The Pokemon franchise is about as beloved as they come. Having dominated kids' entertainment in video games, TV shows, and movies for the better part of two decades, it's hard to imagine having never experienced this far-reaching series. Its popularity spans multiple generations and forms of media.
Despite this popularity, though, there's a lot of misconceptions about the franchise. For a series of such a simple concept, the fanbase can't agree on a lot – and worse, some players completely new to the game enter the world of Pokemon with a lot of misinformation. These are just a few misguided notions people might have about Pokemon.
10 The World of Pokemon Is Innocent & Just For Kids
The number one biggest misconception about the Pokemon series from those who've never experienced it themselves is that it's completely innocent. While many of the more mature themes of the early games aren't around in modern titles, the series is anything but childish.
The battle system of the games is intricate and complex. The narratives of the games and anime hint at conflict and war happening off-screen, and it's even hinted that Pokemon have been responsible for some of the world's tragedies. Most of this is found when one reads into the hidden details of the story; it's not usually available at surface level.
9 Pokemon GO Is A Waste Of Outdoor Time
Pokemon GO is the sensational mobile GPS game that many remember for bringing hordes of fans out onto the streets on its launch. To this day, it's still hard to go far without seeing small groups of people clad in Pikachu merch getting visibly excited while looking at their phones.
Some critics of the game say it prevents players from becoming engrossed in the outdoors; instead, people are spending the time in the app. Despite that, though, it still got people who wouldn't traditionally go outside to check out their local areas. Of course, is still important to look away and check out the real world on an outing, too.
8 Ash Ketchum Is A Skilled, Noteworthy Trainer
Ash Ketchum has been the iconic hero of just about every Pokemon TV show since its inception, but only in recent seasons did he actually win a Pokemon Championship of some kind. His Pokemon buddies throughout the series seem to like him, at least.
Throughout the anime, Ash has very little understanding of the Pokemon around him, even though he has learned about them for years. As the main character, Ash should be a lot more skilled and knowledgeable than he is.
7 Catching A Pokemon Is Easier When Rapidly Pressing A...
There's an old, rumored trick to catching Pokemon that spread throughout schoolyards in the '90s and 2000s like wildfire. Every fan of the series knows it – as soon as the Pokemon is in the Pokeball, rapidly press the A button to increase chances of success.
Unfortunately, this rumor has been dismissed time and time again by both fans and developers. It's completely behind the scenes, and no special inputs will affect the outcome.
6 ...Or B, or X, or Y, or L, or R, or Select, etc
Every Pokemon fan has their own version of the "Press A" trick. As controllers and portable consoles developed, players came up with new theories on how to capture Pokemon more reliably.
It might feel satisfying to rapidly switch between shoulder buttons, time the face buttons to the Pokeball's movement, or just rapidly smash every button possible. However, it's ultimately pointless.
5 Evolved Pokemon Are Always Stronger
Typically, the evolved version of a Pokemon has increased stats, more easily accessed learnable abilities, and sometimes even a new type assigned to it. However, these Pokemon are not always stronger than their predecessor.
Some Pokemon, like Scyther, don't get a major stat increase when evolving. Other Pokemon, like Pikachu or Duskull, just look cuter in their un-evolved form – and players can use the Eviolite item to keep them up to par.
4 There's Nothing To Do After Beating A Game
One of the most common misconceptions of the Pokemon series is that the final step of the game is to face off against a series of high-level champions and take the title for oneself. Since the very first game, though, this has not been the case. There's plenty left to do after becoming Champion.
In the original Pokemon games, players could still train up and expand their collection in the post-game and even eventually challenge Red, the game's real final fight. In more recent games there's even more to keep a player occupied: contests, repeatable competitions, and of course online PvP.
3 All Starter Pokemon Are Of Only One Type Forever
Pokemon fans who haven't played a game in the series for a long time may be surprised to learn that Fire, Grass, and Water aren't necessarily the default starter options anymore. Additionally, evolutions of these starters tend to get another type more often than not nowadays.
Rowlet from the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Arceus will be a Grass/Flying-type starter. What's more, in Pokemon Yellow, Pikachu was the only available starter as an Electric-type Pokemon.
2 Rock Is Immune To Electric-Type Attacks
One common misconception even long-time fans of the Pokemon franchise have is that Rock-type Pokemon are immune to Electric-Type damage. A majority of Rock-type Pokemon are also Ground-Type, which does in fact make them immune to these attacks.
However, Pokemon like Sudowoodo, Nosepass, and Rolycoly are Rock-type only, and will take a normal amount of damage from an Electric-type attack. In general, though, it is in fact safer to assume a Rock Pokemon is also a Ground Pokemon unless the player knows otherwise.
1 Psychic Is Effective Against Ghost-Type Pokemon
For some reason, the rumor that Psychic damage is Super Effective against Ghost-type Pokemon has permeated the series since its beginnings. Perhaps it's the assumption that the powers of the mind are stronger than the powers of spirits.
Whatever the reason for the rumor, Psychic damage is actually not effective against Ghost-type Pokemon — it's the other way around. Interestingly enough, the attacks that Psychic Pokemon are weak to are typical fears like Bugs, Ghosts, and Darkness.