In commemoration of the 25 years of Pokémon as a franchise and the memories created over the years, I wanted to celebrate that history in my way. I chose to overanalyze every small detail in my typical fashion and decided to concentrate on the secret lessons Pokémon has been teaching you without your knowledge. If you are an AP bio student, odds are you're familiar with terms like reproductive isolation, the independent assortment of chromosomes, linked genes, and so many more, but if you aren't an AP biology student, don't worry I will make all the science terminology so clear it will almost seem like I'm being patronizing.

We begin our exploration by talking about Pokémon itself and just how breeding is possible in the game. Pokémon breeding is a process that takes place at the regional daycares because, as we all know, nothing puts somebody in the mood more than a daycare... To make breeding possible, you take a female and male Pokémon (or Ditto) and leave them in the very sensual daycare, and after a certain length, when you return, an egg will magically appear. But contrary to popular belief, a Ditto holding a Nidoqueen's hand doesn't magically make an egg. They have sex. Two Charizards breeding probably do, but since Ditto is genderless, we first have to ask what exactly is happening here?

Ditto is a small squishy blob that, according to the Generation III Pokédex, "Ditto rearranges it's cell structure to transform itself into other forms." The word rearranges versus copies is vital because this means Ditto must contain all Pokémon's DNA rather than some sort of visual bacterial transduction. Among the Pokémon community, it is widely accepted that Ditto is the failed attempt to clone Mew, the founder of all pokemon. It is important because Ditto has all the DNA to make up every Pokémon because when Ditto transforms, the organization of introns and exons is changed by snRNPs. The alternative splicing off Ditto's RNA allows Ditto to have an abundance of possible permutations of a relatively small amount of genes. I mean, if you have something that can make 100 combinations out of 1 base. That's much easier than needing 100 combinations from 100 bases. We still haven't really touched on what Ditto is yet, I mean, it is a Pokémon, but what real-world organism does Ditto most accurately represent so we can connect it to AP Biology. Well, the fact that Ditto most likely doesn't have millions of genes that make it so it can accurately copy each and every single Pokémon is our first step into discovering what this little fella is.

First, I want to clear the air and state that all Pokémon produce offspring with an egg, no matter how mammalian they may seem, Taurus, Miltank, and the beloved Pikachu all lay eggs. So in our Pokémon world, even mammalian Pokémon will lay eggs, so does that mean Ditto is some sort of animal. No, no quite. My theory is that Ditto is a eukaryotic protist called an Ameba. Other than the primitive blob-like look, Ditto move by extending pseudopods that interact with the environment. Ditto also falls under the trends of primitive eukaryotes of having

no symmetry, it is not cephalized, has no true tissues, and is asexual. But probably the most conclusive evidence is again in the lore. Since Mew was the original Pokémon, the first of the first. Now there are many theories that try to explain the origin of life and how it evolved, each with their very own concentrations; however, one consensus between all the hypotheses is that early life would have to have started with very basic and primitive organisms. One hypothesis, RNA World, even theorizes that the first genetic substance on Earth was not large and complex DNA molecules but small, single-stranded RNA molecules. So if the earliest organisms on Earth were not complicated beings like you or I but primitive prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and Ditto is a replication of the earliest Pokémon life form, then it wouldn't be Farfetched (pun very much intended) to say that Ditto is a primitive eukaryote, more specifically an ameba.

Now that we've theorized what Ditto's real-world counterpart is, what exactly does this mean? To go back, Ditto doesn't mate sexually. Rather they reproduce asexually through a process called binary fission. When Ditto "mates" with another Pokémon, first it alters its genetic expression to copy said Pokémon by dictating which genes are treated as exons and which are treated as introns. Once its transformation is complete, it undergoes binary fission, which makes a copy of itself and divides into two genetically identical versions, but since the Ditto's genes are expressed as let's say, a Pikachu, the Pokémon that will hatch from the binary fissioned egg will be a Pikachu and not a Ditto. Boom, done. 4 paragraphs to explain something that wasn't even the main topic of the column... Actually, what really compelled me to investigate this topic was the secret breeding mechanics found in each Pokémon called IVs. (Individual Values)

Each Pokémon has 6 different IVs correlating to each one of their basic stats (Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, Health Points (HP), and Speed.) Are you ready? Because if you haven't played Pokémon or never care about competitive breeding, you might not be familiar with the term IV. This is not to be confused with Effort values (EV), which are gained when your Pokémon defeat a certain type of Pokémon. IVs are determined at birth and cannot be changed (exception to hyper training). The numbers don't necessarily matter, but Pokémon with higher IVs (31 IV max per stat)are well... Better. Naturally, Pokémon don't necessarily inherit the stats of their parents, and you'd maybe see none, yes none, out of the 12 total stats from both parents in the offspring, and that's on a good day. Most of the time, it's completely random, and if this activated your meiosis senses, good job! As the AP college board loves to remind you when you're reading through textbooks is that "Meiosis is the raw material for natural selection and evolution.'' They also say that about mutations, but I digress. During Meiosis I, and more specifically Prophase I, three important things transpire that make our Pokémon offspring unique. During Prophase I, homologous chromosomes pair into a synaptonemal complex and form a structure called a tetrad. Big words I know, what that means is that similar paternal and maternal chromosomes link up, and the places where they touch are called a tetrad. When they link up, crossing-over is likely to occur, which means the genetic material from your mama and papa switch on over. What makes this even more random and unpredictable is that remember when we were talking about the chromosomes coming together with all the unnecessarily complicated sciency words that mean touch and stuff, well that process in which they meet up is also random. That's right, chromosomes don't judge, so why should we?

Well, that's it, right? We figured out what exactly a Ditto is and how it reproduces, the hidden genes that makeup Pokémon, and how it relates to Earthly Meiosis and hypothesized early evolution. What else can Pokémon teach us about biology? A lot, and it's all thanks to the destiny knot. If you are like most casual players of the series, there's a strong chance you've never heard of this item, and that's fair. Its in-game effect of making the other Pokémon infatuated with the holder when the holder themselves is infatuated is a pretty niche category, and in fact, there have been many a time when I've played through an entire game not once having a party member being infatuated. It's out of game ability; however, is arguably the most intriguing in the entire series. It makes the holder pass down five of its stats to its offspring. This external item completely bypasses all biological laws, or does it? Yes, it does, buuut I think I have been able to make a prediction as to what this item does that still is in the laws of Earthian biology. What exactly is it, you may be asking? There are two possibilities: linked genes and an operon. But I think some sort of pseudo combination of the two is most likely the answer rather than one or the other.

Now, Aidan, you might be thinking, operons are common in simple organisms like bacteria, but in complicated eukaryotes, they are very rare. How could these complicated Pokémon all have operons? That's a good question, and I have two theories. One admittingly is a lot less sound than the other. My first rebuttal is that it's Pókemon and not Earth. Who knows what happens. But if you're like me, you're probably not happy with that answer because even the Pokémon world has humans and a planet they call Earth, all the same, things look the same, I mean they even sell Slowpoke tails and Magikarp caviar, if eukaryotes in our universe seldom have operons it's most likely the eukaryotes in their universe don't either, and I would commend you on having such a sound argument about a kids show readily available in your mind for this very occasion.

My second more logical hypothesis is actually using an idea of the last theory. Pokémon are not eukaryotes... Well, at least not complicated eukaryotes. I mean, I just spent an entire four paragraphs to say that Ditto was a eukaryotic ameba. If we delve into the lore of Pokémon again, we will discuss my reasoning. Unlike on our Earth, in Pokémon, the first humans walked the planet 300 million years ago. We did it about 220,000 years ago. Humans walked the Earth with the earliest Pokémon and the Gods, and what I am theorizing is that humans had an active role in selective breeding and have prevented the development of pokemon variance. This is shown through the fossils. Other than the four generation VII abominations, there are only 11 Pokémon fossils in total compared to over 6,000 we have unearthed. This also translates over to the total amount of Pokémon being 896 compared to over 8.7 million confirmed species. What I think this shows is that in the Pokémon world, humans have played an astronomically large role in the pressures Pokémon have had, and even though they have been around longer than their counterparts on Earth, they never have been able to fully develop into complicated eukaryotes. Ok, now that I'm done with my GameTheory segment, let's get back to the science.

The destiny knot is to the inducer as to what the corepressor is to the repressor, and yes, I am aware I that don't know how word games work. Essentially the destiny knot item is a factor that turns off the active repressor so that RNA Polymerase can translate mRNA. Without the destiny knot, the operon is always repressed and cannot translate the genetic information. What exactly is this operon for? The activation of our old friend snRNPs to change IV expressions on a chromosome to be linked in fact, it can link up all but 1. That means 5 of the genes from the parent can be passed down to the offspring because linked genes don't separate during independent assortment of chromosomes during Meiosis I. The only strange thing was that the one IV that isn't linked is completely random and could be any of the six stats. This was strange too because usually linked traits are very similar in nature because when coding for things, you don't want the material for creating your fingers to be separated cause you don't want hands that are completely different sizes, colors, and feelings do you? Though in Pokémon, it is possible to have the attack stat be inherited, but the special attack stat is random, so I started to research if there was any way to explain this biologically.

Pokémon breeding can be explained by this hypothetical example. Let's say I want to abuse a video game intended for 7-year-olds to make the most roided Machamp that totally contradicts the very essence of Pokémon and makes the game entirely unfun for everyone else. How would I go about doing that? I would start by searching for a Machop (earliest evolution of Machamp with as many perfect IVs as possible, and let's say I lucked out and found the meanest Machop in school, I mean perfect IV's across the board. Let's say this isn't my first time breeding, and I have a perfect IV Ditto just waiting to get its eyes on my Machop. What are the odds that my Machop I hatch from my egg also has perfect IVs? 100%? Noooooo, actually, it's a 1:60,000 chance or, in other words, a really small fraction. Remember, this is because one out of the six IVs is always going to be random. That variability struck me as odd, and as someone who took biology over the summer in eighth grade, I knew something Qwilfishy was going on.  A crucial thing to keep in mind is that these IVs are more closely associated with genotype than phenotype, as my perfect IV Machamp isn't more veiny and swole than my only perfect IV special attack Machamp. In fact, they look exactly alike. (Most of the time, sexual dimorphism talked about later)

First, let's look at same species breeding then expand to the same type breeding. If you never played Pokémon, you might not understand why I need to make that distinction, but unlike in our world, two different Pokémon can breed as long as they exist in the same egg group and still produce viable offspring. Let's say I'm a Pokémon purist; I only breed my Ninetails with other Ninetails and so on. I've given both my Ninetails a destiny knot; shouldn't the baby I make inherit all the traits of both the father and the mother? Well... It's complicated. Let's start with everything we can rule out that causes variance in offspring. First, and probably the easiest to set aside, is mutations. To say that each and every single Pokémon bred has a mutation is too organized and the exact antithesis to the definition of a mutation. We can also rule out any environmental factors that could potentially lead to the variability in the one IVs because we have been able to breed across multiple generations of games across multiple regions that mimic Earth, from rural Japan to New York, to France, and even the Hawaiian islands. Well, I hate to throw you in a loop, but it's genetics, baby... (kinda) Here's the thing I couldn't find why one random IV would not be passed down and why that said trait is also random because in reality, if you had two Pokémon each with perfect stats with a destiny knot there is no way for the variability because the homologous chromosomes would both link up and even if they crossed over changing a 31 for a 31 doesn't do anything in terms of variability. Fertilization also doesn't have anything to do with it because all the sperm and eggs are "winners." So for a moment, I gave up and tried to brush under it under the rug in hopes no one would look into a Pokémon mechanic made to make the game fairer. However, it was that very idea that gave me an answer that could possibly solve this mystery. Pokémon mechanics.

I didn't want to dive into Pokémon natures as they relate more to the EV of a Pokémon, but they are also something in the genes of each and every Pokémon that even if both parent Pokémon share the same nature, the nature of the offspring is random. Similar to IVs, there is a way to make natures be inherited, but without the item, natures are random. The reason I bring up natures is that they are simple. The law of segregation doesn't apply. It's just one allele for one Pokémon. Even if you break down the natures into the beneficial and detrimental alleles, you'd only get four possible possibilities, but in fact, the offspring can have any of the possible natures. So the reason the random IV isn't inherited, even if both parents are the greatest purebreds the Pokémon Blackmarket can supply, is well, something in a Pokémon's genetic material that ensures a guaranteed variability. The best and most sound reason for this is natural selection and the necessity for species variety in a population.

Here's a hypothetical, let's assume all IVs can be inherited, and I was the most predominant Machamp breeder in all of Pokémon. My Machamps are yoked. They surpass the Pokédex entry and can punch over 1,000 times a second and can move a mountain with one finger. Then on top of all of this, due to all traits being inherited, all my Machamps have a naughty nature (one of the best nature for this Pokémon that prioritizes attack stats at the cost of special defense). I was actually so good at breeding Machamps that the few that made it out into the wild easily outcompete the native Machamps, and now there is no genetic variability in any Machamp. If you're a biology teacher, you might argue that just because the IV and natures are the same, that doesn't necessarily mean all other genes are the same, and right now my seasoned Pokémon breeders are laughing at you because everyone knows you breed with a Ditto because imagine how hard it is to find a perfect IV Ditto let alone find two perfect IV Pokémon for each different Pokémon you want to breed. So these Machamps are actually being produced through binary fission and not natural Meiosis between gametes.

After my Machamps decimate the population, decrease all diversity, let's say oohhh I don't know, a species of Alakazam is introduced which already has the advantage over Machamps in which their STAB (same type attack bonus) already is super effective and does 300% of its original damage to my Machamps, what makes this worse and some of you already see where this is heading is that Alakazam is a special attacker and since our Machamps sacrificed special defense to be ultimate killing machines, my super Machamps would go extinct. Since humans have been interacting and actively influencing Pokémon, to ensure the species survival, if we were to look at the Pokémon phylogenetic tree early on in their evolution cycle, they developed a trait that ensures genetic variability of some sort for survival.

What's next to talk about? What more could Pokémon teach us about biology? How about biological diversity? Yup, Pokémon has that down pat. Now we've already talked a little about natural selection with The Rock-esque Machamps and the need for variability with intra and interspecies relations, and we've already established that Pokémon don't pass down IV traits and natures without the destiny knot or everstone (passing on natures), but isn't it a little weird in a world where battling and strength is the only way for survival? Wouldn't at least the most beneficial natures for each pokemon species be pasted on? Wouldn't the most fit Pokémon likely breed more, and wouldn't that change the frequency of the traits expressed in the population?

I'm going to solve this with a reason other than the ones talked about above. The reason is, Pokémon don't breed in the wild, or at least very rarely. Now I know that's a bold claim, but there is an epidemic amongst the Pokémon population that I don't even believe veterans of the series are aware of. I'm not talking about a Covid like virus ravaging the Pokémon world but a problem much more severe-if that's even possible- I'm talking about the Pokémon gender disparity. Out of the original 151 Pokémon, less than 90 of them have an exact 1:1 female-to-male ratio, some being as skewed a 1:7 female to male. I can also say quite confidently Pokémon don't really breed in the wild because you never find an egg just lying around in a route. Why don't the ones that have a 1:1 ratio breed? Well, other than the fact that if you played the game, you were most likely the most disastrous genocidal maniac ever to touch a Pokéball, yeah that's right, did you think after your level 100 Arceus passed literal judgment on the route 1 Pidgey and it "fainted" it just got back up after it woke up and lived it's life. No. That Pidgey that "fainted" you killed, all the other Pokémon accustomed to the dangerous life of fight or die took advantage of an easy target. So why don't Pokémon breed in the wild? They're probably too busy looking over their shoulders, watching out for you and your genetic freak Pokémon you engineered to "play better." The pokemon tower in Lavender town, yeah, that's all you. All those graves. All of them. Even Gary's Raticate.

I think I must again clear the air and state that when Pokémon "evolve," they aren't actually evolving. Rather they are metamorphosing similar to what a caterpillar does. It's simply called an evolution because, well, imagine saying, "My Charmeleon metamorphosed into a Charizard in the heat of a battle" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue now, does it? I'd also like to remind everyone that Pokémon is a children's video game, and a five-syllable word is much more complicated than the two in evolve.

The example of biological diversity that stemmed from true millions of years of evolution in Pokémon is reproductive isolation. Remember, in Pokémon, two different species can breed between one another as long as they are in the same egg group. As the Pokémon evolved over a long period of time and not just glowed for a couple of seconds and changed shape, species in different egg groups could no longer breed with one another even though all Pokémon originated for Mew, the common ancestor. Now you might ask what about Nidoking and Nidoqueen? They're literally the same Pokémon, just one is blue, and the other is purple, and my answer to that is we don't talk about that. That is still a mystery to everyone across the world and one of the most important and commonly discussed unanswerable questions.

With that, we have finished. This is just some of the things that Pokémon secretly teaches you. There is so much more to look for. If you're interested, watch a video on Pokémon sexual dimorphisms or even do your own research into the connection between the flow of energy and why you rarely ever see fully "evolved" Pokémon in the wild, and how exactly there can be an overabundance of fully "evolved" Pokémon in Galar. Or even the most nagging question what exactly are shiny Pokémon?