Pokémon has been around for a long time. Over the course of its existence, the franchise has expanded into almost every form of entertainment. There are Pokémon movies, an anime, manga, video games, and, of course, merchandise. The franchise seems to gain more and more fans by the day, but never really seems to lose many. Those who grew up with Ash and his friends still seem as interested in everything, and the younger generation is just as entertained by these little creatures as previous ones. Since the show and video games have been around for so long, of course there are fan theories that try to explain all of the things that make absolutely no sense.
There are literally theories for everything, including where some Pokémon came from and some holes in characterization. For example, why doesn't Ash appear to age season after season? Or why do certain Pokémon look alike but seem to have no actual connection to one another? Most of the theories on this list have been confirmed in one way or another, so this is the place to be for fans who want to know all of the behind the scenes happenings and ideas of Pokémon.
Obviously, it's possible that we've missed some theories, but there are just so many of them out there that they would be impossible to compile. Either way, these are the best of the best that Pokémon fans have to offer.
25 Ditto Was A Failed Attempt At Making Mew
For a long time now, there has been a theory that Ditto was a failed attempt at making a Mew. Mew has been studied by scientists for years, as they were trying to copy its genetic makeup.
Of course, the only successful clone of Mew was Mewtwo, and even this Pokémon was pretty different.
However, both Mew and Ditto share the same base stats and have the ability to use Transform. Mew’s DNA supposedly contains the DNA of all Pokémon and as most trainers know, Ditto is able to take the form of any Pokémon that it chooses.
24 Ash Never Grows Up Because Of Ho-Oh
One of the biggest mysteries of the Pokémon series is that Ash doesn’t seem to age no matter how many years go by. One of the most wildly known and accepted Pokémon theories is that Ash does not age because of his encounter with the legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh.
Early on in his journey, Ash had an encounter with Ho-Oh.
This Pokémon is known to have the ability to grant wishes. Some people believe that Ho-Oh granted Ash the ability to never age because he says he wants his Pokémon journey to never end.
23 Gengar Is Clefable's Shadow
Gengar is a Shadow Pokémons. Clefable, on the other hand, is a fairy type Pokémon. Clefable’s first form, Clefairy, was actually considered as Ash’s main Pokémon for the series, but it was replaced with Pikachu.
It is not unusual for two Pokémon to be connected in the series, but the Clefable-Gengar connection is a bit newer on the scene.
After looking at both of them, they look exactly alike and neither of them can perform any sort of STAB attacks on each other, so this theory seems to have some pretty strong evidence.
22 Team Rocket Created Weezing & Koffing
Koffing is the first form of this Pokémon and appears to always be happy with a smile on its face. However, Weezing appears to always be in pain and has two consciousnesses.
Many fans believe that this Pokémon was a failed attempt by Team Rocket to create a gaseous form of Ghost-type Pokémon.
Instead, it appears that Team Rocket just created a big toxic balloon. According to aminoapps.com, the skull and crossbones on the Pokémon are a big indicator that they were man-made, since they are a human symbol typically reserved for warning others of danger.
21 Cubone Wears Its Mother
One of the most distinctive features of Cubone is the skull that it wears on its face. However, this is not a natural attribute that it has. This skull is actually the skull of its departed mother. As many know, Kangaskhan has a small little baby that it carries around in its pouch at all times. Cubone was one of the little babies, but when it lost its mother, it picked up the skull. Female Cubones will evolve into Kangaskhan after Marowak.
20 The Afterlife Can Create Pokémon
Ghost-type Pokémon have always been a bit of a mystery, because as humans the only way that a ghost is created is when someone passes away. However, some answers were given to fans by the series when Yamask was introduced in the fifth generation of Pokémon games. Yamask is basically a lifeless human who carries around a mask of the face it had as a human. This Pokémon is also known to cry when it is reminiscing on its human life. Some believe that the aspect of Pokémon passing was just avoided by creators.
19 To Eat Or Not To Eat
One thing that is typically glazed over is the fact that Pokémon are sometimes served as food, such as Magikarp.
It is similar to the real world, where people keep cats and dogs as pets but eat meat for dinner.
Some Pokédex entries in the series imply that some Pokémon were or almost were hunted to extinction, so this confirms that Pokémon are used as some form of sustenance for both humans and other Pokémon. It sort of makes sense, considering there are no animals in the Pokémon universe.
18 Jessie & James Are A Couple
Jessie and James are the two main Team Rocket members that are seen in the series. Although they put all of their effort into their plans, they usually end up getting blasted off into the sky by Pikachu’s powerful thunderbolt. Many fans have wondered if Jessie and James are romantically involved because they are always together. Fan theories that they were a couple were finally confirmed in The Electric Tale of Pikachu. This epilogue of this series shows that they had gotten married and were even expecting a child.
17 Ash & Misty Were Meant To Be A Couple
Another couple that fans were always hoping to see together were Ash and Misty. Although they didn’t always get along, she offered him a wealth of knowledge and helped him when he got himself into some pretty crazy situations. The reason that many fans believe this theory to be true is a preview that was meant to be the end of the anime series that shows an older Misty with a young girl who also happens to have a Pikachu. This is thought to be a flash forward that would play at the end of the series.
16 Floette Was Supposed To Be Released Earlier
AZ is a character that is encountered a number of times in Pokémon X & Y. He is one of the ancient kings of the Kalos region who lost his beloved Pokémon, Floette. AZ’s Floette is a different color than all of the other ones.
The special color of AZ’s Floette led many fans to believe it would be released to the public during a special event.
Fans were able to go through the files of Pokémon X & Y and discovered that this Pokémon was actually programmed into the game.
15 Cubone & Kangaskhan Are Related
Cubone and Kangaskhan seem to be pretty different, but there is a whole theory behind these two Pokémon that lead fans to believe they are related. This theory states that Cubone was the baby that Kangaskhan always carries around. One theory states that any Kangaskhan baby that loses its mother turns into a Cubone and wears the skull of its mother. This type of evolution in Pokémon is not unusual in the Pokémon universe. According to mashable.com, Slowpoke can only evolve into Slowbro when a Shellder attaches to its tail.
14 Professor Oak Was Supposed To Be The Final Challenge
Professor Oak is the first person that helps out Ash and any other trainer in the Kanto region when they are first starting out on their journey. In the Pokémon manga, it is confirmed that Professor Oak was the champion of the Kanto region at some point.
Trainers can encounter Professor Oak. He has a pretty powerful team.
The biggest piece of evidence to support this theory is the fact that he goes into the Hall of Fame. In previous games, only the champion or a former champion can enter the Hall of Fame.
13 Arcanine Is A Legendary
There has been a ton of speculation surrounding Arcanine and whether or not it was meant to be legendary. One of the most popular and wildly accepted theories is that it was meant to be part of the legendary trio. Arcanine is considered a Legendary Pokémon in the Pokédex, but not many people really understood why. One of the main pieces of evidence to support that Arcanine was initially going to be a part of the legendary trio is that it has unusually high stats. However, according to most fans' findings, this Pokémon just made no sense for it to be included.
12 The Player Is The Rival In Red/Blue
In most of the Pokémon video games, the player is typically a “good guy” who is fighting against a team of trainers who are plotting to take over the Pokémon universe.
Something that most players do not realize is that they are responsible for ending their rival’s Pokémon.
During the battle with Blue on the S.S. Anne, Blue’s Raticate is injured. Since he was unable to reach the Pokémon Centre in time, his Pokémon did not make it. Blue hints to this in the game when the player runs into him in Lavender Town.
11 Pokémon Is A Post-Apocalyptic World
The Pokémon universe is a whole lot different than the real world. For example, there are no actual animals and instead, they have these little powerful creatures running around. Also, the Pokémon universe is a place where a ten-year-old can set out on a journey around the region to discover their true destiny, something that would never fly with parents in the real world. Apparently, the Pokémon universe that fans see in the anime and games is set in a post-apocalyptic world after a great Pokémon war wiped out a large number of humans and Pokémon.
10 The Pokémon War
There was supposedly a big Pokémon war, according to Lt. Surge. This is used to explain why none of the trainers seem to have a father figure. This war was a big one and claimed many lives, both human and Pokémon.
Although it is mentioned in the first games, it is not really discussed in the series.
The was is thought to be fought by humans and Pokémon along with the help of some man-made weapons. Many trainers think that Gary’s parents perished in this war, which is why he was raised by Professor Oak.
9 Venomoth & Butterfree
After looking at both Butterfree and Venomoth, this theory does not come as a shock as they both have very similar features. Some trainers believe that the similarities between the two is simply because the creators of the game and series had so many Pokémon to create. It is assumed that they were switched either on accident and left that way, or on purpose because the creators wanted to keep fans on their feet. Either way, it looks like Venomoth should evolve from a Metapod and Butterfree should evolve from a Venonat.
8 The Mystery Of Mt. Moon
Mt. Moon is a special place for a couple of reasons; the main reason that it is special is that it is the only place that a trainer can come across Pokémon fossils, rare stones, and a ton of Clefairies and Jigglypuff. There is one theory above all else that is widely accepted and makes the most sense.
This theory states that Clefaries came from space and landed in this spot on a rock. After landing here they made it their home, which is why there are so many of them around there.
7 Mr. Fuji Created Mewtwo
Mewtwo was an artificially created Pokémon that was built off of Mew’s DNA. Of course, things go a bit awry when he is a lot more intelligent and humanlike then they planned. He plans to take over the world and destroys the facility that he was created in. The video games never really address the question of who created Mewtwo, but it was revealed that Mr. Fuji had once lived on Cinnabar Island where he worked as a doctor. This fact led players to think he helped create Mewtwo. This theory was confirmed in the Pokémon Origins anime.
6 The GS Ball
The Pokémon anime included a storyline that involved Ash having to travel to Orange Island in order to collect a mysterious Poké Ball. Professor Oak was trying to get his hands on it.
Eventually, Ash had to bring this ball to Kurt in Johto. Once he completed this task, the storyline was basically dropped.
All of the fan theories regarding the GS Ball were put to rest when Masamitsu Hidaka confirmed that Celebi was planned to be inside of this ball and become a part of the series. However, this plan was canceled when it was decided that Celebi would star in its own movie.