Pokémon world in relation to the real world

The designs of seven of the major Pokémon regions—Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, and Alola—are strikingly similar in geography and demographics to regions in the real world, and sometimes even officially stated to be based on certain locations. The first four regions are based on smaller regions in, while Unova and Alola are based on parts of the and Kalos is based on. It is stated that the inspiration for Orre is.

Kanto
The of Japan is not only identical in name to Kanto in the Pokémon world, it is also very similar geographically; however, the western part of the game map corresponds to eastern.

Sevii Islands
The Sevii Islands are based on two archipelagos off the coast of Tokyo: the  and the.

Johto
In Japan, the Kantō region is often contrasted with the, which like Johto is to the west. However, Johto is geographically more similar to the Kansai region and the western combined.

Hoenn
Hoenn is based on the southernmost parts of Japan— and surrounding islands.

Sinnoh
Sinnoh has been said to be an island like Hoenn, rather than a peninsula. It is based on the northernmost major island of Japan,. Part of (Japanese: 国後島 Kunashiri Island, Russian: Кунашир Kunashir), which is in dispute between  and Japan, is also included.

Battle Zone
The Battle Zone is based on (Japanese: 樺太 Karafuto, Russian: Сахалин Sakhalin), a Russian island that used to be claimed by Japan (some parts of Sakhalin are still in dispute, but none of them are the basis for the Battle Zone).

Unova
Unova has been said to be significantly distant from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Instead of being based on an area of Japan, Unova is based on (mostly ) and parts of eastern.

Kalos
Kalos is based on the northern half of and the island of, which is part of the.

Alola
Alola is based on.

Orre
Orre is based on, ,.

Fiore
Fiore was believed to be based off and its surroundings in. However, upon closer inspection, the region seems to resemble more closely the prefectures of Okayama and Hyōgo, as well as Shodo Island in the Kagawa prefecture,.

Almia
Almia is based on the and  subprefectures within  in  and the very northern part of  in Japan.

Oblivia
Oblivia may be based on the in.

Landscape
While the above locations are meant to correspond to the different regions around the world, great liberties were taken with the design of their landscape. Some of the designers have admitted to drawing inspiration from real-world locations outside their stated real-world counterparts, especially with locations shown in Pokémon movies.

Real-world locations mentioned

 * Lt. Surge is known as "The Lightning !". In, Pokémon Journal entries state that he "is rumored to have been a pilot while home in America."
 * Game Freak's offices are present in the Celadon Condominiums, the equivalent location of their real-world office in . Likewise, they have a building in Castelia City, and are found on 22F, the same floor that their offices are on in Carrot Tower.
 * In the Generation I games and, Taylor in the Silph Co. building mentions an international branch of Silph Co. In English, he states that the  branch of the company is "in n no-man's-land". In the Japanese version, he states that the Ponaya Tunguska (Japanese: ポナヤツングスカ) branch is located "deep in Russia". Ponaya Tunguska appears to be a shortened form of the transliterated name of  in Japanese (ポドカメンナヤツングースカ).
 * was originally discovered in the jungles of the n country Guyana. This is mentioned in logs inside of Cinnabar Island's.
 * Both and 's names are derived from a real-world location, the.
 * In School of Hard Knocks, fantasizes about  and the.
 * In The Ninja Poké-Showdown, James says that the Fuchsia Gym looks like a restaurant.
 * In the English dub of The March of the Exeggutor Squad, Melvin says he wanted to make it to . In the Japanese version, he said that he wanted to make it to.
 * 's, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, Gold, FireRed, and HeartGold Pokédex entries state that it is mentioned in legends.
 * In The Evolution Solution, Meowth says, "Keep digging till you hit China!" to Jessie and James, who were digging for clam shells.
 * 's Stadium and FireRed Pokédex entries mention that its spores are used in medicine in China.
 * 's Stadium Pokédex entry mentions that it can clear the Eiffel Tower ( in the original Japanese version) in one leap. Also, its FireRed entry says that it can clear in one leap.
 * In the -inspired episode Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?, Misty described the town as like being in "merry old ".
 * In Mewtwo Strikes Back, Team Rocket are disguised as . In the English dub, Brock says that he didn't know that Vikings still existed and replies that they "mostly live in ". This is a reference to the Minnesota Vikings, a football team in the area.
 * In the of the movie, Ash says that they come from, a reference to the Norse Vikings who lived from the 8th to the 11th century.
 * In the of the movie, Ash tells Brock that the Vikings are mostly on trips in, again referring to the Norse Vikings, but may also refer to , a Swedish.
 * In the of the movie, Ash quips that Vikings still live in the  archipelago, referring to the fact that Sipoo was at the time mostly inhabited by Swedish-speaking Finns (another reference to Norse Vikings).


 * In the first movie, Meowth mentioned that they lived on the same (though he may have been referring to the soil rather than the planet Earth).
 * In Gold, Silver,, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, , the guard in the gate north of Goldenrod City, will give the player a holding mail to deliver. The Spearow is nicknamed , the name of a country in.
 * 's Gold, Ruby, Sapphire,, Diamond, Pearl, , HeartGold, Black, White, Black 2, White 2 and X Pokédex entries mention its ability to swim the . Also, the direction of a Poliwrath's spirals depends on its geographical location. In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, it instead refers to "the ocean".
 * 's Silver, FireRed, and SoulSilver Pokédex entries mention that South Americans say that it can see both the future and past.
 * In the TCG Lucky Stadium (Neo Destiny 100) card, there is a promotional print with a  and a  flying on a  in New York City, with the  visible in the background.
 * At the end of Mewtwo Returns, Mewtwo is shown overlooking a "faraway city" that greatly resembles New York City. Buildings similar to the and the  are visible in the distance.
 * In Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias, Misty makes a direct reference to the Earth, saying "the Earth is so pretty".
 * In Can't Beat the Heat, 's uses . Normally, a cloudy globe can be seen, but this time the Pacific Ocean and  are prominent. This also happens in Volcanic Panic and the introduction to Mewtwo Strikes Back.
 * In FireRed and LeafGreen, Blaine refers to in the original Japanese version.
 * 's Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald Pokédex entries explain that a Delibird helped a famous explorer reach the top of . In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, it instead refers to "world's highest mountain," which is what Mt. Everest is to Earth.
 * 's Emerald Pokédex entry mentions ice.
 * In the English dub of The Scheme Team, Jessie talks about Antarctica, the place where their next assignment is located.
 * In Pasta La Vista!, an ad in 's food guidebook mentions "Chinese noodles".
 * A that can be battled in the  mentions that his guitar is actually a.
 * Upon defeating Fisherman Bronson in the Sinnoh, he will say, "Why the emperor of fishing? It's an ancient Chinese legend...".
 * In the Hindi dub of Oshawott's Lost Scalchop!, while Ash's Oshawott was perfecting, states "", which refers to the real-world countries of  and.
 * In Movie Time! Zorua in "The Legend of the Pokémon Knight"!, the Eiffel Tower and the were seen on a movie poster.
 * In the Hindi Dub of Mega Revelations!, says "Hum sab kuch jante hai Kashmir se Kanyakumari tak" which refers to real Indian cities of Kashmir and Kanyakumari.
 * Among the exhibits of the Nacrene museum, there is an African mask, referring to a place in the real world, in addition to being different from other exhibitions, which are related to the history of the Pokémon.

Real-world people and cultures mentioned

 * 's Japanese name Kabigon is the nickname of Game Freak programmer Kōji Nishino. This is referenced in, in which Nishino appears as a battleable NPC and his highest-leveled Pokémon is Snorlax.
 * The core series games have featured staff members of Game Freak that typically reward the player for completing the National Pokédex, or occasionally through alternative methods. Shigeki Morimoto can actually be battled in the Generation V games.
 * In Pokémon Shipwreck, Brock directly refers to the tale of who sent a  to find dry land after a, according to most Abrahamic religions.
 * The Japanese version of the song Team Rocket Forever includes the lines 「ムサシ!/コジロウ!/関門海峡/門司/下関」"Musashi!/Kojirō!/Kanmon Straits.../Moji.../Shimonoseki...", referencing the famous duel that and  (the name basis for Jessie and James's Japanese names, Musashi and Kojirō) fought on an island in the, which is located between  and.
 * The Japanese holiday  (means Doll Festival, but sometimes referred to as Girls' Day) is featured in Princess vs. Princess (dubbed as the Princess Festival).
 * The Japanese holiday (Kodomo no Hi) is featured in The Purr-fect Hero (dubbed as Kids Day).
 * Christmas is mentioned several times in the anime and manga. Santa Claus is a recurring character in the Pokémon anime who first appeared in Holiday Hi-Jynx. In the dub, Santa's home is called the North Pole.
 * In Celebi: The Voice of the Forest, Meowth asks if they saw the Iron-Masked Marauder in a movie.
 * In A Bite to Remember, Jessie says that created the . Max corrects her, saying that  was the creator.
 * NPCs in the core series games are regularly named after real-world people.
 * In the Generation IV, one of the potential NPC opponents is Iggy, a reference to.
 * In, several Trainers in the are references to people involved in the creation of the game.
 * Masuda is a reference to Junichi Masuda, Crystal's music director.
 * Tajiri is a reference to Pokémon's creator, Satoshi Tajiri, and his childhood fixation with bug catching.
 * Mori is a reference to Akito Mori, who is listed under "special thanks" in Crystal.
 * Kawakami is a reference to Naoko Kawakami, who is listed under "special thanks" in Crystal.
 * In, a mentions the  dance to a Kimono Girl while in the Kimono Dance Theater.
 * In, six of the Seven Sages quote proverbs from several Chinese philosophers.
 * Zinzolin quotes a proverb from ' and a line from ' at N's Castle.
 * Gorm quotes a proverb from 's ' in Pinwheel Forest, and a line from both The and ' at N's Castle.
 * Bronius quotes another line from Tao Te Ching at N's Castle.
 * Giallo quotes another line from Mencius at N's Castle.
 * In the Japanese version, Ryoku quotes a line from  at N's Castle. In both versions, he also quotes a proverb by philosopher Hu Yin at N's Castle.
 * Rood quotes another proverb from the Analects and made a reference to a Chinese idiom at N's Castle.
 * In, the woman in Mistralton City who normally gives a in exchange for ten Sweet Hearts will trade a Heart Scale for only five Sweet Hearts on  and.

Other references to the real world

 * In all of the core series games, and some side series games, there is a Nintendo gaming console in the undefined's bedroom. This is a reference to the real-world gaming company that owns the franchise.
 * The Space Shuttle at Pewter Museum says that the first flight to the moon was in 1969, same as in the real world.
 * and 's FireRed Pokédex entries mention both Pokémon being able to easily knock out an, an actual animal.
 * The event that takes place in  includes real life pictures in the game.
 * In Beheeyem, Duosion, and the Dream Thief!, a painting within the resort created by bears a striking resemblance to  by.
 * One of the hotels Ash and his group tried to stay at and ultimately failed to do so in the episode Riddle Me This! featured a painting of a tiger near grass, mirroring a similar painting found at.
 * The nameless movie May describes in Lights, Camerupt, Action! is a reference to the movie .
 * In I Choose You!, Ash dreams about being in an alternate reality where no Pokémon exist and children attend regular school.