The Pokémon franchise is set in a utopia, where people never starve, nor suffer from disease, and everyone is friendly, outside of a few cartoonish villain groups, but that hasn't prevented some humans from chowing down on their Pokémon companions. Humans will often capture Pokémon and use them as allies, either in battle or in their day-to-day life, and they develop a familial bond. This has raised the question of whether humans can eat Pokémon and if there are situations where it has happened in the past. There have been Pokémon food crossovers released in real-life, but would a Pokémon trainer ever bring themselves to eat their beloved Pikachu?

The mainline Pokémon video games are turn-based RPGs with a monster collecting gimmick. As such, the main character's diet rarely comes up, as they're not the ones chugging potions in battle. It's established that Pokémon have their own food, some of which can be used as items in battle. The Pokédex entries also refer to predator and prey relationships between various Pokémon, such as Durant being eaten by Heatmor, but this is rarely shown on screen. A Cramorant might accidentally get a Pikachu stuck in its gullet from time to time, and a Pidgey might fly off with a Magikarp (which Pokémon can't stop being mean to) to have for its dinner, but the series doesn't dwell on the Pokémon food chain.

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The question of humans eating Pokémon is rarely addressed in the series, even though meat products do exist. The Pokémon curry introduced in Pokémon Sword and Shield can include meat ingredients and it's never explained where they come from. There are some Pokémon that do provide food, such as Miltank milk, but the prospect of a human taking a butcher's knife to a Pokémon in order to harvest it for meat is something that will never be shown onscreen. Despite this, there have been references to humans eating Pokémon, but it's often described as something that happened in the past and is no longer practiced.

Sharpedo Has Been Turned Into Pokémon Soup

Official art for Sharpedo in Pokémon.

The Pokémon franchise will occasionally feature references to real-life ecological crises, such as Galarian Cursola from Pokémon Sword and Shield referencing coral bleaching. Sharpedo has one of the most direct references to a crisis in its Pokédex entry in Pokémon Moon, where it's mentioned that Sharpedo was a victim of overfishing in the past. According to the Pokédex entry, Sharpedo were prized as food for their dorsal fins, leading them to being overfished and potentially brought to the edge of extinction.

This is referred to as something that happened in the past, so it's likely that measures were taken to stop Sharpedo from being hunted. The plight of the Sharpedo references the real-life act of shark finning, where a shark is fished out of the water, has its fin removed and has its body returned, as it's easier to transport the fin on its own. The practice of shark finning is banned by various countries but is still practiced around the world.

Slowpoke Tails Are A Team Rocket Favorite Pokémon Food

The other entries on this list feature references from the Pokémon anime and the various Pokédex entries from the Pokémon games. The poor Slowpoke in Johto are the only Pokémon that have a plot connected to their edible nature. In Pokémon Gold and Silver, Team Rocket members have been severing the tails of various Slowpoke, in order to sell them as food. The player character must foil this plan and the Slowpoke are left in peace after Team Rocket are chased away.

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There are other references to Slowpoke tails being used as food in later games in the series, and Slowpoke's Pokémon Sun Pokédex entry mentions that the tails can naturally fall off and will grow back over time, taking some of the horror element out of humans cutting off the tails themselves. The humans and Pokémon in Pokémon Sword and Shield can still munch on a Slowpoke tail to this day, as they are potential ingredient for Pokémon curry.

Farfetch'd Have Been Hunted For Food (In The Pokémon Anime)

In Pokémon Red & Blue, Farfetch'd was one of a kind.

It's hard to think that a popular Pokémon like Farfetch'd would be eaten, but it's something that has been hinted at numerous times throughout the series. The various Pokédex entries for Farfetch'd have made some not-so-subtle references to the reason why they have become rare, but the Pokémon anime just came out and said it. In the episode called "So Near, Yet So Farfetch'd", Ash's Pokédex tells him that Farfetch'd make a delicious meal, especially when cooked with a leak, which is why it's almost extinct. Most Pokémon don't cook their food, which leaves one other culprit for cooking Farfetch'd stew.

Basculin Was Eaten In Olden Times In Pokémon's History

Basculin Pokemon

There are many references to fish Pokémon being tasty in the Pokédex, but these are kept fairly subtle and it's never outright stated that it's because humans have been eating them, save for Sharpedo's fins. The Pokédex entries are often apocryphal, so the references to Pokémon being tasty could easily be myth or hearsay. The red-striped Basculin's Pokédex entry in Pokémon Shield is more direct, as it states that these Pokémon often appeared on the dinner table in ages past and were favored by young people. The Pokémon Sword Pokédex entry for blue-striped Basculin mentions that they used to be a common food source. At least these Pokédex entries claim that Basculin were eaten in the past and aren't devoured anymore.

Polteageist Will Let Trusted Pokémon Trainers Drink Its Tea

Polteageist upon evolving from Sinistea

It would make sense for Ghost-type Pokémon to avoid this list, as they are meant to be incorporeal and don't actually have a body to feast upon. Pokémon Sword and Shield introduced a Ghost-type that could be consumed, but as a liquid, rather than a solid. Anyone who manages to capture a Sinistea Pokémon and evolve it into Polteageist will soon be slurping on some delicious tea, at least according to the Pokédex. According to the Pokémon Sword Pokédex, a Polteageist will allow a trainer it trusts to taste the tea it produces. The other Pokédex entries confirm that Polteageist is just tea that became haunted, which means that a good Pokémon trainer will be able to taste the delicious undead liquid.

Next: Every Dual-Type Pokémon With Only One Weakness