>>723492068
>just discovered
Only from the fractured western lens, which had a lot less context to go off of.
The Japanese Zukan, a book that was a huge piece of OG era worldbuilding, shows that Pokemon have pretty much always existed, but it wasn't until the 18th century that they were truly recognized as real creatures who are separate from average animals.
It's a super interesting deep dive overall if you can find the resources for it, and the franchise still respects some aspects of it to this very day, like how Nidorina and Nidoqueen were said to lose their fertility upon evolution in the Zukan, thus they're considered to be part of the "No Eggs" group in the games.