For tropes related to the main anime, please go here. Then there's Pokémon Horizons: The Series for that anime. For funny things in Pokémon's Pokédex, please go here.
open/close all folders
The Games
Main Series
- Pokémon Red and Blue
- Pokémon Gold and Silver
- Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
- Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
- Pokémon Black and White
- Pokémon X and Y
- Pokémon Sun and Moon
- Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!
- Pokémon Sword and Shield
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
- Pokémon Legends: Z-A
Spin-Offs
- Pokémon Trading Card Game
- Pokémon Stadium
- Hey You, Pikachu!
- Pokémon Channel
- Pokémon Colosseum
- Pokémon Conquest
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
- Pokémon Ranger
- Pokémon Rumble
- Pokémon Snap
- PokéPark Wii
- Pokkén Tournament
- Detective Pikachu
- Pokémon GO
- Pokémon Masters
- Pokémon: Magikarp Jump
- Pokémon Pokopia
In General
- This particular exchange, entirely possible within the games:(Own Pokémon) used Hi Jump Kick!(Own Pokémon)'s attack missed!(Own Pokémon) kept going and crashed!*damage is dealt to the user's Pokémon*(Own Pokémon) fainted!
- (Own Pokémon) used Metronome!(Own Pokémon) used Explosion!The wild (Pokémon) fainted!(Own Pokémon) fainted!
- This picture
demonstrates that, sometimes, Random Number Generator just hates Metronome users.note
- This picture
- (Own Pokémon) burrowed its way under the ground!Wild (Pokémon) used Self Destruct/Explosion!The wild (Pokémon)'s attack missed!The wild (Pokémon) fainted!OrWild (Pokémon) used Selfdestruct/Explosion!The wild (Pokémon) fainted!Or(Own Pokémon) used Selfdestruct/Explosion!(Trainer) is out of usable Pokémon!
- (Own Pokémon) is focusing its power!Wild (Pokémon) used Heal Pulse! (Own Pokémon)'s HP was restored!The wild (Pokémon) fainted!
- Even EV training can result in funny things. For example, you're battling Zubat to raise your mon's Speed stat, and you level up. You get "Max. HP + 3, Attack + 3, Defense + 1, Sp. Atk + 2, Sp. Def + 2, Speed + 14". This can be funny the first few times you see something like it.
- Unfortunately, no longer the case as of Generation V; stats are recalculated after every battle, regardless of whether or not the Pokémon leveled up, meaning that such dramatic stat jumps no longer occur. It came back in Sun and Moon, where it's possible to earn a pile of EVs and level up in the middle of an SOS chain.
- It took Snorlax fifteen years to stand up.
◊ - Spinda has been loved for its uniqueness and allusions to being a Drunken Master. Made even funnier once Pokémon X and Y introduced hordes, Spinda being one of the horde types.

- Just thinking about how some Pokémon can plausibly use certain moves that they can learn. How could Diglett use any of the slashing moves it can learn when it has no visible claws? The same goes for Rampardos effectively using the "Punch" moves it can learn with those tiny little arms. And why can small Flying-type Pokémon such as Pidgey, Swablu, and Fletchling use the move "Fly" and take you to any town with ease? How can that even happen?
- Spoofed here.
◊ - That last one is addressed in Generation V, as it's stated that the Fly ability (Sky Jump in Japan) empowers even small Pokémon to carry their trainers. Still funny to imagine seeing it, however.
- Spoofed here.
- Ditto transformed into Ditto!
- Some hold items are automatically hilarious. Take Black Glasses, which make Dark-type moves stronger, and hand them to your most serious Pokémon. Darkrai was given Black Glasses! Darkrai is rockin'! Or, conversely, give them to Magikarp, because if your one attack is useless, you might as well look cool while trying.
- Let's be honest: Choice Specs on anything generates a hilarious mental image.
- "Shedinja used Final Gambit!" Even funnier if it actually KOs something. One suspects that this is the only reason why Game Freak decided to let Nincada learn the move by breeding.
- Anytime you make a move that knocks out the enemy Pokémon, especially in one hit, and the game tells you "It's not very effective...
"- Likewise, there's the scenario where the enemy Pokémon is far weaker than yours, but it uses a move with a type advantage. You'll see the standard "It's super effective!" message each time, even though it only does Scratch Damage.
- Vsauce did some research on Magikarp. If the Pokédex entry about it being able to Splash over a mountain is true, taking into account terminal velocity and its average weight of 22lbs (10kg), anybody standing in the landing zone would be killed on impact.
- The introduction of Z-Moves makes this even funnier. Since Magikarp can learn Bounce, it can use Supersonic Skystrike, which fits the aforementioned scenario perfectly.
- The fact that Azumarill of all things has the ability Huge Power is rather giggle-worthy.
- While not in the games but still related to them, over on The Drawfee Channel on YouTube, three of the artists sit down to draw Pokémon from memory. Hilarity Ensues. They must be seen to be believed
. There's eight now (Parts I, II, and II, the GO edition, and an Alola Forms edition, as well as one video for each starter imagining how their second and third stages would look). - When Pokémon Bank was updated for Sun and Moon, Junichi Masuda was challenged to name as many Pokémon as he could in 20 seconds.
Fans familiar with the Japanese names might realize that the order until Mew seems a little familiar — it's the first part of Japan's equivalent of the Pokérap!
- There's some irony to be found in regards to Paras — a Pokémon that's essentially a giant louse — being a host to parasitic fungi.
- The Pokémon Company seems to be very aware of world-champion Wolfe Glick's love-hate relationship with Incineroar and so took the opportunity on the official Pokémon Play twitter account to troll him over it
. Twice.
- It reached its natural conclusion when the 2025 North American Internationals online giveaway was the Incineroar he used in the Europe Internationals earlier that year. Part of the code contained another meme
that had popped up from Marco Fiero — NA1C25C0NPER1SH.
- It reached its natural conclusion when the 2025 North American Internationals online giveaway was the Incineroar he used in the Europe Internationals earlier that year. Part of the code contained another meme
Other Media
- Bidoof's Big Stand
- Pokémon Detective Pikachu
- Pokémon Evolutions
- Pokémon Live!
- Pokémon: Hisuian Snow
- Pokémon Live!
- Pokémon Origins
- Pokémon: Path to the Peak
- Pokémon: Paldean Winds
- While the "Gotcha!" music video is mostly heartwarming and awesome, there are some funny moments scattered throughout it:
- The male protagonist's Pikachu obsessively clinging to his face.
- During the Gym Leader montage, the two protagonists get hit with the various types, including the girl's Eevee suddenly getting hit with lightning or attacked by an Infernape and the boy getting smacked in the face with a trashcan lid when the Steel-types appear (which if you look closely, Jasmine has a humorous reaction shot to in the background).
- When the Fairy-type Gym Leaders and Elite Four are shown, they're singing. Immediately afterward, we see the Dragon-type leaders and Elite Four, fast asleep.
- As Let's Player Munching Orange points out, while the rest of the protagonists and rivals get these cool appearances, the only part of poor Wally we get to see is his butt.
- At one point, the protagonists and their starters get switched and their reactions are rather funny — the girl looks at Pikachu as if she's just now noticing something's different, while the boy starts strangling Eevee as if to say "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH PIKACHU!?"
- Marnie's Morpeko pushing her mouth into a smile, though it doubles as heartwarming.
- When the protags meet up with their starters again, the boy immediately starts yelling at Pikachu, who proceeds to cling to his face again.
- In the Professors' screen, we can see Professor Kukui putting Professor Elm in a headlock in the background and Professor Oak's expression when the starters all pop up.
- In 2021, the Pokémon social media accounts began hyping up July 1st as Bidoof Day. Come the day of the event, and Pokémon released an announcement... a Bidoof themed
Rickroll. - For Valentine's Day 2023, the official Pokémon Youtube channel uploaded four e-cards
featuring Pokémon you can find in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The first three are pretty standard Valentine greetings based on the Pokémon shown (talking about sandwich with Miraidon and Koraidon, bread pun with Dachsbun, and worm meme featuring Orthworm)... and the last card is Slowpoke saying "Happy New Year". - This commercial
for the Trading Card Game’s Sun and Moon Cosmic Eclipse expansion pack. An Igglybuff, Cleffa and Togepi are playing together when they see Arceus, Dialga and Palkia walking towards them. The three fairy types prepare to duel…only for the Legendaries to step right over, completely unaware of the baby Pokémon’s presence.- It gets funnier when you remember that Fairy types have advantage over Dragon types, which includes Dialga and Palkia. The babies may have actually stood a (very) small chance!
The Manga
- The first Pokémon manga, a 4koma named ''Pokémon 4Koma Gag Battle'', is made up of this.
◊ It does have numerous odd and pervy jokes, though. - Even the 4komas released in Japan that focused on the Pokémon in the Pokédex that the 4koma was centered on were funny. Even the US was not safe from laughter when a Black and White 4koma under the title "Pokémon Black and White Pocket Comics" was released in the U.S..
