Evolution...?

[Purple Kecleon]

Okay, I've always wondered this: what would a REALISTIC representation of evolution be like? ^_^;; I mean, surely it'd be different for different Pokemon... such as Scyther and Onix and the ones who evolve with stones, then the ones who evolve by level... Would they evolve by level IRL? And how would YOU prevent a Pokemon from evolving if you can't just press B? >_>; I mean, wasn't it in that one ep, School of Hard Knocks or something, where that one kid was being questioned about the level of Pidgey evolving? Do you suppose that was just thrown in there because it was early in the anime release and it was largely based off of the game at that point? I don't know how you would "measure" levels IRL would it be based off of anything in particular, such as size of the Pokemon? Also, for the normal evolutions... would it be a gradual change, or something very sudden? As in, something that happens over days, weeks, months, even years, or a 5 minute process? Do you HONESTLY think they'd just glow and POOF, you've gotten yourself a Charmeleon? I can see how it could be like that for Caterpie though, cause we see it cocooning itself and then breaking from the cocoon... don't remember it exactly, but THAT was sort of realistic in the anime, anyway. I say "sort of"... But then, I really want to know about the ones who HOLD ITEMS WHILE TRADED. This would make no sense in the real world for ones like Slowking, who requires a Shellder. Why would a rock be needed? A HELD rock? And what about Scyther and Onix?! How can you put a coat of metal on either of those guys? Okay, so maybe Onix could turn into a Steelix on its own, but that's one of the cases I'd guess would take years. So then, Scyther? Is it voluntary or not? Can you FORCE one to evolve into a Scizor? Puzzling world of Pokemon... What HAPPENS when you give a Pokemon a stone? I'd suppose those would cause instantaneous transformations; but then again, how realistic could you get with that? How quick could an evolution take place to still be realistic?

@_@ And what about the ones who change dramatically, like Magikarp?! From a foot or two long to a foot or twenty... eh. Is there some type of "mid-evo" for Magikarp that would be like its "pending process" for evolution or something ;? I don't mean to go in depth about several Pokemon... but evolution always has bothered me. And ESPECIALLY, what about FEEBAS? Does eating the Pokeblocks to the max for beauty change something about its makeup that allows it to evolve? And happiness evolutions-- those completely puzzle me. Why wouldn't there be like... frustration evolutions or something, where if the Pokemon hates the trainer to the utmost point that it evolves into some nasty form or something? Just a thought since GSC. And what allows for some Pokemon to evolve, but not others? Why is it that some are just meant to be one specie, so they hatch, grow into an adult, and stay the same? I won't even go into Porygon or how it can exist outside of the computer, let alone be considered a real Pokemon... LET alone evolve...

Sorry for typing two chunks of text on this; I wanted to create a topic that would be extremely open for discussion in all directions, and it's really something I'm rather interested in. Thoughts and ideas?

 

[MondoTR]

Pokemon can stop themselves from evolving. Bulbasaur did it back in Kanto when the other Bulbasaur were evolving.

 

[Purple Kecleon]

I know that, but I want to know how TRAINERS can. IF they can, if it were real.

 

[MondoTR]

I highly doubt that they would be able to.

 

[Argy]

If the Pokémon is loyal enough to its trainer, I imagine the trainer could simply tell it to stop evolving.

I think items (minus stones) are simply for the purposes of the games. The anime and games have been shown to have major differences in terms of evolution. Yadons in the game don't evolve with Shellders.

 

[Purple Kecleon]

Yeah, but that still doesn't explain, then, Pokemon like Scizor very well. I almost can't see how it relates to Scyther...

 

[Barb]

For the normal evolutions, I'd say it's a gradual process. You'd see evidence of this by how many battles your Pokémon had won and how many new attacks it had learned. Once it reached a certain level, it would evolve. This is not always the case, however; remember Ash's Bulbasaur refused to evolve?

As far as using stones go, your Pokémon would have to trust you enough to allow you to place a stone on its body and then undergo what I would assume would be a relatively quick transformation (say, 5 minutes to 15 minutes if it's a large species). The only danger I could see in this is from the example of Lt. Surge, who evolved his Pikachu too soon and it didn't learn Agility and some other attacks. Power isn't everything.

In relation to real-life counterparts, I'd guess that the Bug Types evolve the quickest. The Normal and Grass Types, along with Fire and Water Types, would be next. The Magikarp evolution is an interesting dilemma. Going from a relatively small fish to a 30 foot long sea serpent. Logically, there should be a mid-evo stage for Magikarp. But there isn't and to go from being a single type to a dual type should be filed under "we don't get it, but it happens" file. In other words, it's supernatural.

 

[Zeta]

But there isn't and to go from being a single type to a dual type should be filed under "we don't get it, but it happens" file. In other words, it's supernatural.

Many, many Pokemon go from a single-type to a dual type upon evolution - Combusken, Charmeleon, Shellder, Staryu - etc.

 

[Barb]

I know. Hence, we file it under 'supernatural.' We don't fully understand how, but we accept it.

 

[Irene]

This discussion is REALLY interesting. The problem is that we must choose what way to look at Pokémon: the realistic or the supernatural. If we WANT Pokémon world to be realistic like ours, of course this kind of evolution is impossible. There could be gradual change, growth, and I'm sure at a certain point an individual would look like an odd mix of two species... like almost every animal on earth, when it's neither a baby or an adult, and it will have characteristics from both life ages. Think about cub lions, who have spots all over the body, or cows that are born without horns, and such.
Can you imagine a Aron slowly growing, making his body scales harder and harder (yes, SCALES, not metal: we're supposing the world acts like ours, so we can't have an animal made of metal or rock!), while it grows, until he reaches bigger size, and the the ability to stay on foot, and big horns grow on its head, showing he's sexually mature? (in animal kingdom, it usually works that way ^^; ). I think it's pretty realistic.
The Scyther to Scizor can be explained easily, if you admit Scizor is NOT made of steel, but just has a harder, translucent skin. Think coleoptera.
Cases like Magikarp or Feebas, in the wild, can be explained with a migration in a far place, where people have never been so there's probably a middle, goofy stage nobody knows of. Of course, this makes no sense in the case of tamed Pokémon. And OBVIOUSLY, there's still the problem of ATTACKS. How can they be made of fire or water in a realistic, not magic, world?
If you accept attacks, you must accept evolution too, as SUPERNATURAL events. I'm sorry to say this way, as I'm one of the most scientific people around XD but with Pokémon, I fear it works this way. I'd prefer a slow, natural evolution more than the LIGHT!POOF!EVOLUTION! of the official representation, but meh...

 

[MondoTR]

It could be a mix between realistic and supernatural.

 

[Irene]

... you mean maybe for some species it looks realistic and for others supernatural?

 

[Barb]

But in choosing the way we look at Pokémon, there is room for both the realistic and the supernatural. Just like in our world. There are things that remain unexplainable to scientists with the highest levels of education.

That being said, I agree with much of Irene's post. Scizor, to me, isn't actually made of steel but its skin has properties similar to that of steel (hardness, strength). And as far as attacks go: we have a device called a flamethrower in our world. Why is it so impossible to imagine this in the Pokémon world, as a part of the natural evolutionary process?

Take, for example, the archerfish which uses what the Pokémon world would describe as a water gun attack to stun its prey.

I also like Irene's theory of migration. Didn't we see an example of that in the 2nd movie, with the school of Magikarp swimming? Granted, the weather was off and they might have been instinctually responding to that, but it's certainly viable that they travel from one ocean to another to evolve or give birth.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

As far as trainers interefering, I believe in Special, they can hit a button on their Dex that sends out a wave that stops evolution.