Where Did All the Animals Go?

Professor Mangrove

Holon University

One topic often taken for granted is that of animals. While the misconception persists that animals and Pokémon developed together, this is entirely false. Their similarities are based on convergent evolution, insofar as that they are intrinsically separate organisms, even less analogous than a human and an ape. This may baffle some, but the evidence does not lie.

The history of animals can be traced back even farther in the fossil record than that of humans, while Pokémon enter the records a few million years later, seemingly out of the blue. The reason for the Pokémon's mysterious appearance is still being debated today, but what we do know is their arrival shifted the balance between animals and humans irrevocably.

Before Pokémon (PCE, if you will), animals were far more prevalent and diverse than they are today. You would enter a forest teeming not with Pokémon, but insects, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and so on. While the relationship between humans and animals weren't as closely intertwined as our relationship with Pokémon, we still coexisted. Records show us domesticating wolves into dogs, migrating with herds of buffalo and deer, and taking inspiration from elephants, owls, and other animals for symbols in our religions and cultures.

This all changed when Pokémon suddenly appeared a few million years ago. Pokémon had several advantages that aided them in their rise to prominence. First, the arrival of these creatures with harnessed powers never before seen, such as the ability to control fire, electricity, and even tamper with one's mind, would have easily outcompeted animals who lack these abilities. For example, take a wolf versus a Herdier. A wolf may have claws and fangs, but a pack of Herdier would still easily prove superior to a pack of wolves. The baseline intelligence of nearly all Pokémon (excluding the especially dim ones, like Slowpoke) is tantamount to the most intelligent canines (1). On top of that, a Normal-type Herdier can naturally learn moves such as Giga Impact, which can heal them, while even a young Herdier can bypass a wolf's evasion tactics through Odor Sleuth.

Secondly, Pokémon also have a procreation advantage. Every Pokémon species has the ability to lay eggs. I will leave the miraculous ability of egg-production to the proper Pokémon breeding authority (2), but at its core, the egg has an evolutionary advantage over live births in that it can allow amniotic development to occur in a wider range of environments. Some of these environments may be actively hostile to Pokémon, such as by hosting predators hungry for eggs, but their shorter hatch time compared to animalistic eggs mitigate this factor. This puts mammals at a disadvantage, as they are intrinsically more vulnerable and have higher needs during their gestational period than their egg-laying counterparts. The pregnant animals' abilities to contribute to their group are also decreased due to their physical restraints (3).

Lastly, a mutualistic relationship formed once humans learned how to capture and train Pokémon. While the debate of why Pokémon are receptive—if not actively searching—for training still rages on (4), its advantages to their survival is unquestionable. A greater variety of Pokémon were more likely to befriend humans, and vice versa, while only a relatively small percentage of animals could be domesticated. As such, the greater human interaction with Pokémon increased our mutual chances for survival, as Pokémon protected humans while humans trained and gave resources to Pokémon.

However, animals did not decline with a big bang, but rather through a prolonged process. For example, by the time Kabutops roamed the seas, animals were still prevalent. However, as competition for territory, food, and even human attention increased, animals began to decline. The ones that survived either had high birth rates, low competition with Pokémon, or domesticability to their advantage. Examples would include insects and fish, coral, and cats and dogs, respectively.

And yet the legacy of animals continues ever onwards. Pokémon are categorized by them, after all. When Pokémon arrived suddenly, humans most likely compared their likeness to what we were most familiar with: animals. Hence, this is why the Pichu family line is known as the "mouse" Pokémon, even though Pokémon and animals have little to no relation to one another. Animals still contribute to our everyday society, as well. We farm certain animals more effectively than their Pokémon counterparts, such as sheep versus Mareep (5), and people who still yearn for companionship without the necessary skills of a trainer turn to animals for pets. Not to mention that some animals still form the foundation of our food chains, both humans' and Pokémon's, such as fish and insects, respectively.

Animals are not gone, as any cat or dog owner would quickly proclaim; nor are they forgotten.

(1) See my essay "The Intelligence of Pokémon" for more information.

(2) See Mrs. Smith's essay "Pokémon Egg-Production" for more information.

(3) Although, it is interesting to note that the ability of humans to produce via live birth is to our advantage in one regard, as our young can grow larger brains whilst in the womb which lends itself to our greater cognitive development than other animals...but I digress…

(4) See my essay "The Mystery of Training Receptiveness" for more information.

(5) At least sheep don't electrocute you when you try to collect wool…