In the world of Pokémon, the Pokédex has many entries that are ridiculous and obviously greatly exaggerated, and no entry is greater proof of this than Magcargo. While there are many examples of outlandish Pokédex entries, Magcargo’s is the most egregious, and showcases how Pokémon‘s attempts to fit cool lore into its monsters often goes too far. The next Generation of games, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, will release on November 18, leaving less than a month before players can read its ridiculous Pokédex entries.
The Pokédex is a digital encyclopedia given to every Trainer when they set out upon their Pokémon Journey. Each Generation of games has its own model, with recent ones seeing the Pokédex take the form of a smartphone. It contains information on every Pokémon in existence, though it’s mostly restricted to their footprint, average height and weight, and a short description. How this information is obtained differs between the Pokémon games and the anime; in the games, players have to capture or evolve a Pokémon to obtain its data, giving Pokémon Trainers motivation to catch em all, whereas in the anime, it comes preloaded and characters can simply point the Pokédex at a Pokémon to access its information.
Magcargo is a Fire/Rock-Type Pokémon introduced in Gen 2, the Johto region. Like most, its Pokédex entries across the Generations tend to repeat a few key facts about it. For example, its body is made of magma, rain vaporizes on contact with it, and the shell on its back is a hardened portion of itself that fire occasionally spews out of. However, the main reason that Magcargo’s Pokédex entries are so ridiculous is the fact that they purport its body temperature to be approximately 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit, an impossible number that’s clearly exaggerated.
Magcargo Proves That Pokémon’s Pokédex Entries Are Nonsense
If Magcargo’s Pokédex entries were fully accurate, it would be too dangerous for any Pokémon Trainer to catch, or even to get close to at all. The surface of the sun is about 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning that Magcargo would be twice as hot as the hottest thing in the galaxy. Even one Magcargo would leave a trail of destruction wherever it went if this were the case, and since they’re a fairly common Pokémon, an entire population of them would destroy the Earth and everything on it simply by existing.
Even if Magcargo were the same temperature as lava, a mere 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, it would still leave mass destruction in its wake, so it serves as proof positive that the Pokédex can’t be trusted. Other examples of obviously wildly exaggerated entries include Machamp being able to move mountains all by itself, or Entei setting off volcanoes across the world by roaring. It should be assumed that none of these Pokémon are as strong or dangerous as they look, and that the Pokédex is either completely false or only contains small nuggets of truth.
If the Pokédex is almost completely falsified, however, then there must be a reason why, and it’s fairly obvious. Pokémon is a kid’s series, so giving Pokémon outlandish descriptions is likely meant to make them seem more interesting and help kids get more engaged with them. This may also be the in-universe explanation. Pokémon Trainers start out their Journeys as kids, so giving them information about Pokémon that is exaggerated enough to catch their attention might help them learn some basic facts about them and avoid the more dangerous ones while they’re exploring the regions. Presumably, however, Pokémon Trainers outgrow Professors’ ridiculous descriptions as they get older, and the adults of the world of Pokémon don’t actually believe them.
