Summary
The enormus Game Freak hackthat broke three weeks ago isstillunravelling, and dataminers have found a new document which reveals when the first fivePokemongenerations takes place.
Naturally, it all starts with Gen 1, i.e. Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow. Gen 3, comprised of Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, takes place at the same time in what is dubbed the “original year”.
Jump ahead three years and the story picks up with Gen 2 — Gold, Silver, and Crystal. It has long been speculated that Gen 2 and Gen 4 take place at the same time, but this new document places the latter games, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, “a little” later.
Finally, we have Gen 5, Black & White, which take place a staggering ten years after Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. That means Black & White is set at least 13 years after the original games, making your OG trainer around 23 by the timeTeam Plasma sets its sights on Unova.
Red Is 25 By The Time Of Pokemon Black & White 2
While the document doesn’t detail the generations beyond Black & White, Game Freak launched a direct sequel in 2012, which we know takes place two years later.
We run into Gen 1 protagonist Red during the Pokemon Champion Tournament in Black & White 2, and so given everything we now know, that would make him at least 25… even if he still looks like a ten year old.
We can take the timeline even further than that, though. As oneReddit userpointed out, the Sun and Moon art book places Gen 7 two years after Black and White 2. Red likewise makes an appearance, but here, he finally looks older! He aged alotbetween 25 and 27.
That means that the official timeline is as follows:
Where Gen 6 (X/Y) fits into this is still up for debate (it’s speculated to take place at the same time as Black & White 2), and we don’t know exactly when Sword and Shield and Scarlet and Violet take place. But this leaked timeline finally puts to bed the Gen 2 and Gen 4 debate, and gives us a more concrete idea of how the first few gens line up.
