personally as Ground-type moves have no affect on Fire/Flying type where as Stealth Rock's purpose is to chip away large amount of Charizard's health along with anything else that switches in.
• Some of Alain's fans were rather enraged that his battle with Leon did him dirty despite winning the Kalos League. But let's face it. Despite being above Ash and Iris, Alain is perhaps the weakest of the Master Eight. Even if he's strong, all the other participants were Champions, meaning they were literally the best of the best of their respective regions. Alain is also the only one of the newer end (himself, Iris, and Ash) to not have defeated a Champion prior to the Masters Eight. He was able to hold his own agaisnt Steven, but Iris did defeat Alder and Ash defeated Iris and Wallace. Alain was pitted against the strongest trainer of the world, Galar's champion Leon, who decided to use his strongest Pokémon right after one defeat.
  • This is reflected even more later. Diantha is probably even stronger than Alain but Leon defeated her easily, taking out four of her Pokémon with only his Rillaboom. Poor Alain didn't stand a chance from the very beginning against such an opponent. If anything, the fact he did hold his own against Rillaboom is a testemant to Alain's own strength.
• How fitting is that Ash's first Pokemon League challenge ended because his Charizard lost to a Pikachu (by technicality), and now, his Pikachu defeated a Charizard, very much the proper battling way, to win the world championships.
• Despite the dismay of fans, Chloe and Dawn were really the only ones who could watch Ash's battle live.
  • Misty, Brock, Cilan, Clemont, and Iris have jobs.
  • Dawn is a coordinator but does so at her own discretion while May and Serena now have professional connections and stick to tight schedules (they were literally about to perform as they were wearing their costumes).
  • Chloe and the Alola cast are students, and since this is a world-class event the organizers likely scheduled the battle on a weekend.
  • Professor Oak can't bring Ash's entire roster, so it's cheaper to watch it remotely, and Delia has to keep him and Tracey company.
• For the Masters Tournament, Leon's Charizard drops its previous Signature Move Flamethrower in favor of Fire Blast. Why is that? Well, on top of it just being stronger (and being more in line with its game moveset), Fire Blast is called "Daimonji" in Japanese. "Dai" is the Japanese prefix used for Max Moves, so it's like in spirit, he gets to command additional Max Moves with Charizard even in its base form.
  • To top it off, it gives additional meaning to Charizard's final clash with Pikachu, as Thunderbolt's name in all languages is similar to 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt. It essentially serves as a double clash between the strongest Max Move and the strongest Z-Move.
• Ash, Iris and Alain are the three youngest Masters Eight participants, who subsequently are the bottom 3. While age isn't always tied to strength, it does tie into experience which the three youngest trainers would have a lot less of compared to adult champions.
• While Butch and Cassidy's reappearance may seem like wasted potential, it actually sets up what happens with the TRio at the end of the series. Butch and Cassidy were able to break the cycle, quit Team Rocket, split up and get honest jobs and lives for themselves. The TRio on the other hand, is completely unable to break the cycle and by the end, still dedicate themselves to hounding Ash and Pikachu despite Ash having become the strongest trainer in the world and seeing the TRio as little more than nuisances.
• Season 25 in the dub is called "Pokemon: Ultimate Journeys''. This season is actually Ash's final journey as the protagonist.

Movies

• In the movie Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys, when the purple Deoxys (the primary one) makes its 'voice' heard, it sounds deep, and seemingly masculine. When the green Deoxys (the Deoxys the primary one is searching for) speaks, its voice is higher, and seemingly feminine. The two Deoxys were in a meteor together at the beginning of the movie. Is it possible that the Deoxys were a seed of life that came from another world, and sent to Earth (or at least, in hopes of finding a planet) to preserve their race? It seems to me that they could be a sort of Adam and Eve archetype.
  • Or for Fridge Horror, an Adam and Lilith archetype.
• Mewtwo. It was supposedly cloned from Mew, except it obviously isn't a Mew. The other clones obviously are the same as the originals, but it isn't. Why? The researchers spliced the Mew DNA with human DNA. It's why Mewtwo looks so much more human, and why it has a voice (admittedly via psychic). It's part human and part Pokémon, which is why it also thinks of itself as a trainer. That's why it's so screwed up.
  • This has some basis in the Pokémon Adventures manga, where Mewtwo was cloned using some of the cells in Blaine's arm.
• Akihiro Miwa as the japanese voice of Arceus in Arceus and the Jewel of Life. Not only is this a perfect fit for the voice, but he may have been the aptest choice possible for the role. He has many traits in common with Arceus: more age than appearances suggest, ambiguous gender, golden highlights, high popularity among the other characters despite holding strong beliefs and having some Jerkass tendencies, first-hand experience with "judgment" raining down upon a city...
  • 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 (replacing Phillip Bartlett from the first movie) 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.
  • Both Mewtwo and Movie!Entei specifically were created by the human mind. Mewtwo by Team Rocket, who probably wanted the voice to sound more like the way he speaks in the sequel, 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. Also, 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.
• In Pokemon 3: Spell of the Unown, the Entei, being associated with the Unown, leaves a trail of ice crystals. Seems pretty insignificant, right? But, of course, Entei is a fire mon. This may be a subtle way to make Pokemaniacs in the audience feel something eery and unusual about this creature.
• Remember that baby Nidoqueen from Mewtwo Returns? Seems Mewtwo must've become a true master of the Celebi Egg glitch by the time our heroes reunited with him.
• Ash was the Chosen One in Pokémon 2000 and the Chosen One in resurrecting the ancient bond phenomenon through Ash-Greninja, it isn't farfetch'd (no pun intended) that he could turn his Electrium-Z into a Pikashunium-Z.
  • Adding on to that, where did Ash get his Electrium-Z? Not from Sophocles like in the games, but from Tapu Koko itself! There’s likely mystical origins behind this specific Z-Crystal.