Unsolved Mysteries


Fascinating... highly fascinating...

Some Pokemon mysteries may NEVER be explained...

  • What happened to Gary's 6 Cheerleaders?

    From "Dig Those Diglett" onward, Gary appeared in a shiny red convertible accompanied by an unknown female (?) driver and six young cheerleaders, whom Brock is highly attracted to. The cheerleaders actually made their first appearance in Lost Episode #1: "Beauty and the Beach"/"Holiday at Acapulco" as the contestants who defeated Misty (as well as Team Rocket!) in the swimsuit contest, but were defeated by Ash's mom. (How can this be? Unless Professor Oak was the judge...) Gary's cheerleaders seem flaky and dumb, but they must be somewhat intelligent. While Gary may write all of their Gary-glorifying cheers himself, the cheerleaders make up their own victory chant for Ash in "Battle of the Badge", which I'm SURE Gary didn't help write!

    After the Indigo League competition, Gary's cheerleaders are devastated by their hero's loss. We last see them, all sobbing, as Gary's convertible drives away from Indigo Stadium in "the Fourth Round Rumble". After this, the cheerleaders are never seen again.

    Interestingly enough, after Gary returns to the show in "A Tent Situation", he has lost his cheering section, as well as his nasty, superior attitude, and gained a mysterious cape. Wonder what HIS story is?

    • Soul of Aitwo learned the following from the TV Toyko site: As for Gary's cheerleaders, he left them. He encouraged them all to become seperate Pokemon Trainers. All they did was build his ego, that was hurting his relationship with his Pokemon, so he stopped the cheerleading. So now he grew stronger freindships with his Pokemon, matured, become NICE, and THAT, is what made him the GREAT Trainer He now is. The Writers don't say it in the ep's because, they want "the new" Gary to remain mysterious.

    • Chatori Shimizu writes: "There are cheerleaders in the Johto League cheerling for him! How can this be when he left all of them?
      Plus, in the 'Search of the Doctor", a special episode in Japan, Gary appears and there are his cheerleaders! They did NOT leave him! I think they are not the same cheerleaders, but there are some (six)."
  • What happened to Brock?

    After Brock leaves the series in "Pokeball Peril", we don't hear from him again until a short scene in "Pokemon the Movie 2000", and then he returns to the show in "A Tent Situation", living at Ash's house! Any mention of Valencia Island or Professor Ivy drives Brock nuts. He turns all blue, and mutters, 'I don't want to talk about it!'.

    Great, now Brock's got issues.

    Any attempts to unravel this mystery lead nowhere, but EVERYONE is curious as to what happened. Even Meowth tells him to 'come clean' and say what really happened to make him leave Valencia Island. Meowth suggests that maybe Brock did something really embarrassing in front of Professor Ivy, to which Brock turns his back, muttering, 'I don't want to talk about it!' Will we ever know Brock's story?

    For my spin on this Mystery, check out my fanfic Inner Peace.


  • Who Programmed the Pokedex?

    Everyone who's played the Pokemon Game Boy games knows that Professor Oak is the brilliant scientist who programmed the Pokedex. Therefore, it is your quest to gather information for him by seeing and catching various Pokemon all over the world. However, in "The Evolution Solution", Professor Oak says that Professor Westwood is the programmer of the Pokedex. Either Oak is really humble, or there's something else at work here.

    Westwood, who claims to be the electronic encyclopedia's programmer, has only ONE Pokemon in his entire research lab. He also "makes stuff up" about Pokemon he hasn't seen, and is totally unfamiliar with Togepi! How can THIS be, when the Pokedex (Dexter) identified Togepi for Misty? On top of all this, Westwood is an idiot. He frequently forgets that HE is Westwood the 5th when looking at the family portraits, plus he goes absolutely bonkers at the first sight of trouble.

    On the other hand, the intellectual (and only occasionally scatterbrained) Professor Oak has TONS of Pokemon in his research center. When first seeing Misty's baby Pokemon, he remarked, "Oh! A Togepi!" In Pokemon the Movie 2000, Oak not only knows the names and info of the Legendary Birds, but he also realizes the havoc they could cause if the balance of power was upset.

    Think Professor Oak is the smarter of the two? Then why does he give the credit for creating the Pokedex to the idiotic Westwood?

    • Allan North replies: "Maybe Oak feels sorry for the baka Westwood. Seems like Oak's the only truly smart one in Pokeworld... Westwood's a nut, Ivy looks like she's stoned, and Elm is such a scatterbrain he didn't even realize TR was right behind him in the lab!"

    • JadeTiger216 replies: "I was watching... the second episode where they first meet Team Rocket at the Pokemon Center. I noticed that when Officer Jenny pulled the Pokedex out of Ash's pocket to serve as identification for him, it said, "I am Dexter, a Pokedex programmed by Professor Oak for trainer Ash Ketchum..." etc, etc. So was it programmed by someone else and Professor Oak just personalized it for Twerpo? Did Westwood and Ivy and the rest just send Oak information for his invention, and he made the Pokedex himself?"

  • Who Founded Team Rocket?

    In Pokemon Live!, Ash's mom says that she knew Giovanni back when he was starting up a gang that became Team Rocket. But how can this be? From what I've heard, the CD Drama "The Birth of Mewtwo" takes place before the TV anime. In the CD Drama, the Team Rocket organization is run by "Madam Boss", Giovanni's mother. She is the one who sends Jessie's mother (known as Miyamoto in Japan) on a dangerous mission to find Mew on a snowy mountain. Obviously, Team Rocket has been around for quite awhile, although the stage show makes it seem that it's a relatively new organization.

    This brings up an interesting question: is all CD Drama info going to be left out of the US Pokemon stories? After all, we've never heard of Mondo over here. Maybe 4Kids or whoever's in charge is creating a modified Pokemon universe here in the US, using ONLY information we have available here. Only dedicated fans know the whole truth!

    • Jesse C writes: "Perhaps Giovanni started it, but his mom swiped it when she discovered this gang."

    • Evil Cassidy writes: "Mdm Boss founded it & handed over to Giovannni,her son!"

    • Scaff writes: "I think that Madam Boss did start team rocket. But then maybe it was "shut down" by some twerps. While they THOUGHT is was, it really wasn't. Giovanni must have put it back together with newer, younger members. So while many people forgot about the team rocket of Madam Boss. Why? Maybe it wasn't as big on stealing as it was on finding Mew. Obviously not many knew about Mew. Thus, not many remember it. That's why Delia thought that Giovanni started it. It also explains how Giovanni could have a lab right off the bat. Good planning, Giovanni."

  • What are the Twerps' past histories?

    We've seen and heard a lot about Team Rocket's past history, having seen and heard about Jessie, James, and Meowth as children. How come we hardly know anything about the backgrounds of Ash, Misty, Brock, Tracey, or Pikachu?

    We know a little about Misty: that she always wanted her own Princess Dolls, and she hated being the youngest of four sisters, wanting some recognition for herself.

    This is the all the information we have regarding the "heroes" of the anime. There is one scene of little Misty and her sisters, but we have never seen what Ash and Brock looked like as children. (Well, there's the one snapshot of little Ash in Pokemon 3, but still...) And what about Pikachu? We know Meowth's entire life story, from his birth at a summer camp, to his growing up in Hollywood, but we know absolutely NOTHING about Pikachu before he met up with Ash. Wonder how Professor Oak even caught the stubborn little rodent who refuses to stay in a Pokeball???

    • Interestingly enough, Ash's MOM (Delia) does have an interesting background, as revealed in "Pokemon Live!" the stage show. Apparently, Delia wasn't always the goody-goody she is now. As a teenager, she hung out with a bad crowd, and was friends with Giovanni, the Boss and "founder" (see above) of Team Rocket! She claims that, after she met Ash's father, she straightened out her life and became the "upstanding woman" she is now. Did Giovanni have feelings for her? Maybe he still does.

    • UPDATE: a little bit of Brock's history has been revealed in Pokemon Advance! In the Combusken episode, Brock tells the story of how his father (I guess before he became a deadbeat) gave Onix to the Squinty One as a birthday present... his very first Pokemon!

    • Arukenimon writes: "I heard a rumor that Ash's Pikachu is a son of a rare Rocket's Pikachu. A Dark Pikachu in Team Rocket may have given birth to a Pikachu & that baby might have escaped. or maybe why Pikachu hates the Pokeball is because it has a previous Trainer & that previous Trainer kept him in a Pokeball & abandoned him & was later found by Prof Oak."

  • Who IS Ash's father anyway?

    We know he is/was a Pokemon trainer, who reached Viridian City in four days. Supposedly, he thinks highly of Ash, and would be proud of his accomplishments (as we hear in Episode 2). After this, "Mr. Ketchum" is never heard of again (unless you believe that Giovanni is really Ash's father... making for a weird Star Wars cliche). Delia mentions "straightening her life out after meeting Ash's father" in Pokemon Live, but that stage production isn't really official. And besides, Ash's mom seems awfully attached to Professor Oak. Will the real Mr. Ketchum please stand up?

    • Evil Cassidy writes: "I believed that Ash`s father`s Giovanni & that is rumored that Giovanni wanted Ash to become the next TR leader but failed when he & Delia broke up & Ash became a good guy!"

    • Arukenimon writes: "I heard my best friend, Evil Cassidy, wrote that it's Giovanni but I belive it's Lance from Elite 4. But I dun think so it's true."

    • Esther writes: "I think I found out something that might go against the Giovanni-is-Ash's-Father Deal. Remember in Mewtwo Returns, where Ash and Gio meet for (presumably) the first time? Well I noticed that there wasn't any recognition on either side, as others have pointed out as well. If Gio was keeping tabs on his "son", he would (hopefully) know what Ash looked like, so he would have recognized him, right? I would think so."

    • Nekusagi writes: "Ash's Father: Hmm... reached Viridian in 4 days. Gee, wonder who the leader of Viridian City Gym is? Wouldnt be Giovanni, would it now? Considering most fanboys/girls believe Viridian to be OWNED practically by TR (how else would he operate it w.out being suspected of anything)....

      His dad is very proud of him.... Yeah, I'd be proud of my son too, if I knew he beat the stuffing out of my least favorite Agents everyday so I wouldn't have to. Saves time, yknow?

      And no, evil parentage is NOT a star wars cliche. It is an ancient archetype, in which the persona (hero) springs from the darkness (in this case, Gio) to eventually defeat it. Although personally I wouldn't mind seeing Ash join Team Rocket- talk about irony.
      Diamondshippers forever!!!!!!!

      Once again, a theory that supports diamondshipping:
      Giovanni wants to see his son, right? So don't you think it'd make sense to take what Ash likes best to MAKE HIM COME BACK AND GET IT? Yep. Exactly. Dragonite said something to that effect.-
    • From Pianissimo-sama: "Who ever the heck it is, it is NOT Giovonni! If you play FR/LG, and talk to the scientist on 5 island, he'll say to you "are you Giovonni's kid? Oh wait, he has red hair!" Notice that your RIVAL has red hair (not brown) which is my conclusion that Giovonni is Gary's father!!! It sounds unresonable, but still..... "

      • Evil Pikachu writes: "Maybe Giovanni's son (the one mentioned by the scientist in Island 5 in FRLG) is your rival in GSC? You know, he has red hair (Gary's hair still looks brown to me), and he STEALS POKEMON! It could be true, seeing all the mentionings of Johto in FRLG (especially in the Fame Checker entries: "Bruno was dissapointed because they were sold out of RAGECANDYBARS," "Lance has a cousin who's a Gym Leader far away." -- who's probably CLAIRE, the dragon gymleader in Johto -- etc.)

        This was "borrowed" from a Fame Checker FAQ in GameFAQs by Yameneko549. Here's the link to this FAQ (copy and paste in browser, GameFAQs doesn't accept direct linking): http://db.gamefaqs.com/portable/gbadvance/file/pokemon_frlg_fame_checker.txt"

      • Yameneko549 writes: "Under the "Who IS Ash's father anyway?" section, Evil Pikachu mentioned that the G\S\C rival, Silver, known as Kamon by some, could be Giovanni's son thanks to the Fame Checker entry for Giovanni in Pokemon FireRed\LeafGreen. That explination is what most people accept as a fact, and I'm going to have to agree with it. It makes the most sense, since he seems to almost help Team Rocket at times, such as attempting to weaken you in the Goldenrod Underground before you fight some Rocket Grunts. He also seems to have Giovanni's attitude towards pokemon.

        There is a chance that Kamon and Ash are brothers or half brothers, though. Because of that, the possibility of Giovanni being Ash's father is still there.

        As for Gary's hair color, it's brown.

      • Dragonspirit1993 writes: "I am positive I know who Giovanni's son is. And it's not Ash/Satoshi/Red. For ANYONE who has looked at Pokespecial, a manga, Silver is Giovonni's son. Who is Silver? Anyone who had played Pokemon Silver and Gold should know. He's the guy who stole the Pokemon."

        That would be Silver.

        Look at that. He's there. But that still leaves the question. Who's Ash's dad?
  • Where is the Pokemon World?
    Allan North brings up a very good point: where is the Pokemon story supposed to be taking place? In addition to all the fictional locations that the twerps and Rockets visit, there are real places in there too. For example, Meowth grew up in Hollywood. Melvin the Magician wants to be a star in Las Vegas. How are these two worlds connected? Does, as Allan suggests, Mount Moon separate the two worlds? We may never know...
    • Jesse C. replies: "I think Pokemon Island is just that. It would be about 40 miles eaast of Hamilton, Bermuda. Apparently, Meowth had to get plane tickets on United to Goldenrod, someplace like that. Jessie and James would have HAD to masquerade! Melvin probably flew to Las Vegas!"

    • SLOKING replies: "I think it might be...right here! Yep, you heard me right. I think it's right here, but in another realm or dimension or something (I support this by the fact that whenever Charizard uses Seismic Toss it shows him going around Earth or an Earth-like planet)."

    • Rocketqueen64 replies: "I would have to say that it's in the future. Maybe the scientists experimented on animals and they got powers and changed shape? Maybe it's millions of years later."

    • Natski replies: "Well it's about the theory of where the pokemon world actually is in the series. A wild guess would that it's supposed to be our world, only if pokemon existed instead of animals, but on the St Anne episode, Ash sees fish outside the window when the ship sinks, so I'm not too sure about that one. Also, it would probably be based in some part of remote Japan."

    • Jadetiger216 replies: "I think the Pokemon area is located everywhere. Let me explain. Maybe, a few thousand years in the future, the continents collide again (think Pangea), so humans decide to fly into space with animals (a modern Noah's ark). The animals mutated and that is where Pokemon came from. They landed back on Earth later, and relased the new Pokemon. The only animals that survived would be the animals deep in the ocean, hence the fish outside the window in the epi where the St anne sunk. It also explains why they refer to Pokemon as "cat-type" etc, when there are no cats. There used to be cats, and they mutated."

    • DevMon328 writes: "Well, to tell you the truth, it's a planet. It has the North Pole at the top, and to the south of that is Kanto, which is on the east, and Johto is on the west. Then the orange Islands are to the south of those. And Hoenn is to the south (just like Antartica is at the south, ecxept that it's not very cold in Hoenn)."
    • connected2reality writes: "i looked at a map of japan and found that there is a place called the johto plain, or kanto plain or something like that, i believe that pokemon is a earth just manupulated to fit a fictional setting."
  • What's so special about Pikachu, anyway?

    In "Pokemon Live", Giovanni wants Pikachu because it knows the only two attacks that his Mecha-Mewtwo doesn't know: Thundershock and Thunderbolt. But we know that Team Rocket's been after Pikachu LONG before Giovanni ever cloned Mewtwo! What's the real reason he wants Ash's electric rat so badly???

    • Rocket Aurora writes: "I think that Giovanni wants to CLONE Pikachu! Here's why I think this:
      *He got a Mew fossil and cloned it.
      *We don't know *how* he got Persian (perhaps he cloned Meowth in his sleep? Because, after all, in the 1rst movie, Meowth's clone didn't talk and Persian doesn't talk)
      *He never says why he wants Pikachu!
      *And, we don't know if he's gonna KEEP it either!
      *He knows that Ash's Pikachu is special, so maybe he ants a super-clone?
      Could this be true!? Maybe...Giovanni is a mysterious man. Does he even KNOW who Ash is!? If he did, J+J would be in trouble (not being able to get a Pokémon from a 12 year old would seem pretty darn pathetic to him). It just all comes down to this if you ask me."

    • Acid Bunny writes: "Truthfully, Sakaki/Giovanni never wanted/asked for Pikachu in the anime in the first place. He only wanted rare and powerful Pokemon. I'm not so sure that Pikachu is that powerful--it had an electric boost from a generator in "Pokemon Emergency" and they are certainly not rare. He didn't care for Pikachu in the Japanese version and he also doesn't care for it in the English dubbed anime. The only times when Giovanni mentioned Pikachu was in that "Double Trouble" song and "Pokemon Live". Both happen to be American creations and doesn't make any sense in relation to what he wants in the anime."

    • Alex writes: "The 'Who is Ash's Father' mystery and the 'Why Does Giovanni Want Pikachu' mystery are related, I think. Let's think about this. Giovanni wants only the rarest Pokémon for his organization, Team Rocket. Yet, when he hears about Pikachu, he is intrigued. This is the puzzling bit: Why would he send two bumbling idiots like Jessie and James to try and catch a rare Pokémon? Because Giovanni is Ash's father, of course! I think Giovanni does want Pikachu, but he also wants to hear about how his son is growing up. If Jessie and James eventually catch Pikachu, Giovanni knows they will have no further use for Ash and they will go after other trainers, but this way Jessie and James can watch Ash's progress as a Pokémon Trainer and report to Giovanni, "Ash has got 6 Badges, Boss" or "Ash's Charmeleon has evolved". If J+J ever do catch the electric rat, this will also be good because it means J+J are getting better at their job and Gio will be able to trust them with harder tasks."

    • Robi Ward writes: "In the second pokemon episode (I believe it is called "Pokemon Emergency"), Meowth remarks that Pikachu's power "far exceeds its evolutionary level." This is apparently why Jessie and James are so interested in it - they think it is some sort of super-Pikachu. In a sense they are right, because that Pikachu has beaten many, many powerful Pokemon over the course of the series, despite having one of the most inept trainers in the world. I hope this helps answer one of your Pokemon mysteries. Oh, and I would like to add that Jessie and James needn't concoct any grandiose scheme to capture Pikachu - if they just make it clear to Ash that Pikachu is exceptional and of high level, he will probably give it to them, or let it go free, after which capturing it will be a snap."

    • Dragonite writes: "I think Giovanni wants pikachu so he can make ash come and save pikachu then put him on TR. As it mentions about giovanni somehow being ash's father."

    • Sneasel Fan writes: "I have a theory. In the prologue for the 1st movie, the scientist says that many experiments which led to Mewtwo failed. We also know that Mew learns Transform. Maybe Ash's Pikachu was a presumed failed experiment, but it was really a Mew clone in a transformed state? Perhaps they threw it into the wild, thinking the experiment became just another Pikachu, but really the Pikachu became almost as powerful as a Mew? If this theory seems incorrect because of how long ago the cloning was, try thinking that Ash's Pikachu inherited the powers of its father/mother."

    • Electricmetabeeza writes: "I think Pikachu's special becuse he has "special powers" for example, in the second movie when ash and co. are on the boat, Pikachu can sence that theres something wrong. Pikachu obviously is the only known pokemon that could sence the danger, becuse lots of pokemon where out on the boat ((like Tracy's scyther and mistys starmie)) Also, Pikachu knew where the sphears where. And, we have no idea of Pikachu's past, Oak has never revealed anything on Pikachu, though what one theory is that his D.N.A was mixed with a rare pokemon, prehaps mew. Pikachu was the first one to mess up Team Rockets plan in the first place, but in epesode 2# Meowth also sences something, about Pikachu. But it could also be that Pikachu and Ash where destaned to meet. After all, in epesode 1# balbasaur, charmander a squirtle where gone. Was this Oak's own doing?"

    • Monkeysaurus writes: "I think that those two [Jessie and James] might have had a better success record in the past. When Ash's Pikachu beat them that first time, they might have figured that if it was strong enough to defeat them, it might be speciel. Just a theroy, not officiol."

  • Who's THAT girl?

    Gemma writes, "Was flickin' thru the archives the otha day and while watching the first series beginning for the millionth time I suddenly spotted a girl who (unless I'm mistaken) never made an appearance on the show. Who is she??"

    In case you haven't noticed her before, she's the girl whose skirt Pikachu jumps under (corresponding with the original Japanese theme song lyrics, "I'll go through flame, flood, etc. and under the skirt of the girl (Kyaaaa!)").

    But who is she supposed to be??? The prototype for Misty? Gary's mysterious sister (who never appears in the anime, but in the manga)? Or someone else?

    • Mike writes: "Maybe she's Gary's sister but isn't she older I wonder.....She's cute.....Maybe she was supposed to appear in the show."

    • Topleka writes: "She's lass. As in, the trainer named "Lass" who appears in the GB games to challenge you. Same outfit, same hair style and color. I read somewhere that she was May, Gary's sister, but I think May is older than Gary."

    • Arukenimon writes: "I do believe that this girl is Lass. Remember the traditional Pokemon Blue/Yellow/Red version? There is this girl named LASS? I belive it's her. You can try & check the game out for yourself. The clothes match too!

      YES! She appears in the show!

      Sometimes, in a crowded place in the show, like the Episode, "DIG THOSE DIGLETTS" or the episode of St. Anne or even Mewtwo strikes back, if you pause & search carefully in the crowd, you will find her. She makes cameo appearences every now & then."

  • What's the deal with Arcanine?

    Wolfio and Rea sent a very interesting email regarding Arcanine, one of the strongest Fire Pokemon in the whole series. I never thought about it much before, but Arcanine's description calls it a "legendary" Pokemon, yet it can be caught naturally, can breed, and is an evolved Pokemon. HUH???

    Here's their message: "Me and my friend... thought of a couple of things that bugged us, and i'd like to send them here.

    "First of all, the second (i think) episode of Pokemon, when Ash talks to Oak, there is a screen. It is sqaureish, and shows Articuno, Zapdos, Ho oh, and...Arcanine?! I not only find the fact that Ho Oh is shown and Moltres is absent odd, but the fact that another fire pokemon, namely Arcanine, is shown instead!

    "Arcanines description says it's a 'Legendary Pokemon.' Wouldn't you find it odd that its a so called legendary pokemon, and shown with a Zapdos, Articuno, and Ho Oh? Also, if you think about it this way-- Thunder and Hail come from the sky. Fire normally originates from the GROUND. Why would the legendary fire pokemon always be in the sky? Why not on land?

    "As for Ho Oh, it's a rainbow pokemon thus would make some sense being with the other 3. My main concern is what is Arcanine doing with 2 legendary birds, and why is Moltres absent?

    "Arcanine could have very well been a legendary pokemon, but was taken out. Also, look at Growlithe for a minute. This could be a personal opinion between me and my friend, but doesn't he look like the way Mew does, like he was based OFF Arcanine rather then made before hand? Arcanine is a fine pokemon, and i wouldn't see much of a reason why he'd just be removed, so they made him a normal pokemon. In an attempt to even it out, they made Moltres (who in my opinion still looks less like a legendary bird then the other two..)

    "Also, note that eevees evolutions are legendary bird-ish. Take Jolteon for an example. Perhaps they were at one time going to be legendary DOGS, then they changed their mind, made the legendary birds and Arcanine, and so on? Also, this would explain why there are now legendary dogs, which i found a little odd for them to design."

    • Sonic Maurice Hedgehog writes: "Hey! I got somethin' for ya'! It's about the Arcanine thing! You remember when they mentioned Ho-oh being in the slate on the wall? I have a very good theory for that. it's this, Ho-oh was origially in the first game, but they cut him out for some reason, but left him in the anime. Then, in G, S, & C, put him back in!"

    • Arsina writes: "The pokédex describes Arcanine as a legendary pokémon because he is a representation of the sacred lions of the chinese mythology. Many pokémon are resemblances of other cultures and mythology, such as Ho-Oh (the phoenix), Ninetales (the kitsune) and, of course, Rayquaza (the dragon)."
    • Comment from TR Rose: "There are several Pokemon that seem to be representative of different cultures and nationalities: Natu/Xatu (Native American), Gyarados (the Chinese dragon), Meowth (Japanese "maneki neko" or beckoning cat), Magikarp (Japanese lucky koi). But none of these are described as "legends". Hmm."
    • Sneasel Fan writes: "Maybe Arcanine WAS supposed to be a Moltres replacement. However, they realised that a dog wouldn't match with two birds, so they used Moltres instead?"
    • Renn Ireigh writes: "According to serebii.net, Arcanine's Japanese name can be romanized as "Windy." If, like many others, this name was given in the English sense of the word, then Arcanine's original name is in keeping with the bird theme. Besides Arcanine's description in the Pokedex as a "legend," his English name also bears looking at. This name is a double-meaning, with the "Arc!" sounding like a dog's bark (in keeping with the "Growl" of Growlithe) and, of course, the "-canine." However, "arcane" is an English word meaning "mystery." I do not think this was incidental.

      Most likely, as has been previously theorized, Arcanine was removed from his original position as a Legendary because his type was out of keeping with the already-established Flying Legendaries. Then, presumably, he was given a devolved form, Growlithe. This sequence is actually fairly common; for instance, Rhydon was created before Rhyhorn- not to mention the devolved forms of R/B/G/Y Pokemon which have appeared in other games, such as Elekid.

      Arcanine's dog-like appearance is quite similar to Suicine and Raikou, but he does also bear quite a resemblance to Entei. Perhaps another explanation for Arcanine's near-Legendary status is that he was originally designed to be a lower evolutionary form of Entei."
    • anonymous 11 year old poke fanatic writes: "There were supposed to be the sacred elements Electricity,Ice,and Fire.Their pokemon types depending on where they come from in the real world electricity from the sky.Precipitation (hail/snow/rain) from the sky. Fire starting on the ground/Earth. Ho-Oh was supposed to be rainbow/light like the ruler of the other but the creators thought that because the other 3 were birds they would make another bird pokemon to take the place of Arcanine you know to go with the flow. This decision was made after that episode with the tablets thats why in the first episode Ho-oh was seen flying over head of Ash they hadnt made that decision yet.I dont really know why Ho-oh wasnt put in R/B/Y probably because Moltres had been added.Growlithe was made after Arcanine to make it like a common pokemon."
  • The Mysterious Truck in R/B/Y

    Many of the original "Fake Mew" scams have to do with a truck that is found by Surfing around the area by the S.S. Anne. Many of the rumors involve using Strength on this truck and finding a Poke Ball containing Mew. However, this is impossible, even if you use Strength with level 100 Pokemon. This rumor is still around because most players got the Cut HM, and their ship left. The only way to see this truck is to 1) transfer a Pokemon who knows Cut from another version and don't get it from the St. Anne, or 2) lose a battle on the ship and it will stay.

    Tom O'Tey writes:

    "I remember something from one of my R/B/Y games, where if you transfered a Pokemon who knows Cut before the St. Anne leaves, then gain the Surf ability and Surf over to the side of land in the boat area, there will be a truck, and in the Celadon Game Center, there will be some keys in the seat at the machine in the top right hand side."

    But why is this truck there, when most players wouldn't even discover it? Hmm...

    • brigittesmith1 writes: "the truck in the pokemon games is just a piece of data the game designers forgot to take out. also, if you find the keys you can not drive it around. i mean it sets a bad example. your only 10 when you start your pokemon jorney. i can see the news report now, Just minutes ago, a 10 year old pokemon trainer lost control of a mysterious truck, crashing it into the pokemon daycare, killing 2 pokemon and injuring 3 others. Those poor pokemon. Nintendo and gamefreek wouldn't do that. that's just mean(not to mention they'd be sued).

    • Al writes: "After some brief pondering, i think I may know why there is a truck behind the S.S Anne. It's an easter egg! Easter Eggs are little, hidden features that the programmers put in for fun, and which can only be found by completing secret actions. For example, in some games, there is hidden music, or a level designer's signature, or a secret room. I believe that the programmers put the truck there, and the keys, just as a little secret thing for the most clever players to find. It does not have any deep significance, and you can't drive it, move it, or do anything to the island its on."

    • Al writes: "The truck behind the S.S. Anne is definiteley NOT a remnant. It would not just be sitting there. Also, its picture is intact. There are no weird pixels, and it has no effect on your game. If you had to do something odd like to get Missingno, then maybe. (Surfing there does NOT count) What the truck probably is an EASTER EGG! Easter eggs are hiidden little secrets that can be found it most games. EXAMPLE: In Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time, you can find pictures of Mario, Peach, Luigi etc. The truck is definately a nod to the players who are skilled or clever enough to find it."

    • paul ostoya writes: "I think that maybe Nintendo was going to put a person where the truck was, and if you find the keys, he (or she) might take you to a new region like the 2nd part of Gold and Silver, etc. to get badges, or maybe drive to a shrine or something with a lot of rare Pokemon and maybe Mew or a shrine for Mew like in Gold and Silver. You might have to find something relating to Mew to put there and then you might find it. And maybe there might be a secret city (as in Glitch City?). So later on, maybe Nintendo decided to cut it all out, but left behind some things, resulting in Glitch City, M and Missingno, and the Mew glitch. Perhaps Nintendo left it there because they forgot to take it out... or like Al said, an easter egg."

    • Sneasel Fan writes: "I agree with Al. It probably is an Easter Egg. But, maybe, it WAS something else to do? Maybe the truck was supposed to send you to, oh, lets say, JOHTO?!?!?!?!? But maybe they decided to put Johto in a future game, but they left the truck in as an Easter Egg just for people to have fun with/make people mad when they find a get Mew by (insert cheat code involving truck)? So many various answers, so little time."

    • guatemaya writes: "I know a easier way to get to the truck! All you need is pokemon that knows surf! (I own Yellow version i'm not sure if it works on Blue or Red) Anyway here's the steps-

      -Go to the bridge with the man that say's "THE SHIP SET SAIL!"

      -Stand diagonally from him

      -Now move to the right while holding the start button

      -The menu will pop press save and save and turn your off

      -Turn on again and use surf

      you should have gone through the Guard!!"

    • skbradshaw writes: "Regarding the truck that is next to the S.S. Anne, I have heard that in the original green version (japan only) that you can get the keys at the rocket game corner, and take them to the truck (or possibly a character next to the truck) and he/she will move the truck, such as when Giovanni (i hope i spelled that right!) leaves rocket base or the silph co. building, blacking out and then he dissapears and you are in the room by yourself, and possibly an item or pokemon. Any of these could be real, however, i do think that it is most likely not an easter egg. I mean, there are NO cars what-so-ever in any of the other games except for the remakes, so maybe its like all other american versions, it lacks the original programing."

    • Jordan writes: "Hi. I think I may know just a small bit of info about that mysterious truck in R/B/Y. Originally, the HM's were items that you could find after a great deal of effort. Of course, the developers changed their minds and decided to make it trickier: HM's. Anyway, the object for Surfing (which I assume is a boogeyboard or a canoe) is still in the game and can be accessed with a Gameshark. I think this surfing item was originally obtainable earlier than the HM is (notice how you actually get two HMs from the Safari Zone? Looks poorly-thought out to me; maybe a last-second decision). And in turn, any players astute enough to use the Surfing object on the small lake where the S.S. Anne is docked would be greeted by a truck.

      "It's hard to say for certain. It's evident that a LOT of things were changed before the game's release."

    • Dwight House writes: "I just wanted to say that I sent a letter to Nintendo years ago and the question of the "The Mysterious Truck in R/B/Y" was among them. The confirmed that it was an easter egg."

    • Pryson writes: "I would like to say that in Fire Red and Leaf Green, the truck is still there! Of course it has improved graphics, but this
      time, if you use the itemfinder, you can find a Magma Cookie!"

    • 0dd1 writes: "I saw the truck in LeafGreen and think I know what it is: The moving truck from the beginning of the Hoenn games! (R/S/E) If I can find a sprite of the newer, improved truck in Fr/Lg you'll see a resemblence."

      • nellie_sweetberry writes: "Here's some food for your thoughts there is no possible way to gain access to the trucks island in lg/fr because your character automatically walks down the dock you cannot press start or anything it is impossible."
  • What's inside the GS Ball?
    The GS Ball was the "hook" to get Ash and friends to the Orange Islands for season 2 of the Pokemon anime. Professor Ivy claimed that no transporter would accept this mysterious gold and silver ball, so Professor Oak needed to send someone to pick it up.

    After competing and winning the Orange League Cup, Ash returns to Pallet Town with the GS Ball. Oak can't decipher its mysteries, so he sends Ash and friends out once again, this time to deliver the ball to Kurt, the Poke Ball architect. We haven't heard about the GS Ball since. What was its original purpose, and what may be inside?

    For my theory on this, read my story Inner Peace.

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