The Encyclopaedia Galarica

Everything evolves, from the simplest, smallest organisms – amoebas and protozoa - to the more complex ones like plants, people and Pokémon. It’s been a long way, for example, from the first hominids to the mighty Homo sapiens, and the same can be said from pretty much every other species that stood the tests of time.

So, if humans, plants and microorganisms in general took millions of years to slowly get to their current forms, how do the Pokémon do it in a matter of moments?

To dive into this properly, one must first admit a different, more similar – or, if you’re willing to go there, normal – type of evolution between Pokémon: the genetic, million-year long one. There are plenty of researches which concluded that some abilities, moves and even body parts were the result of generations of mutated offsprings who were more adapted for survival than their parents. Nidoran’s Poison Point is a good example for this. It’s widely assumed, based on fossil findings and other archaeological studies, that the first Nidorans didn’t have Poison Point, and, thus, were more easily preyed upon. A genetic mutation of sorts made their skin poisonous on contact, drastically improving their survivability.


With this in mind, we move forward to the evolutions of Pokémon properly, the kind where they glow and get more strong by instantly changing their entire form, size, physical characteristics in general and even biological types by the time you’re done making lamen.

It’s impossible to completely dissociate one evolution from another: both are forms of biological enhancement aimed towards greater survivability. Also, the fully evolved form usually is better geared for reproduction. It’s way more common for Torterras to mate than it is for Grotles, for example, as their sexual apparatus is more developed than their pre-evolved counterpart.


The exceptions for this rule are those Pokémon whose ultimate form is a bit harder to achieve. For a Seadra to become a mighty Kingdra, it must steal a dragon-type’s shard of scale and, due to Kingdra’s rarity, its pre-evolution is more suited for reproduction. Lots of Seadras are killed daily by the Dragalges they hunt in their quest for evolution. The division in egg groups, which we still have not quite figured out fully, may be another indicative of how reproduction works between Pokémon, as it helps to keep a reasonable number of elements from each species.


So, we go back to the topic of evolutions proper with a question: if some of them have clear disadvantages when compared to their pre-forms like the perpetuation of species, a biological core tenet, then why go against their primal instincts of survival and evolve? By the way, can it even be called evolution, looking at it by this point of view, if it decreases the species odds of surviving through the next generation?


However, Pokémon evolution must not be looked through these lenses only. One have to keep in mind that these creatures have the same physiological needs we all do, plus one. And that one defines them better them every single one: battling.


Pokémon need to battle like they need to breathe or to feed. They hunt, they evolve, they thrive by fighting among each other. That’s why those ideals from Team Plasma, from Unova, were shot down as not-truths, cause Pokémon battling isn’t some kind of twisted perversion or brutality cast by humans upon them (of course that can happen, but there are laws against it). No, Pokémon have battling as the very axis of their existence.


For a long time, we asked ourselves why these creatures, no matter how small, thin or frail, have this drive to fight. Keep in mind that isn’t the same as claiming that Pokémon can’t be friendly or even amorous towards each other or other creatures, but every Pokémon know moves and can instinctively perform them. Fighting is inherent for their lives.


In my research, I came to believe, and here we get to the crux of the matter, that this desire for battling has little to do with these majestic creatures’ DNA and a lot with a more quasi-esoterical concept: energy.


Although this might seem obvious due to the process of evolution having a visible energy output, it still doesn’t quite explain why or how Pokémon can evolve so much in mere moments. But it’s the groundwork of this article. The concept of energy is quite well-known (albeit still with lots to learn) by humans. What we don’t know is why and, mainly, how Pokémon handle energy.


Their relation with it is so different that they can manipulate energy in levels the mankind only dreams of. A Braixen lits its stick by instinctively manipulating its fire energies, while also starting to use some psychic energies, which it’ll have a keen grasp already by the time it becomes a Delphox. An Abra can simply deconstruct and reestruturate its molecules at will, making it a nightmare for inexperienced trainers to catch one.


The Abras are a good example because humans knew how to make Pokeballs since times immemorial, instinctively manipulating these energetic abilities via the power of apricorns. Kurt of Azalea, in my home region of Johto, can tell you more about that and in a profundity I couldn’t even dream of. The Pokeballs are good evidence for a strong current of thinking that consider Pokémon to be creatures of pure energy and, as such, are able to just manifest themselves in physical plane using their powers of energy manipulation.


This is just speculation for now. What we currently know is that, by battling, Pokémon store lots of energy in a manner we call “levels”. When it gets over a certain threshold, it becomes too much for their current physical form to sustain, and that’s the biggest mystery surrounding the topic. How did these creatures become so advanced that they can transform energy into matter and vice-versa at will? Legends try to explain these, and our mundane science may still have a lot to learn with Arceus.