h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Which makes them sound almost more like robots than animals. I know that some of the Pokémon had more mechanical properties (the Regi legendaries come to mind here, as well as the Magnemite line), but they were mostly ultimately animals more than anything. Which makes me wonder about how a Pokémon actually works. They seem to think and have feelings like humans.. But are they really little more than machines?

Well, I suppose in the end you could argue that most fictional worlds tend to emphasize one specific thing, and in the Pokeworld it's what some people call biotech. How else do you explain the Teaching Machines and Pokeballs?

Yeah, that's very true. Speaking of Pokéballs, it is very interesting to see how they've evolved. In the one episode there were those primitive "Pokéballs" with the giant Pokémon in, then in the GSC era there were the Apricorns (which eventually got waylaid; a huge shame since I really liked the idea), and now there's such a wide variety of Pokéballs that do specific things in specific conditions. It's quite amazing to consider the technology behind all that.

Not to mention the fact that the Pokémon has to somehow shrink to fit that ball.

Those giant stone Pokeballs really irked me. Even if we're going to propose that Pokemopolis was some sort of Aztec/Atlantis/whatever "highly advanced ancient society," I just don't see how those stone things could do the job, at least if they're supposed to still be technology. However, we have seen mysticism at work on the show before. Besides, the instant we have precognition as an inbred ability that is both accurate AND can be modified, logic as we know it really goes out the window.

That whole episode really irked me to be honest.

They seemed to work almost like some sort of lock and key (like the Alakazam one with the spoon), but judging on the shapes, they were built to specific specifications for different Pokémon, which doesn't seem all-too feasible.

That, or it would imply that there were a lot less Pokémon around then at the time. Or that people didn't really consider capturing them so universally until a much later period of time, with improved technologies.

On the humorous side...Pokemopolis? Sounds more like a board game or a dystopian movie to me.

Also, in watching Pokemon Heroes again I was reminded that except for the Pokemopolis episode, a lot of the time, no matter what generation, when people talk of "prehistoric Pokemon," it's only Kabuto, Kabutops, and Aerodactyl. That's it. I just don't see how three species could support the ecosystem. Of course we're to assume that most Legendary Pokemon also existed, but you don't see Lugia fossils lying around, do you?

It kinda sounds like Pokémon Monopoly.. Except one of those already happened!

I found a site online hosting most of the episodes, so I may have to look into some of the later ones. I've watched a smattering of Diamond/Pearl episodes and I think the series is getting back on form (although the new voices still do nothing for me).

They do have a couple of new "fossil" Pokémon with the Diamond/Pearl generation, but I see your point.. There must have been a LOT of those Pokémon around to support the ecosystem.. Unless the Pokémon regions run on something entirely different.

Don't forget Omanyte and Omastar, too!

Speaking of Omanyte and Omastar, I'm reminded of how people usually pronounce them. "Om-an-night" and "Oh-mah-star." Given the evolutionary chain, you'd think it'd be "Oh-mah-night" and "Oh-mah-star" or "Om-ah-night" and "Om-ah-star," not mixing and matching.

I've played Pokemon Monopoly. Cute little tokens, aren't they? That also reminds me that although in the game we adhere to the Poke Ball/Great Ball/Ultra Ball/Master Ball system, in the show they seem to use standard Pokeballs for everything (with rare exceptions). I'd imagine that "defeat in battle means friendship" aside, Bulbasaur in particular would require at LEAST a Great Ball. Ditto for Noctowl and Treeko.

I'd say it's all dependent on levels as is in the games, although to be fair, the only time an actual mention of levels was made in the anime, it was about episode 9 or so (when Pikachu should have apparently been at Level 25!).

But I do agree that there should be more in the way of different ball usage. People can get lucky with using a lower-grade ball for a capture (my cousin caught Palkia, the Pearl game legendary, just by throwing a Great Ball at it right at the start!), but I can't see that happening constantly in practice.

I just think that it's an extra bit of continuity the writers and animators didn't want to have to go through (imagine six Pokémon in six different types of balls and having to remember which ball has which Pokémon, as well as the fact that every other ball seems to have so many bells and whistles on it that it would take more time to draw). Although they did keep with the Safari balls for the Tauros and Totodile's different Pokéball (I forget WHICH one it was though, there are so many now!).

Totodile was a Lure Ball. I think we've already touched on the issue of "if Trainer A and Trainer B don't know which Pokeball captured the Pokemon, a quick trip to a Pokemon Center should reveal an ID stamp of some kind."

Well, different Pokemon in different Pokeballs is really the creators problem, since the viewers have the advantage of "Totodile, GO!" Hehe.

So.. When a trainer goes to buy Pokéballs or whatever, do you suppose that the Pokémart puts that ID into the Pokéball, or would someone have to register their Pokémon at a Pokémon Centre or something?

I know that there are trainers like Richie who stick stickers and what have you on their Pokéballs for easy identification, but it would be interesting to know exactly how they make Pokéballs distinguishable from a technological viewpoint. After all, Oak can't possibly look after so many people's Pokémon AND remember which Pokéball belongs to which trainer.

Mind you, this is where the games separate from the anime again since in the games, the excess Pokémon are stored in a computer storage system.

Actually, I seem to recall that when Ash caught his seventh Pokemon, the Pokeball disappeared into thin air and Misty had to explain the storage system to him.

Hmm, when does the Pokeball get registered? Good question. I suppose the simplest answer is that the clerk inserts the Trainer's Pokedex into the ID slot and a new Pokeball gets stamped with the ID code as it's being beamed in. After all, would we really have racks of empty Pokeballs just sitting on a shelf?

Of course, this does introduce the problem of Team Rocket. Somewhere along the line they get new Pokeballs, right? I get the impression that they ARE still registered Trainers, but where are their IDs? No Pokedexes there. I suppose they could just steal empty Pokeballs from a warehouse, "region-free" Pokeballs, to borrow a DVD term. But this would present problems when Jesse enters Pokemon Contests. Presumably you'd need a Pokedex ID to enter those. Oh, well, I suppose she just stole one from a real Coordinator. That sounds plausible, right?

That's true.

I would assume that Team Rocket would either have their Pokéballs stolen for them, else Giovanni would have some sort of set-up going on. After all, he is the leader of both Team Rocket AND the Viridian City Gym.

Your idea does sound plausible as well though!

That's right. Giovanni is (or was, or whatever) a Gym Leader. Presumably this Gym Leader business is merely a forged identity that Giovanni uses, but even so, it implies that he holds all the rights of a Gym Leader. It is plausible that he would simply create other forged identities at will for his agents to use as Trainers, whether or not they actually are. I'm reminded of Domino, who works undercover at the Pokemon Institute ("Team Rocket has agents everywhere!"). Jesse and James have entered more "official" functions than simply Pokemon Contests. We've never seen them with Pokedexes, but apparently one thing that they DO have going for them is that between the three of them (particularly Meowth), apparently they have all relevant information from the Pokedex memorized.

Exactly. I don't know that he still does the job (which, if he doesn't, raises the question of who exactly took over working at the Gym? They'd need someone to give out the Earth Badge.. But then again judging from the Kanto season, it seems there are OTHER places to get badges for the Indigo League, too!), but I would bet that there are a lot of rights and perks that come with being a Gym Leader. After all, they've got to make an income SOMEWHERE.

I'd say in regards to Team Rocket and their knowledge of Pokémon, Meowth probably has the upper hand by being a Pokémon himself and being able to interact with other Pokémon.

Did Giovanni actually, technically leave the Gym? I mean, it's not like Ash dismantled Team Rocket singlehanded like in the games.

I'm not sure that he did.. We just never heard anything more about him being a Gym Leader, and he seemed to be away from the place an awful lot.

Mind you, speaking of Giovanni.. They don't seem to say anything much of him in later seasons, do they?

Well, the system kinda looks to me that a Gym Leader has to be "on call," so to speak, all the time. At most they can delay a challenge until the next day. But upon thinking about it a bit, I'd argue that it'd make sense for these guys to have one week off a month, with these "vacations" being public knowledge so Ash can plan to not be in town that week. Leaders can use these weeks for alternate activities such as training their Pokemon in other places, conferences with other Leaders, running their other business concerns, etc.

Yeah, I can see that happening. But I think they would also need time off for doing such things as what you mentioned, like Bruno up in the mountains with the giant Onix. It just seems otherwise infeasible that Gym Leaders would have time to train their Pokémon up to a League standard just by Gym Battles alone.

Although speaking of Pokémon being at a "League standard".. This again goes back to the whole "levels" debate.. Would you suppose that certain leaders would have to deliberately keep their Pokémon at a weaker level so as to let trainers have a chance at winning?

Mind you, the whole levels thing seems to go out of the water when you consider Pikachu's inclusion in the later series.. Surely with all that training, he must be at Level 100 by now, if not at least approaching it.. Yet he still has "lesser" Pokémon beating him.

I just can't accept that a "real world" Gym would have levels like that. Logically Trainers should have the right to do the eight in any order they choose. I still think that the Leaders assemble various teams of Pokemon at various levels, just to be fair to the Trainer that arrives. A level five team, a level ten team, and so on, with the proviso that a Trainer has to defeat all eight teams, one of each level range, to enter the league tournament. Furthermore, we've covered the notion that the levels of your Pokemon must be registered every time you visit a Pokemon Center and/or transmit the Pokemon to/from a PC. In fact, suddenly I picture a Gym Leader waking up to an automatic e-mail from the Pokemon Center stating that Trainer A has arrived in town, also listing the Pokemon he currently has on him, along with their levels. Thus when Trainer A arrives the Leader already has an appropriate team ready.