Written by Jonathan Wojcik

   Porygon was one of the single strangest things in the first Pokemon generation, a colorful duck-like hologram made entirely of sapient computer data. The only question bigger than "how is any of that ever possible ever" is why, having developed this astounding method of creating complex pseudo-life, the Silph Corporation apparently never tried it again. Once someone perfected a code to manifest an antire fully-functioning pokemon out of thin air, one would expect an array of virtual monsters to start flooding the market.

   Instead, Porygon's designers merely saw fit to modify what they'd already designed, releasing an "up-grade" disc to evolve Porygon into the cleverly named Porygon2, with enhanced fighting ability and a higher-resolution anatomy. According to the pokedex, this improved version was specifically intended for space exploration, but for reasons never explained, it "failed to measure up" and the project was apparently cancelled. All we do know is that it "may exhibit motions that were not programmed," another cryptic and ominous statement.

   Things ultimately took a turn for the darker with the introduction of Porygon-Z, a smaller, faster, more offensive but otherwise slighty frailer evolution created through an item called "Dubious Disc," a seemingly unauthorized modification not officially distributed through Silph. This may explain its more vulnerable body, not to mention its deranged eyes and detached, floating head, but it still gets a lot weirder than that. Its pokedex entries mirror those of Porygon2, except in this case, the pokemon was apparently reprogrammed to function in "alien dimensions" until it began to "act erratically."

It's easy to assume that Porygon-Z is a glitched mess because of its "dubious" reprogramming, but just as likely that its ability to perceive other realities is the direct cause of its abnormal behavior; perhaps it isn't even "erratic" at all, but simply reacting to stimuli that nothing else can see.

The technology to create a sentient, obedient monster out of pure electronic data should have taken the pokemon world by storm, but somewhere along the line, Silph's creation proved to be unstable and unpredictable in ways they were reluctant to share with the public - apparently so much so that the project itself was dissolved, while some unknown third party attempted to take the experiments even further.

What happened to you in space, funny birdy?

What did you see behind the curtain of reality?

What are you seeing now?

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