In the late ’90s early 2000s, Pokémon was in its heyday. It all started in Japan on February 27, 1996, when Pocket Monsters Aka and Midori was released.
Translated to Pocket Monsters Red And Green, this first Pokémon game for the Nintendo Gameboy was incredibly popular and started off the franchise on its long journey.
Shortly after the success of the video games, a Pokémon Trading Card Game would be introduced to Japan in 1996. With each new generation of games, the card game is updated and more Pokémon are added to the decks.
While there are several hundreds of different Pokémon cards now on the market, certain cards from the original sets can make people a pretty penny if they find the right buyer.
Many kids also grew up watching the Pokémon anime series which began in 1997. New series are still ongoing, and combined they have over 1000 episodes to date.
While there have always been fans playing the Pokémon games and watching the shows, the Pokémon fad started to mitigate until 2016 rolled around and Pokémon: Go was released for IOS and Android.
Pokémon was once again a global phenomenon and stores once again started carrying high amounts of Pokémon merchandise.
Pokémon has gained a lot of fans over the years, some of which decide to ignore the fact that a lot of elements of Pokémon don’t make any sense.
Go out and catch these 25 Memes That Show Pokémon Makes No Sense.
Ash Rides A Ponyta
Ponyta is a first generation Pokémon that evolves into a Rapidash at level 40. Ponyta is a fire type Pokémon and basically looks like a pony that has flames for its mane and tail.
Ponyta makes several appearances in the Pokémon anime, and Ash Ketchum actually rides one in some of the episodes.
It is explained in the show that Ash is able to ride the Ponyta because the animal trusts Ash, but come on. Are we really supposed to believe that none of the flames are burning Ash even though his body is right next to them?
It may look cool to see Ash ride a Ponyta and it may seem heartwarming that the Ponyta trusts him so much, but it really does not make a whole lot of sense.
Thanks, Professor Oak…
At the beginning of the Pokémon anime, each of the young trainers is given the choice of a companion Pokémon. Once they choose their Pokémon, Professor Oak gives them a Pokédex along with a handful of Pokéballs to get them started on their journey.
A Pokédex is essentially the same concept across all of the games and is an electronic device that helps trainers identify Pokémon they may find in the wild.
Not only does the device provide information, but it also catalogs the Pokémon a trainer has already caught.
Professor Oak is known for having a lot of experience with an assortment of Pokémon. Most of Samuel Oak’s career had been focused on studying Pokémon and trying to understand their relationships with humans.
Despite his vast knowledge of the breeds, the Pokédex he gives each trainer is empty which isn’t a whole lot of help to the new trainers.
Ash’s Jello Arm
When it comes to being a Pokémon trainer, one needs to be patient and learn the habits and biology of each of the little monsters.
In order to throw a Pokéball effectively, you need to have a strong arm and be able to throw accurately.
Thankfully for Ash Ketchum, he has gotten pretty decent at throwing Pokéballs.
Apparently, in 2013, Ash learned how to turn his arms into jello in order to throw the ball.
Obviously, Ash didn’t learn a new ability that turns his arms into jello, but this frame still looks silly. This was probably just the easiest way for the animators to animate Ash’s arm and they probably didn’t intend for viewers to pause it frame by frame.
Either way, the shot does not make a whole lot of sense without context.
They’re Eating What?!?
Throughout the Pokémon anime series, there are very few animals seen besides Pokémon. It would not make a lot of sense to have regular animals running around when trainers are trying to catch monsters, so the creators seem to have left out the species we are used to.
That being said, there are several scenes throughout the anime that show Ash and his friends eating big feasts like the one above.
This raises the question about what is this food made of.
It certainly wouldn’t be ethical or kid-friendly to think that they are eating Pokémon, but if there aren’t any other animals in the world of Pokémon, then what are they eating?
Maybe they are eating some type of synthetic food substance that is unknown to us, or maybe they are actually eating chicken and lobster and we just don’t see them on screen. Who knows?
Meowth Is Apparently Worthless
Pikachu is arguably one of the most famous Pokémon, and that is partly because he is so prominently featured in the show.
Despite Pikachu being adorable, he really isn’t that different from other Pikachu. He may be more powerful than other Pikachu, which makes him a target for evil organizations, but otherwise he isn’t very special.
Meowth, on the other hand, is one of a kind. He walks on two legs and can say more than just “Meowth.” Despite Meowth being absolutely unique, people don’t find him very valuable.
He is often seen with Team Rocket trying to capture Ash’s Pikachu and he does not have a lot of freedom on their team.
Jessie and James’ employer Giovanni apparently doesn’t think a talking Meowth is that valuable since he tries so hard to capture a lil ol’ Pikachu.
Ash Can’t Get An Electabuzz
Even though there are a bit more than 600 known Pokémon as of 2018, this meme is still relevant. Despite the experience that Ash has enjoyed over the years, there is one Pokémon that he could never catch: Electabuzz.
An Electabuzz is an electric type Pokémon whose special ability is static and has a weakness for ground type Pokémon.
The thing is, though, that it’s not just Electabuzz that Ash has not caught. There are several electric type Pokémon that Ash still needs to catch to finish his collection.
Ash is mainly known for his bond with Pikachu, so it makes sense that the anime’s showrunners wouldn’t want to give him another electric type Pokémon to compete with Pikachu.
It is never a good idea to make Pikachu jealous, let alone mad since he is quite temperamental.
Team Rocket Can’t Afford Good Food
Prepare for trouble! Make it double! If you watched the ’90s anime, you could probably recite Team Rocket’s catchphrase word for word.
Team Rocket consisting of Jessie, James, and Meowth were hired by Giovanni to steal Ash’s Pikachu, but they almost always fail.
Team Rocket usually has elaborate disguises in order to catch Ash and his friends off guard, but sometimes they just come straight out with a surprise attack like the one time they used a giant robot that looked like Meowth.
Even though Giovanni gives them money for expensive robots, they are never able to eat a decent meal. Maybe if they ate a full meal once in a while they wouldn’t constantly have their plans foiled by Ash and his gang of friends.
Ash The Not So Great Trainer
Ash Ketchum’s optimism and perseverance make him a one of a kind character in Pokémon. Even though he is super determined to catch them all, he does a pretty poor job of this.
As this meme says, it takes Ash an astounding 65 episodes to catch a measly 15 Pokémon.
Pokémon is known for the phrase “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” but that is something that Ash could probably never accomplished.
It is hard to calculate an exact number since he often trades, captures, and evolves his Pokémon, but it is nowhere close to the entire 150 original species.
Maybe one day they will end a Pokémon series with Ash finally catching all of the species, but it would be a bit harder now since there are so many different kinds.
Team Rocket Beats Ash
Even though Jesse, James, and Meowth are constantly trying to beat Ash in Pokémon battles, the same outcome always happens.
Ash and his Pokémon always destroy Team Rocket and send them “blasting off again.”
Despite their losses, Team Rocket may be one of the most persistent villain organizations ever.
They never gave up trying to defeat Ash, and their persistence paid off in Pokémon: Sun and Moon episode “SM012”. The English title for the episode is “The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!” and it is the first time Team Rocket beat Ash in over 20 years.
How Team Rocket has never won before is questionable and doesn’t make a lot of sense, considering that they’re adults and he’s a 10 year old boy with a Pikachu.
However, it was still a huge accomplishment for Team Rocket and also a huge milestone in the show.
The Importance Of Water
There are other things besides Pokéballs that are important to Pokémon trainers. When battling Pokémon, it can be important to use potions and ailments to keep your pocket monsters in great shape.
Two items that can increase your HP (Hit Points) are medicine and water. As the meme shows, Pokémon medicine only gives you an increase by 20 HP, while a bottle of water will give you 50 HP.
How a bottle of water is more powerful than a medicine specifically designed to help Pokémon is puzzling.
However, water clearly is an important element in the games. Maybe it is just the developer’s way of reminding everyone to stay hydrated. Who knows?
Clearly, water is just as important in the Pokémon world as it is in real life.
The Evolution Of The Pokémon Gang
The Pokémon anime is still ongoing, however, it is quite a bit different than the original show. One of the main differences besides the animation style are the new characters who appear on the show.
Ash was originally accompanied by Misty and Brock in his journeys, but unfortunately, the dynamic trio couldn’t last forever.
In order to develop the characters and provide fresh faces to the series, certain characters were written off of the anime.
Tracey Sketchit filled the void after Brock’s departure and traveled with Ash until episode 116. PokémonAdvanced brought back Brock but also introduced May and Max as new characters.
In the season Best Wishes, Iris and Cilan were also introduced. While it may not be true for everyone, a lot of people in the Pokémon community got more and more upset as the creators tried to introduce new characters.
Pidgey’s Strength
As sad as it is, it is possible for a Pokémon to pass away. Even though this is true, there are often times when a weaker Pokémon should have passed away, but they really just fainted.
This comic strip, for example, shows a Gyarados at level 100 battling a Pidgey at level 2. Even people who know nothing about Pokémon would be able to guess that Gyarados would win, but many probably wouldn’t think that the Pidgey would simply faint after the battle.
Gyarados uses a hyper beam in the comic above ,which is obviously no match for Pidgey.
However, the Pidgey just faints instead of meeting a more obvious demise. This is often the case in Pokémon games and the anime, since it’s easier for kids to deal with their Pokémon fainting rather than dealing with the grief of their ultimate passing.
Trainers Are Not The Smartest
Whether it be Ash’s gang not noticing Team Rocket in their obvious disguises or Ash pressuring Pikachu into evolving, Pokémon trainers are not always the smartest people around.
Granted, the kids in the show are relatively young, but they should be able to get their way out of common sense situations.
In the 46th episode of the Advanced Generation series, Ash, Brock, May, and Max are traveling through the desert and run out of water.
While they may have drunk all of the water in their canteens, they do have water-type Pokémon.
Water-type Pokémon aren’t usually meant to provide trainers with water when they get thirsty, but in extreme circumstances, they certainly have this ability.
Ten-year-old Ash needs to learn how to use more than just his battle skills if he ever hopes to catch them all, let alone survive.
Charizard’s Logic
In the original Pokémon anime, there was a heartbreaking episode that almost showed Charmander meeting an untimely end.
Charmanders will pass away if the fire on their tails goes out, which almost happened to the little Charmander that Ash saved in the eleventh episode of the Indigo League titled “The Stray Pokémon”.
After Damian gets rid of the seemingly weak Pokémon, Ash and Brock rush out to save the poor little guy. Even though Charmander willingly allows Ash to capture him at the end of the episode, Charmander was pretty rude to Ash after he evolved.
Charmander evolves into Charmeleon and eventually Charizard. In his later evolutions, the fire-breathing Pokémon often burns Ash in the face with his fire.
Apparently, Charmander isn’t very grateful for Ash saving his life.
The Oldest 10 Year Old Ever
Ash begins his Pokémon journey at the young age of 10. One of the longest-running mysteries of the show is how Ash Ketchum never seems to age.
In each new generation of the Pokémon anime series, Ash is always said to be 10 years old. Time goes by in between and during the episodes, though, so even if the episodes take place a day at a time, Ash should still be showing some type of aging.
This is probably a conscious decision by the animators and showrunners to keep Ash young so that he will continue to be relatable to young viewers.
Whatever the reasoning may be, Ash is still one of the oldest ten-year-olds ever. He’s been 10 since 1997.
Can’t Teach A New Pokémon Old Tricks
With all seven generations of Pokémon, there are over 800 known Pokémon today. There were the original 150 Pokémon, but the games, cards, and anime have well beyond 150 at this point.
Some Pokémon can learn abilities that you wouldn’t think they could learn, while others cannot learn the simplest task like this meme suggests.
For example, Whooper, who is a ground/water Pokémon, can learn ice punch even though he doesn’t have any arms. The same goes for Shroomish, who can learn focus punch.
Even though Yanmega clearly has wings and is a bug type Pokémon, it can’t learn the fly move. This has confused a lot of people.
Similarly, no one understands why Scyther can’t fly despite having visible wings.
More Pokémon Logic
Since the Pokémon anime is created in Japan before it is released in North America, there are some animation techniques that most western fans aren’t quite used to seeing.
In this still from the Pokémon anime series, Ash and Pikachu are shown with badly drawn circles for eyes.
It may seem odd, but whenever trainers and their Pokémon are injured, one way to indicate this is to show them with squiggly circles for their eyes.
Again, it may seem odd but it does effectively illustrate the emotion that the animators are trying to get across.
If you don’t think about the animator perspective, though, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. People in the anime are probably wildly confused, or possibly concerned, when this happens to someone’s eyes.
Weird Breeding Habits
In recent Pokémon games, especially Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, breeding Pokémon has become a huge part of the games.
The main point of breeding Pokémon is to get a Pokémon with a unique set of abilities by breeding two species together.
While this concept makes sense, some of the breeding options do not. As the meme shows, you could breed a Gardevoir with a Grimer or even a Charizard with a Magikarp, but you don’t have the option to breed a Nidoqueen with a Nidoking.
Oddly enough, however, a female Nidoran can be bred with a Nidoking.
It is unknown why the game developers made this an option instead of the Nidoqueen being able to breed, but it does not make much sense regardless.
Iris Gets A Bad Rap
Throughout Ash’s long journey as a Pokémon trainer, he has had to deal with a lot of crazy people who he calls friends. Most notably, Ash often had fights with Misty, but they were still considered best friends.
Misty even went as far as threatening to beat Ash up with a log in the original anime series.
While you may not see this kind of violence in newer versions of Pokémon, people were pretty used to Misty’s behavior back in the late ’90s early 2000s.
Misty isn’t around anymore, but the character named Iris came onto the show in the first episode of the Best Wishes series titled “In the Shadow of Zekrom!”
One thing Iris is known for is calling Ash a little kid. While that isn’t nearly as bad as intimidating him with a log, she still gets a lot of hate because of this.
Bad Luck Brock
Each type of Pokémon in the original anime had certain strengths against other Pokémon and weaknesses against others.
For example, rock Pokémon should be stronger against most electric Pokémon, yet Ash’s Pikachu is able to defeat Brock’s Onix.
When Brock is first introduced to the show, he is the gym leader of the Pewter City Gym. Ash travels to Pewter city with Misty to fight at the gym and ends up battling Brock.
Brock’s Onix has the advantage over Pikachu when Brock calls off the fight because he doesn’t want to hurt Ash’s Pokémon.
Sprinklers in the gym end up going off because of a fire that weakens Brock’s rock type Pokémon. A
sh takes advantage of this and has Pikachu defeat Onix even though Brock called off the fight.
Ash may have unfairly won the match, but Brock still has a case of bad luck.
