Pokemon information

[Mitera Nikkou]

I was wondering if someone could help me understand the Pokemon world a bit better, since my experience pretty much consists of only two hours in the blue version. A long, long time ago. <_<; I'm asking because I have an idea for a story and, since it seems that there are a number of people who are using Pokemon-related avatars, I'm assuming that it might be of some interest.

What I'm looking for... Is rather general. Like, say... Other than dueling in gyms, what else goes on there, if there's anything else? Is it also a training facility? What can you tell me about professors and their role/status in the game? Is there any kind of ruling government? Stuff like that.

There are a few specific things that I'm interested in understanding, however. One of them is the reproductive process of Pokemon. I'm not sure if the games have these, but I know that the anime series has Pokemon breeders. But, if I remember correctly, you get almost all Pokemon (if not from the wild or a trade) from eggs. So... How does that work? Pokemon seem asexual, to me, seeing as they lack just about every sexual indicator imaginable. ;/ Another thing is the Pokeball. I've seen different kinds and I was wondering if they differed in function as well. I'm also interested in knowing if Pokeballs impose a master-slave mentality or if it's in the nature of most Pokemon to develop that way if the right circumstances are right in relation to their personality.

That's all that I can think of right now.

[Travesty]

Sort've fitting for my second post, seeing as how I was playing Diamond about ten minutes ago, haha.

To the best of my knowledge (and I've pumped far too many hours into my copy of Diamond, plus time online on battle sims >_>) a lot of the questions you're asking aren't satisfactorily answered by the games. I'll do what I can, though.

1)There are other trainers in the gyms other than the leader, and I'm 99% certain that they are there to train under the leader. I also vaguely recall some gyms have classes or the like from the first arc of the anime. So, I assume gyms also provide training, teaching, etc.

2)The professors, as far as I know, have a lot of sway/are really famous/etc. Well, at least the one's presented in the games. In the games, they more or less serve as a mentor to your character and your rival, and you're pretty much their Pokedex monkey who does the leg work for them.

3)In the games, you simply leave two pokemon from the same egg group and of opposite genders in the daycare, and eventually they'll pop out an egg that's the same species as the female. More recent games assign male/female to most pokemon, and Diamond and Pearl even give slight visible differences to them.

4)Well, from Gold/Silver on, aside from the usual pokeball and the better versions (like the Great Ball, Ultra Ball, etc) there are other pokeballs that work in different ways (like the dusk ball, that works better at night.) I'm not too sure if that answers you're question, but I hope it helped there.

5)As to the master/slave thing, well, all pokemon you catch will obey you, regardless. Pokemon gotten from a trade will not obey you if they're too high a level, until you get the right badge. That sort've suggests that there're compelled to obey you, but they have to respect you too. Or it could mean something else entirely >_> but that was always my view. And of course the anime is rife with examples of pokemon disobeying their trainers, so I doubt it's a simple master/slave thing. Again, I'm not too sure if that answered your question, but I think that's fairly accurate.

I hope that helped!

[Mitera Nikkou]

Thanks; at the very least it will be useful information.

Concerning the fifth answer: I was banking for an answer from the anime since I won't expect the games to explain it at all. In the game you only have to expect to have complete control if you own it, or, as you mentioned, meet some criteria. But I've seen plenty of episodes in the anime where a Pokemon that is not caught in a ball, but is helped or treated nicely, shows signs of potential servitude (as in easily getting attached to the person and/or obeying their commands). It kind of makes me wonder since the anime also illustrates that a lot of Pokemon are at least as intelligent as older children, and some much wiser than that. It's as if so many of them have a submissive nature that shines through after however long it takes to get past whatever personality the Pokemon may have.

The most confusing part is how Pokemon can only say their name (and parts of it) and manage to speak universally to all Pokemon that way. It boggles my mind. XD

[Travesty]

They're probably all genetically engineered animals from waaaaaay back that were designed to serve humankind. Then there was some kind of catastrophe which resulted in near destruction of humanity and, when they came back around to a decent level of technology, the pokemon were still there and still willing to obey humans.

And yes, I just completely made all that up with absolutely no backing, and I managed to incorporate apocalyptic theories into a generally light-hearted anime/video game series. Not quite sure why I did that, but what the heck, it's something to think about.

[Kyunji]

I've given some thought to these subjects before. Travesty basically covered my conclusion, but here're a few other thoughts I've had. For example, I feel that this is how the Pokemon/trainer relationship would work in reality:

1. A trainer encounters a wild Pokemon. The Pokemon, depening on its species, will either attack on sight or attempt to flee until the trainer's Pokemon provokes it.

2. The trainer captures the Pokemon and sends it into a state of stasis within a Pokeball. While in the Pokeball, the Pokemon is essentially unconcious, but otherwise unchanged.

3. The trainer does as his or her title suggests and trains the Pokemon, working with it carefully -- perhaps in a controlled environment such as a gym -- so it won't run away, will respond to commands, and so on. Since Pokemon appear to have very high intelligence compared to real animals, they are able to quickly pick up the new concepts and even learn to understand (but not normally speak) human language.

4a. If the trainer treats the Pokemon with respect, he or she will develop a bond of trust and friendship with the Pokemon, and the Pokemon will fight for the trainer because it trusts the trainer not to put its life in danger.

4b. If the trainer is abusive, the Pokemon will still learn to fight -- it will learn even quicker than normal, in fact -- but it will only obey out of fear. This lack of a bond leads to a Pokemon that has slightly more power than normal, but has great emotional loss that can cause problems for its trainer. Think of it as the "dark side" of training -- fast, but, well, bad.

5. The Pokemon now obeys the trainer, and the rest is in the games.

Pokemon reproduce sexually, although they don't show it because hey, this is a kids' game. The way they breed is a little confusing, however; in the games (which are the only source I draw information from), Pokemon of different species but similar types are able to breed. (It's worth noting that Ditto can breed with all Pokemon and genders, with the exception of a few legendary Pokemon.) However, the offspring of such a relationship are not fusions of the mother and father, as might be expected; instead, the child is of the mother's species and inherits one of its father's attacks at birth.

I think that in real life, cross-breeding Pokemon would produce entirely new species, but in fanfiction it might be best to use the games' system, if only for simplicity's sake. ("Hey, guys! Look at my new Pokemon! I call it Electachu!") Pokemon breeders, therefore, would be people who specialize in breeding and cross-breeding Pokemon to produce powerful monsters that have the maximum genetic advantage and the ability to attack in ways not normally possible for their type.

None of the countries in the Pokemon world are ever mentioned as having any specific government. It's clear, however, that there is some sort of upper authority; police officers show up in a few places in the first games. You can probably write around the issue, but if I had to take a guess, I would say that the most likely form of government for any of the countries is a democracy with a prime minister as its head. My only reason for this is that... well, that's what Japan does. There's no evidence to prove this or any other theory, though, so you should write it as you see fit.

... Well, these are my feelings on a couple of the concepts you asked about. Of course, some of this is just my own conjecture, but I feel it makes sense, moreso in some cases than what the games indicate. I hope this helps.

EDIT: Oh, and just for the record, the "Pokemon can only say their names except Meowth because it's special" thing was only in the anime. In the games, they just make miscellaneous growling/chirping/"pipipipi" noises.

[Mitera Nikkou]

I'm more willing to accept parthenogenesis, or a form of it. I mean, just by looking at a bunch of the existing Pokemon, especially ones that are animated inanimate objects (like voltorb), sexual reproduction wouldn't just seem impossible but also make no sense. In voltorb's case, there's even a chance that contact will paralyze and something like actual sexual activity would probably cause it to explode. O.o

I figure that it'd work much like evolution works, which itself works pretty much like magic. How else can you explain how a magicarp can become something as big as a gyrados? And it'd explain why the new Pokemon is always the same species as the mother, with only a small change in ability, because the male can do no more than "rub off" rather than significantly imprint with its presence.

At least that's how it seems to me. It'd probably be more favorable since it avoids sex entirely, anyway. You end up with a stream of energy being released by the Pokemon, two streams that collide in the case of a pair, and it resolves itself into an egg. It's an idea that I can get my brain around. XD

[Kyunji]

Personally, I'm inclined towards a sexual reproduction theory for a few reasons. First, it's the dominant form of reproduction in animals, which Pokemon are (of course!) based upon. There are a few oddball Pokemon out there like Voltorb and Pinoco that might not seem like normal, sexually reproducing species, but all Pokemon are living beings no matter their appearance. Some animals' reproductive organs aren't immediately obvious -- in insects, for example -- but they reproduce sexually nevertheless.

As for evolution, it's a scientific theory, meaning... Wait, sorry, wrong post. Pokemon evolution, in my mind, doesn't work the way it does in the games, where changes occur suddenly and flashily. I see evolution simply as a normal part of a Pokemon's growth and development. It's like a puppy growing into a dog, but perhaps a bit more delayed. The transition might be brought on by a certain level of exertion or effort in a Pokemon, and the transformation could last from a few hours to several weeks depending on the Pokemon. A Magikarp could conceivably change from a floppy fish into a raging dragon over a few days through a gradual process. A Caterpie might take a month or longer to change from a Metapod to a Butterfree.

Plus, well, there's the fact that you put a male Pokemon and a female Pokemon together and they make an egg. I always found that conclusive enough.

[Mitera Nikkou]

Just the same, they could produce an egg by themselves in the wild, but for trainers and breeders it's more ideal to get the benefits of a pairing. (I mean, come on, sexual reproduction should impart at least half of its genetic information, instead of only allowing the resulting Pokemon to use one ability they otherwise wouldn't be able to use.) By your logic, which isn't based on any actual in-game event (such as dismissing how evolution happens in the game for something else), my parthenogenesis theory could be just as possibly correct.

Just look at the pokeballs, for example: whether by science or magic (or both), how they work, by reducing a Pokemon into a form of energy (I guess?) for storage in something much smaller than themselves, makes my theory possible. Heck, just what some Pokemon are capable of doing with their power is evidence enough that parthenogenesis is possible and that evolution works like we see it in the games and/or anime.

I'm not trying to argue, here. You explained your reasoning behind the sexual reproduction and I explained mine. I figure that, all in all, we're both treading in an area where both of our theories can't be any more right or wrong from each other.

[Kyunji]

I'll admit that from the start, my concepts have been based on the idea of how the Pokemon world might work in reality, and as such have ignored some of the information presented in the games. However, I find some of the mechanics of the Pokemon world as presented in the games to be less than ideal for writing (at least for my writings, anyway), and like to take the information given and use it to extract more believable theories. If you just want to write about what's in the games, that's no problem; I'd just like to see more realistic fanfiction.

Buuuut... since I'm here, and posting, I might as well defend my theory.

Your parthogenesis theory is possible, but I find it rather implausible. First of all, a newborn Pokemon doesn't just get a move from its father; if female, it will also inherit its father's stat potential. This demonstrates that a fairly large amount of genetic information is given by the male, as would happen in sexual reproduction.

Second, I made a slight mistake in my earlier argument; genderless Pokemon, like Voltorb and Magnemite, are, in fact, incapable of breeding. They can't even breed with members of their own species; only a Ditto can breed with them. This, however, goes against your theory, which says that Voltorb should be able to breed by exchanging "energy" with another member of its own species or even by itself.

Finally, there's the fact that leaving a female Pokemon by itself in the day-care doesn't yield an egg, which by your theory should appear. This makes your theory impossible if we go purely by what is seen in the games.

Also, the lack of fusion Pokemon in the games is simply the product of the game designers not wanting to have to create hundreds and hundreds of new Pokemon each game, some of which would be rather bizarre. (I mean, a fire-breathing lizard crossed with a seahorse?) If I wanted to write as scientific a fanfic as possible, I would use the fusion method, but the games' "mother's species" rule would be find for most stories.

On the subject of Pokeballs: I believe that the Pokemon world is purely scientific. I've seen no evidence for "magic" in the games, but plenty of scientific explanations for the phenomena shown. Pokeballs, therefore, work scientifically. It's a well-known fact that matter can be converted into energy, and this is what the Pokeball does: it converts the Pokemon into energy, allowing to to be stored simply and conveniently. However, the Pokeball uses advanced technology to preserve the energy and eventually convert it back to matter. This theory can be supported using the events seen in the games.

Pokemon's powers, too, can be explained simply as advanced self-defense mechanisms, or in some cases advanced attack mechanisms, that were developed to fight against other Pokemon in the wild if necessary. Perhaps in the Pokemon world, Pokemon have been around long enough for gradual evolution to give them their unusual features: jet cannons on their back, the ability to fire damaging energy beams, and so on. I see no evidence for "magic" playing any role in the Pokemon world.

You don't have to pay any attention to this when you're writing your story, of course; it's all just speculation, and it would be much easier to use everything as seen in the games (such as rapid evolution). I just think the ideas presented here make more sense than "Pokemon shoot energy beams together to make an egg," and would add more depth to a story.

[Mitera Nikkou]

Well, like I said, I wasn't arguing. Maybe it seemed that way, though. *Shrugs* I like both the facts and the speculation, and I'm still tossing around these ideas to see what would work best in the story. See, the story actually starts after an untold story, which wouldn't contradict the games in the future tense. I would use that as a sort of prologue for what then begins to develop in this particular story, which is where I ran into the problem of how to approach it, what with my limited knowledge of the Pokemon world.

I probably won't have to worry about the reproductive element, but I thought that it might be a nice addition if I understood how it worked. I mean, let's say that the egg is due to sexual activity. Aside from where the parts are, that are required for coupling, where does the egg come out of? I just don't see the compatibility and functionality that sexual creatures should have. Even if there are plenty of Pokemon with bodies where you can imagine those parts simply not being included, there are still a good amount of Pokemon with bodies that really make me wonder how anything sexual is supposed to work.

Maybe I'm just putting too much thought into it. It's just a game, after all, and technicalities are the lesser of the concerns as opposed to the gameplay. The point is to collect, use and duel with Pokemon, not dwell on how exactly something works in a fictional world that doesn't require the binding chains of logic like we have in reality.

Either way, just so you both know, I appreciate your input. I'm getting a better idea for something that I had before drawn a blank on.

[Kyunji]

I know you're not arguing; I just like to have a good debate once in a while. I hope you don't mind one more post from me. (I swear it won't be as long as the others!)

Pokemon don't have any apparent means of sexual reproduction because the games are targeted towards a young audience, and... well, let's just say that parents wouldn't approve of certain physical features. This works out pretty well, though, because there are quite a few real animals, such as frogs and fish, that don't have especially obvious reproductive organs. It's not too difficult to imagine where such organs might be located on most Pokemon, like Miltank and Tauros. There are some Pokemon that don't have obvious locations for reproductive organs, but just like any video game, you have to use a little imagination.

Plus, I'd just like to throw this out there: the "no obvious reproductive system" argument works both ways. If the Pokemon has no obvious reproductive organs, then where does this "stream of energy" that creates an egg come from?

Anyways, that's all I have to say, and I'll leave you to write your story. Good luck!

[Mitera Nikkou]

Plus, I'd just like to throw this out there: the "no obvious reproductive system" argument works both ways. If the Pokemon has no obvious reproductive organs, then where does this "stream of energy" that creates an egg come from?

Probably from the same capability that allows them to toss around or exude various energies/powers in the first place. ;p

Other than that, I know about the fish and reptiles, and other creatures that don't have obvious organs. That wasn't really what I was getting at, though. I probably should have elaborated a bit more... I mean, I know that they're not shown because of the target audience, but in the case that they were... Sure, using a little imagination can work, but I have trouble imagining, say... Off the top of my head... Koffing... Or Staryu... And what about Mr. Mime? O.o

Okay, there's one last thing that I want to make sure about. The professors, more or less, tend to also have talents in one field of science or another?

[Travesty]

Well, the professors seem to study one particular area of pokemon over another. For example, the most recent one, Professor Rowan, was studying pokemon evolution, and the one from Gold and Silver was studying pokemon breeding. I'm not entirely if the one from Ruby and Sapphire had a focus area, though. So yeah, they all have their own areas of expertise, though since all of their research centers around pokemon they're probably all about biology anyways, for an actual science..

[Kyunji]

Okay, there's one last thing that I want to make sure about. The professors, more or less, tend to also have talents in one field of science or another?

I think I can answer this one without debate. Only four professors are in the games: Oak, Elm, Birch, and Rowan. Unfortunately, they do practically nothing except get you started on your journey and sometimes give you special items, so it's hard to tell just what they do. I would guess, however, that all the professors specialize in some field of biology in order to do exclusive research on Pokemon. Apparently, research in this field is very young -- no one even knows that Pokemon lay eggs until the second generation of games. I don't really know -- the games don't give enough information to guess at any other talents the professors may have.

Also, they do seem to study somewhat specific areas of Pokemon life -- I know Birch is interested in Pokemon birth, but I can't really remember the others' specific research. I don't think Oak is ever said to have any particular interests.