Are Ghost Pokemon Really Ghosts?

[Master Mew]

Are "Ghost" Type Pokemon really the spirits of the deceased, or are they their own unique Pokemon type only given this name because of the spiritual appearance that so often typifies them?

On the one hand, Ghost types tend to inhabit areas where one would expect to find the spirits of the deceased (i.e. The Tower in Lavender Town, Mt. Pyre, etc.)

On the other hand, Ghost types exhibit many features which would indicate they are not the spirits of deceased Pokemon, but their own unique species (for instance, they can breed and hatch from eggs).

So which is it?

 

[Falconwing]

ghosts in pokemon can eat, sleep, be touched, communicate, and most importantly can breed with other pokemon.

I'm thinking they're just pokemon who have yet to be biologically figured out.

 

[Oblivion]

I actually made a theory on this before.

To me, Ghost Pokemon are in fact the spirits of deceased Pokemon, but through some Pokemon logic that I can't think of any way to explain right now, they are still a Pokemon after death. Just a different one. And the diverse appearances of Pokemon, such as Banette, Froslass, and Shandera, to name a few, might have connections as to how the Pokemon died. For example, Frolass might be a Pokemon who died of hypothermia, Shandera might be a Pokemon who was burned to death, etc. etc.

 

[M the Gate]

I actually made a theory on this before.

To me, Ghost Pokemon are in fact the spirits of deceased Pokemon, but through some Pokemon logic that I can't think of any way to explain right now, they are still a Pokemon after death. Just a different one. And the diverse appearances of Pokemon, such as Banette, Froslass, and Shandera, to name a few, might have connections as to how the Pokemon died. For example, Frolass might be a Pokemon who died of hypothermia, Shandera might be a Pokemon who was burned to death, etc. etc.

Nice theory! Wait... what did pure ghost types die of? Did they just die of death?

It's kind of hard to explain, but I think that they were once normal pokemon, but since they lived in places with the deceased, they eventually evolved into ghosts themselves.

 

[Adamant]

Isn't it stated ingame that they're just called "Ghost-type" because they resemble ghosts?

 

[Master Mew]

I actually made a theory on this before.

To me, Ghost Pokemon are in fact the spirits of deceased Pokemon, but through some Pokemon logic that I can't think of any way to explain right now, they are still a Pokemon after death. Just a different one. And the diverse appearances of Pokemon, such as Banette, Froslass, and Shandera, to name a few, might have connections as to how the Pokemon died. For example, Frolass might be a Pokemon who died of hypothermia, Shandera might be a Pokemon who was burned to death, etc. etc.

An intriguing theory... so, Pokemon in Johto and Kanto don't die in fires? ;-) jk jk, it's a good theory, but I do think it has a few holes.

 

[PDL]

I say it's far more likely that Ghost types are regular Pokémon that have paranormal powers. In much the same way that fire types or water types are not literally fire or water.

They are simply Pokémon with a very abnormal biology that allows them to be unaffected by normal attacks, they just phaze through their body.

Actually, now that I look at alot of them, they all seem to resemble sea creatures of some kind, Misdreavus reminds me of a cuttlefish while Drifloon reminds me of a jellyfish.

 

[Gigatron]

I see it this way, in the Pokémon world, new Pokémon often seem to be created through very unorthodox methods. Like Grimer, who was born from sludge that got a mind of its own. Or Voltorb, apparently born from a Pokéball. And more recently, Yabukuron, who was originally a garbage bag until it morphed into a proper Pokémon.

Ghost Pokémon are probably the same. They are "spirits" in the traditional sense, but in this world the spirits become viable Pokémon in their own right. Banette was once a doll, Drifloon was once a balloon, etc.

Though it bears mentioning that, in the Pokémon world, things get very loopy as the game evolves and past generations get harder to reconcile. It's very likely that in Gen I, Gastly et al were simply intended to be the result of "dead Pokémon" (hence their exclusive appearance in Lavender), then breeding was invented, and Ghost Pokémon's designs/origins got more crazy and then everything just kinda got weird and hard to explain.

 

[Master Mew]

So... to those who said Ghost Poke's are, in one form or another, spirits of the deceased, do PEOPLE die and become Ghost Poke's as well? :uhoh:

 

[M the Gate]

So... to those who said Ghost Poke's are, in one form or another, spirits of the deceased, do PEOPLE die and become Ghost Poke's as well? :uhoh:

Go pokeball!
Click
click
click
CLICK!
Congratulations! Your great great great grandfather was caught!

 

[Gigatron]

So... to those who said Ghost Poke's are, in one form or another, spirits of the deceased, do PEOPLE die and become Ghost Poke's as well? :uhoh:

I should hope not! XD

The games seem to point otherwise though, as human ghosts were seen in the Old Chateau. I would surmise it only applies to Pokémon in the case of something deceased. Or the "spirit" of an object as in Drifloon or Shuppet/Banette.

 

[Dusktrainer]

I imagine ghost pokemon to be some starnge form of biological gas..like gastly. Not all are poisonous though and some posess inanimate objects for bodies. They are called ghosts probably because when they were first discovered in pokemon land, people thought they were ghosts and the name just stuck. also i can imagine mischievous ghost pokemon pretending to be actual ghosts

Because we saw an actual ghost pokemon in lavender town, the dead marowhak. So if pokemon died and became ghosts, shouldnt that marowhak have become just another ghastly or haunter?

but i could be wrong.

 

[Der_Neuevenmenschen]

Excepting Spiritomb (which is made of human souls), ghost-type Pokemon seem to be the spirits of deceased Pokemon that apparently retain all the abilities to eat, breed, and fight as they had in the life before.

 

[The Miniryu]

Truly, what is their deal? There dark then ghost. Why not just dark?

 

[grassyjc]

if they are ghosts, then why do their trainer hug them? right?

 

[DarkDreams]

I really really really hope not.

Because that means Frostlass..

*SHUDDERS*

 

[Mijzelffan]

They're cartoonish ghosts, not real ones.

 

[Ghost]

They're biologically unique species with specific genetic properties that cause a ghost-like appearance.

 

[Master Mew]

I really really really hope not.

Because that means Frostlass..

*SHUDDERS*

Be afraid... BE VERY AFRAID...

 

[Jukain]

Breeding causes all sorts of mind bending questions in Pokemon, so I tend to avoid that at all costs. Anything the canon can offer seems to be contradictory, or at least the explanation varies from pokemon to pokemon. Gastly was once described as a living mass of gas. Some other Ghost pokemon are described as ordinary objects that are possessed. The dex entry for the basic form of the sarcophagus even says it was once human. So what are Ghost pokemon then? A different kind of lifeform that is still counted as a pokemon? Real ghosts that through some means became a pokemon? The most intriguing one to me is the grand one of them all, Giratina. It is described as the lord of antimatter, a being that was essentially sealed off into it's own parallel world evidently because it went maverick. Even when Gira is in it's own world, it becomes even more ethereal. Antimatter is itself a pretty mysterious thing, having properties that are similar to how ghosts are described. Notice how I've avoided addressing the physics problems involved in all of this, because normal physics doesn't seem to apply to the pokemon world. Any explanation is as likely as the others, but I think if you try to make sense of it, you will not succeed. I think ghost pokemon were meant to be mysterious in that way.