How intelligent are pokemon?

[Kioku]

I'll refer to 'dex entries again.

Metagross:
Ruby:
Metagross has four brains in total. Combined, the four brains can breeze through difficult calculations faster than a supercomputer. This Pokémon can float in the air by tucking in its four legs.
Fire Red:
It is formed by two Metang fusing. Its four brains are said to be superior to a supercomputer.

Alakazam:
Red:
The Alakazam brain can outperform a supercomputer. Its IQ is said to be 5,000.
Sapphire:
Alakazam's brain continually grows, infinitely multiplying brain cells. This amazing brain gives this Pokémon an astoundingly high Iq of 5,000. It has a thorough memory of everything that has occurred in the world.

Dragonite:
Red:
A rarely seen marine Pokémon. Its intelligence is said to match that of humans.

I supposed that answers it. :lx129:

 

[Pacific Pikachu]

As I'm sure was stated at some point--Pokémon intelligence most likely varies with species, just like it does with animals.

I have little doubt in my mind that Pokémon intelligences vary from that of...maybe below your average dog (creatures like Magikarp, perhaps), to far beyond the range of human intelligence (possibly legendaries, Psychic Pokémon).

There is far too much evidence in the series to rule out the possibility that Pokémon understand most--if not all--of what their humans are saying. They seem to react to what their trainers say, they generally know what's going on in any situation, and they take a number of non-attack-related orders (ie, "Go find _____!" "Help out with the dishes!" "Sweep the house!"). They react to being insulted, they react with fear when someone mentions something scary, etc.

We can't forget to mention the fact that Pokémon have their own languages. Many people try to argue that it's just gibberish and whatnot, but I've disproven this just by watching a bunch of the show. For instance, Pikachu has a number of words that mean specific things:

Pikapi = Ash
Pikachupi = Misty
Pipipi = Togepi
Pikakapika = Bulbasaur
Pipikachu! = Team Rocket!
Pipikachu! (No emphasis on the "chu!") = Victory or something to that effect.

I've noticed more, although I'd have to find my list of Pikachu terms I created a while back. It had at least forty or fifty other Pikachu-speak terms I noticed from patterns in the show. Seriously--watch the show. These are all accurate.

While I have yet to find these complex language meanings in other Pokémon species (other than Chikorita's "Chikori", which is her name for Ash), I'm sure they're there. This is definitely a variation from animals, which--while they have different noises for different emotions they're feeling, body language, eye contact, and other ways of communication, they do not (as far as we know) seem to have specific words that they speak. (Comprehension is another matter entirely, as I've proven even chickens can be trained to memorize and carry out complex commands.)

For the sake of fanfiction, I like to assume that Pokémon understand close to all human speech, and are about as intelligent as humans. Just because it's fun to write that way.

 

[redchesus]

Slowpoke would be at the bottom of the list I would say, but it still understands the human language

 

[Kthleen]

The human language?


Maybe Slowpoke is too busy being halfway across the universe learning what it needs to know spiritually to bother with its physical body and the stimuli affecting it. And since it's slower at protecting its spirit's shell, we humans interpret this as being stupid when in fact it is we who are wasting our life/lives pursuing the pleasures of the flesh instead of spiritual knowledge. Or something. :loopy:

 

[buttersgirl]

depends. slowpoke or psyduck are pretty stupid, but i would assume pokemon in general are very intelligetn creatures

 

[A Concerned Solomon]

I think it probably varies from species to species and then among those, but you have to wonder about something that needs a specific order to dodge a BHF (Big Honkin' Fireball) heading straight at them. Even then, there are varying kinds of intelligence, which is a factor to take into account, and emotionally the comparison to children is not far off.