>>50384026How could Poké Balls turn Pokémon into data when they were made from Apricorns? How could a glasses case turn Pokémon into data in 1925? Poké Balls were envisioned as gachapon where the top pops off. They only even got a hinge in the anime. While the games would start implementing light effects and the hinge in Gen III (inspired by the anime), the games and official art before that always showed the ball popping in half without any lighting effects. These things cost 200 yen a pop, they're not high technology until you start going through higher models. The tiny Pokémon resides in the ball as shown in concept art. The PC is what turns Pokémon into data. Trading before things were wireless visually implies the Poké Ball is being sent physically through the cable.
Lucian said ちいさくなる (become small, the same phrase as the move Minimize and the same thing Laventon says), not まるくなる (curl into a ball). The localization, likely not knowing this obscure fact that all Pokémon can shrink, tried to reconcile it the same way you are even though it's not the literal translation. It's pretty straightforward in Japanese.
小さい (chiisai) = small (adjective)
小さく (chiisaku) = "smally" (adverb)
なる (naru) = to become (verb)
小さくなる = to become smaller, to shrink
While in real life, they're called Pocket Monsters because they were on the Game Boy which you could fit in your pocket, the in-universe name comes from them being able to shrink.
Defeated Pokémon early on fall off the screen, so no, that isn't a visual representation of shrinking, but Poké Balls always use it.
Hundreds of Pokémon have teeth but not all of them learn Bite. Hundreds of Pokémon have claws but not all of them learn Scratch. Hundreds of Pokémon can vocalize but not all of them learn Growl. Hundreds of Pokémon have eyes but not all of them learn Leer. Hundreds of Pokémon have tails but not all of them learn Tail Whip.
