#but this little creature? this absolute little guye?? oh. OH

[the-squeege]

tssm otto my absolute beloved 💙

[talenlee]

Pokemon Choose Expressive Identities (To F*ck)

Since we’ve already established well and thoroughly that the nature of the creatures we call Pokemon is one where there’s an intentionality and a sapience to their reality that breaks a lot of the conventional rules and assumption of a modern realistic understanding of evolution, and therefore that evolution as a form of genetic distribution across a population based on reproductive fitness and —

oh yeah we’re talking about Pokemon and bodies and the fundamental relationship to society and bodies but it’s all filtered through, again, Pokemon bodies, and we’re going to talk about the ones that people draw porn of, so like, get out that’s got nothing for you —

Anyway, we know that Pokemon make choices about their evolution. We know that Pokemon aren’t evolving based on breeding and genes, and the entire course of evolution in the context of the universe is a byproduct of intelligent design. And now, thanks to the Paradox Pokemon and Fossil Pokemon, we have an idea of what Pokemon are like over time and how they change and relate to the world they’re in. When there are no people around, the Pokemon become less People-y. When the environment is very standardised, the Pokemon all converge on a specific thing to maximise that thing.

Basically we have evidence that Pokemon fundamentally have directed evolution based on their choices. New forms are discovered not as the byproduct of long threads of evolution but rather, Pokemon picking up new ideas and then through morphic resonance share them across the entire species. Or to simplify: Pokemon evolution is about the Pokemon making choices and largely, the rules are communal, not biological.

Take that as read, right?

Pokemon evolve to respond to wants and needs, and in response to emotional states. It’s a one-way thing, it transforms the personality, and it brings to bear new things and capacities that the Pokemon wants access to.

Pokemon forms are therefore based on their impressions and their representations. Pidgeot isn’t fast because it has huge wings, it has huge wings because that’s what it seems like would be necessary to be really fast. It’s all vibes. It’s what they project. Because the actual biology at work here is absolute pissing nonsense, then it’s all about style.

And uhhhh, hey, you know how some Pokemon look like people?

Some Pokemon look like just types of people.

You know the ones, if you’ve been on the internet for a while. Just in the context of the anime, you’ve probably seen Gengar, Meowth and Lucario that hang around and act like people. Like if you found out that a Lucario was working at a fast food place and handled your food your reaction wouldn’t be ‘a dog made my burger’ it’d be ‘oh look, what a little guy.’

And it is this Little Guyness that presents questions as the Pokemon in question behave traits that are like, functionally humanlike, and engage with human behaviours which include companionship. There’s a way that you can be integrated into human society if you represent yourself as being part of it – a Miltank can get up and walk to the store and probably pick up a cart, but it has a very different kind of reaction to the space and is going to be treated differently in the place. Even in the range of bodies humans have, there are bodies that are normative for spaces, and that means that a Pokemon that has a body comparable to a humanlike behaviour, with humanlike expressions, is socially gunna be considered a kind of human.

Even though it’s also a Pokemon.

And there’s extra complexity because of how they communicate with humans. If a Meowth can have a day job or a Gengar can run a store, then you’re dealing with people that effectively get to stand in the place of being normative humans and behave like that. They are people. Weird people, but people. That’s cool! Hypothetically it would mean that in the Pokemon universe, human bodies are seen as less normitive, which means that you know, you’re probably less likely to see fat people dehumanised, or people missing limbs or capacities (like hearing or sight!) as if they’re not humans, in the ways that that’s how society is built. The diversity of body types represented by the shapeshifting linguistically nonoperant monster people that live in society is a potential indicator for the body types of humans that society is set up to interface with.

Super interesting. The social is predicated on its exclusions. So what.

But here’s the thing. Here’s why we’re here. Here’s why we’re trying to not mention Smash Or Pass Buneary. This isn’t about whether or not people should be making Pokemon porn because who the hell cares about my opinions on it and it’s not about whether or not I would smash or pass any given Pokemon, given that I am friends with a number and, y’know, probably would, but no instead it’s about this particular strange example.

This entrepeneur.

This grown ass woman.

Sneasler!

Sneasler is in this category of Pokemon Who Are Clearly A Type Of Person, but it’s not from the main games. You haven’t seen it, probably, unless you’ve bought and played Pokemon Legends: Arceus, which is a time travel story set far in the ancient history of the Pokemon world. That’s where we get things like the in-narrative confirmation that Pokemon choose to get into balls, and the ability to shrink down into a ball is a thing Pokemon do to get in the Balls, not a thing that balls do to Pokemon.

And here, Sneasler is running around, looking extremely like a person…

… and in the modern day, Sneasels don’t evolve into Sneaslers any more.

Which is to say that at some point, in history, Sneaslers decided they didn’t want to be considered as hot as they are any more, and that, that’s fascinating to me. What kind of situation prompts Pokemon to give up an evolutionary line, to decide nope, nope, I’m good, I’m done, we’re not going to use that solution available to us.

Which I think means that Sneasler got bored of being treated like a person.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!