The Science Of Fiction

So, we’ve all played Pokemon, or at least heard of it. Or watched it. Or read it. Or any combination of the above.

And we’ve all wondered at SOME point in our lives.

How in the heck do Pokeballs work?

And Pokemon Centers, but that’s a whole different lecture.

We here at The Science of Fiction Hypothetical Labs have come up with a few theories:

Energy Converters

Pokeballs work as mass-to-energy converters, and back again.
 They would literally transform the pokemon into energy upon entry, and back to mass upon exit. This is difficult, if not impossible, and also requires and understanding of what energy IS.

We, as humans, know of many types of energy, from electromagnetic to thermal to nuclear, but they’re all really the same thing, just expressed in different forms.

According to a few physics teachers, energy is the ability to do work. Work being the force required to move a mass over a distance.

This is true, in a very basic way. All forms of energy do have the potential to do work, they can all move masses. But it’s more complex then that.

According to the famous Albert Einstein and his Theory of Relativity, Energy is equal to Mass times the Speed of Light squared, proving that energy is equivalent to mass. They are the same, mass is just moving much much slower.

However, for Pokeballs to act as converters, it would require an enormous amount of input energy to do conversion either way, and to remember what energy equals what mass is too complex to fit in such a tiny space, so this theory is highly improbable.

Energy to Data Converter

Working off of the previous theory slightly, we have the more practical Energy to Data Conversion theory. This would explain how Pokemon are able to be stored in computerized “Boxes” as well.

Most would say “But Mod G, this violates the Conservation of Mass and Energy!” I say, not really. For what is data, but energetic flows of electrons in specific pattens? And how are those electrons excited? The provision of energy. This allows for Pokemon to be stored like bits of data, just in a very specific and specialized format.

However, while it may be used for immobile computer structures, it is impractical to carry around on a belt, and probably would have a hard time shrinking down to the size of a few grapes.

This theory is very improbable.

Teleporters

The final theory is that Pokeballs are merely teleportation devices. Again, this handly explains Boxes as merely digital representations of Pokemon teleported elsewhere in the world. Judging by the expansive nature of the Pokemon world, this would be easy to do.

While the world may not have portable Mass to Energy/Data converters, it is not so hard to believe that they may have mini teleporters. Its also not hard to imagine that each Pokeball locks onto the Pokemon it’s transferred, thus making them one-time use.

The only thing left, is how Pokemon escape. The Pokeball would have to have a delay, where the Pokemon on the other end has a chance to return to his/her original location. This would be accomplished by having the Pokeball place a small machine of some sort on the Pokemon, tagging them for later use, and allowing them to escape if they find it before the Pokeball locks.

This theory is probable, much more probably than the previous two. If you have your own theory on how Pokeballs work, please submit them using our submit button.

Next week, we shall attempt to figure out how Pokecenters would work using all three theories expressed tonight.