Mythology

Do you feel like the myths in the Pokemon world are true? For example, the myth that Mew is the creator of every species - do you take myths such as those to be real and definite as to how Pokemon were created, or do you take them similar to myths in real life?

Now take this to what would be considered an "urban legend" in Pokemon, as opposed to a widely accepted myth, such as some Pokedex entries (A Magikarp living for many years can leap a mountain using Splash). Do you put just as much stock in the Pokedex entries? Why or why not?

Feel free to also discuss anything related the myths/urban legends of Pokemon being true or not here.

I take myths the same way in the Pokemon games that I do in real life. In the game it's a myth based on what someone else said and spread meaning people followed it just like believing in a God in the real world. Nobody has proof of a God but the myth has been going around because somebody or a group of people found what could possibly be evidence, showed it to other people, and others followed.

Now I know Pokemon is just a game but I think GameFreak added these myths to give us a "what if" this world really existed and shows us how the Pokemon life form will play out. If you really think about it, the Pokemon world and the real world has a lot of similarities so with that being said the myths should be looked upon the same whether it's a scripted game or not.

Kind of a little bit of both, really. Some of the myths could turn out to be very close to the truth in the Pokemon canon, while others are just really exaggerated. In real life, most of them are the latter. Though in the Pokemon world, some myths can be clues as to the origins of certain Pokemon, etc.

Pokemon myths tend to have that same quality real myths do, in that they're mysterious. I often find myself wondering how close to actuality they really are. Pokemon myths, therefore, help to add a certain mysterious quality to the canon that I find fascinating. Personally I hope they never get verified or dismissed, so that air of mystery stays.

As for the Pokedex, well... the Pokedex is meant to be a tool for scientific research, but a lot of Pokedex entries detail urban legends and the like, so it's likely an unreliable source of information. (Thanks, Oak) Urban legends themselves, much like myths, are unreliable, so they can't be taken for fact. However they shouldn't immediately be taken for fiction either, considering they're more recent; therefore, the story has passed through less people, and is likelier to be true. Then again, stories tend to get blown out of proportion, Pokemon world or not. (I mean Magikarp Splashing over a mountain, really?) It probably depends on how believable it sounds, really; no other way to tell.