Do Ghost-type pokemons actually have a life-cycle?

[Almonds]

If anyone asked me if pokemon could die, I'd say YES without hesitation. In every generation of the games, there had been cemeteries for pokemons, and there had been NPCs saying how much they were sad after losing their pokemon friends.

Fossil pokemons are obviously "back from the dead" when we revive them, so yeah...

In the anime, Tracey's Scyther was old - so this means that pokemon CAN die from illness/old age/whatever reasons.

But what about Ghost-type pokemons? Can they die? Have they lived for millions of years back when Fossil pokemons were alive?

And how the heck can they even breed? They're made of spirit stuffs... no?

 

[Okami Takahashi]

My brain is confused by this realization. And tired. I should have gone to sleep but pulled an all-nighter. ><

 

[Composer]

I don't see Ghost-type Pokemon as real ghosts,but more as forms of sentient energy,which people assume must be spirit.

 

[Xenidal]

Yamask's data says that he was once human... which doesn't make much sense. But here's a theory... if Yamask was once human then maybe all Ghost-types were once human, or perhaps, they were once some other form of Pokémon (but this is unlikely considering the episode in which Ash and Pikachu died and Pikachu's spirit did not become a Ghost-type Pokémon... and Generation I with the ghost Marowak who has not transformed into a Ghost-type Pokémon). So to answer the question, I don't know how their life cycle begins (except for Yamask)... and I would assume that they cannot die.
As for breeding, I don't know what's up with that. Especially Yamask... how was he "once human" if he hatches from an egg? (unles somehow the human's spirit possessed the egg... doesn't make much sense really) But then again, a lot of stuff regarding breeding doesn't make much sense... Cubones are born with skulls (and obviously their mothers haven't died), Kangaskhan are born full-sized with baby Kangaskhan already in their pouch. Chansey are born carrying that egg. It's probably just that the progammers / designers didn't want to put too much thought / too much work into the breeding system, but as far as I'm concerned Ghost-types can't breed.

 

[Shadow Victini]

I once read a story that said that Ghost-types can die, but they live much longer than any other Pokémon.
Of course, that was a fanfiction, so I can't really claim anything there.

 

[winstein]

Not every Ghost-type is considered "dead", in my opinion. Frillish and Jellicent, despite their typing, are as alive as other Water-types, although it could also attribute to their original type (they were planned to just be pure Water, and Damp must be an oversight). Sableye is another Pokemon that doesn't seem "dead" in a sense, despite the Ghost-type. It's just that they have shadowy powers that the type could do, like intangibility and shadow sneaking.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Wiley Willy]

I always looked at Ghost pokemon as collections of energy or objects given sentient life. Ghost Pokemon can die when the energy is lost from their animate bodies, that is if the energy can not be recollected and put into a brand new body. Whenever a ghost pokemon reproduces it's collecting energy from an outside source and focusing into a shape or object to create sentient life once more.

Just simple energy transfer from one body to another without the attachment of an actual personal body, whether that body is materialized out of nothing (Gastly) or borrowed from an object (Litwick) or even borrowed from another pokemon (Shedinja). I like to think that Ghost pokemon can just stop existing rather than dying.

That's how I've always looked at Ghost Pokemon.

 

[The Outrage]

Given the supernatural nature of Pokemon, I had once theorized that some (but not all) Ghost type Pokemon may be formed from the spirits of humans and Pokemon that didn't pass on due to unresolved issues. The type of ghost Pokemon they turn into is based on the issue they hold. Essentially, by becoming ghost Pokemon, it allows their spirits to eventually pass on.

Though, when I initially proposed this, it wasn't received very well.

 

[coolcatkim22]

They die when they pass on to the other side. I don't know about breeding though, maybe the kill somebody...

 

[The Outrage]

They die when they pass on to the other side. I don't know about breeding though, maybe the kill somebody...

I'm thinking breeding is just like any normal Pokemon, I mean its not like Grimer breed by exposing more sludge to radiation.

 

[Xenidal]

They die when they pass on to the other side. I don't know about breeding though, maybe the kill somebody...

I'm thinking breeding is just like any normal Pokemon, I mean its not like Grimer breed by exposing more sludge to radiation.

I think that that Grimer example is just another example of the programmers / designers being lazy and not accounting for stuff. Grimer's entry clearly states:
"Sludge that was transformed when exposed to X-rays from the moon. Loves sludge, industrial waste and other refuse."
"As it moves, it loses bits of its body from which new Grimer emerge. This worsens the stench around it."
So obviously it is formed both by spontaneous generation and asexual reproduction. So there's no reason that they should also be able to reproduce through breeding... no Pokémon who comes into existance by means indicated in the Pokédex should be capable of breeding.

As for death, Spiritomb is 500 years old and seems to be immortal (probably forced to live forever as punishment). I believe that it was implied that the Gastly in The Ghost of Maiden's Peak was there for a very long time and planned to stay for a very long time. My best guess is that Ghost-types are immortal... or at least some of them are.

 

[The Outrage]

Those situations do not exclude sexual reproduction--various species in real life can do both.

 

[Xenidal]

Those situations do not exclude sexual reproduction--various species in real life can do both.

It's obviously not like a real-world species as it can come into existance through spontaneous generation, which does not occur in real life.
Some species can reproduce both sexually and asexually, but things that reproduce through budding (which that seems closest to) do not typically reproduce sexually.
Also, there's no indication that "breeding" even is a sexual form of reproduction. It is stated in the games that "no one knows where the eggs come from". For all we know, a Grimer in captivity with some other Pokémon, somehow magically gets inspired to cough up an egg, which hatches into a Grimer.

 

[The Outrage]

Those situations do not exclude sexual reproduction--various species in real life can do both.

It's obviously not like a real-world species as it can come into existance through spontaneous generation, which does not occur in real life.
Some species can reproduce both sexually and asexually, but things that reproduce through budding (which that seems closest to) do not typically reproduce sexually.
Also, there's no indication that "breeding" even is a sexual form of reproduction. It is stated in the games that "no one knows where the eggs come from". For all we know, a Grimer in captivity with some other Pokémon, somehow magically gets inspired to cough up an egg, which hatches into a Grimer.

Sexual reproduction simply refer to two organisms contributing genetic material to the offspring; you may be getting too caught up in the act of sex. If a captive Grimer and another Pokemon magically cough up an egg, then its the closest analogue to what we define as sexual reproduction as there are two parents contributing to the production of the offspring (and yes, both parents contribute IVs in breeding).

Simply put it, if it takes two to make it, then it was achieved through sexual reproduction in the games. As such, there's no reason to contradict the fact that there are, apparently two beings made of spiritual energy, who can combine their energy, and create another one of itself that ghost types seem to do.

 

[coolcatkim22]

@dannyjenn
Okay, with your first quote, that seems to be more of an explanation of how Grimers came to be not how they are created. I doubt that every bit of sludge in the world that gets hit with x-rays from the moon become Grimers (though I don't think that would happen very often). The second one may be a hole. It could simply be the creators way of explaining how a sludge based creature procreates. And hey, for all we know, these new Grimers may merge back into the original Grimer or this is something that only occurs in the wild.

P.S. There are several instances of Pokemon living for many years that aren't ghost types. I think the age of Pokemon is different for each species and that Pokemon of the same type don't necessarily have the same aging process.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Pokédex entries shouldn't be taken at face value, assuming that the player character is the one writing them. Or even if researchers are doing it—remember that Westwood V admitted to making stuff up (anime only, yes, but interesting nonetheless).

Anyway, on-topic. I doubt the "Ghost-type" refers to them being literal ghosts of dead people/Pokémon—they simply have abilities stereotypically associated with ghosts. How such lifeforms would come to be, I'm not sure—perhaps they're extradimensional, and thus don't conform to what we expect from lifeforms in our dimension?

 

[Xenidal]

P.S. There are several instances of Pokemon living for many years that aren't ghost types. I think the age of Pokemon is different for each species and that Pokemon of the same type don't necessarily have the same aging process.

Yeah, but 500 years?! I mean, the "extinct" Pokémon in the anime were shown to be in hibernation that long, but that's different. Maybe some immortal Legendary Pokémon (although those don't count) may live that long... but I can't think of anyone else who fits that description.

Pokédex entries shouldn't be taken at face value, assuming that the player character is the one writing them. Or even if researchers are doing it—remember that Westwood V admitted to making stuff up (anime only, yes, but interesting nonetheless).

Well only in Generation I was it implied that the player was the one writing the entries, and even then it wasn't clear. Yeah, researchers could make stuff up or simply be wrong... which is why I don't believe that the Arceus / Mew thing is a contradiction (one or even both of them could be wrong... Arceus's data refers to legend, which if the legend isn't completely true it's wrong... Mew's data refers to a scientific theory, which definitely has the possibility of being wrong).
However, I'd think that the one about Grimer breaking apart to form new Grimers would be correct, as it can literally be observed by simply watching a Grimer walk and see if pieces break off and form new Grimers.

 

[coolcatkim22]

Yeah, but 500 years?! I mean, the "extinct" Pokémon in the anime were shown to be in hibernation that long, but that's different. Maybe some immortal Legendary Pokémon (although those don't count) may live that long... but I can't think of anyone else who fits that description.

Ledgies aren't immortal, but I digress. I was referring specifically to Ninetales.

 

[Xenidal]

Yeah, but 500 years?! I mean, the "extinct" Pokémon in the anime were shown to be in hibernation that long, but that's different. Maybe some immortal Legendary Pokémon (although those don't count) may live that long... but I can't think of anyone else who fits that description.

Ledgies aren't immortal, but I digress. I was referring specifically to Ninetales.

Some are (Arceus, the creation trio, the lake trio, maybe others). Hmmm, Ninetales... yeah I remember that episode. Well, Ninetales is based on Japanese legend in which it has an extremely long life / spirit form, etc. It's clearly magical / spiritual so that sort of explains it. There probably are a few other like this... so I guess it really depends on the concept of that specific Pokémon. Since Ghost-types are based on ghosts, I'd still suspect that they also either have extremely long lifespans or are immortal.

 

[The Outrage]

Pokédex entries shouldn't be taken at face value, assuming that the player character is the one writing them. Or even if researchers are doing it—remember that Westwood V admitted to making stuff up (anime only, yes, but interesting nonetheless).

And there are real-life scientists that do the same, but overall, are a minority and are shunned for doing so. It's like saying "let's discount every scientific findings because a few people made some stuff up". Yeah, its basically the equivalent in the games.

To quote my blog post:

While other entries clearly create a logically impossible situation (such as Magcargo's surface body temperature), ghost Pokemon by nature, are supernatural beings, thus should not be examined through the lens of what is logically possible. Why then do people reject this notion that ghost-types may be born out of the spiritual energy of the once living?
[...]
Going back to the fan notion that the Pokédex must inherently be lying about this, why is it so much easier for fans to believe that certain Pokemon come about as a result of man-made products being exposed to "X-rays" but are so against a supernatural explanation that some ghost Pokemon are formed from spirits with unresolved issues? It really doesn't make sense given that the franchise is just as much supernatural as it is sci-fi fantasy.

The fact of the matter is, ghosts do exist in the Pokémon world. I can see why people would be against the idea that Ponyta's hooves are diamond-hard or that Magcargo's surface temperature his hotter than the sun while at the same time not causing its surroundings to burn, why on earth is it impossible to accept that ghosts, a fictional construct, can have different properties in another work of fiction? Is there any particular reason, other than "I just can't accept it" that these particular entries would be rejected, despite not creating a logical fallacy?

And no one was saying that ghost-types were actually ghosts if you read any of the posts suggesting this, but simply may be a situation similar to that of Grimer--something inanimate becoming sentient. In the case of ghost-types, it just happens to be energy.

My theory links the formation of ghost-types to lingering imprints of aura (something, again, acknowledged in the franchise) with strong emotional overtones, and the persistence of what is essentially "life-energy" in this franchise is what results in ghost-types.

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Dragonite has also shown itself to be a long-lived species, at least in the anime.

Definitely, I don't think all ghost types are long-lived. Even within species, where certain members may live up to 1000 years, I think that would simply be an exception and the uppermost limit.