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Thinking about Pokemon killing and eating each other might not be a very pleasant idea, but it is a harsh truth in the fictional world of the games.
In fact, when compared to the idea that these creatures are captured by humans, meant to stay in captivity inside tiny balls, and then battle each other for rewards, the fact that a natural food chain exists in the ecosystem seems very non-violent and normal.
That being said, some of the relationships seem particularly shocking given the Pokemon's appearance and expected personality dispositions. Things are not quite as happy-go-lucky in the world of Pokemon as the anime makes it out to be.
Here are five predatory relationships in the world of Pokemon that will have you reconsidering how this idea made it into a game made primarily for pre-teens.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's views.
Exploring 5 predator-prey relationships in the world of Pokemon
1) Heatmor-Durant
An anteater preying on ants seems like a fairly normal idea. The name itself is quite an indicator of its nature. However, in our world, the animal is about 5-7 ft in size while ants are among the tiniest creatures.
In the world of Pokemon, Durant is a one-foot long ant that has a body made of steel. Heatmor is not particulrly large by comparision, standing at about four and half feet. This makes this predatory relationship seem much less lopsided.
What Heatmor does have going for it though, is the fact that it is a Fire-type going up against a Bug-Steel type, which gives it quite a big advantage in fighting the Iron Ant Pokemon.
2) Drifblim-Clamperl
Imagine a balloon, with no control of where it flies, drifting over the sea thanks to the breeze, picking up and eating an oyster. Seems unlikely? Impossible? Well that is exactly what the relationship between Drifblim and Clamperl is like.
There are so many questions that can be asked about this dynamic. Like, how does Drifblim access the sea floor where Clamperl exists? Even if the former were to catch the latter when it gets carried to the beach by the waves, how does Drifblim manage to fight the current of the sea-breeze to get low enough to pick one of them up?
And even if one suspends their rational thinking to let it all be possible, owing to the fact that Drifblim is ultimately filled with dead souls and not air, how does it eat Clamperl? Does it slurp up the oyster's entrails or does it merely suck out its soul?
3) Tinkatuff-Bisharp and Tinkaton-Corviknight
Tinkatuff's hammer is made up of scraps of metal from Bisharp and Pawniard. While the former seems like a comparatively fair fight, the tiny Tinkatuff taking on the deadly looking Bisharp is just mind-boggling.
This is further complicated by the fact that Bisharp is over twice the size of Tinkatuff and is known to be pitiless, not shying away from using underhand tactics to win a fight.
Tinkatuff's naughty and violent shenanigans continue into its evolutionary stage, Tinkaton. According to the Paldean Pokedex, it is the sole reason why Corviknight cannot provide taxi services in the region.
Tinkaton throws rocks at flying Corviknight, which are over seven feet tall, to knock them out of the sky. Mandjtv, a channel dedicated to the franchise on Youtube, speculated that Tinkaton's hammer is coated with the steel from Corvaknight's feathers, and if that is not the stuff of nightmares, what is?
Tinkatuff and Tinkaton, being a female-only species, is nothing short of a lesson in feminist subversion of power-structures in the world of Pokemon.
4) Marowak-Mandibuzz
The relationship between Marowak and Mandibuzz is a classic revenge tale. The latter was the evil that preyed on the weak and meek Cubone, who was constantly mourning the death of its mother. If that was not bad enough, it even builds its nests and wears the bones of Cubones it kills.
When Cubone grew into Marowak, the tables turned quite drastically in this relationship. Now, over the death of its mother, at least overtly, the latter is out for revenge.
Marowak dwells in mountains where it makes its rage no secret, often pounding on stones, calling out predators like Mandibuzz into battles, where it easily wins owing to all the battle practice it has.
5) Barraskewda-Wingull
Barraskewda also seems to be out for revenge for its younger self, Arrokuda, which are constantly being eaten by Cramorant and Wattrel. Given its stature and the fact that it can only exist outside of water for short times, though, it can only target weaker opponents.
Wingull must face the wrath of the Skewer Pokemon. Barraskewda is an extremely fast pocket monster and it lashes out of water to catch unsuspecting and weak Wingull by their necks and devour them. This is Barraskewda's revenge against bird-kind.
Its Violet Pokedex entry raises a little bit of a flag though. Does the fact that it has to "compete" with Finizen for its prey, mean that the latter is also leaping out of the surface of water to catch low-flying Wingull?
The world of Pokemon allows for much more critical thinking than the layman would expect from a children's game. Looking at the complex ecosystems spanning multiple geographies and years might be an interesting area to explore outside just stats and type match-ups of Pokemon battles.
