Pokémon food
- This article is about the food that Pokémon consume. For Pokémon food products in the real world, see Pokémon food products.
Pokémon food is a broad term used for almost any food a Pokémon eats. Despite the variety of both Pokémon and Pokémon food, nearly every Pokémon will eat any kind of Pokémon food. This may mean that the majority of Pokémon are omnivorous. Several species are even capable of consuming things not normally viewed as edible from a human perspective, such as minerals, electrical energy or even dreams and emotions. Some species have been said to eat other Pokémon, forming a food chain.
In the games
Standard Pokémon games
Bait
First introduced in the Generation I games and used in the Safari Zone, this food will make a wild Pokémon less likely to run away but more difficult to catch. An unlimited supply of Bait is provided for use in the Safari Zone.
Drinks
- Main article: Drink
First introduced in the Generation I games, drinks can be bought from vending machines and can be used to heal Pokémon in much the same way that Potions can at a fraction of the price.
Berries
- Main article: Berry
First introduced in the Generation II games, berries are a type of item which, unlike Potions or Vitamins, are portrayed as food rather than medicine. A Pokémon may hold this item and, if needed, eat it during a battle to heal itself or cause other effects. In Generation III onwards, these can be planted and harvested by the player. These berries have names and design basis on real fruits and vegetables.
Pokéblock
- Main article: Pokéblock
First introduced in the Generation III games, Pokéblocks are a type of candy which are blended from berries and given to a Pokémon to raise its condition in several areas. The flavor, level, and feel of the Pokéblock is determined by the ingredients which compose it and how well it is blended.
A Pokémon can only eat a certain number of Pokéblocks before it is full and cannot eat any more. The lower the feel of the Pokéblock, the less it fills the Pokémon up, and the more Pokéblocks a Pokémon can eat.
Pokéblocks can also be put on a feeder in the Safari Zone to lure wild Pokémon out. After being there for a while, however, the Pokéblock will eventually be eaten. It can also be used in encounters in the Safari Zone in the same manner as bait.
Poffin
- Main article: Poffin
First introduced in Generation IV, Poffins are similar to Pokéblocks. A Poffin will raise the the condition of a Pokémon in at least one of five categories: Smart, Cute, Tough, Beauty, and Cool. The flavor and feel of a Poffin is still taken into account just as in a Pokéblock. The main difference is that Poffins are pastries and Pokéblocks are candy.
Honey
- Main article: Honey
First introduced in Generation IV, Honey can be slathered onto a Honey Tree to attract wild Pokémon. It works similarly to Pokéblocks in the Safari Zone; it can be placed in a specific location and will disappear (presumably eaten) after some time. However, only one Pokémon can be found on a honey tree for one Honey slathered onto it.
Aprijuice
- Main article: Apriblender
Apricorns were introduced in Generation II, where their sole use was to create custom Poké Balls. In the remakes of the Generation II games, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Apricorns can be blended into drinks called Aprijuice. These drinks will raise a Pokémon's Pokéathlon stats: Speed, Power, Technique, Stamina, and Jump.
Other items
A few items that appear to be made for human consumption are supposed to be given to Pokémon to heal them. These items are normally found or sold in certain locations and are considered specialties of those places. These items include the RageCandyBar of the Lake of Rage, the Lava Cookie of Lavaridge Town, the Old Gateau of the Old Chateau and the Casteliacone of Castelia City.
Other Pokémon games
Apples
In Pokémon Snap, one of the few items provided is Pokémon Food. This is an unlimited supply of apples which Todd Snap can throw to the wild Pokémon. Many Pokémon will happily eat the food, and it can be used to lure them to a new spot since they may walk to where the food was thrown. A well-aimed throw may also hit the Pokémon with the apple, causing them to flinch, faint, or become upset.
Professor Oak will provide Todd with Pokémon Food upon obtaining a total score of 14,000 points in the Pokémon Report.
Different types of apples are available in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness.
Poké Snacks
These are used in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness to lure wild Pokémon to Poké Spots. They look like a slice of a yellow cake, with each slice being one-tenth of the cake. Up to ten can be placed at each Poké Spot.
The P★DA monitors the Poké Snacks at each Poké Spot, and will inform Michael how many are at each Poké Spot and when a wild Pokémon is eating them. If Michael doesn't return to the Poké Spot quickly, the wild Pokémon may have eaten all the Poké Snacks he had there.
Sometimes a Munchlax will appear at a Poké Spot. When this happens, its Trainer will arrive, apologize, and give ten new Poké Snacks for any the Munchlax may have eaten. Other times, a Bonsly will appear, running away unless the player approaches it slowly. If it runs away, it'll be seen at a different Poké Spot.
Food and Gummis
- Main article: Food and Gummis
There are a variety of different kinds of Pokémon food in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. Examples include various types of gummis (Gold, Green, Black etc.), and other foods such as Berries and apples. Gummis have an effect on the player's IQ, while apples fill up the belly. Berries cause many effects, such as healing the player's HP and stats. All food will have a small effect on the belly as well.
Sushi
In Pokémon Stadium, a mini-game called "Sushi-Go-Round" features several Lickitung competing in a race against the clock to eat the most pieces of sushi. Some pieces are too spicy for the Lickitung, causing them to momentarily spin around in anguish, stalling them for time.
Other food
In Hey You, Pikachu! there are many more different kinds of food than in other Pokémon games. There are foods such as cupcakes, acorns, mushrooms, corn (which turns into popcorn if shocked by Pikachu), carrots, onions, herbs, radishes, apples, and bananas. Other things are edible even though they are not typically eaten as food, such as flowers and other plants.
In PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure, berries are often the common food source for Pokémon as well as their form of currency. A number of Pokémon can be befriended by offering them a large berry. Iron Ores are also considered a food source for the Aron in the game.
In the anime
Pokémon food has appeared in the anime as early as Clefairy and the Moon Stone as a sort of kibble. It is available for purchase in cans, as seen briefly in Tears For Fears!. Several Pokémon Trainers will make their own, especially Pokémon Breeders and Pokémon Connoisseurs like Brock and Cilan. It is shown to be suitable for human consumption, but the flavor is not always agreeable with humans, as shown by the fact that Seymour was able to eat it without any problem, but Ash tried some and reacted badly. Good Pokémon food tastes great to Pokémon, however.
Brock often offers his homemade Pokémon food to try and gain a Pokémon's trust if it seems to be unfriendly or scared, such as a baby Stantler in Little Big Horn, and a Mudkip in A Mudkip Mission which he caught after befriending. Most Pokémon are extremely fond of the food he makes, with the exception of a Jigglypuff in Rough, Tough Jigglypuff which outright refused it (although it's possible it realized it was a trap and refused to take the bait).
Pokémon are also known to consume food that is meant for people, such as rice balls. In fact, some Pokémon, such as Madame Muchmoney's Snubbull, loved to eat these more than anything else. As shown by Lucario, Ash's Taillow and Meowth, Pokémon are also able to eat chocolate without any ill effects.
Some Pokémon also eat food which would not be eaten by humans, such the Aron and Lairon that were shown to eat iron in Giratina and the Sky Warrior.
Eating other Pokémon
In the original Pokémon games and concept, it seems that most Pokémon were more animal-like. As such, wild Pokémon were originally portrayed as eating one another by some sources, in a very animal-like prey-predator system; for example, The Official Pokémon Handbook's entry for Pidgeot says that "When they hunt, Pidgeot fly on the surface of the water at top speed to catch unsuspecting Fish element prey like Magikarp." The Handbook also lists Golbat as drinking the blood of its enemies, not just sucking their "energy," as the Handbook refers to Leech Life in Zubat's entry.
This theme is not as explicit in the anime or games; rarely being shown or mentioned. This may be because of moral issues; as the anime and games progress, Pokémon seem to be growing more human, with personalities, human mannerisms, etc., and such behavior might border on cannibalism. Although in the original series, Pidgeotto immediately began to peck at Ash's Caterpie when Ash first attempted to catch the Bird Pokémon. Misty took notice and warned Ash that Pidgeotto might try to eat Caterpie, who was quickly returned to his ball. Pidgeotto never attempted to harm Caterpie again once it had been captured by Ash. This concept was brought up again in Pokémon Shipwreck when TRMeowth ([[{{{2}}} (move)|{{{2}}}]]) attempts to eat James's Magikarp only to have its hard scales break his teeth.
Some Pokédex entries still refer to Pokémon preying on each other, or at least sucking life force. This is seen in Haunter and Gengar, who in Pokémon Ranger, together with Gastly, lick the partner Pokémon until they vanish. Slowbro's PokéDex entry in Crystal Version mentions that Shellder enjoys the taste of the ooze that comes out of the Slowbro's tail. This example is also supported by Team Rocket who cut off and sell the tails of Slowpoke, considering them a rare delicacy.
The Pokédex entry in Ruby and Sapphire Versions also claims that Taillow feed on Wurmple. This is further explored in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, when Wurmple of Team Tasty thinks its partner, Swellow, the evolved form of Taillow, will eventually eat it. Swellow, however, seems mortified at the idea of eating her teammate.
Cherubi's Pokémon Diamond Pokédex entry describes its appendage as being "very sweet and tasty," possibly confirming that Cherubi's ball can be safely consumed by humans. Its Platinum entry explains that Starly try to feed on Cherubi as well. Likewise, meat is often shown in the anime, but while it has never been shown to come from Pokémon, no other food source has been explained, though in a particular episode in Hoenn, Harley has a flashback in which a person stole his "snackie", which bore a resemblance to tiny Octillery, similar to the octupi served in some real-life restaurants.
It is stated in the Pokédex entry for Heatmor in Black and White Versions that it preys on Durant.
Food produced by Pokémon
Some species of Pokémon are known to produce various kinds of food which can be safely consumed by humans and other Pokémon.
- Chansey and Blissey are capable of laying eggs that are delicious and nutritious for humans and Pokémon.
- Certain Grass types such as Grotle and Snover are able to grow edible nuts or berries on their bodies. While Pokémon always enjoy these, the same cannot always be said for humans. The food that Grotle produces, for example, tastes bad to humans.
- Shuckle are well known for storing certain kinds of berries in their shells, which slowly ferment into juice. The juice has special properties if consumed by humans and Pokémon, and, as once demonstrated in the anime, can be used to make love potion. If it is fermented even longer, it will become a Rare Candy.
- The fungus of Paras and Parasect can be used to make potions and medicine.
- Tropius grow a bunch of fruits that resemble bananas on their neck, which can be picked and eaten by humans or other Pokémon.
- Miltank produce Moomoo Milk which can be bought in the games and used as a healing item. It is stated in both the games and the anime to be both nutritious and delicious. In the anime, groups of Miltank are often kept to produce the milk not only for drinking, but also for the milk used to make dairy products as part of a business.
- Combee and Vespiquen gather nectar from flowers to produce Honey which is readily savored by various species of Pokémon.
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