Top 10 Pokemon Moments That Make No Sense
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VOICE OVER: Ashley Bowman
WRITTEN BY: Hailey Brophy
Pika-wha?! Join Ashley as he counts down our picks for the craziest things to occur in the Pokemon anime, including "Jelly-filled Donuts", "Thunder Armor", "The Pokerap", and more!
Script written by Hailey Brophy
Top 10 Pokémon Moments That Make No Sense
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top Pokémon Moments That Make No Sense.
For this list, we’ll be looking at head-scratcher moments from the Pokémon anime that confound audiences. From moments that break the rules of the games, to downright silly decisions, here are the top ten moments from the Pokémon anime that make no sense!
What are your favorite silly Pokémon moments? Tell us in the comments below.
#10: Rhyhorn the Tech-wiz
In episode 112 of “Pokémon the Series: XY,” Serena’s mom, Grace, cheers her daughter on from the audience of the Pokémon Showcase competition. There’s nothing weird about that. However, if Grace is not at home, then how is Rhyhorn watching the whole thing on a laptop? As Serena competes, the ever-supportive Rhyhorn and Fletchling watch on from home, leading one to wonder how these two even know how to push the correct buttons to operate the laptop. It also opens up some troubling questions as far as the technical abilities of your average Pokémon. Does Rhyhorn spend his days surfing the web on Grace’s computer? Do other Pokémon use computers?
#9: Ash Forgets What Koffing Looks Like
In episode 83 of “Pokémon the Series: Black and White,” Ash faces off against gym leader Roxie, who battles with a Koffing that she obtained from the Kanto region. Ash and company seem puzzled by Koffing and Ash whips out his trusty Pokédex to scan his opponent, as he does with every new Pokémon encounter. One problem though: Ash has been battling Team Rocket for years! Koffing was, for a while, the only Pokémon James had in the original series. Ash’s very first encounter with Team Rocket features Koffing. So has Ash just forgotten all of this? Perhaps Ash’s memory resets like a goldfish, or rather a Goldeen, upon entering each new region.
#8: Gary Oak Has a Car
In the very first episode of the Pokémon anime, we meet aspiring trainer, Ash Ketchum, and his rival, Gary Oak. Both boys are beginning their Pokémon journey at the age of ten, which seems to be the general custom for aspiring trainers. So why, and how, does Gary Oak have his own car? Gary is ten, and a novice trainer, and yet he travels across Kanto in luxury. His car is driven by his bizarre hype team full of cheerleaders who appear to be adult women. Who are these Gary Oak fangirls? Can he even encounter and capture wild Pokémon from the back seat of his fancy ride? Poor Ash couldn’t even afford a bicycle.
#7: Arbok’s Evolution into Seviper
The “Ruby and Sapphire” episode entitled: “A Fan with a Plan,” features a puzzling error. The “Pokémon Trainer’s Choice Segment,” which acts as a sort of multiple choice trivia game, asks the audience which Pokémon Seviper evolves into. This is bizarre already, since Seviper doesn’t evolve into anything, so there can be no correct answer. The answer provided in this segment is Arbok. Arbok is the evolved form of Ekans, and has no ties to Seviper at all. One can only imagine that whomever scripted this segment looked no further than the snake-like similarities between the two Pokémon. Nevertheless, it’s certainly confusing to see the anime blatantly declare that two unrelated Pokémon belong to the same evolutionary line.
#6: Real Animals in the World of Pokémon
The world of Pokémon is magical and strange, with every region filled with Pokémon of all sorts. But there’s one thing noticeably missing from the landscape of Pokémon: animals. In the Pokémon universe, Pokémon seem to fill the role of animals, so that animals as we know them don’t exist. That makes it especially strange when real world animals do appear. At one point, Ash contrasts bug Pokémon with “real” bugs. He even dons a cow costume, not a Tauros or Miltank, to make a bug pun. Non-Pokémon fish can be seen swimming in tanks at the Cerulean gym. Clearly, animals do exist, but we’re left to wonder where they all are and how they fit into the Pokémon ecosystem.
#5: Misty Doesn’t Think Venonat is a Bug Type
Episode 97 of the Pokémon anime, “Tracey Gets Bugged,” is an episode that features a ton of bug type Pokémon. Misty, due to her established fear of bug types, is predictably disgusted by them. That is, except for one bug type who seems to fly under her radar. When Tracey uses his trusty Marill and Venonat, Misty makes this bizarre statement: Misty, who has a chronic terror of bug Pokémon, fails to recognize Venonat, a creature with red compound eyes, antennae, and pincers, as a bug Pokémon. Misty was a gym leader! She should know this. And yet, her basic Pokémon knowledge falls short here.
#4: Mistakes in the Pokérap
The original TV airings of the beloved Kanto region Pokérap suffered from a bit of mistaken identity. In two instances, the Pokémon named in the song didn’t match the images on screen. When the song names Poliwrath, the image used is its unevolved form, Poliwag. Similarly, when Graveler is sung, its unevolved form, Geodude, appears. This kind of mistake is pretty harmless and easy to ignore, but there’s something very funny about hearing that familiar voice brazenly shout “Poliwrath” over a picture of Poliwag. You would expect the Pokémon anime itself to be able to correctly identify all Pokémon, especially back then when there were only 150 to keep track of.
#3: Thunder Armor
In the “Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire” episode “Solid as a Solrock,” Pikachu and Swellow participate in a doubles gym battle against the twin gym leaders of Mossdeep Gyms’ Pokémon, Solrock and Lunatone. This battle culminates in a thunderbolt striking both Pikachu and Swellow. Instead of severely damaging the flying type Swellow, as the rules of Pokémon typing would suggest, the two emerge triumphant and coated in an electric layer of shining armor. This strange moment has no precedent and no plausible explanation. It's a comically literal example of so-called “plot armor.”
#2: Brock’s “Jelly Donuts”
This entry is the most glaring example of a weird thing that happens a few times in the English dub of the Pokémon anime: awkward attempts at localization. The anime, being Japanese in origin, has some cultural references and landmarks that Western children are unfamiliar with. In this instance, occurring in the episode “Primeape Goes Bananas,” Brock prepares something resembling rice balls or onigiri. The decision was made to localize this unfamiliar food by having Brock refer to them in the English dub as “jelly donuts.” While it's true that Western kids may not eat much onigiri, they know what rice is, and what donuts look like. And donuts, these treats are not!
#1: “Aim for the Horn!”
In episode 58 of the first season of the Pokémon anime, Ash and Pikachu battle the Cinnabar Gym’s leader, Blaine. Blaine uses a Rhydon. This is a bad type match up for Ash. Rhydon is a ground type, and thus is immune to electric attacks. Or so it would seem. In the heat of battle, Ash shouts: “Pikachu, the horn!” Pikachu follows his instructions and launches an electric attack at Rhydon's horn. Unbelievably, Rhydon is defeated. Somehow. How many gullible kids tried using electric moves on ground types after watching this episode? Alas, this kind of silliness can only succeed in the nonsensical universe of the Pokémon anime.
Top 10 Pokémon Moments That Make No Sense
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top Pokémon Moments That Make No Sense.
For this list, we’ll be looking at head-scratcher moments from the Pokémon anime that confound audiences. From moments that break the rules of the games, to downright silly decisions, here are the top ten moments from the Pokémon anime that make no sense!
What are your favorite silly Pokémon moments? Tell us in the comments below.
#10: Rhyhorn the Tech-wiz
In episode 112 of “Pokémon the Series: XY,” Serena’s mom, Grace, cheers her daughter on from the audience of the Pokémon Showcase competition. There’s nothing weird about that. However, if Grace is not at home, then how is Rhyhorn watching the whole thing on a laptop? As Serena competes, the ever-supportive Rhyhorn and Fletchling watch on from home, leading one to wonder how these two even know how to push the correct buttons to operate the laptop. It also opens up some troubling questions as far as the technical abilities of your average Pokémon. Does Rhyhorn spend his days surfing the web on Grace’s computer? Do other Pokémon use computers?
#9: Ash Forgets What Koffing Looks Like
In episode 83 of “Pokémon the Series: Black and White,” Ash faces off against gym leader Roxie, who battles with a Koffing that she obtained from the Kanto region. Ash and company seem puzzled by Koffing and Ash whips out his trusty Pokédex to scan his opponent, as he does with every new Pokémon encounter. One problem though: Ash has been battling Team Rocket for years! Koffing was, for a while, the only Pokémon James had in the original series. Ash’s very first encounter with Team Rocket features Koffing. So has Ash just forgotten all of this? Perhaps Ash’s memory resets like a goldfish, or rather a Goldeen, upon entering each new region.
#8: Gary Oak Has a Car
In the very first episode of the Pokémon anime, we meet aspiring trainer, Ash Ketchum, and his rival, Gary Oak. Both boys are beginning their Pokémon journey at the age of ten, which seems to be the general custom for aspiring trainers. So why, and how, does Gary Oak have his own car? Gary is ten, and a novice trainer, and yet he travels across Kanto in luxury. His car is driven by his bizarre hype team full of cheerleaders who appear to be adult women. Who are these Gary Oak fangirls? Can he even encounter and capture wild Pokémon from the back seat of his fancy ride? Poor Ash couldn’t even afford a bicycle.
#7: Arbok’s Evolution into Seviper
The “Ruby and Sapphire” episode entitled: “A Fan with a Plan,” features a puzzling error. The “Pokémon Trainer’s Choice Segment,” which acts as a sort of multiple choice trivia game, asks the audience which Pokémon Seviper evolves into. This is bizarre already, since Seviper doesn’t evolve into anything, so there can be no correct answer. The answer provided in this segment is Arbok. Arbok is the evolved form of Ekans, and has no ties to Seviper at all. One can only imagine that whomever scripted this segment looked no further than the snake-like similarities between the two Pokémon. Nevertheless, it’s certainly confusing to see the anime blatantly declare that two unrelated Pokémon belong to the same evolutionary line.
#6: Real Animals in the World of Pokémon
The world of Pokémon is magical and strange, with every region filled with Pokémon of all sorts. But there’s one thing noticeably missing from the landscape of Pokémon: animals. In the Pokémon universe, Pokémon seem to fill the role of animals, so that animals as we know them don’t exist. That makes it especially strange when real world animals do appear. At one point, Ash contrasts bug Pokémon with “real” bugs. He even dons a cow costume, not a Tauros or Miltank, to make a bug pun. Non-Pokémon fish can be seen swimming in tanks at the Cerulean gym. Clearly, animals do exist, but we’re left to wonder where they all are and how they fit into the Pokémon ecosystem.
#5: Misty Doesn’t Think Venonat is a Bug Type
Episode 97 of the Pokémon anime, “Tracey Gets Bugged,” is an episode that features a ton of bug type Pokémon. Misty, due to her established fear of bug types, is predictably disgusted by them. That is, except for one bug type who seems to fly under her radar. When Tracey uses his trusty Marill and Venonat, Misty makes this bizarre statement: Misty, who has a chronic terror of bug Pokémon, fails to recognize Venonat, a creature with red compound eyes, antennae, and pincers, as a bug Pokémon. Misty was a gym leader! She should know this. And yet, her basic Pokémon knowledge falls short here.
#4: Mistakes in the Pokérap
The original TV airings of the beloved Kanto region Pokérap suffered from a bit of mistaken identity. In two instances, the Pokémon named in the song didn’t match the images on screen. When the song names Poliwrath, the image used is its unevolved form, Poliwag. Similarly, when Graveler is sung, its unevolved form, Geodude, appears. This kind of mistake is pretty harmless and easy to ignore, but there’s something very funny about hearing that familiar voice brazenly shout “Poliwrath” over a picture of Poliwag. You would expect the Pokémon anime itself to be able to correctly identify all Pokémon, especially back then when there were only 150 to keep track of.
#3: Thunder Armor
In the “Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire” episode “Solid as a Solrock,” Pikachu and Swellow participate in a doubles gym battle against the twin gym leaders of Mossdeep Gyms’ Pokémon, Solrock and Lunatone. This battle culminates in a thunderbolt striking both Pikachu and Swellow. Instead of severely damaging the flying type Swellow, as the rules of Pokémon typing would suggest, the two emerge triumphant and coated in an electric layer of shining armor. This strange moment has no precedent and no plausible explanation. It's a comically literal example of so-called “plot armor.”
#2: Brock’s “Jelly Donuts”
This entry is the most glaring example of a weird thing that happens a few times in the English dub of the Pokémon anime: awkward attempts at localization. The anime, being Japanese in origin, has some cultural references and landmarks that Western children are unfamiliar with. In this instance, occurring in the episode “Primeape Goes Bananas,” Brock prepares something resembling rice balls or onigiri. The decision was made to localize this unfamiliar food by having Brock refer to them in the English dub as “jelly donuts.” While it's true that Western kids may not eat much onigiri, they know what rice is, and what donuts look like. And donuts, these treats are not!
#1: “Aim for the Horn!”
In episode 58 of the first season of the Pokémon anime, Ash and Pikachu battle the Cinnabar Gym’s leader, Blaine. Blaine uses a Rhydon. This is a bad type match up for Ash. Rhydon is a ground type, and thus is immune to electric attacks. Or so it would seem. In the heat of battle, Ash shouts: “Pikachu, the horn!” Pikachu follows his instructions and launches an electric attack at Rhydon's horn. Unbelievably, Rhydon is defeated. Somehow. How many gullible kids tried using electric moves on ground types after watching this episode? Alas, this kind of silliness can only succeed in the nonsensical universe of the Pokémon anime.
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