What's with the lack of cars?

[Shigeru]

Seriously, why does everyone use a bike or feet to get around from place to place? You don't see any cars around in the anime (and I know they exist). What's up with that? Is this to create a futuristic-medieval image (like in Star Wars)?

 

[Torkie10]

Because going everywhere in a car would be far too easy. As for the sky; some people have pokemon that know fly. No planes needed. The sea has ships and pokemon.

 

[Geodude]

There were lots in the newest Japanese episode. There are definitely paved roads that link the cities (we saw one in The Pi-Kahuna, for example), it's just that the gang doesn't travel on them.

 

[Geki]

If everyone drove around in cars the anime would be boring. Wouldn't you rather see trainers/people out traveling on a journey then everyone driving around? For some characters, a car is cool though. Like [SPOIL]Scott[/SPOIL] and Gary's old car.

 

[pikachu146]

There are cars in the anime.I remember Scott has a car.
But if the heroes have cars,well they travel too fast.Then there won't be so many episodes.

 

[Satoshi]

Since the games have your character walking most of the time, the anime goes by that: walking. Sure, Satoshi, Haruka, Takeshi and Masato can go on bikes, but that would deprive us of seeing them hungry and tired (beginning of Candid Camerupt).

Seriously, IMO, the characters riding in Bike/cars all the time would be boring. I much rather them walking. Save that idea for a filler episode.

 

[~*Myuu the Ryuu*~]

it wouldn't be a good example if we saw ash and co. revving up the road in a pick-up truck, or Team rocket running over civilians in a monster truck trying to catch pikachu. I mean, they do show cars sometimes when they are in a city right?

 

[Kabuto]

The characters walk so they can encounter wild pokemon and enjoy the sites on their journey. Otherwise you wouldn't see any wil pokemon like in Colosseum/XD when you use the vehicle to skip past all of the wild pokemon.

 

[PDL]

In any case, a lot of other anime I see, cars have very little to do with anything. They're just here and there, and maybe once in a while they're used.

the only anime I can think of that dealt with cars was Speed Racer...

other then that, Cars are not as important in Japan as they are in North America, since it's pretty small, nearly everything is biking distance...

and they're just kids, they wouldn't know how to drive anyway.

 

[.Bambi.]

As others have said, there isn't much focus on cars because the Anime is based off the games. And in the games, there isn't even a road, only Routes. So, staying true to the game meant they had to cut back on cars and such...even in big cities.

Though the most common place to find a car is in big cities...think of Meowth's Adventures in Big Town. There were quite a few cars there.

 

[Chris]

Do remember that a lot of the time, the gang are either in forests, middle of nowhere, or villages. It's not often they're in cities, big ones to be precise.

Really no need for cars for country bumpkins.

 

[Geki]

Do remember that a lot of the time, the gang are either in forests, middle of nowhere, or villages. It's not often they're in cities, big ones to be precise.

Really no need for cars for country bumpkins.

Yeah, it'd be kind of hard for them to drive through mountains, forests, and oceans don't you think?

 

[S.Suikun]

They can improvise like real-life construction workers do - Deforesting and blasting mountainsides. As for the ocean...they can make really long bridges.

Or Kanto/Johto/Hoenn just have really cheap economies.

 

[Yamato-san]

They can improvise like real-life construction workers do - Deforesting and blasting mountainsides. As for the ocean...they can make really long bridges.

Actually, I hear that Japan preserves a huge percentage of its forest land. That'd likely be the same case in the Pokemon world, considering several aspects of it is based off of the country it's made in. Add onto this the fact that going out into the wild to collect creatures for battle is probably the biggest sport in that world, and I'd highly doubt there'd be much deforesting and mountainside destruction, especially not in excess amounts as you seem to imply.

 

[Atomic Boo]

The transport links aren't particularly good in the places the gang go. There are often nice energy efficient methods of travel in some of the cities.
It's most likely the whole Japan, no need for cars thing though.

 

[pikachu!]

wow if there was cars they would be at the gym by now

 

[shining-Celebi]

I think only really rich people can afford cars in the pokemon world.That's why we hardly ever see cars.

 

[Geki]

I think only really rich people can afford cars in the pokemon world.That's why we hardly ever see cars.

Not true. There are many people in the show with cars, like in Pi-Kahuna, I doubt they were all rich. And in the recent [SPOIL]Battle Fronteir Saga[/SPOIL], there are lots of people using cars and different vehicles.

 

[£añkaÑ]

Seriously, why does everyone use a bike or feet to get around from place to place? You don't see any cars around in the anime (and I know they exist). What's up with that? Is this to create a futuristic-medieval image (like in Star Wars)?

lets all all the older ppl do...like Nurse Joy, and bigger city consist of them...

and also the guy that appears at every BF Symbol battle has one too...lol

so...yea there

but hey..it's better to travel by FEET OR BIKE..in my opinon...u don't wanna see a CHUBBY ASH...all those exercise have kept them in shape

 

[~*Myuu the Ryuu*~]

but hey..it's better to travel by FEET OR BIKE..in my opinon...u don't wanna see a CHUBBY ASH...all those exercise have kept them in shape

LOL, and the guy you're talking about is Scott.

Remember, Prof. Birch has a car too. although when he used it, it was more like a roller coaster (see first Hoenn episode)