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So for years and years, many of us on here, myself included, have tried putting together accurate timelines for the Pokemon games, up until ORAS, this was actually very easy to do, thanks to this tweet here:
This tweet was from after the release of XY but before the release of ORAS, and it quite simply reads: Kanto/Hoenn -> Johto/Sinnoh -> BW -> BW2/XY.
However, ORAS effectively retconned XY out of the same universe as every game prior to it. When XY came out, Mega Evolutions were treated as something of ancient times known to select few people that has more or less been rediscovered and popularized, starting from the Kalos region. Up until XY, every game could exist in one universe, but back to that retcon, Zinnia very clearly states that the firing of AZ's Ultimate Weapon 3,000 years ago happens in one universe but not the other, the Hoenn she references that doesn't have Mega Evolution or Infinty Energy is almost surely referencing RSE. This of course, by extension, takes XY out of the old universe and puts it into the new universe.
Before I continue on, I'll give the universes dedicated names, the one where the Ultimate Weapon was fired is typically referred to as the Megaverse, the other is one nobody can really agree on, I'm going to call it the Standardverse for lack of a better name, but Advancedverse, Non-Megaverse, Classicverse and a few others are all other names given to this one. Technically, one could consider Gen 1 and 2 a separate universe from Gen 3-5, but the events are so close to each other that you're better off thinking of these as alternative events that could've happened in the same universe, much like SM and USUM both take place under the Megaverse umbrella, but are themselves separate versions of events. Basically what I'm saying is RBY = FRLG, and GSC = HGSS, either one can exist in the Standardverse, although some prefer to split them into a third universe called the Classicverse.
So now we have at least one established universe, the Standardverse's events go as follows (remakes and third versions override initial versions for simplicity's sake):
FRLG/Emerald -3 years-> HGSS/Platinum -~5 years-> BW -2 years-> BW2
The gap between Gen 4 and Gen 5 is never confirmed like the others are, but through a few details, one could come to the conclusion that it's around 5 years, give or take a couple more. The Team Rocket Grunt from the Power Plant story in the Johto games is now married and has a young child who would appear to be age 4-6. Assuming he left Kanto immediately after this with his wife, this is well within the realm of a 5-7 year gap. Also, the two Team Magma and Aqua Grunts that fell in love that are also referenced in ORAS now live together in Unova as well (Unova is apparently where criminals go to live a normal life, fun fact).
So now we move onto the Megaverse, this is where things get interesting, mainly because not all regions are yet represented, but Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee have helped us create more accurate gaps and help fill in the timeline, there are also MANY things referenced in LGPE to help tie it into the rest of the Pokemon World.
Prior to LGPE, many would've told you something like this for the Megaverse timeline:
Origins/ORAS -3 years-> Johto remake/Sinnoh remake -5-7 years-> Unova1 remake -2 years-> Unova2 remake/XY -2 years-> SM/USUM.
However, LGPE has changed more things, just like ORAS did. This time, Red, Blue, as well as a new character, Green, have all set off on their journeys maybe 2-3 years before you as the player do, I don't think this pushes LGPE up past the Johto games, however, as Sabrina mentions after you rebattle her that "another trainer like you won't appear for another 3 years" which is a clear reference to the PC in the Johto games. I think, rather, Red and Blue started their journeys three year earlier.
Mina also appears in LGPE, with concept art stating she's 13-15, as shown here:
and since she's 19 in the Alola games, since Trial Captains cannot be 20 or older, this condenses what would otherwise be a 12-14 year timeline down to probably a 7 year timeline maximum. And the reason I say 7 and not 6 is because Mina could be nearing 20 in SM, which can effectively make the timeline 7 years rounded up from 6 years and 11 months, or whatever.
Anyways, the new timeline thanks to the new information, goes something like this:
LGPE/ORAS -3 years-> Johto remake/Sinnoh remake/Unova1 remake -2 years-> Unova 2 remake/XY -2 years-> SM/USUM
This is exactly 7 years (minus a month or two), which fits all the details we have, Red and Blue are clearly in their early 20s in the Alola games, and this timeline puts them at either 21 or 22, depending on whether you think they still started their journey at 11 or if they're 11 in LGPE. This condensing down to 7 years would also help the case of Wally, who's 10 in ORAS but hasn't changed too drastically from then to his appearance in the Alola games, he'd be 17 in SM which isn't out of the realm of looking a little bit more on the youthful side.
Other aging characters include:
Red and Blue: 13-14 in LGPE, 20-21 in SM/USUM.
The reason I think the gaps can change from the Standardverse to the Megaverse is quite simple, the events don't have to stay chronologically the same. So the Rocket Grunt, which was the only reason people forced a huge gap from Gen 4 to Gen 5, might not even exist in the same way in the Megaverse, completely eliminating a need for that gap. LGPE is proof that major differences can happen, as Red started his journey earlier relevant to Team Rocket being taken down, by a good 2-3 years.
Lastly, we know the gaps from the Unova, Kalos, and Alola games thanks to various in-game texts. Grimsley in the Alola games is stated to be 2 years older than his last appearance, which would be BW2, which is supposed to take place alongside XY, which is confirmed by Sina and Dexio to take place two years before the Alola games.
So there you have it, until other information confirms otherwise, this is basically the timeline of the Megaverse, remember, the Megaverse is also a multiverse, where every game and every person's copy of that game serves as another parallel universe to one another, for example, in my opinion, USUM don't override SM, they're just separate branches off of each other. Just as ORAS are just two versions of similar events, and so on and so forth.
Credit where its due, Bird Keeper Toby, who's channel is linked here, has done more to cover this topic than just about everyone, he himself is more subscribed to a 20 year timeline instead of a 10 year timeline because of Porygon's Dex entries stating it was created 20 years ago, but nothing in LGPE ever suggests that Porygon is a brand new Pokemon, just that it's a newer and artificial Pokemon, so I disagree with him on that bit, but I respect him for leaving the 10 year timeline theory open for discussion and not downright dismissing it, but I think this 7 year timeline needs a bit more exploring.
This tweet was from after the release of XY but before the release of ORAS, and it quite simply reads: Kanto/Hoenn -> Johto/Sinnoh -> BW -> BW2/XY.
However, ORAS effectively retconned XY out of the same universe as every game prior to it. When XY came out, Mega Evolutions were treated as something of ancient times known to select few people that has more or less been rediscovered and popularized, starting from the Kalos region. Up until XY, every game could exist in one universe, but back to that retcon, Zinnia very clearly states that the firing of AZ's Ultimate Weapon 3,000 years ago happens in one universe but not the other, the Hoenn she references that doesn't have Mega Evolution or Infinty Energy is almost surely referencing RSE. This of course, by extension, takes XY out of the old universe and puts it into the new universe.
Before I continue on, I'll give the universes dedicated names, the one where the Ultimate Weapon was fired is typically referred to as the Megaverse, the other is one nobody can really agree on, I'm going to call it the Standardverse for lack of a better name, but Advancedverse, Non-Megaverse, Classicverse and a few others are all other names given to this one. Technically, one could consider Gen 1 and 2 a separate universe from Gen 3-5, but the events are so close to each other that you're better off thinking of these as alternative events that could've happened in the same universe, much like SM and USUM both take place under the Megaverse umbrella, but are themselves separate versions of events. Basically what I'm saying is RBY = FRLG, and GSC = HGSS, either one can exist in the Standardverse, although some prefer to split them into a third universe called the Classicverse.
So now we have at least one established universe, the Standardverse's events go as follows (remakes and third versions override initial versions for simplicity's sake):
FRLG/Emerald -3 years-> HGSS/Platinum -~5 years-> BW -2 years-> BW2
The gap between Gen 4 and Gen 5 is never confirmed like the others are, but through a few details, one could come to the conclusion that it's around 5 years, give or take a couple more. The Team Rocket Grunt from the Power Plant story in the Johto games is now married and has a young child who would appear to be age 4-6. Assuming he left Kanto immediately after this with his wife, this is well within the realm of a 5-7 year gap. Also, the two Team Magma and Aqua Grunts that fell in love that are also referenced in ORAS now live together in Unova as well (Unova is apparently where criminals go to live a normal life, fun fact).
So now we move onto the Megaverse, this is where things get interesting, mainly because not all regions are yet represented, but Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee have helped us create more accurate gaps and help fill in the timeline, there are also MANY things referenced in LGPE to help tie it into the rest of the Pokemon World.
Prior to LGPE, many would've told you something like this for the Megaverse timeline:
Origins/ORAS -3 years-> Johto remake/Sinnoh remake -5-7 years-> Unova1 remake -2 years-> Unova2 remake/XY -2 years-> SM/USUM.
However, LGPE has changed more things, just like ORAS did. This time, Red, Blue, as well as a new character, Green, have all set off on their journeys maybe 2-3 years before you as the player do, I don't think this pushes LGPE up past the Johto games, however, as Sabrina mentions after you rebattle her that "another trainer like you won't appear for another 3 years" which is a clear reference to the PC in the Johto games. I think, rather, Red and Blue started their journeys three year earlier.
Mina also appears in LGPE, with concept art stating she's 13-15, as shown here:
and since she's 19 in the Alola games, since Trial Captains cannot be 20 or older, this condenses what would otherwise be a 12-14 year timeline down to probably a 7 year timeline maximum. And the reason I say 7 and not 6 is because Mina could be nearing 20 in SM, which can effectively make the timeline 7 years rounded up from 6 years and 11 months, or whatever.
Anyways, the new timeline thanks to the new information, goes something like this:
LGPE/ORAS -3 years-> Johto remake/Sinnoh remake/Unova1 remake -2 years-> Unova 2 remake/XY -2 years-> SM/USUM
This is exactly 7 years (minus a month or two), which fits all the details we have, Red and Blue are clearly in their early 20s in the Alola games, and this timeline puts them at either 21 or 22, depending on whether you think they still started their journey at 11 or if they're 11 in LGPE. This condensing down to 7 years would also help the case of Wally, who's 10 in ORAS but hasn't changed too drastically from then to his appearance in the Alola games, he'd be 17 in SM which isn't out of the realm of looking a little bit more on the youthful side.
Other aging characters include:
Red and Blue: 13-14 in LGPE, 20-21 in SM/USUM.
The reason I think the gaps can change from the Standardverse to the Megaverse is quite simple, the events don't have to stay chronologically the same. So the Rocket Grunt, which was the only reason people forced a huge gap from Gen 4 to Gen 5, might not even exist in the same way in the Megaverse, completely eliminating a need for that gap. LGPE is proof that major differences can happen, as Red started his journey earlier relevant to Team Rocket being taken down, by a good 2-3 years.
Lastly, we know the gaps from the Unova, Kalos, and Alola games thanks to various in-game texts. Grimsley in the Alola games is stated to be 2 years older than his last appearance, which would be BW2, which is supposed to take place alongside XY, which is confirmed by Sina and Dexio to take place two years before the Alola games.
So there you have it, until other information confirms otherwise, this is basically the timeline of the Megaverse, remember, the Megaverse is also a multiverse, where every game and every person's copy of that game serves as another parallel universe to one another, for example, in my opinion, USUM don't override SM, they're just separate branches off of each other. Just as ORAS are just two versions of similar events, and so on and so forth.
Credit where its due, Bird Keeper Toby, who's channel is linked here, has done more to cover this topic than just about everyone, he himself is more subscribed to a 20 year timeline instead of a 10 year timeline because of Porygon's Dex entries stating it was created 20 years ago, but nothing in LGPE ever suggests that Porygon is a brand new Pokemon, just that it's a newer and artificial Pokemon, so I disagree with him on that bit, but I respect him for leaving the 10 year timeline theory open for discussion and not downright dismissing it, but I think this 7 year timeline needs a bit more exploring.
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