For a franchise that’s been around for over two decades, Pokémon is surprisingly packed with unsolved mysteries—hidden lore, cryptic characters, and unanswered questions that continue to haunt even the most dedicated fans. From the anime to the games, the world of Pokémon has left behind a trail of secrets, many of which are still open to interpretation, speculation, and debate.
Here are the Top 10 Never Solved Mysteries in Pokémon—mysteries that remain unexplained, unsolved, and in some cases, completely forgotten by the franchise itself.
1. What Happened to Ash’s Father?
Let’s start with one of the oldest and most persistent mysteries in the anime:
Where is Ash’s dad?
- He’s mentioned briefly in the first season by Ash’s mom, Delia Ketchum, but never seen.
- No name, no backstory, no flashbacks.
- Over the years, fans have theorized everything from him being a Pokémon Master, to a member of Team Rocket, or even Professor Oak.
Despite being the protagonist’s father, he has never appeared, and the anime seems content to leave it that way.
Status: Still MIA after 20+ years.
Official answer: None.
Fan theories: Everywhere.
2. Who Is the Ghost Girl in Lumiose City?
In Pokémon X and Y, there’s a chilling moment in Lumiose City:
- Enter a building on the second floor, and suddenly a girl appears behind your character, saying, “No, you’re not the one…” before vanishing.
- She has no shadow. No name. No explanation.
This moment has never been expanded upon, despite it being one of the most terrifying jump-scares in any Pokémon game. Fans have speculated about her connection to other ghost stories in the series, but Game Freak has remained silent.
Status: Unexplained.
Spook factor: 10/10.
3. What Happened in the Pokémon War?
In Pokémon X and Y, a character named AZ reveals that:
- 3,000 years ago, a massive war took place in the Kalos region.
- It involved a doomsday weapon, built to resurrect AZ’s beloved Floette.
- The war wiped out countless Pokémon and humans.
But… who were the factions? What caused the war? How did the Ultimate Weapon survive underground?
This ancient conflict is central to Kalos’ backstory, yet so many details are left deliberately vague, leaving fans hungry for more.
Status: Shrouded in mystery.
Potential for a prequel? Huge.
4. Why Can Meowth Talk?
Meowth from Team Rocket is the only Pokémon who can:
- Speak fluent human language,
- Walk on two legs, and
- Understand human culture and emotions.
We know from the anime that he taught himself these skills to impress a female Meowth named Meowzie. But even with that backstory, questions remain:
- Why hasn’t any other Pokémon ever done the same?
- Why didn’t Meowth learn attacks in exchange?
- Is there something deeper going on with his intelligence?
It’s a story that feels incomplete, and Meowth may be more than just a talking cat.
Status: Mostly explained… but not fully.
5. What Exactly Is MissingNo?
MissingNo. (short for “Missing Number”) is the infamous glitch Pokémon from the original Red and Blue games.
- It appears during a certain glitch on Cinnabar Island.
- It can duplicate items, crash games, and evolve into strange hybrids.
- It has no Pokédex entry and doesn’t exist in later games.
But many fans believe MissingNo. is more than a bug. Some say it’s a scrapped Pokémon, a placeholder, or even a piece of Pokémon code gone rogue.
Game Freak has never directly explained MissingNo., making it one of the most enduring digital ghosts in gaming.
Status: Glitched into legend.
6. What’s Up with Gengar and Clefable?
There’s a long-standing theory that Gengar is Clefable’s shadow:
- Their body shapes are nearly identical.
- Clefable is a Fairy-type (formerly Normal), and Gengar is Ghost/Poison—its opposite.
- Gengar’s name even comes from the German word “Doppelgänger.”
Though it’s never been confirmed, this theory is so eerily plausible that many fans have adopted it as headcanon. Could Gengar be the literal shadow of a Clefable that turned vengeful?
Status: Unconfirmed fan theory—but really compelling.
7. Who Built the Ruins of Alph?
In Gold, Silver, and Crystal, the Ruins of Alph are ancient chambers filled with Unown—strange, eye-shaped Pokémon that resemble letters.
- The ruins have mysterious carvings and puzzles.
- The Unown seem to communicate telepathically.
- Later games connect Unown to dimensional rifts and ancient powers.
But here’s the thing: no one knows who built the ruins, what the Unown are trying to say, or what their true power is. The whole event feels like a message from another universe—but no one can read it.
Status: Still unsolved, still creepy.
8. Where Do Pokémon Eggs Come From?
Breeding Pokémon has been a staple mechanic for generations. But despite the mechanics, there’s one lingering question:
Where do Pokémon eggs actually come from?
- No one ever sees a Pokémon lay an egg.
- Even Professor Elm says the origins of Pokémon Eggs are unknown.
- The Daycare simply “finds” an egg when conditions are right.
It’s almost like the eggs just appear, raising questions about how Pokémon reproduce—or if it’s more mystical than biological.
Status: Still a mystery wrapped in an egg.
9. What Is Eternatus’ True Origin?
In Pokémon Sword and Shield, Eternatus is an alien-like Pokémon responsible for the Darkest Day, a cataclysmic event in Galar.
- It fell to Earth in a meteor.
- It radiates Dynamax energy.
- It nearly destroyed the world once—and almost did again.
But we never learn where it came from, why it emits Dynamax energy, or whether more like it exist in outer space.
Eternatus is practically cosmic horror in Pokémon form, and the lack of a clear origin makes it even more disturbing.
Status: Deep space mystery.
10. Is There a Connection Between All Legendary Pokémon?
Legendary Pokémon are often guardians of time, space, nature, and balance. But over the years, the sheer number of them raises one huge question:
Are they part of a shared mythos—or individual deities from isolated regions?
- Arceus is the “god” of all Pokémon.
- Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina govern time, space, and antimatter.
- Other Legendaries control weather, nature, oceans, volcanoes, and dimensions.
There are hints in lore that these Pokémon exist in parallel but how they relate to each other is never clearly defined.
Is there a Pokémon “pantheon”? A multiverse? We don’t know.
Status: One big divine question mark.
Conclusion
The Pokémon world may look simple on the surface, but it’s brimming with unanswered questions, eerie mysteries, and strange gaps in its lore. Whether intentional or not, these unsolved riddles have kept fans engaged, theorizing, and dreaming for decades.
Some may never be solved—and honestly, that’s part of the fun.
💬 Which Pokémon mystery do you still think about? Got your own theory? Drop it in the comments—let’s solve them together (or make them even weirder)!