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Official Pokémon Timeline Confirmed

Demelza

Demelza

Eevee Tamer
Staff member
Moderator
Pokemon-RPG-Timeline.png
For many years now fans of the Pokémon series have wondered what the official timeline was for the games and when their stories take place. Well wonder no more as after the reveal of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, scenario writer Toshinobu Matsumiya, who has worked on the games since Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver, has now revealed the official order of the games.

The order of the timeline is as follows: Generation I/Generation III -> Generation II/Generation IV -> Black/White -> Black 2/White 2/X/Y

The timeline works as you'd expect for the most part but it is nice to know where Pokémon X and Pokémon Y fit into things and that they do indeed come after the stories that take place in Unova. Toshinobu didn't state how much time had passed between each generation, but we know from the games themselves that three years passed between the first generation games and generation two. We also know that two years pass between Pokémon Black and Pokémon White and the events of Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2.

This leaves us with quite an interesting situation in regards to Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. If the games are direct remakes that places them right back at the beginning of the timeline, which is certainly an interesting idea when so many stories have come since the original Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire. Guess we'll see what happens when we learn more about the new games!
 
Doctor Oak

Doctor Oak

Staff member
Overlord
The previous remakes effectively retconned the previous Generations out of existence, so it's no real surprise that they have deliberately started the timeline at R/S (Gen III) here. Though it would have been nice to be clear that FR/LG and HG/SS take place alongside their Generational counterparts - but we know this as fact from the games themselves (explicitly so in Gen IV).

This always worked anyway as the original Gen I and II games, aside from being quite different mechanically by that point already, they were physically separated by a technological gap that made it impossible to communicate with later games.

Currently, however, you can transfer your Pokemon from Ruby/Sapphire Hoenn all the way through to X/Y Kalos, and officially as marked out by GameFreak here, R/S (Gen III) is the immovable starting point of the current canon (especially as it also encompasses the events of Team Rocket's rise and fall in Kanto).

The timing and the specificness of this tweet does somewhat seem to me as though it's alluding to the idea that Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire will be taking place alongside its Generational counterpart (as the previous remakes have) - and thus takes place at the end of the timeline alongside the events of BW2 and XY.

The alternative is that Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire will retcon out the events of Ruby and Sapphire and go all the way back to the beginning of the timeline - but then that kinda makes the effort of specifying the hitherto unknown placement of XY to be at the end of the timeline a bit redundant. After all, it will contradict Sycamore's discovery of Mega Evolution by not only unquestionably being in the game as a mechanic - but also almost assuredly behind the new designs of Groudon and Kyogre.

It could be that the combination of this specific timeline post and the fact that Groudon and Kyogre are almost 100% definitely getting Mega Evolutions are actually telegraphing that OR/AS will, in effect, be sequels to Ruby/Sapphire (Emerald).

Or it could be a massive case of "to hell with the canon" and just going for a straight remake set at the beginning of the timeline again.

I kind of think that the latter is less likely, but there's frustratingly little to go on right now. I'd rather hope the idea of them being effective sequels does come to pass, really. Given that R/S are basically the worst of the entire series for storyline, it can only be a good thing to set a new adventure in Hoenn instead. Hopefully, though, we'll get some real answers very soon.
 
Skyy-chan

Skyy-chan

I believe this will not take place alongside its generational counterpart. One, it said "A brand new world" in the parts of trailers we have so far, so I think this might mean that the Hoenn region has reset, and has developed since we last seen it. For example, you see the change in the remake of B/W in B/W 2.
Two, most of us think that Kyogre and Groudon will have mega evolutions, meaning that, HOLD UP, mega evolution was discovered before.

 
Skyy-chan

Skyy-chan

gogoatgirl109 said:
If it might be in a new region, then it already wouldn't be a direct remake, right?
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Why would it be in a new region? Then it wouldn't be a remake of R/S, and they would have to call it something else... BUT, what I said, they probably have changed a couple of things in the region. (Gyms, New towns, Expanions, etc.)
 
Doubled

Doubled

I agree with the theory about ORAS being a sequel to RSE. It would seem kind of pointless for them to state a timeline such as this right after announcing ORAS and make it a total retcon.

Plus we have all of these Mega Evolutions to go on which are apparently native only to Kalos (its proven somewhere, google it), and yet we have these new designs which are MORE than likely mega evos, as I don't see the point in making new "formes" like with Giratina and Kyurem when their form changes looked pretty different compared to the originals, while these are still similar enough, if that makes sense.

To add more evidence to the Mega Evo theory, we already have items that correlate to Groudon and Kyogre respectively, the red and blue orbs, and the jade orb if you count HGSS's item for Rayquaza. It wouldn't be too farfetched to say that these could have been altered into Mega Stones somehow, I mean, they did figure out to fuze two pokemon together to make a new forme for Kyurem. How does this work, if Mega Evolution is native to Kalos then?

Perhaps in this case, we aren't exactly looking for something that coincides with X and Y. BW2 and X and Y apparently happen at the same time, despite having a generational gap, and BW2 happens 2 years after BW, yet are still in the same gen gap.

What I'm getting at is that it could be possible for Mega Evolution to have worked its way to other places if, say a couple or more years passed. How, I'm not sure. Maybe Diantha or the XY Protagonist made it more popular, who knows, it wouldn't be too far of a leap considering Game Freak's reputation for throwing wild cards out there for us lately.

tl;dr: I agree with Doctor Oak, expect sequels rather than remakes, Mega Evos for Groudon and Kyogre, and expect the unexpected.
 
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Smashinfo

Smashinfo

In my opinion it will Happen a few years after pokemon X and Y. Like look. We all heared, atleast everybody That played or watched X and Y That Diantha is a worldwide known actress. So, wouldnt it be wierd That NO ONE THAT DOES NOT LIVE IN KALOS doesnt know about Megevo? Well, Lysandre was often on TV, Aswell as Diantha, I read That Kalos is the secound biggest region, except Unova, so... think. The plot in my opinion will be about Hoenn in the time when they hear about mega evolution in it. And the vilanous team, That will plausibly specialize in Dark, steel and fairy, will try to master the art. of mega evolution and take control of the world with it.
 
DoodLMan3

DoodLMan3

Skyy-chan said:
Why would it be in a new region? Then it wouldn't be a remake of R/S, and they would have to call it something else... BUT, what I said, they probably have changed a couple of things in the region. (Gyms, New towns, Expanions, etc.)
Click to expand...
They might do what they did with FireRed and LeafGreen and add in a new special area like 1 island, 2 island, and 3 island

Smashinfo said:
In my opinion it will Happen a few years after pokemon X and Y. Like look. We all heared, atleast everybody That played or watched X and Y That Diantha is a worldwide known actress. So, wouldnt it be wierd That NO ONE THAT DOES NOT LIVE IN KALOS doesnt know about Megevo? Well, Lysandre was often on TV, Aswell as Diantha, I read That Kalos is the secound biggest region, except Unova, so... think. The plot in my opinion will be about Hoenn in the time when they hear about mega evolution in it. And the vilanous team, That will plausibly specialize in Dark, steel and fairy, will try to master the art. of mega evolution and take control of the world with it.
Click to expand...
When I first heard about the new games I figured that they would be direct remakes. Then Mega Evolution came back to mind. If the games are simply remakes then maybe megaevos won't come into play until after the main game quest. Like in HG and SS with catching Groudon, Kyorge, and Rayquaza as well as Latios/Latias
 
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PokeTeen

PokeTeen

I think the story will be in two parts, part a which is a full remake of ruby and sapphire/with elements from emerald. then after you beat the elite four we will have a huge time skip to after the events of X and Y in which mega evo is now a thing
 
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