In my last Pokemon article I revealed that all Pokemon technically belong to the same species. I ended by saying that the origin of the Pokemon species, the creature they all evolved from, was the legendary Pokemon Mew. Here's why.
As with all the individual Pokemon families I'll research, my greatest tool will be the Pokedex entries. The anime, as I've stated before, is crap, my own extrapolations as well as other fan theories are obviously not Nintendo licensed canon, and you could argue that anything said by an NPC in the games could be the hearsay of misinformed characters. The Pokedex is a portable encyclopedia for Pokemon trainers to carry in the field, and it contains blurbs of information (different in each game version) on individual Pokemon breeds available to read upon capture. These blurbs consists of data complied by actual Pokemon researchers from the game world, such as Professor Oak. Thus, the Pokedex will be the most legitimate source of information for me to use and extrapolate on. Now here are some Pokedex entries on Mew:
From Silver version: Its DNA is said to contain the genetic codes of all Pokémon, so it can use all kinds of techniques.
From Crystal version: Because it can learn any move, some people began research to see if it is the ancestor of all Pokémon.
From Ruby/Sapphire version: Mew is said to possess the genetic composition of all Pokémon. It is capable of making itself invisible at will, so it entirely avoids notice even if it approaches people.
From FireRed version: A Pokémon of South America that was thought to have been extinct. It is very intelligent and learns any move.
From Diamond/Pearl/Platinum version: Because it can use all kinds of moves, many scientists believe Mew to be the ancestor of Pokémon.
These help us paint a picture of Mew. As I said last time, whatever Pokemon all the other Pokemon derived, the Pokemon Prime if you will, would have to have the capacity to differentiate into all the other Pokemon breeds. Mew has the amazing ability to learn EVERY SINGLE TM and HM in the Pokemon universe, in all versions (for those of you unacquainted with Pokemon, TM's and HM's are items used to teach attack moves to Pokemon who wouldn't learn them naturally just by leveling up (growing with experience). Most Pokemon are only compatible with a limited number from the vast pools of TM's and HM's, mostly only with moves that match or are similar to their elemental type). This means that Mew has the capacity to draw forth from its body any kind of elemental move, be it poison, fire, water, insecty-ness, etc. While plenty of Pokemon can use moves not of their type, it often makes sense, like a water type using an ice-type move, or a psychic-type using a ghost type move. However Mew has the capacity for all types, which would make sense if most of the Mew species differentiated into all the different type Pokemon. Another move-based clue is looking at Mew's movepool. In generation 1, Mew could only learn 5 moves by leveling up, and the second move it learns is Transform at level 10 (with only Pound which it knows at birth coming before it, something that is unsurprising since any animal should have the ability to physically hit something with their body). Transform is a move that allows the user to copy the appearance and moveset of its opponent, a move that only the Pokemon Ditto shares with it (more on Ditto later, obviously). Add these two bits of information to the fact that Mew does share the same genes as all the other Pokemon as stated by the Pokedex entries above, and it seems conclusive that Mew is in fact the originator of all Pokemon species*
Just like all dog breeds are essentially variations of the first Canis lupis familiaris that helped out ancestors hunt, all Pokemon* subspecies are essentially variations of Mew. All Pokemon* are Mew. This explains why every Pokemon is so genetically unstable, is able to interbreed, and can learn moves not of its type. They're all based on one very mutagenic Pokemon. Wait, that's a misnomer, Mew isn't mutagenic, but can... mutate its genetic code easily? What's the best way to describe it?
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| Ah yes. Thank you Alpha 5. |
I'm splitting my Mew post up because this is getting a little long. Next time: Mew and Lamarkian Evolution. Evolutionary biologists out there, get ready.
*All Pokemon except for some of the deities, again, to be talked about later.
