Orx of Twinleaf
Branch into Psyche
- 273
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- 9
- Years
- The Corner of Hither and Yon
- Seen Mar 12, 2023
Pokémon Without People
This is considered supplementary context and thus may be understood as extant in any Pokémon world that does not contradict it
Can't Catch Em All
It is of course understood that wild Pokémon exist that are removed in part or in full from humanity's interference, but from what is presented in canonical materials, it is also evident that Pokémon don't really fall under the category of "dumb animals." Although there are arguments to be made that consider this to be affects rubbing off on them from association with humans, even the most feral Pokémon do behave in anthropomorphic manners from time to time, and this introduces the problem of Pokémon sapience. Given of course that they do still perform animal actions while also exhibiting human behaviors, this context assumes there to be a divide in the Pokémon of the world.
Habitat and Vagrancy
Humans are shown to have quite the presence on the Pokémon planet, but they can't cover it entirely, and there are still wilder places left for Pokémon. So it is that Pokémon live near humans both in wilderness and as pest species in urban areas, and that Pokémon presumably also exist beyond the reaches of humanity in completely unsettled territories. It is also implied, of course, that even if most Pokémon aren't inherently aggressive, they are still dangerous creatures, and that humans don't go poking around the more unfriendly places too often, and that this ultimately creates an unofficial boundary between "human lands" and the "outlands" beyond.
In addition, humans travel as frequently as they might be expected to in any other civilized world, and in doing so bring their foreign Pokémon across borders. This is assumed to have happened with enough frequency that, when coupled with release/run-away rates (which if not high are still high enough to factor given an advanced human population's size), whatever regional restrictions Pokémon species might have had have now degraded in almost all cases, such that a Pidgey may indeed be found in compatible habitats anywhere on the globe. This is made more likely and self-evident by the interbreeding capabilities of Pokémon species, such that if a single female specimen were released into an area, and there were a compatible species that could breed with it already present, a population might easily be introduced. This is not to say that certain species are not still quite uncommon is some places compared to others, but their inherent vagrancy allows them to exist relatively anywhere that could sustain them.
The most important facet of this human-aided vagrancy, however, is the fact that it is human-aided. Many such vagrants can reasonably be assumed to have been Trained or else kept by humans in some fashion before they either break loose, are released by their Trainer, or else are separated due to accident or injury. Those Pokémon who are close to humans will learn much about them, just as Trainers learn much about their Pokémon. On returning to the wild (or, in the case of captivity-hatched specimens, being introduced to it), such Pokémon may well begin to miss the comforts of human civilization and attempt to bring them to their wild brethren. This may be understood as happening throughout history, and with the intelligence and aptitude of many Pokémon species, Pokémon may well have been mimicking human technologies at a fairly steady rate.
This introduces the possibility of Pokémon settlements arising in the wilderness with buildings and social structures akin to those of the humans, this especially so as Pokémon have been shown to be able to communicate with one another across species boundaries. However, there would naturally be Pokémon who prefer to live wild, and there would arise two methods of life for Pokémon removed from humans.
The Old Way
Those Pokémon who live as animals, alongside nature, are they who practice the Old Way. Forgoing design and comfort outside of that allotted them by their instincts, they prey on one another and raise their young while largely disregarding the humans. Most Pokémon who live uncaptured in "human lands" live in the Old Way, and mingle here and there with their domesticated brethren. These Pokémon generally don't venture far from their place of hatching unless captured, and may even wish to be captured, to which ends they expose themselves to humans and may even challenge them.
Pokémon of the Old Way have a certain pride in their choice of lifestyle, and they understand it to be the way Arceus wanted, and look down on those Pokémon who "play at being human." Moreover, they usually have a rather removed worldview, given as it is they tolerate harsh environments, territorial disputes, predation, abduction by humans, and the occasional armed hunter as facts of life. Many Old Way Pokémon live in human lands because the Old Way Pokémon in the outlands are generally more inclined to be destructive and aggressive.
As more Pokémon become "civilized," though, even the Old Way is beginning to change. Carnivory and especially Egg-stealing is becoming less and less common. Because any Pokémon (yes, any, and the canon gives proof of it) can eat Berries (capital B), the need to eat meat has become much less of a need, and especially so as Berry trees have found their way to very nearly every part of the world. Predator species turning to a Berry diet has thus turned most Old Way habitats into sort of communal anarchies, where the Pokémon live in relative harmony except for territorial disputes.
The New Way
Through the humans they live with, domesticated Pokémon are exposed to all manner of artistic and technological marvel, and they carry this with them should they ever leave into the wild. Wild Pokémon are not stupid, and may begin to support these ideas, and together with their once-domesticated visionaries can raise a settlement akin to any human one. Because of the variety of inspirations one of these visionaries may have, the settlements created may resemble a human settlement from any point in history, or occasionally more unique settlements that don't resemble anything humans have made.
Pokémon are also adaptable enough to recreate at least the more simple human technologies, and such as an Alakazam would easily be able to produce a lightbulb if given one taken from a human settlement to inspect. Such as Conkeldurr and other species have innate instincts to draw from for producing building materials as well, and may also produce various other effects, like flame-welding and tunneling through their natural abilities.
What humans have and Pokémon don't, however, is a global communications network, and even if an individual might be able to operate and even reverse-engineer something like a cell phone, the materials and methods for the creation of things like circuit chips are simply to advanced for Pokémon to reproduce in all save the most advanced settlements. Such it is that Pokémon settlements are usually extent in clusters cross wide areas, with only qualitative knowledge of one another. Such settlements are virtually nonexistent within human lands, where clashing with humanity might cause issues, and they tend to be out in the outlands, where they don't have to deal with the threat of hunting or abduction by humans.
Pokémon of the New Way are those who live in these settlements, under any collection of curious law or rule, but which invariably includes those against things like predation. They are usually easily distinguished from Old Way Pokémon by their donning of clothing (or else accouterment and accessory for those species whose bodies don't allow for much in the way of traditional clothing). They tend to have broader opinions of the world, and look down on those of the Old Way as animalistic and savage. A number of them are wanderers who travel all throughout the outlands, hopping between settlements and inadvertently allowing Pokémon of the New Way to have a more global awareness of one another.
Some Examples
Just a few examples of Pokémon settlements that existed in the outlands at one point or another.
-Witchpyre-
A settlement built in the style of an American colonial village deep in the aspen forests of the western continent. Witchpyre's founder had been convinced by other domesticated Pokémon in 1692 of his Trainer's being a witch, and aided in apprehending his Trainer and putting her to death before returning to the wild and spreading the then-widespread witch-fearing mentality to those wild Pokémon who would listen. Witchpyre still stands in modern times and hasn't largely changed in appearance; is is given a wide berth by travellers as Witchpyre is known to apprehend strangers and more often than not execute them on fanatic beliefs. The village's most prominent feature is its large courthouse in the central part of town, which doubles as a place of worship, where the resident Pokémon follow the human religion of Catholicism, as opposed to the more ingrained Arceistic ways of most Pokémon. The courthouse's bell tolls loud enough to be heard for roughly a half-mile in every direction at high noon every day, and its sound pushes off all those travelers and Old Way Pokémon who might come too close.
-Dragonsmound-
A throng of shanty-towns built upon a hill surrounding a natural crater in the more arid regions of the Eastern continent. Founded by a Dragon who had been companion to a Pokémon League competitor who returned to the wild after that man passed away. The Dragon in question enjoyed the territorial battles with the other wild Dragons, but missed the glory of the crowds, and so brought them together fight for one another's entertainment in a deep crater around which Dragonsmound formed. The Dragons, being naturally hardier and tougher than most other Types, armed themselves with crude weapons and fought one another for sport until non-Dragon Pokémon began to gather as well to watch and occasionally participate themselves. By far one of the less-"civilized" New Way settlements, Dragonsmound is nonetheless a lively attraction that manages to convert Old Way Pokémon here and again and continues to be a frequented stop by travelers.
-Sunsun Town-
A settlement built in the image of Sinnoh's Floaroma Town but on the Western continent. Its founder had been a wild Pokémon who lived in Floaroma and had been displaced through a most-unfortunate series of events and had decided to remake her home among the wild Pokémon she had fallen in with. An unremarkable settlement in most respects except for its closeness to a human one: the buildings are even built as if to human specifications, which gives most residents their own individual modicum of difficulty in compensating. It is a peaceful settlement that, barring the occasional falling out with some more aggressive Old Way Pokémon, has stood undisturbed for years.
-Randlin's Reef-
A settlement on the ocean floor, in the shallower parts of the Pacific Ocean. Its founder, after whom the settlement is named, had been a Magikarp kept in a decorative aquarium in an artist's home, who broke out of his tank and flailed his way to freedom in the sea one night. After having Evolved in the wild, the now-Gyarados used his newfound strength to smash the floor of the ocean into his own artistic image: a collection of hollowed rock domes and coral structures that stretches for roughly four miles. Though entirely lacking in things like electricity for obvious reasons, the area attracted a great many marine Pokémon who decided to take up residence, and it serves as a milestone for aquatic travelers.
Honestly, if imagination allows it, it may well find life as a Pokémon settlement somewhere in the world, and given their isolation from humanity, they can easily be considered extent even in the face of the most far-reaching and invasive of human endeavors.
