#137 - Porygon
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We continue our gimmicky Normal-type Pokemon pattern with probably one of the weirdest Pokemon of them all, Porygon. Porygon was a pain in the ass to get in Generation I, especially if you had Pokemon Red, where you could only get him by maxing out your coins at the Game Corner---Green/Blue was oddly cheaper though. As a kid, I just didn't get how to gamble, so like a lot of folks I got Porygon by grinding for money through the Elite Four and then buying Game Corner coins, a long and arduous process that just wasn't worth it. I imagine many folks likely got Porygon perhaps last, or around the same time they worked up enough patience to catch the Safari Zone Pokemon, and Porygon has always been a rare Pokemon, only available through the Game Corner in GSC, FRLG, and HGSS, the latter which required you to play the new "Voltorb Flip" since during Gen IV they cracked down on gambling, and it seems like future games won't include the Game Corner at all, so Porygon will finally be available through other means. He's been available through a few other methods over the years, often somewhat obscure or rare, such as in the Trophy Garden in Diamond and Pearl, with a 5% chance of it being there each day you talk to its owner, getting a certain NPC to show up in White Forest in White causing him to be obtainable in that area, through the Dream Radar app that works with B2W2, and finally appearing at one of the Mirage Spots in ORAS. The easiest game to get one in is Platinum, where he's just handed to you, otherwise he's typically a pain to get.
Porygon in Generation I wasn't worth the effort whatsoever, and he was simply PokeDex filler---while he had a lot of neat little gimmicks, and a varied move set, his stats were pretty poor, and his gimmicks took too much time to set up without any pay as he'd often quickly be killed before he could do anything useful. I doubt anyone actually used him during the main adventure, or at all, really, unless they specifically set out on a "Porygon Challenge Run", although perhaps someone did use him in Platinum where for once he was actually easy to obtain. Porygon is unique as while it began as a "fully evolved" Pokemon, it soon gained two evolutions, and thus is basically considered a rookie-level Pokemon, thus being eligible for the Little Cup where he apparently shines. His Evolutions are quite decent, too, so Porygon has thankfully advanced beyond the "pointless, non-evolving gimmick" stage that his friend Farfetch'd has been eternally trapped in. Still, despite his uniqueness, I don't think base Porygon has too many fans, and it also doesn't help he's at the center of one of the largest controversies ever in Pokemon History that could've potentially destroyed the series. But we'll talk about that later.
Porygon, to put it simply, is a "Digital Monster". In the games' lore, Porygon was created by the Pokemon Laboratory on Cinnabar Island, who Dr. Fuji, also known as the creator of Mewtwo, founded, and presumably he may have used his knowledge of creating Porygon to aid in his creation of Mewtwo. Despite being made of entirely data, and capable of existing and traveling through cyberspace, it apparently can be materialized in the real-world somehow, although this has never really been explained, where it serves as a Pokemon capable of research due to its ability to survive in basically any environment due to not being truly alive. In Pokemon Yellow, it's said people are anticipating it even exploring space which is finally realized in XY years later, where an NPC in the Kalos Power Plant explains that there's a Porygon working in the satellite that monitors the network, so that's a nice little tidbit. Porygon has very rudimentary A.I., with basic motions, and presumably isn't truly alive---although of course it can still breed with Ditto and hatches from Eggs.
I imagine while the Pokemon Lab created Porygon, based on other information it seems Silph Co. probably obtained the rights to re-produce Porygon and became the official "owner" of the Pokemon. It's said that Porygon is copy-protected and cannot be reproduced (except through biological sex, apparently_, but you have to wonder why it was being sold at the Game Corner---perhaps the Porygon we're familiar with isn't the real, authentic Porygon, but actually an illegal copy of it distributed by Team Rocket to build funds? It seems like a waste for Team Rocket to just sell off a Pokemon who could presumably assist in quite sophisticated cyber-crime, perhaps even infiltrating the Pokemon P.C. network which Team Plasma attempted in Black and White, but they don't seem to be necessarily forward-thinking individuals. Porygon's one Pokemon who really needs to be fleshed out more, and it's a shame the franchise shys away from the Pokemon for the most part due to being a bit awkward, oh, and sending thousands of kids to the emergency room. Its biggest plot role is in Pokemon Special, basically, but the games barely touch on it.
Porygon was apparently once known as the "CG Pokemon", but was changed to the "Virtual Pokemon"...I've been unable to find out why this happened, but it seems it was always the Virtual Pokemon in the English version, so I imagine CG was its original moniker, and was changed by the time Pokemon Yellow came out. I believe it was known as the "CG Pokemon" in its ill-fated debut episode of the anime, so I wonder if they changed the species name due to that controversy for whatever reason? As the "CG Pokemon", Porygon resembles early computerized graphics, being a very simplistic model with a basic body shape and rough, sharp edges, very topic upon its release back in the 90s, and I wonder if this is one Pokemon new-age kids might not quite understand? Porygon brings to mind an abstract bird, looking a bit like an origami crane, while also somewhat looking a bit saurian, perhaps meant to represent the general "Monster"-type Pokemon that made up a decent amount of Generation I. His red-and-blue coloring I imagine is also meant to bring to mind the colors of 3D glasses. Porygon is a neat design for those facts alone, yet at the same time I never found it visually appealing or that cool, but maybe some folks who were into 3D modeling back in those days like it more as they can relate to it.
As a CG Pokemon, Porygon has multiple Signature Moves signifying that categorization, such as Sharpen, which is said to be done by lowering its "polygon count" to make itself more jagged (is this terms used accurately here?), and Conversion 1 and Conversion 2, which in Japan are known as "Texture" and thus relating to the texture of Porygon's model. Conversion 1 is quite odd, as being a move that basically changed from Generation I to Generation II---originally, it allowed Porygon to change his Type to that of the opponent, thus becoming possibly dual-type, but in Generation II he could only become mono-type, as it instead changed him to one of his own moves' Type (in Gen VI, the Type of his first move) limiting his options. I'm not sure why they changed it, but the original effect of Conversion 1 was eventually restored in Generation V as the new move "Reflect Type" basically does the same thing. Conversion 2 works somewhat similar, changing Porygon's Type, but instead it changes it to a Type resistant or immune to the Type of the last attack used by the target Pokemon---so if Porygon was hit by a Normal-type attack, he'd become either a Steel, Rock, or Ghost-type Pokemon. Both of these moves are dubious in use since they waste a turn, and the pay-off is hard to utilize, and I'm not sure if any serious player bothers with them. Porygon also has a Signature Ability in Download, increasing either its Attack or Special Attack depending on which defense of the opposing Pokemon is lower to give Porygon an advantage, which fits its A.I. theme.
So, anyway, you know those "don't sit so close to the television and watch in a well-lit room" you see at the beginning of anime whenever you watch them in a dark room curled in front of your computer? You can thank Porygon for that, and almost killing Pokemon. Way back when Pokemon first took off in Japan, an episode known as the "Electric Soldier Porygon", a rather routine but odd filler, sent thousands of Japanese kids to the hospital with seizures due to flashing light effects. The episode was quickly pulled, Pokemon went on a hiatus for quite awhile, and the episode was forever banned and has never been re-released in any form, although you can find it online still---I've never watched it in fear of having seizures, although there's been a bunch of debate about why it effected kids the way it did, and everyone I've talked to who watched it had no issues, perhaps due to the low image quality of the ripped episode. This greatly influenced future cartoons in Japan as the familiar warning was now required at the beginning of every show I believe, and flashing effects in shows had to be toned down---I know Pokemon actually edited some older episode due to this rule, such as Episode 2 at the end when Pikachu shocks everyone, the split-screen effect when Team Rocket is getting electrocuted originally wasn't there. Despite the fact it was technically Pikachu's attacks that caused the seizure incident, Porygon was blamed, and completely banned from the show---furthermore its two evolutions never appeared in the show whatsoever, except for small cameos in the "World of Pokemon Segment" in the films, and once or twice in the dub in the "Who's That Pokemon" segment. Otherwise, Porygon isn't banned anywhere else, but it seems Japan just wants to erase the memory of the seizure incident completely so has removed the main Pokemon associated with it. Really, it could've been any Pokemon probably---if it was a filler about Farfetch'd, it probably would've been banned as well. Pikachu and Meowth were probably the only two Pokemon with immunity to being completely banned due to being main characters.
#233 - Porygon2
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Well, not the most creative name, but given the circumstances, it fits. Porygon 2 is the "evolved" form of Porygon, or perhaps upgraded is more appropriate, as it evolves from Porygon when traded with the Up-Grade Item. Where as Porygon was a pretty unassuming gimmick Pokemon, Porygon 2 is far more capable, and was one of the premier Pokemon of Generation II and enjoys decent popularity nowadays, although it like many Pokemon has fallen in use due to all the crazy Pokemon popping up since. In terms of the main game, though, evolving via a Trade Item, and being the evolution of a relatively obscure and hard-to-get Pokemon meant that very few folks likely used Porygon 2 in their adventure, and his real skills are definitely appreciated more so by competitive players. One of his trademark combos in Generation II involved Curse, which I'd like to quickly explain---if you ever wondered why it slowed down non-Ghost Pokemon, it's simply an untranslatable Japanese pun, as "noroi" means both curse and slow. Perhaps NoA could've found a decent way to represent that, but it seems they didn't really bother with such an odd move and just hoped no one would really care that much about why otherwise normal Pokemon could learn "Curse".
As the Up-Grade is found at Silph Co, presumably Porygon2 was an upgraded version of the original Porygon developed by them once they got the rights, and as a "technological upgrade", Porygon2 has traits demonstrating this such as being much more rounder in appearance, resembling more sophisticated 3D modeling capabilities, and also lighter and smaller, the shrinking of advanced technology. Despite being an upgrade, there's a bit of weirdness present in Porygon2 according to the PokeDex---while it was upgraded with space exploration in mind, it's unable to fly (does it mean flying like a bird, or space flight?), and is said in the Platinum PokeDex to have not measured up to expectations. Furthermore, it also has advanced artificial intelligence, although with the implication that this trait may have not been exactly planned, and it's personality may be deemed as a failure when it comes to how well it could perform its job. I get the sense Silph Co. ultimately deemed the Porygon line somewhat of a failure, and perhaps they're the ones who sold Porygon to the Game Corners, wanting to make their money back without admitting to their mistakes? You could even see Porygon2 as similar to Mewtwo, an upgrade of the original who didn't go as planned, except not in a dangerous, psychopathic way.
I wasn't a big fan of Porygon, and I kind of think Porygon2 looks pretty dorky, even though once more I understand why it looks the way it does. Porygon looked kind of cool with the angles and all, but Porygon2 looks like a strange rubber duck, and I recall in Stadium 2 it had a pretty goofy animation that brought to mind those drinking bird knickknacks. So yeah, not really a Pokemon I favor, although I think it has its fans in part due to how good it ended up being in Gold and Silver, but it's probably one of those Pokemon people wouldn't care for in general otherwise and would've been seen as a neat, but ultimately odd and gimmicky Pokemon. Still though, it's kind of cute, so I still think it would've had a decent following either way.
Porygon2 never appeared in the show since the line was banned from the anime, and is the only Gen II Pokemon not to do so. It did appear at the beginning of the Keldeo Movie which featured every Pokemon introduced up to Gen V.
#474 - Porygon-Z
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Given the nature of Porygon2, many fans expected a "Porygon3" to be introduced eventually, and in Generation IV we finally got...one? Wait a second...1...2...Z? Something isn't right here? PorygonZ is the evolution of Porygon2 when traded with the Dubious Disc, but it's almost like a branch-evolution in a way, due to it only having a slightly better BST compared to Porygon2, and losing a bit from its other stats to put into Special Attack and Speed instead of an overall increase like most evolutions. Porygon-Z is quite an annoying Pokemon, though, considering you have to trade it three times---first to evolve Porygon, then to evolve to Porygon2, then to evolve to Porygon-Z, and finally once more so it can be traded back to its original owner. The fact you also need to make sure both players have the proper evolution item to attach to it before trading, which means you'll have to back out of the trading screen and equip it with the next required item, adds to the annoyance and despite Platinum giving players a free Porygon to possibly use, I doubt a lot of players wanted to bother trading to get Porygon-Z to use during the main adventure. But don't write off this read-only Pokemon that fast, as it's very potent in battle, a Nasty Plot boosted Porygon-Z capable of taking down almost any Pokemon instantly if it can score a good hit, and like its brother Porygon2 enjoys decent spotlight in the competitive scene. I imagine one day we may see a true "Porygon3" that officially evolves from Porygon2, or perhaps that might be served by a Porygon2 Mega Evolution, but for now Porygon-Z is the best we've got.
So...Porygon-Z is weird as fuck, and this is considering that Porygon and Porygon2 are pretty bizarre themselves. Porygon-Z is basically a glitched version of Porygon2, and its design reinforces this fact. Like Porygon2, its another design where I think its appearance really fits the lore of the Pokemon, but personally I do think they could've accomplished that while still making it visually appealing as Porygon-Z is just a Pokemon I have no interest in aesthetically, and I imagine most folks mainly use it for its power over looks. Still, maybe some folks are enticed by it's off-kilter look and dizzying appearance. As a glitched Pokemon, it's presumed that Porygon-Z was an unofficial upgrade to Porygon2 not authorized by Silph Co., and is said to have been programmed with the intention of exploring "alien dimensions" but apparently failed---perhaps though Porygon-Z didn't fail, and a scarier though is that it actually succeeded in crossing dimensions causing an "Event Horizon" to occur, and Porygon-Z's bizarre appearance and personality is the result of some unfathomable creature possessing the Pokemon causing it to act in ways beyond mortal comprehension? Also oddly Porygon-Z, despite being otherwise a scrambled Porygon2, is bigger and heavier than it when it seems like it probably should be the same size.
Who was responsible for Porygon-Z? Well, in Diamond and Pearl, the Dubious Disc was randomly found on an otherwise regular route, but in Platinum it was moved to the Galactic Base, and thus the common theory is that Team Galactic were responsible for it, presumably its ability to travel through dimensions can be seen as an attempt to possibly make contact with the dimensions that Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina occupy, but ultimately it was scrapped when it wasn't able to satisfy Galactic's goals. In particular, it's believed that the scientist Charon of Team Galactic was mainly responsible, due to hints in HGSS suggesting at one point he worked at Silph Co. and thus had access to the Porygon2 programming. Perhaps Porygon-Z wasn't originally made for Team Galactic, rather as an ego-trip by Charon to simply prove he could create a better Porygon than the company he worked at. Maybe Charon was also on the team responsible for Porygon2? He's one of the most enigmatic characters in the series, especially due to his relationship with another Generation IV Pokemon, and I wouldn't be surprised if he pops up again when we possibly get "Porygon3". Oh, I do love the little bits of lore Game Freak throws out for the fans that we have to try and piece together to figure out all the little mysteries throughout the series that may not have a solid answer in the first place.
Anyway, Porygon has signature moves, but Porygon2 doesn't necessarily have any, although Conversion 2 didn't come about till Porygon2 was added, but Porygon-Z has Trick Room. A ton of Pokemon can learn Trick Room through TM, but Z is the only Pokemon who could learn it naturally till Generation VI introduced two Legendaries who were also capable of utilizing it. Trick Room is one of the weirder moves in the game, causing slow Pokemon to move fast and fast Pokemon to move slow, but as Porygon-Z is a bit "middle of the road" in terms of speed, it's not exactly a fitting move for him in terms of use and going with Agility is usually the preferred method of keeping up with the faster Pokemon. Still though, Trick Room fits Z to a t in terms of lore and characteristics, as it's always been displayed as a strange, cybernetic dimension---perhaps this is the cyberspace that the Porygon line normally occupies?
Like Porygon2, Z never popped up in the show except for at the beginning of the Keldeo Movie alongside basically every other Pokemon. However, both it and 2 do have anime promotional artwork used in various merchandising and on websites, so perhaps at once point they were considered to be featured but never went through with it. It's never been actually confirmed if the Porygon line is truly banned from the anime, or if the animators simply have skipped over them on their own accord out of fear of reminding people of their past mistakes. While I'm sympathetic towards those effected, I do think it's weird to have a ban on a Pokemon who really wasn't inherently responsible and I hope by the time "Porygon3" comes around they're able to use the line again without fear of repercussions.
