A Pokemon's Life Span?

[Zeffy]

Ghost Pokemon are strange ones, I do believe they are departed Pokemons spirits, proof is shown in Lavender Town, with the Silph scope needed, the Marowak ghost [that i think keeps its shape as marowak because of an un clean death] and even the supposed killing of Blue's Raticate. [he goes to see it at Lavender Tower.

I don't really think we can know, Game Freak just likes to mess with us. lol Like the whole egg bredding thing. *Shivers*

Not all ghost Pokemon are from departed Pokemon, because like I've said Yamask comes from a departed human spirit.

 

[Niprop]

Obviously, life spans would range among Pokémon themselves, as deities and artificial Pokémon have been known to exist for thousands (and in the case of the Arceus and the Spacial and Lake trio, billions) of years, while Pokémon such as Venomoth has been stated to have an exceptionally short lifespan in general comparison.

What I think, as that though many Pokémon that aren't either of the two above might find their eventual demise either through combat, illness, or aging, others find that their trainers, being human, have human lifespans, and eventually age and perish. Though some can cope with losing their mentor, (as after all, one cannot forever be a student) and move on, which is a possible explanation for encountering Pokémon who only evolve through trade in the wild, others are as devastated by losing a trainer as a trainer would be if he or she lost a vital team member, growing cold and isolated like the Dragonite of Blackthorne Village.

 

[Kenpokid]

As people have said before, I think they don't die of age, but rather sickness, injury, or species-specific fatal blows (Hi, Charmander!).

 

[Zeffy]

As people have said before, I think they don't die of age, but rather sickness, injury, or species-specific fatal blows (Hi, Charmander!).

My sentiments exactly. However, as long as they (and by they I mean the people who created Pokemon) don't explain to us how a Pokemon dies, its still won't be official. *sigh*

I hope they (you know what I mean by they, if not search above) will explain it to us someday.

 

[Sabrewulf238]

I doubt pokemon are immortal, I know it hasn't ever been suggested they die of old age but at the same time it's never been suggested that all pokemon live forever. If a pokemon can die through sickness or injury it stands to reason they could easily die of age related causes too. It's danced around in the pokemon series but I'd imagine they have a life span similar to humans. (or maybe somewhat longer/shorter depending on the pokemon)

 

[Kenpokid]

We know for sure that the Marowak died to Team Rocket, though. =\

 

[Zeffy]

I doubt pokemon are immortal, I know it hasn't ever been suggested they die of old age but at the same time it's never been suggested that all pokemon live forever. If a pokemon can die through sickness or injury it stands to reason they could easily die of age related causes too. It's danced around in the pokemon series but I'd imagine they have a life span similar to humans. (or maybe somewhat longer/shorter depending on the pokemon)

Pokemon death isn't really discussed in the series, except for a few things like the Marowak that Team Rocket killed, and a few Pokedex entries. So still, we are still quite uncertain of how long really a Pokemon lives.

 

[Kirbychu]

There are dex entries that mention Pokemon having lifespans.

It is said to live 10,000 years. Its furry tail is popular as a symbol of longevity.

Its nine tails are said to be imbued with a mystic power. It can live for a thousand years.

The dust-like scales covering its wings are color coded to indicate the kinds of poison it has. It has a short life span, and appears to be the evolved form of a Venonat.

That last one was from Pokemon Adventures. Pokemon definitely have lifespans, Game Freak just didn't want children crying over all their dead friends.

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

Maybe this was naivety on my part, but I always assumed that Pokemon lifespans were similar to the animals that Nintendo were ripping off to be created. So... things like Delcatty and Stoutland would live as long as domesticated cats and dogs (maybe less, especially wild ones, given that they're constantly battling). More artificial Pokemon would live considerably longer due to their man-made properties: your Porygons, and maybe Steel-type critters like Clink and the like. More mythical critters like Dragons and legendaries probably have a more elongated lifespan due some some sort of 'mysterious' genetic quality keeping them alive to achieve legendary status for so long.

But then there's things like hated ice cream Pokemon. Presumably it doesn't die in the summer, but as there's no living thing to compare it to, judging lifespan would probably be a much harder phenomenon.

 

[vaporeon7]

We mustn't forget that Ninetales can live for 1000 years.

 

[PlatinumDude]

I'm not sure on other types of Pokemon, but I think that Ghost Pokemon can live forever.

 

[fenyx4]

An Attempt at Analyzing Life-Spans of Pokemon...

Where did Red's Pikachu come into this? >.>

100 Years.. I don't know why, I just think they live for a long time.. could be infinate :P

Coincidentally enough, that's roughly amount of time that the Emerald PokeDex identifies of Absol's life-span:

It sharply senses even subtle changes in the sky and the land to predict natural disasters. It is a long-lived Pokémon that has a life-span of 100 years.

It has the ability to foretell natural disasters. Its life span is over a hundred years.

I would say that life-span is dependent on the Pokemon in question, though Pokemon in general tend to be long-lived, it appears. They are susceptible to the elements and natural causes just like humans, but are more resilient due to their inherent magical abilities having been bestowed upon them for ages. However, enigmatic quirks such as Ghost-type Pokemon, data-based Pokemon, and PC storage disrupt any overall estimations.

I would assume that Pokemon PC Storage, as well as conventional Poke Ball storage, renders Pokemon in a form of stasis - similar to suspended animation, if you will. Poke Balls are noted for provided captured Pokemon with habitats suitable to their liking. The "wallpapers" in the PC Storage System could also be related to the habitat creation that occurs inside Poke Balls (due to the various elemental-themed backgrounds, such as caves, lakes, urban environments, and grassy terrain), ensuring sustenance for all Pokemon contained within the Box. Such could probably extend the life of a Pokemon indefinitely, should such a system executed properly.

However, by being exposed to nature, a Pokemon's life cycle presumably proceeds as normal. The period could be reasonably longer than a human's life-span, provided that the Pokemon is of optimal condition and unaffected by any adverse factors or illness. Seeing as many Pokemon have adapted to particular elements, their longevity probably far exceeds that of humans, yet still remains in a finite value.

The Porygon line is notorious for its ability to revert to data. I would hypothesize that as long as the media that Porygon is contained in does not deteriorate or decay, Porygon should live for quite the lengthy amount of time. It's like data in the real world: as long as the metallic components and stuff in your USB is in proper working condition, you should be able to access your data with ease. However, should the USB be destroyed whether due to physical damage, trauma, elemental disruption such as water or electrical discharge, etc., the data is lost as well. A cyberspace environment would probably benefit the Porygon line much better than a natural setting would, provided that Porygon can sustain itself and that Porygon's "host" media (i.e., a computer) does not encounter or suffer damage.

I'm not sure on other types of Pokemon, but I think that Ghost Pokemon can live forever.

This might be plausible, but Ghost Pokemon are just weird like that, LOL. I guess certain Ghost-types only retain ghostlike properties without being true ghosts, while certain Pokemon are more in line with reincarnations of people of past eras, which is a bit weird as I reflect on it... But there does seem to be some sort of great, distinctive difference between Ghost-types like Gengar, and literal Ghosts like the Marowak killed by Team Rocket in Pokemon Tower. It's weird...both types of Ghosts are susceptible to elemental moves and techniques, yet literal Ghosts can avoid capture by a Poke Ball. Maybe it has something to do with the Poke Ball's energy conversion...literal ghosts have no energy to convert, while Gengar and the like do. As for Ghost-type Pokemon, even they are prone to being afflicted by entry hazards, weather conditions, and other field moves, so they have a definite life-span as well, it seems... I'm guessing Ghost Pokemon have the highest resiliency of all Pokemon, so while they can live eons upon eons in a manner possibly similar to legendary Pokemon, they cannot escape the cruel fate of death either... As long as they possess "energy" and are catchable via Poke Ball, they have a life-span just like all other Pokemon do.

Sigh...I guess life-spans are just one of the more cryptic aspects of the Pokemon universe, just like a myriad of other things. XD

 

[AimayBee]

Where did Red's Pikachu come into this? >.>

I hypothosised that Red's Pikachu would die with Red as they have such a massive bond that is always talked about in the Pokemon game and anime.

 

[bladeeudys]

;;;;

pokemon dont have a life span the creator of pokemon was to busy makin them that he didnt think of that :D and why are u askin if pokemon can die...wouldn't you want your bestfriends to be there till the end...,!!!!

 

[danno 507]

I think they just have a longer life span than the animals they wer based off of.

 

[Fire Walker]

Some Pokémon would probably live longer than others, like I'd expect a Pokémon like Metagross or Magnezone to live for a couple hundred years or so. Legendaries might have endless lifespans, like Darkrai, etc. Other Pokémon (thinking generally, like Pidgey or Starly, etc.) would probably be in between 20-50 years. Small Pokémon, such as Rattata or the bug family, would probably be around 10 years.