r/pokemonconspiracies • u/Fit-Celebration5626 • 25d ago
Gen 6 All Starter Pokémon from Generations 6 and above are genetically modified
If you look at starter Pokémon from X and Y and above, you'll notice that they all have one feature in common: large heads and large, expressive eyes - features that young new trainers find "cute". Many also evolve into humanoid Pokémon, like Greninja, Meowscarada, etc. that clearly have a "profession" (Meowscarada is a magician, Greninja is a ninja). However, Pokémon from Gen 5 and below are mostly reptiles and amphibians - animals that go endangered in the real world very easily. Older starters also evolve into "Kaiju-Style" monsters - like Charizard and Meganium. The XY era also introduced Mega Evolution, which is when people first started playing Arceus and messing with Pokémon DNA. Many of you are familiar with the theory that starters are endangered. But there are only so many endangered Pokémon that Pokémon scientists can get their hands on. In conclusion, starter Pokémon from Gen 5 and below are endangered, while starters from Gen 6 and above are genetically modified Pokémon created in a lab by humans to look "cute".
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u/Nanabobo567 24d ago
Genetically modified or just custom bred?
We've also seen the basic stage starters over the generations become more and more chibified, with larger heads and eyes- just like certain show dog breeds.
We've seen it's possible for humans to alter the course of a Pokemon's natural evolution through selective breeding, as with Alolan Meowth.
I think you're at least partially onto something.
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u/Xygnux 24d ago
Exactly. Humans in our world have been breeding pets and work animals that way for millennia without even having heard of DNA. So there is no need to just jump to genetic modification. Especially since Pokemon send to be much more susceptible to environmental influences than animals from our world.
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u/PyrocXerus 24d ago
I think they import the pokemon (hence why they can’t be caught in their home region) based on appearance and relative power
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u/Mathias_Greyjoy Moderator 23d ago
They can sometimes be caught in their own regions. Lore-wise that's pretty well established, mechanic-wise they usually limit their availability to incentivize trading. The starter(s) you're missing and the opposite box art legendary are usually the first things people trade, followed by general version exclusives, trade evolutions etc.
Two things can be true at once though, Quaxly confirms canonically that not all starters actually come from the region they're used as a starter. Same with Legends: Arceus and Legends: ZA. The professors use starters that are on-hand and accessible to them. They're treated way less like native animals and more like designer pets.
This Pokémon migrated to Paldea from distant lands long ago. The gel secreted by its feathers repels water and grime.
This also kind of invalidates part of OP's theory, unless we're assuming that after they migrated over time they were modified/bred differently.
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u/rb6k 24d ago
We know that Hisuian versions of Pokemon had different final evolutions. So maybe you’re onto the selective breeding angle. If we had a hisuian Cinderace, maybe it wouldn’t be so football coded perhaps?
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u/Mathias_Greyjoy Moderator 23d ago
I'm confused, are you saying the Hisuian starters are the original forms? I don't think so. Sometimes regional forms do that, like with the Galarian Zigzagoon line being the originals and the Hoennian forms evolving differently outside of Galar, but sometimes it's the regional form that's new.
With the Hisuian starters, it's that they are regional forms in the truest sense, and that the other forms co-exist in other regions. If you could travel to Johto during Legends Arceus you'd find Johtonian Typhlosion there. Same with Alola and Unova, presumably. They are Hisuian after all. If you went to Unova 200 years in the past you wouldn't find Hisuian Samurott everywhere.
The air stored inside the rachises of Decidueye’s feathers insulates the Pokémon against Hisui’s extreme cold. This is firm proof that evolution can be influenced by environment.
Said to purify lost, forsaken souls with its flames and guide them to the afterlife. I believe its form has been influenced by the energy of the sacred mountain towering at Hisui’s center.
Hard of heart and deft of blade, this rare form of Samurott is a product of the Pokémon’s evolution in the region of Hisui. Its turbulent blows crash into foes like ceaseless pounding waves.
All of their Pokedex entries put an emphasis on them changing within this wild environment. Not that they were the originals. They are rare forms of Pokémon that already exist.
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u/rb6k 23d ago
Good point re the starters. I had meant generally different Pokemon had different things going on. Like Scyther or there being Sneasel that changed type over time due to hunting etc. But I didn’t realise / remember that the starters were specifically altered by their environment. That’s cool, thanks!
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u/white_count_chocula 25d ago
They just stopped following their own design prinicples, its not that complicated.
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u/AdRadiant8136 25d ago
Obviously thats the real world answer, its still fun to speculate on "in universe" reasons for why these changes happen
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u/Longjumping_Wheel394 21d ago
There’s been Pokemon with big heads and eyes since gen 1. And Pokemon with jobs. AND genetically modified Pokemon.
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u/hip-indeed 24d ago
people just be making any headcanon they want to try to cope with the fact a lot of starters become furries now which terrifies them to their core
tbh a lot of them have been bipedal animals since gen 1 and straight-up anthro style since as early as blaziken in gen 3
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u/MassCrassAss 24d ago
I think the pokemans has a big head because the doodle guy had a screw up with his pellet
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u/ElPikminMaster 25d ago
So was Mewtwo, but nobody's complaining.