SPOILERS! Mysteries and Conspiracies of Pokemon

SnoopingGil

professional lurker
Speaking of Pokémon procreating, I also find it another mystery that nobody has ever seen a Pokémon lay an egg. Perhaps they are like radioactive particles, which never decay when observed?
If radioactive elements never decayed when under observation, wouldn't radiation not be a problem and wouldn't Geiger counters not work?

It is weird but let's talk about it (or, talk about it until the MST3K mantra pops up).
3. License to Fly: A thing that always bothered me was that gym leaders, kinda suck at their job. They aren't good trainers, they monotype their teams, low levels, and most don't use coverage moves to cover weaknesses. But then again, you need certain badges to use the HM's. So what does this mean? It means that gym leaders are really an elaborate DMV, to test trainers to see if they have the skills to handle flying, surfing, spelunking (flash), and deforestation (cut). Actual "be a master" types are handled by the elite four, but the average citizen only needs three badges to fly and about four or five to surf (water safety is no joke). So the gyms are a test, not a title match. Meant to teach, not to preach.
This still fails to explain Unova, where badges have nothing to do with HMs. Also, people need to be tested on their ability to safely cut down trees and light up caves but not for things like Earthquake and Explosion? And what does defeating a bunch of monotype teams have to do with your ability to not drown/fall to your death in the first place?

All this talk about Pokemon society makes me wonder how sending all these kids on Pokemon journeys actually works out. I'm sure traveling across an entire region would take at least several months on foot (possibly one or two years for regions the size of Kalos), because no one's going to walk nonstop for an entire day to get between two gym cities, beating a gym leader on the first try is unlikely, and people probably want to spend some time sightseeing along the way. All the protagonists are young enough to still be in school, so where on earth do they get all the time to do this? Do schools have some kind of program where students can take a year to challenge the regional League? Or is there a way for teachers to deliver lessons and assignments to students no matter where they are (and vice versa)?
 

Codraroll

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If radioactive elements never decayed when under observation, wouldn't radiation not be a problem and wouldn't Geiger counters not work?
Not "elements" as a whole, individual atoms. No matter how unstable, an individual particle won't decay as long as it's continuously observed. It's commonly known as the "Turing paradox", and its explanation apparently delves quite deeply into advanced quantum physics. For the record, Geiger counters work by detecting radiation that has already occured, letting out a tick every time a "piece of radiation" collides with the core of one of the atoms in the detector element.
 
If radioactive elements never decayed when under observation, wouldn't radiation not be a problem and wouldn't Geiger counters not work?



This still fails to explain Unova, where badges have nothing to do with HMs. Also, people need to be tested on their ability to safely cut down trees and light up caves but not for things like Earthquake and Explosion? And what does defeating a bunch of monotype teams have to do with your ability to not drown/fall to your death in the first place?

All this talk about Pokemon society makes me wonder how sending all these kids on Pokemon journeys actually works out. I'm sure traveling across an entire region would take at least several months on foot (possibly one or two years for regions the size of Kalos), because no one's going to walk nonstop for an entire day to get between two gym cities, beating a gym leader on the first try is unlikely, and people probably want to spend some time sightseeing along the way. All the protagonists are young enough to still be in school, so where on earth do they get all the time to do this? Do schools have some kind of program where students can take a year to challenge the regional League? Or is there a way for teachers to deliver lessons and assignments to students no matter where they are (and vice versa)?
He's talking about the quantum zeno effect (read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Zeno_effect). Just staring at it with your eyes wouldn't cause the effect. Like wise, radiation is the effect of already released particles and energy. A geiger counter doesn't "observe" the release of radiation, it just detects if a lot of alpha and beta particles are in the air.

To get back to pokemon, Unova technically still had badge related HM's (on a meta level). They just never recognized them since you never got an HM before getting a badge (and the use of a lot more artificial roadblocks than environmental in those games).

EDIT*: Ninja'd on the Quantum Zeno effect. Or would it be Schrodinger'd in this case?
 

SnoopingGil

professional lurker
Ah, okay. Quantum physics isn't really my thing so I figured I had missed something. :P

The fact that receiving HMs in Unova always occurs after getting a badge seems more like a coincidence to me. IIRC you either just find the HM lying around somewhere and pick it up, or someone gives it to you (like Fly in BW). Nothing is ever said about needing a certain level of skill to use the HMs.
 
Ah, okay. Quantum physics isn't really my thing so I figured I had missed something. :P

The fact that receiving HMs in Unova always occurs after getting a badge seems more like a coincidence to me. IIRC you either just find the HM lying around somewhere and pick it up, or someone gives it to you (like Fly in BW). Nothing is ever said about needing a certain level of skill to use the HMs.
Well, it's used in four generations prior and currently in this one too (you get waterfall and are told only to use it in battle until you beat Wulfric), so Unova's just an exception or an outlier.

But this is just a theory or an explanation using limited story details, so of course it's not going to fit perfectly. That's the part of the thread's purpose, to fill in the gaps left by the games/anime/other.

Heck we all know the real reason behind it, and that's for railroading the player.
 
Here's some real mysteries.

Where the hell do wild Gurdurr like those in Victory Road in X&Y get their I-beams from? I mean the Pokedex entries for Conkeldurr at least imply that it makes its own concrete pillars, and it's not too farfetch'd (shoot me) that Timburr could somehow shape the wooden beam it carries itself, but steel I-beams are a little harder for Pokemon to manufacture. Do they steal them from construction sites or something? Speaking of man-made objects inexplicably in the possession of Pokemon, where do Alakazam's spoon's come from? Even more perplexingly, where do the extra spoons from Mega Alakazam come from? They just seem to materialize out of thin air! And Hypno's pendulum, where does that come from? Where do Sawk and Throh get their outfits from? Don't tell me that stuff is literally a part of their bodies! You can steal their belts!
 
Here's some real mysteries.

Where the hell do wild Gurdurr like those in Victory Road in X&Y get their I-beams from? I mean the Pokedex entries for Conkeldurr at least imply that it makes its own concrete pillars, and it's not too farfetch'd (shoot me) that Timburr could somehow shape the wooden beam it carries itself, but steel I-beams are a little harder for Pokemon to manufacture. Do they steal them from construction sites or something? Speaking of man-made objects inexplicably in the possession of Pokemon, where do Alakazam's spoon's come from? Even more perplexingly, where do the extra spoons from Mega Alakazam come from? They just seem to materialize out of thin air! And Hypno's pendulum, where does that come from? Where do Sawk and Throh get their outfits from? Don't tell me that stuff is literally a part of their bodies! You can steal their belts!
It made them so it could eat Vanillite hordes
 
Why the heck are the Team Rocket Trio still employed? You'd think Giovanni would start to rely on grunts with superior skills like the ones who easily captured Meloetta. But no, he still entrusts them with important missions 25% of the time and gives them complete freedom the other 75% of the time.
The grunts that captured Meloetta easily were Jessie, James, and Meowth (unless Team Rocket has an identical trio somehow), although they probably had someone else piloting the helicopter.

And, besides, I saw a theory somewhere that Giovanni is Ash's father, and he makes the Team Rocket trio go after Ash's Pikachu so he can keep an eye on Ash (with Jessie, James, and Meowth being so incompetent, Ash will not ne harmed in the end). As for the arc where Team Rocket was after Meloetta, Giovanni could keep track of Ash himself if Giovanni ruled the world, and he could get that through Meloetta.
 

Karxrida

Death to the Undying Savage
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The grunts that captured Meloetta easily were Jessie, James, and Meowth (unless Team Rocket has an identical trio somehow), although they probably had someone else piloting the helicopter.

And, besides, I saw a theory somewhere that Giovanni is Ash's father, and he makes the Team Rocket trio go after Ash's Pikachu so he can keep an eye on Ash (with Jessie, James, and Meowth being so incompetent, Ash will not ne harmed in the end). As for the arc where Team Rocket was after Meloetta, Giovanni could keep track of Ash himself if Giovanni ruled the world, and he could get that through Meloetta.
That's too simple. Try these.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WMG/PokemonAshFather

That page gets really weird really fast.

The the most intriguing mystery to me is Deoxys' and the Original Tao Trio Dragon's origins. Are they really aliens? If so, is there another planet with more Pokemon?
 
ASH IS A DITTO oh hell no
Though it does make me wonder, where is Ash's father?

What exactly are TMs and HMs? They look like discs that you boot up, but Pokémon are not computers. Where do you insert the disc? I could see it with Pokémon in the PC, but in your party?
 
ASH IS A DITTO oh hell no
Though it does make me wonder, where is Ash's father?

What exactly are TMs and HMs? They look like discs that you boot up, but Pokémon are not computers. Where do you insert the disc? I could see it with Pokémon in the PC, but in your party?
Maybe it's like a Pokemon version of Rosetta Stone. You too can learn how to shoot lasers in three easy steps!

Don't know why they couldn't be reusable before gen5 though, maybe they had a licensing disagreement.
 
What exactly are TMs and HMs? They look like discs that you boot up, but Pokémon are not computers. Where do you insert the disc? I could see it with Pokémon in the PC, but in your party?
From Bulbapedia: "from FireRed and LeafGreen onwards, they(TMs) have been depicted as compact discs that are inserted into the TM Case and the case itself teaches the Pokémon the move"
 
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But I never remember receiving a TM Case in BW or XY (the games that I distinctly remember playing)... I just pick up discs people drop on the ground and use them on my Pokémon.

Also, why do people drop random useful items so much? And why are people you've never met so freaking generous?! One random guy literally gave me a Rare Candy as he pulled up in his white van. I swear, this generosity is creeping me out.
 
But I never remember receiving a TM Case in BW or XY (the games that I distinctly remember playing)... I just pick up discs people drop on the ground and use them on my Pokémon.
I just assume you have it, even if the game doesn't outright says it (like how you don't bring food for yourself on your journey, nor do you sleep or need the toilet).
Here's a good mystery: how the hell can I carry several thousand Poké Balls in one bag. (I know, in-game logic, but still a good question)
Actually, this is a really good question for May. Look at her bag in the original Gen III games:

That's a freaking fanny pack. There is no way it could have fit all that stuff, even back when there was limited space!
It doesn't look like she gets much of an improvement this Gen:

How could I fit even a dozen Poké Balls in there? And that's before you take in consideration fishing poles, a bicycle, etc. (Also, why can't the girls baring Kris get a backpack?)
 
It's a game mystery alright, most famous would be Mario who puts infinite coins and mushrooms in his overalls. As much as I don't want to give credit to wiki (although this isn't an academic paper), and as much as I don't want to deviate too much on the topic I'm leaving this here.

Back to pokemon mysteries, does anyone wonder what the food in the pokemon world is made of? I mean do trainers eat pokemon products or pokemon themselves? It's pretty disgusting if they did (IMO).
 
If the ball in May's hand there is the compacted form of a Poke Ball...yeah, I got nothing on how the heck she's supposed to be holding even one of every purchasable kind of ball (plus Master Ball) let alone like five of each minimum. (except Master Ball unless she's getting extremely lucky with Lilycove Dept. Store's daily lotto draw) And now we're throwing Quick, Dusk, and Heal Balls in there...

Come to think of it, the boys' backpack's pocket for the Poke Balls isn't any larger. Maybe the Pokemon world has access to Hyrulian storage methods...or Hoopa's responsible for the incredible storage capacity.

Speaking of balls... when you're playing in the Safari Zone, you're given 30 Safari Balls. For the Bug Catching Contest in Johto's National Park, you're given 20 Sport Balls. Where the hell are these kept when you're participating? They're clearly not kept in the bag.

Also, how is the Mega Ring/Bangle kept in place on one's arm, especially when there's no sleeve under it? The blasted thing looks like it'd fall halfway down your arm when raised to Mega Evolve... Granted, May's Mega Bangle seems more reasonable than Serena's Mega Ring, but still. (Brendan/Calem aren't much better, but the latter at least has a long sleeved jacket on by default...)

It's a game mystery alright, most famous would be Mario who puts infinite coins and mushrooms in his overalls. As much as I don't want to give credit to wiki (although this isn't an academic paper), and as much as I don't want to deviate too much on the topic I'm leaving this here.

Back to pokemon mysteries, does anyone wonder what the food in the pokemon world is made of? I mean do trainers eat pokemon products or pokemon themselves? It's pretty disgusting if they did (IMO).
Apparently, Basculin is remarkably tasty according to the Pokedex entry in X. And Slowpoke Tails have been noted to be delicious though I'd rather not eat one. Berries have been shown to be eaten, with May enjoying a Pecha Berry in the Anime.
 
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Since when does the anime stick to the whole 4-moveslot thing and was it ever explained why that´s (why pokemon are limited in a way like that, that is) the case? It´s weird to begin with, but ...
 
Since when does the anime stick to the whole 4-moveslot thing and was it ever explained why that´s (why pokemon are limited in a way like that, that is) the case? It´s weird to begin with, but ...
Since never unless something's changed since Diamond and Pearl where I stopped watching, which I'm doubtful it has. The games limit it to this to force in at least some level of strategy on the casual level, I think, but I'm pretty sure an in-game reason/explanation hasn't been given.

Though what makes HM moves so difficult for a Pokemon to forget, and what does the Move Deleter do to them to get them to forget the move?
 
Since when does the anime stick to the whole 4-moveslot thing and was it ever explained why that´s (why pokemon are limited in a way like that, that is) the case? It´s weird to begin with, but ...
Because anime, but really, if the writers are not going to give an explanation as to why Ash is such a dumb ass then the writers are not going to give an explanation on this.
 

Codraroll

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I guess the TM case is built into the bag from Gen. IV on. When you receive the bag, it already has a pouch for TMs. The bag creators probably decided to just keep the tutoring hardware in the bag from the get-go.

As for the ludicrous amount of space in the bag... a Poké Ball shrunk to a diameter of five centimetres can hold a Wailord, using methods of digital storage. I bet the bag uses the exact same technology. That would explain why you find most items in containers looking like Poké Balls.
 
Since when does the anime stick to the whole 4-moveslot thing and was it ever explained why that´s (why pokemon are limited in a way like that, that is) the case? It´s weird to begin with, but ...
Since the Black and White season, with about one exception being Cilan's Pansage, where it used four moves in one episode, with bite being one, then using a new move over bite, then back to using bite in about 4 episodes. That and the how ground isn't affected by electric attacks are now consistent with the games.
 

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