Chapter 1
You'd think Pallet Town would be a prime location to get writing done; there's very few distractions and a beautiful ocean view to keep your mind at ease. That wasn't helping Leaf though, who was taking a late lunch break sitting outside the recently renamed Professors Oak and Green's Laboratory and working on her side-project. Her laptop rested in front of her on the picnic table, displaying the last page of the text document she had been working on, with the cursor blinking expectantly.
She sighed; it had been a couple of days since the most recent significant change to its contents so far. Going through all 373 kilobytes of it over and over, she knew she was saying everything she wanted to, but it seemed lacking somehow. The jargon was simplified to make it readable to a general audience, but it was still jargon - not interesting enough. It lacked colour.
Mulling it over in her head, she decided it was finally time to stop putting it off and get someone else's input on the matter - but who? She leaned forwards and pressed a keyboard shortcut which brought up her contacts list on the screen. It showed people's names in order of most recently contacted, Leaf considered them one by one.
Red - He was a fast reader, but wasn't very big on science, nor a wordsmith. So that was a pass on him.
Mum - Despite her smiling and nodding along whenever Leaf explained what her research was about, it was clear she didn't really understand much of it. Although people like her were the target audience. She'd be a good candidate to read the final draft, just not someone to ask for advice at this stage.
Samuel - Certainly a good science communicator, she thought, but he had helped enough already. He'd practically written half of it! A fresh pair of eyes were needed.
Bill - He was someone who'd understand everything discussed in the book; Leaf's research wouldn't have got anywhere without him. Could he help with writing it though? He was always more concerned with tinkering with things than explaining how they work to anyone else.
Lyra - She had been a great help with Leaf's research as well, but didn't yet have the expertise she sought.
Blue - You know what? Leaf thought. Bill would do, after all.
Deciding to call Bill was the easy bit. A few seconds passed with no attempt at placing a call being made. Her hand hovered hesitantly over the laptop trackpad, looking as if it was going to move only to retreat, like a pet Torracat taking its time to jump on its trainer's lap.
Another sigh. Why did she have to be born into the elder millennial generation, who were old enough to consider it more polite to call instead of text when asking for a favour, but young enough to stress at the thought of making a call?
Thoughts like that had been on her mind a lot recently; the chapter she was currently writing in her book was about the advancement of technology and its impact on society and its relationship with Pokémon. Were people more disconnected from their Pokémon now that they could be stored in PCs? Were older people hesitant to do so? From her seat she could see the huge ranch beside the lab where Samuel kept his Pokémon.
She realised she was doing it again. Procrastinating. Refocusing her attention to the computer, she noticed the dot beside Bill's name was green, unlike everyone else who seemed unavailable at that time. It was now or never. She sent him a message asking if he was available for a video chat, which a quick response confirmed that he was. She pressed the make call button.
A man's bespectacled face popped up on the screen, behind him a wall of grey and blinking artificial lights. This was in stark contrast with Leaf's picture-in-picture which captured the bright blue sky and the crest of a treeline that had caught the gentle sea breeze.
"Hey Leaf, what's up?" He said.
"Hey," She paused for a moment, thinking how best to phrase herself, "so I'm sure I've mentioned before that I've been trying to write a pop science book about my field, but I've only got as far as the first few chapters and I'm stuck in a bit of a rut. I was looking for someone who knows what they're talking about but hasn't been involved too closely to have a look. I was wondering if you would be interested, if you've got time?"
"Oh sure, I'll take a look!" He said with a smile. "If I didn't know how to market complicated stuff to a general audience my software wouldn't have been as successful, so I'm sure I can help in that respect. Also reading your book would provide a good distraction from work - I'm sure you can't tell, but," Bill gestured towards the racks of servers behind him, "I'm vacationing in my villa near Cerulean at the moment and I keep telling myself I need to focus on something other than work. Heck, come by and visit if you want. I won't be doing any weird experiments on myself this time, I promise."
"Thanks, Bill. I might take you up on that offer if I'm in the area. I don't think I've been to Cerulean Cape since the first time we met. It's hard to believe it's been, what, fifteen years?"
"Something like that! Who knows where we'll be in another couple of decades. I'd be surprised if you weren't the recipient of a Crabominobel Prize by then."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." She said, blushing slightly. "But if I do, I'll be sure to acknowledge your part in it, I couldn't have published half of my papers if not for the resources you've let me have at my disposal. I've already said as much in the foreword of my book. I'll send it over now."
The two said their goodbyes and Leaf attached her document to an email which she sent along with some more words of thanks.
Well, that was a load off her mind. The picturesque view in front of her was supposed to calm and help her concentrate on her task, but it was in fact completing the task that allowed her to clear her head and now properly appreciate the beautiful summer's day. She shut her laptop and took a few minutes to unwind before it was time to get back to work, and headed back inside the lab.
A Brief History of Pokémon
By Leaf Oak
1st Edition. Published 2025
Foreword
As the title suggests, this book is intended to be a summary of all we have learned about Pokémon by studying them through a scientific lens. From our earliest histories to my current field of study, quantised Pokémon holography. While many of the facts I will convey will be general knowledge, my hope is that readers will learn what these facts mean within their greater context and come away with a broader understanding. Later chapters will explore more recent discoveries which may not have penetrated popular consciousness yet; I will do my best to cut through the jargon and explain these topics as well as everything else.
Before we start, I would like to acknowledge the contributions of many people, without whom my own research and career would not have been possible, let alone the writing of this book. First of all is the body of science that came before me, culminating in the guidance from my mentor and friend Samuel Oak. Bill Feraligates for allowing me privileged access to his Pokémon Box storage system software, and for giving invaluable feedback while reading earlier drafts of this book. Also a help over the course of my work have been the many gym leaders of Kanto who have lent their expertise to me and my friends.
Of my friends, I should certainly mention the other two members of the now infamous Pallet Cohort, whom you may have heard of due to its inclusion of Red Ketchum. Now known worldwide as the foremost Pokémon battling master, he has helped me a great deal with his unparalleled ability to catch and raise the strongest and rarest of Pokémon, which were instrumental to my studies. Finally, my husband Blue Oak, who caught a very wide variety of Pokémon in his travels and contributed the Pyroar's share of data to the Pokédex, which has been similarly essential to my work.
Chapter 1
From Ancient Times
Pokémon have lived alongside us since before recorded history. Most of our ancestors will have been well familiar with many concepts regarding them that we still take for granted today. Pokémon can be separated into distinct species. Some of these species are related to one another by a process we now call evolution. They enjoy fighting with each other, with some Pokémon seemingly stronger or weaker when matched up with others. What are Pokémon, though? It has only been in the last few hundred years that we have really started to scratch the surface of this question.
Many traditional beliefs, such as those from ancient Sinnoh, depict Pokémon and humanity as being one and the same, or at least having a common origin. This was used to explain the existence of species such as Machoke which these days are categorised as humanlike. Other stories told that Pokémon were like spirits which inhabited or came to share a form with objects and lifeforms which already existed. This better explained the existence of Pokémon such as Voltorb, and suggested that humanlike Pokémon only exist because we do.
Later theories posited the idea that while humans are native to our planet, Pokémon are extraterrestrial and arrived here on asteroids and the like. Proponents of this theory point towards species like Clefairy or Beheeyem as evidence. It is my opinion that whatever theory one has for the origins of these creatures, there will always be species which fit the theory and others which contradict it. At this time, I believe evidence external to the species' traits should be looked at when forming such theories. While my area of study does not tackle this subject directly, it is my hope that it can be used by those who wish to tackle the question of Pokémon's origins with a more holistic approach.
We may not yet have a definitive answer to where Pokémon come from, we have made great strides in answering what they are and how they work.
During the early industrial era, the first Pokédex was compiled by a Professor Laventon (first name unknown), who joined an expedition into the region now known as Sinnoh to study Pokémon. With respect to the question of what Pokemon are, its contribution was the formalisation of the concepts and categories which we had known for many centuries prior. However, its main feature was the documentation of the myriad discoveries about specific Pokémon species that were made during this endeavour, the significance of which can't be understated.
Some early Pokédexes contained misconceptions or had gaps which would later be filled by new discoveries. For example, Magnemite being categorised as an Electric type rather than Electric/Steel, or an inclusion of the belief that Farfetch'd evolved into Doduo despite no evidence being presented. These were minor drawbacks compared to the acceleration of our understanding of Pokémon that these encyclopaediae allowed. New types were discovered, as were abilities and alternate forms. The number of known Pokémon species ballooned - first 150, then 251, later 493. It wasn't until after the count reached over one thousand that scientists stopped trying to give a definitive number.
At this point I should make clear the difference between two distinct concepts: features of Pokémon species, and features of individual Pokémon. I will illustrate the difference with an example. A Pokémon's type is a feature of its species*. A Pikachu is Electric type because the species Pikachu has Electric as a type. You will not see a Pikachu with a different type. Meanwhile a Pokémon's nature is a feature of the individual; a Pikachu may be timid or hardy, just as a Snorlax can. Some individual features may be constrained by the features of the species, for example its maximum height or what abilities it has. An individual Pikachu may learn Thunder Wave, but only because the species has potential to learn Thunder Wave.
Pokédexes and our understanding of Pokémon for the longest time focused primarily on the different species and their features. It was understood that individual Pokémon had differences from each other, but it was not easily quantifiable or something studied outside of the context of their species. We could recognise that Pikachu had different heights from one another that fit within a given range, but this wasn't a remarkable observation; the same can be said about humans or trees. Individual features were not something that made Pokémon different from anything else in the natural world and as such its study was somewhat neglected for most of scientific history.
It was not researchers, then, who get the credit for doing the earliest analysis of Pokémon on an individual basis. That accolade goes to breeders, who needed to recognise and exploit the patterns they saw between the Pokémon under their care in order to appeal to their trainer clientele. After the formation of Pokémon leagues across the world about a century ago, trainers started needing stronger and stronger Pokémon in order to gain a competitive edge. Feeding them all manner of vitamins eventually had diminishing returns, and that's where breeders stepped in. Many claimed to be able to recognise which Pokémon were stronger or faster at an early stage in their development, and that they could hatch more of them for a fee. The literature they produced on the topic often lacked in detail and rigour (perhaps to keep their trade secrets), but it is undeniable that they had insights into Pokémon which was missing from the body of science until recently.
In the rest of this book, I will attempt to communicate to you how our models of Pokémon have developed over time. I should reiterate, though, that as will all science our understanding is incomplete and subject to change. Our models today predict more than older ones, and have more explanatory power - but they do not explain everything. One need only ask the young child's favourite question - "but why?" - enough times before we run out of answers. Indeed, the best success I could hope for in writing this book would be if I could inspire the next generation of researchers to go out and answer that question one level deeper yet.
* This is still somewhat of a simplification, as some things may be described as being a feature of the Pokémon's form rather than its species, however such a distinction won't be made here. Some academics even believe that some forms should in fact be considered separate species! As you can see there is still debate and research to be done even in areas that are widely understood.
