Should "Regional Variants" Be Considered Separate Pokemon? This Professor Says "Yes."
Written by Cal
Edited by Bex Benson
In recent years Pokedéx’s have been recognizing regional forms, also referred to as “regional variants.” If you’re uneducated, Pokémon with regional forms develop forms that differ based on what region they’re in. A regional form of a Pokémon can differ in many different ways, the most common being their type and their appearance.
A Pokémon Professor (who for some reason, wishes to remain anonymous) asserted that most regional forms should be recognized as a “separate Pokémon” and not a “subset of a Pokémon.”
“The different ways Pokémon evolve based on region should be taken into account. Looking at a Pokémon and going ‘oh it looks just like this other Pokémon’ instead of analyzing the differences in their genetic makeup is lazy categorizing. Even if Pokémon are similar, they should be categorized separately like Nidoran.” They also went onto a pointless tangent about the difference between Pokémon evolution and the evolution that has to do with “genetic variation.”
Though this professor wants to stay anonymous, the author found it important to note that if every regional Pokémon was documented separately, this professor would have been credited for discovering several "new" Pokémon.
