Anime physics

Anime physics is a fanon term used to describe all the unusual, impossible, and sometimes absurd moments in the where real-world physics do not seem to apply. At times, the term can also be used to describe when an attack works differently in the anime than it would in the. Some common examples are unusual feats of strength and agility, surviving lethal attacks, and the theory, sometimes called  (the ability to hold innumerable items in one bag).

Anime physics are often caused by several factors. Inconsistencies in animation, such as objects changing size in-between scenes or even single video frames, are usually the result of unintentional mistakes on the animators' part. Some mistakes, such as characters frequently having different heights throughout an episode or show (without specific reason), are simply the result of a lack of skill or care on the animators' part.

Deviations from standard laws defined in the real world are common in some genres of animation, in this case the Pokémon anime. Characters may sustain damage that normally would result in mortal injuries or immediate death, but instead are simply left soot-covered (in the case of explosions or incineration), disheveled, or fatigued. Characters may not age, whether or not time does actually pass within the fictional universe. In the Pokémon universe, main characters often mention weeks, months, or even a year to have passed, but themselves do not age. Ash Ketchum, who at his debut was confirmed to be 10 years old, remains at the age of 10 to this day, despite the fact that episodes occasionally state weeks to have passed since the previous one.

Loose physics
Some phenomena that appear in the anime (as well as the entire Pokémon canon) are impossible in real-world physics.
 * Poké Balls change in size and convert Pokémon to and from a plasma-like substance (the retains its consciousness in this state).
 * Whenever a character throws a Poké Ball they usually throw it forward, but once the Pokémon is released the ball falls back down as if thrown up.
 * Moves like are depicted as spitting water, but usually the Pokémon spits much more water than its body could hold.
 * In Mass Hip-Po-Sis!, initially doesn't weigh down 's balloon, but he does after using . This means the move creates the sand out of nothing.
 * In the anime, many things explode. Most attacks explode when they connect with an opposing attack, even if the attacks would not normally do so (even, and some would say especially, inert, non-volatile substances such as leaves or water).
 * In Pokémon Contests, almost every move will explode and send a shower of sparkles down into the crowd.
 * Some moves explode when they clearly cannot, such as a attack.
 * During some of the battles in the anime, the Pokémon stay in the air longer than usual despite their weight, either when using attacks or receiving attacks (not including Pokémon that fly naturally). This is evident in Dealing With Defensive Types! when 's battles against Byron's  and actually can be seen floating.
 * On a similar note, many attacks do not move at the speed they normally would (or should), sometimes even leaving enough time for characters to have a three or four sentence conversation. An example is in Jumping Rocket Ship!. has his  use  a few seconds before Ash's Chimchar uses, and they clash in the exact middle of the battlefield.  This could just mean that that Flamethrower accelerates much quicker, but before the attacks even collide, Jessie gets in several lines of dialogue.
 * In Like It or Lup It!, Dawn's Piplup uses while spinning in the air. Defying the laws of physics, Piplup manages to "float" in the air while releasing the bubbles which spin around Piplup when Bubble Beam is supposed to travel in a straight direction, not floating around slowly.
 * In almost every episode, Jessie, James, and manage to get launched hundreds of feet into the air, sometimes crashing through the roof of a building or a cave wall, by various means (usually a Pokémon attack). However, others standing near them will not be moved or even affected, and Team Rocket never get too hurt from the flight, which would surely kill a normal person. They also are in a stationary position during the first part of their flight, and then start suddenly spinning, normally after making a humorous comment.
 * In Training Daze, Team Rocket is already flying when the episode starts and they don't land during the episode.
 * Similarly, in Cerulean Blues, is struck by numerous  attacks, but suffers no lasting injuries. Also, the Invincible Pokémon Brothers are blasted through the Gym's roof by a, yet can still be heard to make a comment as they fly off.
 * Characters throughout the anime have repeatedly been shown to take attacks such as (the Japanese name meaning 100,000 Volts), and Flamethrower with no long-lasting harmful effects, though there are obvious problems with this in the real world.
 * One example of this is in The Ninja Poké-Showdown, where is shown to survive taking one of 's Flamethrower to the face.  Less than ten seconds after the attack he is shown looking perfectly fine with the attack not even damaging his clothes.  These types of scenes often are like this one in that they are intended to be humorous.
 * However, this is not always the case. For example, in Lessons in Lilycove, when was almost attacked by her 's, people were very worried about her.
 * Pokémon often disobey : attacks, such as, that blast the target backwards do nothing of the sort to the user. This is especially notable with flying or Pokémon, which cannot even brace themselves against the ground.
 * In An Elite Coverup!, Team Rocket's can be seen running on top of  while staying in place. This would be impossible because then Mime Jr. would run in Wobbuffet's inertial reference frame and increase speed in respect to Wobbuffet.
 * Whenever Team Rocket has prop decoys such as a fake building to hide away from pursuers, the building always decreases in height after it falls so that the pursuers are not crushed.
 * In Shell Shock!, James is knocked off a cliff by a giant boulder. He is later seen to be perfectly fine with no hint of the fall.

Magic satchels

 * Ash and his friends seem to have an unlimited amount of space in their bags or pockets, especially Brock,, and , from sleeping bags to cookware to machinery.
 * This was played for laughs as early as The School of Hard Knocks, when Ash and watch in disbelief as Brock produces a full dining set out of his bag. This comes complete with a table, chairs, and fine china in perfect condition.
 * Cilan appears to keep a table, chairs, and a miniature kitchen complete with tableware in his backpack.
 * Clemont's backpack contains thousands among thousands of his inventions, some of which are even too big to fit inside an ordinary backpack.
 * In A Tent Situation, brings out around 40-50 sketch books to show to  and then puts them back in the same bag that they should not have fit into in the first place.
 * Dawn's Piplup is never seen holding the he was given in Stopped in the Name of Love!, yet its effects remain. Even then, it could be that the Everstone is now linked to Piplup, though as of Goodbye Junior Cup - Hello Adventure!, it's unknown whether this is permanent or not.

Move and type effectiveness errors

 * Many times when Ash's Pikachu fights a Pokémon, he uses an  move and still causes damage.
 * Since the beginning of the, however, Electric-type attacks have been consistently shown to have no effect on Ground-type Pokémon.
 * May's Squirtle attacked and damaged Harley's with  in New Plot, Odd Lot, despite Ghost-types' immunity to  attacks.
 * In multiple instances, is able to hit  Pokémon, despite being a  attack.
 * Pokémon without survive one-hit knockout moves, like, without fainting.


 * Some non-damaging attacks cause damage to the Pokémon being attacked, such as Brandon's Dusclops using.
 * Furthermore, it affected Ash's Charizard which, as a Pokémon, should not be affected by Will-O-Wisp.
 * has been able to protect against attacks instead of status problems.
 * has been able to block physical attacks, even though it usually only affects special attacks.
 * Similarly, has been shown to block special attacks, even though in the games it only affects physical attacks.
 * This was disputed in Imitation Confrontation, which was also the debut of the move in the anime. Regardless, Counter and Mirror Coat were then used interchangeably.
 * Both Counter and Mirror Coat have the users being unharmed by the enemy attack.
 * moves have persistently been shown to affect Pokémon, even though Dark-type Pokémon are immune to the effects of damaging Psychic-type moves.
 * In The Blue Badge of Courage, uses  on a  that belongs to the Gym Badge thieves.
 * In Zoroark: Master of Illusions, Karl's levitated  with . As a  Pokémon, Zorua is immune to  moves.
 * In Seeking Shelter from the Storm, James's Inkay was affected by a wild 's.
 * In Facing the Grand Design!, the bad 's Psychic and the good Malamar's affected James's Inkay and the bad Malamar respectively.
 * In An Explosive Operation!, James's Inkay's affected Mable's.
 * , a move that cannot miss in the games, was dodged twice in the anime: first by a who avoided Swift from Ash's Aipom in Duels of the Jungle, second by Elesa's  in Enter Elesa, Electrifying Gym Leader!.
 * , another move which cannot miss, has been avoided by other Pokémon several times.
 * In The Grass-Type Is Always Greener!, Ash's Turtwig was affected when Gardenia's used  on it, even though Grass-type Pokémon are immune to the effects of Leech Seed.
 * In Noodles! Roamin' Off!, a was damaged by 's, even though  Pokémon are immune to  moves.
 * In the Japanese opening V (Volt), Pikachu was seen using on a, visibly causing damage. A Normal-type attack should not have caused damage to a Ghost-type Pokémon like Honedge.

Other conflicts with the games

 * The weight of some Pokémon is sometimes ignored in the anime:
 * was able to pick up despite it weighing 158.7 lb (72 kg), according to game data. He also carried a  on his back, amounting to 109.1 lb (49.5 kg) of weight bearing down on his head and neck. Later, he held Nebby in his hands as a, despite its weight of 2204.4 lbs (999.9 kg). Similarly, May's Beautifly has often landed on people's heads with no adverse effects despite the species weighing 62.6 lb (28.4 kg). In Get Your Rotom Running!,  was able to hold her  on her back despite it weighing 123 lb (55.8 kg).
 * In Sweet Baby James, Jessie picks up May's Munchlax and puts it in a bag, despite it weighing over 231 lb (105 kg). In Off the Unbeaten Path, Max was able to carry Munchlax on his back.
 * In Going for a Spinda, not only lifts  one-handed despite it weighing 277.3 lb (125.8 kg), but also pitches it high enough for it to land into the mouth of a giant  mecha.
 * Iris's Axew is 39.7 lbs (18.0 kg) and is able to ride in her hair.
 * The anime often makes Pokémon bigger than the games say they are. This is especially common for species of which there is only one, like and.
 * In the anime, certain Pokémon like, , and  cannot be used by Trainers in  without being in a body of water, unlike how they seem to float over the ground in the games, specifically the 3D games. This has lessened in prominence in more recent years, with Pokémon such as Elesa's  and the Sharpedo used by Levi and Cherie in Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel floating over the land as they do in the games.
 * In Second Time's the Charm!, Ash recalled his and sent it right back out in the same turn to cure its, which is impossible in the games.

Physik im Anime