So this is one of the more famous theories within the Pokemon universe.

The theory: If you haven't heard about it before basically in the Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow games your rival has a Ratatta that evoles into a Raticate that he uses against you in a number of battles. Later in the game he battles you on a cruise ship called the SS Anne. It is then theorized that due to all of the confusion on board his Raticate (which he uses in the battle against you) dies after you KO it since he couldn't make it to the Pokemon Center in the nearby town in time to heal it.

This is supported by the next time you meet him and battle him it's at the Pokemon Tower. Now if you haven't played the game but still want to read this for some reason or just need a refresher, the Pokemon Tower is essentially a giant Pokemon graveyard, and is a place where people go to pay their respects to deceased Pokemon. And when you battle him there he no longer has the Raticate which is what makes the theory somewhat believable which combined with something he says before the battle starts (which I'll talk about it in my analysis) is what makes this theory somewhat believable... When you don't think much about it.

But in the end it's just a theory, a game theor- *gets shot*

Because as you may or may not know this is a very popular theory among Pokemon fans probably one of the most popular Pokemon fan theories in fact and many see it as one that could actually be true, however there is a lot that doesn't make sense about it which is what I want to address in this thread.

So here we go, why the Raticate is dead theory doesn't make sense:

1. Only his Raticate died.

If we assume that he didn't make it to the Pokemon Center in time that logically means that all of his Pokemon should be affected and not just his Raticate considering they were all KO'd when you win the battle so only his Raticate dying in this scenario really makes no sense.

2. He would still go to the Pokemon Tower even if the theory wasn't true.

So another thing people often bring up as to why it seems more believable is, why would your Rival even go to the Pokemon Tower if this theory wasn't true? It is after all pretty much a giant Pokemon graveyard where people come to pay their respects to their dead Pokemon.

My counter argument to this is, that he pretty much had to. You and your rival are both trying to complete the Pokedex and the Pokemon Tower is the only place where you can obtain a Gastly and Cubone. Now if you ignore the fact that random Cubone and Gastly running around there doesn't make any sense, that means they pretty much were bound to go there sooner or later.

3. Addressing the comment he made before the battle.

So before the battle in the Pokemon Tower he basically says: What brings you here? Your Pokemon don't look dead! I can at least make them faint! Let's go pal!

Now this is basically what makes this theory seem to have some credibility despite it being pretty illogical othwerise considering the other points I've made especially the 1st. Since it implies he may have gone there because one of his Pokemon are dead, in other words his Raticate since he isn't using it. Now ignoring why he isn't using it (since I'll get to that in a second) the answer to this one at least to me it would seem more likely at least due to his general attitude of constantly taunting you and talking about how good he is (which was done in order to build up for your final battle). It's really more like he said it as part of him taunting you before the battle considering how he follows it up by saying he can make your pokemon faint. In other words it's probably really more of a coincidence that he said that, and when the theory is told the "What brings you here? Your Pokemon don't look dead!" part is often taken out of context ignoring what he says after that in order to make it more believable.

This is probably the hardest point to understand if you haven't played the game but what I think supports this further is that he right after the battle asks you about your pokedex and says he caught a cubone and still haven't gotten his hands on a marowak which directly ties into my 2nd argument since that mean it is probably likely he went there with the main intention of catching a cubone to add to his Pokedex and not because his Raticate died. Besides it seems kind of weird that he wouldn't seem at least a bit sad when you talk to him if the theory was true.


This leads to my 4th argument and conclusion more or less:


4. He simply stopped using Raticate.

Using Raticate early on isn't too bad of a choice. It has pretty good stats for a Pokemon evolving at level 20, and some fairly powerful moves for this point in the game as well like Hyper Fang. But later in the game and around the time you battle your rival in the Pokemon Tower, Raticate stops being as powerful compared to the rest of his team as they start to evolve and become much stronger while Raticate can't evolve and doesn't really learn any new powerful moves anymore. Basically it's a very strong pokemon early on in the game but stops being as powerful later on as it stats and movepool isn't up to par with the fully evolved Pokemon that comprises the rest of his team that used to be weaker simply because they took more time to evolve and hadn't reached their potential yet.

Granted the speed stat which is Raticates only "good" stat did play a much larger role since critical hits were based on it in the 1st gen games but that doesn't change the fact that his other stats are crap and even then he's better of using other Pokemon that has high speed but also better overall stats and movepools like Persian.

Conclusion :

So with these points in mind, especially considering your rival is the kind person who seems to prioritize having strong Pokemon on his team, it seems pretty likely he simply stopped training it since it couldn't keep up to spec with his other Pokemon and to allow him to focus on training his other Pokemon and the theory really seems like more of a grasping at straws approach to try and add more depth to your rival as a character especially considering how the quote about why you would go there if you're Pokemon aren't dead is usually taken out of context when the theory is told.

So yeah this is something that's been bothering me which is why I wanted to talk about it, I might do something like this again if I get another idea for something but I probably wont be doing these on any set schedule if I ever do it again more of like a "I'll do it when I feel like it and have the time thing" which most likely means not that often :p



Going to summon some people who I know like Pokemon and/or discussing game theories of different sorts and therefore might find this interesting, if you don't  feel free to just ignore it.

Sword legion : We talked about this but I figured I'd summon anyways in case you want to read it.

Pokefreak219 :
Cradily is love :
Gamin'Gal:
A user of this :
juuldude :

I've heard about this one and I wouldn't know why Raticate would be dead. He could've stored it in Bill his pc, or he just traded it with the Magikarp salesman, who knows? After all, there are more interesting theories like the one with the 'moveable truck' close to the S.S. Anne.

juuldude : Actually storing your Pokemon in the PC doesn't restore their health, only their PP at least in the later generations, might have to double check if that applied in the 1st generation as well not sure since it's been a while since I played them but him trading it with the magikarp salesman is a pretty amusing thought XD

Might talk about another Pokemon theory sometimes not sure, there are a lot but there's not really any other theory I really have that much add to say about at least not at the top of my head. Though the movable truck thing is more of a myth then a theory really since there's no proof as far as I know to back it up at least from what I've heard about it

Zlinqx : wow at least someone figured it out for once and turned it into an unbrief thread. Nearly every Pokemon fan has heard of this theory. You are of course right it is just a theory and isn't always true. I don't get why people fall for this when you have many excellent reasons from the top of your head. Good post.

I agree with your theory on why that raticate isn't dead. There is no real proof that it died and like you said, he could've just stopped using it all together. Then again, we'll likely never know for sure whether your theory is correct or not.

Zlinqx: Boxing something does heal both HP and PP, at least from generation 3 and later. No clue how the entire gen 1 and 2 boxing system works.

Furret : I tested to see if the HP or PP restores once you placed your Pokemon in the pc, for gen I & II.

The HP and PP does not restore in Generation I but in Generation II it does.  

Furret : Sorry forgot to respond to this post earlier but yeah you're right I got the generations confused.

cnw64 : Thanks for confirming that.

Zlinqx : I agree with your theory 100%! If raticate died, then all of his Pokemon would have died, too. Like you said, he simply stopped using Raticate and moved to Pokemon Tower to fill the Pokedex. Hey, next time, when you make a Pokemon thread, do you mind summoning me?

greenluigi : Thanks, it really doesn't make sense when you think about it yeah and seeing people constantly bringing it up like something that could be fully plausible has bothered me which is why I wanted to address it through a thread.

I don't know when I'll make another thread about Pokemon fan theories or pokemon in general but if I do end up making a thread about something Pokemon related any time soon I'll be sure to summon you.

Maybe the raticate was released or something else could have happened, so the raticate couldn't have died, maybe it was just put somewhere else.