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Hilarious In Hindsight / Pokémon

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https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gigachu.png
1997: Giant Animatronic Pokémon make a one-off appearance in Pokémon: The Series.
2019: Giant Pokémon become an important gameplay mechanic in Pokémon Sword and Shield.

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    Core series games 
Generation 1 (Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, LeafGreen, Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee)
  • The ghostly Marowak in Lavender Tower becomes this with the introduction, almost 20 years later, of the part-type Ghost Alolan Marowak.
  • Picnicker Heidi complains that there should be a pink Pokémon with a floral print. Along came Black and White, which introduces the Munna line, pink Pokémon with floral prints. Given the reported number of unused designs for Pokémon, many which got used later, it could easily have been a Creator In-Joke at the time.
  • Ninetales has frequently been misspelled by fans as "Ninetails". Then drops Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, where one of the second case's characters is a wrestler named The Amazing Nine-Tails... and fans start misspelling his name as Amazing "Nine-Tales", inverting the mistake.
  • Giovanni's goal was vague, and was commonly theorized as wanting to capture Mewtwo to aid in his criminal activities and/or take over Kanto. In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, his final Pokemon is a Level 70 Mega Mewtwo (though ironically, he's implied to not be from a universe where he won like the other Rainbow Rocket leaders).
  • The old man you trade a Raichu for an Electrode on Cinnabar Island was infamous for saying "Your Raichu went and evolved." While it was unchanged dialogue from the Japanese Blue (where the trade was a Kadabra for Graveler, two Pokemon that DO evolve by trade), it's amusing today given the reveal of Gorochu, a scrapped evolution of Raichu.
  • Due to Missingno not having a back sprite, he'll appear as the last Pokémon loaded into memory. This later became Zorua and Zoroark's signature power - they'll appear as the last Pokémon in the team.
  • Some unused battle data exists for Professor Oak with levels higher than Blue's final team, and even has the fully evolved starter not chosen by Blue nor Red. This suggests he was meant to be an Optional Boss or even a True Final Boss. Then, Pokémon Sun and Moon presents Professor Kukui as the final obstacle of the Pokémon League before the player becomes Champion, and he uses the fully evolved starter neither the player nor Hau chose.
  • Lass Joana in Yellow and the Let's Go games asks if you have a Pikachu, and is more specific in the latter ("Hey, do you have a big Pikachu?"). One year after the Let's Go games... let's just say she turned out to be a huge fan of Gigantamax Pikachu.
  • Pokémon Brown was a common playground rumor back in Gen I. Let's Go, Eevee! is essentially a modern take on the same idea.
  • The Dokokashira door glitch in the original Red and Green causes doors to warp the player to another random door in the game world, potentially letting them cross huge distances quickly. Much later, in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, the special mission "Palkia in Haruba Desert!?" has Palkia distort the fabric of space, causing a similar effect to happen.
  • Lorelei bears a quite striking visual resemblance to Sarah Palin. Even her specialisation in Ice-types lines up with Palin's state being Alaska.
  • Early concept art had a lot of the trainers wielding whips and early drafts had trainers be active participants in the battles. As stated by Ken Sugimori: "At one time, the protagonist would fight as well. But then we asked ourselves “If you can fight on your own, what’s the point of having Pokémon?” Now, with the advent of Palworld over twenty years later, the protagonist is more or less mandated to actively participate in the battles with everything from wooden clubs to rocket launchers. Increased further with the introduction of Pal tamers; they'll also join the battle by shooting you or your Pals.

Generation 2 (Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver)

  • One of the trainers you can encounter in the Battle Tower in Crystal is named Teacher Kawakami.
  • Route 34 is the route containing the second daycare in the series, which may not seem like much, but now it also introduces the concept of breeding.note 
  • One of the working titles for Crystal was Pokémon X.
  • In the Rocket Hideout, at one point, you're attacked by two grunts who claim that you cannot take them both on at once. Come the next generation, and you have "double battles", with the protagonist routinely taking on two Trainers at the same time. Appropriately, the same scene in the remakes turns the encounter into a double battle.
  • The original starting town was going to be called Silent Hills.
  • "Tentaquil" was a meme of a fake Pokémon that originated on 4chan, and it looked vaguely like a blue and deformed Politoed with stripes. When the 1997 beta of Gold and Silver was datamined, it turns out that Politoed's original design concept looked strikingly similar to that of "Tentaquil"◊.
  • Pokémon Vietnamese Crystal had the game unintentionally making Silver have a very heated relationship with your character, to the point of him outright declaring his love for you. Come the remakes, and Lyra (the female Player Character) x Silver is a Fan-Preferred Couple.
  • Slugma and Magcargo, two lava gastropods based on slugs and snails, debuted in the series in 1999. Two years later, a creature called the scaly-foot gastropod was discovered, being a snail-like creature that lives around hydrothermal vents— underwater sites of volcanic activity. Some, with their reddish flesh and black shells, happen to resemble Magcargo visually as well.
  • The anime made Whitney and Clair Adaptational Nice Guys, thus sparing Ash of having to deal with Gym Leaders who would refuse to give up the Badge. However, with the next series, Advanced Generation, the writers suddenly remembered to adapt that plot point in the battle against Norman. Even then, it's his son and Ash's traveling companion Max who steals the badge out of jealousy from seeing his father lose and has to be talked out of it.
  • At one point in HeartGold and SoulSilver, the player gets ambushed by Team Rocket, only for Lance to point out how "unfair" and "sneaky" a two-on-one battle would be. This becomes much more ironic now that the co-op mode in Let's Go! allows the player to essentially do the same to opposing Trainers.
  • When the Spaceworld demo from Pokémon Gold and Silver was datamined and published in 2018, there have been shown to be many early Pokémon who were never released hidden in the game's files. One of those unused Pokémon is Animon, an evolution of Ditto requiring a Metal Coat (like Steelix and Scizor, who require a Metal Coat to become Steel-type). Then the newly-introduced Pokémon Meltan was shown to be a Steel-type and its Blob Monster appearance has been compared to Ditto even before it had been officially revealed. Its reveal trailer even shows that Ditto have been known to transform into Meltan for some reason.

Generation 3 (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire)

  • A scientist in Devon Corp. stated "I'm trying to develop a device that visually reproduces the dreams of POKÉMON... but it's not going well." Munna's evolution, Musharna, can release "Dream Smoke", a materialization of the dreams it has eaten. With it, Fennel created a device that lets you "sync" your Pokémon with the official website and do minigames and such with it, and catch special Pokémon. In fact, in the remakes, the scientist now says that a rival of his in another region is also working on the same thing, so he's got to get a move on.
  • Some people have noticed how much the updated female Team Magma grunts from Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire look like Dawn.
    • Or how much the female Schoolkid looks like a little version of Hilda.
  • All the rumours about going into space to fight Deoxys that circulated when the originals came out, seeing as of Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire it actually happens.
  • The pose Team Magma members make before battling in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire resembles an upside-down dab, about a year before it became memetic.
  • Archie's redesign◊ in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, coupled with his facial hair and expression in-game makes him look like Selkie◊ from My Hero Academia.
  • Elite Four Phoebe dresses like a Hawaiian dancer. Immediately following Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Sun and Moon would introduce an actual Hawaii-inspired region, leading to much speculation she was originally from there.
  • During Wally's catching tutorial, it's possible for the Ralts he catches to be a shiny, which he doesn't get to keep due to his scripted encounters afterwards, which also became a popular meme. Come Pokémon Masters, Wally gets and keeps a shiny Gardevoir during the October 2022 update.
  • Tentacool's infamy in the games getting adapted into the anime, where it was revealed that May had bad childhood experiences with a swarm of Tentacool. The whole scene is a flock of Wingull away from being an Ascended Meme.
  • This wouldn't be the last time an early 2000's Nintendo game would feature a town named "Petalburg" early into the game.

Generation 4 (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl)

Generation 5 (Black, White, Black 2 and White 2)

  • People often claimed that Team Plasma from Black & White is the Pokémon PETA. A while later...
  • After Sun and Moon were released, the debate over older Gen Pokémon — namely from the Kanto set — reared itself again. After having complained about Black and White going for something wholly new, the fact that for the second Gen in a row, Kanto Pokémon get another spotlight, some fans are looking back at this with a peculiar sense of irony. It was only slightly placated by the fact that a number of the returning mons have had alterations done. This is a mistake rectified in Sword & Shield and Legends: Arceus, where Unovan Pokémon get a bit of the spotlight in regional variations.
  • Monster Hunter: World, released 7-8 years later, headlined the fifth generation of its respective franchise and served as a soft reboot in its own right. It also introduced a roster of mostly-new monsters (eschewing most of the older ones), including a white, ethereal fire-breathing Elder Dragon,note  similar to Reshiram, and a black Elder Dragon with physical prowess, similar to Zekrom. Its expansion, Iceborne, re-introduced many older monsters (much like Pokémon Black 2 and White 2) as well as a gray ice-based Elder Dragon covered in ice armor similar to Kyurem.
  • The day Black 2 & White 2 came out, an user at GameFAQs made a thread about how Iris could be the Champion, hinted by Drayden becoming the seventh Gym Leader. It did. The truly hilarious part of all this was that the second post stated that there was "a 0% chance of this happening". Irony of epic proportions ensued and the quote gained a somewhat memetic status.
  • A user at GameFAQs made a thread about how people in the games should be outright attacked or even killed. Well, it turns out, Ghetsis tries to have Kyurem freeze the player character alive during the climax in Black 2 & White 2.
    • And then there's Pokémon X and Y where the legendaries are themed around life and death, and Lysandre plans to use their power to kill all life on Earth and start over.
  • Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth basically took the " Zoroark disguised as a guy who gives you a TM" scene in Black 2 & White 2, and made an entire plot point about it.
  • One of the Pokéstar Studios movies involves a woman growing to an extreme size after accidentally being caught by a Poké Ball. In Sword and Shield, it’s the game’s main mechanic: Dynamax.
  • In Black and White and its sequels, sometimes the Item Poké Balls will turn out to be an Amoonguss in disguise waiting to attack the player. Ten years later in 2020, the game Among Us, which is about finding an imposter in disguise and sounds similar to Amoonguss, would be widely popularized.
  • This wouldn’t be the last time that there would be a Nintendo villain named N.
  • A couple of the Pokéstar Studios movies feature MT and MT2, robots based on Tyranitar. Some years later, Gen 9 would introduce Pokémon from the future which resemble robot versions of present day Pokémon, and one of these, Iron Thorns, resembles Tyranitar. Adding to this, MT2 and Iron Thorns both have Electric as their second type.

Generation 6 (X and Y)

  • This comic shows various ludicrous "Mega Evolution" ideas. However, Mega Alakazam does exist... and he's seen juggling a huge amount of spoons. Mega Slowbro exists now, too, and it looks exactly like in the picture!
  • Remember the Galactic grunts trying to get honey? Well, X & Y allows you to use honey to initiate horde battles. Meaning that you can use it to attract Pokémon in great numbers.
  • "KISEKI" would have been a fitting end credits song for Mewtwo Strikes Back, considering how its lyrics basically state "all life is equal" and "life is worth living to its fullest," which (aside from being major themes in AZ's story) are basically the entire Aesop that Mewtwo learns over the course of the movie, especially in the Japanese version. Not to mention that you can catch Mewtwo itself in X & Y.
    • Love Live! Sunshine!! would later release the similarly-named "Kiseki Hikaru" (appropriately, Shining Miracle in English), which even has a similar melody and key change section.
  • In a bootleg game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, "Pokémon 4-in-1," there is a game called PicaClick, where you randomly click blocks. Guess what you do in the Global Link attraction, "Balloon Popping"?
  • An episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series has Joey make intentionally horrible Mega Charizard puns while riding a Baby Dragon (which very vaguely resembles a Charizard). Mega Charizard X, revealed a few days later, bears a much greater resemblance to the Red-Eyes Black Dragon — Joey's signature card.
  • The female character is named Serena, in the generation that introduces the Fairy-type, which is affiliated with moon powers, thus inviting Sailor Moon comparisons.
  • With its flat, wide base, its long "neck", and metallic green color, the Ultimate Weapon portrayed in the backstory cutscene of X & Y bears a striking resemblance to Celesteela.
  • Take a look at the Anistar Gym's leader Olympia from X & Y. Now take a look at Lunala. For bonus points, Olympia is a Psychic-type leader and Lunala is half-Psychic type.
  • The face and hairstyle of the female veteran◊ trainer class actually looks a tad like Manuela from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. As an added bonus, Manuela's voiced by Veronica Taylor.
  • In 2011, a DeviantArt user made a Fan Pokémon called "Noibat" which emphasized its ears. Guess what Noivern's pre-evolution is? Naturally, several comments have since been left for the "prophet".

Generation 7 (Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon)

  • A running joke among fans is how Snorlax's sprites/models, when ordered by generation, make it appear like it's trying to stand up. It finally accomplished this feat in Gen VI... and, come Gen VII, it gains (via an exclusive Z-Move) the ability to jump to an extreme height, then slam on the opposing Pokémon. Looks like standing up gave it a little too much power.
  • Another meme revolves around the villain teams' first letters spelling out "GRAMPS." Team Skull solidifies this theory, with Team Flare and the Aether Foundation being the odd one out. Or you could interpret it as 'F*** GRAMPS', as shown in this picture.◊ Or some have interpreted the acronym as "GRAMPS AF" to include the Aether Foundation.
  • A very popular image in the Pokémon fandom is a reversed GIF that makes it look like Ash is flinging Pikachu into space. In the animation for Pikachu's Catastropika Z-Move, the Trainer throws Pikachu into the air in a similar manner.
  • It turns out that, years ago, someone made a Fakemon set of electric bugs (though they looked more like batteries and circuits rather than actual bugs), with the middle Evolution being based on a battery with a name similar to Charjabug.
  • In 2013, a DeviantArt user created a Fire/Dark-type tiger Fakémon named Incineroar. In 2016, Litten's final evolution was revealed to be exactly that (but with a much different design). Many fans promptly hailed the artist as a prophet.
  • It turns out that someone on This Very Wiki thought of the names Sun and Moon long before Nintendo used them.
  • This fanart, featuring Azura from Fire Emblem Fates and Popplio was drawn solely because Azura had water magic. And then Popplio's final form, Primarina, was revealed, which can be easily described as "Azura, but a seal-mermaid".
  • You know about the "Get in the bag Nebby" meme? Well, apparently, on July 8th 2016, this duffel bag with the words "I Love Nebby" written on it came out.
  • When images of Pokémon Sun and Moon's Z Crystal were revealed alongside its Japanese logo in early 2016, it was pointed out how it suspiciously resembled a Burst Heart from Pokemon Reburst, right down to the shape. Given that this coincided with fan speculation about the (rather divisive) theory of Ash-Greninja being not just a simple Super Mode, but potentially a Fusion Dance, following its reveal to be usable in-game - the similarity between Z-Crystals and Burst Hearts set the Epileptic Trees over what exactly this could mean, on fire. Consequently, many well-known Pokémon bloggers started referencing the Pokemon Reburst manga, to support their theories that it was going to be the next major game mechanic. While any presumed connection was eventually debunked with the explanation of the Z-Crystals and their Z-Moves... during Pokémon Sun and Moon's climax, the Big Bad does actually end up fusing with the Ultra Beast◊ (later revealed to be extradimensional Pokémon) Nihilego, right before your final battle against them.
  • After Lusamine was revealed someone on Twitter instantly concluded that Lusamine was the main villain and played Blumenkranz with a video of it zooming in onto Lusamine, with the reason being is that it's one of the best villain songs. Turns out Lusamine is a Ragyo Expy.
    • 2 and half years before the games came out someone made a Blumenkranz remix of what it would sound like in a Pokemon game. We actually got Ragyo in a Pokemon game.
  • This fake 4chan "leak"◊ used to "clarify" the leaked Pokémon that would become Decidueye, Incineroar, and Primarina managed to accurately predict a very major plot point in Sun & Moon; it states that Lillie is the daughter of the game's true villain, who leads a rich company on the artificial island (although the "leak"'s villain is male, and has a completely different goal from the actual games). Afterwards, they posted another false leak on the three Tapus aside from Koko; "Tapu Lele", "Tapu Hee", and "Tapu Lono". "Tapu Lele" outright shares its name (but not its appearance or typing) with one of the actual Tapus, while "Tapu Hee" and "Tapu Lono" share the Water/Fairy and Grass/Fairy typing with Tapu Fini and Tapu Bulu respectively.
  • Smogon once had an article titled 'Moves Pokémon SHOULD Have, But Don't' (posted in Generation 4) which listed Flygon not having Dragon Dance and implying it should get it. Guess what it got in Sun & Moon...
  • Sun & Moon isn't the only Pokémon related work in which the Pokémon-obsessed main villain (whose child/children disagree with their methods) fuses their consciousness with a powerful Pokémon that can produce a mind-affecting chemical note .
  • All the jokes made referring to Solgaleo as Liger Zero become even more hilarious, now that Necrozma's formes in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon look like Solgaleo and Lunala decked out in armor resembling itself.
  • The comparisons between Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon and Ultra Series sprung up as well, with more countless references of that franchise by having Ultra Recon Squad being Reasonable Authority Figure Human Aliens, Ultra Beast being explained as Pokémon from other dimensions, and yes, Ultra Necrozma being compared to Ultras from the TV series (especially Ultraman King and Ultraman Noa), with its signature Z-Move, Light That Burns The Sky, being similar to Ultra Beams used by Ultras in the shows.
  • When Magearna was revealed, many thought that it would be added in Gen VI in a hypothetical Pokémon Z, though others shut it down as the games never added brand new Pokémon species in the middle of a generationnote . Then Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon threw everyone a curveball by doing just that!
  • Remember how, at the end of the Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Team Rainbow Rocket arc, Giovanni ended up contemplating which world to attack next? Yeah, by the looks of it, he ended up choosing ours. That, or trying Kanto again.
  • Sun and Moon wouldn't be the only work to involve a parent who becomes obsessed with a giant, white humanoid space jellyfish that somewhat resembles a person in a dress, and ends up ruining their family's life over it. Although things get much, much worse in the latter work.

Generation 8 (Sword, Shield and Legends: Arceus)

  • The Fire and Grass Starters from the Gen 8 games, Scorbunny and Grookey, highly resemble a fake leak made many months ago involving similar fakemon. In the case of Scorbunny, the poses are even similar!
  • Upon the introduction of Mareanie as a predator of Corsola, some fans speculated on an evolution or variant of Corsola that's a Ghost type from being hunted by Mareanie. Enter Galarian Corsola and Cursola... though its undead nature is instead by man-made pollution. Furthermore, this variation of Corsola became undead long before any Mareanie appeared to stalk and consume them, prompting Mareanie to ditch this particular variation.
  • The "kilogram of steel" scene from Limmy's Show was parodied in a comic with Gloria and Victor and is now a bit funnier thanks to the fact that one of Galar's first Pokémon revealed is Corviknight, a Flying/Steel type bird Pokémon.
  • The initial Ultra Series inspiration behind Pokémon's concept became all the more fitting with the introduction of the Dynamax transformation, which lets Pokémon become giant-sized for three turns, much like most Ultras being active for three minutes. Which gets even more hilarious as there were two Ultramen with names that made up the word.
  • In the ROM hack Pokémon Sweet Version, there is an Apple-type version of Gulpin named Applin. Come Sword and Shield, and a Pokémon named Applin makes its debut, though it's a Wyrm in an Apple.
  • The fangame Pokémon Reborn had a Steelix grow enormous due to PULSE energy. With the introduction of the Dynamax mechanic, you can have a giant Steelix of your very own!
  • A post by a random 4chan anon predicted Sinistea and Polteageist, right down to the latter Pokémon's name, five years◊ before Sword and Shield came to be.
  • A common meme before the games released involved Wailord, then the record holder for biggest Pokémon, being Dynamaxed and becoming even bigger. While it doesn't grow to ridiculously large sizes once Dynamaxed, it does gain something else big: it has the highest potential HP of any Dynamaxable Pokémon, at 1088.
  • The concept of Dynamaxing makes one of the Pokestar Studios movies, The Giant Woman!, even funnier in hindsight, as it essentially goes from "strange concept movie" to "weird Dynamax-themed Galarian import fetish flick" in an instant. The protagonist's older sister even accidentally makes herself grow into a giantess by getting herself caught in a Strange Looking Pokeball, which could well be a Dynamax-mode Pokéball.
  • The "Galar Border Control" webcomic by Wooden Plank Studios has a Zoroark sneak into Galar under the guise of a Charizard, only for a blunder during a Championship battle causes it to immediately become a fugitive. Come the Expansion Pass, where one of the returning Pokémon is a Zorua, rendering said Zoroark off the lam.
    • Many players have also pointed out that Dracovish, the fossil mon that has difficulty breathing on land because it has a fish head, partners perfectly with Araquanid from the previous generation. Araquanid uses a water bubble as a helmet to breathe on land, and has a protective instinct towards weaker Pokemon which it brings into its bubble. A popular comic has Araquanid give Dracovish a water helmet of its own to help it breathe. This is also a partial case of Gameplay and Story Integration, because Araquanid learns Entrainment to transfer its Water Bubble ability to other Pokémon (which is animated with its arms moving just like the comic depicts), and it doubles the power of Water type attacks, making Dracovish's Fishious Rend even more ridiculously powerful. However, this wears off at the end of the battle.
  • In Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, a magic spell called "Granwyrm" summons a giant dragon made of fire which immediately then flies towards the target and obliterates it. Come Pokémon Sword and Shield, where Gigantamax Charizard's Secret Art G-Max Wildfire does the exact same thing.
  • Also concerning Gigantamax Charizard: it's a gigantic Kaiju with some Not Zilla elements that's associated with fire and is a bipedal winged dragon that lacks the Dragon type. All this also describes a Yu-Gi-Oh! monster from several years prior: Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju, a FIRE attribute Dinosaur-type monster that resembles a Godzilla-like dragon. Its card artwork even has flames protruding from its head and mouth similar to Gigantamax Charizard!
  • In a Ultra Sun dex entry, it was said that living specimens of Kabuto, a fossil Pokémon, could be seen in a certain region, which was a rare sight. Now, where exactly can you find them?
  • The Gen I move known in Japan as "Tail Wag" was dubbed "Tail Whip" in English. Gen V was when a move that actually involved hitting a Pokemon with one's tail would be introduced, originally as "Sweep Slap" but still described as such in its description.
  • Monster Hunter: World introduces the monster Zorah Magdaros, a titanic Elder Dragon like Dah'ren Mohran or Lao-shan Lung with a colossal volcanic system on its back. Come Sword and Shield and the new Pokémon Coalossal has a Gigantamax form that fits that exact description, but with smoldering coal instead of a volcano. It even looks like Zorah Magdaros!
  • Sword and Shield introduced Clobbopus, an octopus Pokémon with large boxing-glove tentacles who punches things to investigate them. A few years after the games' release, scientists discovered that real life octopuses do deliberately punch fish, sometimes for no reason.
  • Terribly-translated, bootleg versions of Telefang were released in English for the Game Boy Color under the guise of Pokémon Diamond and Jade. Not only an actual Pokémon Diamond was eventually released, but Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a prequel to Diamond and Pearl, is set in the Hisui region... and one of the possible translations for Hisui is "Jade".
  • Due to a translation error in a CoroCoro magazine during the pre-release period of Pokémon Sun and Moonnote , many people assumed that the Alolan Starters would have different final evolutions based on which version was being played. Cue Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and not only are the starter evolutions different, but Rowlet is one of the Pokemon who has one of these evolutions too.
  • Chairman Rose's ethnicity often got theorized to be the Pokémon World's equivalent of Indian become downright prophetic that by October 2022 the United Kingdom got it's first Prime Minister of Indian descent, Rishi Sunak. You can even notice slight similarities between their hairstyles! Might also cross into Harsher in Hindsight, as while energy crisis that Rose got so concerned about will happen in a very distant future, Sunak was appointed during the height of energy crisis in the UK.

Generation 9 (Scarlet and Violet)

  • When they were revealed in promotions, many had speculated the shy Penny and energetic Iono are one and the same. While untrue, the Generation 9 anime features Dot, a shy and secluded girl who is secretly an online streamer celebrity.
  • At least two different fan concepts, Nimbus Neck and Rumbling Ray, depicted a hypothetical Paradox Raikou as a sauropod-esque creature. Come the August 2023 Pokémon Presents and these designs would prove unintentionally prophetic with the reveal of Raging Bolt, the official Paradox version of Raikou which itself resembles a sauropod.
  • Prior to the release of the Indigo Disk, one of the primary theories floating around was that Kieran's attitude displayed near the end of The Teal Mask was the result of him being possessed by a "Momotaro" Pokémon related to the Loyal Three. Come the Mochi Mayhem epilogue and the release of a "Momotaro" Pokémon in the form of Pecharunt, it turns out Pecharunt ends up possessing everyone but Kieran!
  • In Pokémon Masters, the first two Paldean characters to arrive on Pasio (Nemona and Penny) interact with characters from Unova (specifically, Nemona interacts with Hilda and Penny interacts with Hugh and Bianca). Come the Indigo Disk, and we now have the ability to explore an entire school that is populated with Unovans and is in Unova!

    Other media 

Spinoff games

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series
  • A recurring item in the series is called the Iron Thorn, come Scarlet and Violet, and there is an actual Pokemon called Iron Thorns.
    • It also does not end there, as the ability Iron Barbs shares its Japanese name with the Iron Thorns item.
  • Rescue Team:
    • The finale of the main story involves climbing Sky Tower to get Rayquaza to destroy a meteor before it wrecks Earth, and in the postgame, the meteor's remains become a dungeon where you fight Deoxys. Nine years later, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are released, where the true finale of the story is climbing Sky Pillar to get Rayquaza to destroy a meteor before it wrecks Earth, and when the meteor is destroyed, Deoxys emerges from it and fights you as the game's True Final Boss.
    • An important plot point in the postgame is learning that Gengar Was Once a Man, and the one that was actually cursed by Ninetales. Then, Sun and Moon come out and state that all Gengar are former humans, making the curse sound much less special.
    • Also for Sun and Moon, the fugitive plot ends with your partner, Absol and you meeting up with Ninetales on the top of the frigid Mt. Freeze. Ninetales would get an Alolan Form that's part Ice type having migrated to the snowy mountains.
  • Explorers:
    • Wigglytuff proves his Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass credentials by defeating Team Skull in an off-screen battle. It becomes even more impressive as of Pokémon X and Y, which makes Wigglytuff a Fairy-type and thus particularly weak against the Poison-type attacks that constitute Team Skull's primary offense, especially the scene where Wigglytuff No Sells the "noxious gas combo" that is strong enough to knock out the player's team and even Team Skull's own Zubat.
    • In Sky, most evolutionary families get a 3-star exclusive item that, when in the inventory, has the Pokémon healed by damaging moves of a certain type, instead of taking damage. Said type is usually one that would deal super effective damage otherwise, but there are exceptions. One of such is the Bronzor evolutionary family, who get healed by Ghost-type moves, which dealt neutral damage to them.note  Fast-forward into Generation VI, and now Bronzor and Bronzong are indeed weak to Ghost-type moves thanks to the changes in the type chart.
    • Two localization-only examples. Koffing, Zubat and Skuntank's team was named "Team Skull" in the English version, which ended up being the name of the villainous team in Pokémon Sun and Moon. Similarly, "Primal Dialga" (who was called Dark Dialga in Japan) became this after the remakes of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire introduced Primal Reversion.
    • Dugtrio's longing for the sea becomes this with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet introducing Wugtrio, a Water-type Pokémon resembling Dugtrio.
    • Special Episode 1, Bidoof's Wish, ends with Bidoof taking on Jirachi and winning. Oddly prophetic of Bidoof gaining access to the ability Moody in gen V, allowing it to accumulate stat boosts and potentially overpower Legendaries if it can stay on the field long enough.
    • After Teddiursa evolves into Ursaring, the two Ursaring lament that now it's harder to tell them apart-as well as lamenting that they can't evolve again to fix that issue. Come Pokémon Legends: Arceus, there is indeed a new evolution for Ursaring in the form of Ursaluna.
  • Gates to Infinity:

Pokémon Ranger

  • So, we had this Giant Crobat boss. Few years later, Generation VI and Mega Evolutions come. Then Totem Pokemon in Generation VII and Dynamaxing in Generation VIII.
  • In the second game, Ice’s pre-battle pose looks amusingly similar to dabbing.
  • The Electric field move in the second game is known as Electrify, which would become an actual Electric-type move in Pokémon X and Y.
  • Similarly, the idea of riding specific Pokémon rather than relying on Hidden Machines predates Ride Pokémon from Pokémon Sun and Moon, with Empoleon and Sharpedo's ride functions being remarkably similar in that they're both faster water travel methods that can also break obstacles.

Pokémon Snap

  • There's a set of scenes where Koffing chases after a Jigglypuff. After Gen VI, which introduces the Fairy type (which the Poison-type has an advantage against) and Jigglypuff being turned into one member of the type, it takes a whole new meaning.
  • The game has an oddly short list of voice credits, listing Stan Hart (Professor Oak), Jimmy Zoppi (Todd), Ikue Otani (the ever-present Pikachu), "and others". However, between the voice cast change in the anime and Todd growing up before New Pokémon Snap, nowadays Zoppi is Oak's voice actor... and no longer Todd's.

Hey You, Pikachu!

Pokémon Colosseum

  • Ein's personality, intellect, creations, and even hairstyle and dress sense are all very similar to Sosuke Aizen.
  • Lady Venus was following the planetary naming trend long before Team Galactic was.
  • Dakim wears white clothes and a necklace made of Poke Balls, and has red, spiky hair similar to a lion's mane... Alder, is that you??
  • May also cross over into Harsher in Hindsight, depending on how you view the issue. One of the commercials for the game depicted an angry mob, with a man prominently shouting "We will get our Pokémon back!", which becomes almost prophetic in light of the outrage in the announcement that the Gen 8 games wouldn't get support for Pokémon not in the region's Pokédex.

Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

  • The Hexagon Brothers are obviously a Shout-Out to Super Sentai. However, they beat Sentai to the punch with a purple/violet ranger - 2 years before Sentai would have their first official one - and a brown ranger - 4 years before a wannabe ranger would take those colors.
    • The Hexagon Brothers also bear a striking resemblance to the Vinsmoke Family of the Germa 66 - Resix = Ichiji, Blusix = Niji, Yellowsix = Sanji, Purpsix = Reijunote , and Browsix = Judge. Not to mention both parties consist of multiple-birthed siblings - sextuplets with the former and quadruplets with the latter.
  • Cipher Admin Lovrina is essentially a pink-haired Hatsune Miku.
  • Cipher Peon Lobar (the one with the Shadow Duskull fought during the ONBS invasion) uses Pokémon that all happened to gain evolutions in Generation 4. (Duskull, Misdreavus, Sneasel and Yanma)
  • Zook's appearance is almost a dead ringer for Chad, down to him having a similar hairline.

Pokémon Conquest

  • The introduction of Fairy-types in Generation VI makes Nobunaga's nigh-unopposed ambition a little less believable. Although the bottom of this page disproves the jokes about Oichi single-handedly ending things in advance, the fact remains that the abundance of Fairy-type Pokémon converted from Normal-types (and the presence of a Fairy-type Eeveelution) would have given Dragnor a much harder time than it had in Generation V.
  • A turn-based strategy game featuring Feudal Japan-inspired kingdoms and the subtitle "Conquest"? Now that Fire Emblem Fates are out...

Pokémon GO

  • Capture Pokémon in the real world? So we all live in a Pokémon World?
  • In the competitive circle, Zapdos is the most popular Pokémon of choice among the three legendary birds. Here, Team Instict, who is represented by Zapdos, is the least popular of the three.
  • Spark being compared to Owain/Odin became very appropriate after Kaiji Tang, the voice actor for those characters, mentioned that he wouldn't mind doing voice work for Spark (even though he's a Team Valor player). Even funnier, he did eventually get the role of an Electric-type in the Pokémon universe: Detective Pikachu! And also a Dozer in Pokémon: The Series.
  • The very fact that the characters are designed by Yusuke Kozaki and that the team leaders bear some resemblance to Fire Emblem charactersnote  is somewhat funny, since Pokémon and Fire Emblem have crossed over already and Fire Emblem Fates has been compared to a Pokémon dual-release.
    "Hello, Player, I am available to analyze your motherfucker, if you wish."
    "Overall, your motherfucker is a wonder! What a breathtaking Pokemon!"
    "The size of your motherfucker is... colossal. This is indeed exceptional. Fascinating!"
  • The Fire Emblem jokes became even funnier after Three Houses came out, what with the three major factions of Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer being effective analogues to Valor, Mystic, and Instinct.
  • The rivalries between the three teams, especially their mascots. Apparently, there was a part of "Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice, and lightning, lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash" that was unclear to some players...
  • Wild Ditto being disguised as other wild Pokémon, only being revealed when captured, was the plot of an Awkward Zombie post from 2010.
  • Speaking of memes, the "Hoenn Confirmed" meme was revived during the 2017 Halloween event in GO, three years after its previous use in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
  • Some fans have pointed out that Prof. Willow◊ and Candela◊ somewhat resemble Guzma and Olivia respectively.
  • Smooth McGroove's Parody song of "Gotta catch'em all" from the anime, titled "Try to catch a few" perfectly encapsulates what being a Pokémon Go player in a rural area, or just about any place with little to no Pokestops and other players feels like.
  • Remember how in the game's early days, one heard many a horror story about players getting reeled in by a Lure laden Pokestop to their deaths or getting mugged? Well, now that Team GO Rocket is in the game, instead of inadvertently going to a Pokestop guarded by a criminal, one purposely runs towards the Pokestop guarded by the in-game criminal, in the promise of a free Shadow Pokemon with good stats!
  • Pokémon Journeys: The Series is all about Ash and company's globetrotting adventures while they do research for Professor Sakuragi, much like the players and their research for Professor Willow. Even Ash's new partner Goh fits the bill, as he's got the dark skin and name the male trainer tends to get in GO fanon.
  • The game's Community Day event features an exclusive Elite move for the featured Pokémon (the starters would get Frenzy Plant, Blast Burn or Hydro Cannon, for example) among other bonuses. Up to January 2020, it was Niantic who decided who was going to be featured, with a set pattern of mon-starter up to the fourth generation. But this trend was broken for February 2020, where Niantic left to the community to decide which of the four mons should be featured in the month: Rhyhorn, Machop, Dratini and Vulpix (both Kantonian and Alolan). The eventual winner was Rhyhorn, with Machop on second place. Come January 2021 and who would be the first featured mon? Machop. And its featured Elite move, the same one it was proposed on the ballot? Payback.

Pokkén Tournament

  • One stage features a Pikachu trick-or-treating as a ghost in the background. Pokémon Sun and Moon introduces Mimikyu, a Pokémon that looks like a Pikachu covered in a sheet. Even more hilariously, said Pokémon appears as a support Pokémon in Deluxe.
  • To a lesser extent, the loading screen for the Halloween event in Pokémon GO has a Gengar watches the trainer from shadows, being rendered in a similar color palette as the Pokkén rendition.
  • Pikachu Libre's Burst Attack involves summoning a wrestling ring out of nowhere and slamming down on the opponent. Later, in Pokémon Sun and Moon, Incineroar's exclusive Z-Move, Malicious Moonsault, has it doing the exact same thing.
    • Goes full circle with Decidueye's inclusion on the roster for Pokkén Deluxe.
  • Shadow Mewtwo (or Black Mewtwo) is a fan-made concept that existed since Generation 1 (8 years ago).

Pokémon Masters

  • In the Isle of Armor in Pokémon Sword and Shield namesake expansion, Honey tries to contact other regions to have their Champions battle the player (after enough Watts have been donated) but this fails due to Galar being too far away. Come late November 2020, Gloria, the female player character of Sword and Shield, is now able to meet and battle characters (including Champions) from every past region.
  • The "Two Champions" storyline that debates whether Lance (with Dragonite) or Cynthia (with Garchomp) is the stronger trainer. The funny comes from one of Cynthia's supporters stating that her Garchomp is more diverse by focusing on Ground-type attacks rather than Dragon-type. Under the main series game mechanics, this would be a rather poor strategy, as Dragonite is part Flying-type, which makes it immune to Ground attacks.
  • One Swimmer said Pasio has no wild Pokémon, which the previous trailer described it as. Come Solgaleo event where you battle them with side Pokémon, as wild encounters with no trainers for them.

Manga

Trading Card Game and Tabletop Game

  • The Lv. X Pokémon Cards from the Diamond and Pearl sets are played by evolving your Active Pokémon that has the same name as the Lv.X card, thus evolving your already fully-evolved Pokémon to an even stronger form. Mega Evolutions don't seem like such a novelty concept for the franchise now.
  • A lot of attacks that debuted in the games in the later generations have been around the card game for ages, such as Feint, Psyshock (Which was actually Confusion in the Japanese cards) and Hurricane (Some Pidgeots have Gale, which is Hurricane's Japanese name).
  • The Japanese art for the Jungle expansion◊ depicts Exeggutor with an elongated body. Then came the August 2016 trailer for Pokémon Sun and Moon, which revealed Exeggutor's Alola Form.
    • Alternatively-typed Pokémon that appear in a far-off region? Alolan Formes might be the well-known version of this, but Holon's Delta Pokémon first appeared in 2005.
  • There's a card called Rocket's Meowth which is labeled as a Dark-type Pokémon. This was likely because it was based on Team Rocket's Meowth (there's a Rocket's Wobbuffet card as well), but Sun and Moon gives us Alolan Meowth, which is... a Dark-type.
  • Grand Master Courtney is a Fiery Redhead with pigtails who uses a Fire deck. Seems Flannery has an Alternate Self.
  • The original Charizard card from the Base Set uses "Fire Spin", an Explosive Overclocking attack that hits very hard but severely weakens the user. Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire introduces the Fire-type technique Overheat, an Explosive Overclocking attack that hits very hard but severely weakens the user.
  • The concept of Crystal Pokémon, crystalline Pokémon that can change their type at will, is extremely similar to Terastallization from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet despite existing decades prior. After the release of that game came the release of Terastallized Pokémon cards, which themselves are crystalline and have unique typing and energy mechanics, bringing it full circle.

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