Pokemon that are possibly not native to the region they debuted in?

strangerhypno

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    Slugma for instance, it's found in area where there are volcanoes according to its dex entries and Johto has none that we know of, and Slugma are vastly more abundant in Hoenn and Sinnoh than the seemingly nonexistent population in Johto. I have no idea how Slugma would be associated with Johto in universe, the only reason IRL is because it's from gen 2 even then it was only found in Kanto
     
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    Togepi seems to be native to Sinnoh, despite deputing in Gen. II (or Gen. I in the anime). IIRC, Prof. Elm (HGSS) even notes that Togepi doesn't exist in the Johto region. EDIT: His exact quote is "As far as I know, there is not a Pokémon like this in Johto."

    Starter Pokémon are another curious case. The only wild Starters in the main games that I can recall are found in the Friend Safari (Kalos) and via Island Scan (Alola). They're considered "rare" Pokémon, but the games never specifically say that they're from the region you choose them in. They may appear in their debut region as wild Pokémon in the anime, but that's a separate canon.

    I was going to mention Farfetch'd and Lickitung as well since they could only be obtained via in-game trade in Red and Blue (Red and Green in Japan), but I figured I should double-check to make sure. Turns out that they both occur as wild Pokémon in Gen. I, but only in Yellow and the Japanese Blue Version.
     
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    I think some amounts of gen II mons are not Johto native, the most obvious ones being the ones found in Kanto like Murkrow, Misdreavus and Houndour. Lapras can also be found in the wild at Union Cave in Johto but in RBY it was only obtainable as a gift.
     
    ^In relation to that, I once read a theory that Magearna is supposedly native to Kalos and not Alola, mainly concerning it being a 'maid' Pokémon that worked in courts. I believe that that's the case.
     
    Eevee most certainly isn't native to Kanto or Johto, but starting in the Sinnoh games, Eevee could be found in the wild in some quantity in the wild in every subsequent generation since. Same goes for Riolu which was only receivable as an egg in Sinnoh where it debuted, but became a wild Pokemon starting in Black 2 and White 2 and moving forward. There's also some speculation that Exeggutor originated in Alola or at least a locality with a more tropical climate as they grow taller than their Kanto counterparts.

    As a side note I would almost consider Zorua one of these cases as it's only received as a gift Pokemon in all of the Gen V games (becoming a wild Pokemon in ORAS as well as USUM), but it's pretty much canon that Lostlorn Forest in Unova is home to at least a single Zoroark.
     
    I know that NoMoreStars already brought up Riolu/Lucario, but that's always the first one that comes to my mind when a topic like this pops up. I think I originally assumed that it came from Unova, but it shows up in Johto, Kalos, and Alola too, so maybe it's a semi-common Pokemon elsewhere in the world, but just hard to find in Sinnoh (aside from a small Sinnoh village in the anime, it shows up more in other regions, too).
     
    Exeggcute can only be found in the Safari Zone in Gen 1. My theory is that some of them escaped to the trees and now we can find them using headbutt in gen II.

    Also Dratini can only be found in the safari zone and game corner, so who knows if it's native to Kanto.
     
    As far as I'm aware, Yungoos and Gumshoos are the only confirmed examples of this, with dex entries explicitly stating that they were imported to deal with Ratatta.

    Dex entries also seem to imply that Alolan Exeggutor is Exeggutor's proper form, so maybe that's where Exeggcute/Exeggutor come from. Moon says that it 'outgrows' its reliance onpsychic powers, as if the normal Exeggutor is a hindered, lesser form.
     
    icycatelf said:
    Starter Pokémon are another curious case. The only wild Starters in the main games that I can recall are found in the Friend Safari (Kalos) and via Island Scan (Alola). They're considered "rare" Pokémon, but the games never specifically say that they're from the region you choose them in. They may appear in their debut region as wild Pokémon in the anime, but that's a separate canon.
    Click to expand...
    Well, we can't tell exactly tell whether the starters are native to the respective regions or not
    considering the mess of timelines we have and the fact that each source is 100% canon only
    to itself. However...
    -The gen1 starters are all found on Pokémon island(Pokémon Snap)
    -Gen1 to 3 starters are fairly common through the region of Fiore(first Ranger) with the exception of the charizard family and some other starters' evolutionary stages, being rarer than others.
    -Gen4 starters, blastoise and charizard families are prominent across Almia(Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia)
    -Gen2,3,4 starters, venusaur and charizard families are prominent in the Oblivia archipelago(Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs)
     
    Hopefully no one forgot about the fun fact that this guy:
    [PokeCommunity.com] Pokemon that are possibly not native to the region they debuted in?

    ...as well as its evolution were supposed to be in Ruby and Sapphire but were cut due to time constraints, though their cries are strangely still in the game's code.
    That said, Shellos and Gastrodon, in my opinion at least, do fit better in Sinnoh than in Hoenn, but that's just me.
     
    I would consider Pokémon to be native to the first region they can be found in the wild in, i.e. not the Safari Zone, Bug Catching Contest, or a similar facility or activity.

    An example of this would be that I consider Scyther to be native to Sinnoh, since that's the first region in which it appears in the plain ol' wilderness. I actually see Chansey in the same way, since it only appears in the wild in Kanto right next to the Safari Zone, and only three years after RGBY/FRLG, so it's possible that a small population of wild Chansey could've arisen as some of them escaped from the Safari Zone. Jynx is another good, if slightly different in specifics, example!
     
    The pokemon you can only get in a trade in the first generation they appear, but can be found in the wild, in later gens are probably not natives. For instance, Jynx and Mr Mime are probably not native to Kanto. Same goes for Eevee. My headcanon is that it's a Kalos native (same as Jynx and Mr. Mime), but since they are adorable and can evolve so many different ways, they are popular pets and as such can be seen in every region, like dogs and cats in the real world.
    Also Farfetch'd is known to be very rare in Kanto but can be found in the wild in Johto. This isn't to say that it's not a Kanto native, but that it's gone extinct locally. Maybe RBY's Dux is from Johto.
     
    i always liked the idea of speculating where certain fossil pokemon are natively found, or what the region was before they became fossils
     
    I would like to think that the Pokemon are native to the region they first debuted in, aka the in the region's generation they were intreduced in
     
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