Where DO Eggs Come From?

[Jukain]

If this is inappropriate in any way, I will delete this thread, but I couldn't find anything that was against it as long as it isn't graphic.

Anyway, part out of wanting to settle this matter with someone, and out of curiosity, just where DO eggs come from? I've been told that there's someone in Solaceon that says no one knows where they come from. I have seen two stances on this: that it's purposely avoided because that would be inappropriate for children, and the other that believes in Cabbage Patch logic and the eggs literally just appear out of nowhere to pokemon couples.

I want to point out that there are several dex entries that outright state that pokemon mate; however, that doesn't mean entirely what you think it does. It can be used as a blanket term for all sexual reproduction (or the act of), and there are several ways in which that is achieved. Technically, I might be able to consider the egg "just appearing" to be a form of this simply because it involves a male and a female for whatever reason, and what results is a genetic combination of the two. Not to mention all the problems associated to the breeding groups and what they imply. I consider most of that to be "it's just a game, and it isn't supposed to be analyzed". The "just appearing" theory seems to have been a way to make this work in context. The rest was a debate having to do with how pokemon were designed in terms of anatomy, of which there is no official stance on the matter.

Which do you prefer, or do you have your own theory on the matter? I personally do not agree with Cabbage Patch logic, and that the correlation to real life animals is valid. Of course, to believe this is to pretty much say that I don't believe the game mechanics are entirely accurate. I honestly don't, although I can see how that can be viewed as blasphemy. It's the only way it makes sense to me.

 

[Envoy]

Where do Pokemon eggs come from? Well, when a mommy Pokemon and a daddy Pokemon love each other very much, sometimes they'll have wild, crazy animal sex like the carnal beasts that they are. First he'll ***** her **** and then she'll just straight up **** his ****. After that's done, they'll both **** until **** and ***** to then ***** so that they can**** and once they get into position, it'll be easy for them to ******.

Finally, he'll climb on top of her and ***** the living ****** out of her. Except if it's a female Nidoran, who tend to be freaky little things. They'll use their poison barbs to ***** at his ******** and then ***** which allows them to ****** because they have *****.

After that, mommy Pokemon's gonna notice that she hasn't had her period since that night. Distressed, she'll take a pregnancy test and realize that, yup, she's with child. After drowning her sorrows in vodka, she'll inform the daddy Pokemon, who will freak out because he's not ready to raise a kid. He'll grab his tacky fedora and his bags and abandon mommy Pokemon to raise the kid on her own.

Finally, she comes to terms with the fact that she'll be a mommy and starts caring for her unborn egg child. Only for it to be taken away by child service agents Mr. & Mrs. Day Care Couple once they deem her unfit to raise the kid (should't have taken all that vodka after you found out you had a baby) and they give it to the nice, loving family of Mr./Ms. Pokemon trainer, who will nurture the egg until it hatches...Then s/he'll make the newly born baby fight to the death in brutal combat against other, much bigger Pokemon who have the power to control the raw elements because they live in a very Spartan society where strength is all that matters, and that's just how things go.

And that, kids, is how baby Pokemon are born.

 

[Xenidal]

Where do Eggs come from? No one knows. Perhaps the Pokémon cough the Eggs up...

For the real-world theory:
- all species of Pokémon (more-so for each Egg Group) must be closely related to each other. This seems odd since there is so much variation in appearance and behaviour (even within each Egg Group), but it is backed up by lots of evidence in the games and anime
- if they are closely related to each other, all must share a common means of reproduction (in this case, egg-laying)
- this appears to be a problem, since in the games some Pokémon are not capable producing Eggs. But on second thought, this isn't a problem at all, since some Pokémon species born in the wild may be like mules who are sterile by nature. It could also be that some Pokémon can only reproduce in the wild / under certain conditions, and not in captivity
- in order to not contradict the Pokédex entries and the Cinnabar journals, certain Pokémon species must also be able to reproduce by means other than egg-laying in addition to egg-laying. Having so much variation (asexual, giving birth, laying eggs, etc.) seems odd if all Pokémon are closely related, but I suppose it's possible

Two possible problems I do see though:
1. In Pokémon Snap, the Eggs are simply too large to have been laid by a Pokémon. Unless either:
- the Eggs can somehow grow before hatching
- Pokémon Snap is not canon (although I don't see why it wouldn't be), or maybe it was retconned and is no longer canon
- the birds who laid those Eggs were giant Pokémon
None of these really seem plausible, although they are possible
2. Kangaskhan hatches from the Egg with a baby Kangaskhan in its pouch, Chansey hatches from the Egg with an egg in its pouch, etc. This is just... bizzarre. Most likely done to simplify the game though (so an age system and extra game sprites are not needed). If that's the case, this it is still possible for the real-world egg-laying theory to hold true

So I guess there's nothing wrong about the real-world theory, although some of it is quite odd.

But I also see nothing wrong with the "Eggs come from somewhere other than being laid" theory, as all these problems can be dismissed by just saying "the Pokémon world does not always follow real-world science" and leave it at that (especially since that guy did say "no one knows", meaning that this theory doesn't contradict the canon either). Considering that a lot of other real-world science does not apply to the Pokémon wolrd, I actually find this "Eggs out of nowhere / somewhere else" theory to be more plausible then trying to explain it in terms of real-world eggs / sexual reproduction

 

[Infinity Mk-II]

The whole breeding mechanics are messed up when you look at them close enough, so I write it off as the daycare people being horrible mad scientists where they perform inhuman experiments to reproduce captive pokémon in ways they shouldn't be able to.


Really, in-game breeding only exists for the sake of BABBY POKEYMAN, and was expanded purely on a gameplay and competitive aspect... but it is just too detached from the game's world itself for me to consider it seriously.


I guess in any case, even if I accept Ditto laying Magnemite eggs in the daycare (which is the least of the problems, but recognizable enough) or IV breeding (which is purely a competitive gameplay aspect) as part of the game world, I think that daycare breeding isn't how pokémon are supposed to breed and they reproduce naturally in ways more appropiate for each species.

Or hey, maybe it works that way, and they are actually an undercover organization that reproduces by science and black magic pokémon that shouldn't even be able to taking IV breeding rejects to feed them and mail boxes of them to different areas.

 

[Envoy]

The whole breeding mechanics are messed up when you look at them close enough, so I write it off as the daycare people being horrible mad scientists where they perform inhuman experiments to reproduce captive pokémon in ways they shouldn't be able to.

Or hey, maybe it works that way, and they are actually an undercover organization that reproduces by science and black magic pokémon that shouldn't even be able to taking IV breeding rejects to feed them and mail boxes of them to different areas.

Seems legit.

 

[Xenidal]

or IV breeding (which is purely a competitive gameplay aspect)

No, IVs are the equivalent to genes, which are passed on from parent to child. Maybe the way the game handles it doesn't correspond to real life, but the basic idea of passing down IVs makes sense.
What doesn't make much sense is the fact that you can breed for moves. Moves are learned behaviour. Now, breeding for "the potential to learn certain moves" makes sense, but it makes no sense at all that a baby will hatch from an Egg knowing its parents's moves.

 

[Infinity Mk-II]

IV breeding

IVs

I am talking about the gameplay itself not matching story, not the aspect. IVs themselves can kinda be correlated in-universe (though they are still a gameplay-centric thing).

Seems legit.

Where do you think all those genderless pokémon in abandoned factories come from?
The government pays them for it. And of course, nobody is going to know what goes in random abandoned factories.
Also Safari Zone has some deals with them too. It's all a conspiracy, I tell you!
what do you mean countering suspension of disbelief with even worse suspension of disbelief

 

[Mythicalzoe]

Their reproductive openings?

 

[Oswin]

When two Pokémon love each other very much, sometimes they do a special hug, and a few steps later, a Swanna drops the egg off.

 

[The Togekiss]

I would figure that they would never go into detail with that type of stuff, since the target audience of the franchise is around a younger age. however...

Where do Pokemon eggs come from? Well, when a mommy Pokemon and a daddy Pokemon love each other very much, sometimes they'll have wild, crazy animal sex like the carnal beasts that they are. First he'll ***** her **** and then she'll just straight up **** his ****. After that's done, they'll both **** until **** and ***** to then ***** so that they can**** and once they get into position, it'll be easy for them to ******.

Finally, he'll climb on top of her and ***** the living ****** out of her. Except if it's a female Nidoran, who tend to be kinky little things. They'll use their poison barbs to ***** at his ******** and then ***** which allows them to ****** because they have *****.

After that, mommy Pokemon's gonna notice that she hasn't had her period since that night. Distressed, she'll take a pregnancy test and realize that, yup, she's with child. After drowning her sorrows in vodka, she'll inform the daddy Pokemon, who will freak out because he's not ready to raise a kid. He'll grab his tacky fedora and his bags and abandon mommy Pokemon to raise the kid on her own.

Finally, she comes to terms with the fact that she'll be a mommy and starts caring for her unborn egg child. Only for it to be taken away by child service agents Mr. & Mrs. Day Care Couple once they deem her unfit to raise the kid (should't have taken all that vodka after you found out you had a baby) and they give it to the nice, loving family of Mr./Ms. Pokemon trainer, who will nurture the egg until it hatches...Then s/he'll make the newly born baby fight to the death in brutal combat against other, much bigger Pokemon who have the power to control the raw elements because they live in a very Spartan society where strength is all that matters.

And that, kids, is how baby Pokemon are born.

That made my day.
Anyways, Pokemon are probably very secretive about mating is all I have to say.
Also, Pokemon are capable of widely reproducing with eachother, due to the fact that almost all Pokemon descended from Mew. The Pokemon that cant breed at all(most legendaries) didnt descend from Mew.
I can't really focus right now so I can't make any theories....

 

[Midorikawa]

The problem is the game lacks details. Excluding the laziness of sprites, the game doesn't tell us how big the eggs are or even if they're the same size. It fails to tell us if the pokemon are pokedex entry height when they hatch or smaller. Without simple things like these we have no way of deducing how a diglett or skitty impregnates a wailord, and vice-versa when their size difference is massive. Its impossible to deduce where the eggs come from and how exactly they're made without more info. If I had to guess though I'd say the pokemon are magic and make eggs using their DNA through magic which is why the eggs are never seen being laid.

 

[Jukain]

In a way, I almost want the anime to compound on it, but that possibly won't happen either. We've seen pokemon care for eggs (in the wild no less), but there is still nothing to say that the pokemon actually laid said eggs.

 

[Robo-Floatzel]

In Solaceon, they said that "nobody has ever seen a Pokemon lay an egg, they just come out of nowhere", while it's really a lie, and is Nintendo's excuse of not telling kids about sex, even though most kids nowadays are familiar with pregnancy, but not about the reproductive organs that are used to lead to pregnancy.

 

[UnovaCastaway]

In the HGSS Arceus event, after you get your Sinnoh mascot, Cynthia asks something along the lines of "could this be the first time we've seen an egg brought into the world?" Although Arceus probably works on a whole different level and likely conjured the egg in front of his head using telepathic energy with no other Pokemon around.

In real life, there are some animals that have never been seen breeding. All Pokemon probably breed when humans aren't looking. It doesn't help that the daycares in the games are run by old people who are mostly oblivious about the whole breeding thing.

 

[The Togekiss]

In real life, there are some animals that have never been seen breeding.

good point.

 

[Xenidal]

In Solaceon, they said that "nobody has ever seen a Pokemon lay an egg, they just come out of nowhere", while it's really a lie, and is Nintendo's excuse of not telling kids about sex, even though most kids nowadays are familiar with pregnancy, but not about the reproductive organs that are used to lead to pregnancy.

Laying eggs doesn't automatically mean that the Pokémon are having sex though... some real-world animals (such as fish) lay eggs and fertilise them externally without ever having sex. Then there's honeybees whose eggs can hatch without even being fertilised in the first place. And even if the Pokémon were having sex... Game Freak / Nintendo doesn't have to mention it. I mean, you see chickens hatching from eggs in the cartoons all the time without the narrator saying, "The chick hatching from this egg was because the chickens were having sex," and no one watching the show really questions it or cares.

Something I've noticed... all Pokémon Eggs actually hatch into Pokémon. Which is strange because with real-world animals like chickens, you can have non-fertilised eggs with no animal ever hatching. So this makes me further doubt that it's all that similar to real-world egg-laying... however, this could just be a gameplay element since it would get annoying if half the time your Egg never even hatched.

 

[Jukain]

Interesting point. What do kids know about laying eggs? Just that some animals lay them and they can hatch into baby animals. No mention of how that happened, that's just all there is. This could still be seen as either glanced over reproduction or it basically coming from nowhere, except it doesn't really come from nowhere, since they still know the egg was laid, they just don't have the perception to question how eggs are made. Unfortunately, we still don't know if pokemon really DO lay eggs.

 

[EXGShadow]

In the HGSS Arceus event, after you get your Sinnoh mascot, Cynthia asks something along the lines of "could this be the first time we've seen an egg brought into the world?" Although Arceus probably works on a whole different level and likely conjured the egg in front of his head using telepathic energy with no other Pokemon around.

Whenever a male and a female pokémon are compatible, spend some time together and grow to like things about each other.. a bunch of Unown comes out from their dimension, twisting the time and space and mixing the genes of both pokémon, thus creating an egg. Arceus just happen to be so powerful, he's able to simulate that bond between two pokémon and summon the Unown all by itself.

 

[99unownoak]

I think that Pokemon simply breed and the female lays an egg, not that it just appears from nowhere after a while.

In the journal in the Pokemon Mansion on Cinnabar Island is says the Mew gave "birth" to Mewtwo. Obviously human interference was present and there wasn't an egg which complicates things but I think it still gives us insight into Pokemon reproduction and the egg question.

 

[Jukain]

I have heard that as well. Some think that is the reason for the Undiscovered egg group. That they reproduce in a way separate from other pokemon, or are too young to breed. Some have likened it to animals that do not breed in captivity. The lone anomaly in this matter is Nidorina/Nidoqueen. I was told this was because of a limitation in the coding of G/S/C that was preserved in later generations even though no other poke would suffer this, but why Nidoran♀ was accepted and not her evos continues to baffle me.