Do people eat Pokémon in the Pokémon series? Answered

In a world where all the animals are superpowered creatures with varying levels of communication ability, eating ethics can get a little weird. When it comes to the Pokémon series, it’s no surprise that the developers have left “the eating of Pokémon” as a little bit of a murky gray area throughout the years. If this is a burning question you’ve had for years as a Pokéfan, here are the answers.

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Can you eat Pokémon?

Yes and no.

If you’re talking about the world of Pokémon, yes, people eat Pokémon. In the game lore, be it through Pokédex entries, character dialogue, game art, or any other off-hand implications, it’s clear that eating Pokémon isn’t an uncommon aspect of this world. For example, some Pokédex entries describe Barraskewda flesh as “tasty” and Appletun as a great children’s snack. Another iconic example is the very clear Kingler claw that you can see in one of the curries in Pokémon Sword and Shield.

However, as you play the game, you cannot eat your own Pokémon. You can’t catch a Chikorita and chop her up and make a stew out of her stalks and leaves while you adventure the lands. While you play, you’re mostly only shown eating berries and pre-made meals alongside your Pokémon. So, while it’s clear lore-wise that Pokémon are edible, the devs chose not to have kids watch people cut up their favorite creatures. An understandable direction.

What Pokémon do people eat?

Now, if that doesn’t sate your curiosity and you’d like to know more about the most edible creatures, here’s a list of some confirmed Pokémon and Pokémon byproducts that people have been known to munch on:

• Barraskewda Meat
• Cherubi Berries
• Sharpedo Fins
• Basculin Meat
• Slowpoke Tails
• Clauncher Claws
• Krabby and Kingler Claws
• Ribombee Pollen Puffs
• Chansey and Blissey Eggs
• Skiddo and Miltank Milk
• Combee and Vespiqueen Honey
• Octillery Ink

Not all edible Pokémon are ingested because they’re tasty, though. For example, Seadra, Gabite, Paras, and Parasect parts are all used for medicine.

All these good east aren’t exclusive to the people in the Pokémon franchise, either. Pokémon eat other Pokémon, too, like Arbok preying on Wooper (probably Paldean Wooper, too). So, as long as you’re creative about it, you probably could eat pretty much any Pokémon. Doesn’t a caramel-drizzled Vanillite sound good right about now?