Prehistoric Pokemon World

[Enzap]

Over the 5 generations, we've had nine "fossil" Pokemon, Relicanth, and legendary Pokemon that have been around supposedly for thousands of years. But surely there were other Pokemon that existed during the same time as these. Why have these others not been resurrected? Are there simply no fossils? Or are scientists currently researching them so they will know what to expect when they do resurrect them. What would some of these other ancient Pokemon look/like in the prehistoric world?

 

[Vanillish Twilight]

I never really thought about that but my theory is not all the Pokemon that lived back then died and got fossilized, some are still living at present. Or maybe the world was full of baby Pokémon then they evolved...?

 

[winstein]

I think the crocodilian animals (which would be the Krookodile family and the Feraligator family) are able to survive years of climate, so it could ring true to the Pokemon world.

Come to think of it, it could be possible that some of the starters are resurrected fossils (or some other memento of prehistoric living) or continued lineage from the past, hence their rarity. Sure, they are not part-Rock, but I am willing to believe that not all prehistoric Pokemon are part-Rock. In fact, the three evolutions with prehistoric motifs (Tangrowth, Mamoswine and Yanmega) are not a Rock-type.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Enzap]

Come to think of it, it could be possible that some of the starters are resurrected fossils (or some other memento of prehistoric living) or continued lineage from the past, hence their rarity. Sure, they are not part-Rock, but I am willing to believe that not all prehistoric Pokemon are part-Rock. In fact, the three evolutions with prehistoric motifs (Tangrowth, Mamoswine and Yanmega) are not a Rock-type.

Thanks for reading.

I never really thought about those evolutions actually existing in a prehistoric setting rather than just being based on ancient creatures. It makes a lot of sense though, like the Pokemon is literally reverting to a previous form in evolution, as in they "devolve" whenever they "evolve." If Pokemon like Swinub, Tangela, and Yanma descended from these extremely powerful Pokemon, I wonder what caused this evolution? (In the scientific sense, not the Pokemon sense.)

You're probably right about fossil Pokemon not having to be rock. My theory is that these rock type fossil Pokemon are only rock because they came from fossils imbedded in rocks and weren't a rock type thousands of years ago. For example, Aerodactyl was likely either mono-Flying or part Dragon when it was alive.

 

[Winterdaze]

You're probably right about fossil Pokemon not having to be rock. My theory is that these rock type fossil Pokemon are only rock because they came from fossils imbedded in rocks and weren't a rock type thousands of years ago. For example, Aerodactyl was likely either mono-Flying or part Dragon when it was alive.

This is what I've always thought, that the fossil Pokemon's Rock typing is an artefact of the fossil revival process. If that is indeed the case, I've always wondered how true to their prehistoric form the revived Pokemon are, and how much the revival process changes their appearance and abilities.

 

[Infinity Mk-II]

You're probably right about fossil Pokemon not having to be rock. My theory is that these rock type fossil Pokemon are only rock because they came from fossils imbedded in rocks and weren't a rock type thousands of years ago. For example, Aerodactyl was likely either mono-Flying or part Dragon when it was alive.

This would explain plenty of things, actually. Anorith is for instance an aquatic pokémon despite taking SE water damage, so probably it used to be Bug/Water. Though some do look like they would've always been Rock, like Kabutops.
Compare with Genesect, which gained an steel typing along heavy modifications. Probably the rock-fossil method is the one they have that best manages to recreate how they were, but it's still inperfect.

I never really thought about those evolutions actually existing in a prehistoric setting rather than just being based on ancient creatures. It makes a lot of sense though, like the Pokemon is literally reverting to a previous form in evolution, as in they "devolve" whenever they "evolve." If Pokemon like Swinub, Tangela, and Yanma descended from these extremely powerful Pokemon, I wonder what caused this evolution? (In the scientific sense, not the Pokemon sense.)

Same reasons dinosaurs went extinct: Probably these powerful forms just couldn't survive after some cataclysmic changes (for whatever reason), and the base forms were adapted to NOT evolve so the species could at least still live.


Likewise, probably other extant pokémon also underwent changes and natural evolution over time. It's why Relicanth is notorious as it is supposed to look exactly as it did in the prehistoria (like its source animal), unlike say, prehistoric Lapras or whatever.

 

[Mythicalzoe]

no Satoshi is just lazy

i could come at with all kinds of prehistoric pokemon

 

[JustAnotherLeafeon]

I find this question to be quite intriguing. It is said that Arceus created the world and Mew, who is said to have created Pokemon. Clearly a long time has past since then due to the fact that there are the fossilized Pokemon. But there are so many questions being brought up. Have the rest of the Pokemon adapted and evolved to their environments, or have they stayed the same throughout time and the fossilized Pokemon are the extinct Pokemon that died off for some reason? Were humans alive back then, and, if so (because of Arceus), did they have any influence on Pokemon? Then the really ridiculous questions come. If humans weren't alive back then, then how did they get here?

I'm getting a bit off topic and asking more questions then I answered. Back to the question at hand, I guess it's the sort of question that only Satoshi can answer. If I were to guess, though, I would say that the Pokemon that did exist (looking at the existing resurrected Pokemon) have sort of a harsher, more archaic and less refined design, and that the Pokemon adapted as time went on, somehow coming to the Pokemon we now know today.

 

[KaiserLugia]

There probably are many more fossil Pokemon, but there's probably not many because

a) They ran out of ideas
b) There aren't enough fossils
c) Pokemon Scientists are working on it.

And there aren't many dinosaur Pokemon...

 

[L.L.]

It seems likely that pokémon went through real evolution, not the metamorphosis we all know and love. There's an even a popular theory that Zubat evolved over millions of years from Aerodactyl, however strange it is. As for humans, in-game myths from Sinnoh say that humans EVOLVED from pokémon over years, and were similar enough at some point to breed together. Strange huh?

 

[GliscorMan]

It's more likely that the fossils simply haven't been discovered en masse, or are extremely rare. In the real world, fossils aren't all that common. It takes a series of extremely rare events to produce one in the first place.

That being said, the prehistoric Pokemon world would probably contain versions of Pokemon which would remind you a lot of the present-day world. A Tyranitar hunting down a pack of Cranidos. A Relicanth swimming lazily through the ocean, bobbing with some slightly different-looking Tentacool. The skies filled with Aerodactyl and Archeops. The incredibly gigantic Yanmega zipping around the forests, before being captured by the lurking Kabutops. The sea floor, filled with Cradily and Lileep swaying in the deep-sea currents.

There's also the matter of terrain. There would be two different Sinnoh regions, as there had to be a point before the tectonics allowed for the formation of Mt Coronet right smack in the middle of the region. In addition, I suspect that the Hoenn region lies on a volcanic hotspot. Mt Chimney is active, and there's Mt Pyre (unexplained mountain in the middle of the region), and many, many other small islands. Think Hawaii, where there were 2 main islands that were smashed/grew into each other. The Sevii Islands were also probably volcanic in origin, due to Mt Ember. In addition. Mt Mortar may have been an active volcano in the past, but is now dead after a (catastrophic?) natural explosion.

It would be very different, but strikingly the same.

 

[TheCableGuy]

Over the 5 generations, we've had nine "fossil" Pokemon, Relicanth, and legendary Pokemon that have been around supposedly for thousands of years. But surely there were other Pokemon that existed during the same time as these. Why have these others not been resurrected? Are there simply no fossils? Or are scientists currently researching them so they will know what to expect when they do resurrect them. What would some of these other ancient Pokemon look/like in the prehistoric world?

Simply put, Despite what the later games may indecate,
Fossils are just not common enough for wide spread Resurrection,
Much less Fossils that are suitable to be resurrected.

Judging by how the resurrection process works in the anime
Most Fossils may not have enough Genetic Material to be resurrected.

(Think Less Jurassic Park and think more Fifth Element.)

I think the crocodilian animals (which would be the Krookodile family and the Feraligator family) are able to survive years of climate, so it could ring true to the Pokemon world.

Come to think of it, it could be possible that some of the starters are resurrected fossils (or some other memento of prehistoric living) or continued lineage from the past, hence their rarity. Sure, they are not part-Rock, but I am willing to believe that not all prehistoric Pokemon are part-Rock. In fact, the three evolutions with prehistoric motifs (Tangrowth, Mamoswine and Yanmega) are not a Rock-type.

Thanks for reading.

I don't think Starters are resurrected Fossils just because they're rare.
I think Starters are more like the equivalent of "Domesticated Pets"
and their rarity is more a product of diminishing Populations in the wild,
with a successful captive breeding program.

You're probably right about fossil Pokemon not having to be rock. My theory is that these rock type fossil Pokemon are only rock because they came from fossils imbedded in rocks and weren't a rock type thousands of years ago. For example, Aerodactyl was likely either mono-Flying or part Dragon when it was alive.

This would explain plenty of things, actually. Anorith is for instance an aquatic pokémon despite taking SE water damage, so probably it used to be Bug/Water. Though some do look like they would've always been Rock, like Kabutops.
Compare with Genesect, which gained an steel typing along heavy modifications. Probably the rock-fossil method is the one they have that best manages to recreate how they were, but it's still inperfect.

I thought this once as well but I'm not so convinced.

In the Anime, there are Populations of Kabuto/Kabutops and Omanite/Omastar
that are not products of Resurrections but rather surviving relics just like Relicanth.
And Anorith being Rock-type is no less confusing then Stunfisk being Ground-type,
yet he's an aquatic Pokemon as well.

Rather instead, I think it's highly more probable that
the reason we see all the Fossil Pokemon as being part Rock
is because the Type-age is more suitable to Fossilization,
and/or being resurrected from being a fossil.

It's like the reason we tend to find Vertebrate fossils so much easier then Invertebrates:
They survive the Fossilization process easier.

I never really thought about those evolutions actually existing in a prehistoric setting rather than just being based on ancient creatures. It makes a lot of sense though, like the Pokemon is literally reverting to a previous form in evolution, as in they "devolve" whenever they "evolve." If Pokemon like Swinub, Tangela, and Yanma descended from these extremely powerful Pokemon, I wonder what caused this evolution? (In the scientific sense, not the Pokemon sense.)

You're probably right about fossil Pokemon not having to be rock. My theory is that these rock type fossil Pokemon are only rock because they came from fossils imbedded in rocks and weren't a rock type thousands of years ago. For example, Aerodactyl was likely either mono-Flying or part Dragon when it was alive.

Same reasons dinosaurs went extinct: Probably these powerful forms just couldn't survive after some cataclysmic changes (for whatever reason), and the base forms were adapted to NOT evolve so the species could at least still live.


Likewise, probably other extant pokémon also underwent changes and natural evolution over time. It's why Relicanth is notorious as it is supposed to look exactly as it did in the prehistoria (like its source animal), unlike say, prehistoric Lapras or whatever.

For Pokemon such as Swinub, Tangela, and Yanma, It's not "Devolution" exactly.
I can see it as these Pokemon were all living in the Prehistoric Pokemon World
but their Final Evolutions were far more common back then
on account of the Evolutionary pressures of the age demanding it.

But as the world changed, these final forms were no longer in demand
and as a result, they were "Lost to Antiquity" until something reawakened their Dormant forms
(in their case, learning Ancient Power.)

 

[coolcatkim22]

You know, technically speaking, it's impossible to bring a creature back to life from a fossil. See, a fossil is just rock that takes the shape of bones, trees, or whatever because, uh, I forget the reason, you can look it up though. So, resurrecting a fossil, like, makes no sense.

The reason I bring this is up is cause I always assumed that fossil Pokemon are alive and exist somewhere in the the world, they show that some do in the anime at least. So I figure they must keep DNA of these creatures on standby. Then when you come with a fossil they extract data from the fossil such as size and so forth, to alter the DNA they have so that you get a fossil Pokemon but it's different then every other fossil Pokemon they made so you get variety.

I don't know, it's just a theory.

 

[The Outrage]

There probably are many more fossil Pokemon, but there's probably not many because

a) They ran out of ideas
b) There aren't enough fossils
c) Pokemon Scientists are working on it.

And there aren't many dinosaur Pokemon...

Given the many existing fossils Game Freak can simply draw from, you think "ran out of ideas" is a plausible theory? Seems like fans are "running out of ideas" if you ask me.

Maybe the reason there aren't a lot of fossils mentioned because we're not playing Pokemon: Archaeology version, so they'd focus on the living Pokemon.

 

[Winterdaze]

And there aren't many dinosaur Pokemon...

What? There are a ton of dinosaur based Pokemon, especially in earlier games. They're just not fossil Pokemon, since dinosaur-like Pokemon exist in modern times in the Pokemon World.

 

[hyperspeed]

I think that the majority of prehistoric Pokemon went extinct due to the same factors as the real world, climate change etc. Some of the species didn't exactly die out, but rather changed over time, like Archen evolving (in the real world sense) into more modern birds. As they died out some of them formed fossils, and many of those fossils are yet to be discovered. Scientists revived those fossils, but the resulting Pokemon were not well-adapted to the modern world and many died/were hard to breed, therefore they are very rarely seen, especially taking into account the rarity of fossils in the first place.

Dinosaur-like Pokemon who aren't fossil Pokemon either came into existence later or stayed alive because of their power or ability to better adapt to changing surroundings. Other 'living' prehistoric Pokemon like Yanmega and Relicanth count as this too.

As for the fossil Pokemon who are naturally found in the wild in the anime, maybe some of the prehistoric Pokemon did survive whatever catastrophes wiped most of them out. However, there are very few examples.