# An Entomological Look at Pokemon



## Swarmy (Mar 17, 2014)

Until now I've been writting only about real animals but I believe a little change will be good, so here is something Pokemon related!

Most people think that Pokemon are far from real organisms and that they do not follow any real biological rules but it takes a deeper look to actually grasp how possible some Pokemon are.

Since I will be looking at the Pokemon through the microscope of entomology I'll be analysing only the Bug type.

Now let us start with the thing that everyone ask themselves when they see the giant Bug Pokemon. The problem of insects (and most arthropods) and size.

There are several issues when it comes to arthropods and size but the most important are these five:


 The square-cube law

 Breathing

 The exoskeleton's weight

 Moulting of the old exoskeleton

 Overheating
First of all I want to talk about prehistoric arthropods.

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The biggest insect that ever lived was not bigger than a hawk but that was due to it's way of breathing rather than an actual limit due to the exoskeleton. The biggest arthropod discovered so far was the aquatic eurypterid (sea scorpion) Jaekelopterus rhenaniae who reached the astonishing 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in). However the fact that he was aquatic allows such a size, what about land arthropods then?

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We must take a look at Arthropleura, a close relative to modern millipedes and centipedes this giant reached 2.6 metre (8.5 feet).

When we talk about Bug Pokemon we must see that there is a certain pattern, most of them don't reach more than 1.5 metres (4'11") height and a weight of around 55.0 kg (121.3 lbs). That is far less than Arthropleura which was an actual real life arthropod. Not only that but Pokemon like Pinsir have big strong legs that are supposed to withstand the additional weight of Pinsir's opponent when he is lifted in the air.

The square-cube law indeed stands true but it's not limited to insects, if we enlarge a small mouse to the size of an elephant it will also collapse under it's weight because it is adapted to life as a small mammal. Now look at Bug Pokemon, very few of them have the long and thin limbs that insects have. Bug Pokemon are built perfectly for their bigger size.

The problem with breathing doesn't exist in the Pokemon world since all Pokemon breathe much like vertebrates rather than arthropods.

The exoskeleton has been proven to grow together with the muscles without hindering the animal with it's weight. Arthropods like Arthropleura had a thin light exoskeleton rather than a strong and heavy one like big lobsters.

Moulting is the most serious of all problems when it comes to exoskeletal creatures, however Pokemon hatch from eggs already completely grown which means that even the Bug types never have to moult which leaves them to reach bigger size without any drawbacks.

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Generation 6 brought us a very interesting information about Mega Heracross. He is said to open the exoskeleton covering his arms so he lets the heat out and cool down which is the first time when the creators of Pokemon actually solve the other big problem of having an exoskeleton. If Mega Heracross can cool down then what about all the other Bug Pokemon? If they really do breathe like vertebrates then they can easily cool down their bodies by panting.

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The biggest Bug Pokemon is by far Scolipede with a height of 2.5 m (8'02") which is surprisingly close to Arthropleura's giant size. Of course we can't know how much it weight when it was alive but if you take a closer look at Scolipede you will see that it's exoskeleton is tough and hard only on the plates that are covering it's back and limbs while it's underside seems to be light and flexible, which might as well allow this Pokemon to reach such a size without becoming too heavy to move.

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Another interesting thing is the Bug/Steel combination, few people realise that Pokemon such as Durant and Scizor aren't that farfetched. There are insects that actually incorporate iron in their mandibles or other parts of their body to make them stronger (like some grubs who need to have strong jaws to chew through the wood).

As you can see some Pokemon aren't as far from reality as supposed.

Feel free to ask anything


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## Yami Munesanzun (Mar 17, 2014)

Sure, I'll ask something, since I'm here:

Are grubs inherently stupid?

I mean, I've found 5 or 6 in the past two weeks squirming above ground in the dehydrating sunlight.


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## Swarmy (Mar 17, 2014)

Yami Munesanzun said:


> Sure, I'll ask something, since I'm here:
> 
> Are grubs inherently stupid?
> 
> I mean, I've found 5 or 6 in the past two weeks squirming above ground in the dehydrating sunlight.



Well they are helpless after all


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## Yami Munesanzun (Mar 17, 2014)

no, I mean are they stupid.

I typically run into grubs when I'm digging in my back yard, so I put these things back underneath the dirt, and they just squirmed their way back up.

:1


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## Hand Banana (Mar 17, 2014)

Defensively, Bug types are still flawed, because of their low Defense and the fact that there are many that are part Flying, multiplying their weakness to Rock. In this way their resistance to Ground and Fighting, the two most effective types (in terms of number of type advantages), are of little use seeing as many Pok?mon of both types can learn Rock moves. Dual-type Bug/Flying and Bug/Poison Pok?mon have an outstanding double resistance to Fighting, which can make up for their low Defense. They also have a double resistance to common Grass moves, meaning they would take very little damage from powerful moves such as Giga Drain, Energy Ball, or Petal Dance.

The Bug/Steel Pok?mon prove particularly effective as they only have one weakness (although it's a double weakness) and eight resistances (including one immunity).


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## Swarmy (Mar 17, 2014)

Yami Munesanzun said:


> no, I mean are they stupid.
> 
> I typically run into grubs when I'm digging in my back yard, so I put these things back underneath the dirt, and they just squirmed their way back up.
> 
> :1



I think it's due to stress, I know that grubs lack some instincts of survival otherwise their mother won't be putting so much effort into making them safe.


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## Totally not a cat (Mar 19, 2014)

Bugs are quite the interesting type, here I thought Scizor was probably the least realistic of them 
Satoshi Tajiri is a bug fan himself (as I recall, he based pokemon precisely on a hobby he had as a child of capturing and making bug fights), he really should show more support to the type since it's always been pretty lacking, along with poison type.



Yami Munesanzun said:


> no, I mean are they stupid.
> 
> I typically run into grubs when I'm digging in my back yard, so I put these things back underneath the dirt, and they just squirmed their way back up.
> 
> :1


Maybe it just wanted a hug ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ 



Hand Banana said:


> Defensively, Bug types are still flawed, because of their low Defense and the fact that there are many that are part Flying, multiplying their weakness to Rock. In this way their resistance to Ground and Fighting, the two most effective types (in terms of number of type advantages), are of little use seeing as many Pok?mon of both types can learn Rock moves. Dual-type Bug/Flying and Bug/Poison Pok?mon have an outstanding double resistance to Fighting, which can make up for their low Defense. They also have a double resistance to common Grass moves, meaning they would take very little damage from powerful moves such as Giga Drain, Energy Ball, or Petal Dance.
> 
> The Bug/Steel Pok?mon prove particularly effective as they only have one weakness (although it's a double weakness) and eight resistances (including one immunity).



I think Bug/Dragon would be pretty cool if it existed, not to mention creepy.


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## Swarmy (Mar 19, 2014)

Totally not a cat said:


> Bugs are quite the interesting type, here I thought Scizor was probably the least realistic of them
> Satoshi Tajiri is a bug fan himself (as I recall, he based pokemon precisely on a hobby he had as a child of capturing and making bug fights), he really should show more support to the type since it's always been pretty lacking, along with poison type.
> 
> 
> I think Bug/Dragon would be pretty cool if it existed, not to mention creepy.



Nah as I said many insects actually incorporate iron and zinc in their exoskeleton for additional support, so a bug/steel isn't that surprising.
Yeah he was called Dr. Bug by his friends when he was a child  He even imagined ants walking on the cable from one console to the other and that's how he came out with the idea for trading pokemon. I'm not sure if they'll ever going to make bug types stronger but Gen 5 sure introduced some pretty decent ones 

Say what you want but I still consider Flygon a bug


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## Swarmy (Mar 20, 2014)

I forgot to mention how XY say Heracross can lift 100 times his weight which isn't unbelievable because exoskeletons provide better leverage for muscles and more attach points, not to mention that arthropods have inner structures that are many times stronger than our tendrils (one of the reasons why grasshoppers can jump so high). The real life Hercules beetle can lift 850 times his weight so with Heracross it's only 100 times because he's bigger therefore less strong.


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## Yami Munesanzun (Mar 20, 2014)

tendons, Swarmy.

Not tendrils.


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## Fenrir (Mar 20, 2014)

>mfw I see 'Entomological' and 'Pokemon' in the same sentence
>mfw I realize why Misty hates bugs


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## Swarmy (Mar 21, 2014)

Yami Munesanzun said:


> tendons, Swarmy.
> 
> Not tendrils.



Ah sorry... I never got into biology (vertebrate one that is) in english during high school


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