Reincarnation and cyclic life cycles

[Karpi]

Basically the idea is:

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The pokedex entries for Yamask are:
Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry.
These Pokémon arose from the spirits of people interred in graves in past ages. Each retains memories of its former life.

So it appears that one form of the afterlife is as a Yamask. And with a little training, we all know that a Yamask can evolve into a Cofagrigus!

Cofagrigus pokedex entries:
It has been said that they swallow those who get too close and turn them into mummies. They like to eat gold nuggets.
They pretend to be elaborate coffins to teach lessons to grave robbers. Their bodies are covered in pure gold.
Grave robbers who mistake them for real coffins and get too close end up trapped inside their bodies.

At this point, the former human is searching for a body to imprison. What happens then? It says the humans are turned into mummies. But what would possibly be the motivation for a possessed coffin that was formerly a human to try to imprison a living human? Sound like a scary movie plot? Because that's exactly what demons do in scary movies in order to possess humans!

It makes sense that after a human dies and unwillingly becomes an undead pokemon, it would want to become human again, which is why Cofagrigus has a mechanism that does exactly that. So who knows how many of who you think are just 20 year old people are actually hundreds of years old!

Also, this isn't the only form of afterlife present in pokemon. I'm going to add a second post below this...

 

[Karpi]

The other, more horrifying form of afterlife in pokemon is with Phantump and Trevenant.

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Phantump pokedex entry:
According to old tales, these Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest.

So that's pretty straightforward. Some kids get lost in a forest and become Phantump after they die. And eventually they can evolve into a Trevenant. Probably just an incidental thing that happens every now and then to children who were too adventurous, right?

Trevenant pokedex entry:
It can control trees at will. It will trap people who harm the forest, so they can never leave.

Looks like Trevenant is actively seeking out people to trap in the forest so that they die and become more Phantump. If you've played World of Warcraft, this is how the undead reproduce. They wipe out big groups of humans and raise them into more of themselves, and this process can accelerate exponentially.

What are the Trevenant building up a massive undead army for?

EDIT: also, if you guys know of any other ideas for what happens in the afterlife in the pokemon world, feel free to post them. There's something about Spiritomb, I suspect.

 

[Dr. Buni]

Uh, I think (most) Pokédex entries are just lore/superstition, specially the Ghost-type related entries. So I don't really take theories based on Pokédex entries seriously. I am aware that the Pokéverse doesn't rely much into realism (thank god it doesn't), but I refuse to believe that Yamask and Phantump were once humans, even more because the games themselves contradict the unreliable Pokédex entries.

 

[Karpi]

Uh, I think (most) Pokédex entries are just lore/superstition, specially the Ghost-type related entries. So I don't really take theories based on dex entries seriously.

The entire point of this thread is to take it seriously for a moment and speculate on the consequences! Same as the Hippopotas thread going on now or the Chandelure thread from a while back

 

[GhostFingers]

It's entirely plausible that this is meant to be real, given that the 'realness' exists in the Pokeverse - a fantasy alternate universe to our own. The dex entry for Spiritomb tells us it IS an amalgam of souls who committed misdeeds, bound to the keystone as punishment. Sounds 'real' to me.

 

[Skittypaws]

I like where you are going at, but how would you explain them turning back to human. I think that maybe the ghost Pokemon don't reincarnate, but find eternal rest somehow and the cycle is then replaced with a newly created human, instead of a replace human. Figuratively speaking of course.

 

[Karpi]

I like where you are going at, but how would you explain them turning back to human. I think that maybe the ghost Pokemon don't reincarnate, but find eternal rest somehow and the cycle is then replaced with a newly created human, instead of a replace human. Figuratively speaking of course.

Well, I suppose I should have explained my idea better. The Cofagrigus does NOT ACTUALLY become a human. But it possesses the human body it traps, so the former-human-now-cofagrigus can have the closest thing it can get to a human life - the ability to completely possess and control a human body. So it's not exactly reincarnation, but the Cofagrigus want it to be.

 

[Skittypaws]

I like where you are going at, but how would you explain them turning back to human. I think that maybe the ghost Pokemon don't reincarnate, but find eternal rest somehow and the cycle is then replaced with a newly created human, instead of a replace human. Figuratively speaking of course.

Well, I suppose I should have explained my idea better. The Cofagrigus does NOT ACTUALLY become a human. But it possesses the human body it traps, so the former-human-now-cofagrigus can have the closest thing it can get to a human life - the ability to completely possess and control a human body. So it's not exactly reincarnation, but the Cofagrigus want it to be.

Makes sense. Do you think that ghost pokemon can die? Would they become human if they died? Are they doomed to be entirely a ghost for eternity? Too many questions...

 

[reynard]

Well, if Ghost Pokemon are actual ghosts, then they shouldn't be able to die. Maybe they could pass on or something? But as far as the whole reincarnation thing goes with Cofagrigus, I figured its motivation for doing what it does to people was because it feels very strongly about the sacredness of tombs and respecting the dead. So when it comes across grave robbers, it gets justice by essentially burying them alive and murdering them as all the oxygen is forced out of their lungs, probably while they scream for mercy, begging for their lives, maybe even as they are buried under more and more dirt and the light slowly fading away and the heat building up...

Well, that's a horrifying image that just went through my head...So much for pleasant dreams tonight.

Although it's reaction does seem quite fitting personally, what with it having an Egyptian inspiration. The ancient Egyptians were NOT kind on grave robbers. I believe the punishment was usually execution, mutilation, being sentenced to a slave camp, or a mix of the last two.

Maybe Yamask's original graves were looted in the past and the Yamask were so hurt by this that that's why Cofagrigus is basically one big grave robber trap.