List of references to popular culture in Pokémon (Generation AN-I to AN-V)

**References to other franchises in the *Pokémon* franchise** are occasionally made. This list concerns those references made in Generation AN-I, Pokémon Azure, Rose, and Sage, and their sequels and prequels.

## Azure and Rose

* Black Belt Sean, on Route 15, has multiple quotes that reference Sean, a character from Street Fighter 3 who is from Brazil, the basis of the region of Verela.
* Multiple of the region's important Trainers are named after real people.
	+ Gym Leader Diego's name references muralist Diego Rivera. Additionally, Diego himself is an artist and painter.
	+ Gym Leader Enrique's name references popular singer Enrique Iglesias.
	+ Elite Four Palmer's name references pro golfer Arnold Palmer. Additionally, Palmer himself is a golfer.
	+ Elite Four Astley's name and design references popular singer Rick Astley. Additionally, Astley himself is a singer.
* Several Gyms have Trainers who are references to other media franchises.
	+ For Hirihopa Gym, all the Trainers reference the Rhythm Heaven series:
		- Hex Maniac Yagura and her introductory speech, "Dondo pan-pan!", is a reference to The☆Bon Odori from Rhythm Tengoku.
		- Rocker Giallo and his introductory *and* loss speeches, "Break, come on, ooh!" and "Scratch-o, hey!", are both references to DJ School from Rhythm Heaven DS.
		- Musician Kamone and her introductory *and* loss speeches, "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" and "I suppose, hey!" are both references to Fan Club from Rhythm Heaven DS.
		- Hex Maniac Adore and Dancer Ashun and their ending speech (Adore: "Fo' sho'!", Ashun: "Fo' sho'!"), are a reference to Love Rap from Rhythm Heaven Fever.
	+ For Maracaleza Gym, all the Trainers reference the Blazblue series:
		- Black Belt Ragna is named after Ragna the Bloodedge.
		- Police Officer Noel is named after, and has an equivalent profession to, Noel Vermilion.
		- Businessman Hazama is named after Hazama, and his Protecotta ace may reference Susanoo.
		- Black Belt Naoto is named after Naoto Kurogane.
			* Furthermore, Naoto says he has a sister in Nova Cancioba City, likely Hex Maniac Saya due to sharing the same name as Saya Terumi. However, Saya claims to be Ragna's sister instead, which is also true, just not in this body.
* Elite Four Rusty's name comes from a YouTube web series called "Pokémon Rusty," initially a spoof of Pokémon FireRed.
	+ While Bidoof is not in the Verelan Pokédex, its Verelan equivalent Lunavy is the first Pokémon Rusty sends out, in reference to Peanut Butter, one of *Pokémon Rusty*'s main characters.
* Frontier Brain Monika is a reference to Doki Doki Literature Club!, a horror game made by Dan Salvato.
	+ Frontier Brain Monika is said to be a Rotom transformed after it entered a computer, taking on the characteristics of a character found in a computer game, much like how whichever character is in the position of Literature Club President takes on the characteristics of the "Monitor Kernel Access".
	+ While not outside the Pokémon fandom, her quote when losing in the Battle Dungeon is "This worked on Showdown!", referencing Pokémon Showdown, a popular competitive Pokémon battling website.
* The Battle Dungeon's unique Trainer type, Fighting Pixels, are named after Super Smash Bros. Melee's Fighting Wireframes, and similar enemies from that game's sequels.

## Topaz and Amethyst

* Amamini and its Evolutions' colors are based on items from the Super Mario series: the Mini Mushroom for Amamini, the Super Mushroom for Ameganita, and the Mega Mushroom for Titanita.

## Ultraviolet and Infrared

* An NPC hiding in the northwestern part of Voxellun is noted to have several cards around him, one of which has a metallic white dragon described as "a fusion of Duraludon and Reshiram". This is a reference to Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon in particular.
* Youngster Rick's entire set of quotes are lines of the song "Never Gonna Give You Up", by Rick Astley.
* Each of the Gamer trainers in the region reference characters from other franchises, along with haveing a team composition based on the character being referenced:
	+ Crono shares a name with the protagonist of Chrono Trigger. Fittingly, his initial team is comprised of a Froakie and a Chromeon. Additionally, his Honedge in his second team has the nickname "Masamune", which is an important item in that game.
	+ Ryu shares a name with the mascot of Street Fighter. His team is comprised entirely of Fighting-types.
	+ Mario shares a name with the main character of the Super Mario series. His team consists of only a single Ameganita.

## See also

* Pokémon world in relation to the real world