Real life animals would probably exist in the PokéWorld with pokemon, as we know them, being slightly rarer variants. What we consider regular animals would probably just be considered ‘normal types,' y'know?

When you think about how much variation we have in real life ecosystems, I don't think the current method that you see in Pokemon games sufficiently replicates that. (Which, I mean, obviously. That would be impossible, unwieldy, messy, etc. I don't, like, expect this to change or anything!)

It's just that I was looking at Pokédex entries and saw that you can only catch wurmple in southeastern Hoenn, near Petalburg Forest. Beautifly is the only butterfly you'd see in Hoenn? And it only lives in one certain area?? That'd be so sad if that's how real life worked, honestly...

Thus, my thought is that maybe regular animals do exist and fulfill their usual ecological niches with occasional Pokémon integrated in as subspecies with ‘strange powers.' Like how a normal animal has some instinctive defense mechanisms (like scratching, biting, pecking, etc), pokemon would also have relevant instincts to their type, like a squirtle knowing how to blow bubbles or a charmander being able to expell a small flame at its enemies. To improve upon their natural instincts, trainers can teach their pokemon new “moves," or rather how to better channel or focus this energy.

Along with this, I really like the trend of Pokemon variations and regional variants! Like, apparently, beautifly is based off of the common yellow swallowtail butterfly, according to Bulbapedia. There are 41 subspecies of that alone! I think these sorts of details really help flesh out the world and make it seem more realistic, y'know?

[Disclaimer: These are all just my headcanons. I think it’s fun to think about the nitty gritty worldbuilding details and, since our world is the only one I have to draw inspiration from, I try to think about how things work here and how our basic principles would apply or be violated in the Pokémon World.]

To start off, I think in universe, both the word “pokemon” and individual names of species of pokemon (ie, “pikachu”) should be lowercase. As I said in the previous article-thing, pokemon are basically just specialized animals who presumably developed naturally in the world, so they should be treated the same. If our real life leopard gecko isn’t capitalized, then the common names of pokemon shouldn’t be either.

Now, the real questions come up in regards to scientific names. In real life, each species has a scientific name based off its genus and a defining trait. So, for example, the totodile line, which is based off crocodiles and has the Pokédex category “Big Jaw,” may have the scientific name, Crocodylus magnamaxilla (which, unsurprisingly, Google tells me translates to “big jaw," in Latin).

If we continue to look at the Pokédex categories for inspiration, though, sometimes they change between evolutionary lines (ex: marill changes from “Aqua Mouse” to “Aqua Rabbit”). This doesn't really apply to what I'm thinking: a caterpillar and its corresponding butterfly can have very different appearances, but they have the same DNA and the same scientific name.

Also, it might be better to include a reference to the pokemon’s type, as well? Like, when you look at a pikachu, you care more about it being an electric type than it just being a “mouse” as its category name implies, right? With that in mind, it might be cute to think of all electric mice pokemon as being subspecies of a larger species. So, the pikachu line could be something like Mus electricus kanto, while plusle and minun are Mus electricus hoenn.

Additionally, regional variants could be treated like subspecies, as well. So, perhaps the regular vulpix line could be something like Vulpes kyuubi ignis and Alolan vulpix could be Vulpes kyuubi glacies, where “Vulpes" is the same genus as a real life red fox, “kyuubi" is a reference to the Kyuubi no Kitsune (Nine-Tailed Fox) from Japanese mythology, and “ignis" and “glacies" are the Latin words for fire and ice, respectively.

If you look at real life examples, scientific names seem to be kinda all over the place, with multiple species being named after musicians, scifi characters, and whatever else, so I guess anything goes, really…

Another thing to consider, though, are pokemon eggs and egg groups… As the major defining characteristic of a species is if pairings between members are viable (able to produce fertile offspring), this raises a lot of questions: namely, as the ye old meme goes, how does “hot skitty on wailord action" work?? Frankly, I have no idea, and so I'm choosing to conveniently ignore this, lol.

Also, in the PokéWorld that exists only in my head, every pokémon doesn't lay eggs -- reproduction occurs as it does in our world, with logical species and not “egg groups." I do think ditto makes for an interesting exception, though! And I like the idea of the crossbreeds that you see, as well. Idk.

It may or may not be common knowledge how the Shinto religion, with its belief that everything has a spirit, is a major aspect in many Pokémon designs. I bring this up because it seems like in a lot of Pokémon-related discussions online, this concept is forgotten and people arrive at completely different conclusions. For example, on the TV Tropes Extended Fanon Pokédex, the entry on the geodude line talks about how they are made of flesh and bone, with their rock-like exteriors coming from their diets. While I do think that's a really interesting idea, I think the original concept was likely meant to just be understood as a sentient rock, y'know?

There are a lot of similar cultural concepts that didn't really translate or were simply approached differently in the US and Japan and I think it's interesting to investigate them. Like, in a 1999 interview with TIME Magazine, Pokémon creator Tajiri Satoshi talked about how in Japan, it seems like people mostly focus on Pokémon (namely Pikachu), while in the US most advertisements and things include both Ash and Pikachu. It seems like the majority of the Western fandom (that I've seen, at least) spends a lot of time talking about characters and pairings and that sort of thing, as well.

Another thing that Tajiri brings up in that interview is how he came up with the idea for the series based off his childhood in rural Japan. He particularly liked collecting insects, trying out different and more efficient ways to find them (like using stones and honey, both of which you see in later installments of the games), and bringing them home to play with. As time went on, though, the countryside he grew up in was developed and, nowadays, children are more likely to play indoors rather than out and natural habitats are diminished if not totally destroyed. He wanted a way to capture the magic of his youth.

Considering this and after reading Bogleech's post about why bug types are strong against dark types (that is, insects are often associated with the heroes from tokusatsu (live action movies with practical effects), while dark types are based off the dramatic aesthetics of villains from those same movies), I was inspired to read more about how bugs are portrayed in Japan.

In Andrea Appleton's article for Aeon Magazine, she talks about how insects are viewed very differently in Japan, compared to Western culture. For example, in the West, we tend to first associate bugs with fear, disgust, disease, etc -- arguably this makes sense, like at least three of the Biblical plagues directly involved swarms of insects. In Japan, however, this stigma doesn't exist and their major cultural associations with bugs are haiku about the changing of seasons.

She also talks about how in Japan, there are all sorts of insect petting zoos, firefly and butterfly watching tours, and even televised beetle wrestling matches. French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre is a common household name, while he's been basically forgotten in France. This essay talks a bit more about Fabre's influence and how kids are encouraged to take interest in insects, also. That's so different from my personal experience where, as a kid, I was just told to ‘put down that dirty bug and wash my hands,' y'know?