20 Classic Pokémon Fan Theories (That Actually Got Confirmed)
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Pokémon fans like to dream up new theories all the time. These ones, about the classic games, were actually confirmed.
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There was never any intention for the people at Game Freak to create a long-running story within the Pokémon video game series. No one at the company expected Pokémon Red & Blue to become as big as they did, to the point where the series became an international phenomenon several times over.
Those looking for a long-running story within a Pokémon world will have to look towards the Pokémon Adventures manga series, which has followed the same narrative since the days of Red & Blue. The Pokémon anime and video games will constantly be in a state of flux, as the people at Game Freak believe that the target audience for the series needs to constantly be recycled. It is for this reason that we rarely get references to the older games and storylines anymore.
The early Pokémon games would often include references and storylines that were never planned to have any sort of resolution. This meant that the fans had to come up with their own answers to many of the questions that had been presented by the series.
As time went on, the creators of the Pokémon series became more candid and were more open to interviews about the creative process behind the older games in the series, as well as their plans that never had a chance to come to pass. This has led to confirmation of many of the popular fan theories that have existed over the years.
We are here today to look at the Pokémon fan theories that have been confirmed over the years. From the secret behind Mewtwo’s creator, to the one true love of the anime.
Here are Twenty Classic Pokémon Fan Theories (That Actually Got Confirmed)
20 Mr. Fuji Created Mewtwo
Mewtwo is an artificially created Pokémon that was designed to be unstoppable in battle. Mewtwo has been a triumph in this regard, as it has remained one of the most powerful Legendary Pokémon since the debut of the series. The Mega Evolutions of Mewtwo have breathed new life into a Pokémon that was slowly being overpowered by the likes of Arceus and Rayquaza so that it is once again on the top of the Pokémon food chain.
The Pokémon video games have never directly addressed the question of who exactly created Mewtwo. There were a few subtle hints spread out across the series that were eventually confirmed in the Pokémon Origins anime series.
It was revealed that Mr. Fuji, the kind old man who lives in Lavender Town, had once lived on Cinnabar Island, where he worked as a doctor. This led to speculation by the fans that he had a role in the creation of Mewtwo.
There was an event in the Japanese version of Pokémon Emerald where the player could travel to Faraway Island and capture a Mew. The sign on the island has a signature that Japanese fans believe belongs to Mr. Fuji, suggesting a connection between the two.
The Pokémon Origins anime confirmed that Mr. Fuji was indeed the person responsible for creating Mewtwo in the past.
19 The Contents Of The GS Ball
The release of Pokémon Gold & Silver was delayed during development, as the people at Game Freak needed more time to include all of the desired features that would set the sequels apart from the first generation of games.
The Pokémon anime was able to include a story element that would tie into the upcoming Johto series during the filler episodes where Ash traveled to the Orange Islands. Ash’s original purpose for his adventure on the Orange Islands was to collect a mysterious Poké Ball and bring it back to Professor Oak.
The mysterious Poké Ball was the GS Ball, which was half gold and half silver. The fans speculated as to what could be contained within the Ball for years, as Ash eventually had to take the GS Ball to Kurt in Johto. Ash completed this mission and the GS Ball (as well as its contents) were never mentioned again. The contents of the GS Ball have never been revealed in the Pokémon anime.
The fans had speculated that Celebi was the Pokémon inside of the GS Ball, due to its status as a secret Legendary Pokémon. Masamitsu Hidaka has since revealed that a Celebi was indeed planned to be inside the GS Ball and would become a major character in the anime. These plans changed when it was decided that Celebi would be the star of one of the Pokémon movies instead, so the GS Ball storyline was just abandoned.
18 The End Of The Anime
The success of the Pokémon franchise was built upon word of mouth in Japan. It took a while for the series to find its legs, but when it did it sparked the creation of one of the biggest media franchises on the planet.
The Pokémon anime was a vital part of the promotional strategy for the series. The effect of the Pokémon manga on the international market cannot be understated, as it was also vital in helping to bring other anime series to mainstream television, such as Yu-Gi-Oh!
Ash Ketchum’s journey was almost cut short, as there were no plans to extend the series beyond its initial planned run, which was for a year and a half.
Fans had speculated that the original series felt like it was going to end with the Indigo League and Ash defeating Gary, as the introduction of the Orange Islands felt out of left field.
Masaaki Iwane has confirmed that the Pokémon anime was planned to end after only a year and a half of episodes, which was considered to be a fairly long run at the time. It was only due to the massive success of the series that the anime got extended and will likely now continue to run for years to come.
17 The Baby Of Jessie & James
The Pokémon fanbase has been a battleground for shippers since the late ’90s. The fact that the series will seemingly continue without ever resolving any of the possible romance plots is something that will frustrate the devoted fans of the Pokémon anime until it ends, which it may never do.
The longest running Pokémon ship has to be the one between Jessie and James, considering that they are male & female duo that have appeared in almost every single episode since the series began. Team Rocket is just as iconic and important to the Pokémon anime as Ash Ketchum or Pikachu.
The fans have long speculated that Jessie & James are meant to be together. There are those who felt that James might have been gay, due to the effeminate performance that Eric Stuart used when voicing the character. This was an invention of the English language dub, however, so it shouldn’t be taken into account.
The Electric Tale of Pikachu actually gave a conclusive answer to the romantic fate of Jessie & James. The series showed the two of them married and expecting a child in the epilogue of the series, with Meowth still at their side.
16 The Deleted Girl In Red & Blue
The Pokémon franchise has always been designed to be inclusive since the beginning. The series was planned to appeal to people of all ages, with special care given to the designs of the Pokémon themselves, as some were created specifically to be of interest to boys and girls.
It took a while for the Pokémon video games to give the player a chance to choose their gender at the start of the game. All of the players were stuck playing as Red in Pokémon Red & Blue, which continued on with Gold in Pokémon Gold & Silver. It wasn’t until Pokémon Crystal that the player was given the chance to choose a female avatar.
The fans had speculated that there were plans for Pokémon Red & Blue to include the option to play as a female character, but it had to be scrapped during development. This was partly inspired by the character of Green in the Pokémon Adventures manga, who was a female rival of Red.
This theory was proven to be true when the artwork for the Pokémon Red & Green guidebook was released online. The cover of the book shows Red, Blue, and Green facing each other, while each has one of the three Kanto starters at their feet. This confirms the idea that a female protagonist was planned to appear in the game, but it was likely cut due to technical issues.
15 The Identity Of The Other Kanto Badges
Pokémon fans will likely have seen the image above posted many times over the years, usually with the text “Gary Oak is so good, he won ten Gym Badges in Kanto” beneath it. This is part of a long-running meme about how awesome Gary Oak/Blue is in the Pokémon anime and video games.
The Gym Badges that Gary show to Ash mostly come from Gyms that are unaccounted for the Kanto region. The later video games and series of the anime would confirm that each region could only possess eight Pokémon Gyms, but that other potential Pokémon Gyms could try and earn an official license and take over the position from one of the existing Gyms.
The fans had speculated that other Gyms may have existed in the Kanto region and that the details of the setting had to be established yet, which is why the later games established different rules over the number of Gyms.
It turns out that other Pokémon Gyms may have been planned for the Kanto region in Pokémon Red & Blue. This is due to the fact that there are unused names for several different Gym Badges hidden within the code of Pokémon Red & Blue.
The unused Gym Badge names are; the Thunder Badge, the Shell Badge, the Monk Badge, the Falcon Badge, the Chill Badge, the Friendship Badge, the Rose Badge, the Fireball Badge, and the Gold Badge.
14 Humans Dated Pokémon
Do you remember when we said that Jessie & James were one of the oldest ships in the Pokémon fandom? Well, the oldest one is between Ash & Pikachu.
PikaShipping is the name given to the theoretical relationship between Ash and Pikachu. There is a subset of fans who believe that Ash & Pikachu should be in a romantic relationship and that there are elements within the story of the Pokémon anime that support this.
There is actually evidence to support the idea that humans and Pokémon once engaged in romantic relationships. It could only be found in the original versions of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl.
In the Japanese version of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, you can visit the library in Canalave City and read up on the myths of the Sinnoh region. One of these myths confirmed that humans and Pokémon used to marry each other in the past.
This piece of information was censored in the international versions of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl so that the book now talks about humans and Pokémon eating together at the same table. The intention of both versions of the myth was to say that humans and Pokémon were once considered to be equals, but the Japanese version just happened to do it in a much creepier fashion.
13 The Playground Rumors Were True
The existence of Mew helped to inspire a slew of urban legends surrounding the Pokémon video games. The fact that there was a Pokémon in the game that couldn’t be encountered through normal gameplay was fascinating to many young fans of the series. This led to the creation of numerous fan sites that explained increasingly difficult methods for acquiring Mew, none of which worked.
It took a long time to discover, but there is a way in which fans can acquire Mew, though you could hardly call it a legitimate method.
It’s possible to acquire a Mew as early as the second Gym in Pokémon Red & Blue thanks to the Mew Glitch, which allows you to start the process of a battle, but lets you put it off until later. This allows you to encounter a Mew.
Celebi was the second secret Legendary Pokémon in the series, which also couldn’t be acquired during normal gameplay. It’s also possible to catch a Celebi using a glitch. This one is called the Celebi Egg Glitch and it allows you to breed any Pokémon in the game, including a Celebi. This glitch is more complex to perform and it has since been made redundant by the fact you can acquire a legitimate Celebi in the Virtual Console version of Pokémon Crystal.
12 Ash & Misty Were Meant To Be Together
We mentioned earlier on in this list that the Pokémon anime was intended to end after only a year and a half. There is evidence to suggest that the anime would actually have concluded with the first Pokémon movie, with Ash defeating the most powerful Pokémon in the world.
The reason fans suspect this is due to an early preview of the film that shows some intriguing footage that never made it into the final version of the movie. The preview shows an older version of Misty with a young girl. The girl is then seen with a Pikachu.
The fans have speculated that this footage was meant to be from an unused flash-forward sequence that would have acted as the end of Pokémon.
This unused sequence also may have proven one of the oldest theories in the series: that Ash and Misty loved each other.
The fact that we see Misty with a young girl in preview footage suggests that the kid may be Misty’s daughter. We then see the little girl with Ash’s Pikachu, which suggests that she may also be Ash’s daughter.
The idea that Ash would have ended up with Misty would have been a nice way to end the series, but the popularity of Pokémon prevented this from ever happening. Ash will forever remain a child and he will always leave his female friends behind, as he continues his endless journey to become a Pokémon Master.
11 The Name Of Ash’s Pikachu
The existence of Meowth in the Pokémon anime confirmed almost instantly that Pokémon possesses a level of intelligence that is comparable to humans, as it is possible for a Pokémon to learn how to communicate with humans. We were given a chance to see this in action in the episode “The Island of Giant Pokémon” when Ash & Team Rocket were separate from their Pokémon. We were treated to subtitled versions of the Pokémon’s dialogue when communicating with each other, while they continued to speak while only using their names.
This episode led to speculation that some Pokémon might have their own personal name, which is different from the one that is given to them by their trainer. The Pokémon are unable to tell their trainer about the original name, as they lack the ability to speak the same language as humans.
The Electric Tale Of Pikachu manga series actually confirmed that Ash had named his Pikachu. According to the second issue of the manga, the name of Ash’s Pikachu is Jean-Luc Pikachu, which is a reference to Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Pikachu was also seen wearing a Starfleet badge, which is used as a wireless communication device that Starfleet crew members can use to speak to each other.
10 Ash Fights A “Real” T-Rex
The Pokémon video game series has been unclear on the topic of real-life animals existing in the world that aren’t Pokémon.
Pokémon video games make several references to real-life animals in the form of certain Pokédex entries, such as the Raichu entry which claims that its electricity is strong enough to knock out an Indian elephant.
The Pokémon anime also included brief cameos of real-life animals, such as when Gastly turned into a mongoose in “The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak.”
These examples can be handwaved away as coming from the early days of the series when certain facts about the setting had yet to be established. This didn’t stop fans wondering whether animals did really exist in the world of Pokémon.
It seems that the Pokémon movies were going to answer this question, as Takeshi Shudo’s plan for the third film was going to involve the discovery of a dinosaur fossil. This fossil would be resurrected as a real-life Tyrannosaurus Rex, which Ash and Team Rocket would have to face together. This movie would have also tackled the question of what happened to the real-life animals that existed on the planet before the arrival of Pokémon.
9 The Fate Of Cinnabar Island
One of the biggest surprises of Pokémon Gold & Silver was the fact that you were able to revisit Kanto once you had defeated the Elite Four. This gave you a chance to see how the world had changed in the time period following the events of Pokémon Red & Blue, which also gave you a chance to challenge the original eight Gym Leaders again and have a climactic battle against Red.
The surprise quickly gave away to disappointment, as the version of Kanto that appeared in Pokémon Gold & Silver was a lot barer than the version we saw in Pokémon Red & Blue. We wouldn’t be given a totally fleshed out return to Kanto until the release of Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver.
The fans had speculated that the reason Kanto was so bare in Pokémon Gold & Silver was due to the fact that the people at Game Freak were pressed for time and that the region wasn’t a priority compared to fleshing out Johto.
It turns out that there was truth to this theory, as unused maps for Cinnabar Island were found within the files of the game. The version of Cinnabar Island that appears in Pokémon Gold & Silver was almost totally bare, due to a volcanic eruption that destroyed all of the buildings. The unused maps indicate that the Gym would have returned and be used as a battleground for the fight against Blaine.
8 The Return Of Black & White
Pokémon Black & White was the first set of games in the Pokémon series to not receive an updated third version of the game. The fans had expected Pokémon Grey to be the next game in the series, but Game Freak surprised everyone by creating a brand new set of titles that acted as direct sequels to the originals. The next Pokémon games turned out to be Pokémon Black 2 & White 2.
The fact that Pokémon Black 2 & White 2 were the first direct sequels in the series led to rampant speculation among the fans concerning a cameo appearance by the protagonists of the original games. A lot of people expected there to be a climactic battle against the main characters of Pokémon Black & White, in the same way that Gold battled Red at the end of the Johto games.
It turns out that one of the protagonists of Pokémon Black & White were planned to make an appearance in the World Tournament mode of Pokémon Black 2 & White 2. Data exists for Hilda in that mode, though she isn’t assigned any Pokémon. It seems that she was cut at an early point in development.
7 AZ’s Floette
AZ is a mysterious character whom you encounter several times in Pokémon X & Y. It is revealed that he is one of the ancient kings of the Kalos region, who had designed an incredibly powerful weapon during a war that was once fought with both people and Pokémon on the battlefield. AZ had a beloved Floette which lost its life. The Floette is returned to AZ at the end of the game, as it is brought back to life.
AZ’s Floette has a unique colors scheme which is different from the regular and shiny palettes that used for other Floettes. This lead to fan speculation that you would be able to catch AZ’s Floette or that it would be given away as part of a special event.
When fans finally got the chance to go through the files of Pokémon X & Y, they discovered that AZ’s Floette was indeed programmed into the game. It is known as the Eternal Flower Floette and it possesses a unique Fairy-type move, called Light of Ruin.
The data for the Eternal Flower Floette still exists within the files of Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, as well as the four games set in the Alola region. It’s likely that Game Freak lost interest in the idea of releasing this Pokémon… or they are saving it as the final distribution of the Nintendo 3DS era of the series.
6 Humans, Pokémon, And Food Chain
One of the unanswered questions of the Pokémon world that will likely stay unanswered concerns the food that is consumed by humans. Are all of the humans in the world of Pokémon vegan? If not, do any of them eat their beloved Pokémon? Could you bring yourself to chow down on the Bulbasaur that stood by your side throughout the whole game?
The Pokémon anime and video games might shy away from showing us the horrors of a Pokémon butcher shop, but the Pokédex is another matter. The darkest deeds of the Pokémon universe take place in the Pokédex entries, with some of them detailing how Pokémon like Froslass gather the corpses of humans and use them as ornaments.
The Pokédex entry for Sharpedo in Pokémon Moon confirms the long-standing theory that humans eat Pokémon. The entry states that Sharepdo were hunted for their delicious dorsal fins by humans. The Pokédex claims that the Sharpedo were the victims of overfishing, which is something that occurs when too many fish are caught and cannot replenish their numbers through breeding.
The fate of the overfished Sharpedo mirrors that of real-life sharks, as shark fin soup is considered a delicacy in some parts of the world.
5 A Pokémon Eat Pokémon World
It might be hard for a human to bring themselves to eat their beloved Pokémon, but what about other Pokémon?
It’s a lot harder to defend the idea that Pokémon are vegetarians and don’t eat meat, considering that the vast majority of them are wild animals. There are also plenty of Pokémon that are based on real-life carnivores and were given razor-sharp teeth as a result. Those teeth don’t exist for the sole purpose of biting broccoli, do they?
The Pokédex has offered several scenarios where Pokémon are described as hunting and devouring each other. The most surprising of these is Vileplume, who is a Grass-type Pokémon that uses its status moves to trap its food.
The Pokédex entry for Vileplume in Pokémon Sapphire claims that Vileplume uses its large petals to attract prey. It then uses its toxic spores to paralyze the Pokémon, so that they can be devoured.
Those of you who have played Magikarp Jump may also have encountered an example of one Pokémon eating another, as it’s possible for your Magikarp to be snatched up by a Pidgeot, who then flies away to eat the fish Pokémon for its supper.
4 The Purpose Of The Altering Cave
Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen introduced wireless connectivity to the series through the use of a special adapter that was bundled with the games. The Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter made it a lot easier for Nintendo to run Pokémon events, as they could easily distribute special Pokémon through the use of Wonder Spots, which could easily send out Pokémon wirelessly without the aid of a machine that people needed to cue up to use.
Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen and Pokémon Emerald contained locations known as Altering Caves, which only contained Zubats. The fans speculated that there was more planned for these locations, as they appeared in multiple games.
It turns out that Game Freak & Nintendo had plans for the Altering Cave which would have involved Wonder Spots. The idea was that you would be able to change the Pokémon that appear in the Altering Cave by using the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter at special Pokémon events. This feature was never used, though all of the files can be found in the game.
The Pokémon that were planned to appear in the Altering Cave all came from Johto. This was at the point where the Johto Pokémon were at their rarest, as Pokémon Gold & Silver had yet to receive remakes and you couldn’t use the Time Machine with the Game Boy Advance games.
3 The Mysterious Deleted Arceus Event
Pokémon Diamond & Pearl introduced the concept of the creator deity of the Pokémon universe. Its name is Arceus and it is said to have birthed the universe and created both humans and Pokémon. The fans were skeptical of this claim until the special event in Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver were Arceus recreates the universe, just so that it could give the player one of the three Legendary Pokémon from the Sinnoh games.
As the Pokémon series progressed, the people at Game Freak actually coded in special encounters with the secret Legendary Pokémon that could only be unlocked by acquiring items that were given out at special events. Arceus was the exception to this, as it was given away directly through a trade.
It turns out that an epic confrontation did exist within the files of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, but you can’t access it through legitimate means. Game Freak had once planned to give away an item called the Azure Flute, which could be used to ascend to the heavens and battle an Arceus. This event was programmed into the games, but the Azure Flute was never officially given away.
2 The Official MissingNo Portrait
MissingNo is the name of the most common kind of Glitch Pokémon that players would encounter in Pokémon Red & Blue. It exists due to the fact that there are parts of the world map that don’t possess any wild Pokémon data, which means that the game will assemble a random creature from nearby data, including the name of the main character.
The being we know of as MissingNo is unique to the international versions of Pokémon Red & Blue, as Pokémon Red & Green had different Glitch Pokémon. This is the reason why we never see any references to the Glitch Pokémon in the other games in the series.
The fans have often speculated whether MissingNo and its ilk should be considered canon or not.
It turns out that at least one person who is officially associated with the Pokémon series has referenced MissingNo and the Glitch Pokémon in his work. One of the artists associated with the Pokémon series in Japan actually created drawings of the most common MissingNo forms and uploaded them to his Twitter page, which is considered by many to be official recognition of the Glitch Pokémon.
1 The Pokémon Multiverse
Pokémon Red & Blue and Pokémon Gold & Silver seem to exist in a bubble compared to the rest of the series. This is partly due to the fact that you cannot trade Pokémon from these games into the later Pokémon titles. This is not the case with Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, as you can trade a Pokémon from those games all the way into Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, so long as you possess several different Nintendo consoles.
As the Pokémon series progressed, the fans noticed that discrepancies had started to crop up when it came to the timeline of the series. There were certain events that didn’t line up properly, such as the member of Team Rocket who quits the gang and leads a normal life, who is shown to be an old man in the later games, while Red & Blue are still young.
Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire confirmed that multiple timelines exist within the Pokémon video game series, with every few games being separated into their own eras.
It’s possible that all of the timelines/multiple realities will be ignored if the rumors about the upcoming Pokémon games for the Nintendo Switch are true, but that still remains to be seen.
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Scott has been writing for The Gamer since it launched in 2017 and also regularly contributes to Screen Rant. He has previously written gaming articles for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz. He has been gaming since the days of the ZX Spectrum, when it used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott thinks Chrono Trigger is the best video game of all time, followed closely by Final Fantasy Tactics and Baldur’s Gate 2. He pretends that sorcerer is his favorite Dungeons & Dragons class in public but he secretly loves bards.
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