#prof spruce

Another great question about an interesting Pokémon!

So the short answer - ditto doesn't have organs. I think Ditto is a sort of slime mold. It is like a conjunction of billions of individual cells and protoplasm that all communicate instantly with one another to relay information. Specialized cells near its head (again, no organs or body parts so we have to use the terminology with a grain of salt) have been adapted to perceive light, colour and shapes in the form of eyes, as well as cells that can vibrate, relax and contract, to provide sound and a mouth. Every other cell in its body shares information through the protoplasmic soup that is its body, and since this information is shared at a similar speed and way as neurons in humans at speeds of 50 meters per second or 100 miles an hour, it can transform almost instantly.

Here's another interesting question: are Ditto man made?

Well, for those of you who don't know the Ditto and Mew theory, it basically says that Dittos are failed cloning attempts at Mew. Mew is the only other Pokémon that can learn transform, which makes sense since it is the ancestor of all Pokémon. So in theory it should house all of the genetic makeup to potentially give rise to any Pokémon to ever exist. Ditto are found all over Cinnabar Mansion, which is where the cloning experiments were conducted on Mew. They both also have the same weight, size, and shiny colour.

So I personally believe that ditto can be found both in the wild and are man made. There are ditto on Route 34 and 35 in Gold, Silver, and Crystal, so I don't believe that all of the ditto in the world are purely man made. However I struggle to find the connection between man made and wild Ditto. Are they completely identical genetically? If they all have the same genetic makeup as Mew, then could wild Ditto just be globs of wild Mew that fell off somehow? Perhaps wild Ditto reproduce asexually as real life slime molds do, and for minute genetic diversity they intermingle and share cells with other Ditto that came from Mews somehow.

Thanks for the ask! I would love to answer this question!

Philadelphia is a city rich with history and culture. Much like other metropolitan areas whatever Pokémon would be found here need to be accustomed to the hustle and bustle of city life. However, that's not to say that there are no surrounding natural areas. In fact, as rich as the city is with culture, there is a plethora of wildlife in the marshes and farm fields just outside the city that can support a huge diversity of wildlife. The forest types outside the city are generally Northern Mixed Hardwood forests and Appalachian Oak Forests. Together with the multiple freshwater marshes, rivers, ponds, and grasslands, there truly are few limitations as to what species may be present!

Grass - Grookey

As the birthplace for many rock, jazz, R & B, and Hip Hop artists, Philadelphia has roots in music that run very, very deep. I think it's a safe bet that as a Pokémon that utilizes its natural sense of rhythm to attack but also nourish surrounding plant life, Grookey would be incredibly well adapted for life in the city. Considering its mobility and primate-like appearance I believe it is also adapted to be able to survive in the surrounding forests. Also, drumsticks used by musicians are commonly made from species like maple, oak, and hickory. These species are known as hardwood trees and because of their lack of non-supportive cells compared to softwood trees like pine, they are a lot stronger and slower growing than softwood trees. Thus, not only would Grookey have the "groove" necessary for life in Philly, but it would also have access to the best material to make its drumstick with!

Fire - Fennekin

To be honest it was difficult to find the right fire Pokémon for Philadelphia. There are a lot of factors to consider when trying to hypothesize how Pokémon may best be suited to their native environment. Frankly, it was a bit of a process of elimination, but I think this makes the most sense. Fennekin is based off of the fennec fox, which is a fox species native to Northern Africa. Although Philadelphia is nowhere near as warm as Northern Africa, the surrounding environment is home to both the Red Fox and the Gray Fox. Foxes are opportunistic predators, meaning they are not the least bit picky when it comes to their next meal. As there is a ton of wildlife diversity surrounding Philadelphia and in the rest of Pennsylvania, I think its characteristics based off of species in the fox family (vulpes) will allow Fennekin to thrive well in this area. Furthermore, Fennekin is constantly grooming itself and is always concerned with its appearance. This sense of fashion and self-image would come as an adaptation in a city so rich with culture!

Water - Mudkip

In the Heart Gold and Soul Silver Pokédex entries, Mudkip is said to "rest by covering itself in mud at the bottom of a river." With the Delaware River a big part of the Pennsylvania landscape, and with the many marshes and wetlands in the surrounding area, I think Mudkip would be well adapted for life in Philadelphia. Several other Pokédex entries say that it uses the fin on its head as a sort of radar to determine what is taking place around it. This may be useful in a busy city to help narrow its concentration and focus where there can be a lot going on at once. Furthermore, as I was concerned about its amphibian-like physiology, I was concerned at how necessary it was this Pokémon be close to water. However as I looked more into it, this Pokémon doesn't appear to require it be constantly submerged in water like the common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) which it is based off of. It is perfectly content being out of the water for prolonged periods of time.

I hope I answered your question! If you would like to know about the early route species or anything else just let me know and I can make an addition!

Thanks for the question!

Albuqerque features a shrubland biome, which I have actually already written about and you can find it here! However I would love to go into a little bit more detail, and maybe even discuss some starter Pokémon your local professor may hand out to trainers in the area.

Essentially, shrublands are in between deserts and forests when it comes to the amount of rainfall. Not necessarily a whole lot (200-1000 millimeters/year) but enough to support a rich diversity of plant life that would not survive in a desert. The reason it is called a shrubland as well, is because there is not enough rain to support the growth of large trees. Most of the plants within this ecosystem are shrubs, grasses, or occasionally small trees. The plants in these areas have incredible adaptations to survive in these environments, including having small leaves to conserve water, having a thick waxy cuticle to help protect from sun damage, and even have tolerance to wildfires which occur frequently in this area.

Let's talk about what starter Pokémon might be provided in this area:

Grass - Chespin

I think Chespin is incredibly well adapted for life in a shrubland biome. It is the only grass starter that has a rodent-like appearance, and despite it being based off of a hedgehog, which don't necessarily inhabit shrublands too often, the other aspects of its appearance closely resemble Pokémon like Sandshrew and Sandslash, which are definitely part of the shrubland ecosystem. In fact, I would bet that they likely share a common ancestor! Using its long sharp claws on its hind legs, chespin can quickly dig into the sand leaving its protected head and hard quills exposed.

Fire - Torchic

Torchic is a galliform, which is the supergroup of birds that includes chickens, turkeys, and peafowl. Prairie chickens are a large bird in the grouse family, also included in the group. They are common sights in shrublands across America, and I believe that Torchic would be no exception. One adaptation that stands out with Torchic is that they are incapable of flight. I think that this would benefit the development of Torchic as there are no trees to roost in in shrubland habitats. Thus, more energy can be input into the development of its legs, which we can see become very important fighting tools after it evolves.

Water - Totodile

It is always difficult choosing a Pokémon who's type is the opposite of the environment it's in. It would be the same if someone asked for the starters of a jungle biome and I had to think of what the fire starter may be! When considering a water starter for an area that is so hot and so dry, several things need to be taken into consideration. For one, will the Pokémon overheat? Does it have fur? What about its skin, is it thin and at risk of easily drying out? Is it amphibious? With all of these physiological traits in consideration, I think Totodile may be the best Water Pokémon for this particular environment. It is constantly dancing which is something that can really only be done on land, so clearly it is not that dependent on being in the water. Furthermore, as it is a reptile its skin is highly impermeable to water loss, and the light coloration of it may even help in thermoregulation.

This is just such an amazing question!

Ancient seas were such an alien environment. They had species present that were nothing like what we see today, but they definitely did have some similar to those we still have around.

When you talk about ancient oceans there are actually a number of different ocean pasts we can look at. For example, we could be looking at the Precambrian oceans (Pre meaning "before" and Cambrian meaning "Cambria", the Latin term for Wales, where rocks from the Cambrian era were first studied) which spanned over a geologic timeline of 4500 million years ago, essentially when the earth first formed, to 541 million years ago. It was during this time that the earth was being constantly bombarded with asteroids, and there weren't really any complex life forms. Everything living for the most part were rudimentary prokaryotes that just figured out how to convert sunlight into energy.

But as the timeline moves forward through to the Paleozoic (Paleo is Greek for "old" and zoic meaning "life") we see the Cambrian explosion, where multicellular life in ancient sees really diversified. 542-488 million years ago the Cambrian explosion gave rise to many taxonomic groups that we see today, including trilobites (Kabuto), mollusks, early chordates (animals with backbones) and all kinds of arthropods. One of these arthropods is anomalocaris, who looks like this:

Now this guy looks familiar...

The Cambrian explosion gave rise to a lot of the animals that we see today, so it makes sense that there are several Fossil Pokémon that would have came from this time. However, there are plenty of species of Pokémon that are still around that although are not the exact same species as those from the Cambrian period, there are definitely some that are direct relatives, and the list goes on as we move forward through the Cambrian into Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras.

Please submit any questions you may have regarding Pokémon biology, ecology, evolution, or whatever else is one your mind to my ask box.

I am currently working through some old asks and will then be starting research on a new Pokémon in our Biomes post, so I will get to your question rather quickly.

A friendly reminder from your Pokémon Ecologist that my office hours are open tonight from 6:00pm - 9:00pm EST.

During this time I will be at my computer catching up on answering some questions, writing my next Pokémon in our Biomes post (minor spoiler - it won’t be a where, but a when) and will just generally be more responsive to any incoming questions. 

Hope to see you there!

I have decided to make a change to my office hours. They are now Wednesday and Thursday from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST. This is not to discourage any of my students from submitting questions regarding Pokémon or otherwise, it’s purely to keep me on track with my posts and stay diligent with my research. 

Also, I am not sure if I have mentioned this or not, but a big thank you to all of my students who stuck around the past few years while I dealt with some real life circumstances. I am so happy to be back, and seeing my ask box filled with Pokémon Biology questions is wonderful!

I am so sorry I am late for my first office hours. A personal issue that was out of my control took place that kept me from my office hours for a bit.