Stupid things the Pokémon anime made you believe

[NovaBrunswick]

Because the Pokémon anime is not as based on the games as the manga, it has taken many liberties with the game mechanics and overall lore. This has led to quite a few famous and even meme-worthy moments of "anime logic" and other inconsistences with the rest of the franchise.

You probably took the anime as gospel within the Pokémon fandom and thought whatever happens in the anime, it can happen in the games too... although this isn't always true.

So what stupid things has the anime mistakenly made you believe about Pokémon? Here's some things the anime has taught me - and I later found out otherwise:

• Rock is immune to Electric, solely based on Ash initially being unable to defeat Brock with just Pikachu.

• Fire is good against Fire, as seen when Ash's Charizard defeats Blaine's Magmar by Fire Blasting it. Ash probably takes the phrase "Fight fire with fire" too literally.

• Thunderbolt is the most powerful move in the Pokémon world, and it can defeat anything - even a huge Onix.

• You can dodge any attack in a battle. (This is kind of true; if you're using a move like Dig or Fly, you can avoid almost any attack, and from Gen 6 onwards, using Amie/Refresh can help your Pokémon dodge attacks more frequently.)

• Team Rocket are just Jessie, James and Meowth. I was actually pretty surprised when I first played Silver and saw no JJM anywhere where Team Rocket went. JJM do appear in Yellow and Let's Go, however.

• You can catch all the starters in the wild, like Ash does. (Pokémon Go does let you catch starters in the wild, but only the ones up to Gen 4 so far.)

• You have to completely faint a Pokémon before you can catch it. (See, for example, when Ash catches Caterpie.) Happily, I didn't transfer this method over to the games.

 

[Tsukuyomi56]

Pretty much that Rock-types are immune to Electric attacks, to be fair the fossil Pokemon were the only Gen 1 Rock-types who were not also part Ground...who ironically have a subtype that makes them weak to Electric-type moves.

 

[shoz999]

So I don't know if you guys know this but Ash has some Pokemon that uses moves that are only accessible through breeding, these moves are called egg moves. I actually realized this all the way back as a kid through Ash's Chikorita. In the anime, a very commonly seen move we see is Chikorita's Vine Whip and the funny thing is that the Chikorita I used couldn't use Vine Whip. Well I later find out that not only does Chikorita only get Vine Whip through breeding but it's evolution line is LITERALLY the only evolution line that requires breeding to get Vine Whip and this still holds true as of Gen 7.

 

[RedJirachi]

I'm thinking, with the Poke Amie/Refresh option and making your Pokemon friendly you can dodge(well miss, but they're basically the same thing) attacks. Was that inspired by the anime? I'm pretty sure giving Rhydon Lightningrod was

 

[NovaBrunswick]

I'm thinking, with the Poke Amie/Refresh option and making your Pokemon friendly you can dodge(well miss, but they're basically the same thing) attacks. Was that inspired by the anime? I'm pretty sure giving Rhydon Lightningrod was

Probably so. Is Rhydon having Lightningrod inspired by that meme? "Pikachu, aim for the horn!"

 

[Orphalesion]

I thought Rock was immune to electric, but not because of the anime. It was mostly because almost all Rock types in Gen 1 were also Ground types.

The one thing the anime made me believe was that Steel was resistant or immune to Water because of that episode in the Johto saga with Jasmine were it was like all "Oh Steelix is so great, it can't be hurt by water" or something like that. So one day I proudly tried to counter a friend's water Pokemon with a Steelix I had raised just for that occasion....and was one-shotted. Hahahahahaaha. I mean thankfully I still had one of my numerous Grass types to turn the battle around, but it was still kind of a nasty surprise.

 

[lolipiece]

I've never at any point in history believed anything the anime made up. MostlybecauseIwastooyoungandstupidtoevenretainanyofthatinfobutthat'sneitherherenorthere.

*Ahem* That being said, I'd much rather use this opportunity to point out the various common misconceptions in the Pokemon fandom.

Like the "you have to be 10 to become a Trainer" rule. No games have such a rule, and there are a variety of Trainer classes that are explicitly younger than 10 (like Kindergartners, for example).

Or that the Nurses in the games are Nurse Joys.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Like the "you have to be 10 to become a Trainer" rule. No games have such a rule, and there are a variety of Trainer classes that are explicitly younger than 10 (like Kindergartners, for example).

Or that the Nurses in the games are Nurse Joys.

Max and Bonnie are said to be too young to be Trainers (Max is 7, while Bonnie probably looks about 6). So the “you have to be 10” thing was just invented for the anime. Some of the player characters in the games also look older than 10, like Hilbert and Hilda, who are said to be in their mid-teens, and Hau, Elio (Sun) and Selene (Moon) are 11, specifically so they can start their island challenges.

Not all the nurses and doctors in the Pokémon world are employees of the Pokémon Centers or are affiliated with them, but they just do their job for any Trainers who need them. It’s kind of like how in the real world, some doctors work for hospitals and others work for the private healthcare industry.

The one thing the anime made me believe was that Steel was resistant or immune to Water because of that episode in the Johto saga with Jasmine were it was like all "Oh Steelix is so great, it can't be hurt by water" or something like that. So one day I proudly tried to counter a friend's water Pokemon with a Steelix I had raised just for that occasion....and was one-shotted. Hahahahahaaha.

I actually thought the opposite - that Steel was weak to Water, because metal exposed to water for a long time (like rain) will rust. In my battle with Jasmine, I used my Starmie against her Steelix, and Surf was super-effective, so I thought, “Oh, Steel must be weak against Water!” Now I know Steelix is part-Ground, so that’s where the weakness comes from, but it would make sense for Steel to be weak to Water too.

 

[keepitsimple]

Max and Bonnie are said to be too young to be Trainers (Max is 7, while Bonnie probably looks about 6). So the “you have to be 10” thing was just invented for the anime.

True. Also the anime didn't even stick to its own rule. There is no way Iris was 10 here:

 

[Ignition]

Anime made me believe that certain anime exclusive characters like Paul & Max would show up and get on my nerves. Also thought that using Ash’s team would give you some type of incentive

 

[LadyTriox]

Whirl Cup In Pokemon Crystal.

Seriously, i trained up two water types for it and everything. Then I learned there wasn't gonna be one when i got to the whirl islands lol

I was such a n00b xD

I'm not sure what to vote on the poll, btw......I still watch new episodes of the anime but i don't watch the anime a whole lot outside that so its a bit of a cross between the top most and second top most choice? ;;;

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Whirl Cup In Pokemon Crystal.

Seriously, i trained up two water types for it and everything. Then I learned there wasn't gonna be one when i got to the whirl islands lol

I was such a n00b xD

I'm not sure what to vote on the poll, btw......I still watch new episodes of the anime but i don't watch the anime a whole lot outside that so its a bit of a cross between the top most and second top most choice? ;;;

Same thing with the Orange Islands too. To be fair, FR/LG did show us the Sevii Islands, so that came kind of close, but the Sevii Islands didn’t have their own gyms. I don’t think they appear in Let’s Go, either.

 

[JC317]

Pokemon Episode 8: The Road to the Pokemon League

That episode made me believe that battling Pokemon that have a type advantage against your Pokemon would be better for training and allow them to build resistance against attacks that are super effective.

I spent a lot of time in Pokemon Yellow running around caves making Pikachu fight Geodude and Onix with just Quick Attack...

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Pokemon Episode 8: The Road to the Pokemon League

That episode made me believe that battling Pokemon that have a type advantage against your Pokemon would be better for training and allow them to build resistance against attacks that are super effective.

I spent a lot of time in Pokemon Yellow running around caves making Pikachu fight Geodude and Onix with just Quick Attack...

I kind of thought the same thing too, if I kept fighting Brock over and over again, Pikachu would eventually win like he does in the show. Pikachu can learn Iron Tail from Gen 3 onwards to deal with Rock types, and Charmander can learn Metal Claw only in FR/LG for an easier time against Brock, but this was back in Gen 1 when the Steel type didn't even exist.

 

[Apslup]

I used to be afraid of my Pokemon turning on me because of how James' Carnivine always attacked him when he sent Carnivine into battle. I thought that this might happen in Pokemon Black and White due to the stuff with Team Plasma (like they were rebelling against me).

This is probably just down to me mishearing but I used to think that Buizel was actually "Weasel" as a kid.

 

[mehmeh1]

I used to be afraid of my Pokemon turning on me because of how James' Carnivine always attacked him when he sent Carnivine into battle. I thought that this might happen in Pokemon Black and White due to the stuff with Team Plasma (like they were rebelling against me).

This is probably just down to me mishearing but I used to think that Buizel was actually "Weasel" as a kid.

I thought he was called whistle for som reason

 

[XY Rules]

I thought “dodge it” was an actual move XD.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

I used to be afraid of my Pokemon turning on me because of how James' Carnivine always attacked him when he sent Carnivine into battle. I thought that this might happen in Pokemon Black and White due to the stuff with Team Plasma (like they were rebelling against me).

There was also that classic episode, “Pikachu Re-Volts”, where Ash and his friends’ Pokemon all turned against them and tried to attack them. It was one of Team Rocket’s plans though.

I thought “dodge it” was an actual move XD.

It kind of is, from Gen 6 onwards. If your Pokemon are friendly enough (by using Amie/Refresh), they can sometimes dodge attacks in battle.

 

[Genaller]

Pokémon made me believe in hope... then summarily rpped it out of me and made me feel stupid for believing in it in the first place. Remember folks; the moral lesson of Pokémon is that no matter how hard you try, you will always come up short!

 

[keepitsimple]

That Ash doesn't have a best friend named Jared.