One of the longest running anime series of all time, Pokémon is one of the most beloved children’s franchises in history. Its success has spawned numerous seasons, sagas, and specials with 992 episodes and counting! There have been 21 movies to date and over 100 video games released for the franchise. With now over twenty years of success and renewed popularity with the recent viral app sensation Pokémon Go, Nintendo’s beloved IP doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
The Pokémon series has fun and lovable characters, great visual art style, and a riveting plot that has the power to both make you cry from laughter and sob from heartache. Without a doubt, Pokémon’s success is proof that it has done a lot right over the years. However, when a series has over 900 episodes, there are bound to be some hiccups and stumbles along the way. That includes making mistakes in many areas, including logic, continuity, and coloring issues. Just because a series is good and loved by many doesn't mean that it's perfect, and that's definitely the case with Pokémon. Let's take a look at some of the biggest and more surprising mistakes in the Pokémon show that you probably didn’t catch. This time, you can catch ‘em all!
20 These Balls Look A Little Green
Blue balls? Or was it green? No, that’s right, they’re red! At least, the standard Poké Ball, that is. So what is this mysterious green Poké Ball shown in the first few seconds of the first episode of the series? In “Pokémon, I Choose You!” the show opens with a Pokémon league battle being shown on Ash’s TV between two unnamed trainers.
In the battle, one trainer recalls his or her Nidorino and throws out the infamous green Poké Ball and out pops an Onix. There are a wide range of possibilities and theories regarding the discoloration. Some have come to believe that it’s a Safari Ball, some believe it was a simple, silly mistake, while others believe that all Poké Balls were originally meant to be green before Coca Cola sponsored a change to match the cans of their sugary drinks. The truth? Perhaps we’ll never know.
19 A Half Rack Too Short
Anatomy is a harrowing field. With the adult body consisting of 206 bones, many a student buried their heads in their hands when fixed with the task of cramming for tomorrow’s exam. So it’s easy to get mixed up, or at least it seems that way for Pokémon animators. In this particular episode, Ash and Professor Oak are seen electrocuted by Pikachu (stubborn as always) and their skeletons are shown flashing on the screen while the little electric mouse has his fun.
But see that? Both ash and Professor Oak are shown with five ribs on each side of their body. In reality, both men and women have twenty-four ribs, or twelve on each side. So close, but looks like they’re about half a rack too short.
18 Paid Extras
On Ash’s first day as an official Pokémon trainer, he’s given a ceremonial farewell and seen off by Professor Oak, his mother and all his loving family, friends, classmates, and... wait? Just as Ash himself says, “Mom you’re embarrassing me in front of all these people!” Who the heck are all these people!?
Obviously he has no clue who they are, and neither do we. Gary’s farewell party, just moments before Ash’s, consisted of a mob of his adoring fans (why a ten-year-old has fans is a whole other issue), but Ash has no such following. So why is this man tearing up? Did Ash’s mother rally up some random townsfolk? Did Professor Oak hire extras to stand outside his lab? Did this man just come from an early afternoon screening of Your Name? You be the judge.
17 One Big Catch
In ”Pokémon, I Choose You!” Ash jumps into a rushing river holding onto his injured Pikachu for dear life. At the other end of the river, Misty sits peacefully, fishing, waiting for a big catch, and boy did she get one! But instead of a fish, she got a 10-year old boy holding a Pokémon.
Currently, the strongest fishing rods can lift approximately ten kilograms. Whereas the average 10-year old male weighs around eighteen to forty kilograms dry, let alone soaking wet and holding an injured Pikachu. Also, how the heck does Ash manage to keep his cap on? Suffice it to say, there’s no way Misty’s rod can sustain both Ash and Pikachu’s weight without breaking, let alone bending less than 30 degrees under that weight. But it’s a kid’s show.
16 Just Down The Road From Here
Have you ever asked someone for directions and were told “oh yeah it’s just down the road from here”, only to wind up miles down, fifteen minutes out of your way and still not there yet? Well, misdirection is one thing, but it’s a whole new ball game when you’ve got an injured Pokémon on your hands! When Ash first meets Misty, she tells him that there’s a Pokémon Center “not too far from here”.
However, as soon as Ash “borrows” Misty’s bike, he can be seen just a few seconds later riding into a darkening night. From broad daylight to a dark evening in just a few frames? Either Misty is terrible with directions or Ash is boneheaded at following with them. Either way, “not too far from here” was farther than it seemed.
15 The Imaginary Camera
In episode 2, “Pokémon Emergency,” Ash waits in the Pokémon Center in Viridian City while Pikachu is being healed. During the waiting time, he gets two phone calls from the Pokémon Center. The first is from his mother and the second is from Professor Oak, which he answers unsuspectedly. When the phone call begins, Ash is shown Professor Oak’s back.
The Professor says “I’m in the wrong camera,” and quickly switches to the correct one. The Professor and Ash have a brief conversation. However, when the phone call is about to end, the Professor stands and says goodbye and we see that there is no other camera at all behind him. Maybe the camera is hidden, or maybe it’s a continuity issue. Likely the latter, but we’ll let you decide.
14 Fake Moves
In Pokémon episode 15, "Battle Aboard the St. Anne," Team Rocket's Jessie and James lure unsuspecting Pokémon trainers, including Ash and his friends, to a fancy cruise ship in a ploy to steal their Pokémon. Upon entering the cruise ship, Ash feels right at home seeing adoring trainers comparing their Pokémon. Best of all, he sees full-fledged battles already underway. He fights for a spot in the front row of the crowd and watches a battle between a young boy's Starmie and an older eccentric man's Raticate. Raticate opens with a Jump Kick and the young boy calls for Starmie to counter with Spinning Tackle. After that... wait, what the heck is "Spinning Tackle"? Not Rapid Spin, not Savage Spin-out, not even Tackle, but Spinning Tackle! Did this boy find a special TM that no one else knows about? Sorry, don't bother checking your Pokédex, because that move doesn't exist.
13 Wait, There's Real Animals, Too?
Before we get into the paradox, let's answer one simple question: what are Pokémon? Let me show you the first sentence of the answer from the Parents Guide on Pokémon.com: "Pokémon are creatures of all shapes and sizes who live in the wild or alongside humans." Does that sound familiar? Well, it should, because in the real world that is the definition of ANIMALS. Pokémon is by nature a world where Pokémon exist INSTEAD of animals. Not both. We have Pidgey and we DON'T have pigeons. We have Mankey and we DON'T have monkeys. The very idea of Pokémon and animal coexistence makes my head spin. But during the episode "Battle Aboard the St. Anne," Ash, Misty, and Pikachu are shown chowing down and in the same frame we see chicken and lobster. I hope no Kinglers or Pidgeys were watching.
12 The Chameleon Cap
In every anime you're gonna have your continuity issues. Usually they are small things no one notices: an odd tree in the corner of the frame, a missing cloud in the sky. But sometimes they're big enough to stand out, especially if it's standing on the main character's head. Throughout the Pokémon series, Ash's cap changes color enough times to make the keen observer realize something is amiss. Normally Ash's cap is pretty simple: a red back, white face, and red brim. In "The Water Flowers of Cerulean City," Ash learns that Misty is technically the Cerulean gym leader and he must face her to gain the cascade badge. However, Jessie and James, in classic Team Rocket fashion, decide to crash the party. Literally, as they punch a hole right through the gym wall. You can clearly see the brim of Ash's hat turn completely white, then back to red again a few seconds later. Chameleon cap, indeed!
11 What You're Made Of
Being an anime for children, I'm sure Pokémon writers didn't spend too much time on biological realism when writing their plot points for the show. However, in Episode 19 "Tentacool & Tentacruel," the writers were a little too lenient on themselves. The episode itself is quite refreshing, as it features a wealthy old lady who seeks to destroy a portion of coral reef to build a resort, but is being halted by a population of Tentacool & Tentacruel. She offers a reward to anyone who can "get rid of" the problem for her, so the story holds themes of environmental preservation and animal rights. However, when Ash opens up his Pokédex for info on the Tentacool, it says the following "Tentacool, a jellyfish Pokémon. 99% of its body is made up of water." Hold that thought.
Most jellyfish have a rudimentary nervous system without much function in terms of physical actions besides their ability to sting. Real jellyfish are made up of about 95-98% water. This is a Tentacool. It boasts multiple colors and has enough limb functionality to fight battles and use moves like Constrict, Wrap, Acid Spray, and Toxic Spikes. 99% water? I don't think so!
10 Bulbasaur Uses Whirlwind... What?
In season 1 episode 32, "The Ninja Poke-Showdown," Ash and the gang find their way to the Fuchsia City Gym where a complicated system of traps awaits him. He is then confronted by a female trainer and they engage in battle. The female trainer uses Venonat and Ash chooses Bulbasaur. A few seconds into the match Venonat jumps on Bulbasaur's head and then uses Stun Spore. Ash proceeds to command Bulbasaur to use Whirlwind. Yes. Whirlwind, a move that a grass Pokémon such as him should have no capability of learning. However, in the original Japanese version, Ash says something that translates roughly to "blow it off" in English, without expressly giving the whirlwind command. Maybe the scriptwriter or translator was too winded themselves to notice this error.
9 Misty's Insectophobia
Pokémon has had a few errors regarding Pokémon type weaknesses. However, it's rare to have a character get a Pokémon's type completely wrong. In Pokémon, we learn in the first season when Ash catches Caterpie that Misty has a deadly fear of insects. It doesn't matter which kind; as long as they're bug type she has a crippling phobia of them. In episode 97 of The Orange League,"Tracey Gets Bugged," Misty is particularly vocal about her hate for bugs, particularly Caterpie and Pincers. After a brief Misty freakout, the gang is shown walking in the forest. Ash says "Venonat and Marill are good to have around." Tracey talks about both Pokémon's good points and their amazing teamwork to which Misty replies, "At least they're not bug types..." Now, some Pokémon look obscure enough to merit two possible types. For example, Marill is blue, but its mouse-like appearance could possibly warrant a Normal type. However, a Pokémon that is not vague whatsoever is Venonat. Venonat has the eyes of a fly, the fur of a spider, and the antennas of a bee. Also, its name is VenoNAT. Get your head out of the clouds, Misty!
8 A Deaf Jynx
During The Orange Islands saga of the anime and in the episode "The Mandarin Island Mismatch," Ash, Tracey and Misty are on Mandarin Island with Ash a little too full of himself coming off of a three-match win streak. However, Ash seems to finally have met his match with Prima, one of the strongest trainers on The Orange Islands. When Ash sends out his Charizard during a battle with an unnamed trainer, the Tauros attacks, sending Charizard into a frenzy. Prima, a bystander at the time, is forced to intervene, using her Slowbro to disable Charizard and allow Ash to recall him into his Poké Ball. Later on in the episode, Prima agrees to battle Ash. Ash loses, but more importantly Team Rocket soon shows up, demanding that Ash hand over Pikachu. Ash goes on the offensive, but Prima tells him not to fight because she can "cool them down." She does so by calling out her Jynx and commanding it to use Ice Beam, but instead the Jynx uses Ice Punch. Either this particular Jynx has a hearing impairment, or the editors were caught snoozing on this one.
7 The Prodigal Son
I've heard of children getting switched at birth, but Pokémon is a whole other matter. Something is a little too off about this for an entire crew of animators, translators and editors for this particular not too little hiccup to be missed. In the episode "A Tyrogue Full of Trouble," Ash and his crew pass through Mount Mortar, a large cave in the Johto area. Just outside the cave, Tyrogue makes its first appearance in the first few moments of the episode. They see a lone Tyrogue sitting against the side of a cliff. Misty says the Tyrogue looks unhappy, and Brock assumes it's hungry. When Brock opens his bag, the Tyrogue makes its move and grabs as much as it can before running away. Before this encounter, Ash whips out his Pokédex and is given the following description of a Tyrogue: "Tyrogue, the scuffle Pokémon. Tyrogue is the evolved form of Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. It has a small, but very energetic body". EVOLVED form. Sorry, but no dice. It's actually the Baby form. Literally the opposite. Not to mention that the Pokédex forgot about Hitmontop.
6 Mommy, Where Do Ghosts Come From?
Mankind has been pondering existential paradoxes and crises ever since the times of Plato and Socrates. Many pondered such things again when French philosopher, René Descartes, uttered the words "Cogito ergo sum," I think therefore I am. Such an existential conundrum materializes itself when faced with the very concept of what Ghost Pokémon exactly are. The first appearance of a Ghost Pokémon in the series was during the first few seconds of the first episode when Gengar battled Nidorino in the televised battle. However the first major appearance of a Ghost Pokémon was Ghastly during episode 20, "The Ghost of Maiden Peak." Yet the paradoxical question is if Ghost Pokémon exist, does that mean Pokémon are reincarnated as Ghost types if/when they die? Furthermore, how the hell is it possible for Ghost Pokémon to breed? What would the result be and how can that be justified!? Ghost types in their very nature creates a flurry of questions that the creators of Pokémon have yet to give us an answer to, nor could they if they tried.
5 Armless Zubat Carries Squirtle
So we've covered some silly mistakes Pokémon has made with human anatomy, as well as unlikely aquatic biological information that Pokémon has put forth, but what else could they have gotten wrong? Answer: Zubat. And this one isn't at all nit-picky. Pokémon, being a silly anime, at times often exaggerates character strength. However, this particular blunder is hardly noticeable, yet you can't unsee it after it's pointed out to you. In the opening credits of Pokémon season 1, "The Indigo League," numerous Pokémon can be seen flying through the air: Butterfree carrying Bulbasaur, Zubat carrying Squirtle, and Pikachu riding on Pidgeoto... wait, Zubat carrying Squirtle?
Yeah that's a problem. Because Zubat's two tails can be clearly seen hanging loosely above Squirtle's tail, and Zubat has wings, no arms. So what the heck is he holding Squirtle with? Did Ash use fishing wire to tie them together when we weren't looking?
4 Honey, What's His Name Again?
For many people, remembering names is a weakness, and there's a reason for that. According to an article in TIME Magazine, "...names are essentially arbitrary and meaningless. For most of us our names give away few clues about our appearance, our personalities or anything about us, except maybe a rough age, ethnicity, social class and whether our parents were celebrities." The article goes on to say that if someone's name has some link or familiarity to something about them, the name is much more easily recalled. For example if James Justice is a lawyer, you're much more likely to remember his name. If he works at McDonalds, however, that likelihood is decreased. Maybe the creators of Pokémon took this into account when they named a bat-looking Pokémon Zubat or a dog-looking Pokémon Growlithe. However, this spoon feeding didn't seem to help the staff who worked on "The Fourth Round Rumble." In the episode, while heated battles ensue in the Pokémon League, Team Rocket flies a "Pikachu Decoy" in the sky.
Officer Jenny sees the balloon and decides to intervene. "Arcanine, flamethrower!" she calls out. Only one problem: the Pokémon beside her is Growlithe.
3 He's Off His Brocks
With any long-running anime series, there are bound to be a few errors, as mentioned previously with things like continuity, realism, background errors, and incorrect names. There are some basic facts in every anime world that seem cut and dry. In Dragon Ball Z, every enemy can be defeated by training harder. In Sword Art Online, if you die in the MMO you die in real life. In Kimi No Na Wa (Your Name), the two characters switch places when they sleep. In Pokémon, some of the facts aren't so simple, especially when discussing Pokémon types and weaknesses. As you can see, there are some pairings that are basic common sense. For example, in the real-world, fire is extinguished by water. Therefore in Pokémon, fire types are weak to water types, common sense right? WRONG! At least for Brock, that is. In the episode "Love, Pokémon Style," during Ash's battle Ash has two Pokémon left: Totodile and Squirtle.
His opponent sends out an Electabuzz and Brock immediately says "Both of Ash's Pokémon are water types, and they're totally weak against Fire types." He meant "Electric" types, but meh, maybe no one will notice.
2 Culture Shocked
Pokémon is an anime originating from Japan which has been dubbed in English and brought to the West. Of course, as shown in previous posts, there have been some issues with translating. One problem editors faced was how to familiarize Japanese food shown in the anime that Western viewers would have no knowledge of. Japan is a country with many internationally famous delicacies like sushi and ramen. However, there are also many commonplace foods in Japan that the rest of the world doesn't know about. For example, udon, takoyaki, and in Pokémon, Onigiri or "rice balls" are often shown. So what did editors due to make this food more relatable? Answer: have the characters call it a completely different name and hope no one notices. In Episode 25, "Primeape Goes Bananas," Brock feeds Mankey a rice ball and says "Maybe he wants a donut. That donut is my own special recipe, no artificial ingredients." There have been other instances of this, most notably in Brock's infamous line "Jelly donuts are great! Nothing beats a jelly-filled donut!"
1 That's A Rap
Perhaps the worst mistakes and some of the most infamous mistakes on the Pokémon show are their mistakes on the Pokérap. Firstly, it's such a beloved memory for many millennials that seeing it tarnished by errors hurts our hearts a little bit. Secondly, the errors are so glaring when they're staring you right in the face it's a little hard to miss. The original Pokérap features all one hundred and fifty of the 1st generation Pokémon that existed at the time. The Pokérap was divided into certain sections, each playing on a different day. During the first segment, Poliwag is mistakenly labeled and referred to as Poliwrath. Then, in a later segment of the Pokérap, Geodude is mistakenly labelled and referred to as Graveler. Maybe the video compiler couldn't find the photos and hoped no one would notice? Unfortunately, his or her mistake will haunt them and us for the rest of Pokémon history.