ThePokémonanime franchise is by far one of the biggest and most successful in the industry. For more than two decades, Ash, Pikachu, and their friends have brought joy to millions of viewers all around the world, allowing them to see the wonders of their world. Nonetheless, the series also had a handful of confusing moments.
As the years have passed, thePokémonseries has acquired a plethora ofinteresting but puzzling mysteries, some of which are unlikely to ever be resolved. From the origins of certain creatures to pieces of the franchise’s lore that were never developed further, this beloved anime has no shortage of enigmas that still need a resolution.
10How Are Certain Pokémon Born?
Who Made Them This Way?
The world ofPokémon, despite how different from real life it might be, follows many of the same rules anime fans are familiar with, such as the birthing process. The series makes this clear by introducing eggs, and how all the marvelous monsters introduced are born. What fails to explain ishow some of these Pokémon are created inside such a small and restrictive container.
How Pokémon Confirmed The Dark Cubone/Kangaskhan Theory
A Pokémon fan theory claims that Cubone is the abandoned offspring of Kangaskhan, placing the two Pokémon in the same evolutionary family.
Creatures like Kangaskhan, which do not have a pre-evolution, are supposed to beborn as gigantic monsters carrying a baby in their pouches. Cubone, whose Pokédex entry explains how they are wearing their mother’s skull, already carries this memento on their heads after hatching. These strange conditions have never been explained, and it seems like they never will be.
9Where Are All the Animals?
They Suddenly Disappeared
When thinking about the world ofPokémon, what often comes to mind are the hundreds ofamazingly designed monsters the franchise has createdover the years. The planet on which Ash lives is filled with these creatures, making it seem as ifthey have replaced all the animals. This was not always the case, as animals were seen several times in the early days.
Can Non-Pokémon Animals Be Caught In Poké Balls?
Poké Balls can capture all sorts of Pokémon, even gods like Arceus. However, the amazing piece of technology may fail at storing other animals.
Throughout their journey, the heroes come across various real-life creatures, such as dogs, weasels, and fish. Once the originalIndigo Leagueshow,one of the best seasons in the anime, came to an end,animals began slowly disappearing from the world of the series. By the time Ash became the world champion, there were no signs of these creatures anywhere on the planet, prompting the question of what happened to them.
8Do Humans Eat Pokémon?
Where Did Those Steaks Come From?
Food in the world ofPokémonhas never been much of an issue for the heroes. Regardless of how long their journey might have been, Ash and his friends never lacked a good meal to fill their stomachs. Although the series often tried to avoid depicting meat, it was almost impossible for a character such as the protagonist to not indulge in this product from time to time.
Seeing as regular animals are no longer a part of the series, this might imply thatthe meat Ash consumed came from one of the cute and memorable Pokémonthat fans have grown to love. Several episodes of the show referred to this fact, almost confirming that this was indeed the case, but more recent entries avoided talking about the topic. Ash and his companions likely enjoyed eating Pokémon meat.
7Can Pokémon Die in Battle?
A Brutal but Likely Possibility
Although rarely spoken about due to the heavy censorship thePokémonanime went through, it is a fact thatdeath is a constant even for Ash and his friends. The show has many depictions of humans and Pokémon succumbing to explosions, magic, or even old age. What was never addressed is the idea of a trainer losing one of their partners after a particularly gruesome battle.
Pikachu Almost Died - Pokémon’s Most Insane Gym Battle Could Have Broken Ash Forever
One gym battle from the original Pokémon anime series was so insane and dangerous that it nearly ended with Ash being forced to watch Pikachu die.
On several occasions, Ash had to rush his team to the nearest Pokémon Center after they were defeated in combat. Several of his most powerful partners had to be hospitalized, with Nurse Joy urgently taking care of them to prevent further issues. This implies that if a Pokémon does not receive medical attention quickly, its life could be in grave danger. Several theories have been created about the idea, with the most popular one explaining howthe player killed Blue’s Raticate in the original games.
6How Did Tobias Acquire His Team?
A Team Full of Legends
AsPokémonfans are aware, Legendaries aresome of the rarest creatures ever introduced to this beloved franchise. They are creatures with powers beyond human imagination, as they seem to have control over even nature itself. As such, they are almost impossible to control, with several of the most despicable villains in the series dedicating their entire lives to harnessing the power of a single Legendary.
Yet, duringDiamond & Pearl’s Pokémon League, the show introduceda character who seemingly captured and tamed at least 6 of these deities: Tobias. No explanation is given about how he defeated and befriended the Legendaries, as he was just introduced to become Ash’s biggest obstacle during the competition. To this day, fans still wonder how such a trainer could exist, as he accomplished something believed to be impossible without explanation.
Who Taught Them?
One of the biggest dreams amongPokémonfans is to one day encounter one of these amazing creatures and create a deep bond with them. The anime greatly contributed to this fantasy by giving viewers several examples ofamazing friendships between Ash and his partners. Ash and Pikachu have one of the most endearing friendships in anime, thanks to the understanding and trust they have for each other.
Goku & Pokemon’s Ash Become Childhood Friends in New Crossover Fanart
Dragon Ball and Pokemon don’t share much in common, but in a new piece of fanart, a young Goku and Ash are shown to be friends from an early age!
Even though the idea of becoming best friends with a Pokémon would be a dream come true for most fans, this does raise the question of how this is possible. The creatures in the series do not act like regular animals, who develop bonds with humans due to the shelter and food they are given. Pokémon clearly understand human language, even those who live in the wild. The reason behind this is never explained, as most characters act as if this was not a strange occurrence.
4Why Can Only Certain Pokémon Speak?
Is Effort All That Is Needed?
Meowth, one of the most beloved characters from thePokémonanime, is among the handful of non-human creatures in the series who can speak.His backstory revealed that he learned how to articulate words by imitating humans, all to impress a female member of his species who ended up rejecting him. His past, while traumatic for the cat-like monster, hints atPokémon being able to learn how to speak with enough effort.
While Team Rocket’s most loyal companion might be the most prominent talking creature in the series, he is by far not the only one. Several Legendaries and one or two regular Pokémon were able to communicate with humans via words. The reason why they could, while many others seem unable to speak at all, has never been addressed.
3The Great Pokémon War
The Darkest Mystery
When Lt. Surge was introduced to thePokémonanime, he was presented as a war-hardened veteran who left the military behind to become one of the powerful Gym Leaders Ash had to fight. The show never went too deep into his backstory, but the fact that he was once a member of the army made many people questionwhether thePokémonworld had ongoing wars.
10 Strongest Pokémon Gym Leaders in the Anime
Gym Leaders are among the most skilled trainers in the Pokémon world. Here are the strongest leaders that Ash has battled in the anime.
The character’s dialogue in the original games,referencing a massive military conflict, was taken as confirmation that there had been a war at some point in the past. This plotline was dropped almost as soon as it was introduced, never again being mentioned in the series. Regardless, the anime has many pieces of evidence that point to a war having destroyed Kanto, butthis bloody and dark plotholeis almost guaranteed never to make an appearance back in the series.
2What Happened to Ash’s Father?
Absent Till the Very End
Ash Ketchum is, without a doubt, one of the best and most popular trainers in the entirePokémonfranchise. Despite this, little is known about his origins, as fans are only aware that he lived in Pallet Town and was taken care of by his mother. The father is seen in a few flashbacks, buthe never makes a full appearance, and he does not play a role in his son’s adventure.
It could be easy to assume that Ash’s father died before the beginning of the original anime, but the series refused to mention his whereabouts. Even after two decades, with Ash having already departed from the anime, his father has never been properly mentioned or introduced, making him one of the longest mysteries in the franchise.
1How Long Was Ash’s Journey?
How Did He Not Age?
In the first-ever episode of thePokémonanime series, it was revealed that Ash was only 10 years old when he received Pikachu and embarked on his quest to become the best there ever was. Seeing as his journey lasted for over two decades for viewers, it would be fair to assume that the protagonist and his friend were a few years older at the end of their journey.
Regardless of this fact, the team behind the series revealed that he was still only 10 when he became the world champion. Ash’s quest was by no means short, so that only begs the question of how many days pass between receiving Pikachu and reaching his dream. According to the series, the timeline could not be longer than a year, which does not make sense.
