183 Fun Facts About Pokemon

What is the first Pokemon listed in the National Pokedex?

Bulbasaur is #001 in the National Pokédex, yet it was the last of its family to be designed: its artist started from the finished Venusaur and worked backwards.

Jynx, the female-only Generation I Pokémon that evolves from Smoochum, has which pair of types?

Ice/Psychic was a pairing no other Generation I Pokémon had; Jynx's original black-skinned design was recoloured purple after accusations that it resembled blackface.

Which Pokémon travelling with Jessie and James can speak human language?

Meowth taught himself to talk and walk upright to win over a female Meowth named Meowzie; she called him a freak instead, and the heartbroken Meowth went off to join a crime syndicate.

Which Pokémon sings its audiences to sleep in the anime, then angrily scribbles on their faces?

Jigglypuff takes it as an insult when listeners doze off mid-song, so it uses the marker pen it carries as a microphone to draw on every sleeping face.

What does Pikachu evolve into?

Raichu is what a Thunder Stone makes of Pikachu, and it was once meant to evolve again: a third stage called Gorochu was designed, then dropped before the first games came out.

Which item instantly raises a Pokémon's level by one when used from the Bag?

Rare Candy lifts a Pokémon one level on the spot, and in Red and Blue a glitch could multiply it: meeting MissingNo. adds 128 copies of whatever item sits sixth in the Bag.

Which Pokémon does Charmander evolve into directly, at level 16?

Charmeleon arrives at level 16 and Charizard only at 36; in the anime, Ash's obedient Charmander stopped listening to him as soon as it evolved into Charmeleon.

Which type is super effective against Water-type Pokemon?

Grass beats Water, Water beats Fire and Fire beats Grass: a rock-paper-scissors loop that the first games' manual spelled out and every trio of first partners since has been built around.

Which Poké Ball catches any wild Pokémon without fail?

Master Ball is the one that never fails, and Red and Blue hand the player a single one: a thank-you from the president of Silph Co., the firm that makes it, for rescuing his company.

Which Pokemon is known as the 'Balloon Pokemon' and often floats away?

Drifloon is said to tug at children's hands to steal them away, but it is so light that the children end up pulling it around instead; folklore calls it the Signpost for Wandering Spirits.

In Pokemon Gold and Silver, what new type was introduced alongside Dark?

Steel arrived with Dark in Gold and Silver: Dark was immune to Psychic moves, the first real answer to Psychic types, while Steel was built for defence, and Magnemite was retyped to join it.

What is the maximum number of Pokemon a trainer can carry in their party at one time?

6 is the party limit, so a seventh catch is sent straight to the PC storage system, which the games say was built by a Pokémon collector named Bill.

Which Pokémon appears on the box art of Pokémon Red?

Charizard fronts Red and Blastoise fronts Blue, both final forms of first partners; from Gold and Silver on, the box art of each new generation went to Legendary Pokémon instead.

Which is the newest of Eevee's eight evolutions as of Generation IX?

Sylveon arrived in Generation VI and nothing has joined it since; at its first reveal its type was kept secret, which set fans arguing over what it would turn out to be.

What Pokemon is number 150 in the original Pokedex?

Mewtwo is #150, one slot before Mew at #151; the clone precedes its original because Mew was a last-minute secret addition to the game.

Which gym leader is the first one battled in Pokemon Red and Blue?

Brock, the Pewter City Rock-type specialist, leads with Geodude and Onix, a brutal opening for anyone who picked Charmander.

Which villainous team awakens the Legendary Kyogre in Pokémon Sapphire?

Aqua, the team led by Archie, wants more sea for Pokémon to live in, so it steals a submarine to reach Kyogre's cavern on the seabed; in Ruby the roles flip and rival Team Magma wakes Groudon.

Which sleeping Pokémon blocks two routes in Pokémon Red and Blue until it is woken?

Snorlax dozes across Routes 12 and 16 until the player plays the Poké Flute, a gift from Mr. Fuji for rescuing him from the crooks holding him in Pokémon Tower.

What type was added in Pokemon X and Y (Generation VI)?

Fairy was the first new type since Gold and Silver, added to rein in the dominant Dragon type; older Pokémon such as Clefairy and Marill were switched over to it.

What is the name of the region in Pokemon Sword and Shield?

Galar is modelled on Great Britain, which is why its Gyms look like football stadiums: battles there are staged as big-match sport in front of packed, cheering crowds.

Which Pokémon hatches from the Mystery Egg entrusted to the player in Pokémon Gold and Silver?

Togepi hatches from the Egg that Mr. Pokémon asks the player to carry to Professor Elm for study; Elm's aide hands it back in Violet City, and it hatches in the player's party.

What is the trio of legendary birds from Generation I?

Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres count themselves off in Spanish: their names end in uno, dos and tres, matching the order in which they appear in the Pokédex.

What move does Magikarp famously learn that makes it seem useless?

Splash does nothing but play a hopping animation; stick with Magikarp to level 20 and it becomes the fearsome Gyarados.

Which evolution stone turns Clefairy into Clefable?

Moon Stone is described in the games as a shard of the meteorites that fall on Mt. Moon, the very cave where players first find wild Clefairy and two of the stones in Red and Blue.

Which Scarlet and Violet mechanic gives a Pokémon a crystalline look and can change its type?

Terastallizing gives a Pokémon a glittering, jewel-like body and switches it to its Tera Type, which need not match its usual one, so a Psychic-type like Gardevoir can turn up as a Water-type.

In Pokémon Gold and Silver, leaving a compatible pair at which facility can produce an Egg?

The Pokémon Day Care on Route 34 takes two Pokémon at once, which is what made Eggs possible in Gold and Silver; the Day Care in Red and Blue could mind only one.

Which Nintendo designer mentored Satoshi Tajiri and suggested selling the first Pokémon games as paired versions?

Shigeru Miyamoto proposed splitting the Pokémon between two cartridges so that players had to trade, and an admiring Tajiri named the hero's rival Shigeru after him in the Japanese games.

Which Pokémon's ghost haunts Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower in Red and Blue?

The ghost is Cubone's mother, a Marowak; the player needs the Silph Scope to see the tower's ghosts for what they are, and her spirit is laid to rest once she is defeated.

In Generation I, which type combination belonged only to the Gastly, Haunter and Gengar line?

Ghost/Poison belonged only to Gastly, Haunter and Gengar in Generation I; the Poison half left the game's only Ghost types weak to Psychic, and no pure Ghost existed until Misdreavus in Generation II.

What does 'EV' stand for in Pokemon competitive training?

Effort Values are earned by defeating Pokémon; 252 maxes a single stat and 510 is the cap, so serious players pour 252 into two stats and put the leftover 6 elsewhere.

What is the chance of encountering a shiny Pokemon in Generation II through V?

1 in 8,192 was the chance from Gold and Silver until Generation VI doubled it to 1 in 4,096; Gold and Silver also make sure everyone meets one, the red Gyarados waiting at the Lake of Rage.

What does the ability Intimidate do when its holder enters battle?

Lowers opponents' Attack by one stage: that is what Intimidate does the moment its holder arrives, and in a double battle it hits both foes at once; Clear Body and Hyper Cutter shrug it off.

Which Pokémon holds internal index number 001 in Red and Blue and was among the first ever designed?

Rhydon holds index number 001 in the games' code, and its designers have said it was one of the very first Pokémon drawn, even though the Pokédex files it away at #112.

Which move has a base power of 250 but makes its user faint?

Explosion's 250 base power dates from Gold and Silver, up from 170 before; until Generation V it also halved the target's Defense, in effect doubling the blast, before that bonus was removed.

Which DS-era generation first classed each move as physical or special?

Gen IV's Diamond and Pearl stopped sorting moves by type, so a Fire-type bite or an Electric-type punch could at last use the Attack stat instead of Special Attack.

Which Kanto Gym Leader specializes in Electric-type Pokémon?

Lt. Surge, Vermilion City's Gym Leader, is an army veteran who tells challengers that Electric Pokémon saved his life in the war by zapping his enemies into paralysis.

Which Electric-type Pokémon and its pre-evolutions have no type weaknesses under normal conditions?

Eelektross and its pre-evolutions Tynamo and Eelektrik are pure Electric, weak only to Ground, and their Levitate ability makes them immune to Ground moves, leaving nothing that hits them super effectively.

Which Dragon-type specialist is the final Elite Four member in Pokémon Red and Blue?

Lance is the Dragon specialist; because Dratini's line was the only Dragon family in Generation I he pads his team with Gyarados and Aerodactyl, and by Gold and Silver he has become Champion.

In Pokémon Red and Blue, MissingNo. appears off Cinnabar Island because the catching tutorial leaves what in the encounter data?

The player's name is parked in the encounter buffer while the old man's tutorial runs, and Cinnabar's coast never overwrites it, so its letters are read as wild species and levels.

Which Mythical Pokémon has all six base stats at exactly 120?

Arceus has 120 in every stat where the other three stop at 100; the Azure Flute meant to unlock it in Diamond and Pearl was never handed out, so it reached players as a giveaway instead.

Smogon's competitive tiers, such as OU and UU, rank Pokémon mainly by what?

Usage rates decide it: a Pokémon picked too rarely to stay in OverUsed (OU) drops to UnderUsed (UU), and from there to RarelyUsed and NeverUsed.

Which move fires star-shaped rays that never miss their target?

Swift skips the accuracy check altogether, so in the Western versions of Red and Blue its stars even struck Pokémon that were up in the air using Fly or underground using Dig.

What was the working title of Satoshi Tajiri's concept pitched to Nintendo around 1990 before a forced rename?

Capsule Monsters ran into trademark trouble, so the pitch became CapuMon and then Pocket Monsters, the name that was later shortened to Pokémon.

Which Pokémon has a base Speed stat of 160?

Ninjask's base Speed is 160, a jump of 120 from Nincada's 40, and its Speed Boost ability raises it a further stage every turn.

In Generation I, which type's moves had no effect on Psychic Pokémon, despite later being super effective?

Ghost moves did nothing to Psychic types in Red and Blue, widely thought to be a programming error; with almost nothing to fear, Psychic Pokémon dominated until Gold and Silver fixed the chart.

Which Pokémon had no new cards printed for about 20 years after illusionist Uri Geller sued Nintendo?

Kadabra, Geller claimed, was an unauthorised parody of him; no Kadabra card was printed from 2003 until 2023, after he publicly dropped his objection in 2020.

Which move does a Pokémon fall back on when all of its other moves have run out of PP?

Struggle is the automatic last resort once every move is out of PP, and it hurts its user too: in recent generations each use costs a quarter of the user's maximum HP.

Which duck-like Pokémon is never seen without the leek stalk it wields like a sword?

Farfetch'd will fight its own kind over the best stalks, yet in an emergency it eats its weapon and then rushes off in search of a new one.

Which Psychic/Flying Legendary, guardian of the seas, is the box mascot of Pokémon Silver and its remake SoulSilver?

Lugia was dreamed up by the anime's head writer, Takeshi Shudo, for the second Pokémon film; he was surprised when Game Freak then put it in the games as the face of Silver.

Which type is immune to Ground-type moves such as Earthquake?

Flying types take no damage from Ground moves such as Earthquake, though the Gravity field effect or a held Iron Ball strips that immunity.

Which Eeveelution debuted with Glaceon in Diamond and Pearl?

Leafeon first required Eevee to level up beside the Moss Rock in Eterna Forest; since Sword and Shield the rock is optional, because a Leaf Stone now does the job anywhere.

Which Pokémon region, home to the Eiffel-like Prism Tower, is modelled on France?

Kalos debuted in X and Y; its developers chose France because it suited the games' theme of beauty, and the region's capital, tower and all, stands in for Paris.

Which Legendary dragon descends to end the clash between Kyogre and Groudon in Pokémon Emerald?

Rayquaza lives high in the ozone layer and comes down only when the two fight; the player must climb the Sky Pillar to rouse it, and its arrival alone is enough to calm them.

Which Professor in the Kalos region specializes in the study of Mega Evolution?

Professor Sycamore is also the first professor to battle the player: he fights with the three first partners of Red and Blue, then gives one away along with its Mega Stone.

Which held item increases the critical hit ratio of the Pokémon holding it?

Scope Lens lifts the holder's critical-hit ratio by one stage; since Generation VI, stacking it with the Super Luck ability and a move like Slash makes every single hit a critical one.

Which move badly poisons its target, with damage that grows every turn?

Toxic's damage starts at 1/16 of the target's HP and climbs each turn, enough to wear down the sturdiest wall, and since Generation VI it never misses when a Poison type uses it.

Which region of Pokémon Black and White, with a Manhattan-like Castelia City, is modelled on the New York metropolitan area?

Unova was the first main-series region set outside Japan, and to make it feel like a fresh start its games at first offer only brand-new Pokémon, with no old favourites.

Which Shedinja ability makes it immune to all damaging moves that are not super effective?

Wonder Guard blocks every damaging move that is not super effective; with just 1 HP, anything that slips past it, such as poison, sandstorm or a super-effective hit, is fatal to Shedinja.

Which Ice-type specialist is the first Indigo Elite Four member faced in Pokémon Red and Blue?

Lorelei battles with cool, calculated precision, but FireRed and LeafGreen reveal a softer side: back home on Four Island she keeps an ever-growing collection of Pokémon dolls.

Which of these Pokémon is one of the three first partners offered in the Kanto region?

Squirtle is the Water pick of the trio; in the anime Ash's rival Gary quietly chose it, and it resurfaced years later as the Blastoise he sent out against Ash at the Silver Conference.

Which criminal organization does Giovanni, the Viridian City Gym Leader, run?

Giovanni is the boss of Team Rocket and doubles as the eighth Gym Leader; after he disbands the gang, Blue takes over the Viridian Gym.

Which Poison/Dragon Legendary is behind the Dynamax phenomenon in Pokémon Sword and Shield?

Eternatus fell to earth inside a meteorite 20,000 years ago, and the energy leaking from it ever since is what lets Pokémon in the region swell to giant size.

In which small south-western Kanto settlement does the player begin Pokémon Red and Blue?

Pallet Town is where Professor Oak stops the player from walking into the tall grass unprotected, then leads them back to his lab to choose a first Pokémon.

What are the two primary types of the Pokémon Charizard?

Charizard is Fire/Flying; despite its European-dragon design, it gains the Dragon type only as Mega Charizard X.

Which Pokémon can breed with almost any other species?

Ditto can pair with almost any species to produce an Egg of its partner's kind, yet two Ditto can never breed with each other; its Transform move copies whatever it faces.

Which HM does the seasick captain of the S.S. Anne hand over in Pokémon Red and Blue?

Cut is his thanks for a back rub that cures his seasickness, and the move then clears the small tree that blocks the way into Vermilion City's Gym.

Who is the main antagonist in the Pokémon Sword and Shield games?

Chairman Rose, head of the Macro Cosmos conglomerate, triggers a second Darkest Day on the eve of the Championship final, hoping to solve an energy shortage still a thousand years away.

Cyndaquil, Totodile and Chikorita are the starter Pokémon of which region?

Johto's Professor Elm hands them out in New Bark Town; once the Johto League is beaten, Gold and Silver open up neighbouring Kanto and eight more Gyms.

Which of these legendary Pokémon is primarily associated with the control of time?

Dialga, Diamond's mascot, governs time: its Pokédex entries say time began to flow the moment it was born, while Pearl's Palkia rules space.

What Pokémon type is super effective against both Grass and Psychic types?

Bug moves do double damage to Grass, Psychic and Dark types; in the first games they also beat Poison, a matchup later generations reversed into a resistance.

Which professor is first met fleeing a wild Poochyena at the start of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire?

Birch is saved when the player picks one of his three Pokémon to fight the Poochyena off, and that pick becomes the first partner; his child, May or Brendan, is the rival.

Who was Ash Ketchum's very first traveling companion in the Kanto region in the Pokémon anime?

Misty fishes Ash out of a river in the first episode, then follows him because he wrecked the bike he 'borrowed' from her and she wants it repaid.

Which of these held items allows a Pokémon to recover a small amount of HP each turn?

Leftovers restores 1/16 of the holder's max HP at the end of every turn; Black Sludge heals Poison types the same way but damages any other Pokémon that holds it.

Which of these Pokémon abilities powers up a specific type of move when the Pokémon's HP is low?

Overgrow boosts Grass moves by 50% when HP drops below a third; Abilities only arrived with Ruby and Sapphire, so the first two generations' Grass starters fought without it.

Which of these Pokémon evolves by being traded while holding a Metal Coat?

Scyther becomes Scizor in a Metal Coat trade, yet its base stat total stays at 500: the evolution only shifts points from Speed into Attack and Defense.

The Pokémon region of Alola is primarily inspired by what real-world location?

Hawaii inspired Alola's four main islands, and the Pokédex credits the islands' strong year-round sunlight for stretching Alolan Exeggutor into a towering palm tree.

Which baby Pokémon introduced in Gold and Silver evolves into Pikachu?

Pichu evolves into Pikachu through high friendship; its Pokédex entries say it is so bad at storing electricity that its own sparks startle it.

Which future Nintendo president wrote graphics-compression tools for Pokémon Gold and Silver?

Satoru Iwata, not yet at Nintendo, wrote the compression tools to help Game Freak's four programmers; he had already ported the series' battle code to the N64 in about a week just by reading the original code.

Which was the first main-series Pokémon game to let players choose a female protagonist?

Crystal introduced Kris, the series' first playable girl; its Japanese version could also trade and battle over mobile phones, a feature left out overseas.

Which company first held the US licence for the Pokémon Trading Card Game?

Wizards of the Coast, maker of Magic: The Gathering, published the English cards from 1999 to 2003, then sued Nintendo when its Pokémon affiliate took the game back in-house.

Which Pokémon names the 1997 Pokémon anime episode whose flashing lights sent over 600 Japanese viewers to hospital?

'Dennō Senshi Porygon' aired once, on 16 December 1997; the episode was pulled and the anime went on a four-month hiatus before returning in April 1998.

What was the device bundled with every copy of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver called?

The Pokéwalker pedometer takes one Pokémon out of the game on real walks: its steps earn that Pokémon experience, up to one level per stroll, plus 'watts' to spend on finding items and wild Pokémon.

Pokémon Colosseum, where the player 'snags' Shadow Pokémon, is set in which desert region?

Orre is a desert with no wild Pokémon, so its hero Wes, who has just walked out on Team Snagem, builds his team by snagging Shadow Pokémon from other Trainers.

Who voiced Ash Ketchum (Satoshi) in the original Japanese version of the anime?

Rica Matsumoto voiced Satoshi from his 1997 debut, and she also sang many of the anime's opening themes, starting with 'Mezase Pokémon Master'.

In which anime series did Ash Ketchum finally win a regional Pokémon League?

Sun & Moon ended a 22-year wait: in 2019 Ash beat Gladion in the Alola League final to win a Pokémon League tournament at last.

The Sinnoh region of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl is modelled on which island of Japan?

Hokkaido, Japan's cold northern island, is why some of Sinnoh's routes lie under snow, while Mt. Coronet splits the region in half.

Which studio developed Pokémon Snap, the 1999 Nintendo 64 photography spin-off?

HAL Laboratory first built it as a plain photography game for the 64DD add-on; Pokémon were swapped in because players had no clear reason to take pictures.

Which Pokémon was Ash Ketchum's first capture in the anime?

Caterpie was Ash's first catch, in episode 3, 'Ash Catches a Pokémon'; it evolved into Metapod and then Butterfree, which Ash released in the mating season to leave with a pink Butterfree.

Which state capital renamed itself after Pikachu for a day in 1998?

Topeka, Kansas, became 'ToPikachu' for a day in August 1998, a month before the first games reached American shops, and the city repeated the stunt 20 years later.

Which company dubbed the Pokémon anime into English for its 1998 American debut?

4Kids Entertainment ran the English dub until Pokémon USA took it in-house in 2006; its head of production, Norman Grossfeld, coined the slogan 'Gotta catch 'em all!'.

Which company originally developed and published Pokémon Go in 2016?

Scopely bought Niantic's games division for $3.5 billion in 2025.

Pokémon Go grew out of a 2014 April Fools' prank that hid Pokémon in which app?

Google Maps hid 150 Pokémon around the world for its 2014 April Fools' 'Pokémon Challenge'; the idea of catching them in real places grew into a full game two years later.

Pokémon Go's PokéStops were adapted from the portals of which earlier location-based game?

Ingress players had spent years submitting real landmarks as portals, and about five million approved ones became the starting map for Pokémon Go's PokéStops and Gyms.

Who voiced and motion-captured Pikachu in Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)?

Ryan Reynolds got the part, but only after the filmmakers tried Danny DeVito's voice on the animated Pikachu, because tens of thousands of fans had petitioned for him.

Where is Detective Pikachu set, a metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side by side?

Ryme City is where Tim Goodman comes looking for his missing detective father, Harry, and ends up partnered with the one Pikachu he can understand.

In the first Pokémon film, what revives Ash after Mew and Mewtwo's battle turns him to stone?

The Pokémon's tears bring Ash back after he is petrified running between Mew and Mewtwo; moved by his sacrifice, Mewtwo calls off the fight and erases everyone's memory of it.

The Pokémon Company is jointly owned by Nintendo, Game Freak and which third firm?

Creatures Inc., which develops the card game, joined the other two in 1998 to found the firm as Pokémon Center Co., set up to run the Tokyo store; it took its present name in 2000.

Game Freak, now Pokémon's developer, began as a handmade fanzine about which kind of games?

Arcade games were its beat: the founder hand-wrote and stapled the early issues at home, and in 1989 the fanzine's team switched from writing about games to making them.

Game Freak's early NES puzzle game Quinty was released in North America under what title?

Mendel Palace was Hudson Soft's American release of Quinty, which Game Freak's founder spent a year making on a Famicom development kit he had wired together himself.

Which artist drew and finalized most of the first generation of Pokémon?

Ken Sugimori finalized the first generation's art himself; he had joined Game Freak when it was still a fanzine, after picking up an issue in a shop and offering to illustrate it.

Which composer scored the first Pokémon games and later directed Ruby and Sapphire?

Junichi Masuda wrote the first games' music as one of Game Freak's original staff, started directing with Ruby and Sapphire, and in 2022 left to become Chief Creative Fellow at The Pokémon Company.

Although Pikachu is classed as the Mouse Pokémon, designer Atsuko Nishida ultimately modelled it on which animal?

A squirrel: Nishida was obsessed with them at the time, so Pikachu got cheeks that store electricity the way a squirrel's store food; her first sketch had looked like a daifuku rice cake with ears.

Which programmer secretly added Mew to Red and Blue as a prank just before release?

Shigeki Morimoto slipped Mew in after removing debug features freed about 300 bytes on a full cartridge, even though the team had been told not to change a single bit once testing ended.

Which magazine's 1996 'Legendary Pokémon Offer' put Mew on twenty readers' cartridges?

CoroCoro Comic drew about 78,000 entries for its twenty Mew, and the buzz was such that the games soon sold as many copies in a week as they had been selling in a month.

Which ancient land, later renamed Sinnoh, is the setting of Pokémon Legends: Arceus?

Hisui is the region long before the age of Pokémon Trainers: the player is sent back in time and, instead of chasing Gym Badges, helps compile the land's first Pokédex.

Which Chinese company's studio developed Pokémon Unite?

Tencent's TiMi Studio Group had already made the hit battle-arena game Honor of Kings, and Pokémon Unite follows the same format, with two teams of five.

Which company first published the Pokémon TCG in Japan in 1996?

Media Factory did more than sell cards: it also ran Pikachu Records, the label that released the anime's songs and the games' soundtracks in Japan.

Which YouTuber paid $5.275 million for a top-graded Pikachu Illustrator card in 2021?

Logan Paul traded a $1.275 million copy plus $4 million for the card in Dubai, then wore it to the ring for his WrestleMania debut the following April.

The region of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is based on which real place?

The Iberian Peninsula shows in the details: the player enrols at Naranja Academy in Scarlet or Uva Academy in Violet, Spanish for orange and grape.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A takes place entirely in which urban setting?

Lumiose City is the whole map: a redevelopment plan is remaking it five years after X and Y, creating Wild Zones where Pokémon live inside the city.

In Netflix's stop-motion series Pokémon Concierge, Haru looks after Pokémon guests at what kind of place?

An island resort is the setting: Haru arrives down on her luck, and her first assignment at the Pokémon Resort is to spend the day relaxing as a guest; dwarf studios animated it in stop-motion.

Which Japanese port city hosted the 2023 Pokémon World Championships, the first held in Japan?

Yokohama brought the event to Pokémon's home country at last: since starting in 2004 it had been held outside the United States only twice before, in Vancouver and London.

After 25 years, Ash Ketchum was replaced in 2023 by which two young protagonists in Pokémon Horizons?

Liko and Roy travel with the Rising Volt Tacklers, pursued by the Explorers; Ash's 25-year run ended with him finally becoming world champion.

Whom did Ash Ketchum dethrone to become 'Monarch' of the World Coronation tournament?

Leon, the reigning world champion, lost to Ash in a final that ran across four episodes and brought several of Ash's old travelling companions back to watch.

Pokémon Conquest (2012) crossed the franchise with which strategy series?

Nobunaga's Ambition lent its warlords: the player takes Ransei's 17 castles one by one until Oda Nobunaga himself stands in the way, and warriors link with Pokémon instead of catching them.

Which developer makes the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon spin-off series?

Spike Chunsoft's own Mystery Dungeon line began in 1993 with a Dragon Quest spin-off; Pokémon joined it in 2005, casting the player as a human turned into a Pokémon.

What did fans nickname the controversy over Sword and Shield cutting older Pokémon?

Dexit, a nod to Brexit, was the fan name for the 2019 backlash after Game Freak confirmed Sword and Shield would not include every existing Pokémon.

Which games were the first in the Pokémon series to get a simultaneous worldwide release?

X and Y went on sale around the world on 12 October 2013, a joint launch The Pokémon Company's president had wanted for years but thought impossible when development began; four million copies sold that weekend.

Which Legendary Pokémon fuses with Zekrom or Reshiram on the covers of Black 2 and White 2?

Kyurem merges with Zekrom or Reshiram to become Black or White Kyurem; the games it fronts were the series' first direct sequels, set two years on, instead of the usual single third version.

What once-per-battle super attacks did Sun and Moon introduce?

Z-Moves need a Z-Crystal and a Z-Ring; Sun and Moon also introduced Alolan forms and Ultra Beasts, and swapped Gyms for island trials.

Which were the first main-series Pokémon games released for a home console?

Let's Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! reached the Switch in November 2018, a year before Sword and Shield, and dropped wild battles in favour of Pokémon Go-style motion catching.

Which Mythical Pokémon closes Gold and Silver's Pokédex at number 251?

Celebi could not be caught in normal play: the encounter added in the games' follow-up needed an event item never handed out in the West until its 2018 re-release.

What accessory let Red and Blue players trade Pokémon between two handhelds?

The Game Link Cable was essential, not optional: each version lacked some species and a few Pokémon evolve only when traded, so nobody could finish the Pokédex alone.

Who performed the original English 'Pokémon Theme' ('Gotta catch 'em all!')?

Jason Paige sang the original theme for the show's 1998 US debut; when Pokémon Go launched in 2016, Spotify plays of the song jumped 382% over a single weekend.

Which manga did Satoshi Tajiri say was closest to how he imagined the Pokémon world?

Pokémon Adventures carries Tajiri's endorsement as the manga that most resembles the world he had in mind; it has no Ash, following a Trainer named Red who sets out with a Poliwhirl rather than a Pikachu.

Which Johto Gym Leader specializes in Flying-type Pokémon?

Falkner, Johto's first Gym Leader, bends the games' own rules: his Pidgeotto is only level 9 in Gold and Silver, though Pidgey cannot evolve until level 18.

Which bundled accessory let Pokémon Stadium players upload Pokémon from Game Boy cartridges?

The Transfer Pak slotted a Game Boy cartridge into the N64 controller, so Stadium could also run the Game Boy adventure itself on the television, at double or triple speed once unlocked.

Which company developed the fighting game Pokkén Tournament?

Bandai Namco first offered a different series for the crossover, but The Pokémon Company's president asked for Tekken instead, which gave the game the 'kén' in its title.

Which Legendary Pokémon gains an 'Origin Form' in the Distortion World of Pokémon Platinum?

Giratina takes its Origin Forme in the Distortion World, the realm on the reverse side of ours to which, its Pokédex entry says, it was banished for its violence.

Pokémon TCG Pocket soft-launched in September 2024 in which country before its global release?

New Zealand was the test run; when the app went worldwide five weeks later, its first month earned more than any Pokémon mobile game before it except Pokémon Go.

Which villainous group in Pokémon X and Y secretly aims to wipe out humanity for a 'more beautiful' world?

Team Flare's boss Lysandre reveals the plan over the Holo Caster after the player's seventh Gym Badge, intending to fire the ultimate weapon from Geosenge Town.

In Black and White, which figurehead leads Team Plasma before Ghetsis is exposed as the real schemer?

Raised alongside Pokémon, N beats Champion Alder and captures Reshiram or Zekrom, only for Ghetsis to reveal he groomed N as a pawn.

Who is revealed to be the mother of Lillie and Gladion in Pokémon Sun and Moon?

Lusamine, president of the Aether Foundation, uses Cosmog's power to open an Ultra Wormhole and leaves through it with Guzma, loosing Ultra Beasts across Alola's islands.

Which illusionist sued Nintendo, claiming the Pokémon Kadabra was based on him?

Uri Geller apologised in 2020 and agreed to let Kadabra appear on trading cards again. He had complained that Nintendo turned him into 'an evil, occult Pokémon character'.

Which pink Pokémon sings its audience to sleep, then angrily scribbles on their faces with a marker?

Jigglypuff uses its capped marker as a microphone, and it is one of only two Pokémon playable in the original Super Smash Bros.

Which vacant-looking Pokémon unleashes strange powers only when its headache gets bad enough?

Psyduck usually just stands there vacantly, trying to calm its head. When the pain peaks, its brain cells awaken and it lets loose strong psychic powers, then seems unable to recall the episode.

Which question introduces the silhouette guessing game shown around ad breaks in the Pokémon anime?

Who's That Pokémon? is known in Japan as 'Dare da?', meaning 'Who is it?'. The English dub retired the segment after its sixth season, then revived it almost seven years later.

Which childhood hobby of Pokémon's creator inspired a game built around catching and trading?

Insect collecting earned him the nickname 'Dr. Bug' from other children, and he wanted to become an entomologist.

The name Pokémon is a shortened form of which original two-word Japanese title?

Pocket Monsters was cut to its short form for the international release, with an accent added over the 'e' to help people pronounce it.

Which fully evolved first-partner Pokémon appears on the box art of the original Pokémon Blue?

Blastoise carries a pair of water cannons on its shell, and one author estimated they could lift it ten storeys into the air.

Which fearsome Pokémon, met as a red Shiny at the Lake of Rage, evolves from the feeble Magikarp?

Gyarados echoes a Chinese legend in which carp that leap the Dragon Gate waterfall are rewarded by being transformed into dragons.

In the Pokémon anime, which line answers the villains' rhyming motto opener 'Prepare for trouble'?

Make it double is the reply, and the motto then vows to protect the world from devastation. The rhyme has opened the duo's speech since the episode that introduced them.

Which Pokémon, classed as the Lonely Pokémon, wears the skull of its dead mother as a helmet?

Cubone never takes the skull off, so nobody has ever seen its real face. Its cries echo mournfully inside the bone when it remembers her.

Which Game Boy version, designed to resemble the Pokémon anime, has its starter follow the player?

Pokémon Yellow was promoted with a matching yellow Volkswagen New Beetle, built with features inspired by the game's electric starter.

Which moon-dancing Pokémon was considered alongside the future mascot to front Pokémon merchandise?

Clefairy lost out because its rival proved more popular with schoolchildren and appealed to both boys and girls.

Which gentle Pokémon, once poached to near-extinction, loves ferrying people on its back?

Lapras is based on the Loch Ness Monster and the plesiosaur, and early versions of Red and Blue actually named it 'Ness'.

Which Pokémon carries a green onion stalk like a sword and cannot live without it?

Farfetch'd will eat its stalk in an emergency, then run off to find a new one. The birds were once so rare that people bred them to regrow the population.

Which egg-like Pokémon debuted in the anime before the games and was the first obtainable from Eggs?

Togepi takes its English name from 'toge', meaning spike, and 'pi', meaning peep. Its egg has a unique design in the anime that the games never used.

Which lonely Pokémon from the Alola region hides beneath a crude rag disguise of Pokémon's mascot?

Mimikyu wears the costume hoping to be loved and accepted, because its true form is said to be horrifying. A stick serves as the disguise's tail.

Which kindly Pokémon lays highly nutritious eggs and shares them with injured Pokémon and people?

Chansey is classed as the Egg Pokémon, and it walks carefully so that the one it carries never breaks.

Which mechanic from Pokémon Sword and Shield makes a Pokémon grow gigantic for exactly three turns?

Dynamax was designed around showing bigger battles than the series had ever managed, and it also raises HP and unlocks special Max Moves.

The Pokémon Sword and Shield region, with Gyms like football stadiums, is inspired by which country?

United Kingdom landmarks were the model, with several of the region's sights resembling places such as Bath and York.

Which Rock-type Pokémon poses as a tree and rarely moves unless it gets caught in the rain?

Sudowoodo is popular with the elderly in the Pokémon world, where it even has a magazine dedicated to it.

Which psychic Pokémon sleeps for most of its life but teleports to safety whenever it senses danger?

Abra can sense a threat with its mind even while fast asleep, and its powers may be affected by whatever it happens to be dreaming about.

Which Pokémon changes between six forms by possessing household appliances such as an oven?

Rotom can also possess a special Pokédex used in Alola to assist trainers, and later the smartphones that are used worldwide.

Which beret-headed Pokémon paints with its tail and marks territory with 5,000 different symbols?

Smeargle's name blends 'smear' and 'beagle', and the colour of the fluid on its tail is said to depend on its emotions.

Which bear-like Pokémon has a random pattern of spots, with over four billion possible variations?

Spinda's 4,294,967,296 patterns took so much planning to make feasible that it became a favourite of Game Freak's Junichi Masuda.

Which Aura Pokémon starred in its own 2005 film before appearing in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl?

Lucario senses aura, a special kind of life force, through four dreadlock-like appendages on the back of its head.

Which frog Pokémon gains a special form through its bond with Ash in the Pokémon anime?

Greninja was the most voted Pokémon in the world in Google's 2020 Pokémon of the Year poll. Its name comes from 'grenouille', the French word for frog.

Which Legendary Pokémon flies over Ash in the anime's first episode, long before debuting in a game?

Ho-Oh stayed unidentified until Gold and Silver arrived years later, and a later film retold Ash's journey as a quest to find it.

Which extinct Pokémon, thought to have been wiped out by a meteor, is resurrected from an Old Amber?

Aerodactyl is called the king of the skies yet is weak and slow on the ground, and even modern technology cannot revive a truly perfect specimen.

Which item did the crowd-controlled stream Twitch Plays Pokémon jokingly worship as a deity?

Helix Fossil was selected so often by the chaotic chat that consulting it became the players' 'religion', and fans even published bibles for it.

Which fan-made Pokémon challenge treats a fainted Pokémon as dead and allows one catch per area?

Nuzlocke takes its name from a webcomic's Nuzleaf drawn with the face of John Locke from the TV series Lost. A California student created the ruleset in 2010.

In the Pokémon TCG, which type of card is attached to a Pokémon in play to power its attacks?

Energy cards can normally be attached only one per turn, which is why building up a powerful attacker takes several turns of planning.

In Pokémon Go, which of the three colour-coded teams wears red and is led by Candela?

Team Valor's leader was unveiled at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con alongside Blanche and Spark, who head its two rival teams.

Which Nintendo designer suggested splitting Pokémon across several cartridges to encourage trading?

Shigeru Miyamoto also gave his first name to the rival in the Japanese games, a tribute from a designer who saw him as a mentor and role model.

Which Pokémon evolves when a Shellder bites its tail?

Slowpoke becomes Slowbro when bitten, and if the Shellder ever detaches itself, it will devolve straight back again. It is so lazy that it takes up to five seconds to feel pain.

Which common Fire type is categorised in the Pokédex as the Legendary Pokémon, thanks to old tales?

Arcanine is said to run over 6,200 miles in a single day and night, and has been praised for having the mane of a lion and the stripes of a tiger.

Which Mythical Pokémon wakes for only one week every thousand years, or when it hears pure singing?

Jirachi encases itself in a crystalline shell while it sleeps, and it was released to coincide with its own anime movie.

Which Champion of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl is an archaeologist famed for her fearsome Garchomp?

Cynthia is remembered as an unusually tough final opponent, and one critic put the difficulty of her battle down to her varied team.

Which villainous gang of Pokémon's Alola region is made up of island-trial dropouts led by Guzma?

Team Skull is made up of people who quit the island trials, and its schemes later give way to those of the Aether Foundation.

Which Pokémon status condition halves physical damage dealt while draining HP every turn?

Burn cannot be inflicted on Fire-type Pokémon at all in modern games, while the Guts Ability turns the condition into an Attack boost.

Which American licensing company dubbed the first eight seasons of the Pokémon anime into English?

4Kids built its name on Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, then gave up the series when licensing and dubbing were taken in-house from 2006.

Which company, founded as a successor to Ape Inc., co-owns Pokémon with Nintendo and Game Freak?

Creatures is best known for developing the Pokémon card game, while its predecessor made Mother 2, known in the West as EarthBound.

Which actress voiced Ash Ketchum in the English Pokémon dub for its first eight seasons?

Veronica Taylor also played his mother Delia, and has called voicing the young hero 'the greatest responsibility of my life'.

Which archipelago does Ash cross in the anime's second season with Pokémon Watcher Tracey Sketchit?

Orange Islands is where Ash is sent to fetch the GS Ball, a mysterious capsule that nobody is able to open, and where he challenges a separate Pokémon League.

What does Pokérus, the rare virus first seen in Pokémon Gold and Silver, do to its host?

Speeds up stat growth is the whole effect: Pokérus is rarer than finding a Shiny Pokémon and can spread through the party after a battle.

Which inventor of the Pokémon Storage System is first met accidentally merged with a Pokémon?

Bill lives in the Sea Cottage north of Cerulean City, and once he is back to normal 'Someone's PC' is renamed in his honour.

Which Pokémon from Scarlet and Violet holds number 1,000 in the National Pokédex?

Gholdengo evolves from Gimmighoul once 999 coins are gathered. It has a golden body and often travels by surfing on a golden board that it summons.

Which item costs 1,000,000 in Cerulean City, one more than a Pokémon Red player can ever hold?

Bicycle shopping is a tease, since the price is out of reach by design and the player must hand over a Bike Voucher instead.

Alto Mare, the city guarded by Latias and Latios in Pokémon Heroes, is based on which real place?

Venice was chosen by the film's director as a way to convey the feeling of entering a mysterious world.

Which Legendary beast becomes an illusory father to young Molly Hale in the third Pokémon movie?

Entei is conjured by the Unown, who sense the girl's wishes and transform her manor house into a glittering palace that cuts her off from the world.

Which four-armed Pokémon can throw around 500 punches in one second and move mountains with one arm?

Machamp has such poor dexterity that its arms react faster than it can think, and they get tangled up during delicate tasks.