Legendary Pokemon, Starter Pokemon, Gimmick Pokemon and all of the rest
- what do all of them have in common? Except the fact that they
make bank for their creators - we all can tell that the Pokemon.. are
Pokemon, creatures that have been merged and involved with the franchise as a whole,
hence gaining the attribute of “being official.” With Pokemon soon turning 28 years old, the
thought of now having more than thousand Pokemon designs still seems insane, and most likely
I’m not the only
one with that sentiment. Though if we went over the vast amount
of media related to the franchise, we have from time to time came across
designs that seemed out of place - creatures, which either really couldn’t be
assigned to an existing Pokemon family, we never got the chance to take them along on our journey,
or straight up showing up and disappearing just as fast with no explanation or
understanding.. so what are they? And just how much have we came across them in the
past years of vent
ures and experiences we’ve had in the Anime, Games, Manga and what not else?
Well, let’s go over the mystery and the various pockets of interesting lore buried beneath
the surface, which could unravel some fun and interesting facts about the lesser discussed
Pokemon.. that technically aren’t Pokemon. To start out and set up a basis for the whole
discussion of the so-called “Non-Pokemon” that haven’t been recognized by GameFreak as official
Pokemon, or been able to be used as a Pokemon that
you can add to your party - let’s start with
well-known and simpler instances of the topic, like the poster child for this by now with the
real mongoose in the anime or the Substitute Doll, which doesn’t resemble any Pokemon except
Rhydon in the Stadium games. Now that you got at least a vague understanding of the topic
and what’s involved with it, let’s begin with: Pushing the obvious jokes instantly aside, so
they don’t impede on this segment later on - yes, Seel is pretty much just a reg
ular seal,
Flamigo is just a regular flamingo, just like Greedent is just a squirrel and many
more instances you most likely can think off, but unfortunately dear little Billy - they do not
apply for the subject, due to them being usable and recognisable as official, real Pokemon.. but
I’m not saying that you’re fully incorrect though. Digging deeper, the particular examples
are in the same vein as the example I gave with the mongoose that popped up
in the anime - designs or creatures, whi
ch have show up in the Pokemon universe,
but have no relation to the Pocket Monsters themselves or don’t play a role as a tameable
and usable Pokemon in any form. Of course, there are many, many more instances of regular
animals showing up in the Pokemon series which have been discussed plenty, but for those who
do not know - here are some quick examples before more unique cases in regards to the
discussion: Pokemon eating regular worms(twice), characters wearing costumes or real life anima
ls,
regular fishes showing up in the background, a cooked lobster, giraffes as toys, a big
ass fish getting demolished by Kabutops and more than it would be worth to check,
but now onto more interesting examples, which to no ones surprise involves a good
bit of material from the gen 1 games, even in this case having something to do with the
artwork. Like you already know Kabutops, Omastar and a good few other Pokemon that are derived from
fossils are obtained by, no surprise, retrieving fo
ssils that you resurrect later on, Aerodactyl
not being an exception in this predictable case, though having a separate item compared to the rest
- an Old Amber. Just like with the material that influenced the design in Jurassic Park, the
Old Amber contains a regular mosquito, which more than likely is the source of the ability to
revive Aerodactyl, a Pokemon which Bird Keeper’s probably hold dear to their hearts.. except if
it’s just a regular bird, like their namesake. I mean, a little bi
rd like that is on the
same level of rarity as a legendary, so you can’t really blame him, but at least the class
had a whole generation to enjoy it’s company, until - unsurprisingly - getting taken to the
back alley and never being seen again. We can only speculate about what happened to the poor little
fellas in the Bird Keeper’s company, but more than just rumors have came from others about mysterious
tales - mentioning the well-known to us critters and creatures, yet the unbeknownst bei
ngs to them
by name, such as rats, jellyfish, eels, various bugs, deer and whatnot, which seems weird due to
the need of such animals needing to exist in the first place, so that the names exist in the first
place, but it may seem a bit subjective for some.. so for a more solidified example, let’s look
at the newest Pokemon games, which surprisingly still contain some form of real animals in actual
visual form. As we all “most definitely” have had fun of exploring the not at all tedious amo
unts
of cafes, restaurants and other dining places multiples times, various amount of dishes can be
found as purchasable options, yet one stands out more than the rest - known as the dish “Paella de
Paldea,” which is findable in any “Go-For-Broke Grill” across Paldea - the meal’s signature
component is a sea creature known as a mussel - a type of mollusk/shellfish, which can be found in
salt or freshwater habitats. Now there may be some arguments as to the ingredient being an unlucky
Shell
der, Clamperl or something alike, but if we compare the mussel to the dish ingredient, then
to the somewhat similar Pokemon - an answer can be pretty much drawn from the comparison, but
let’s move on from less hunger-inducing topics! With many, and I do mean MANY vast Pokemon
moves existing, there was a question not about “if non-Pokemon entities would make an
appearance as assist, but when?” Turns out, it only took one generation, even in multiple
variations. Like the most well-known insta
nce of other creatures showing up in the animation,
with any Pokemon that becomes confused in battle get suddenly accompanied by multiple
small, yellow birds that encourage your Pokemon to punch themselves - goddamn those little
devils!..Though speaking of devils, I’m sure that Pokemon hanging out in Generation 2 and Stadium
2 more specifically know more about vicious imps, particularly with the move “Nightmare,” where upon
using the move, a small, black imp gets summoned to apply nightmare
s to the relevant Pokemon,
which the same goes also for GSC and RSE, only to mysteriously disappear and never return
since Diamond & Pearl, though instead Sinnoh introduces us to a buzzy batch known as Combee and
Vespiquen, which after experiencing the struggles of the modern day man and finally getting a
female version that evolves into the queen, you would inevitably at some point come across the
signature moves, which go by the name of Attack, Defend and Heal Order, which enact a summoni
ng
of a bee colony to act out Vespiquen’s offensive, defensive or supportive moves, though
Heal Order in Sword/Shield and onwards ends up just.. not existing, so it looks
like some bees may be out of jobs soon, though maybe users of Infestation may be able
to help with that? Similarly to Attack Order, when using Infestation upon the enemy
- a crowd of bugs get summoned to pile onto the enemy. If that were me, only a
nice gesture would help me recover from such creepy crawlies, but I don’t
know
if a kiss would count.. Maybe a Lovely kiss would work for a Pokemon instead?
The move, which putting event Pokemon aside - is signaturely used by the also horrid
creature Jynx, which is 75% accurate normal type move that puts the enemy to sleep
has other properties involved with it, specifically in the aforementioned generation of
Ruby & Sapphire. Similarly to Nightmare in Gen 2, upon using Lovely Kiss and inducing horror in
other generations beside the 3rd one - a pink fairy is summ
oned by Jynx to induce a kiss, which
puts the enemy to sleep. Not gonna lie, it having the same black imp just like for Nightmare pop up
for the animation is starting to make more sense. Like the title suggests, in this level we’ll be
looking at creatures that you can discover or find in any sort of way in the Pokemon games, of
which you’re already most likely thinking either of the multiple, various different enemies in
Pokestar Studios, or the unidentifiable ghosts in the numerous variati
ons of the Lavender Tower,
which, of course, are correct - even being more recognisable than some official Pokemon, so let’s
dig a bit deeper. Just like a considerable amount of other Pokemon that consist of many creatures
being in one group - Probopass can be used as a more uncommon example of the Pokemon category,
but what are the things that make it a “multiple entity Pokemon?” Well, you see - Probopass and the
magnetic little head entities are an interesting case, since we can’t confide
ntly say that they’re
little minions or magnetic arms for the red nosed rock-sphere… until we read pretty much any of
its pokedex entries to discover that the three units are called “Mini-Noses,” but further on
in it’s Ultra Moon entry it’s stated that the three act out all of the important actions while
Probopass just provides orders - neat, right? As for more known instances that you can find with
no struggle by just playing through the game, yet they fit under the “Non-Pokemon” umbrella,
the
ones that easily apply as well are surprisingly both Legendary Pokemon, more specifically the
lore involved fusion of the Creation Trio’s Palkia & Dialga fusion depicted in Eterna City,
which is based on the people’s understanding of the folklore based around the godly beings,
yet on a more relevant topic we also can count the reimaginings based on research that’s
revolved around the Legendary Paradox Pokemon in Scarlet & Violet, being an another instance
of fusion just like with Palk
ia & Dialga and a separate example further on, though these
two have the highest chance of being disputed with the upcoming release of Indigo Disk at the
time of writing this script. As for spinoffs and not counting the already mentioned Stadium 2, for
the TCG side of the franchise and by technicality relating to the Pokemon TCG Live game as well,
the cast of cards contains not only a card that never been officially released, except being
as a gift for attendees for a performance, but also
holding a creature in the card that
has never made an appearance elsewhere.. No, I’m not talking about the human dressed up in
a costume known as Imakuni (though good guess), but instead a creation by Giovanni known as
MechaMew2 - a mecha version of Mew or Mewtwo, which in Giovanni’s words is the strongest
Pokemon in existence.. though it’s a big claim for something that looks like an enemy for the Power
Rangers in a filler episode before a bigger boss. Moving onto more bizarre and out ther
e examples
for designs which aren’t Pokemon, yet in this instance I’ll mention creatures or forms that
are either separate forms, alternate versions of existing Pokemon and anything alike, or an
alt title for this segment - unofficial Pokemon from the anime, since all of these examples come
from the multiple various seasons, which even goes up to much newer seasons like Sun & Moon, but
since we’re at - why not start with the newest one? Being involved with a group that will make
an appeara
nce again later on, the Pokemon from an alien group known as Celesteela has a fact
about it, which surely could make it stand out more due to the nature of the instance, so let’s
take a closer look at the episode in Sun & Moon, known as “Rise and Shine, Starship!” As you may
have guessed by the title, the episode features a story revolving around Celesteela, but the thing
that’s worth highlighting is the told legend about Celesteela, which shows a Baby version of it,
having a close resembla
nce to a bamboo shoot, but that’s no surprise since Celesteela has bamboo’s
incorporated into it’s design. If such a thing as Baby Ultra Beasts exist, I wonder if Pokemon
such as Groudon or Rayquaza have them? Actually, speaking of the members of the Weather Trio -
Rayquaza and Groudon indeed do having anime, non-game exclusive forms, which make small
appearances. In Pokemon Jirachi - Wish Maker, Groudon appears as a secondary antagonist for the
main characters. Due to how it was created by
the power of Jirachi’s wish granting powers and the
corrupted wishes of the main antagonist, the evil creature that resembles Groudon and going by the
name of Meta Groudon.. isn’t actually a Groudon, just being an amalgamation of the wishers evil
desires. And while we got the spooky atmosphere and mentioning impostors, the unique form of
Rayquaza isn’t a version of the legendary either, but just a form that Mismagius takes on after
using Confuse Ray, pulling off a move similar to Scarecrow
from DC, in result being just an
illusion instead of the real thing. But moving onto a more nicer note, let’s take a look at the
episode “The Ancient Puzzle of Pokemopolis,” where in result of the gang stumbling upon ruins
and causing a disturbance due to Team Rocket making an appearance, previously and still
to this day unexplained forms of Gengar, Alakazam and Jigglypuff show up throughout the
episode, which have patterns and a larger size as usually fitting attributes for the designs. N
ow
although these may seem as quite peculiar versions of Pokemon we know, yet something that fits the
overall discussion less than others - let me show you a design, which not only has made yet
another minor appearance, but also looks like something that could be derived from Beedrill to
create a Paradox form for the exact same Pokemon. Making a single appearance in the anime by just
showing up only in the episode “The Superhero Secret” - the bee coloured arachnid specifically
appears as a
n imaginary creature in a movie made by the episode’s featured character Gligarman,
which would explain the singular example of the design showing up, yet I think recycling it for
any sort of design wouldn’t make anyone complain. But before getting any actual complaints about
me missing any Non-Pokemon, let’s go over a big list of designs that are only slightly varied,
yet still count as separate, or some examples that may have already popped in your head by now,
like Crystal Onix at this p
oint! And on that note, designs that apply here as well are a Gold
Sudowoodo, multiple Pink Pokemon on Pinkan Island in the episode “In The Pink,” various
different cases of Ditto transformations as Pokemon with it’s face still in tact, a non-anime
example of a Vulpix with just a single tail, alternate colour Pokemon from the
episode “Poke Ball Peril” and others, but time for a palette change before we burn-out
from more Pokemon like baby versions and what not. Due to the crazy and ridiculo
us nature
of the Pokemon Manga as, well.. you may have a suspicion about already, we’re going to a
small, yet specifically dedicated segment for some specimens in the matter of the topic. Like you
already saw with the NSFW example for the manga, the same exact Clefairy serves as our
entree for this level: with many instances of Red’s Clefairy reshaping into a different
form, the most interesting reshaping result was the time when they used it as a device to make
fun of fan’s speculation ab
out the rumors of a possible Mewthree, which in my humble opinion is
a based comment from the writers that has lingered in the manga’s history as a legendary moment, well
atleast legendary enough to be a viable transition to speaking about the Legendary fusion of
Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres in Pokemon Infinite Fusion, though that would be the same as saying
Master Chief is from Fortnite, since the initial first appearance of the fused bird trio is in
the 6th chapter of Pokemon Adventures 3
rd Volume, which is called “The Winged Legends.” Being a
horrid amalgamation of the beloved boomer birds, now they.. or it, whatever they are can relate to
the fear they can induce like the form of Haunter, known as “Black Fog,” which greatly resembles
the fusion of many ghost Pokemon in the anime’s episode about the Old Chateau, yet I would say
that the manga version is still more freakier. Why? I mean, I’ve yet to encounter someone,
who would enjoy getting their soul and life sucked out o
f them, so there’s that. I’ll just
get a regular Haunter for my collection instead, thanks! But maybe it would seem as a
good addition to Brock & Oak’s existing collection of multiple creatures that we
have never seen? Snail-like creatures, rough skinned bulky guys, big eyed lil’ baby
man and many other goofy mini Poke mans, though I’ll take anything over a snot-nosed
capsule bug creature - what even is that? With any discussion about a wider group of topics,
there will always be something
that’s on the cusp of being able to be count in with the rest, for
which the case of “Non-Pokemon” also has its small pool of questionable designs with a question
of suitability, so let’s give some spotlight that were considered, but didn’t make to the
final cut for miscellaneous reasons: Turban, the shell which is related heavily to Slowbro and
Slowking could count as a Pokemon due to being involved into the Slowpoke family, but also not
due to being a scrapped Pokemon and not being able
to use it on its own. And technically counting as
semi-playable thanks to the factor of being weaved into their designs - Turban can count as more of a
real Pokemon than not. Of course, the Ultra Beasts can slightly be grouped under the Non-Pokemon flag
due to the lore behind them with their unnatural origins in the Pokemon world and the mysteries
that come along with them for the population, but of course for us from our point of view: they’re
just as much a Pokemon as the rest, atleast ga
meplay wise, which is more than enough to make
them invalid for the main group of “Non-Pokemon.” A similar case to Slowbro and Slowking, but
with a more solid ground to stand on - most of you probably expected for Kangaskhan’s baby to
make an appearance, but due to how the baby plays into Kangaskhan’s caring, motherly nature and
how it pulls the whole design together because of the infant - I’ll count it only as a mention in
the end, which is still an honourable one! Being disregarded in th
e end due to the fact that
they were planned to be real Pokemon even at some point, lost Pokemon designs make a mark on
this list as well, but more specifically - lost Pokemon can also count either as Pokemon that
got scrapped, or designs that made an single appearance before being scrapped or completely
reworked into something else. Though the fact that in the end, and looking at how the scrapped
creatures have ended up in the modern day - they could be brought up as a reasonable possibili
ty
for reconsideration to end up somewhere on the main list. And finally, though only somewhat not
least - counting more as a technicality rather than an intended appearance, MissingNo along
with it’s signature bird typing has reared its unidentifiable head in the Pokemon sphere, which
just being a playable glitch, yet never being officially mentioned by GameFreak pushes it barely
up here instead of not bringing it up at all. In conclusion, what could we make as an
explanation for what are
“Non-Pokemon,” and what are the poster childs or best examples of
the phenomenon? Basing our knowledge on the fact that they have mostly been made as filler,
padding for specific sceneries or episodes cast or interesting, yet scrapped pieces of
world-building, I would make the definition sound a bit like this: "Non-Pokemon" refers to creatures
or designs that appear in various Pokemon media, yet are not officially recognized as Pokémon
by GameFreak. The designs may consist of actual animal
s, alternate variations of official
Pokemon or other designs, which exist outside the official Pokemon roster. As for the best
examples, the previously provided real mongoose, Pokestar Enemies, the move related Substitute
doll or Nightmare’s imp could fit as the best visual explanations for the intriguingly
bizarre occurrence, though due to it’s lesser discussed nature - I’m more than open to
hear your grievances, agreements or opinions in regard to the notes and research I’ve shared in
re
gard to the category of Pokemon! But besides that - that pretty much does it for today’s video!
It’s a little bit different than the usual topic, but after heavy procrastination with a different
project and writing a whole separate script for this video instead - I felt more than obliged
to share this with you all, so I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did researching and
putting it together! After I say subscribe, go click it because of the trick I did to make it
light up and give the like
button a shot aswell, but otherwise - check out some of my
other stuff, and stay tuned for more!
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