Pokémon world in relation to the real world/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 The Art of Pokémon, James mentions the presence of and 's paintings at his home.
 * 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 ' 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.