-Convergent Evolutions: A Primer-
- by Ross Melder
Please note: The contents of this primer are merely theoretical in nature and have yet to be applied in a practical setting.
Greetings, dear reader! This book is, or what is supposed be, a little journal based on my theories about Pokemon Evolution, or more specifically, Convergent evolution (More on that later). The reason for my creation of this book lies in the fear of what might happen in case my research never sees the light of day. Oh, that would be just dreadful!
Also, my mother told me to write my thoughts on a book because, according to her, "Your theorizing sounds like the mutterings of madman, my son. And we will have no madmen in this house, you hear me!?"
Anyway, crazy, freedom of speech hating mothers aside, I should probably talk, I mean write, about what I'm actually supposed to be explaining about before going on another tangent. That would be best for the both of us.
Now, the topic of my research is a bit difficult to explain, but I'll do my best, so just bear with me here.
During an evolution, when a Pokemon has fulfilled two or more evolutionary conditions in a near-perfectly equal balance, with the involvement of conscious thought towards utilizing the full extent of the balance in question (excluding Tyrogue and Rockruff, who converge naturally), the evolution achieved in such a manner is called a Convergent Evolution.
Did you get all that, my dear reader?
If not, then allow me to dumb it down for you. The bottom of this page also contains answers about some of the questions you may have. Otherwise, you can move on to the next part, which contains more theories on the convergent evolutions of specific pokemon.
To start off with, I assume that you've heard of branching evolutions? In case you haven't, here is a refresher. A branching evolution is the case when multiple evolutions can be induced by a single species of pokemon, like in the case of a Wurmple, or an Eevee, bless those beautiful creatures.
All convergent evolutions are branching evolutions (with the inclusion of a few based on sexual dimorphism, but we'll ignore that for the sake of this example), but not all branching evolutions are convergent evolutions. Allow me to explain with an example. Say you have a Gloom, because you're gloomy, and you give it a Sun stone and a Leaf stone of equal volume (the equal volume part is important, because a convergence requires a balance of energies). Will the Gloom evolve into a Bellossom or a Vileplume? THAT, my dear reader, depends on its thought process. In the case that the Gloom wishes to become a Bellossom, it will evolve into a Bellossom. In the case that the Gloom wishes to become a Vileplume, it will evolve into a Vileplume. In the case that the Gloom thinks of neither, it will evolve into either a Gloom or a Vileplume. ONLY when the Gloom thinks about evolving using the energies of both the Sun stone AND the Leaf stone will the possibility of a convergence occur.
Now that I've explained what a Convergent Evolution is thoroughly, I assume that you understand it, and therefore have some questions. I'll try my best to answer some of the more obvious ones below.
First, why does a convergence require a balance of energies?
Secondly, why does a convergence require conscious thought, and why are Tyrogue and Rockruff exceptions to the rule?
Thirdly, what is a "natural convergence"?
And finally, why have people never tried this before?
To the answer the first question, we need to have at look into how evolutions are prioritized. What a pokemon evolves into is prioritized in the following way:
One, what the pokemon in question is most suitable to evolve into.
Two, what the pokemon in question BELIEVES it is most suitable to evolve into.
That is, for the involvement of belief, or conscious thought, to come into play, either or all of the converging pokemon's evolutions must have an equal or near-equal balance of energies, so that none of the potential evolutions are favored by the pokemon's biology. For example, an Eevee, when given a Fire stone and a Thunder stone, will evolve into a Flareon if the volume of the Fire stone is higher than the Thunder stone, and vice versa, even if conscious thought becomes a factor.
As for the second question, we have to think about the thought process of an evolving pokemon. When undergoing evolution, pokemon tend to think about what they believe they will evolve into. This does not normally play a role, until and unless the aforementioned balance is achieved, in which case the pokemon will evolve into what it THINKS it should evolve into, as long as said evolution satisfies the necessary conditions. An example has been provided above, in the explanation of convergence through branching evolutions.
I'll answer the last part of the second question and the third question at the same time, since that is most suitable. Tyrogue and Rockruff are special, because their convergence is also a part of their biology. When a Tyrogue with a balance in offence and defence evolves, the Tyrogue will ALWAYS evolve into a Hitmontop, even if conscious thought is involved. In fact, Tyrogue is the ONLY pokemon that has a convergent evolution where conscious thought is a complete non-factor, making it a "perfectly natural convergence", unlike in the case of Rockruff, where conscious thought CAN be involved, but isn't necessary, making it a "partially natural convergence" instead. Within my knowledge, these are only two pokemon that behave this way, making them the outliers in my definition.
Finally, we're at the last one. Why haven't people tried this before? There are several reasons which I have listed down below:
One, they have. They just aren't doing it right. People who've tried to achieve convergence either fail in achieving an equal balance of energies, or fail in telling their pokemon to apply the aspect of conscious thought.
Two, skepticism. As I have already noted, the contents of this primer are merely conjecture, making people reluctant to try it. And finally,
Three, ethical concerns. The evolution of a pokemon is an intimate process. It decides the outline of their entire future. To "waste it" on an experiment that has yet to be proven is the height of stupidity and thoughtlessness, according to some.
Phew, that took a lot longer than I expected! Now that I've finally explained some of my theories to you, the "introduction" part of this primer is complete. As I've already stated earlier, refer to the other pages of this book for more information on specific pokemon, or stop reading, grab a cup of tea of and bask in the light of the sunset. Maybe even take a nap, I certainly won't stop you.
Oh and of course, thanks for reading!