So this is an obvious start to the Porygon family. It’s a shoddy 3D model of a battleship. Notice the flat faces? The fact it’s just polygons lined up? Yeah, Porygon right here.

Porygon was designed in 1996, maybe earlier.  It’s amazing to think they even thought to add a computer-model as a Pokémon. It was quite a foreign concept at the time. Pokémon red was pretty advanced; a handhold game? Crazy for the time. I mean sure, it wasn’t out of the world, but it’s crazy to think they based a Pokémon on it so early in its life.

The photo shows the original 3D models that inspired Porygon, but that’s not Porygon 2. Porygon 2 is just about any 3D model you look at nowadays; smooth, defined, and somewhat realistic.

Porygon Z though, that’s something entirely different. Pretty wild.

I made this image by rotating parts of Porygon Z and pasting on the eye of Porygon 2. This is what Porygon Z is, it’s Porygon 2 infected by the ‘Dubious Disk’, the item you trade with it to evolve Porygon 2.

Porygon Z is based on the concept of a computer virus, but since Porygon is a computer program, clearly a virus could infect it.

Now, there’s one virus that has come to light that affects physical machines, and it’s called “Stuxnet”. It infected Iran’s nuclear program, and it caused the machines to randomly mess up and become out of control. This shows the effect of a virus on something physical, and it’s safe to assume that this could happen to a Pokémon like Porygon.

Clearly the effect on Porygon 2 would twist and contort the Pokémon and cause it to look demented such as Porygon Z.

Naturally this is why Porygon is a bird. Origami birds are popular in Asian countries, so naturally they would want to make a Pokémon based on origami. An origami 3D bird sums up Porygon very well.

Just a quick note, this is definitely what inspired Porygon 2. The rounded shape, the blue belly full of water, and the red upper body. Evidently the two were inspired by unnatural representations of birds.

So this is a tricky situation. How do you explain a computer program?

I guess I should start by talking about what Porygon was created for.

It was created by the Pokémon Lab on Cinnabar island. Many of the data shown in the Pokédex for it shows a lotta things. First of all, it can apparently fly into space. This makes sense; it’s not a physical animal that requires anything to survive. So naturally spaceflight is possible for it.

However, Crystal’s Pokédex says it can only do what it was programmed to do; this is interesting as Porygon is very diverse. The fact they had enough technology to program their own Pokémon suggests that it would have a diverse pool of actions, as seen by its movesets.

In my personal opinion, the way they originally designed the technology to make it probably comes from Pokéballs.  The way they digitize and then become physical. However, Porygon is known to be able to transverse cyberspace.

This is what happens when you release an upgrade to the Porygon 1 framework. The model, programming, and general technology has all been upgraded with the upgrade.

Porygon 2, a beautiful, sleek Pokémon, much different from Porygon. It has become rounded and non-polygonal.

The programming has been upgraded, shown in the new movesets and commands it can make. However, there’s a storm brewing. Porygon 2 has been seen to preform ‘unprogrammed actions’ as seen in Gold’s Pokédex. This might be hinting to vulnerabilities in the code, which are allowing unauthorized software into the system; causing these actions.

Porygon 2 is supposedly made for space exploration, this would explain the streamlined shape, however, it apparently cannot fly.  This was a programming glitch apparently, although it has programming for space exploration built in.

It also has advanced artificial intelligence, it understands strategy much better; it could be considered the pinnacle, as its evolution is not exactly.. Well, I’ll explain.

Soo.. Here ya go. The most messed up Pokémon ever.  As in, it’s actually messed up.

Porygon Z evolved when the Dubious Disk was given to a Porygon 2 and transmitted into a data form with it. That combined the two, upgrading it with a disk never meant to reach Porygon 2.

It’s supposed that the Dubious Disk was made to allow Porygon 2 to explore ‘alien dimensions’, possibly such as the ‘Torn World’ seen in Platinum. However, the code did not work, and the project was trashed. One could assume the disk got out into the world and was hacked by an unauthorized programmer; this explains why the disk messed up Porygon 2 so much.

As said before, this was meant to be an upgrade, but as I said in the basis, it’s very apparent that Porygon Z is a mixed up Porygon 2. It behaves erratically now, and the model has been corrupted; it appears that the additional code did not properly define the shape, and Porygon Z is the result.

Supposedly, Porygon Z now understand emotion. Maybe this is why it was hacked; a programmer who felt compassion for these programmed beings. Conjecture, sure; but in my opinion it feels like it makes sense. Who else would contort the code of a being to add nothing but emotion? The Dubious Disk is definitely made with a reason.