Pokemon Intelligence Question

[lonepichu]

I have a question about the intellectual capabilities of a pokemon.

Pikachu is shown to be an equal in intelligence to Ash. A clefairy was shown possessing the knowledge to build a space craft, however in the episode with the two Donphan, the Donphan were portrayed more as animals, trying to attract mates and not seeming to have any intellectual interaction with Ash and friends.

It was that episode that amde me wonder, what is the intelligence of a pokemon? Are they as smart as humans, as Dragonite's pokedex entry states, or are they smarter than animals, but not as smart as humans?

Just something I was thinking about that I'd thought would make a good discussion.

 

[Jnoo]

I think Pokemon have the same intellegence as humans. Those that say they understand human language, I believe have above average intelligence, naturally.

That's how I see it.

 

[Perxio]

I see most Pokemon as very easily on the same level as humans intelligence-wise, perhaps smarter, and certainly some who are much more dim. The show and some pokedex entries seem to have shown this, haven't they?

 

[Lex]

Just as in real life, some creatures are smarter than others. Apparently all Pokemon are at least intelligent enough to be trained and generally understand commands. Many are probably slightly more intelligent than a dog, which can have a limited understanding of human languages. A few, particularly the Humanshape group, are probably at least near human intelligence (possibly closer to a well trained ape in some cases). And some, particularly psychics and/or some legendaries, might well be more intelligent than humans.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Well, in one of the series, Magical Pokemon Journey, it was revealed that pokemon have a written language. It's a shame that wasn't explored.

 

[Jonah]

Really? I imagine they'd use the same language as us, assuming that written language is based on Unown, a Pokemon. Then again, Unown may have been based on language - the debate can go on and on.

I would think that there is a difference in the intelligence of a Dragonite and a Slowpoke, that all Pokemon have different levels of intelligence.

 

[WeavileLord]

It all depends on the pokemon. Some pokemon (Mewtwo comes to mind) seem to possess intelligence far beyond the reaches of mankind, whilst others appear to possess the intelligence of an animal, or even less than that in some cases.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Really? I imagine they'd use the same language as us, assuming that written language is based on Unown, a Pokemon. Then again, Unown may have been based on language - the debate can go on and on.

Here's what it looks like. I think this is a flipped English scan, but since it's picture-based rather than letter or character based, it's still "readable". Of course, this was also first-gen, so it was before Unown.

 

[WeavileLord]

Then again, Unown may have been based on language - the debate can go on and on.

Which came first, the invention or the inventor? Though Unown are obviously based on the english alphabet, if we're still talking about the Pokemon world, then the alphabet was based on the Unown.

 

[Jonah]

Yes, it's the chicken (Torchic, in this case?) and the egg debate, with Unown and the alphabet. I believe several people and/or Pokedex entries wonder whether the alphabet or Unown came first, despite it being obvious that Unown must've.

 

[Yamato-san]

Well, in one of the series, Magical Pokemon Journey, it was revealed that pokemon have a written language. It's a shame that wasn't explored.

yeah, it is a bit of a shame that Pipipi Adventures tends to be overlooked by the rest of the franchise. Considering it introduced sentient Pokemon to the franchise way back when it was starting out, things like Mystery Dungeon and such really could've built on some of its concepts.

 

[lonepichu]

In the Giant Pokemon episode (12 or something) Ekans seemed to be intelligent, but spoke in a way that suggested that perhaps they weren't up to par with Pika and his pals. Koffing mainly just agreed with everyone. The Slowpoke comes to mind as it seemed to completely ignore Pikachu and co, then again they arne't the best example out there.

I suppose it's like telling your dog to sit, however Pokemon must be near human intelligent if they are able to strategize and such. Then again it could be like with animals and how a trained one will grow smarter than one left in the wild.

 

[The Outrage]

Pikachu is shown to be an equal in intelligence to Ash.

I laughed so hard when I saw that considering that it could also mean that Ash is as dumb as a rat.

Anyways, the Pokedex have claimed many Pokemon to be atleast as intelligent as a human, such as Dragonite, or even as smart as a Super Computer like Alakazam and Metagross. The intelligence level seems higher on domesticated Pokemon. As for Pokemon as a whole in general, I think that humanoid pokemon have a much higher IQ than those of beast-like creatures. I haven't really thought of where those things inbetween goes like Clefairy who seems like a bit of both, but as for creatures like Magnemite and Voltorb, their intelligence seems limited to what they need to survive.

Which came first, the invention or the inventor?

Obviously it's the inventor. Something can not be invented if there was no one to invent it. If it was already there, then finding it would be a discovery, in which case the Discovery most likely came before the discoverer.

As for the unown, the people would have had to have had some sort of language before they could give each unown it's letter value.

 

[Jukain]

I prefer to think pokemon have intelligence similar to our own. Some of them may be more intelligent than others, I agree. I also think that pokemon rely on their instincts more than we do. The pokemon of the MD world are definitely shown as being very much like humans. I am uncertain if the laws of that world can be applied here, but I hold that they must be somewhat similar. This is just how I see it, though.

 

[Wolvorn]

I imagine that most pokemon are relatively intelligent if not better. A prime example of this is Meowth whom taught himself to speak like a human. This is an extreme example but nevertheless proof. Also pokemon have no problem communicating with humans and other pokemon which are in effect using entirely different languages. We have also seen pokemon hatching numerous plans in certain situations. Meowth can again prove pokemon's vast potential for intelligence as he is able to build and operate complicated, heavy machinery.

As with all creatures some pokemon are more intelligent than others, and as a general rule I would say that trainer "owned" pokemon will normally be more intelligent than wild ones. And some species will be cleverer than others i.e. Dragonite. Some of the less intellectually gifted. i.e. Steelix, Tyranitar, etc... (The hulking beasts) are probably, rather than unintelligent, subject to primal instincts. So if, for example, the pokemon is attacked, where some may try to negotiate, these will fight back.

There are exceptions to the hulking beasts catergory. Metagross is very large and powerful but extremly intelligent. Also for the majority psychic types are very intelligent. Also some ghost and dark types, along with exceptions from many other types, seem to be very intellectually gifted also.

 

[Yamato-san]

In the Giant Pokemon episode (12 or something) Ekans seemed to be intelligent, but spoke in a way that suggested that perhaps they weren't up to par with Pika and his pals. Koffing mainly just agreed with everyone. The Slowpoke comes to mind as it seemed to completely ignore Pikachu and co, then again they arne't the best example out there.

it's been a while since I saw it, but in the Japanese version, I think Arbo did speak in a comprehensible manner, though his mannerisms might've been more crude. Dogas was the same in both versions, just agreeing to everything said.

Meowth can again prove pokemon's vast potential for intelligence as he is able to build and operate complicated, heavy machinery.

not only that, but he seems to be the primary mechanic/operator out of the entire three-person team.

 

[The Outrage]

I disagree with what Wolvern says about Tyranitar being dumb. Although he may not look smart, the fact that he is a preditor means that his brain is developed, like real-world predetors today.

Ghost Pokemon also seem to be smart in nature. They are able to figure out that humans fear them, and use this to their advantage, and some even make it their pass time to scare people (Gengar).

 

[professer_prof]

I believe integlligence varies between types then varies somewhat within types depending on spiecies and slightly varies between spiecies. Sort of like humans.

 

[Wolvorn]

I disagree with what Wolvern says about Tyranitar being dumb. Although he may not look smart, the fact that he is a preditor means that his brain is developed, like real-world predetors today.

Ghost Pokemon also seem to be smart in nature. They are able to figure out that humans fear them, and use this to their advantage, and some even make it their pass time to scare people (Gengar).

I said previously that a portion if not all ghosts are intelligent. As for Tyranitar I agree it probably isn't that dumb however being very violent, predatorial, etc... made it a good example for my statement on instincts as it,being the violent, predatorial pokemon it is, probably has many primal instincts gripping it. At least when it's wild it appears to lose much of that when it is caught. Especially as when many pokemon are tamed they're true intellectual capacity is unlocked. So they appear less intelligent when wild because of the instincts that grip them. Tyranitar, along with many others, is most likely very intelligent, but they need to be freed of their primal binds to show it properly. In the mean time they are able to use only a portion of thet intelligence to hunt, etc...Be it in most cases (including Tyranitar) a fairly large portion making it seem intelligent (as you say) but not as intelligent as some others (which is what I meant. Also I will give that Tyranitar is one of the far more intelligent beasts the the outlined Hulking Beasts group.)

 

[The Outrage]

Actually, I'm starting to doubt whether we should even say that wild pokemon are less inteligent than their domesticated counterparts. The wild Pokemon are suited to their livestyles, they know where the watering hole is, they know whether something is poisonous or not, How to hunt/Gather food, know the species social hierarchy, and they most likely know when to fight and when to run against enemy Pokemon in the wild. A completely domesticated Pokemon, by that I mean it was with a trainer at birth, will not know any of these things if they lived their lives with humans and were suddenly cast of to live on their own. like wild Pokemon being domesticated, the domestic Pokemon will eventually learn, and may be viewed as stupid by onlookers due to it's inability to adapt in the wild.

Wild Pokemon when caught by a human will no longer need to hunt or gather food, nor will they need to be as alert for preditors. They will however learn to battle 9better battle styles than what they had in the wild), participate in contests, or perform small tasks given to them by the humans. They may not even restrain their evolutions, unlike they do in the wild (Pidgeotto in Sevii Islands as an example) due to them having a steady supply of food from their human trainers that allow them to maintain this new form. Domestic-born Pokemon might not even know how to restrain evolution.

The fact that Pokemon can adapt to either situation shows that they are infact intelligent.

EDIT: I just realised that what I just posted was basically what you said, except that I did not believe that it was their primal instincts making them act that way.