Pokémon is the biggest franchise on the planet. It's been going on for decades, ranging from games to Manga to Anime shows and movies. There are entire generations of fans that have grown up with the story of the Pocket Monsters, and for whom some of the fondest memories of childhood are watching the Pokémon show in the afternoon.
The Pokémon TV show differed in many ways from the video games, which came before it and which laid the foundation for the Pokémon universe. With the show, the focus was on ten-year-old Ash Ketchum, who's one great burning desire is to become the best Pokémon trainer in the world.
To help Ash on his journey, he had the support of loyal friends Misty and Brock, as well as a range of Pokémon to fight at Ash's side. The most popular of these Pokémon is, of course, Ash's personal favorite, Pikachu. The furry little hamster lookalike with the electricity attack has become the most recognizable mascot for the Pokémon franchise.
But as beloved as the Pokémon show is, it is also riddled with plenty of plot holes. Managing to create a coherent storyline for such a gigantic franchise is not always possible. As you grow older, these problems with the narrative become all the more prominent as you rewatch old episodes. Here are 25 times the Pokémon show made no sense, or left huge question still hanging unresolved in front of the audience a𒉰t the end of a particular story a🍰rc:
25 ♌ What Happened Between Brock And Professor Ivy?
In the show, Brock left Misty and Ash midway through their quest in order to work with the beautiful Professor Ivy. The job was a dream come true fo🅠r Brock since it combined his love of Pokémon with a ridiculously attractive boss.
But things fell apart soon afterward, an🔯d Brock rejoined Ash and Misty after leaving his job. Curiously, ജBrock has never gone into the specifics of why he left Ivy, merely hinting that the two did not part on the best of terms. Brock gets greatly discomfited everytime someone mentions Professor Ivy.
24 The Identity Of Ash's Father 𒁏
Despite being the most instantly recognizable protagonist from the Pokémon franchisꦰe, precious little is known about Ash beyond his thirst to be the bℱest Pokémon trainer in the world.
For instance, who is Ash's father?
Based on the evidence, the most likely answer is Ash's father is either Professor Oak or an adult trainer known as Silver. Oak spends way too much time with Delia Ketchum for their relationship to be entirely platonic, so maybe the two had an affair? On the other hand, Silver shares a similar love for Pokémon Training as Ash. He might be the guy Delia mentioned meeting and having a baby with before he left to continue his Pokémon journey.
23 What Was Inside The G.S. Ball? 💙 🐬
Ash once traveled to the Orange Islands to locate a Pokeball that could not be opened, and deliver it to Professor Oak. The gold and silver ball had the initials G.S. written on it. Ash traveled far and wide trying to find someone who could open the balꩲl for him but to no avail.
We never did find out what the Pokeball contained. Show creator Masamitsu Hidaka explained in an interview that the ball was originally going to contain Celebi, but that plan was eventually abandoned. We may st🐭ill see the Pokeball ওshow up in a later episode with a new explanation for its contents.
22 💫 The Age Of Ash
Ash Ketchum was an optimistic ten-year-old who once set out to become the best Pokémon trainer in the world. 20 years later, his quest hasn't ended, and apparently, neither has Ash's age increas🐼ed. With the latest episodes of the series, Ash remains the cheerful 🐼and determined tween of our childhood.
This despite the fact that Ash is often shown to be celebrating his own birthday. Of course, many popular characters go through the 💯motions of aging without actually growing any older, like with the Simpsons. Maybe Ash is simply too popular a character to age out of the franchise.
21 Pikach༺u's Crazy Power Levels 𒁏
If there's one thing that is impossible to imagine Ash without, it's his trusty Pokémon Pikachu. The show took the regular electric rodent from the games and gave him a personality that endeared him to generations of Pokémon fans like no other Pokémon has ever m🧔anaged to do.
But that doesn't explain his wildly fluctuating power levels.
In the beginning, Pikachu was depicted as a pretty mid-tier Pokémon. But as his popularity increased, he started taking on bigger and better foes, and still somehow winning. He's even a🍒chieved victory over a legendary Pokémon.
20 𝓡 The Tech Behind Pokeballs
In a show filled with magical creatures with amazing powers, the most wondrous thing is not a Pokémo♐n, but the balls they live in. Think about it. These balls are somehow able to shrink the mass of living, breathing animals and teleport them inside a containment area no bigger than your fist.
In every other sense, the Pokémon world app💛ears no more advanced than ours. Yet, this one piece of technology is so ridiculously advanced it might as well count as magic. And yet, we never hear a satisfactory explanation for how these balls came to be.
19 Defeating The Dastardly Team Rocket ℱ 🐈
Team Rocket are the oldest bad guys that have been a thorn in Ash's side since the beginning of the show. They are obsessed with stealing Asꩲh's Pokémon, especially Pikachu, and will go to any lengths to get them. Even if means committing theft, arson, or any other criminal activity.
And yet, despite their willingness to do anything it takes, the💞y will always give up if their Pokémon are defeated in battle against Ash. Where does this unexpected moral code come from? And why does it only apply to losing a Pokémon battle?
18 ⭕ The Unhelpful Profe♉ssor Oak
The Pokémon professors i🍌n the f🙈ranchise, most prominently Professor Oak, entrust trainers like Ash to capture as many Pokémon as possible and bring them to the lab for further study. The professors know catching some of the more elusive Pokémon will be difficult, especially if you don't have a specific mon to counter its moves.
So why don't the professors help out the trainers by giving them all the starter Pokémon just lying about their labs? If you ask a young kid to complete the Pokedex, he's going to 🌌need a lot of help, which you won't give because of some vague 'teaching him self-reliance' goal?
17 ꧃ Get A Car Already! 🍎
Cars do exist in the Pokémon universe. Officer Jenny is shown to be using one. Team Rocket has used one. Even Brock used an 18-wh♚eeler once. And yet, despite mobile transportation being a🌼 thing, Ash and his friends prefer to hoof it through quite frankly dangerous amounts of forest terrain.
Ash can't rent a car because he's a minor.
But both Brock and Misty have been shown to have jobs, and can probably afford to rent a Honda occasionally. We know that would rob the show of the many, many Pokémon that the tr🔯io accideﷺntally come across while traveling on foot, but it would make their overall journeys a lot more efficient.
16 Are Tr☂ainers Making Pokémon Work Against Their Will? 💯
The whole 'catching and training Pokémon' part of the show is clearly meant to be similar to how animals are kept as pets in the real world. But some uncomfortable conclusions can be drawn from the fact that Pokémon are clearly much more intelligent than regular a🐷nimals.
In fact, many Pokémon are shown to exhibit near-human intelligence. This puts the whole practice of capturing and owning Pokémon in an entirely different light. Aftಞer all, every Pokémon puts up a fight at first and clearly does not want to be ♈placed inside the Pokeball.