"Newly discovered" Pokemon

[Puddle]

This has been bugging me for a while - why are Pokemon from a new Generation referred to as "newly discovered" in-universe even if they're really common? How could a Pokemon like Starly be "newly discovered" when Sinnoh is practically full of them? Pokemon researchers must know about common Pokemon from other regions before that Pokemon's respective Generation begins.

For example, in Red and Blue, Professor Oak must have at least heard about Sentret and Hoothoot, and as shown in Pokemon 4ever he saw many other Generation II Pokemon as a child. In Gold and Silver it was likely that Professor Elm knew about Taillow and Zigzagoon, and so on. So in what way are Pokemon of a new Generation "newly discovered"? It just doesn't make sense. Unless the whole region is newly discovered of course, but that's just silly.

 

[Ranger Jack Walker]

Gameplay and story segregation. I don't know why they keep doing that that but they do anyway.

And Game-Oak and Anime-Oak are different people.

 

[Puddle]

There's a photo of what is possibly a young Professor Oak on the wall on Kurt's house in Gold and Silver, so he likely did visit Johto as a child in the games as well.

 

[The Outrage]

They dropped "newly discovered" after Gen II and opted for "Pokemon that are rare in this region" so I don't know why its still bugging you. Whenever advertisements say "new Pokemon" they mean new to us, not in-universe.

 

[Quest]

They dropped "newly discovered" after Gen II and opted for "Pokemon that are rare in this region" so I don't know why its still bugging you. Whenever advertisements say "new Pokemon" they mean new to us, not in-universe.

I seem to clearly remember an NPC in a Pokemon Center in HeartGold that says something along the lines of, "At one time, Professor Oak thought there were only 150 Pokemon. Now, however, over 400 have been discovered."

Is this just because it's a remake of a Gen II game?

 

[The Outrage]

I seem to clearly remember an NPC in a Pokemon Center in HeartGold that says something along the lines of, "At one time, Professor Oak thought there were only 150 Pokemon. Now, however, over 400 have been discovered."

Is this just because it's a remake of a Gen II game?

Yes, and even then they've tried to avoid the whole "newly discovered Pokemon" line because that line was edited as well. They didn't make it a concrete time line like they did originally.

 

[Falconwing]

I have to admit, HGSS did its best to avoid seeming out of place and full of fridge logic. They even edited the egg bit.

 

[The Outrage]

I have to admit, HGSS did its best to avoid seeming out of place and full of fridge logic. They even edited the egg bit.

And included it into a wider plot (kind of). Considering they took out Mystery Gift girl, I don't see why they couldn't just change his line all together.

 

[Puddle]

I seem to clearly remember an NPC in a Pokemon Center in HeartGold that says something along the lines of, "At one time, Professor Oak thought there were only 150 Pokemon. Now, however, over 400 have been discovered."

That doesn't make sense at all. A renowned Pokemon researcher like Professor Oak would surely know about common Johto Pokemon even if he hadn't already visited the region in game canon.

 

[Marik]

Maybe the other regions weren't even discovered yet.

...

Spoiler

Ridiculous, I know.

 

[The Outrage]

Maybe the other regions weren't even discovered yet.

...

Spoiler

Ridiculous, I know.

Definately ridiculous when you consider that all those large cities would have had to have popped up over night, or the fact that some characters say that they've lived there all their lives.

 

[Marik]

Maybe they didn't know about each other...

 

[Inon]

Well, at least some of them werent discovered, take Magmortar for example.

 

[F-22]

Just apply suspension of disbelief and you'll be good to go. I gave up applying logic to Pokemon a long time ago.

 

[The Outrage]

Well, at least some of them werent discovered, take Magmortar for example.

Considering its convoluted way of evolution, I wouldn't be surprised if it was discovered.

I find it easier to believe that new evolutions of old Pokemon like Probopass or Magnezone were recently (depends on what your timescale is for recent) discovered especially when their method of evolution isn't even native to their region.

Just apply suspension of disbelief and you'll be good to go. I gave up applying logic to Pokemon a long time ago.

No, we don't apply that, the game developers have to make sure that we can suspend our disbelief. Unfortunately they failed at that on multiple accounts, though considering how the fandom seems to analyze the smallest aspect of everything, you really can't blame them for most of the stuff. This one, they can. They expected us to believe that in a region right beside the one we've previously seen, a 100 new Pokemon were discovered even though they were incredibly common in that region and others have even said they spent their whole lives with those Pokemon.

 

[Ampharos King]

I believe the terminology "newly discovered" mainly exists as part of the anime, because I don't remember any specific dialogues of characters in the games that suggest this.
The anime takes its course based on the games that come out before it, and each of the games have new pokemon before them.
Each time the anime is revamped for the new generations, they always refer to the pokemon apparently indigenous to each region as a "newly discovered pokemon."

 

[Falconwing]

In New Bark Town in GSC and the remakes, a girl says that Prof. Elm discovered Pichu.

 

[Glitchipedia]

In New Bark Town in GSC and the remakes, a girl says that Prof. Elm discovered Pichu.

Which is kind of weird, when you think about it—when Pichu was first "discovered", it was only obtainable by breeding. So shouldn't the daycare couple have been the first to "discover" it?

 

[Spikeheila]

Which is kind of weird, when you think about it—when Pichu was first "discovered", it was only obtainable by breeding. So shouldn't the daycare couple have been the first to "discover" it?

but the daycare couple dont hatch eggs. thats why they give the eggs to trainers,because the eggs need to be near energetic pokemon or something of that sort and a trainer.

 

[SHADE 45]

It's Nintendo's own fault for putting Johto and Kanto RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER

It just doesn't make sense based on canon that other Pokemon could not have been discovered yet. Now it's a regional thing, but they make the number so definite that it's annoying.