Unless you’re a pretty hardcore fan of the series, chances are you don’t ⛎really know that thePokémonfranchise has a very deliberate time🌊line and chronology that even rivalsThe Legend of Zelda’s at times. Every single game in the series has a 𒁃place in thePokémoncanon aওnd they all influence one another either in major or minor ways. Some games even take place at the exact same time, and not just in a “spin-off during the main game scenario” either. Whole Generations parallel one an🌱other to create a more unified and cohesive world. Of course, not even Game Freak is willing to cover every little detail.
Following the events of Generation I, there is a three-year time skip th💦at ultimately leads into the start of Generation II. For the most part, this time skip exists in a rather unknown plane where just about anything could have happened between Red becoming Champion and Gold beginning his Pokémon journey. This isn’t to say we’re completely in the dark, however. Offhand comments made by NPCs, entire games, and context from Generations can give us an idea of what exactly happened during this time skip and just how important it ultimately was in the grand scheme of thePokémonuniverse.
25 The Events Of Ruby And Sapphire
Believe it or not, Generation III takes place at the exact same time as Generation I and even outpaces it by a fair bit. Given how the Gen I remakes in Gen III can trade 🦋with the Hoenn based games, we can assume that the two games begin at similar points, but the sheer scope of Gen III’s events means it keeps on trucking after Red becomes Kanto’s Champion.
Between the events ofRBYandGSE, Hoenn is being absolutely ransacked by two nefarious orgꦰanizations while two deities try to destroy the world and a ten-year-old saves the day, goes on to become Hoenn’s Champion, and challenges🦂 the Battle Frontier. It really puts thePokémonworld into perspective, doesn’t it?
24 Bill Invented Time Travel
In what reads more like a strange joke with no punchlꦦine, Bill, th🔯e man who turned himself into aPokémonby accident in Generation I, invents literal time travel before Generatꦜion II starts🌌 up. Of course,Pokémon’s version of time travel is a💜 bit different in that it’s a one-way street. By placingPokémonin꧂to the ♋time capsule, Bill can send them back three years.
Someone had to.
Logically, such a concept makes♕ no sense. 🦩Red already beat the Elite Four and Gold is exclusively sendingPokémonto Red. As Redౠ has already won, however, and time has moved on, there is no Red for Gold to send Pokémon to. At the same time, Red is receiving 🔥these Pokémon and will inevitably challe⛦nge the Elite Four and win, resulting in a future where Gold sends him Pokémon… don’t think about it too hard.
23 Blue Resigned As Champion
Blue, Generation I’s rival, has two notable firsts under his belt: he’s the first Champion in the series, as he’s the final boss of the first set of games; and he’s the first Champion to actively resign, becoming a Gym Leader in Generation II. What’s interesting about this fact is that Blue resigns entirely based off of Red’s actionꦓs.
In becoming Champion, Red actually ditches the ♈title altogether and goes off to do Arceus knows what for three years.💯 Logic dictates that Blue would regain ownership of his title as he’s already proven himself capable to the Elite Four, but Gen II shows us that heisn’tChampion. This likely means🧸, upon being given his title back, he simply tossed it away as it was no longer earned and Red was no longer around for a rematch.
22 Professor Rowan Mentored Sycamore
In their attempt to create a more unified world, Game Freak continually references past events and c✃haracters in new games to widen the scope of thePokémonuniverse. One such recent(ish) method was the reveal that Professor Sycamore, Generation VI🌞’s Pokémon Professor, was personally mentored by Profes🍸sor Rowan.
The professors are closer than you think.
Given Sycamore’s age, how long he’s been a professor in Kalos, and Rowan’s backstory between games, it’s ent♛irely possible Sycamore apprenticed under Rowan during the events ofRBYandGSE. Given that Sycamore is rather fresh-faced, he likely finished up his studies under Rowan before bec💛oming a profe✃ssor himself.
21 Elm Discovered Pichu
Although it may not ne♚cessarily be canon anymore given how much the context of breeding has changed since Generation II,GoldandSilverspecifically attributed the discovery of Pichu to Professor Elm. It’s a bit hard to believe that an entire civilization could be blind to a Pokémon’s existence, but Elm was,ౠ for a time, the first person to see a Pichu.
In a way, it makes sense. Elm istheprofessor when it comes to breeding in thePokémonuniverse. He’s bound to understand it best and it’s entirely plausible that he would be the first to see a Pichu in action in the serie’s pre-Gen III continuity. Given how much the newer games have opened the world, that’s not really a possibility anymore, but it was still Game 😼Freak’s intent for the character.
20 Koga Applied For The Elite Four
At some po🌊int a🦩fter Red defeated the Elite Four, the Kanto-Johto League saw a massive shape up that would render it basically unrecognizable when Gold would later come to challenge Lance three years later. One such change involves Koga, Fuchsia City’s Gym Leader. In his quest for upward mobility, Koga applied for the Elite Four.
Never settle.
What’s particularly interesting about Koga’s role in the Elite Four 🌞is how realistic 𝓡it is. It makes sense that, after years of being a Gym Leader, at least one of them would want to go on to do better things, and being a member of the Elite Four is basicallythedream job besides actually being Champion.
19 Wallace Challenged The Hoenn Elite Four And Won
In the same vein as Koga going on to apply for the Elite Four, Hoenn’s eight Gym Leader, Wallace, goes on to challenge the𒁃 Elite Four, win, and become Hoenn’s Champion. Now, the weird thing aboutEmeraldis that iꩲt’s technically the “canon” version of Gen III, but some elements fromRubyandSapphiredo carry over.
Specifically, Steven was still Champion at some point. Rather than Brendan or May going on to challenge him and win, however, Wallace beats them by a few years, taking out St🌸even himself and letting himself be open to Brendan or May’s inevitable wrath. Like Koga, it’s a nice bit of realism. You wouldn’t be a Gym Leader forever after all.
18 Team Rocket Opened A Johto Chapter
Given that Giovanni was from Kanto, had a legitimate job in Kanto, and seems to have started Team Rocket out of Kanto, it can deduced that Team Rocket, under Giovanni, was specifically a Kanto based organizatio👍n. Following Giovanni’s defeat, the remnants of Team Rocket banded together to form a Johto chapter.
There's really no stopping Team Rocket.
In a way, it actually makes quite a bit of sense. Johto’s Team Rocket runs a very different MO than Giovanni’s. Wher♏e Giovanni was your basic mob boss, Johto Team Rocket seems to have their sights on total regional control. Not that Giovanni didn’t, mind you, but he wasn’t nearly as big picture or actively vindictive.
17 Blue Took Over Giovanni’s Gym
Blue and 𒅌Giovanni are actually quite interesting foils in Generation I. Where both act as consistent rivals for Red’s adventure, fought multiple times at that, the former is incredibly disrespectful but ultimately heroic whereas the latter is charming but villainous to the bone. It’s interesting, then, that Blue takes over Giovanni’s Gym in the time skip.
It’s𝓰 rather fitting, honestly, as both enact a sort of self exile upon losing to Red. Where Blue steps down as Champion, refusing his title, Giovanni leaves Kanto entirely, disappearing off the face of the Earth in the process. Blue takes over Giovanni’s Gym, but strips away his legacy, making it his own. There are quite a few layers here.
16 Cinnabar Island Erupted
Cinnabar was easily the smallest location in Generation I so for it to remain the smallest in Generation II was a bit of a given. What wasn’t given, however, was the fate🀅 that would befal🐻l it in the time skip. In just three short years, Cinnabar Island is entirely washed away- a culture gone. All that remains is a small cave Blaine tends to.
Just one of the series' many dark moments.
What’s particularly saddening about Cinnabar’s eruption is what it means for Kanto on a conceptual level. It is a complete loss of culture. Cinnabar was so unlike any other location in Kanto and it no longer exists. Gone are years of data on𒊎 Mew, the origin of Ditto, and Kanto’s one tropical region.
