History Fanon / Pokemon

* In-game, it's not entirely clear how Technical Machines ([=TMs=]) and Hidden Machines ([=HMs=]) work, beyond the fact that they're compact discs which can somehow teach a Pokemon a move, and that prior to Gen 5, the Technical Machine variants are one use only and break immediately after being taught to a Pokemon. Possibly thanks to [[https://rakkuguy.tumblr.com/post/138859597856/what-if-tms-were-instructional-dvds this comic]], it's become common fanon that they're actually instructional [=DVDs=], with video tutorials that teach Pokemon a given move.

* It's nearly-universally accepted that of the Generation 8 fossils (which are incorrectly reassembled by Cara Liss, resulting in a MixAndMatchCritter), the original form of the Fossilized Bird (which creates Arctozolt and Dracozolt) would have been a velociraptor-like Pokemon named Velozolt, while the Fossilized Fish (Arctovish and Dracovish) was Dunklevish, based on the dunkleosteus. Both of these have become popular {{Recurring Fanon Character}}s as a result. The true forms of the Fossilized Drake and Dino do not have the same level of consensus, however.

* Dawn, and to a lesser extent Lucas, are often depicted with TsurimeEyes instead of their canonical TaremeEyes. This is especially common in fan-art that depicts them as serious or stoic. This is partially influeced by Platinum Berlitz (a Dawn counterpart) from ''Pokemon Adventures'' having TsurimeEyes.

* Blue's starter is either a Squirtle or an Eevee, with Red's being a Charmander or Pikachu, with the latter choices being because of ''Pokemon Yellow'' (and because Red's highest level Pokémon is his Pikachu). Often times fans will give classic Red a Bulbasaur and classic Blue a Charmander due to it being his starter in almost all Gen 1 artwork. ''Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee'' feature classic versions of Blue and Red with [[spoiler:Charmander and Bulbasaur starters]].

* While Charon is meant to be a HateSink, some fans go even farther by portraying him as ''hoping'' that Cyrus fails with his plan and dies so [[TheStarscream Charon himself could take over Team Galactic]]. Others portray him as a manipulative mastermind who allowed Cyrus' misanthropic tendencies to worsen and influenced him into deciding to end the world. In a case of AscendedFanon, the versions of Charon seen in the ''Pokemon Adventures'' and ''Diamond & Pearl Adventure!'' mangas seem to run with this view of him.

* Given Ghetsis' reputation as [[VileVillainSaccharineShow "the most evil Pokemon villain"]] and his status as an AbusiveParent, it's very common for fans to speculate just ''how'' abusive he was to N. This speculation ranges from him beating N to flat-out ''[[ParentalIncest raping]]'' him. In the games, he's shown emotionally and verbally abusing N, but is never shown going beyond that.

* Hilbert usually has Oshawott as his starter, with Hilda having a Snivy as her own in fanworks. Likewise, Nate will be given a Tepig (partly due to the ''Pokemon Black 2 and White 2'' movie trailer) while Rosa has an Oshawott. Despite this, in official art, Hilda and Hilbert are most often portrayed with Tepig, and Rosa with Snivy.

* The Anabel from the post game missions is the same specific character as the Frontier Brain from ''Pokemon Emerald''. [[note]]It's possible, but all that's officially known is that she passed through an Ultra Wormhole at some point and had amnesia; whether she's the same Anabel from previous games or an alternate version from an unrelated alternate universe is never explicitly stated.[[/note]]

* Grimmsnarl and Hatterene are thought to be different genders of the same species of Pokemon due to them being one gender, covering their whole bodies with hair, and being inspired by fairies.

* Because of the sharp contrast between his infant-like face and extreme musculature, many fans haven taken to portraying Milo as a DumbMuscle with [[VocalDissonance a childlike]] SimpletonVoice.

* Though Volo calls himself a Pokemon ''Wielder'' instead of a trainer, many fans depict him as still maintaining a [[MoralityPet genuine bond with his Togepi]]. It helps that Togepi can only evolve via ThePowerOfFriendship. Their photo together, which is one of the first of many that is displayed on Dagero's shop, is also often used to show their genuine bond.

** Hassel's Flapple being a gift from Brassius, seeing as the pokémon is part Grass type and one of its pokédex entries says that it's given as a symbol of love.
* A common theory was that the Time Machine wasn't actually what its name indicates but, unbeknownst to the Professor, a "wishing machine" that created things straight from someone's imagination. This is mostly due to the inconsistencies behind the Paradox pokémon and how it fits into the overall lore and the fact that they look perfectly like the explorers' sketches of what they ''believed'' pokémon from a different time would look like. While this has since been confirmed to [[spoiler: not be the case by the Indigo Disk, some fans continue to run with this belief due to [[FanDislikedExplanation a dislike of the actual reason.]]]]

* There's a rampant amount of AmbiguousGender for the anime's Pokemon. Due to this fans have to fill in the blanks. It's assumed most of Ash's Pokemon are male except for a few:

** Chikorita is all but confirmed as female in the anime, but has never been actually confirmed.

* Genders for the Pokemon of Ash's co-stars weren't mentioned often until ''Black and White'', leading fans to fill in the blanks:
** All of Brock's Pokemon are male except Vulpix.

** Team Rocket's Pokemon are all male, except for the ones confirmed female and James' Mime Jr (who is also sometimes depicted as male).

** Ash's Pikachu is generally written as an adult Pokémon. In canon he has a VagueAge, with the only confirmation being that he was a young Pichu when Ash was six years old in the first episode of ''Pokémon (2019)'', meaning he's at least four years old when the series starts.

* With ''[=SM042=]'' showing a Pidgeot flying around Oak's lab, fans were quick to take to the belief that said Pidgeot is Ash's.

* During the ''Diamond & Pearl'' series, there's a theory out there that the Dusknoir used by Conway later on is the same one that saved his life in the episode, "Ghoul Daze."

* It's typical of fans to play up how much Ash has SeenItAll: where in canon he will generally be excited by anything he sees but will often be a bit less freaked at seeing, say, a legendary Pokemon than his regional companion (just enough to catch the companion's notice and disbelief, not enough to not freak out or be excited), in fanfics Ash will often treat this stuff drastically more casually.
* Ash still having the Pokeballs of his released Pokemon, allowing him to easily bring them into use at any time the series or fanfic writer wants. There is nothing that says Ash ''doesn't'', and even a hint or two that he does here and there (such as Ash giving Professor Oak five Pokeballs before going to Alola when he had only three Pokemon from Kalos with him in his party when he left the region), but at no point was it ever shown that, say, Greninja can't be captured by someone else, or that Ash explicitly still has Butterfree, Pigeot, Goodra, Greninja, and Nagadenal's Pokeballs.
** Semi-related is the idea that these Pokemon are not legally released a la Paul's method of Pokemon disposal. Again there is nothing saying that Ash did this or did not do this, so fans tend to lean in the direction of 'they are legally still Ash's'.

** In fanart, he's sometimes depicted as having heterochromia, with [[FamilyEyeResemblance his hidden eye being brown like Turo's.]]

** Ho-oh is female to contrast the masculine Lugia (though this is sometimes inverted). Interestingly, Takeshi Shudo, Lugia's creator, always saw it as female.

* Many Pokédex entries have questionable data, with some such as Spoink's and Victini's being [[UnreliableNarrator outright nonsense]]. Fans tend to handwave the Pokédex entries as myths and urban legends. Alternatively, the protagonists themselves write the entries. The rather cynical entries of ''Sun and Moon'' are believed to be Rotom being either BrutallyHonest or a {{Troll}}, with most fanworks depicting and leaning on the latter due to some Mega Evolution entries contradicting those in ''X and Y'' and ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' and how both Sina and Dexio, who both practice and know Mega Evolution, appear in Gen VII. It also helps that ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' didn't have Mega evolution entries for ''all'' the other Mega evolution available Pokémon with some Mega evolving capable Pokémon such as Altaria, Rayquaza and Diancie not being in the Alola dex.
* It's assumed that fossil Pokémon are only part Rock type because they've just been [[DeathIsCheap brought back to life from a fossil]], and they originally didn't have the Rock type or were another one.

** It's often stated that Tauros and Miltank are opposite gender-counterparts of the same {{mon|s}} like the Nidoran line(s) and Volbeat/Illumise, but this has never been stated in the games or the anime. It actually has some basis in game-play -- their stats total the same, they're always found in similar/the same locations outside of Safari Zones, etc. -- but, nevertheless, the fact that you can't get Tauros by breeding Miltank (or Miltank from breeding Tauros with a Ditto). The same applies to the Vullaby (female) and Rufflet (male) lines. Practically confirmed by ''Sun and Moon'', though they [[TheArtifact still can't produce eggs of the other from breeding]].

** There is a common theory that the three Pokémon that died in the Burned Tower and were revived as Entei, Raikou, and Suicune were a Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon. This is backed up by the three having the Eeveelutions normal abilities as their Dream World Abilities. Less commonly, they're believed to have been three Eevee, and their revival is thought to have acted as powered-up Water/Thunder/Fire Stones. Alternatively, ''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations'' has led fans to speculate that at least one of them was either a Houndour or they're from a currently unknown Pokémon species

* It's generally agreed upon that the Time Machine wasn't actually what its name indicates but, unbeknownst to the Professor, a "wishing machine" that created things straight from someone's imagination. This is mostly due to the inconsistencies behind the Paradox pokémon and how it fits into the overall lore and the fact that they look perfectly like the explorers' sketches of what they ''believed'' pokémon from a different time would look like.