Pokémon games have been an ongoing, worldwide sensation since the release of the first games back in the late 90’s, and for good reason. Pokémon provides a highly addictive, satisfying experience from start to finish. Is there anything as exciting as opening your first Pokémon game on your birthday? The Red and Blue versions were all 90’s children wanted, and Pokémon continues to cast its spell on both casual and competitive gamers 20 years later. Despite being made for children, you’re never too old to be a Pokémon Trainer. You can’t help but love Pokémon.
Each generation draws you in and captures your imagination so thoroughly that it’s easy to overlook all the nonsensical things that happen in those games, but when you stop to think about the insane logic of the Pokémon universe, you fall in love all over again. Between all the exaggerated Pokédex entries, the goofy trainers, and the incomprehensible road systems, the games are just ludicrous... and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sometimes the cartoonish silliness of Pokémon logic can be frustrating, or awkward, or even kind of problematic from a civil rights perspective, but most of the time it’s just extremely funny. Best of all, every single instance of weird Pokémon logic is immortalized in meme form. We’ve rounded up the funniest ones on the internet to prove these games make absolutely no sense, so try not to hurt yourself in your confusion as you laugh at these hilariously absurd Pokémon memes.
25 When A Pokémon Eats Too Many Poffins
Remember those crazy first few weeks after Pokémon Go came out? People were roaming the streets in cheerful mobs, greeting strangers, and asking if anyone's seen that rare pokémon that's supposedly been hanging around the area. Well, even after the fad faded, Pokémon Go is still going strong. It is not a perfect simulation of what real life Pokémon would be, but it's the closest we've ever gotten.
One of the more hilarious qualities of Pokémon Go is how it tries to give the illusion that every pokémon is different through stat variations, resulting in ridiculous discrepancies like the one pictured above. Despite all Pokémon looking identical to others of the same species, variations in size and weight lead to all manner of incomprehensible situations. Both of those Pidgeottos look exactly the same, but one is over 50 times as heavy as the other—and somehow, they’re nearly the same height, too.
24 The Narrator Lies
Each installment of Pokémon games adds a little bit more of a dynamic feel to each individual Pokémon. Back in the days of Red and Blue, all we had was a single image for each Pokémon, and a distinctive cacophony of electronic noises meant to resemble an animal roar (screech, quack, etc.). Yellow added Pikachu as a companion to follow you around outside its Pokéball, with a variety of emotions based on its experiences. Before long, we had Pokémon with their own icons, animations, and shiny versions, and it’s only a matter of time before each Pokémon says its own name out loud.
That Snorlax is clearly still asleep, yet the narrator has the gall to insist it has “opened its eyes wide!” Don’t lie to us, narrator.
Still, the Pokémon animations are not quite there yet, as shown above.
23 Pokémon's Missed Connections
Most Pokémon evolutions make some sort of sense; they don’t fit the real life theory of evolution (which happens gradually over millions of years), but the logic of Pokémon evolutions usually holds. All of the Eevee evolutions share similar qualities, Charizard starts out as a smaller, cuter version of itself as a wingless lizard, and Oddish eventually blooms into a flower as Vileplume. Then you have Octillery, the cephalopod that evolves from a fish.
Going through the Pokédex, you get the feeling like there’s a lot of miscommunication happening at Nintendo. Venonat literally has the same face as Butterfree, and it makes no sense that the two are unrelated. Was the concept art for some of these Pokémon evolutions filed in the wrong place?
22 He's Always With You
Pokémon games have an awkward way of telling you that you can’t use an item: you just hear your old professor’s voice telling you not to do it. How does he always know when you try to ride your bike indoors? You’re probably meant to take it like you’re remembering Professor Oak’s words of wisdom, like his voice is in your head, but this meme is what I picture every time I try to use an item wrong.
Maybe Professor Oak just follows you around wherever you go to make sure you don’t get into too much trouble.
That’s very thoughtful, but it’s also seriously crossing a line. There’s helicopter parenting, and then there’s being downright creepy. Professor Oak needs to back off before someone calls Officer Jenny.
21 Moves That Ignore Biology
Nowadays you can spend hours doing online research to plan out your perfect team, but it’s easier to make assumptions about what you can do with your Pokémon. There’s no way that dragonfly Pokémon can’t learn Fly; just look at those wings! It's frustrating when you finally catch on and get excited to replace your Zubat with an even stronger Fly user, just to have the game dass all your hopes and dreams.
It happens in reverse, too: Pokémon without arms learn punch moves all the time. How does that even work? How does a floating mass of poison gas like Ghastly “Sucker Punch” anything? Veterans of the series got into the habit of opening a dozen browser tabs to online Pokédexes just to prepare for these inevitable situations, but it doesn’t make it any less absurd when limbless Pokémon start kickboxing.
20 Pokémon Roads Explained
Finally, we found the culprits behind those ridiculous fence mazes. These construction workers make some... interesting choices in the world of Pokémon. This explains why so many roads between towns force you into awkward detours through tall grass. Perhaps they’re trying to make a profound, artistic statement about the winding nature of a Pokémon trainer’s path through life, or they just thought it would be more aesthetically pleasing to add a little asymmetry to their work; building long, straight roads must get boring after a while.
Whatever their reason, the resulting hazard is unacceptable. Forcing people to walk through tall grass, which is infested with vicious, wild Pokémon puts people at risk—especially those who don’t carry Pokémon with them for protection. It’s a wonder these construction workers haven’t been sued yet.
19 Double Weaknesses
Ah, the dreaded double weakness. Even the strongest pokémon struggle to compensate when certain types can inflict quadruple damage to them. Dragon lovers know this pain all too well; a quick Ice Punch or Ice Beam is all it takes to send Garchomp or Salamence packing, and even the weakest fairy move will take down the almighty Hydreigon. Level hardly matters when a move hits for four times its base damage.
The worst defensive typing of all is definitely rock and ground, though. In addition to a plethora of single weaknesses, rocky Pokémon like Onyx sport two double weaknesses: water and grass. Those are common types, too. In fact, water is the most common typing throughout the series by a wide margin, so this definitely won’t be the last time a few bubbles defeat poor Onyx.
18 All Surfers Become Lapras
It would probably require a lot of time and money to create specific art for each Pokémon that could possibly use Surf, but that doesn’t make it any less ridiculous that every Pokémon inexplicably transforms into Lapras when used for water transportation. Sure, Lapras was clearly designed to be the quintessential Surf user with its built-in saddle, but most trainers don’t have Lapras on their team.
Some Pokémon generations entirely forego the image of a Pokémon carrying its trainer in favor of a single, whale-shaped blob swimming around, and that’s even weirder. It’s like the trainer himself transforms into a water Pokémon. And don’t get me started on the size of Pokémon; a massive Gyarados using Surf should take up a quarter of the screen.
17 Children Enslaving Gods
Nintendo goes a little overboard with the power level of some Pokémon, as well as the lore behind them, but what makes it really insane is how each generation features a child enslaving these virtually omnipotent beings. Red and Blue were already pushing it with Mewtwo, but later installments in the series add some truly outrageous legendary Pokémon.
Legendary used to describe rare and powerful Pokémon, but recent legendaries are actual gods. Giratina, pictured in this meme, has the power to travel between dimensions. Banished for violence, Giratina is basically the Satan of Pokémon. It gets even crazier because Arceus, the Pokémon that banished Giratina, is basically God; it literally created the universe. How powerful must Pokéballs be that they enable a preteen to enslave gods?
16 "Perfect" Memory
You’ll find all sorts of hyperbolic claims skimming through the Pokédex, but this one is especially egregious because it blatantly contradicts core game mechanics. Of all the gameplay updates the Pokémon games have given us—team battles, cuteness competitions, held items, abilities, egg moves, etc.—it’s frustrating that Pokémon are still arbitrarily restricted to four moves.
The smartest Pokémon in existence can’t learn more tricks than a Slowpoke.
It’s a necessary evil for balance reasons (a fifth move is all some Pokémon need to ensure super effectiveness against virtually everything), but that doesn’t make it any less absurd when your Alakazam needs help from the Move Reminder to remember a move it used to know. Perfect Memory? Whoever wrote the Pokédex needs to check their facts.
15 Pokémon Types Make No Sense
Restricting Pokémon to a maximum of two types is another game mechanic that has led to some strange logic. Back in the days of Red and Blue, the dragon type was the clearest example of Pokémon types making absolutely no sense: Gyarados and Charizard are as close as it gets to the classic depictions of Eastern and Western dragons, respectively, yet Dragonite is the only Pokémon from the first generation with a dragon typing.
It’s only gotten worse in the later generations: there are non-water squids, non-grass flowers, non-bug scorpions, and non-flying pokémon with wings—Flygon literally has the word “Fly” in its name! Celebi is an adorable, tiny creature with actual fairy wings, how is that not a fairy? I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve accidentally knocked out a Pokémon I was trying to catch, using a move I didn’t expect to be super effective.
14 What Do They Put In That Water?
The line between magic and science gets pretty fuzzy in the Pokémon universe, especially when it comes to medicine. We can accept the physics-breaking technology behind storing living creatures indefinitely in Pokéballs (not to mention inside Bill’s Computer) because that’s something entirely new, but we all know from experience that water will not instantly heal injuries.
Why would Nintendo even put water in as a healing elixir when Pokémarts actually sell Elixirs? Not only does water magically cure wounds, but it does so to greater effect than potions. Chemists probably spent years concocting the formulas for Pokémon medicine, but it doesn’t really count for much if it can’t compete with the world’s most abundant resource. Either water in the Pokémon universe is magic, or someone’s pumping chemicals into the water supply.
13 Pokémon Taxes Are No Joke
Speaking of magical Pokémon medicine, it’s amazing what a little sugar and lemon juice can do. Why buy potions at a Pokémart when a kid with a lemonade stand can heal your Pokémon over three times as effectively? Well, the price is one reason; lemonade is expensive. For a world that provides free, universal healthcare to everyone and their pets, it’s a little suspicious that the healing power of lemonade comes at such a cost.
There must be a serious lemon shortage.
It actually makes sense if you think of those expenses as taxes. Nurse Joy has to get her paycheck from somewhere, right? The games never really explain the weird economy of the Pokémon universe or define a centralized government, so all we can do is speculate.
12 The Pokédex Lies
The dreaded double-weakness to water is enough to make any trainer think twice about adding a Pokémon to their team. It’s even worse for Magcargo, who sports a second double-weakness to the ground type. With how common Earthquake is, only the most loyal fans of Magcargo would even consider using it. That is, unless they just read its Pokédex entry, which implies a whole lot of power that it doesn’t actually have. Magcargo's body temperature is way hotter than the Sun, according to its Pokédex entry.
In addition to instantly evaporating water, Magcargo has a body temperature of 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Forget how absurd it is that Magcargo faints to a weak Bubbles attack: how is it safe to go anywhere near this Pokémon?
11 Trainers Can't Jump
Considering how commonplace it is for the protagonists of Pokémon games to capture and command god-level Pokémon, it’s amazing how utterly useless they are. They can’t swim, squeeze past trees, climb fences, or hop the tiny ledges that appear everywhere.
Even more ridiculous is that Pokémon can’t help in this area either. Pokémon can learn moves that carry you long-distance across oceans, up waterfalls, through the air, underground, and even magically teleport you home, but they can’t help you get the item on the other side of that ledge. The weightlifting Machamp can push giant boulders around with ease, but giving you a little boost is beyond its abilities. Don’t even bother asking Pidgey to fetch an item sitting three feet away. Pokémon trainers have finally met their match in knee high ledges.
Art by madfox200.
10 Sleeping Pokémon Still Hurt
Status afflictions in Pokémon games don’t make any sense, especially in conjunction with moves that don’t make much sense either. When your Pokémon falls asleep, all you can really do is give it commands and hope it wakes up to follow your instructions instead of hitting the snooze button, unless you’re packing a Pokéflute. In some cases, however, sleeping Pokémon still pack a punch.
There are entire builds that revolve around using Rest, and then using moves that work while sleeping, like Snore and Sleep Talk. Then you have hilarious situations like the one in this meme, where Ekans used Wrap on a previous turn, and continues to constrict Bellsprout even after being put to sleep. Maybe he’s just tensing up because he’s having a nightmare? Poor little Ekans.
Art by videakias.
9 Those Poor Pidgeys
Pokémon games totally change when you gain HM02, Fly. Once you can teach Fly to your winged Pokémon, you no longer have to take the tedious hike through the caves and tall grass between towns: just hop on the back of your Pidgey and away you go!
There’s just one problem: Pidgey weighs about 4lbs.
If you ever tried to ride your family dog as a child, you know how this ends. I don’t care how skinny you are, that’s just animal cruelty. Pokémon are strong, but there’s no way evolution (in the Darwinian sense) gave Pidgeys the strength to carry 50 times their own weight. Pidgey isn’t an outlier by any stretch, either: tiny birds and Zubats are the primary means of transportation in every single Pokémon game, and they will carry you across the whole continent. Trainers sure ask a lot of their Pokémon.
Art by darkimpetus.
8 Traveling Before You Learn Cut
Speaking of valuable traveling moves, it’s outrageous how limited your travel options are before you gain HM01, Cut. Little shrubs coincidentally block off every major path to the next section of the game, and squeezing past them is out of the question for some reason. You have to Cut those suckers down.
Of course, any child with a Bellsprout could chop down entire forests if they gave HM01 to just anybody, so it makes sense that Cut is a carefully guarded move. Gym leaders need to know you’re a responsible trainer before they teach you how to efficiently destroy nature. What doesn’t make sense is how conveniently placed these little trees are in the middle of paths. Also, why hasn’t anyone else cut them down yet? Pokémon towns can afford to provide free healthcare, but they can’t hire one guy to trim the hedges on public roads?
7 Trainers Love Fence Mazes
You never really stop and think about how insane the roads are in the Pokémon universe, especially the mazes of fences you find outside some of the towns. It makes sense from a gamer’s perspective to constantly solve puzzles and navigate mazes, so most of us don’t bat an eye at these useless fences. You could even argue that it makes sense for Pokémon trainers to spend all their time loitering, waiting to battle the next kid who wanders by—they’re doubtless sick of battling the other trainers who live there.
None of that explains why anyone would ever build these fences.
They’re obviously not there to prevent trespassing because there’s multiple paths through it, and they’re not built on private property either. Even more insane, trainers appear drawn to these fence formations, often walking back and forth for hours with no apparent purpose. Pokémon trainers are weird.
6 No Pokémon Safety Training Required
If you were raised by helicopter parents, Pokémon games probably shocked you with how little regard for your safety all the adults demonstrate. We were taught not to talk to strangers, not to run with scissors, and to look both ways before crossing the street, but Pokémon trainers are taught some very different lessons from an early age.
Not only does Professor Oak entrust a child with a Pokémon that is always on fire, but he then sends that child into the world alone after a quick afternoon lesson: how to throw things at wild animals. The child’s mother is fine with this because that’s just part of growing up, apparently. Neither of them take issue with that child fighting the entirety of the world’s most notorious criminal organization by himself, either, so a fire-breathing pet isn’t such a big deal in retrospect.