Time travel
- If you were looking for the e-Reader application, see Time Travel (e-Reader).
Time travel is an infrequent theme in the Pokémon franchise and has been depicted in several canons, including the games, the anime, and various manga. In general, stories in which a character travels through time focus on the repercussions of traveling into the past or the future. Usually, the motivation for time traveling comes from the need or desire to change history. Characters who interfere with the timeline will generally notice an altered present upon their return.
Three notable Pokémon possess time travel abilities. These are the Mythical Celebi, which is known as the Time Travel Pokémon and has been shown to physically travel into different time periods, the Legendary Dialga, the Temporal Pokémon that can travel at will through past and future and has the power to send humans and Pokémon to specific points in time, and the Legendary Terapagos, the Tera Pokémon, which can use Terastal energy to transport Pokémon or humans across different time periods or timelines.
In the games
In the core series
- The Time Capsule is said to send Pokémon back and forth through time to explain how trading works between Generation I and II games.
- In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the player and Ethan/Lyra travel into the past with Celebi. During a visit to two different time periods, the player discovers a part of Silver's past, as well as battles Giovanni to prevent him from rejoining Team Rocket, at the same time when the player's past self is stopping the organization at the Goldenrod Radio Tower.
- In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, one of Pokéstar Studios's film series is about time-traveling to the future with a time machine.
- In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Arceus sends the player back in time to the Hisui region at the start of the game. In addition, Ingo has also wound up in Hisui some time before the player's arrival through unclear means. Pokémon from the past and future are also possible to be encountered in space-time distortions.
- In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it is revealed that Professor SadaS/Professor TuroV succeeded in creating a time machine that brings Pokémon from the distant pastS/futureV to the present-day Paldea, with one of those Pokémon being KoraidonS/MiraidonV. During the course of the games' final story arc, The Way Home, the player and their friends shut down the time machine at the behest of AI SadaS/TuroV before the Paradox Pokémon it has been automatically catching and bringing to the present can break out of Area Zero and overrun Paldea. After catching Terapagos and travelling to the Crystal Pool, the player meets the real Professor SadaS/Professor TuroV from before they finished their time machine, exchanging their copy of Briar's Book for the Scarlet BookS/Violet BookV. As the Professor's notes in the Area Zero Underdepths mention that they were given a white book by a child, this suggests that the meeting caused a bootstrap paradox. The player also tells the Professor Koraidon'sS/Miraidon'sV true name and can inadvertently give them the idea to create the AI, thus causing further paradoxes.
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In the spin-off games
- The plots of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness and Explorers of Sky heavily involve around time-traveling in the Pokémon world.
- The multiplayer missions of Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs take place in various temples in the past of Cocona Village.
- In Pokémon Masters EX, Adaman, Irida, Rei, and Akari have been transported to modern-day Pasio through a space-time rift.
In the anime
- Sam was sent 40 years into the future after meeting Celebi in Celebi: The Voice of the Forest. There, he encountered Ash and his friends. It is unknown if the events in the future and Sam's eventual return to the past directly altered the original timeline, but it is hinted that it might not have and these events were already present in the original timeline.
- Ritchie and Sparky were sent into the past via Celebi in Celebi and Joy!. Events in the past directly altered the original timeline, with Ritchie assisting in the rescue of Nick and his father from certain death. Nick is now the mayor of Marion Town in the present day.
- Calista traveled through time via an ancient magic circle activated by her Baltoy and an alternate self in Me, Myself and Time. It was a case of meeting one's younger self. It is unknown if the events in the past directly alter the original timeline.
- May, her Squirtle, and Meowth traveled through time via Edna's locket in Time Warp Heals All Wounds. Events in the past directly altered the original timeline, including the continued service of the Fuchsia City train station and Jonathan now being alive.
- Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Sheena traveled through time via Dialga in Arceus and the Jewel of Life. Events in the past affected the original timeline, though not immediately; the changes went into effect only when Arceus remembered that Ash had rescued it in the past.
- Ferris traveled through time via a portal in A Restoration Confrontation! Part 1 and Part 2. It was a case of arriving in the distant past as opposed to the recent past. It is unknown if the events in the past directly altered the original timeline.
- In Facing the Grand Design!, the three evil Malamar escaped to the future with the help of large energy crystals.
- Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie traveled ten years into the past via Rotom and an elevator in Rotom's Wish!. Events in the past directly altered the original timeline. Weston had originally lost his battle and the ownership of the Lost Hotel to Mantle, but the group revised this and Weston was now in charge of the hotel, which no longer looked abandoned.
- In A Timeless Encounter!, Ash and his Torracat were accidentally sent back in time by a Celebi to when Professor Kukui was five years old. Ash's talks about Pokémon Leagues and Gyms inspired Kukui and led to him creating the Alola League in the present day.
In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
Gold, Silver & Crystal arc
The Masked Man desired Celebi's time-traveling ability to reunite himself with his two dead Pokémon. He wound up disappearing into the crack of time inside the Ilex Forest shrine, only being released from it years later.
Ruby & Sapphire arc
Ruby's Celebi altered the events of the final battle, reviving Norman, Steven, and Courtney, who had died during the conflict.
Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys
Eusine used Bill's Time Capsule to send his Pikachu to the past, where it became friends with Gold. Later, when the appearance of the Black Tyranitar threatened to alter the future, Pikachu almost vanished.
Pokémon Pocket Monsters
Red and his Pokémon time traveled in The Ancient Pokémon Discovery!, Find the Legendary Pokémon!!, and PMDP27.
