20 Pokemon Easter Eggs in OTHER Games

Rune Factory 4 (2013)

The Rune Factory games hold a litany of different activities for players to partake in. However, those who spent enough time with Clorica in RF4 might have stumbled upon this rather explicit nod to Pokemon. When talking about fishing, Clorica shows a slight concern she has about fishing, saying, Fishing can be quite dangerous. Sometimes its less tenta-cool and more tenta-cruel. Additionally, Dolce will make references by uttering I choose you, commanding a Thunderbolt attack, and talk a bit about different types of effectiveness. Really, a lot of love for the pocket monster franchise just in this single Rune Factory game.

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth (2015)

It's kind of odd that the IP that tried to compete with Pokemon is now paying respects to it in some way. Cyber Sleuth has a rather funny and super specific reference to Pokemon in its fourth chapter. In this portion of the game, Akemi asks you to investigate an Eater, a creature that consumes data. Arata will ask Suedou if hes got any secret weapons to help them, those secret weapons being a camera watch that can detect hidden objects or a ball that captured creatures can be stuffed into. Careful, Digimon - having a spherical object that captures monsters might land you in legal trouble!

Thems Fightin Herds (2020)

In case you havent played this fighting game before, you absolutely should. Thems Fightin Herds boasts an excellent meter system that makes fights frenetic and encourages experimenting for crazy combos. As for the Pokemon references, youll find them when choosing a color palette for some characters. Some of these color palettes reference pocket monsters such as Ponyta, Miltank, Gogoat, Fennekin, and a handful of others. Thems Fightin Herds is not the only fighter to pay respects in this fashion, but well get to another one later.

Persona 5 Strikers (2021)

The Persona games have often been cheeky with their references to video games as well as movies and TV shows. Persona 5 Strikers, on the other hand, goes kinda nuts with the references, the most notable ones appearing when you reach Sendai Jail. In Sendai Jail, you will have to fight a group of Ango Natsumes publishers known as the Fearsome Four, who are literally named the Elite Four in the Japanese version of the game. As for the fraudulent writer himself, Natsume will transform into a dragon before his boss fightand his strengths and weaknesses are about the exact same as Pokemons Dragonite. Of course, there are plenty of other works Natsume has likely ripped off between what you can find in the prison and some of the things he says.

Judgment (2019) & Lost Judgment (2021)

SEGA has shown quite a bit of love towards Pokemon as well see now and with one other entry later on. Judgment, however, is less of a direct reference and more of a profane parody. One of the criminals youll come across is named (at least in territories outside Japan) Ass Catchem, a serial groper who goes around grabbing womens butts. The parodied Ash Ketchum name is not the only part about this character that pokes fun at Pokemon a bit. Care to guess what criminal organization hes a part of? Its the Filthy Four.

Little Inferno (2012)

There isnt a lot of room for references and Easter eggs for a physics sandbox game thats all about burning objects. Although, the flavor text can hide some neat jokes and the like. Take the spider, for instance. If you read its description in one of the catalogs, it reads, A Giant Spider appears! You attempt to flee! Giant Spider attacks for massive damage! This is similar to how a battle begins in Pokemon if you attempt to run away on the first turn. But it is worth mentioning that this could also double as a Dragon Quest tribute. Take it as youd like.

Payday 2 (2013)

During its post-launch support, Payday 2 added in a new playable character in 2018 named Joy. No, she is not a direct reference to Nurse Joy from the Pokemon anime, though she does spit out quotes like its going out of style. In one of her calls talking to control, Joy assures that the situation is completely fine and that she was looking for Pokemon before asking, Wanna trade? Thats not the only explicit Pokemon reference in the game, though. Something about the Electrarodent mask looks awfully familiar, dont you think?

Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

Super Mario Galaxy does house some planets and locations that resemble familiar objects, mostly ones you have seen in other Mario games. And thats kind of what makes Buoy Base Galaxy a bit bizarre because one planet is from a completely different franchise. One of the areas youll run around on looks exactly like a Pokeball. Even when the sphere opens up, it does so in the same exact way as a Pokeball! To this day, Nintendo has yet to provide some clarity as to why this was here.

Skullgirls (2012)

Much like Thems Fightin Herds, Skullgirls boasts a ton of different color palettes for each of its fighters, many of which reference different games, movies, and anime that some of the developers are fans of. Youll see color schemes based on Shantae, Dick Tracy, Marvel superheroes, and of course, Pokemon. For example, Valentines twenty-eighth palette makes her resemble Nurse Joy from the Pokemon anime while Beowulfs twenty-sixth palette makes him look like Incineroar. Think you can spot any other notable palettes?

Genshin Impact (2020)

From the design in their games to the writing, play any game from HoYoverse and youll immediately see that this team of developers truly are fans of various games. As expected, youre likely to find a Pokemon reference here and there in their titles. Genshin Impact, for starters, hides a clever reference in the Travel Note called Primal Fire. In it, the writer notes how different their companions colors are, remarking, But why green, brown, and purple? Shouldnt the first companions we meet be red, green, and blueor yellow? Well, if you were expecting Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or maybe Pikachu to appear in Genshin Impact, that is likely never going to happen.

Honkai: Star Rail (2023)

Yes, Genshin Impact is not the only HoYoverse game filled with video game references. Honkai: Star Rail contains a couple of Pokemon nods, one being pretty explicit and another being somewhat subtle. One type of Vagrant youll encounter during the Gladiator questline is named Ash the Mechanic, and he comes with an automaton beetle companion named Beet-Ka-Choo. Meanwhile, in the achievements, you may notice one achievement is called Perish Song and requires you to KO all enemies in a fight at the same time. This requirement is the same outcome you get a few turns after using Perish Song in the Pokemon games.

Harvest Moon 64 (1999)

To see this one for yourself, you will have to fulfill certain conditions that might prove to be tricky. Harvest Moon 64 hides a Pokemon Easter egg behind the potential marriage between two specific characters: Kai and Karen. First off, youll have to achieve a certain Affection Level with Karen in a short period of time. Fail to do this, and she disappears from your playthrough forever. But if you manage to keep her around long enough and let her fall in love with Kai, the two will have a kid, and the kid will, oddly enough, sport ears closely resembling Pikachus. A lot of effort just to see false rodent ears.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)

The GTA games can sometimes hide secrets that allude to various video game franchises. Shockingly, this little piece of art in San Andreas somehow snuck past Nintendo, GameFreak, and The Pokemon Company. Head into Los Santos and look for the Juguetas Regalos toy store. Youll notice that the stores signage sports characters that look way, way too similar to Ash Ketchum, Squirtle, and Pikachu. Andis that Mickey and Minnie Mouse? How did Disney not make a stink about this? Oh, and dont bother looking for this in the Definitive Version - it was removed entirely for that version of San Andreas.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2020) & Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (2024)

Going back into SEGA territory, this may have been on some of your minds the second you saw this video upload. Yes, both Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth have entire side modes dedicated to Pokemon as a parody. Ichiban must travel the area to fight and capture various criminals dubbed Sujimon. But unlike the franchise built on pocket monsters, youll be sending out three Sujimons at a time to take on your opponents own Sujimon. Capture as many as you can bring down every challenger you come across to become the very best!

Enter the Gungeon (2016)

You will find a litany of different guns to use in Enter the Gungeon, some of which serve as homages to various other video games. Before you ask, no, there are no guns based on Pokemon, as hilarious as that would be. Instead, you can find different items that grant passive traits such as the Macho Brace, the Life Orb, and Helix Bullets, all items that can be obtained in different Pokemon games. But will these be enough for you to finally obtain the gun that can kill the past?

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002)

There are an unnatural number of Pokemon referencing loaded into Morrowind. Perhaps were exaggerating, but there are two locations named after two different pocket monsters. Marowaks Spine is a subarea of the Ilunibi dungeon while Weepingbell Hall can be found in Arkngthand. But the references dont stop there. You can come across the dead body of a Peke Utchoo, and on his person is a note containing his last words. Turns out Peke Utchoo has died to poison. Sounds about right.

Danganronpa series (2010-2021)

There are a couple of ways Danganronpa has mentioned Pokemon, both of them requiring you to go out of your way to spot them. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair has an achievement called Gotta Raise Em All that requires players to raise every type of virtual pet possible. As for Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, youll have to start Angies Love Across the Universe event, and shell greet Shuichi with an Alola! Either she doesnt know how to say Aloha, or shes been playing too much of Pokemon Sun & Moon.

Destiny 2 (2017-)

Destiny and Pokemon are two IPs we would never imagine would ever recognize each other under any capacity. And yet, here we are. Indeed, Destiny 2 pays respects to Pokemon, but not in the ways youd probably expect. No, there is an emote called Investigative Dance, which is a tribute to the same dance featured in the 2019 Detective Pikachu movie. A surprising inclusion considering a classic Team Rocket-style pose would have sufficed. Way to go for a deeper cut, guys!

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (2014)

Much like Enter the Gungeon, youll come across so many different items to help you in The Binding of Isaac. The Rebirth rendition specifically has four items that callback to classic Pokemon items: Poke Go, Friendly Ball, TMTRAINER, and the mysterious MissingNo. Obviously, not all of these look exactly like the official versions, but they look similar enough to give the idea of what they really are.

Animal Crossing (2001)

Now, unfortunately, there are no official Pokemon items to get for your house or village. There arent even any cosmetic items to dress your villager up like a Pokemon Trainer! The one item Animal Crossing has ever featured thats related to the RPG series is via a generalized icon. In the first Animal Crossing video game, Tom Nook may hand you a toy Pikachu to give to other villagers as a favor. Besides this, the closest weve gotten to Animal Crossing featuring actual Pokemon items was during the days of the GBA e-Reader; the Animal Crossing-e Design Cards featured a card that gave players a unique Poke Ball patterned wallpaper. And thats it!

Did you spot any of these yourself before watching this video? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!