Variants/Subspecies vs. Crossbreeds/Hybrids Pt. 1

Variants/Subspecies vs. Crossbreeds/Hybrids Pt. 1
By: Jason O'Hara

In the recent months, a relatively vague field of study has recently boomed in popularity: Pokemon Genetics and Heredity. All living species have found ways to reproduce and make offspring since the beginning of time, But Pokemon are the only class of organisms that are able to interbreed with such varying morphological differences between species. This can be traced to their somewhat fluctuating genetic codes that allow them to evolve and adapt to environments at amazing speeds. In doing so, their appearances and behaviors can change as well. The former is what has people so excited.

Pokemon are being discovered with dramatic differences in their appearance when compared to what is considered a standard form. I'll be using the Pokemon Dratini and Infernape in my examples. A Dratini under the care of Lance in Johto was discovered to possess several strange body features. It was much larger, and had a double-finned tail like that of a shark, as well as a dorsal fin, gills, and bullet shaped growths on each side of its head. It also had a mix of the coloration of another Dragon-type, Garchomp, and itself. Lance revealed that he had hatched this Dratini after breeding one of his Dragonite's with a Garchomp had recently obtained. Out of the clutch, this was the only one to appear to have any appearance differences, save for a few Egg Moves. This was the most talked about example of a crossbreed to be discovered.

In the thick marshes outside Pastoria City, a small colony of Infernape's was discovered. These Fire-types had thicker limbs and stockier bodies than typical Infernape's, and the fronts of the males' faces and posteriors were were bright red and blue. They were highly territorial, aggressive, and reached sexual maturity much faster. They also had much larger canine teeth. A scientist working with Infernape's named this variation the "Mandrill" form of the species.

So what's the difference between the two examples? The shark-like Dratini was a crossbreed, but the Mandrill Infernape was a variation. Most uninformed people think the two words can be used interchangeably, but they can't. There are distinct differences between the two, as well as some similarities. This report will help teach you how to tell which from which.

Crossbreeds/Hybrids

As a part-time Pokemon Breeder, there is nothing more satisfying than to produce a baby Pokemon that is like nothing that you've ever seen before. What's better than creating a Bulbasaur that can cause mass destruction? Passing down a Hidden Ability to make it solar-powered. Today, Breeders usually breed for battling or for looks. The two can be combined, but this is usually recommended for only the most experienced of Breeders.

For those that breed for appearance, crossbreeding is nothing new. It's just a simple science. If you want a Pokemon to learn a certain move, you can breed it with a different species in hopes of transferring new abilities or attacks (Egg Moves). But appearances are much harder. How does the father Pokemon not affect the species, but affect the appearance? And how do we get such dramatic outcomes like Lance's Dratini? Genetics is funny that way. It seems that when two Pokemon breed, their dramatic differences in genetic codes begin to cancel out. Attacks and Abilities are considered universal and translate easily to the offspring, but appearances from the father are a lot less likely to be given than the mother.

In a rare chance, and we're talking rarer than a Shiny Pokemon, will you successfully get a perfect hybrid on your first try. For the first, second, third, and probably fourth generations of offspring, nothing will seem to have changed. By around the fifth and sixth generation will small differences start to appear. The only way for this to work this fast, will be to breed the already existing offspring with the same species of Pokemon they descended from. So if Lance wanted another shark-like Dratini, his best bet would be to breed the rest of the clutch with another Garchomp, and then do the same with the following generations. Then he should eventually get a complete clutch of shark-like Dratinis.

But why is it like this? We can think of the traits that determine appearance in a Pokemon. A lot of genes and alleles go into shaping a Pokemon's body, but everything is simplified during the breeding process. A smiple 2 x 2 Punnet square can help determine what sort of Pokemon you'll get out of a crossing.

All female Pokemon contain their body structures, movepool, ability, etc. in a single allele: "A". This allele only accounts for the female's current condition, because bringing out recessive Hidden Abilities and shiny coloration is a whole other mess. The male is the exact same way, but his allele is a lowercase "a". Simply take two purebred parents, with the respective alleles of AA and aa. Any Pokemon Center can do a quick scan to tell you if you're Pokemon is a purebred, and these are the most common. Now we just cross them and look at the possible outcomes

AA x aa = Aa, Aa, Aa, Aa

So it's 100% chance that the offspring will be heterozygous with both parents alleles. You'd think this would invoke some sort of change, but not really, other than Egg Moves and maybe Abilities. It's not a huge secret that within a generation or two, Lillipups crossed with Pilowswine will have thicker coats more adapted to cold weather. The changes are supposed to appeal gradually to allow the offspring to survive long enough to reproduce with a member of their own species, because cross-breeding is quite uncommon in the wild.

Now we'll cross the second generation with the same Pokemon species as before.

Aa x aa = Aa, Aa, aa, aa

So technically around half of the offspring should be little shark babies now, but that's not the case. At the second generation, the offspring will have some Egg Moves, most likely the father's Ability if legitimate, and maybe some internal affects. By the third generation you'll see slight changes in coat or patterns.

Currently it's estimated that the sixth generation is the most common way to see these hybrids. They contain the overall body structure of the mother, with many morphological features of the father. It's often debated if whether or not continued breeding would completely transform the Pokemon into the father's species, but this has not been tested on as the ethics of such tests are still being considered. It should also be noted that breeding these hybrids with any species other than the one it came from will result in infertile eggs. Crossing two hybrids will interestingly enough result in a false purebred of the mother or father depending on the offspring's gender.

The example of the shark-like Dratini is a crossbreed or hybrid, whichever term you prefer. These are produced through inter-species breeding over generations of time that result in morphological changes. The genetic codes are mixed and canceled out at random to produce offspring that will share both traits. These hybrids are capable of only breeding with their parent species, and other hybrids like them. There have been zero reports of these in the wild, and most purebred Pokemon are reluctant to breed with them even in captivity. They can not be considered a new species because they have no distinct features that don't already belong to an existing species of Pokemon.

In Part 2, we'll discuss Pokemon variations and subspecies, as well as my final thoughts on both.