If Pokémon were real, could you really catch ’em all? Would you have the time? Science says yes, and in a reasonable amount of time.

Thomas Codd published these findings for the student-run Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics. Codd used hard facts for this fictional universe and the original 150–excluding Mew–Kanto Pokémon from the video games Red, Blue, and Yellow to conclude how long it would take to become the very best, like no one ever was.

Across the Pokémon universe, you come across various trainers on their way to catch, study, and battle. After encountering so many other trainers in the game, you begin to assume that being a Pokémon master is a common career. Codd calculated that by catching 81 of the 150 in-game Pokémon, (and evolving or trading for the rest) you could realistically have them all. It must be assumed, though, that you’re a Pokémon trainer with financial access to Ultra Balls, Evolution Stones, and all other miscellaneous Poké Mart items. You also have to be a competent trainer who can successfully train a Pokémon from stage-to-stage–so, that takes Ash out of the running.

Codd also presented data about the video game Kanto region itself, citing that the combined land and water area is roughly 61,605.41 square kilometers. Wild Pokémon encounters via walking and fishing where also calculated by Codd–and let’s just say, the science supports grinding. In all, it would require 48, 470 km of walking across the Kanto region to catch all of the various wild Pokémon.

But how much time would you spend on your Pokémon journey? Science says it would take 1822 days, or about five years, to catch ’em all. Given that going to college usually requires four years, we’d say that a 5-year Pokémon master’s program would be totally justified. 

Would you want to spend five years catching ’em all in the Kanto region? That’s an awful lot of zubats. Leave your comments below!

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HT: Thomas Codd; The Centre for Interdisciplinary Science, University of Leicester

Image: Nintendo

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