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Pokemon Legends: Arceus & #shrinkgate aka Pokemon fan's Midi-chlorian moment (mild PLA spoilers)

Where do you stand?

  • All Pokemon can shrink

    Votes: 256 40.4%

  • It's the Pokeballs that make Pokemon shrink

    Votes: 378 59.6%
  • Total voters
    634
chaobreaker

chaobreaker

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,545
Early on in the PLA, the obligatory professor of the region makes this statement and its sending Pokemon fans in fervent debate:

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Wait, is that how it works? The common consensus for the last 25+ years is that it's the pokeballs that shrunk Pokemon down to size to fit in them but they can do it themselves? They can always do that? I mean it makes sense that some of them can change their bodies at will like Ditto, but... all of them?

Some manga adaptations somewhat depict this as the case but this is the first time a mainline entry actually explicitly makes this statement. Though even the character above has his doubts what with the limited knowledge on how Pokemon works in the ancient setting of the game, but some fans are still finding evidence in adaptations and the mainline game's canon to argue for and against shrinking Pokemon.

What do you think? Personally I think Game Freak was always leaning into this with how the 3D games would depict even wild Pokemon shrinking when they're knocked out in battle.

1c1.gif
 
Last edited:
GreenMamba

GreenMamba

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,313
...so, like, when you try to catch a wild Pokemon, the Pokeball triggers a response in them that causes their shrinking ability to involuntarily happen? That almost seems more unintentionally horrific than before.
 
RochHoch

RochHoch

One Winged Slayer
Member
May 22, 2018
18,919
I call bullshit

He just doesn't understand the quantum mechanics of Pokeballs, the science wasn't there back then
 
Stowaway Silfer

Stowaway Silfer

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
32,819
I hung on that for a while lol. To think what makes one a Pokémon is the ability to shrink down.
 
mnk

mnk

Member
Nov 11, 2017
6,340
You know, if those fainting animations are supposed to be literal, it actually makes sense why you can't just chuck a Poke Ball after knocking them out. They're too small to hit!
 
Spacejaws

Spacejaws

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,816
Scotland
'Ancient setting' but that guy is wearing a regular old lab coat the fuck is this? Been on blackout of this game. I kinda didn't need to know the deep lore to be honest when they try to hard it starts sounding like it's written by children rather than for children.
 
HardRojo

HardRojo

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,133
Peru
Yeah that line is stupid as fuck and I had to read it twice when the professor said it. We've been with this franchise for like 25 years, this shit didn't need an explanation.
 
Joqu

Joqu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,030
The Waffle Kingdom
Just gonna quote myself to add that this is in fact old lore:

Joqu said:
Pokemon shrinking has been a part of the lore since the red and green days!



also notice how they shrink when you faint em in the 3d games. same deal?

first time it's been mentioned in-game though, and it's def an obscure bit of lore to bring back into the forefront like this. it's neat
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


Not that that should mean people should've been aware of it! Never mentioned in-game. But I like that it's been a thing before.
And it also reminds me of this old concept art. Just a lil guy jumping out of the ball. In general this all just gives me gen 1 era pokemon lore vibes, I really like it



Pretty sure the modern pokeball digitizes em though, so you can say it's a different type of mechanic at work there.
 
Murlin

Murlin

Member
Feb 12, 2019
1,049
Spacejaws said:
'Ancient setting' but that guy is wearing a regular old lab coat the fuck is this? Been on blackout of this game. I kinda didn't need to know the deep lore to be honest when they try to hard it starts sounding like it's written by children rather than for children.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's not an ancient setting, it's supposed to imitate the Meiji Restoration and Japan's colonization of Hokkaido in the 1860s.
 
Kouriozan

Kouriozan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,124
If only there was a way to ask Arceus directly, haha.
It was safe to assume it was the Pokéball since it is rather high-tech, then there's the PC boxes stuff as well.
Spacejaws said:
'Ancient setting' but that guy is wearing a regular old lab coat the fuck is this? Been on blackout of this game. I kinda didn't need to know the deep lore to be honest when they try to hard it starts sounding like it's written by children rather than for children.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's spoilers, even the trailers didn't show the beginning of the game.
 
Alent

Alent

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,730
It's okay to not give game mechanics in-universe lore reasons. Sometime a game mechanic is just a game mechanic.

On the other had, it's so silly and funny. I hear a slide whistle imaging it.
 
Mr. President

Mr. President

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,840
The guy is a 19th century naturalist, his grasp of science is limited.
Pokemon shrink because of the Poke Ball.
 
Rassilon

Rassilon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,592
UK
I only played Yellow & Blue, so am by no means an expert - but I assumed pokeballs used a mattter -> energy system kinda like the transporters in Star Trek
 
Yuntu

Yuntu

Prophet of Regret
Member
Nov 7, 2019
10,691
Germany
Why are people hung up about this?

It's not even the first time its mentioned. Do people just now notice due to the Professor stating it so you cant miss it?
 
alexi52

alexi52

Member
Oct 28, 2017
18,943
This actually sounds more fucked up, it confirms you actually do put them in a small claustrophobic prison
 
Tathanen

Tathanen

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,038
The "no the pokeballs do it, it's just a long time ago and he's misinformed" arguments don't seem to take into effect the fact that you can craft your own pokeballs in this game and they're basically made out of nuts and grass or some shit, there's no incredible technology there.
 
hydruxo

hydruxo

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,441
I'm more interested in that stupid beanie that dude has on

Why is the pompom on top bigger than his head
 
diakyu

diakyu

Member
Dec 15, 2018
17,540
Lucian in DPPT-

"...Ah, hello. You're here to read, too? Books are wonderful things. The thoughts of people written in books stretch beyond time and space. I was just reading a collection of observations on Pokémon in the wild. One article addresses the question why Pokémon would go into a Poké Ball. According to this article, this behavior is based on instinct. A weakened Pokémon will curl up tight in an effort to heal itself. The Poké Ball was invented to take advantage of that protective instinct. I imagine we'll see each other again at the Pokémon League. Take care."

Also Pokemon are consistently shown to shrink in every gen when returning to their pokeballs in gen1-6 from what I saw. I always thought it was the pokeball too but maybe GF just did a bad job at explaining it since that book mentions it in 1996.

But also let's be real, this is them covering their ass because they still want to do the wild pokemon shrink into the ground thing.
 
HylianSeven

HylianSeven

Shin Megami TC - Community Resetter
Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,071
An Army of Bees said:
Do Pokemon fans just have to find ANYTHING to complain about until the next game comes out, or..
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Seriously? This it just a lore thing that's been seemingly established one way for decades and people are having that shattered. It isn't "finding things to complain about" and I bet basically no one thinks this affects the quality of the game.
 
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