The Pokédex - Extended Fanon Edition

I would think that Normal/Bird-type Pokemon would be eaten most often, such as Farfetch'd. (Canonically eaten with leeks.)

This would likely result in a plainer taste as well as fewer dangerous parts to be removed (such as fire and electric sacs and the previously mentioned poison sacs.)

Also, is there a wiki page for this yet?

edited 13th Mar '10 12:57:41 AM by newtonthenewt

Do people eat electric eels?

Before anything else, I have to say that there was a reason I put up such strict rules for the Touhou thread (my inability to keep it updated reasonably notwithstanding) was to raise productivity. Especially with something like Pokemon, with an even greater mass of things to explain, no "magic" in that sense to explain away illogical parts, and many more people in the know about it, you need to keep it structured.

So my suggestion is, we should start with the general world-building things, like the Pokeball issues we're discussing now, then move on to the actual mons, after we got the logistics of their universe out of the way. It would also allow for some structured interpretation of Pokemon based on different interpretations of the world.

Also, it seems like a good idea to give people a sort of form when we start discussing Pokemon. Nobody has to compile the results if it's too much work, but at the very least it would give people a structured idea of what issues there are to tackle.

ANYWAY, Pokeballs. I'm gonna postulate that Pokemon are similar to Digimon. They can be converted into digital data, yeah? But since they remain sentient, and apparently the conversion is not considered to be animal cruelty and, hell, mons can even infect one another with a Pokerus in digital space... Their "digital world", if you will, has got to be more than just data. In the vein of what I got from Digimon, I'd consider it to be just another layer of the world as such. Being converted is basically a quick transfer to a different plane of existence.

Since I also consider Pokemon to be basically the same as Japanese nature spirits, meaning that Pidgey is not a bird so much as a minor spirit god of pidgeons, it doesn't seem too far-fetched that this would work for Pokemon. Then again, it also appears to work with items... Well, I assume they are specially crafted Pokemon items that work differently... *rubs chin*

That also demonstrates my stance on whether Pokemon are the only animals, of course. They aren't. There's no possible level that it would make sense on. A world can't sustain itself with such a meager variety in fauna and flora. For that matter, why would Pokemon be the only animals when grass types aren't the only plants? Pokemon are too powerful to be easily bred for eating. They are intelligent beings, so it would be downright cannibalism to eat them.  ^*

I send my golem.exe to jack in and do battle against your jynx.exe.

^^ Good point on the organizational rigor. But it's been a bad few days for me to devote significant attention to any thread, and will continue that way until I've settled in at home for break. So, 36ish hours.

So consider this an exploratory phase? ._.

Don't worry too much about it. *patpats*

But Faw, there are multiple mentions of people eating pokemon in the games. Team Rocket cutting off Slowpoke tails, Farfetch'd being rare because it was hunted near extinction and so on.

As for the pokemon being converted to data in the pokeballs I can get behind that notion. Especially since the T Ms and H Ms look like C Ds. It makes sense that if the mons are data you are just uploading new data to them via TM of HM.

It also explains the whole Porygon family nicely. Scientists figured if they could transform existing pokemon to data, how hard would it be to engineer one from the ground up.

As for pokemon popping out of their pokeballs, I like to think there is some sort of internal twitter-esque feed giving them data about the outside world.

-Trainer used Staravia to fly back home.
-Trainer went to sleep.
-Trainer decided to go talk to the professor.
-A sibling Cyndaquil is being given away as a starter.
-So on and so on.

I didn't say it doesn't happen. But it's the exception, not the norm. Notice how the Slowpoketail-cutting was considered an evil act.

SENTIENT DATA PACKETS!

Warning: Golem.exe might contain corrupted data.

*Golem erupts from Pokeball*

*gives his trainer the finger and walks off to find a smoke*

Nitpick: Technically Faw, eating pokemon wouldn't be cannibalism, it would be a carnivorous action. Unless one subscribes to the "Humans are the #0th Pokemon" WMG.

A particularly spiky and rebellious golem could play this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iuvJaZ3sKY

No, Alkthash, humans are the 18th angel.

edited 13th Mar '10 2:38:32 AM by GlennMagusHarvey

Sure, why not!

Well, I know the definition of cannibalism, but I'd personally stretch it to mean "humanly intelligent beings eating other humanly intelligent beings".

"Competitive-style" players also bring up an issue to address. Realistically, perhaps training animals as battlers itself isn't objectionable, given the care and attention they seem to receive, but catching/breeding them by the hundreds and abandoning them in a box/chucking them into the wild seems like pretty clear animal cruelty.

If anything the very concept of people keeping animals in little balls, and training them to battle other monsters is animal cruelty.

Why hasn't PETA raised hell over this game?

Because PETA only cares about cooking.

Eh, my own fancruft dictates that my trainers link their "release" flag to transfer their unwanted pokemon to a distant region's Adoption Center Storage, or to be added to the Wildlife Repopulation Drive storage for preparation to be sent into the wild after survival training in an effort to repopulate endangered species.

That one makes sense.

The Pokemon world is optimistic enough for that to work, I guess.

And now about Wailord.

edited 13th Mar '10 10:12:46 AM by Neo_Crimson

About "Tiny cramped balls", it seems to be roughly accepted that pokéballs shunt the 'mons into a peaceful, nice environment tailored to them. Heck, there's a specific kind of ball that's apparently nicer than the rest, making the 'mon like you faster.

Whether that's a pocket dimension or a Digital World kind of thing is up to youuuuuu!

If anything the very concept of people keeping animals in little balls, and training them to battle other monsters is animal cruelty.

Why hasn't PETA raised hell over this game?

Because the Pokémon themselves honestly don't seem to mind much. Consider the following:

• Pokemon appear to have a sort of Healing Factor — this in conjunction with readily available (and entirely tax-funded!) Pokémon Center care means injury is rarely more than an inconvenience.

• Any kind of sport fighting builds pain tolerance. Rapidly. I say this from the point of view of someone who's had his fingers whacked repeatedly, funnybone slammed with steel, and been stabbed in the gut with a blunt fencing foil so hard I couldn't eat solid food for the night — by my own doctor. It doesn't take long before you have more fun than you regret later.

• Consider what a battle would look like from the point of view of a Pokémon who grew up in a wild, predatory environment where he could be chomped in half by a Fearow or broiled to order by a hungry Arcanine at any moment — that's if you don't piss off your own pack and get viciously crippled and left to the previous fate. A carefully regulated low-risk battle, often under quite friendly circumstances, would seem positively tame by comparison when the Fearow and Arcanine you're staring down aren't trying to reduce you to chewy paste anymore and the worst thing to worry about is waking up in a comfy bed the next morning to the sight of a hot Chansey.

• They canonically get jollies out of it. Pretty much every incarnation of the franchise has shown Pokémon to be Proud Warrior Race Guys that genuinely like sparring, and will not be shy about telling you to go F yourself if they don't feel like it. And really, when practice with a trainer beefs you to the point that you can shoot lasers and shit, one can hardly blame them for thinking it's Worth It.

• Most Pokémon don't appear to mind pokéballs, and the anime occasionally shows one checking themselves in, not unlike retiring to one's bedroom. It's not considered unusual to see one that does, however, and they're usually left to their own shoulder-riding devices. Leaving the Pokémon in the ball for absurdly long periods of time still makes you a douchebag.

• The games will not call you out for your min-maxing private eugenics program. However if we're attempting to construct a more complete and fluid world here, rest assured that in that context, one would solidly mark oneself as a complete tool-ass for taking after Paul.

edited 13th Mar '10 3:48:50 PM by Pykrete

I figure the computer work like pokeballs on a wider scale. They contain some sort of hammer space for the pokemon to get some R&R in.

And to store inventory.

EDIT: Hopefully your Pokémon and your stuff are in optionally separate hammerspaces. I'm tired enough to get weird mental images right now, and I just got one of withdrawing my Swampert while it's trying on my undies, and...yeah.

edited 13th Mar '10 4:57:31 PM by Pykrete

Storage Boxes are larger versions of Pokeballs.

"I didn't say it doesn't happen. But it's the exception, not the norm. Notice how the Slowpoketail-cutting was considered an evil act"

But that's was mainly because they were Sacred in that Town. You could argue that other areas wouldn't share that opinion.

It's like how cows are Sacred in some parts of the world(i forget where).

India?

Re Boxes: I prefer to think of them as virtual environments.