The Pokemon series has been around since 1996, but while the style of the series and the platforms it can be played upon has changed, a lot of fans' mindsets have stayed the same. Pokemon players who have been with the franchise for multiple games now, or even since it started, have some interesting ideas and beliefs about what makes the series tick.
While some of these make sense, others are based on myths and urban legends. But whatever the reason for believing them, there's just no shaking these Pokemon superstitions.
5 How to Find the Right Wild Pokemon
Is there a trick to finding the wild Pokemon that you're looking for? Some players seem to think so. According to some superstitions and whispers on fan forums, finding a particular Pokemon in the tall grass (or in caves or water) is just a matter of defeating other wild Pokemon in a certain order.
Players have also been known to practice moving a certain number of times or moving in a particular shape in the hopes of encountering the target. Neither works but it's hard to blame people for trying.
4 How to Maximize Multiple Attack Moves
Offensive moves such as Double Slap and Fury Swipes are massively useful for whittling an opponent's health down. These attacks inflict multiple bits of damage against foes and are therefore useful against particularly tricky Pokemon.
The problem is, there's no way to guarantee to just how many times these moves will hit their target. There's no official way of guaranteeing it. Some Pokemon fans are dead certain that hitting the 'A' button in unison with each strike will somehow allow their Pokemon to inflict that extra bit of damage. There's no proof it works but in the heat of a Pokemon battle, you'd be surprised what tactics people try.
3 Use the Pokedex to Summon Wild Pokemon
Defeating wild Pokemon in a certain order or moving in a specific shape are not the only superstitions players hold about finding the wild Pokemon they want. Some players also think that listening to a Pokemon's call in the Pokedex will somehow be able to 'summon' it to the player, thus giving them a chance to battle and catch them.
There are several Pokemon that do have the ability to summon allies during battle, from Eevee and Igglybuff to Pichu and Cubone. It's no wonder why some players think that this will work.
2 How to Get a Pokemon Out of a Confusion State
There are few things worse than when a Pokemon enters a 'Confusion' state during battle. While having a Pokemon fall asleep or become paralyzed is bad enough, when a Pokemon is confused it may actually inflict damage upon itself. The Pokemon's self-inflicted damage and the opponent's ongoing attacks can be a devastating and sometimes lethal combo.
Although there are items that can be used to cure Confusion (including Full Heal and the Yellow Flute), what are Pokemon players meant to do if they don't have any of these to hand? The answer, some fans say, is to hold the 'A' (or 'B') button in order to remove the status. But only that were true.
1 How to Keep a Pokemon in a Poke Ball
By far the most popular Pokemon superstition that just about every veteran player believes in is that holding the 'down' button on the D-pad and the 'B' button at the same time will make a Pokemon stay in the Poke Ball. Many players believe that this will stop the Pokemon from breaking out.
This method has never been proven and officially, only the HP level, the status effects and the type of Poke Ball impact the capture rate. Yet this particular superstition has been around for years and it seems it just can't be shaken.
This superstition is likely so prevalent because in many players' minds, holding the 'down' button represents holding the lid of the Poke Ball shut. Since the 'A' button is used to select and 'B' is used to cancel things (including evolutions) it makes sense to combine the two buttons. When you're trying to capture that most-wanted Pokemon that you've finally encountered, perhaps after walking in strange shapes in the grass, you'll do anything to ensure that you successfully capture it.
As the Pokemon series gains in popularity and as the franchise reaches a new audience, only more of these superstitions will crop up. It's likely that none of them will ever be proven with cold, hard fact, but if these five superstitions are anything to go by, it won't be long until we all believe in them anyway.