Food Chain

[Sweet Pinpuku]

Just a thought:

In the same respect that we here cook and eat certain animals (like cows), do people in the Pokémon world make sandwich meat and leather out of Miltank and Tauros. I guess the answer to that is obvious. Here's what I'm thinking though - there are some Pokémon where their usage in that respect is very obvious, but they are all technically animals in their own way. What other Pokémon can be used in such fashion?

Like, when you consider J hunting the Gardevoir in her first appearance - what would you use Gardevoir like that for? Would you skin it and wear it like fur? Are there parts of it you can cook and eat?

Just things like that, what is that really raw relationship between humans and Pokémon? What boundaries are there - are there some that are protected species that it is against the law to eat or use as shoes or something? What Pokémon can truly be excluded from being eaten or worn?

Even to the same extent - we know Pidgeotto eat Caterpie. What Pokémon would eat other Pokémon? Yeah, we know all Pokémon eat basically what looks like dog food in the anime, but what do they actually eat in the wild? To continue using Gardevoir as an example - what would a Gardevoir eat out in the wild? They couldn't surive just on berries. Would any Pokémon eat humans? Would eating a Gardevoir or another human-esque Pokémon be considered cannibalism?

I know these are just a bunch of random thoughts and questions, but I'm really interested to know what people think and what Pokémon people would eat and wear.

PS. sorry if this already exists, nothing around seemed to be it so I am sorry if I've missed something.

 

[TeeterDance]

I could see an Ursaring attacking a human in the wild. Gardevoir, like other Psychics probably feeds off of emotions? Something to that extent.

 

[JennaJayfeather]

When I was little I was worried a Gyrados was going to eat Ash XD
...Oh wait!
Aerodactyl can eat humans AND fruit!

 

[Doctor Awesome]

Apparently Swellow eats Wurmple. So yes, most bird Pokémon eat bug Pokémon.

 

[JennaJayfeather]

Furret eat Rattata and Pidgeot eat Magikarp

 

[arceus7]

err to say something ... their are animals (from this world) in the pokemon world. specifically fish. also pokemon are animals that have evolved or something in that world. so there are probably cows people AND pokemon eat.

 

[Sweet Pinpuku]

Interesting responses ^.^

@TeeterDance - Ursaring I guess would attack and eat humans, much like Gyarados and Aerodactly would as 00poke_maniac pointed out, and I imagine many others would. Gardevoir feeding off of emotions is interesting, wonder if in a similar respect Xatu would feed off a person or creature's past/future experiences?

@Doctor Awesome - Swellow eat Wurmple? Did not know that... I suppose most bird Pokémon would eat most bug Pokémon. Wonder if Swellow would eat a Beautifly or Venomoth though or would they (or bug Pokémon as large as them) would eat the bird?

@00poke_maniac - Furret eat Rattata? Just got me thinking if Zangoose and Seviper eat one another. Furret probably eat Rattata and other smaller rodent Pokémon (maybe Pichu) as their source of meat intake and balance it with various berries and plant-life. How many other Pokémon live by that? Do Pokémon like Jynx (or Pokémon like it) have a source of meat intake similar to that? I can see something like Hitmonchan grinding up its food rather than cooking or eating it raw like Furret would a Rattata.

@arceus7 - well, yes, that is true, there are many of our "real-world" creatures that exist in their world, but it seems to be very much limited to fish. Even then, you don't seem them in the anime anymore. So many real-world animals have been turned into Pokémon now, there is no need for actual sheep, pigs and cows because we have Mareep, Grumpig and Miltank. Even something like the common seagull has been converted. This is the whole basis of what got me thinking about all this - those real-world animals don't seem to exist in that world considering the way it is portrayed in the anime, games, etc. The real-world animals we use for food and clothing and other things all have Pokémon counterparts now.

 

[No. 1 Machop Fan]

I heard somewhere (Bulbapedia, I think) that Zubat eat Venomoth.

 

[An00bis]

Like, when you consider J hunting the Gardevoir in her first appearance - what would you use Gardevoir like that for?

Hunter J does not hunt Pokemon to use for materials. Hunter J captures Pokemon, wild or not, to resell them on what is essentially the Black Market. The same rings true for other Pokemon Hunter's we've seen in the past (Movie 4 and " A Poached Ego "). It seems that Pokemon are worth more alive then dead ... at least in the anime.

Are there parts of it you can cook and eat?

Technically speaking you could try to eat just about any Pokemon. I just imagine there are some Pokemon where trying to do so wouldn't be so wise. There are some Pokemon like Magicarp that don't have enough edible flesh to make it worthwhile. Others like the majority of Poison Types would be lethal if someone tried to eat them.

Just things like that, what is that really raw relationship between humans and Pokémon? What boundaries are there - are there some that are protected species that it is against the law to eat or use as shoes or something?

The games before Generation 4 hinted that Pokemon are not off limits for eating. In the Generation 4 games it was blatantly stated that humans eat Pokemon meat in the Canalave Library. The guidelines for " safely " eating a Pokemon are fairly simple. If you kill a Pokemon and eat the entire thing then there's no harm done. If you kill a Pokemon for the sport of waste parts of its body then you run the risk of upsetting the Pokemon and driving them away.

It appears that there were some humans that were doing the latter prior to Generation 1. Pokemon like Farfetch'd and Lapras were driven to the brink of extinction due to wasteful hunting practices. It seems that conditions for endangered Pokemon have improved as the Generations go on and these Pokemon can now be found in the wild. The reason why seems to be that humans have become more respectful towards the Pokemon over the years and have begun doing worldwide conservation.

What Pokémon can truly be excluded from being eaten or worn?

None I imagine.

What Pokémon would eat other Pokémon?

It appears that all of the Regional Birds are birds of prey. Dark Types like Sneasel, the Mightyena line, and the Houndoom line also prey on Pokemon. On the opposite side of things there are Pokemon that appear to only eat vegetation like Torpius. I think it's safe to say that the majority of Pokemon can eat both plants and other Pokemon.

o continue using Gardevoir as an example - what would a Gardevoir eat out in the wild? They couldn't survive just on berries.

Now I wouldn't say that. Berries in the Pokemon World appear to be larger and more nutritious then the berries in our world. It seems plausible that some Pokemon are indeed vegetarians and don't prey on others. To answer the question though (I believe) Gardevoir and the other members of their evolution family are in the Humanshape Egg Group. Humans are traditionally hunters and gathers so Gardevoir would likely eat anything edible it can get its hands on.

Would any Pokémon eat humans?

I doubt it. Humans have very little actual meat or nutritional value.

On top of that its been suggested that Pokemon for one reason or another find it necessary to help humanity. Most Pokemon seem to be highly tolerant of humans regardless of how poorly they've been treated. It seems they're unlikely to attack, let alone kill, a human without an exceptional reason.

Legendaries seem to be more willing to enact some sort of punishment on humans, however.

Would eating a Gardevoir or another human-esque Pokémon be considered cannibalism?

Only if they ate a member of the Gardevior line.

PS. sorry if this already exists, nothing around seemed to be it so I am sorry if I've missed something.

A topic like this is made about once a month. I answered anyway because this one provided more interesting questions.

 

[Lord Scalgon]

Never bite a Magikarp.

 

[snare]

The pokemon foodchain goes a little bit like-a this

 

[Chesu]

SSSNNNNAAARRREEE....

Early in the anime, isn't Ash seen eating gyudon? He actually wore a black and white cow costume prior to that, but it was a sight gag... so presumably, the gyudon was Tauros meat. Also, I'm pretty sure that almost every time a wild Skarmory has been shown in the anime, it's stolen people or Pokemon to eat them.

As for the games, didn't your mom make hamburgers in G/S/C? I don't know if that's been changed in HG/SS.

edit: Taken from Bulbapedia

"Sinnoh Folk Story 1"
Pick clean the bones of Pokémon
caught in the sea or stream.
Thank them for the meals they
provide, and pick their bones clean.
When the bones are as clean as can
be, set them free in the water from
which they came.
The Pokémon will return, fully
fleshed, and it begins anew.

 

[Miles "Tails" Prower]

err to say something ... their are animals (from this world) in the pokemon world. specifically fish. also pokemon are animals that have evolved or something in that world. so there are probably cows people AND pokemon eat.

I haven't seen animals in the Anime since early season one. I'm guessing they had them at the time because there were not equivalent Pokemon at the time. Like that mongoose, there was no Zangoose then.

 

[Sweet Pinpuku]

@No. 1 Machop Fan - wow O.O that's what I was wondering - just to pull this into the birds eating the bugs, I can see something like Staraptor or Fearow eating something big like Butterfree, but I wonder if Venomoth would eat Pidgey if given half the chance?

@An00bis - yeah, I know J wasn't hunting Gardevoir for those purposes, I was just using it as an exmaple of someone hunting a Pokémon for whatever reason to open up a thought process wondering what those reasons may be (not specifically in relation to J). Sorry if that was unclear.
You raise some interesting points and have answered a lot of my questions. I completely forgot about the whole Canalave Library texts, I should've thought about that first XD
I guess what you say about Gardevoir is true - it would be a hunter in the wild, but would it hunt in the same fashion as we humans used to do oh so many years ago? I can't see it. Obviously, it would make use of its own unique abilities, but I can't help but wonder if would hunt in that respect considering how advanced humans have become - because Gardevoir are so human looking, I see them more so actually in the kitchen cooking and eating more like humans than anything else rather than as almost cave people, you know?
I didn't realise a thread like this came up so often, I do apologise.

@Miles "Tails" Prower - yeah, see that's what I was thinking - you don't see animals like that in the Pokémon world anymore, hence why I made this thread to discuss the implications of that, so to speak.

 

[Katipunero]

its says that they have prey and predator relationships but none have shown this on TV.that would be cannibalism

 

[ITOMARU]

Ah, the old eating Pokemon thought. Well, people could obviously not eat rock, steel, or ghost type Pokemon. And yeah, ghosts would feed on the fear and hatred of others, and rock types would probably eat other rocks. The Pokemon that humans would eat most would be the Pokemon that are similar to cows and fish and such. Some Pokemon would make for interesting dishes....
Rapidash: it cooks itself!
Shieldon: comes with plate to eat off!
Manaphy egg: tasty red yolk!
Farfetch'd: comes with leek, obviously.
Wailord: a meal for the whole family! And several other people!
Glaile: a meaty snowcone!
Baleef: comes with salad.
This makes me wonder: if a vegetarian eats a Bellsprout or something, would that be acceptable...?

 

[5wamp3rt]

kingler

Ah, the old eating Pokemon thought. Well, people could obviously not eat rock, steel, or ghost type Pokemon. And yeah, ghosts would feed on the fear and hatred of others, and rock types would probably eat other rocks. The Pokemon that humans would eat most would be the Pokemon that are similar to cows and fish and such. Some Pokemon would make for interesting dishes....
Rapidash: it cooks itself!
Shieldon: comes with plate to eat off!
Manaphy egg: tasty red yolk!
Farfetch'd: comes with leek, obviously.
Wailord: a meal for the whole family! And several other people!
Glaile: a meaty snowcone!
Baleef: comes with salad.
This makes me wonder: if a vegetarian eats a Bellsprout or something, would that be acceptable...?

LOL. Kingler could be sold as seafood xD

 

[Indragon]

^Kingler doesn't taste half as good as fried Corphish imo.

 

[nicholasenj]

Returning to the birds, while it is hard to imagine them preying on each other per se, it is very easy to imagine a pidgeotto/pidgeot and a noctowl fighting for hunting grounds.

 

[Vivian]

Stantlers were hunted almost to extinction due to their horns price. In anime, there was a hunter that stated that he would hunt snorunt for its skin and make a coat.