[Theory] If We Lived in the Pokémon World

[UnovianDecidueye]

If We Lived in the Pok?mon World

Lately I've been thinking a lot about if Pok?mon were real. I have a bunch of questions that I couldn't think of a logical explanations to, so I'm curious to know if anyone here can come up with some. I'm pretty sure everybody agrees that if Pok?mon existed battling would be illegal, but for the sake of imagination let's just assume that it is completely legal.

1. If Pok?mon were real, would you have to choose a starter from the lab or could you have someone help you search for a wild one to catch?

2. If a lab starter is required, how would the professors be able to just hand them out to dozens of trainers? It seems like the regional starters are pretty hard to find in the wild, so how would that be possible?

3. How would the gyms actually work? I like to think there would be millions of trainers trying to get all their badges, so how would a gym leader be able to battle all of them?

4. How would gym leaders make money? Would there be some kind of fee trainers would have to pay to battle them?

5. We've seen trainers in the anime battle in the middle of a city with civilians nearby. Wouldn't a battle in a place like that be a problem?

6. Would conferences and other big events be able to be watched on TV, sort of like Pay-Per-View?

7. How would you train your Pok?mon? I think a lot of people would agree that going out in the woods and Hyper Beaming every wild Pok?mon you see is a bit too far.

8. Would levels and EXP work the same way IRL as it does in the games?

9. How would held items work in real life? It'd be strange to see someone's Pok?mon holding leftovers during a battle.

10. Trading seems pretty cruel to me, so how would I be able to own a Gengar/Alakazam/Scizor etc?

11. How many trainers would be able to compete in a conference?

12. What would the prizes for winning a conference be?

13. Would priority moves even exist?

14. How popular would battling be compared to real world sports?

15. Would it be possible to own a fish Pok?mon and use them outside of water?

16: Who would be qualified to challenge a regional Champ?

 

[Absolitetion]

I'll just give it a go. I'll keep it simple.

1. There are plenty in the games and anime who are Trainers without a starter. I don't see why not.
I think the Lab starters are the easy way for children who want to start a journey as these Pok?mon are probably easier to raise.

2. Probably there is a very big breeding program behind the scenes. I do not assume they just take the kid away from their parents in the wild.

3. I think there would a much more different system for Gyms to work.
Not just challenging the Gym Leader and beat 'em.
I expect it more to be like courses wherein several Trainers compete at the same time to test the capabilities of them (theory & practical) on several criteria and if a Trainer passes in these they hand out badge as proof of their competence.

4. I suppose there are entry fees. Would make more sense that in real life being a Trainer is a way bigger investment than shown in the anime/games. And I assume that running a Gym is also really expensive.

5. I'd say towns and cities all have several 'Battle Spots' made for battling.
I assume just battling in the middle of a mall for example would be illegal because of damages and casualties it could cause.

6. I don't see why not.

7. It would be way more than just knowing strong moves. I think e.g. physical attributes and stratergies will be a lot more in play, among things.

8. EXP is a game mechanism. IRL it would be like how sport athletes train.
A lot of effort on stamina, strength, agility, speed, etc. etc. etc.

9. Again, that's a game mechanic. Perhaps if it is somehow attached like a necklace or so.

10. I think it'd be the same as 'leveling up' + the requirement. Just without the trade.

11. I'd think thousands would sign up. It will be just a process of elimination who will participate.
I think there will be many different tournaments in each region with several different restrictions
on what Pok?mon may or may not participate.

12. Trophies, money, medals... fame.

13. Battling is infinitely more dynamic IRL.
For priority moves, I don't think they'll really exist.
I think it comes down to the (physical, thinking, reflex, etc.) speed of Pok?mon.

14. I think it could be popular.
Though I think it will not be likely Pok?mon will die from battles, some Pok?mon seem to enjoy battling theirselves,
and hopefully we can keep it at 'battle damage' (though actual injuries are also possible), I think PETA will be at their best to stop this.

15. Maybe in battles with a Water Field or so, but otherwise, nah.

16. Someone who has all badges, I think. Though there will probably be a lot to add to that.
Minimal age will probably be a thing.

 

[Alakazam17]

I've been thinking about a lot of these same things because I'm in the process of planning a new Pok?mon fanfic, so I'll answer these. Maybe it'll help both of us. ^_^

1. I think there could be events in various cities around the world where children of a certain age(likely not ten though) are given their first Pok?mon. But I think you could also get Pok?mon by other means, ie. a gift from a family member.

2. See above. Also note that having it once a year allows for time to breed.

3. I think gym battles would work more like league battles in the anime, ie. trainers battle each other in an elimination tournament, with the winner(s) going on to face the gym leader.

4. Gym leaders would be government workers, so they're paid with tax-payer dollars. Either that or they receive a percentage of the profits from ticket sales.

5. There would likely be designated areas around the city that could be used for battles. Think public parks, basketball courts, etc. from the real world. There would likely be restrictions on using them elsewhere however.

6. Yes. Hopefully not pay-per-view though. =/

7. Battling other trainers would likely be the preferred method.

8. I think leveling up and EXP would be social constructs, and have no basis in biology. Similar to our ages in the real world.

9. Some items would make more sense than others, but in most cases the item could be part of a charm or necklace. Leftovers though? That's a little harder to visualize.

10. I already did cover this in a story of mine, where a Kadabra evolved into an Alakazam after meditating alone in the forest for about a day. My justification was that the method of evolution was being separated from its trainer for a time, which is similar to what happens during the trading process in-game.

11. There would probably be a number of semi-conferences, with the winners of each coming together in one final event. I think it would work very similar to the real life Pok?mon championships, though on a much larger scale.

12. Becoming a gym leader, perhaps? That seems like a pretty decent prize to me. Valuable items like Master Balls or evolutionary items could work too, depending on their rarity.

13. I don't see why not. I'm not sure what your reasoning for them not existing would be, so I don't know what else to say.

14. I don't care much about real world sports so I'm probably biased. but I can see Pok?mon being much more popular. I've imagined that if our world had Pok?mon in it, most if not all of the world's sports stadiums would instead be Pok?mon gyms. Thus every US city with an NFL team would be a "Pok?mon Gym City."

15. Perhaps with technology that allows for them to move within a bubble of water, which of course doesn't exist in the real world. However it would likely be developed given this alternate timeline with Pok?mon in it.

16. Someone who has defeated a set number of gym leaders in that region. I don't think they'd have to defeat all of them(especially given my NFL example), so I'd go with eight, just like the games.