List of references to Pokémon in popular culture

This is a list of references to Pokémon in popular culture, instances where television shows, music and video clips, or other non-Pokémon media explicitly mention the Pokémon franchise (or a specific ). This includes only notable references, where they must either refer to specific details of the Pokémon franchise, or else play an important role in the work making the reference. The following list is divided by the medium of the work, then sorted alphabetically by the name of the work making the reference.

References that simply mention the Pokémon franchise, use a Pokémon catchphrase, or have a Pokémon character or item briefly appear in the background or as a visual gag are listed separately on the list of background references to Pokémon. They are also distinct from parodies, which are listed separately on the list of Pokémon parodies. This list also excludes mere resemblances between character designs, non-fiction shows mentioning the existence of Pokémon, or news shows discussing Pokémon-related news, as well as game show questions about Pokémon.

Science

 *  scolopaciceps was renamed from Pterodactylus scolopaciceps in October 2014 due to a newly-discovered omic separation. The name refers to, a Pokémon based on various pterosaur species, because it "seemed a pertinent name for a genus which has been synonymous with Pterodatylus for so long due to a combination of features".
 * Bulbasaurus phylloxyron, a species of dicynodonts (precursors to early mammals) discovered in January 2017. Although officially named after the bulbous shape of its nose, the scientist who named the species made several reference to Pokémon on twitter while presenting the species. In addition, phylloxyron literally means "Razor Leaf".
 * Chilicola , a species of stem-nesting bee, which received its name in May 2016.
 * , a protein discovered by Japanese researches in 2008, which helps carry electrical impulses from the eyes to the brain and named it. The name refers to the Pokémon and to the protein possessing "lightning-fast moves and shocking electric effects".
 * Pokemon was the temporary name of gene . The name officially stood for "POK erythroid myeloid ontogenic factor".
 * Stentorceps weedlei is the scientific classification of a species of wasps, received scientific classification. The species shares with the distinctive feature of having a spine in the middle of its head.

Books, comics, and manga

 * A  comic strip from April 3, 2011 has Jason and Peter playing catch. After he tossed, Jason shouted "I choose you, !" He later mentioned he had played a lot of Pokémon recently as Peter questions why the ball was shaking. This strip was released weeks after the release of.
 * In 's book , war-crazed Coach Hedge is sailing a ship while singing the Pokémon Theme, replacing the Gotta catch 'em all! catchphrase with "Gotta Kill 'Em All".
 * In the tenth book in the  series, The Case of the Ghostwriter, Stringbean hires Jigsaw to take the case by offering him bubblegum, a pencil eraser, a rubber band ball, $0.36, and a TCG Diglett card. Jigsaw calls Diglett too common, so Stringbean instead offers a First Edition TCG Gloom card, which he accepts.
 * A  comic strip from May 31, 2014 featured a pair of Pikachu. It portrayed how the species got its name in a satirical manner.
 * On the cover of the fourth issue of third  comic book series, Sabrina and her friend Chloe are playing a card game when bully Slugloaf walks by saying "Those trading cards are so lame! There's no such thing as Pocket Monsters!" Sabrina magically makes a large monster appear from his back pocket in response.
 * In Volume 5, Chapter 1 of of the  light novel series, when discussing possible ways for someone to shoot a bullet in virtual reality and kill someone else in real life, Kirito mentions an instance in which animation effects in an episode of a certain caused children across Japan to become sick. This reference was not retained in Episode 1 of the anime adaptation's second season, which directly adapts the chapter.
 * Mangaka frequently represents herself in her works as "Ume-sensei", a crude chibi representation of herself dressed as a . Ume-sensei most notably appears in Aoki's famed manga .
 * In "What She Does Next Will Astound You", the third novel based on the BBC sci-fi drama, one of the dares on the website truthordare.com is to "play Pokémon GO underwater".
 * In a  comic from May 22, 2015, Jeremy asks his mother if she has seen his Pokémon cards and freaks out when she said she threw them out years ago. He tells her in the last panel that he and Pierce planned to ignite them.
 * A  strip from October 6, 2018 has a clairvoyant tell of various species going extinct. When he clarifies that it does not apply to all of them, the scene zooms out to show a.

Real life

 * During a Republican debate for the, candidate quotes a "poet" saying "Life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible, but it's never easy when there's so much on the line". These are actually the beginning lines of , the theme song for the movie of the same name. During his withdrawal speech, he reused the line but with proper attribution.
 * During a July 2016 campaign event for the, candidate said "I don't know who created Pokémon GO, but I'm trying to figure out how we get them to have Pokémon GO to the polls." At the time, the mobile game Pokémon GO was at the height of its popularity.
 * In April 2014, the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program and 's Change the List project held a poll to name a rescued from traffickers as part of a campaign to raise awareness for the endangered mammal. Of the top five choices from CNN comments, the name "" won the official Facebook poll. Sandshrew the pangolin now lives in a ese national park.
 * To promote their 2016 King of Trios tournament, professional wrestling company used several allusions to Pokémon, including using the "Who's That Pokémon?" feature to reveal competitors, a parody of the Pokémon Theme, and even Director of Fun  dressing as Ash Ketchum.

Music

 * A song from 's album , "Get Yours", makes a reference to the common mispronunciation of "Pokéman".
 * The song "Bitch Is Ill" makes a lewd comparison involving the electricity of a Pikachu.
 * The Nintendocore-band "Oak's parcel" is named after Professor Oak and has several Pokémon-themed songs.
 * The music group features many songs that parody other video game franchises, but two in particular parody Pokémon. The first song, I Choose You to Die, tells the story of Ash Ketchum being sent to jail for beating up his Pokémon out of pleasure after defeating the Elite Four, before being shot in the groin by Pikachu after Pikachu posted Ash's bail; the followup song, The NEW Pokérap!!, features Brock describing to Ash all the new Pokémon that were discovered during his time in the hospital after the events of the first song.
 * A song from Japanese musician, Is this what it's supposed to be like to have a girlfriend?, mentions the wish of catching a girlfriend in the same manner Ash celebrates catching a new Pokémon, as well as the slogan of the franchise in Japanese, saying "念願の彼女ゲットだぜ!! Nengan no kanojo getto da ze!", as the character singing the line has Ash's face, holding a sphere with a female face inside, much like a Poké Ball.

Websites

 * On , in "Marshmallow's Christmas Sock (12 Days Of Christmas)", 3 Pokémon were one of Marshmallow's gifts.
 *  has referenced Pokémon in a few comics.
 * One comic made a joke about Ash catching all the STDs.
 * A second comic had two people playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with one declaring "Bulbasaur beats everything".
 * A third comic had Ash releasing a dead Pikachu from a Poké Ball because he forgot to make air holes.
 * A fourth comic had two people saying they were a fan of Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda.
 * A fifth comic has Ash try to catch a dog before the dog takes the Poké Ball and catches Ash instead.
 *  has four battles featuring Pokémon:
 * The first was Ash's Pikachu vs. . Blanka was declared the winner due to his self-taught survival skills, electric resistance, and his greater strength and size compared to Pikachu giving him an edge over Pikachu's Electric typing and reliance on a Trainer.
 * The second was a three-way free-for-all between a wild, and . Blastoise was found to win 48% of over 7,000 simulated Pokémon battles between the three Pokémon using game mechanics and was thus declared the winner of the battle.
 * The third was a battle between Red and against Tai and Agumon of  fame; the battle ended in Tai's favor, due to the superior bond between Tai and Agumon as opposed to Red and Charizard.
 * The fourth was a battle between and Renamon of ; the winner was Lucario, due to a wider arsenal and greater physical strength.
 *  featured a battle between Ash Ketchum and Charles Darwin.
 * During the  2011 Christmas event, Ladonia was passing the time playing Pokémon on his Game Boy and stated his favorite Pokémon was in his rushed introduction to Denmark.
 *  has made a number of references to the series, usually playing on Pikachu's similar appearance to the character of The Cheat. In particular, Pikachu appears on screen during "The Cheat Theme Song", when the lyrics are "Who's the man that looks like The Cheat?"
 * On the virtual pet site , a Pikachu can be seen on the Gallery of Evil page.
 * In the third installment of SamBakZa's  series, the character Doki chases and tries various methods of capturing a fleeing Nabi. When all of her attempts fail, she uses a Poké Ball, throwing it at Nabi's head and knocking him down.
 * One of the screensavers included in is called "JigglyPuff" (sic).
 * TeamFourStar's Dragon Ball Z Abridged contains a running joke in Season 1 where Nappa calls Chiaotzu a "Pokémon". He tries to throw a Poké Ball to catch him, but this fails, as Vegeta tells him he has damage him significantly first.
 * In the stinger at the end of Episode 47, Imperfect Cell is shown "evolving" into Semi-Perfect Cell, in the same Game Boy style of a Pokémon evolving in Pokémon Red/Blue, complete with background music.