Don’t be ashamed, we’ve all thought about it at some point or another: can Pokémon be eaten? Are they eaten? If they’re anything similar to regular animals, then somebody—just like us—must have thought about what one of these scrumptious-looking fish Pokémon tasted like, right?
Well, the Pokédex has proven time and time again through its entries that people do in fact snack on some PokéDelicacies (yeah, we coined that) every now and then.
In this list, we’ll be talking about some of the Pokémon in Generation IX that have been confirmed to be consumed in some capacity or another. These Pokémon will be ranked based on how tasty we probably think they are based on their Paldean Dex entries
The tastiest Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
4) Petilil
Petilil is a cute little baby girl plant thing. And we’d be pretty pissed off if we learned that people straight up ate this thing. Well, they kinda do? But they also don’t?
What we mean is that, Pokémon Scarlet’s Pokédex entry for Petilil says that its “bitter leaves refresh those who eat them.” This is fine since it is also known that Petilil often drop its leaves growing on the top of its head, which grow back immediately. Dex entries from previous generations also mentioned that Petilil’s leaves are specifically used to gain relief from fatigue.
Now that’s great and all, but Petilil leaves are clearly said to be bitter in taste. 10 on 10 for its medicinal utility, but we’re talking about culinary tasting excellence here. Unfortunately, Petilil and its unpalatable leaves take the last spot on this list.
3) Veluza
Veluza are certainly not Pokémon that we’d think tastes delicious at first glance. Just look at this thing, it’s frightening. Well, the Pokédex is here to prove us wrong, as usual.
Pokémon Violet’s Dex entry states that Veluza’s “spare flesh has a mild but delicious flavor.” Now when it says spare flesh, it means the flesh that it discards when using its signature move in battle, Fillet Away. The more you know.
And if you think about it, Veluza discarded that flesh itself anyways, so it doesn’t seem too wrong on ethical grounds either.
2) Toedscruel
Toedscruel are a pretty neat Convergent species, which is a type of Pokémon species akin to Regional forms. Convergent Pokémon are ones that look extremely similar to an existing kind Pokémon but don’t have any biological relation to it and have evolved over time to look extremely similar due to adapting to their environment.
And yes, if you haven’t guessed at this point, the people of Paldea are eating Toedscruel as well. It’s a mushroom, so vegans rejoice.
This one’s a little more disturbing than the previous entry though, if you read between the lines. Toedscruel are said to be incredibly territorial and predatory, while its Pokémon Violet Pokédex entry states that “the folds along the rim of its head are a popular delicacy.”
So how exactly are humans getting its body parts if Toedscruel won’t let them when they’re alive? Jarring to think about.
1) Crabrawler
Introduced in Generation VII, Crabrawler wasn’t the most loved Pokémon out there. It’s a brawling crab Pokémon with a weird design that’s got this whole Rocky Balboa thing going on. Hey man, at least it’s following its passion.
What it’s most likely not too passionate about, however, is getting itself eaten by humans; but that might just not be as bad as it sounds.
Crabrawler’s Pokédex entry from Pokémon Violet its pincers are ”popular ingredients in paella since their shells produce a tasty soup stock.” Now we know that this makes it sounds like people from in the Pokémon world toss their Crabrawlers into a boiling pot of water to get that juicy pincer meat, but previous generation Dex entries have specified that Crawbrawlers often lose their pincers completely on their own, which then grow back quickly.
So if we assume that the people from Paldea just pick up these discarded pincers to cook for their meat, then things seem slightly more rosy. What’s even rosier is that Crabrawler takes the No. 1 spot on this list for the tastiest Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.