Animals in the Pokémon world

Real-world animals have been mentioned a number of times to exist in the world of Pokémon. Most often, they are mentioned in relation to a Pokémon category. For example, is known as the "Mouse Pokémon" and was directly referred to in the anime as an "electric mouse", hinting that real-world mice exist in the Pokémon world. Other than this, all other mentions of animals are rare.

In the core series

 * Some Pokédex entries have mentioned the existence of real-world animals, mostly in Generation I.
 * s are mentioned in both and 's FireRed Pokédex entries.
 * In several of 's Pokédex entries, Bellsprout is said to prey on.
 * is mentioned to use the sweet aroma of its honey to lure prey such as s, as well as large animals.
 * is said to prey on s in several of its Pokédex entries. Some entries also mention that Horsea uses as an anchor to avoid being washed away, as well as for shade to build its nest in.
 * 's Red, Blue, and LeafGreen Pokédex entries mention that it can extend its tongue like a.
 * 's Pokémon Sun and Moon entries mention s once more.
 * 's Pokémon Sun and Moon entries state that coral branches grow from its head, which are apparently a food source for.
 * West Sea 's Moon entry states that it eats microscopic.
 * Some Pokémon category names are animals, such as the Poodle Pokémon ('s category), which implies that there are not only dogs, but different breeds of dogs.
 * In, the undefined makes a comment about s while aboard the S.S. Anne.
 * In the Generation I games and, a mentions that  sometimes drift aboard the S.S. Anne.
 * In the Generation I games and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, a chef aboard the S.S. Anne mentions several meat dishes: "s au Barbecue", " du Salad", and "Prime ".
 * In the Generation I games and their remakes, a in the Rocket Hideout insults the player by calling them a little rat.
 * In the Generation I games and their remakes, a in the Fuchsia Gym mentions having joined the Gym due to "ninjas' long history with animals".
 * In Generation I artwork of Old Amber, there is a mosquito or similar insect visible within the item.
 * Real-world s appear in the battle animations for 's signature moves, and.
 * In, a Trainer in the Battle Subway says he is so obsessed with Pokémon that his wife is as mad as a.
 * In, fresh-caught is served at the restaurants in Lumiose City.
 * In Pokémon X and Y, real world appear in the background at some places during Pokémon battles.
 * In, Hau mentions that something "gave [him] skin" (a real-world Hawaiian expression similar to "goose bumps"), implying that chickens exist.

In the side series

 * In, when Nascour asks Venus about the progress of her takeover of The Under, she comments that "a couple appear to be running loose".

In spin-off games

 * In, s can be seen in underwater areas.

In the anime
Animals have been seen in the. They were more common in the original series as there weren't as many species of Pokémon introduced at the time. A picture book based on the anime once featured a walking past  and, and a piece of concept art of the residents of Pallet Town featured a. Birds can also occasionally be heard in the background. Foods that contain meat products, such as and, are often seen. In addition, the guidebook Pocket Monsters: The Animation confirmed that there were indeed animals in the Pokémon world, and also revealed that Pokémon weren't related to animals at all.

In Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands, the four gym badges are made up of s with a gem on the center of the shell. This implies that s exist within the Pokémon world.

Animal appearances have become less frequent as more Pokémon have been added to take their places.


 * Pokémon - I Choose You!
 * When Ash overslept and didn't get a Pokémon Professor Oak says "The early bird catches a worm, or... in this case... A Pokémon...".
 * A wild can be seen eating a  right before  tries to catch it.


 * Pokémon Emergency!
 * Various animals were mentioned by . Mostly, they referred to as a cat, and  as a mouse.


 * Ash Catches a Pokémon
 * is scared when she sees a, and Ash tries to calm her down by reminding her that it's a Pokémon rather than a "real" bug.
 * is seen eating a regular worm before being captured by Ash.


 * Challenge of the Samurai
 * As a pun on, Ash is seen in a costume.


 * The Water Flowers of Cerulean City
 * can be seen in the fish tanks inside the Gym. They have made later appearances featuring the Cerulean Gym.


 * Path to the Pokémon League
 * mentions that A.J.'s ability to control Pokémon with a whip was similar to a.


 * Here Comes the Squirtle Squad
 * After Ash,, and fall into the Squirtle Squad's pitfall trap, a dinosaur fossil can be seen.


 * Battle Aboard the St. Anne
 * A cooked lobster can be seen as food served on the ship.
 * A fish is seen on the counter while James is running after his Poké Ball in the sinking ship.


 * Pokémon Shipwreck
 * More fish can be seen swimming in the ocean near the sunken St. Anne.


 * Island of the Giant Pokémon
 * In the episode's Dare da?, a fish is biting 's tail.


 * Beauty and the Beach
 * Brock attempts to attract customers to a restaurant by advertising unusual animal-themed dishes, including french-fried flounder, seven-layered crab cakes, squid on a stick, and clam juice snowcones.
 * Team Rocket sends a missile that is shaped like a shark's head to ruin the Pokémon beauty contest.


 * ''Tentacool & Tentacruel
 * Fish can be seen in the aquarium in Nastina's vision of her completed luxury hotel.
 * The Tentacool are referred to as jellyfish in the episode.


 * The Ghost of Maiden's Peak
 * A created an illusion of a  in order to scare.


 * The Tower of Terror
 * When lights up the room, a mounted deer head can be seen on the wall.
 * Also, some of the toys in the Ghost Pokémon's playroom appear to resemble giraffes and ducks, and there is a merry-go-round with horses.


 * Hypno's Naptime
 * Two different species of real world fish are seen in Meowth's fantasy.


 * Pokémon Fashion Flash
 * One of the signs on Scissor Street features a crab.


 * The Punchy Pokémon
 * Fish tail is seen in one plate when James and Meowth were dreaming about food. Meowth also mentions roast leg of lamb.


 * ''The Flame Pokémon-athon!
 * Some real world animal plushes are seen on some of the shelves of the festival.


 * ''The Bridge Bike Gang
 * At the end of the episode, when Team Rocket comes out of the water, Jessie can be seen with a starfish, an urchin and a seashell on her head.


 * Holiday Hi-Jynx
 * Santa Claus tells Ash and that he has "no " to pull his sleigh, and uses a  instead.


 * The Battling Eevee Brothers
 * In one scene, James is holding a lobster.
 * In the last scene, Team Rocket are eating some canned squid, salmon and some brown fish.


 * Princess vs. Princess
 * Lots of real world animal plushes are seen in the stores during the princess festival.


 * The Purr-fect Hero
 * There are banners depicting multiple random fish on some houses.
 * Drawn bunnies and bears appear on some of the walls of the school.
 * Rabbit ears are seen in the top hat drawn on Team Rocket's van.


 * Case of the K-9 Capers
 * compares his voice to one of after inhaling a gas coming from a tank with a Psyduck on it.


 * Riddle Me This
 * While Ash and his friends are looking for a hotel to stay in, a picture of a tiger can be seen in one of the hotels.
 * During Gary's banquet, some fish are seen sliced up.
 * Butterflies are seen on a painting when Ash and his friends are at Blaine's hotel.
 * A green mouse is seen on a cup in one of the many tourist stands of Cinnabar Island.


 * The Misty Mermaid
 * Real world fish are seen in an aquarium inside the Cerulean Gym.
 * James and Meowth wear geese costumes.
 * In addition, they are compared to Seel and Dewgong with seals.
 * Various coral are visible underwater.
 * A starfish is seen underwater.
 * Misty goes inside a giant clam as part of her underwater.


 * Clefairy Tales
 * While Ash and his friends are falling down the sewer pipes, several skeletons of unidentified prehistoric animals are seen. Also, when a chef gets his kettle back, he talks about cooking chicken.


 * Mewtwo Strikes Back
 * talks to seagulls to learn the conditions of the sea. In addition, when Meowth despises the idea of going into a sewer, Jessie tells him to "pretend he's a ."


 * The Pi-Kahuna
 * There is a swordfish on 's wall.
 * Some kind of yellow shark/seal is seen in a picture frame when she talks.


 * Make Room for Gloom
 * When Ash's Bulbasaur smells Poké-nip and becomes dazed, Misty reads a sign that says Poké-nip's scent affects Pokémon like catnip affects cats.


 * Go West, Young Meowth
 * While Meowth was looking for food, he came across some fish bones. Meowth is also seen eating fried chicken.


 * To Master the Onix-expected
 * While and his friends are resting, their elderly female host mentions the disappearance of her " ." However, this was only in the English dub of the episode, and is actually an example of a dub edit very similar to Brock's "donuts" in another episode.  The so-called meatballs are actually dango, a sweet Japanese dumpling made from rice flour.
 * The host also refers to Team Rocket as "polecats", another name for s.


 * A Friend Indeed
 * The characters are eating shrimp tempura.


 * ''Meowth's Song
 * Meowth mentions insects.


 * The Crystal Onix
 * A starfish is seen on the sandbar.


 * The Joy of Pokémon
 * Real fish can be seen in the moment before a young Joy falls into the water.


 * Meowth Rules!
 * Meowth is seen holding and talking about eating s.


 * Tanks a Lot!
 * When Meowth mentions his "top of the line" food, it cuts to an image of a can of cat-food with a real-world cat on the label.


 * Grin to Win!
 * A fried chicken stand can be seen along with a chicken thigh at the Sunflora festival.


 * Foul Weather Friends
 * Meowth mentions chicken feed.


 * Pikachu & Pichu
 * A statue is in the background.


 * Pokémon 3: The Movie - Spell of the Unown: Entei
 * At one point in development, this movie was going to feature a Tyrannosaurus Rex. This idea was scrapped as more Generation II designs were revealed.


 * The Bug Stops Here
 * Jessie is seen holding a goldfish.


 * Fossil Fools
 * A can be seen in statue form, being attacked by.


 * Hook, Line, and Stinker
 * When one of Misty's catches escapes from her fishing line, Ash says that it was probably a catfish.


 * From Ghost to Ghost
 * Meowth's food illusion created by the includes a.


 * Mantine Overboard!
 * Various corals are visible underwater.


 * Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snorunt!
 * During the Team Rocket motto, James mentions he's wearing Mink.


 * Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea
 * Various corals are visible underwater.


 * Going for the Gold!
 * Various corals are visible underwater.


 * Day Three Blockbusters!
 * In the video of Team Charmander, you can see on the Wailord, some real mollusk shells.


 * Unlocking Some Respect!
 * During the Poké TV segment, barnacles can be seen on rocks above the sea.


 * A Gaggle of Gadget Greatness!
 * Snail-like Sliggoo toy can be seen in the Gadget Festival.


 * Mimikyu Unmasked!
 * One of 's disguises show a starfish and a shell appears in a beach bucket.


 * Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence!
 * The shape of the clasp of Ida is a real shell.

In the manga
Animals have also been seen in the.


 * In How I Became a Pokémon Card, a cat appears in one chapter.
 * In Pokémon Pocket Monsters, regular animals appear alongside Pokémon.
 * In Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All, a snail appears in GDZ04. In GDZ13, Shu is shown capturing some s in the forest.
 * In Pokémon Adventures, there were real-life mice, shrews, and birds as, , and 's prey at the Kanto Safari Zone.
 * In The Electric Tale of Pikachu, the Cerulean Gym Aquarium has real-life fish and whales.
 * In Pokémon Adventures, Pika is seen chasing a butterfly or a moth.
 * In Pokémon Adventures, Gyara is seen smiling at a butterfly.
 * In Pokémon Adventures, a 's uses grubs for the moves, , and.
 * Real-life animals such as fish, butterflies and horses have occasionally been seen in the Magical Pokémon Journey manga.

In the TCG
Numerous early Pokémon cards featured animals.
 * A perched on a.
 * A near a.
 * A next to an.
 * A flying near a.
 * A flying near a, and an.
 * A for  and.
 * A next to an.
 * A near a.
 * near, , and.
 * near.
 * and near a.
 * The shadow of what appears to be a is on the original  card.
 * , or perhaps, near a.
 * A Meowth card has an attack named " s".

In books
At least three animals can be spotted in the Let's Find Pokémon! series.
 * In Let's Find Pokémon!, a dragonfly can be seen near a pond, and a worm can be seen in the beak of a.
 * In Let's Find Pokémon! 3, a is eating a fish with rice.

Trivia

 * Takeshi Shudou's original idea for the third Pokémon movie was about a real-world tyrannosaurus rex fossil being discovered. It would've come to life and gone on a rampage through the Kanto region.

Related articles

 * Human
 * Pokémon world in relation to the real world

Animali nel mondo Pokémon 精靈寶可夢世界裡的動物