No one knew back in 1995 that the series which started out as a pair of video games for the Gameboy would turn into a global phenomenon. Today, Pokémon is one of the most well-known franchises around the world and it comes in second only to the slightly more famous Mario franchise. That is probably because Mario came out many years before Pokémon did. Still, the craze behind catching these creatures and making them battle each other doesn’t seem to be coming to an end anytime soon, especially with the release of Pokémon Go which has, once again, put the Pokémon series under a spotlight.

The Pokémon universe and its lore have grown over the years, coming from the initial days when we only had 150 Pokémon to the present where we now have a whopping 802 Pokémon in total and that number that is excluding some of the Mega Evolutions that certain Pokémon can go through. The world of Pokémon is not only limited to video games but also includes the television in the form of the Pokémon anime series. With such a huge amount of information available, it can difficult to keep track of everything and certain facts can be easy to miss. This is why we have done the research and put together a list of some really cool facts that even the most die-hard fans of the Pokémon series probably do not know.

25 The First Pokémon To Be Ever Created Was Rhydon

Via bulbagarden.net and pokemonbyreview.blogspot.com

When people hear the word Pokémon, they immediately think of the cute and yellow creature that we’ve come to known as Pikachu, Ash’s first Pokémon. Because of this, a lot of people tend to believe that perhaps Pikachu was the first Pokémon ever created, however, this is not true at all.

During a discussion with Ken Sugimori, one of the original designers who worked on the first generation of the Pokémon series, Rhydon was the first Pokémon to be created. Yes, the dinosaur and rhinoceros hybrid that is known for its physical prowess was one of the first designs that the creators of the series came up with. The reason why a lot of people seem to be unaware of this fact is because the entry for Rhydon in the Pokedex is at number 112 which naturally seems a bit odd since it should technically be at number one.

24 Unlike Other Pokémon, Slowbro Can Devolve

Via bulbagarden.net and pokemon.wikia.com

One of the things that is always the most exciting about Pokémon is watching them evolve into stronger and more powerful Pokémon. This can be triggered in a number of different ways such as by the use of a particular move or stone. This concept is heavily emphasized throughout the franchise whether it be the anime or the games.

Still, there is always an exception to the rule and the one here is the Pokémon known as Slowbro. While other Pokémon are always looking for an opportunity to evolve, Slowbro is the only one that can devolve. Originally known as a Slowpoke, the Pokémon can only evolve into Slowbro once another Pokémon known as Shellder attaches itself to the tail. Once this shell Pokémon decides to let go, Slowbro will devolve back into a Slowpoke.

23 Hitmonlee And Hitmonchan Are Named After Real Fighters

Via pokemon.wikia.com

One of the really cool things about Pokémon is that the inspiration for many of the characters has been taken from real-life animals or insects. This is not all though as in this particular case, humans were used as a source of inspiration for the design of certain Pokémon as well.

The most notable among these are Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, which as you’ve probably guessed by now, were named after Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. What a lot of Pokémon fans do not know, however, is the fact that their Japanese names Sawamular (Hitmonlee) and Ebiwalar (Hitmonchan) were derived from the names of fighters Hiroyuki Ebihara and Tadashi Sawamura respectively. Hiroyuki was a world champion boxer which explains Hitmonchan’s boxing skills while Tadashi was a kick boxer which explains Hitmonlee’s style of fighting.

22 Pikachu And Meowth Are Literal Opposites

Via pokemon.wikia.com

Similar to how Pikachu is the star of the show, no hero can be complete without an antagonist and in this particular case, it has always been Meowth. Both of these Pokémon get to encounter each other every time Team Rocket decides to sneak up on Ash in an attempt to steal his Pikachu during the Pokémon anime.

This is not the only instance of the rivalry between these Pokémon, however, as the creators went to great lengths to make it run much deeper. The first and most obvious thing is that both of these are associated with the traditional relation between a cat and mouse. Then there is the fact that Pikachu’s entry in the Pokedex is at number 25 while Meowth is at number 52, which is the reverse.

21 The Pokémon Move “Splash” Refers To “Hop”

Via deviantart.net (ishmam)

Magikarp has been used as a laughing gag throughout the anime series and games, serving no real purpose in a fight whatsoever. It is also one of the few Pokémon to know the move Splash, which is pretty much all it knows and is capable of doing absolutely no damage to the enemy.

The name of the move does make sense here since Magikarp is a water-type Pokémon but this is, in fact, quite wrong as it was never intended to the literal meaning of the word Splash. Instead, it was a mistranslation of the Japanese word for Hop, which honestly makes a lot more sense now. That is also why this move can be learned by normal-type Pokémon like Buneary and Spoink.

20 Arcanine Was Supposed To Be An Original Legendary Pokémon

Via deviantart.net (tsaoshin)

Just like many of the myths and legends that we have in real life, the world of Pokémon is also filled with a number of stories and myths. One of the most famous ones are those of the Legendary Pokémon, a group of super rare and incredibly Pokémon with some of the most powerful stats and abilities in both the game and the anime.

When the original legendary Pokémon trio consisting of Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres was put together, an additional fourth legendary Pokémon was also included which was supposed to be Arcanine. This is further confirmed by the fact that in the second episode of the Pokémon anime, Ash comes across a stone tablet that has the engraving of all four legendary Pokémon. Despite this, Arcanine can still be obtained by ordinary means compared to the other legendary Pokémon.

19 Koffing And Weezing Represent Pollution In New York And Los Angeles

Via pokemon.wikia.com

Whether you believe in global warming or are strictly against it, we don’t really care, but there is no denying the fact that major cities like New York and Los Angeles are also some of the most polluted places on the planet. This should come as no surprise then that they were the inspiration behind two Poison-type Pokémon.

Both Koffing and its evolution form which is known as Weezing were going to be named “Ny” and “La” respectively in honor of New York and Los Angeles. But then again that wouldn’t have been as catchy as names which are basically just spelled differently from coughing and wheezing. This entire deal was proved as true since in the beta versions of Pokémon Red and Blue, both of these Pokémon were named Ny and La.

18 Clefairy Almost Became Ash’s First Pokémon

Via pokemon.wikia.com

Ask anyone about Ash’s first Pokémon, and they’re bound to say Pikachu. Ever since the success of the series, Pikachu has been the official mascot for Pokémon and has been recognized as one of the most well-known Pokémon characters around the world.

However, a fact that a lot of people don’t seem to be aware of is that the creators had initially decided to have Clefairy as the starter Pokémon for Ash. This was quite a big change because if it had stayed that way then Clefairy would’ve become the most famous Pokémon instead of our beloved Pikachu. Clearly, the decision by Nintendo to put Pikachu together with Ash worked and helped the franchise shoot to popularity in the years to come.

17 Wobbuffet’s Main Body Is A Decoy

Via pokemon.wikia.com

For anyone who has enjoyed the Pokémon anime over the years, Wobbuffet has always been a source of good humor especially after its association with Jessie from Team Rocket. It has been a unique Pokémon ever since it was first introduced and the Pokedex entry suggests that there is more to Wobbuffet than meets the eye.

A lot of this information leads to the conclusion that the blue body of the Pokémon that we see up front is nothing more than a huge inflatable decoy. It is speculated that the actual body of the Pokémon is the small black tail behind it with eyes on it. While Wobbuffet is known to be a docile Pokémon, it can quickly turn aggressive if the tail part of it is attacked. The Pokémon is also unable to attack in true inflatable-toy fashion and is only able to counter the attacks by its opponent.

16 People In The Pokémon Universe Regularly Used Pokémon As Food

Via knowyourmeme.com

Almost everybody knows that Pokemon are made to fight each other, which is a pretty crazy concept when you actually sit down and think about it. As if using the Pokémon in battles against each other was not bad enough, there is also evidence from one of the Poké dex entries that they were almost hunted into extinction.

Yes, that previous statement is actually true and the word hunted here implies the fact that Pokémon were regularly used as food. While it is not mentioned in the anime or games, this makes sense since Pokémon inhabit the vast lands of the Pokémon universe instead of animals. Still, the thought of a Pikachu being used as food is pretty terrifying to us.

15 Psychic Pokémon Have Actual Fears As Weaknesses

Via pinterest.com

Different types of phobias instill all of kinds of fear in people. Some are scared of heights while others are scared of the dark. This point should be kept in mind because during the first generation of Pokémon, a large emphasis was placed on different Psychic type Pokémon and these were nothing to mess around with as they were largely overpowered.

Like other Pokémon, however, they also had their own set of weaknesses which later turned out to be Ghost-type, Dark-type, and Bug-type Pokémon. Some people were quick to point out that these, in fact, represented some of the common fears that people have. When you actually think about it, the theory makes sense because people have phobias related to insects, the dark, or paranormal stuff. It would’ve been impossible to include all the other types as weaknesses as people also fear water or fire in some cases which is probably why they were left out.

14 Lavender Town Can Make Players Feel Uneasy

Via youtube.com (GeorgeTheFunnyOddish)

Most of us are aware of the fact that the Pokémon series as a whole is supposed to be cheery and fun, however, it still has some of the most spooky and scary myths. One of these is the myth of Lavender Town which shows up time to time again on near Halloween.

It is said that after Pokémon Green and Red were released, there were a bunch of child suicides which were linked directly to the game, specifically the part where the player enters Lavender Town. While this theory was never fully proved, the fact remains that the music which plays when entering the town causes players to feel uneasy. This is because of certain isochronic tones which are part of the music, and this has officially been called the “Lavender Town Syndrome."

13 A Female Mr. Mime Would Still Be Mr. Mime

Via pokemon.wikia.com and zerochan.net

Among some of the other current issues, the gender debate is a pretty hot topic all around the world and regardless of your position on it, a question that should bother you if you’re a Pokémon fan is that what would a female Mr. Mime be called?

Well, it turns out that this is not a very complex issue at all since a female Mr. Mime would retain the same name instead of Mrs. Mime. Now before some of you decide that there is gender inequality in the Pokémon world, it should be kept in mind that this actually makes a lot of sense. If all the female Mr. Mimes were come to known as Mrs. Mime then it would only feel as if they’re all married to each other which is way more confusing to be quite honest.

12 Pokémon Is Actually An English Word

Via youtube.com (MasterErnst)

While Pokémon is actually a Japanese creation and a lot of people know this, the fact that it is actually an English word is known by only a few people.

The name was actually put together by the combination of two other words, “pocket and “monster.” This means that the word Pokémon literally means pocket monsters. Another fun English fact that many people might not know is that the word Pokémon is used to refer to both the singular and plural forms of these creatures. This was chosen as the final name when the series was started as a set of video games by Satoshi Tajiri back in 1995. Since then it has become the second best-selling video game series in the world, second only to the Mario franchise.

11 Azurill Can Switch Gender When Evolving

Via pokemonbyreview.blogspot.com

One of the core concepts of Pokémon is the different evolution stages that these creatures can go through. It depends on a number of different factors such as the training, exposure to certain stones etc. This can ultimately decide the final evolution stage and even the gender of a Pokémon.

One of the more odd cases in this situation, however, is that of the Pokémon Azurill which is capable of switching its gender during the evolution process. Unlike some of the other Pokémon where evolution can be carried out in a controlled manner, an Azurill has a 1 in a 3 chance that it will turn out to be a male once it evolves. This might be a reference to how some amphibians are able to change their gender in the real world.

10 Ditto Was Quite Possibly A Failed Mew

Via youtube.com (pokemechanics)

The legendary Pokémon Mew has quite a lot of theories related to it as it was responsible for the cloning of Mewtwo and is the super secret 151st Pokémon entry in the Poké dex. This doesn’t end here though as there is enough evidence to suggest that there were other unsuccessful attempts at cloning Mew before the creation of Mewtwo.

The one that not a lot of people will be familiar with is Ditto. Many Pokémon fans believe that it was an early attempt to clone Mew which resulted in failure and led to the creation of Ditto. Both it and Mew share the same stats as well as the color palette. Also, the move known as Transform can be learned by both naturally and they’re the only two Pokémon with the ability to do so. Further adding credibility to this theory is the fact that Ditto can only be found in the Pokémon mansion in the first generation games which is where Mewtwo was created.

9 No Two Spindas Are Ever The Same

Via bulbagarden.net and narvii.com

Out of the many strange Pokémon that inhabit the worlds inside anime and video games, Spinda is one of them. Most of these strange Pokémon are known either for their abilities or legendary status but a Spinda has something different up its sleeve.

What makes them unique, literally, is the fact that no two Spindas are ever the same because of a number of variations that can happen due to the spots on them. In fact, there are more than 4 billion different types of Spindas, each with their own unique set of spot patterns. Let that sink in for a minute and this doesn’t even include shinies. The game developers went to great lengths to ensure that no two Spindas that show up in front of the player ever have the same pattern which is quite cool if you ask us.

8 Poliwag’s Stomach Spiral Is Anatomically Correct

Via pokemon.wikia.com and reptiliaossett.blogspot.com

While many Pokémon are loose adaptations of their real-life counterparts from which all the inspiration was taken, in some cases, the creators went to extra lengths to include accurate features that you might not have noticed before.

One of these is Poliwag which is a Water-type Pokémon and it is supposed to resemble a tadpole. One of the most prominent features of Poliwag is the swirl on the stomach and this is not just any random design put in by the creators. In fact, real-life tadpoles have intestines that swirl and can be observed since their bellies are see-through making Poliwag one of the few Pokémon that carries and anatomically correct feature.

7 Professor Oak’s Nidorino Sounds Like A Nidorina

Via youtube.com (PokemonBryanGaming)

If you were introduced to the world of Pokémon games by playing the famous Pokémon Red or Blue, then you know that the first Pokémon that you come across is a Nidorino which belongs to Professor Oak.

This sets up the stage for all the adventures that you as a player will be coming across in the vast world inhabited by Pokémon. What a lot of you didn’t realize, however, is the fact that during this introduction, Professor Oak’s Nidorino does not make the sound that it's actually supposed to. Instead, it gives off the cry of its female counterpart, a Nidorina. It was probably a little glitch on part of the development team where they wrongly matched the voice of the Pokémon in this sequence. It is an interesting little detail nonetheless.

6 The Original Pokémon Voices Were Made Using Only 37 Sounds

Via youtube.com (Gallious)

Almost everyone wanted to catch the 151 different Pokémon that were present in the world of Pokémon Red and Blue, after all, the spirit of Pokémon is represented perfectly by a phrase none other than “Gotta catch em all!”

Different sounds were incorporated to give these Pokémon separate personalities from each other and to make them even more unique. However, something that a lot of people might not know is that the voice for all of the 151 Pokémon were created using only 37 unique sounds. Yes, that’s right, they simply modified the pitch or speed of a sound to differentiate it from the others. In some cases like that of a Rhyhorn and Charizard, the voice was kept the same without any change at all.