Flower symbolism in the Pokemon anime

I couldn't find an established thread for this, so I thought I'd start one, since it's always been something I liked seeing (even if I'm not as good at identifying flower species, so I usually gotta pick it up from elsewhere ^^;;).

Whenever the Pokemon anime depicts specific real world flowers (+ their own unique Gracidea flower), it's chosen for an extra layer of symbolism, which is pretty typical of anime/manga (although you definitely see stuff like this more in shoujo manga, aha).

Some examples are already pretty famous, like the baby's breath in Masara/Pallet Town at the end of XY and in the trailer for Pokemon I Choose You.


This one wasidentified by picca_ (May). Sweet Pea in Grace's garden, while Serena sets off on her journey.
Sweet Pea: departure, goodbye.


The flowers Jessie holds in the balloon after leaving Dr. White (who loved another)...
Marguerite: secret love, faith.


This one was identified by picca_ (May).
The red flowers Iris was wearing in her hair the day of her and Ash's fight, the one they exchanged when they made up, shortly before the BW! trio part ways...
Anisodontea (cape mallow, a flower native to South Africa): "kyou kagiri" = until tomorrow, tomorrow is the final day


Baby's breath blooming in front of Ash's home as he returns in the XY finale and in the beginning of Pokemon I Choose You!, as [AU] Ash sets off on his journey.
Baby's Breath: everlasting love, purity of heart, innocence.

This one has a lot of layers and possible interpretations to it, as a romantic one in XYZ, it could point to Serena, and it could also refer to platonic/familial love for his mother... I think it could also simply fit Masara Town, since it's Japanese name and both English and Japanese slogans refers to masshiro/pure white and beginnings, hence why it was also used for the movie, which was a new beginning for an alternate world's Ash...

Fun fact: Kasumi [Misty] shares a name with the Japanese name for baby's breath [kasumio] too! Depending on the kanji, kasumi reads as mist [hence her English name, Misty], but it can also be written ka [flower] + sumi [clear, pure]... making her actually fit into the Waterflowers after all, as her three sisters all bear the names of flowers, Sakura, Ayame, and Botan [their English names Daisy, Violet, and Lily are also flower-themed! EDIT shisabella1 also pointed out in the Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day)/Princess VS Princess episode, Kasumi and her sisters wear kimono +/- hair decorations referencing their respective flowers!

One I noticed recently watching the Keldeo movie!

Keldeo, feeling resentful and bitter that his teachers/masters weren't letting him challenge Kyurem, went off and slept in a patch of flowers that looked to me like yellow Asiatic lillies...
Yellow lillies: hatred

Quiji said:

Maybe the animators just like flowers? Tbh the franchise as a whole has a thing for plant names since iirc, many of the names for major characters in the Japanese versions of the games are based on plants.

Click to expand...

Yup, that's true!! Plant/flower/tree names feature heavily in the games (every major region professor has a tree name even in English, fff), so that's probably why the animators like to use them a bit more than the average boy's journey-type of series. ;3;
When they aren't just scattering nondescripit generic flowers in the scenery!

I had no idea about any of these, and it's so interesting to learn about. Thank you for sharing! Little things like this are why I love the anime series so much.

Interesting!! Now I'm just gonna be paying attention to the flowers everytime I watch an episode haha.