List of background references to Pokémon
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This is a list of background references to Pokémon, instances where non-Pokémon media make a minor mention of the Pokémon franchise, merely use a Pokémon catchphrase, or have a Pokémon character or item briefly appear in the background or as a visual gag. The following list is sorted alphabetically by the name of the work making the reference.
Substantive references that play an important role or refer to specific details of the franchise can be found on the list of references to Pokémon in popular culture.
List of background references
Television and film
| Series/Movie | Episode | Reference | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adventure Time | Joshua and Margaret Investigations | In one scene in the episode, Margaret is shown entering a weapons room. Among the weapons on the right wall is a small Poké Ball. | 
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| American Dad! | A Piñata Named Desire | While Steve was remembering about he and his friends used to have sleepovers when they were little, a pink and purple Pikachu is seen on the t-shirt worn by his friend Toshi. | 
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| Kloger | When Toshi fails to grab the bar above him during the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, the army man refers to him as "Pokémon". | — | |
| The Autocrats | Hirviövoimala | When Paavo Lipponen is about to throw Erkki Tuomioja out of the window, Sauli Niinistö calms him down, reminding them that they both belong to the same party. To this, Erkki remarks that Paavo's party card has been "glued full of Pokémon stickers". | — |
| Bad Santa | N/A | One child asks "Santa" for Pokémon. | — |
| Austin Powers in Goldmember | N/A | The movie features people in costumes of Charmander and Pikachu among those running from "not Godzilla" in the Tokyo scene. The deleted scenes also feature background appearances of Meowth and Celebi costumes, the Pikachu car and a Dragonite plushie. | 
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| Ballmastrz: 9009 | To Catch A Princess" | In the video game Ace is playing, he throws a gold ball at the princesses which then captures them just like a Poké Ball catches Pokémon. | 
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| Beast Machines | Revelations, Part I: Discovery | Jetstorm says "Gotta catch 'em all!" | — |
| Ben 10: Omniverse | Rook Tales | Max Tennyson and Sheriff Wat-Senn are competitively fishing and catch two fish that look like Magikarp and Gyarados. | 
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| Bernard's Watch | N/A | Bernard's room is often shown to have first-generation Pokémon posters. | — |
| Detective Conan | Unknown | Ash, Misty, and Brock make a cameo appearance as kids staying in a train station. However, the distinct facial features each possess, such as their hairstyles and Brock's eyes, were slightly altered and switched between them. | — |
| The Cleveland Show | Ain't Nothin' But Mutton Bustin' | While Cleveland and Rallo visit the County Fair, one of the stands has Gengar plushies. | 
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| Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan | Take responsibility, would you? | Moriyama's son wears a Pikachu t-shirt. | — |
| Erkan & Stefan gegen die Mächte der Finsternis | N/A | When Erkan and Stefan meet Kartan they question him being Kartan while Stefan says that "The graphics are pretty cheesy on him. I'd say Pokémon is better then he is." | — |
| Ghost Stories (dub) | Akane-san of the Broadcasting Room!! Voice of the Dead | The Pokémon anime is referenced when Leo states that the broadcast begins right after Pokémon. | — |
| Green Lantern | N/A | A cartridge of Pokémon Sapphire can be seen in Dr. Hector Hammond's apartment. | 
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| Grojband | Super Zeroes | In this episode, the lead guitarist Corey tries to come up with a gimmick for their band, and is seen in a purple Pikachu costume. | 
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| The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It | N/A | Pokémon bed sheets can be seen on multiple occasions. | — |
| Hayate the Combat Butler | Many episodes | Pikachu has made background cameos; the pet tiger has referenced Pikachu when assuming himself to be the mascot character and in one episode the cast travel on a plane based on ANA Flights. In the sixth episode, a framed image of a blue Pikachu can be seen near the beginning of the episode. The image was based on one of Pikachu's anime art. In some episodes, various sound effects and background music make a reference to Pokémon. | — |
| Heroes | One of Us, One of Them and Dual | Hiro Nakamura was called Pikachu once in each of those two episodes. | — |
| Hetalia: Axis Powers (dub) | Episode 18 | During a battle against the Axis Powers, America chooses China to fight and says, "China, I choose you!" After beating and capturing the Axis Powers, America then says, "Yeah, we caught them all!" | — |
| Hollyoaks | Episode 4505 | As Jude Cunningham leaves Nightingale's, Tony Hutchinson asks where she's going and Jude responds "To catch Pokémon", referring to Pokémon Go. | — |
| Home Invasions | N/A | The father of the victim's boyfriend stated that his son still has his Pokémon cards. | — |
| Interviews With Monster Girls | The Dullahan Surpasses Space-Time | When Machi, Hikari, and Yuki are group texting each other, Yuki's text profile image is three Piplup together. | — |
| Infinite Stratos 2 | Open Your Heart | Tatenashi grabs Houki's breasts while saying Houki-chan getto da ze! ("Houki, caught you!"), a reference to the Japanese slogan of the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon getto da ze!.[1] | — |
| Law & Order: SVU | Uncivilized | A victim was last seen on his way to a store to buy Pokémon cards. | — |
| Let's Go Quintuplets! | Make Up for Mother's Day | There is a scene in which Krystal runs past a shop which has a Pikachu-esque plush in the window. | 
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| Lost | Ji Yeon | In a flashback, Jin is looking for a stuffed panda in a toy store that has an extensive amount of Pokémon merchandise on the shelves in the background. | — |
| Lucky Star | The Famous Shooter | The characters go to a festival, and Kagami has trouble catching fish as they just swim away from her. When she finally catches one, she shouts "get da ze!", which is "Gotta catch 'em all!" in Japanese. | — |
| MAD | The Straight A-Team / Gaming's Next Top Princess | Misty is among the eliminated contestants in "Gaming's Next Top Princess", among the likes of Amy Rose, Felicia, Tifa Lockhart, Lara Croft, and Birdo. | 
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| Kung Fu Blander / Destroy, Bob the Builder, Destroy | The "Kung Fu Blander" skit has Po, the main character of the Kung Fu Panda movie series, fighting the main villain of the second Kung Fu Panda movie, Shen. When he learns that only a hero in "black and white" can defeat Shen and that it isn't him, he resorts to pulling several items and characters matching the description to use against Shen. One of the objects Po pulls out is Reshiram and Zekrom. | 
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| The Blunder Games / The Poop-seidon Adventure | The opening of the "Blunder Games" segment shows a Pikachu float in the style of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon. | — | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid Icarus / The Adjustment Burro | The "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Icarus" skit was a crossover between the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and Kid Icarus. In the skit, Pikachu is shown to be part of the gang that harasses Pit, and Ms. Pac-Man uses a Squirtle to extinguish a fire in the science lab. | — | |
| The Dullverine / Under the Dumb | In the first sketch, a Japanese girl who tells Wolverine that they have to go to Japan to film The Wolverine is shown carrying a Pikachu umbrella. | 
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| Malcolm in the Middle | Company Picnic (Part 1) | Dewey is sitting at a picnic table with a boy and both Pokémon cards in their hand, and can be seen making a trade. There are also cards laid on the table. The boy then offers Dewey some candy, which he is not supposed to be eating due to hyperactivity. After eating it, Dewey freaks out and throws some of the cards in the air. | 
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| Bowling | A Charmander doll can be seen sitting on the bed in some episodes, along with a Squirtle doll. | 
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| The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya | Endless Eight (part two) | Two Pikachu masks, a purple Turtwig mask, a yellow Chimchar mask, and an orange Piplup mask can be seen on display. | 
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| Modern Family | Playdates | Monte, Lily's classmate, said his hobby is collecting Pokémon. | — |
| My Hero | Christmas | When Ultronian superhero Thermoman, aka. George Sunday (Ardal O'Hanlon) is visiting his cousin Arnie (Lou Hirsch) in Las Vegas to ask him about the human holiday of Christmas, he says that he doesn't understand Christmas as although it is the season of goodwill, he says he was in Manchester the previous day to stop a pitched battle. Arnie asks if it was between rival gangs, but George says it was "three mums wanting the last Pokémon". | — |
| Osmosis Jones | N/A | When Ozzy tries to stop Drix from leaving Frank's body, one of the germs carries a Pikachu. | 
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| The Pacifier | N/A | A Pikachu plush is seen in the Plummer residence. | 
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| Portlandia | Alexandra | In a sketch depicting a pair of Japanese toy specialists assisting a worker at the fictional Jewel Case Inc. in becoming more noticeable, a Victini figure, among many other toys, is placed on the worker's desk as a conversational piece. | 
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| Private Practice | Step One | An action figure of Reshiram is shown in this episode. | — |
| Robot Chicken | Things Look Bad for the Streepster | Although the sketch in question is mostly a spoof of The Hunger Games, Super Smash Bros. and Animal Crossing, a Charizard does pop out of a Poké Ball and burn Mario. | 
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| Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals | I'm Going to Teach Konohamaru Kempo | While Rock Lee is letting Neji use a transformation jutsu, Neji is seen wearing a Pikachu costume with a large set of two teeth. | 
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| Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Love Means Having to Say You're Sorry | Clarence drops the Pokémon cards he was holding while running away from Harvey, prompting Harvey to shout out "Wait, Clarence! You dropped your Pokémon cards." | — |
| Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei | Not Losing to Elbows, Not Losing to Knees | When Abiru says Nozomu would look good with a tail, he was pictured with various tails including those that resemble the tails of Pikachu and Glameow. | 
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| Sex and the City | Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl... | While looking at pictures at Charlotte's gallery, Samantha says, "You know, women dressing like men is very popular right now", to which Carrie replies, "And here I thought it was Pokémon". | — |
| The Simpsons | Bart vs. Lisa vs. The Third Grade | Pikachu can be seen in Bart's satellite TV-induced hallucination. | 
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| 'Tis the Fifteenth Season and Fraudcast News |
In the couch gag, Maggie is dressed up as a Pikachu. | 
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| Treehouse of Horror XXV | At the end of the episode, various alternate universe versions of the Simpson family appear. One of these alternate universe versions of the family is based on Japanese popular culture, including Maggie as Pikachu. | 
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| SpongeBob SquarePants | Sailor Mouth | Onix's name is written on the dumpster where SpongeBob learns a bad word. | 
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| Spy Kids | N/A | A face of Pikachu can be seen without a nose on Fegan Floop's finger. | — |
| Steven Universe | Steven the Sword Fighter | A figure in Steven's room looks like a Pikachu merged with a Moogle. | 
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| Keep Beach City Weird | One of Ronaldo's posters scattered throughout the lighthouse in the background shows the paranormal sighting of a "psychic duck", a reference to Psyduck. | 
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| The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Odd Couples | In multiple episodes, a toy Poké Ball can be seen on a shelf in Zack and Cody's bedroom. | — |
| The Switch | N/A | One of the channels Sebastian flips through randomly shows the cameo of Lucas in Giratina and the Sky Warrior. | 
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| Teekyu | A Bug's Life with Senpai | A Parasect is shown. | — |
| Teen Titans Go! | Man Person | Cyborg and Robin high-five after catching all of Beast Boy's escaped body parts. The caption: "Caught 'em All" is shown in this scene, referencing the Pokémon logo and motto. | 
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| Toradora! | No Matter What | Minori Kushieda finds Ryūji Takasu thinking and says 「ため息ゲットだぜ！」 Tameiki getto da ze! ("I caught your sigh!"), a shout out to the Japanese slogan of the Pokémon franchise, 「ポケモンゲットだぜ！」Pokémon getto da ze!. She also referenced other popular franchises, such as Yu-Gi-Oh!. | — |
| Tween Academy: Class of 2012 | N/A | In Kara's room, a Pikachu hat can be seen on an Astro Boy statue. | — |
| Ultraman Tiga (English dub) | Attack of the Crow-Men | As the Crow-Men threaten to shrink and distribute the GUTS gang, they say that they'll be bigger than Pokémon. | — |
Non-Pokémon video games
| Game | Details | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Fastlane: Road to Revenge | The slug event’s item is shaped like a Poké Ball. | 
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| Simon's Cat - Pop Time | There is an achievement that grants the player five coins for saving fifty critters called "Gotta save 'em all!", which is based on the franchise's original slogan, "Gotta catch 'em all!". | 
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See also
- List of references to popular culture in Pokémon
- List of references to Pokémon in popular culture
- List of Pokémon parodies
References
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This article is a part of Project Fandom, a Bulbapedia Project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every aspect of the Pokémon Fandom. |
