Welcome to my twisted WIP

A lot of this page used to be on a single pokemon map related page, which has now been properly divided and split for the various regions that I have headcanons for alongside the player characters, who I should probably just turn into OCs at this point. Some is miscellanious stuff, but there are some new additions that blur between headcanon and dumb stuff made up for a side project.

Every single time I think about the pokemon timeline where they want to consider certain games canon with certain time alignments (RSE=FRLG), (DPPT=HGSS), (BW2=XY), and so on I always end up asking more questions that will never be answered because of how there's no actual "definitive timeline" because they keep dodging the question after that official tweet was deleted and no one truly ages outside of select characters and select games having a defined time period like Gen 1 to 2 and Gen 5.

First I go “what’s with the rapidly changing technology in between those games though” which makes me wonder if there was some kind of technology discrepancy in between the different regions. Like, FRLG’s excuse was that it was a 1 to 1 copy of RBG minus some changes and it wanted to capture that nostalgiac feeling. But then the Sevii islands is connected to RSE which is like… I know it's with a meteor, but was Devon just hoarding their more advanced technology... I cannot speak for LGPE’s placement on anything because the game itself has some time screw stuff by making Green and Red and Blue simultaneously exist with the new protag and Trace but also they apparently didn’t handle Rocket, and Mina from Sun and Moon cameos when Sun and Moon itself is canonically like… happening when the boys are in their 20s. How old is that girl?

Pokemon Masters says “we’re not dealing with any of that, everything’s canon, this is it’s own canon” which is really funny because do I just assume Red and Green are 17+ in that one because that’s what their age would be when BW2 takes place and that's likely when the Pasio league takes place as I think it's the Mega equivalent of the PWT? (PWT being fanservice and not having anyone age there is one of those things where I go "they were not considering the sliding timeline, huh.")

The Animation and Pokespe ignore this by saying that everything happens as it releases which is reasonable enough. I also have my own headcanon timeline I posted about on dreamwidth and a whole Red Green age timeline thing. Battle Tree has Wally and Cynthia look the same though, which again, unless it's really good skin care those two should be older looking!

Then there’s ORAS establishing the ultimate weapon timeline split and being before the Kalos games study mega evolution, which retroactively makes sycamore look fraudulent. (LGPE having it also does this, but I’m just being pendantic ) ORAS itself also brought attention to an entire multiverse (which was always there, it just got more defined with DE) which then got followed up in SUSUM with ultra wormholes and Fallers and Rainbow Rocket and then total radio silence. What the heck, don’t just drop that plot point off, jeez!

I had two other posts on this on Dreamwidth but for the sake of spacing I'll just summarize the dates/timelines

Gameboy timeline: 1996-1999 (based on release dates and porygon) GBA-DS timeline: 2002-2017 (based on game consoles and the HGSS-BW baby.) 3rd version games have their own respective timeline as well. 3DS-Switch timeline: 2002(?)/2009-20XX (based on LGPE and Mina's age, ORAS timespan references, and general headcanon.) None of this is like ever relevant to anything I ever write, I just wanted to put it out somewhere.

There was an image here once but you don't need to worry about it much. GB and GBC games plus stadium were on one timeline, GBA/DS to another, 3DS Switch, and 3rd version games as their own timeline. Mystery dungeon was also here too but so was pokepark as it's own MD to PP timeline.
I try explaining my timeline headcanon meta placement by considering the lack of cross game compatibility. I also tried to put them in chronological order. US RB and JP RG technically should have a seperate Blue on the 3rd game timeline but since there's virtually zero differences in story content they can stay as is.


The direct reason why kanto and johto feel so vastly different even in supplemental material is because they were the regions directly worked on by the creator Tajiri and everything else subsequently was handled by Masuda. The lack of cross compatibility meant that gen 1 and 2 pokemon truly could not be transferred into later games until the addition of virtual console for pokemon bank. So you can truly consider Gen 3 as a reboot of the Pokémon world and timeline, FRLG follows that self same logic. A few other things I had to think were "what gen was this introduced in and did it update to have new generations?" Pokemon Quest does have all generations... but only in the CN server. Everyone else just has gen 1 versions.


Having the GBA and DS timeline be cut from 3DS is a bit silly since those games are canon to the 3DS timeline when considering how Burnet who was in Dream Radar which connected to BW2 then went to Alola but since pokemon decided to have a multiverse/timeline split where it's like "mega evolution exists" or "mega evolution doesn't exist", this means that every GBA and DS game will have the same timeline displacement as the Gameboy games solely because they don't have the gameplay mechanic. There's a reason ORAS is considered the canonical one over RS now, it's because it basically took it's place role wise.

(LGPE does not follow this logic as it is a remake of pokemon Yellow and therefore a "what if" scenario. Unless Chase and Elaine and Trace all show up in a mainline game instead of Masters (add trace to Masters) it's true timeline placement is dubious because every game still considers Red as the true protagonist for Kanto.) Legends Arceus is basically the most "past" game in the timeline. Conquest is a crossover between Nobunga's Ambition and Pokemon so it's without a doubt noncanon.


Only games that are truly timeline weird are GO because it takes place on like, real earth, but pokemon have shown up, and USUM RR Giovanni is there, but he's also in Masters, but Masters is just an "anything goes" story. SuMo have no timeline placement because USUM are considered the canon ones. Other circumstantial evidence is Pokemon transferred from other games as being considered as coming across time and space or from "a distant land" (Orre has this weird middle child treatment where there is not much acknowledgement for it or its ideas despite Shadow Pokemon making a continuous appearance in spinoffs after it like shadow mewtwo and shadow pokemon in Go).


"Pokepark is not canon to mystery dungeon" okay but you'd rather take the wiiware spinoff where the major conflict is the characters fighting over a cookie?

Anyways, here’s a collection of multiversal stuff that was before ORAS that I’ve been gathering.


Every save file and cartridge is it’s own universe by technicality because how can the worlds be shared if everyone can go through the same story and get the same legendaries (this also applies to every different version as well). The Game Boy games are a different timeline compared to their remakes (note that some transferred Pokémon come from a different time and space). Black and White having different opelucid cities and postgame areas. the Entralink/ Dream World. distortion world. RS for having the different teams and then E for having both show up. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (possibly a universe where the meteor was sent). Every spinoff material like the various mangas and the animation (which has it's own multiverse) alongside every spinoff game unless it's specifically connected to main timeline (Rangers is in the main timeline by Manaphy Egg.) Pokemon Go is it's own universe. Giovanni from Rainbow Rocket shows up on real Earth. The anime characters make photoshop cameos at one point.

gameboy also had the weirdness of pokemon and IRL animals coexisting/ being a recent discovery No man's land, Tiksi, and Russia by that one Sliph Co grunt Mew was found in south america(?)/Guyana/ French Guiana? (Note: IRL there are multiple places named Guyana.) Dex entry stuff? Arcanine and China Deliberd mentions mt. everest African mask in Unova + Kenya from Johto Poliwrath and the Pacific Ocean Ponyta being able to jump the eiffel tower The moon landing implies that there was a pokemon Space Race

What other reigons have been mentioned but never actually confirmed to exist Back in Early Days of Gen 1 when pokemon was still just regular earth we had: Raichu electrocuting Indian Elephants (changed to be Copperjah) Greece is in PokeSpe but only in the early english translation because of a lever thing Tom Sawyer is also mentioned in early pokespe english translations which is weird to think about Regice's body is said to be made up of antarctic ice trying to not dip into too much anime territory stuff since a lot of those locations are definitely their own thing for when the anime is in filler hell so it makes no sense to start putting down the towns Ultra space doesn't fit onto the map because that starts getting into multiverse nonsense.

Hypothetical Reigons based on early dex entries

India Russia China Africa South America Greece Other parts of the US (South, West, Florida) Possibly Canada

By the way, Regular IRL Earth exists in pokemon canon as a seperate existence because of GO Team Rainbow Rocket Giovanni either gets into Pasio (Masters) or GO and creates GO rainbow rocket What this means for actual pokemon lore I have no clue because it seems like Spark and Willow and Blanche and Cadena are real people too...? GameFreak has been cameos in multiple games plus the same goes for TCG guys and Imakuni. Youtube exists in some form/ Twitch because of Iono.

Paldea has it's whole paradox thing going on where people were like "is it imagination or time travel?" and the in game explanation is apparently parallel timelines so there's some world out there where robot pokemon and caveman pokemon roam the earth but that's also dipping into multiverse territory OG Kanto anime author's notes said that pokemon appearing was only a very recent thing and IRL animals used to be all over the place and that professor oak had found somehing out that he didn't like. also the scrapped t rex movie. obviously that's no longer canon but it's an... interesting aspect for the gameboy/early anime universe.

Technically only some things should exist in one timeline (Gameboy or 3DS) versus the other but that would be incredibly weird to discern since that is also weird canon wonky territory. Consider this as a "all the games happened on one timeline" map.

Technology in the pokemon world is almost on an IRL basis with smartphones and smartwatches and tech being replaced but then the pokeballs themselves used to be based off magic fruit and shrinking powers. Everything about Rotom phones. I'd say it's gone to more magic tech than the gadget types that we had in other reigons... Unova's Xtransciever was really the last time we had some kind of watch type of thing.

There's also a multiverse in the aspect of multiple game versions and 3rd editions, team rainbow rocket has versions from timelines where the protags failed, the various adaptions like Special and the like also make up their own seperate universes The anime also had photobombs in Pokemon GO which pretty much means I'll give an arbritary multiverse thing I have going on for my pokeverse at least

Universe 1: Gameboy Games/Gen 1 and 2 Spinoffs Universe 2: Gameboy Advance Games+ Gen 3-5 Spinoffs Universe 3: 3DS and Switch games (it gets weird because of the mega evolution stuff zinnia mentioned) and Ultra sun and moon happen Universe 4: Everything is the exact same except original sun and moon happen because 3DS is when they started leaning on multiverse theory Universe 5: Pokemon Go Shennagins Universe 6: Anime Shennagins. Technically the anime has its own multiverse because of various dimensions and having a movie canon but I don't care. Universe 7: The non canon universe. Fangame heaven.

I’m trying to cook up theology in Pokemon, I’ve had this idea because I think the concept of scientists arguing over semantics in debates in regards to historical and/or religious events is mad funny especially since time travel exists so at any given moment the threat of some bloke getting teleported by Celebi and coming back to ruin papers is what drives me. It’s always been a thing that the games shy away from in terms of well, aside from Arceus. I guess.
(To be fair, it did exist primarily in gen 1 and 2 but it got changed in localization to not be buddihsm or shintoism in the slightest.)

The concept of having religion in Pokemon is one of those things you gotta start with the most basic thing and then immediately go off rails because the concept of "people obviously would probably worship pokemon as their local deities" to "some random UPSTART just captured the local deity"

Pokemon worshipped as deities are still Pokemon.

The supernatural has always been a factor of Pokemon with stuff like psychics and channelers and just… people who have powers like Pokemon blessed by locations and various other scenarios like what I cover in Typology.

PLEASE NOTE this is following fictional depictions of religion and is IN no way the author's opinon on religions, I just think some of the symbolism is cool like how in various anime they reference the bible because it looks cool (I'm still reeling over how the teraleak just had like an actual pokemon bible and pantheon and stuff). ZA will be mad funny if they make the player collect zygarde cells Collect my plates Find my cells Thinking about Arc Suits... Arceus handing out his powers to a bunch of washed out has beens with clout chasers in mind Your job is to make sure they don't screw up too badly! Rayquaza and Zygarde getting drinks at a bar because of their shit jobs

Is there a human heaven or pokemon heaven-- they're both the same place, don't ask. idk. pokemon don't go to hell. But they have demons. They're like... A pokemon that poses too much of a danger not only to humans but to other pokemon. Think of it like a classification system. Of course, that falls apart once actual weird things begin happening. I just realized this is stupidly a circle onto itself because Pokemon initially was considered satanic in the 90s, ignoring that SMT literally had demon summoning. Misty is Catholic. me still reeling from teraleak: the pokemon pantheon was real and the things were locked in the vault and i was just making a riff on JRPGs being about fighting god... pokereligion is real. shintoism? buddihism?

A vision of a technological freeze and weird 90s CGI as deep tied in various TCG cards I think pokemon could have some dated elements and not have To be 1 to 1 with world tech (no more rotom phones) For the sake of making the map and subsequent trainer pages less of a pain to edit, I've split up the map and replaced the layout with a much easier layout to manage. Going ahead with cross references to media in Pokemon is less of a problem for me and more of a worldbuilding problem in the factor of ...“do I consider every single piece of media to be Pokemon free or do I have to imagine every single thing inexplicably has a Pokemon in it?" A lot of media franchises would be heavily altered if there were Pokemon in them because for the most part they'd all need to be rewritten for the Pokemon involvement and then you'd need to give all characters involved an appropriate Pokemon. Much to consider. Like would animorphs have the human characters become pokemorphs (a very old fanfic idea) instead? What type of Pokemon would Flounder be?

My philosophy when I make ideas is that one tweet I saw: ...“ Everything you thought was cool when you were 12 is what is actually cool" Pokemon is cool. Notable Weird Trainers of my Research

Sabrina Rui (Colosseum) Anabel Riley Ash Ketchum Caitlin Olympia Yellow (Adventures) Tate and Liza N Avery Lily (phantom thief pokemon 7) Hareta (Diamond and Pearl Adventure) Will Morty Olympia Allister Phoebe Korrina

I don't know what aura is. I watched the movie and it's like life force. I think it's the thing Ryu does in Street Fighter where he goes Hadouken. And Goku does that. And Lucario. I think it's just a thing that does... stuff.

Ash Ketchum is the weirdest example on the list since he was in the anime for 20 years and he just got absurd feats. I throughly believed people were just making that shit up and following some elaborate fanfiction like how they'd occasionally do the Goku time chamber hypothetical but on writing ash on mt silver replacing Red instead of putting it on YouTube. I tried explaining to one of my friends once that ash had a very dedicated fanbase of people who'd legitimately believed he would eventually get one of the girls and also become the ultimate pokemon battling master with superpowers and my friend was appalled. I don't think Pokemon trainers should be in shonen death battle tier debates but people really were out there legitimately batting for ash. It was kind of awe inspiring as it was terrifying and annoying because they were also in the same circle of people who'd bat for their pick of a girl for pairings like it was a horse bet.

Shadow Pokemon and light Pokemon are also back too, let's go TCG Pokemon can bring both blessings of abundance and curses of destruction, they're connected to nature and technology alike, a natural and sometimes unnatural phenomena, once feared and revered alike by people and now on their ways to becoming partners of coexistence. Or they're cool sports wrestling guys, idk. at some point they start attempting to make their own pokemon. it goes uh... quite poorly. artificial pokemon have a 50/50 shot of being normal or just horrible freaks. Mankind's limits of technology

They had the moon landing but nothing else... probably because Rayquaza would be on sight...?
Is rayquaza keeping us in? What is it keeping OUT? Rayquaza is full of rage and violence tm just in case Maybe people have less interest in space since they have pokemon and aliens and they started exploring the ocean like in IRL But then you'd get Kyogre going... CUT THAT SHIT OUT

What about deoxys and pokemon from space like the ultra beasts Idk, that's scary...

The all knowing one does not know where those ones came from. Arceus:
There aliens I'm not explaining that shit

Writing about the military and shaking my head the entire time because I think wars are bad and stuff Team rocket's various doohickeys and robot mochas The conceptualizatjon of military in Pokemon Sources: Pokemon Rangers, some Anime Episodes (mostly the banned ones) They've mostly abolished the military and it's a volunteer effort which is hampered by things like the Ranger union and most people go off the grid to become mercenaries and poachers. Well, there's teams. (Gangs.) Peace and love and friendship forever Gootbye

https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Aura_and_pulse_move https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Z-Power https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Aura https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Aura_Sphere_(move) https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Team_Rocket%27s_arsenal https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Weaponry_in_the_Pok%C3%A9mon_world https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Team_Rocket%27s_mechas https://lavacutcontent.com/sugimori-masuda-developer-interview/ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Type https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Type_(TCG)