Virtual type Pokémon are solid yet energy-based manmade entities designed primarily with data manipulation in mind.

First created by Prof. Kabili Sinclare, these Digita Material life forms have the ability to pass to and from Netspace via the use of any relevant connected electronic device. This ability has been harnessed by corporations in recent times to fix a variety of internal computer problems.

Sinclare's Porygon, while not a massive commercial success, became an underground hit with fellow cyberspecialists who went on to develop the Pokémon's two future upgrades.

Due to their particular natures and the moral implications surrounding their existence, virtual Pokémon are extremely rare, usually 'made to order' by those rich enough to afford one.

It is illegal to produce new model Virtual-types that serve the same function as a pre-existing one, except by way of producing an upgrade program that will evolve the old one into the new one. This is because it is considered cruel to simply discard an existing living being for a new one.

The Cyber Taboo

As with many areas of progress in this field, virtual type Pokémon are somewhat of a tentative subject - not only in their creation, but also over their combat.

The Sentient Program
"Where does a program end and a Pokémon begin?" That is a question which has plagued some specialists since the concept of virtual types came into existence.

Virtual type Pokémon have in fact existed since the early 70s where, in Orre, SIM devices recreated trainer matches upon Cyberspace battlefields. However, the Pokémon and the trainers that 'instructed' them were all merely pre-programmed and bore no free will of their own.

It is at the point of a virtual creation gaining sentience that is classed as a life form, however, it is difficult to gauge what causes this sentience.

Modding

While some argue that a virtual type's use in battles is no different from using ghost type Pokémon, others insist that virtual types have unfair advantages over other elements when it comes to the range and nature of their abilities.

A virtual type Pokémon's structure opens the possibility for 'customization' in looks, strength, speed, attack, defence and the types of moves it wields. A virtual type of an existing specie, therefore, could vastly surpass an organic member of the same specie.

As a result, the majority of virtual types are banned from official matches and only one heavily-scrutinized gym in Tatto has been licensed to train virtual type Pokémon to date.

Abilities

Systems Management
True to their design purpose, virtual Pokémon are highly efficient in the fields of data organization, protection and repair. Once assigned a task, they can perform their duties with little to no need of further instruction.

Environmental Tailoring

A Virtual Type Aggron using Bullet Seed

A Virtual Pokémon's true power can be seen in the environment it was designed for. While in Cyberspace, a virtual type can adjust its form to deal with assaults from a multitude of sources.

Additionally it can copy aspects of a target Pokémon's data (such as type alignment) and temporarily overwrite its own data accordingly.

Variants

Several different kinds of virtual type Pokémon exist, and several prominent scientific figures can be connected with their existence.

Software-based
Designed for a more perpetual existence in Netspace, the bodies of these virtual types bear far greater similarity to those of ghost types and can't be maintained in Realspace for very long without some kind of technological support.

Hardware-based
These virtual types have an outer 'shell' which proves to be more durable in Realspace.

Holo-based
Also known as Mirage Pokémon, the original versions of these virtual types created by Dr. Dewei Yung gave off an unusual faint luminous sheen and could not exist outside the Realspace projection network which generated them. The technology was later refined by Grings Kodai which allowed greater freedom of movement.

Viral
Dually existing in the Glitch category, Viral Pokémon are virtual types with a highly destructive nature - either through deliberate programming or unexpected damage to their data structure.

Viral virtual types are highly unpredictable, and their destructive capabilities, while usually focused upon computer data, can also extend to the warping and corruption of Realspace environments.