History of the Pokémon world: Difference between revisions

Several pieces of content in the core series Pokémon games depend on the games having a timeline, but a complete timeline cannot be drawn from the games themselves. Series producer [[Junichi Masuda]], in an interview with GameInformer on October 24, 2019, stated that [[Game Freak]] does not apply a timeline to the [[Pokémon world]] rigorously.<ref group="note">[https://www.gameinformer.com/interview/2019/10/24/game-freak-talks-sword-and-shields-champion-wild-area-interactions-and-more Game Freak Talks Sword And Shield's Champion, Wild Area Interactions, And More] by Brian Shea<br>'''Masuda:''' ''It starts to get a little complicated if you pay too much attention to timelines. Like, there might be a professor that appears and it wouldn’t make sense at all if we applied that kind of timeline logic. So we try not to apply it too rigorously. Maybe one hint is that if a character is appearing with Professor Oak, they’re living in the same era. Rather than some series where it makes sense to have the timeline progress as you go and the story evolve, the approach that Pokémon takes is expanding the world, like what the regions are, and making it richer as we go. Rather than a timeline, it’s more of a physical space thing.''</ref>

The plots of {{game3|Red and Green|Pokémon Red, Green|s}}, {{pkmn|Blue Version (Japanese)|Blue}}, {{v2|Yellow}}, {{game3|FireRed and LeafGreen|FireRed, and LeafGreen|s}} and {{game3|Ruby and Sapphire|Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire|s}}, {{pkmn|Emerald Version|Emerald}}, [[Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire|Omega Ruby, and Alpha Sapphire]] are contemporaneous, as revealed in Matsumiya's tweet. They are then followed by the plots of {{game3|Gold and Silver|Pokémon Gold, Silver|s}}, {{pkmn|Crystal Version|Crystal}}, {{game3|HeartGold and SoulSilver|HeartGold, and SoulSilver|s}} and {{game3|Diamond and Pearl|Pokémon Diamond, Pearl|s}}, {{pkmn|Platinum Version|Platinum}}, [[Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl|Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl]] three years later; although Matsumiya's tweet suggests that they are also contemporaneous, dialogue from [[Jasmine]] and [[Cynthia]] provides conflicting evidence on which games occur first.<ref name="Jasmine" group="note">'''Jasmine''': "I'm thinking maybe I should participate in this Contest in Sinnoh to try and be more vibrant."<br>'''[[Erika]]''': "How did it go?"<br>'''Jasmine''': "I couldn't bring myself to go to the Contest."</ref><ref name="Cynthia" group="note">'''Cynthia in HeartGold and SoulSilver''': "This is the pattern that represents Giratina, the ruler of the world that is on the opposite side of ours, the world of antimatter..."<br>'''Cynthia in Platinum''': "No...! I'm so sorry I took so long. I think I finally found the answer from studying the myths. When this world was made, Dialga and Palkia appeared. Apparently, there was one more Pokémon that appeared at the same time. A Pokémon with as much power as Dialga and Palkia... But also one whose name was never to be spoken--Giratina! It's said to lurk in another world... A world on the opposite side of ours... That's what the shadow was. It must have been Giratina."</ref> {{game|Black and White|s}} are set some time after this, as evidenced by [[Caitlin]] having visibly aged, as well as Cynthia and the {{tc|Team Rocket Grunt}} who stole the [[Machine Part]] referencing previous events. [[Pokémon Black and White Versions 2|Pokémon Black 2 and White 2]] are set two years after {{game|Black and White|s}}, and are contemporaneous with {{g|X and Y}}, also revealed by Matsumiya's tweet. [[Pokémon Sun and Moon|Pokémon Sun, Moon]], [[Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon|Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon]] take place two years after the events of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, as revealed by concept art of [[Grimsley]].<ref>Pokémon Sun and Moon Grimsley [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/settei settei]</ref> {{g|Sword and Shield}}'s placement is more vague, with little direct connection to other games, though the [[Pokédex]] entry for {{p|Type: Null}} in Sword mentions that stolen research notes led to the creation of more Type: Null,<ref group="note">'''Pokédex from Sword:''' ''Rumor has it that the theft of top-secret research notes led to a new instance of this Pokémon being created in the [[Galar]] region.''</ref> which could imply that they take place after the events of Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon, as only three Type: Null exist in those games. {{g|Scarlet and Violet}} take place after the events of Pokémon Sword and Shield, as revealed by the presence of a copy of [[Sonia's Book]], which was published during the events of Sword and Shield, at [[Naranja Academy]]{{sup/9|S}}/[[Uva Academy]]{{sup/9|V}}. [[Pokémon Legends: Arceus]] is established to be set long before all other games in the series, taking place in [[Sinnoh]]'s [[Hisui|distant past]], which culturally [[Pokémon world in relation to the real world#Sinnoh|corresponds to the Early Meiji period]] that began in 1868 in the real world.

Although [[Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!]] are remakes of Pokémon Yellow, {{ga|Red}} and {{ga|Blue}} are known to have already finished their journeys years ago, and [[Mina]]'s age mentioned in her concept art would suggest that the games are set a maximum of six years before Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon,<ref>Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! [[Mina]] [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/settei settei]</ref><ref group="note">'''[[Mallow/Quotes#Pokémon Sun and Moon|Mallow]]''': "I mean, we have to move on from being [[Trial Captain|captains]] when we turn 20 anyway". ([[Pokémon Sun and Moon|Pokémon Moon]])</ref> implying that they take place later than the original game. However, this is contradicted by [[Sabrina]] having a vision of meeting a special Trainer in three years, referencing the protagonist of Generation II, suggesting these games may not necessarily adhere to the timeline of the rest of the core series.