Incredible Edibles

Everyone has to eat, and yes, that includes Pokémon. Even though you can never catch them doing so in the games, they do. However, what exactly do they eat? Have you ever wondered about that? Well, in this article, I'm going to try and explain the facts about several common Pokémon foods.

Lava Cookie

The Lava Cookie is primarily manufactured in Hoenn from the hardened lava of Mt. Chimney. You can buy it for 200 from an old lady on the top of the mountain. It is Lavaridge Town's specialty, but its near monopoly on the market has recently been challenged with the opening of a factory at the Dreamyard. Also, in FR/LG, you can use Strength on the truck from the S.S. Anne to find a Lava Cookie. Because who doesn't like cookies?

The Lava Cookie began its debut when two trainers, whose names have been lost from history, had a battle atop Mt. Chimney. The Pokémon of one of the trainers was asleep, and it was being hammered by repeated attacks. Somehow, a piece of lava found its way into the Pokémon's mouth. The Pokémon woke up, much to the surprise of both trainers, and quickly won the battle. Everything else is history.

Some people believe that lava cookies are made from the excrement of Pokémon, due to their color. However, this is false. Pokémon do not excrete anything, as the items they ingest are converted to energy, with nothing else remaining. This was recently proven by the noted scientist Poke A. Mon. All he did was load up a Swalot with Hyper Potions. He waited until they were digested and watched the Swalot for hours, but it never did anything out of the ordinary.

Lava Cookies cure all status effects of the Pokémon that they are used upon. That includes confusion, burn, poison, sleep, paralysis, and freeze. They are single-use items, so you have to keep buying them. Even if you don't need them, feed them to your Pokémon so they like you more. But then, you can give basically anything a Lava Cookie and it will like you more. Even a rock. Excuse me? I happen to know that rocks are very affectionate creatures. ...

There are a couple of ways that Lava Cookies cure Pokémon. The foremost theory is that the lava that comprises the cookie has special nutrients in it, which, when ingested, heal the Pokémon suffering from status. However, it has also been proposed that Lava Cookies, while made of hardened, cool lava, are actually extremely hot inside, and when eaten, they shock the user out of its status. This idea has merit but it is difficult to test, simply because of the possibility that it is true.

SlowpokeTail

Aside from its extraordinary monetary value, the SlowpokeTail does not have any other merits in the Pokémon games. In Generation II, you can buy them from the Mahogany Town Poké Mart, for 9800 Poké Dollars. In HG/SS, however, there is a man on Route 32 who will sell you a delicious SlowpokeTail... for only one million Poké Dollars. Well, they're delicious and nutritious!

SlowpokeTails do not do anything in the game, as you have to have an Action Replay or another cheating device to obtain one (at least in the Generation 4 games). Slowpoke, however, uses its tail to fish. The tail is immune to pain, so when a Shellder bites it, the Slowpoke is not hurt. That raises the question of how the Slowpoke knows it has got something on its tail, though. The SlowpokeTail is also central to the plot of HG/SS, in which Team Rocket relieves the Slowpoke of their tails so they can sell them on the black market. With prices being a million dollars a tail, that's not a bad strategy!

When they were first discovered, some trainers thought that the tails could act as Full Restores. After they let their hurt Pokémon gnaw on the tails for several minutes, they realized that they were not. The Pokémon, however, really liked the tails, so a thriving industry developed. For about fifty years, SlowpokeTail money helped shape Johto into a beautiful yet cosmopolitan region. Inevitably, though, the lust for SlowpokeTails almost brought the species to extinction. To save the Slowpoke, measures were taken to eliminate the industry, and many of the former tycoons were imprisoned. When they were released, they vowed revenge, and thus began Team Rocket.

When a Shellder bites a Slowpoke's tail, the Slowpoke immediately evolves into a Slowbro. It has been theorized that Shellder, when it bites the tail, releases toxins that unlock a part of the Slowpoke's brain. These toxins can travel throughout the Slowpoke in seconds, making it evolve. As long as the Shellder is clamped on to the tail, it continues to produce toxins. When the Shellder is thrown off, during a fierce battle, for example, the Slowbro "devolves" back into a Slowpoke, usually to the astonishment of both trainers.

Remember the mysterious guy located on Route 32? The one that sells SlowpokeTails for one million Poké Dollars? Someone (sorry, I have a confidentiality contract) informed me that the guy is actually an undercover grunt from Team Rocket. With a stockpile of illegal SlowpokeTails, the guy sells them off, one by one. If you have the necessary amount of cash, of course.

Rare Candies

Aaahh, Rare Candies. The dream of every n00b and the bane of any experienced competitive player. When used, Rare Candies immediately increase the level of the selected Pokémon by one. Players new to the games can't get enough of them, but every rose has its thorns: Rare Candies do not add EVs to your Pokémon. Therefore, if you compare a Pokémon raised to level 100 using Rare Candies and a Pokémon that has been trained against wild Pokémon, the second one will have higher stats.

Rare Candies definitely live up to their name. You can usually only find a couple per game. Because one level, while good, is often inconsequential by itself, they are commonly used in bulk. I personally like using all ~6 of mine right before I challenge the Elite Four. One of them might not be too threatening on its own, but add more and suddenly you're running for your life!

Rare Candies are in all probability the most disputed items found in Pokémon. A myriad of theories has been developed to explain how they came into existence, all with their points and adherents.

As you may know, the Pokémon Shuckle can ferment berries to produce Berry Juice and eventually Rare Candies. Where Shuckle live, only one type of berry grows, the Magost Berry. Usually, the Shuckle eat their creations. However, one day, an unknown person found a candy and took it to the local Poké Center. No one at the Center knew what is was, and the person took it all the way to Silph Co. in Saffron City.

There, the scientists discovered that the Rare Candies had enormous beneficial properties. The continued ingestion of Rare Candies by Shuckle gradually increased their defenses. As the few Shuckle that did not usually ingest Magost Berries died out, all Shuckle eventually had extremely high defenses. The secret to this was the Magost Berry itself. Scientists dissected them and found out that they, not the candies themselves, had astounding defensive capabilities. Previously, it had been thought that they were useless.

The scientists tested a lot of other "useless" berries. However, other berries boosted other stats. The scientists took a blend of them and created the first real Rare Candy. The real Rare Candies boosted every stat. People eventually began referring to them as just "Rare Candies", and that became commonplace.

After preparing the Rare Candies, the scientists wondered why exactly the Berries caused stat growths in Pokémon. In the Berries, there were found to be tiny particles that attached themselves to specific parts of the Pokémon's DNA when the Berry was ingested. Different that caused particles to attach to different areas. The real Rare Candies, however, caused particles to attach to all parts of the Pokémon's DNA. Extending the Pokémon's DNA, naturally, caused an increase in the Pokémon's cell size. This multiplied, and that is why level 100 Pokémon elevated with Rare Candies are infinitesimally larger then Pokémon of the same level who were not elevated with Rare Candies

What Do You Think?

There are many other mysterious items you can find throughout the Pokémon world, such as Casteliacones, Old Gateau, and Poffins. We use them for a wide variety of reasons, but no one really knows a lot about them. So what are you doing? Get out there and start investigating!

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