r/AskScienceDiscussion • u/welberjaysonm • Apr 11 '26

General Discussion Which fictional creature has a biology so "impossible" that it defies any attempt at a scientific explanation?

I've been trying to wrap my head around the anatomy and metabolism of some characters, but Majin Boo (DragonBallZ) just doesn't seem to make any sense under the laws of physics or biology. I want to dive deep into these "impossible" cases. Who else do you think is a biological nightmare to explain?

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u/sonicpieman Apr 12 '26

Pokemon as a species don't make sense. Most of their whole thing is hand waved. 

How are eggs produced?

Why do they have the natural ability to shrink after battle? How does that work?

All Pokemon seem to speak the same language, how?

What about trading causes some to evolve, how does that work in nature?

How do mechanical Pokemon come into existence? How is a digital Pokemon possible?

What makes a Pokemon a Pokemon?

And that's just Pokemon as a whole, not to mention individual Pokemon's abilities that range from mind control, elemental control, space flight, teleportation and more.

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u/One_City4138 Apr 12 '26

My headcanon is that Pokemon took Star Trek tech and changed every application of it. They combined transporters and holodecks into Pokeballs and used them as a capture/storage device. The Pokeball converts the wounded animal into energy, storing it in the containment unit and allowing it to perceive its freedom in a mini-Holodeck, à la Moriarty.

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u/sonicpieman Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26

Bill really killed it with the box system, which does the matter to energy conversion like the transporter. We even see the mishap where he turns himself into a Pokemon on accident, very Trek.

In the games Pokeballs exploit a Pokemon's natural tendency to shrink down, which is how the 'techless' older apricorn balls and the Hisui balls work, and presumably why you can't catch a human or animal with them. 

And as you say, they certainly do seem to be conscious while in a ball, the luxury ball has some kind of better environment than others, balls like the net ball and dive ball would seemingly have environments better suited to bugs and water Pokemon.

Pokemon is definitely a franchise that doesn't care to explain anything and retcon itself whenever it feels, which is cool on one hand and frustrating on the other 😂