Very few video game series have captured the hearts of fans quite like Pokemon. The flagship Nintendo franchise is one of the most popular series on the planet, with a variety of successful sequels, spinoffs, and adaptations under its belt. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who isn't at least familiar with the creature collection series or its 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:anime adaptation.

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With such widespread success, it's inevitable that many other games would pay homage to Pokemon over the years. Here are some of the best references to the series in other games, from small jokes and subtle nods to full-blown parodies.

8 🐭 The Binding Of Isaac ✱

The Binding of Isaac screenshot of the Missing No. item in use, with the caption reading "Syntax Error"

The popular roguelike 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Binding of Isaac may not have much in comm🥂on with Pokemon, considering its darkly humorous themes and inten🍸tionally gross visual style. Despite this, the game features quite a few nods to the popular Nintendo series, such as its Missing No. item.

Missing No. is an item that randomizes the items and attributes you'll find on each floor and serves as a reference to the infamous glitch f🍃rom Pokemon Red & Blue versions that would allow players to duplicate various items stored in their inventory. The Binding of Isaac also featꦇures a "friendly ball" used to capture enemies and a small cell phone-like device that also summons friendly monsters to your aid, appropriately called the Poke Go.

7 ꧑ Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth screenshot that references both Pokemon and Yokai Watch. Arata's texts reads: "A camera watch that can detect hidden objects, or a ball we can stuff captured creatures into?"

The Digimon series has always been a direct competitor to Pokemon, featuring its suite of friendly monsters to partner with in battle. So it may come as a surprise to learn that the popular RPG 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth features a fun allusion to its rival series.

During a conversation with the eccentric researcher Akemi Suedou, the hacker Arata S🐼anada asks if he has any secret weapons at his disposal, such as a "camera watch that can detect objects or a ball that captured creatures can be stuffed into." This linꦗe references not only Pokemon but also the more recent creature-collection series Yokai Watch.

6 ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Elder Scrolls III Morrowind screenshot of Peke Utchoo's corpse

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Elder Scrolls series is a wildly popular collection of western RPGs, which puts it firmly on the opposite end of the roleplaying game spectrum compared to Pokemon. Still, there are a few small references🐬 to various Pocket Monsters littered throughout The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind in particular.

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Morrowind features a handful of locations named after various Pokemon, like Marowak's Spine, Weepinbell Hall, and the Kakuna Burial cavern. The game also contains a skeletal corpse named "Peke Utchoo," an obvious joke based on Pokemon's famous mascot Pikachu.

5 Borderlands: The Pꦦre-Sequel 🍎

Borderlands The Pre Sequel screenshot of the "mission complete screen for the Guardian Hunter mission

The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Borderlands series is known for its tongue-in-cheek humor, so it's no surprise that the games are full of references. With the release of the prequel title Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Pokemon can be added to the list of games referenced within the series.

The Pre-Sequel features a mission called Guardian Hunter, where you're tasked with hunting down and capturing a handful of element-based Wraiths. You'll first need to lower each Wraith's health to at least 25 percent of its max, then proceed to catch them within a Monster Trap, a small circular grenade resembling a Pokeball.

4 S👍kullgirls 💮

Skullgirls screenshot of Peacock and Filia fighting, with Peacock tossing a pie toward Filia as a tiny bomb walks her way

The cult fighting game phenomenon 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Skullgirls is full of stylized characters, dialogue, and settings, with many of the game's unique visuals and voice lines making reference to television, film, and video games. A few of these small references are directed toward the Pokemon series.

A few voice lines in Skullgirls reference Pokemon, with many coming from the character Peacock. When she faces Filia, Peacock will exclaim, "wild schoolgirl appears!" She also occasionally proclaims, "I choose you!" when using her jumping high kick. If you can secure a perfect victory, the game's ring announcer will proclaim, "it's super effective!" In addition, a few characters are modeled after popular figures in Pokemon, like Molly's Wobbuffet-inspired look and an alternate costume for the shape-shifting Double based on the Pokemon Ditto.

3 Splatoon

Splatoon screenshot of Callie and Marie introducing the Pokemon Red & Blue Splatfest. Callie states "Sigh... This Splatfest is going to be trouble." Marie replies, "And make it double!"

It would only make sense for other Nintendo titles to allude to Pokemon, especially as the series grew in popularity. And despite being one of the Big N's more recent series of games, Splatoon is certainly no exception. The ink-based multiplayer shooter title includes fan events known as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Splatfests where players c♔hoose between two given options, such as "ketchup versus mayonnaise," aligning with their preferred tꦑeam and fighting for supremacy.

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One such event had players choosing between Pokemon🐲 Red and Pokemon Blue, the original games in the series. The hosts of the Splatfest even made clever references to Pokemon in their dialogue during the event.

2 Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year𒅌 Door

Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door screenshot of the town of Petalburg

Nintendo's mascot Mario may not feature a ton of references in his games, with the popular plumber more likely to be referenced in Pokemon games than the other way around. Still, there are exceptions to this general rule, with one such example being found in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

In this sequel to the N64's Paper Mario, you'll find a town called Petalburg. This area shares a name with Petalburg City, a town found in the most recent Pokemon games of that time, Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire. What's more, you'll be tasked with tracking down the Sun Stone and Moon Stone in this portion of Paper Mario's adventure, which is a nod to the items of the same name found in Pokemon games.

1 𓃲 💫 Harvest Moon 64

Harvest Moon 64 screenshot of the character standing behind Karen, Kai, and their child, who is wearing a Pikachu hat

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Harvest Moon 64 was a pivotal game in the successful farming simulator franchise, holding a special place in many gamers' hearts. This title also has the honor of being one of the first to ever make reference to Pokemon, just two years after the release of Pokemon Red & Blue. (The only older reference can be found in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Yoshi's Story, from one year prior, where you can find Pikachu's name listed among newspaper clippings in one level's background.)

Harvest Moon's reference is a small but adorable one. If two of the game's characters, Kai and Karen, are allowed to marry one another, they'll eventually have a child who sports a small Pikachu hat. Pokemon may not yet have been the behemoth of a franchise that it would soon become, but Harvest Moon 64 was one of the first to show the series its respect.

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