Things in the Pokémon world which just don't make sense (by pokémon standards)

[NeedsAName]

All those buildings with no visible doors have always bothered me. Are we supposed to think that the doors are on the opposite side of the building away from view or that the buildings are abandoned?

*cough* *cough* Lumiose *cough*

 

[Leonhart]

All those buildings with no visible doors have always bothered me. Are we supposed to think that the doors are on the opposite side of the building away from view or that the buildings are abandoned?

I've always assumed that the doors are one the sides or else in the rear of the buildings and are simply locked. I also remember wondering a long time ago why all the buildings have their lights on at night when at least half of those buildings have no entry points, so it would make the lights being turned on seem redundant.

 

[RedJirachi]

Never understood how Ash and the poke patrol STILL fall for Team Rocket's hilariously obvious disguises.

What if they're actually brilliant disguises and are made obvious so we, the audience, can tell

 

[Reinhardt]

I've always thought it would be logical for Poison to be super-effective against Water in reference to water contamination/pollution, and Electric and Water should be super-effective against Steel (Electric because metal conducts electricity and Water because of rusting). I've never been completely sure why Ground is super-effective against Poison, really I think it should be the other way around, because if poisonous or toxic substances get into the soil it can cause a lot of environmental problems. Though I suppose if this were the case then Poison would be ridiculously OP and hard to counter.

 

[WalesNote]

Rock and ground types being so similar, yet different types. I've seen some people state (me included) that they should have been fused into an Earth type, though I understand that rock and ground are different things (I think).

 

[NeedsAName]

Rock and ground types being so similar, yet different types. I've seen some people state (me included) that they should have been fused into an Earth type, though I understand that rock and ground are different things (I think).

It did not help that more than half the Rock-types in Gen I (6/11) were also Ground-type.

 

[Leonhart]

Rock and ground types being so similar, yet different types. I've seen some people state (me included) that they should have been fused into an Earth type, though I understand that rock and ground are different things (I think).

I'd also argue that the Steel-type is somewhat similar to the Rock-type if we think about the compounds that make metal in the real world, so I think that Ground, Rock, and Steel should've just been one single type.

 

[Bguy7]

Rock and ground types being so similar, yet different types. I've seen some people state (me included) that they should have been fused into an Earth type, though I understand that rock and ground are different things (I think).

They sound the same in theory, but in practice, it has been shown how the two types are different. Just compare the Rock-Types to the (non-Rock combo-type) Ground-Types, and you can clearly see the difference between the types. Rock-Types tend to literally be made of rocks, while Ground-Types are more of Pokémon that are associated with soil and earth, rather than literally being made of it.

Yeah, they could have made them one type, but there certainly wasn't a need, as two have differentiated themselves.

I'd also argue that the Steel-type is somewhat similar to the Rock-type if we think about the compounds that make metal in the real world, so I think that Ground, Rock, and Steel should've just been one single type.

What you say true on a factual level, but conceptually steel (and metal in general) is completely different from rock. Not to mention the fact metal tends to have very different properties from either rock or ground. It would not make much sense to lump Steel in with the other two.

 

[WalesNote]

Why is Groudon so small? He's tiny... Much bigger in the anime, or at least he looked bigger.

 

[Bguy7]

Why is Groudon so small? He's tiny... Much bigger in the anime, or at least he looked bigger.

I wouldn't exactly call 11 feet tiny, but yes, the anime seems to depict it at at least double that height. But that's simply due to the anime over-exaggerating it's size to make it look cooler, and to better invoke the feeling of a kaiju battle.

 

[Luthor]

Never understood how Ash and the poke patrol STILL fall for Team Rocket's hilariously obvious disguises.

I always just assumed Ash is just gullible and it rubs off on his friends.

 

[juiccbox]

>can’t brung bikes indoors because a voice in your head said so
>completely free healthcare
>children give you money for fighting their pets
>mr. mime can be both female and male (I know it’s just the English name but it’s still kind of dumb to me)
>an apple is a dragon type, but not an actual dragon.
>police don’t do crap about anything that happens in Pokémon

 

[Leonhart]

>police don’t do crap about anything that happens in Pokémon

Speaking of that, I've always found it amusing that the police in the Pokemon anime are so incompetent. It usually takes Satoshi (Ash) and his friends' intervention to stop criminal organizations since Junsa (Jenny) and the entire police force apparently can't do their jobs.

 

[Fairy King]

The thing that has really bothered me most since the start was the flying type. Why call it that instead of sky, air, or wind type? There are pokemon like Garchomp, Dragonair, and Decidueye that can fly that aren't that type or have levitate. Air or wind type would imply an elemental affinity that would make more sense and divorce the idea of flight being tied to a specific type. Not all air or wind types would have to fly either which would make more sense for pokemon that really just glide like Gligar, Hawlucha, and Archen by again implying an association with an element instead of a specific ability. It would also thematically sound cooler imo. Rayquaza sounds better as a Wind/Air/Sky Dragon than a Flying Dragon. Changing it would also free up some pokemon from having flying type tacked on simply for having wings like Charizard (Fire/Dragon instead maybe), Butterfree (Bug/Poison or Psychic), or Crobat (Poison/Dark maybe). Also, why do so many flying types need normal type as well? Why did they decide that flying type couldn't stand on it's own or even be the primary type until Tornadus, Noivern, and Rookidee?

 

[Weavy]

I found something that doesn't make sense to me, but if anyone can make sense of it I'm all ears.

Sandaconda weighs 65.5 kg (144.4 lbs). It's Pokedex entries state it is able to store and spit 100 kg (220 lbs) of sand. So why then does Sandaconda weigh less than the amount of sand it stores in the pouch? Surely that would add on to its actual weight? Is the listed Pokedex weight the weight of it when it has no sand in the pouch? I'm so confused.

 

[Bguy7]

>can’t brung bikes indoors because a voice in your head said so

It's not literally you hearing a voice in your head, it's you remembering advice that someone gave you, and deciding that following that advice is the best course of action.

>completely free healthcare

We don't know the underlying economics of the Pokémon World. Perhaps there's some sort of tax that pays for it. Or maybe advancements in technology make healing Pokémon so easy that there's just no reason to charge for it.

>children give you money for fighting their pets

It's a pre-arranged deal. A wager or an ante. Maybe it's not something we'd ever do in the real world, but in a different world with different social norms, it really isn't anything crazy.

>mr. mime can be both female and male (I know it’s just the English name but it’s still kind of dumb to me)

When Mr. Mime was first introduced, Pokémon did not have genders. I'm sure that if Mr. Mime were to be made post-Gen II then they would have given it a more appropriate name.

>an apple is a dragon type, but not an actual dragon.

But it's not literally an apple, it's a baby dragon that lives inside of an apple.

>police don’t do crap about anything that happens in Pokémon

Speaking of that, I've always found it amusing that the police in the Pokemon anime are so incompetent. It usually takes Satoshi (Ash) and his friends' intervention to stop criminal organizations since Junsa (Jenny) and the entire police force apparently can't do their jobs.

Just because we don't see the police doing anything, doesn't mean they don't. Basically the only crime we see in the Pokémon World is that of the evil teams, and they tend to be involved in conspiracies that go above the level of what police typically handle, and most of what they do tends to be stuff done is secret and seclusion, so the police wouldn't even know.

Also, might I remind you of Looker. So at the very least, the International Police most certainly do something.

The thing that has really bothered me most since the start was the flying type. Why call it that instead of sky, air, or wind type? There are pokemon like Garchomp, Dragonair, and Decidueye that can fly that aren't that type or have levitate. Air or wind type would imply an elemental affinity that would make more sense and divorce the idea of flight being tied to a specific type. Not all air or wind types would have to fly either which would make more sense for pokemon that really just glide like Gligar, Hawlucha, and Archen by again implying an association with an element instead of a specific ability. It would also thematically sound cooler imo. Rayquaza sounds better as a Wind/Air/Sky Dragon than a Flying Dragon.

I agree that wind or air would have been a better name for what the type has become, but you got to remember that when the type was first created, all of the Pokémon that were Flying-Type were winged Pokémon, mostly birds. It made sense at the time. Just be grateful that they didn't call the type the Bird-Type, which they almost did, then things would be even worse.

Changing it would also free up some pokemon from having flying type tacked on simply for having wings like Charizard (Fire/Dragon instead maybe), Butterfree (Bug/Poison or Psychic), or Crobat (Poison/Dark maybe).

I don't think they would do that. They gave those Pokémon those types for a reason. In the end, a change in the name wouldn't mean anything, it's still the same type. A rose by any other name.

Also, why do so many flying types need normal type as well? Why did they decide that flying type couldn't stand on it's own or even be the primary type until Tornadus, Noivern, and Rookidee?

Due to Tornadus, the way I've always interpreted it was that pure Flying-Type was reserved for Pokémon with elemental associations with the wind and/or sky. Basically, pure Flying-Type is actually more of a Wind-Type, while Flying/Normal is more of a Bird-Type. However, Rookidee and Corvisquire went and ruined that theory. However, I think that this was just an example of Game Freak dropping their internal logic, rather than asserting something else is the case.

Sandaconda weighs 65.5 kg (144.4 lbs). It's Pokedex entries state it is able to store and spit 100 kg (220 lbs) of sand. So why then does Sandaconda weigh less than the amount of sand it stores in the pouch? Surely that would add on to its actual weight? Is the listed Pokedex weight the weight of it when it has no sand in the pouch? I'm so confused.

Probably just safe to assume that it's listed weight doesn't include its sand.

 

[Cool Rafe]

It bothers me how most Pokémon look underweight for their size. The likes of Tyranitar and Onix are huge and made out of solid rocks, yet they are only slightly above 200kg. Furthermore, there's no whale of Wailord's size that weighs less than 400kg.

 

[Leonhart]

Furthermore, there's no whale of Wailord's size that weighs less than 400kg.

To be fair, it's classified as the "Float Whale" Pokemon, so I'm assuming that it weighs less than a normal whale would because it's probably almost completely hollow on the inside, which allows it to float easily.

 

[RedJirachi]

Looker's police detective agency exists in a world with apparently no government

 

[Bguy7]

Looker's police detective agency exists in a world with apparently no government

Who says there's no government? Just because we don't see them, doesn't mean they don't exist. Nothing in Pokémon, whether it be games, anime, or otherwise, has ever implied that there's no government in the Pokémon World.