It appears that directors like Rob Reiner and Victor Fleming exist in the Pokémon world, as there are movies that exist in the real world that are also being shown in places like Kanto and Johto. The early Pokémon video games were set in the real world, with Kanto from Pokémon Red & Blue being based on Japan, and as time went on, the regions started reflecting other real-world places, like the United Kingdom-inspired Galar region.

The early Pokémon games featured numerous references to real animals and places, such as Indian elephants being mentioned in Raichu’s Pokédex entries. This is because the developers were fleshing out the world as they went along. These references stopped appearing over time and some were even retconned, such as how Lt. Surge is no longer an American.

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The Pokémon video games are full of cultural allusions, some of which differ depending on the localization. Pokémon is filled with references to movies, music, TV shows, Internet memes, and even other Nintendo games. There are times when movies from the real world are shown on TVs in the Pokémon world, suggesting that they were also filmed there.

The Movies Playing In The Pokémon World

The first movie reference in the Pokémon video game series is well-known, as it’s one of the first things seen at the start of Pokémon Red & Blue: the player’s TV in their home is playing Stand By Me, as Red describes four kids walking across a set of train tracks, which is one of the most famous scenes in the film. This reference was included in the original Japanese version of Pokémon Red & Green. According to Legends of Localization, Stand By Me was a huge film in Japan and it was referenced in other video games, such as EarthBound Beginnings/Mother. This reference was kept in Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen unless the player chose the female protagonist, which changed the movie to The Wizard of Oz, as this also had a female lead.

The bulk of the movie references involve watching the TV in the player’s home, as Night on the Galactic Railroad appears to be showing in Pokémon Gold & Silver and Big is playing in Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire. A common theme among all of the movies is that they involve kids going on a journey, so it’s apt that the player sees them before heading off on their own Pokémon travels. Pokémon is filled with a host of references, and it’s likely that the developers didn’t put too much thought into the logistics behind these movies existing in the Pokémon world, as companies like Nintendo and Game Freak also exist without explanation.

Source: Legends of Localization

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About The Author


Scott Baird
(2543 Articles Published)

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Scott has been writing for Screen Rant since 2016 and regularly contributes to The Gamer. He has previously written articles and video scripts for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz.
A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started out as a film student before moving into journalism. It turned out that wasting a childhood playing video games, reading comic books, and watching movies could be used for finding employment, regardless of what any career advisor might tell you. Scott specializes in gaming and has loved the medium since the early ‘90s when his first console was a ZX Spectrum that used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott now writes game reviews for Screen Rant and The Gamer, as well as news reports, opinion pieces, and game guides. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.

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