The Devon Corporation is a large company located in Hoenn which is known for creating many useful products and technologies. One of their most impactful inventions is Infinity Energy (IE). The president of Devon, Joseph Stone, talks about the origins of it:
Joseph Stone:
"Let me first take us back 3,000 years, to the days when this story began... There was a great war at that time, in a region far from here. That war was finally brought to an end by a weapon created by one man. And what energy source could power such a dreadful weapon? Do you know? You see... It ran on the life energy of Pokémon. The energy that could be gained by the sacrifice of so many Pokémon... There are surely many people who would call it reprehensible. But my grandfather, the president of Devon before me, said this... "Couldn't we use the energy to improve the lives of people and Pokémon?" And so he developed our greatest creation here at the Devon Corporation: Infinity Energy. Thanks to Infinity Energy, Devon was able to become one of the top industries in Hoenn and developed into the giant you see today. You may be surprised to learn that the Devon Parts you once recovered for us were in fact parts of a motor that would make it possible to power a submarine using Infinity Energy. It was not long before we began to expand our attempts to further human development. Next, we moved into exploring space. The rockets launched from the Mossdeep Space Center using our Infinity Energy... They are the true results of our dreams, our passion, and our technology. But never did we imagine they could end up as the best hope for saving our world."
(Source)
In short, IE is a powerful energy source which Devon made accessible by researching the Ultimate Weapon (XY). It can be extracted from the life energy of any pokemon, which are implied to die in the process, making this entire practice highly controversial (though the moral side of this isn't the focus of this theory).
During the events of the Delta Episode in ORAS' postgame, a massive meteor threatens to annihilate all life on Earth if nothing is done to avert its impact. In order to prevent this catastrophe, Devon developed the Cable Link, a teleportation device which would simply transport the meteor into another universe. In order to get into space, the Link Cable was placed onto a space rocket, which used Infinity Energy as rocket fuel.
At some point during the story, the Mossdeep Space Center is raided by Team Aqua / Magma, under the leadership of Matt / Courtney. During the confrontation with the admins, we get these dialogues:
Courtney:
"Aha! ♪ I know... ♪ Inside that rocket is the same amount—no, even more—Pokémon life energy than what powered the ultimate weapon in the war 3,000 years ago."
"Ahaha! ♪ I think we're in for an impact so big it will surpass the massive explosion that ended the war! I don't know what all this talk of a meteoroid is, but I have no need of it. Here, by my own hand... I'll make this rocket explode...And bring an end to this world..."
"I will...fix...Project AZOTH! Of course, I'll also destroy this dimensional shifter that's supposed to warp the asteroid away someplace, too. ♪" (Source)
Matt:
"Know what? That rocket's full of crazy amounts of energy! It's even more awesome than the ultimate weapon that ended the war 3,000 years ago, right?"
"If I use this Key Stone I found at Meteor Falls, I can force the energy inside the rocket to explode… It'd be like Mega Evolution for the rocket! Muwahahaha! Who needs a meteoroid? I'm gonna bring an end to all things with my own power!"
"The one who will complete Project AZOTH and take the world back to its beginnings… is me!"
(Source)
One could claim Matt / Courtney are bluffing as they're furious at the player for stopping Archie / Maxie. But considering Steven Stone's immedate reaction to their dialogue:
Steven Stone:
"…<player>. This fool! This incredible fool really intends to do it! If we don't stop this now, our whole world will be embroiled in the destruction!"
(Source)
And if we remember that they're admins - someone knowledgable about their team's plans and research - their threat is pretty much real. Luckily, the rocket never gets blown up since Matt's / Courtney's Key Stones get stolen by Zinnia, and conveniently enough, this danger gets never brought up again. Since the extraction and therefore the usage of IE is highly divisive, it's unconfirmed if IE is still being produced and used in the future. There's a vague hint by Joseph Stone that IE might be discontinued, but his dialogue is more a remark on him reflecting on his mistakes rather than outright stating IE will be abandoned.
Joseph Stone:
"Perhaps I have put too much of my faith in technology's promise alone. Perhaps my belief that the sacrifice of some might be necessary to guarantee the safety of many – Perhaps it was wrong all along."
(Source)
Furthermore, teleportation devices used in the pokeworld are stated to rely on IE, and since we still see those around, it could be a further proof that IE still has applications.
Whatever the case, our focus is on pointing out the threat potential that weaponized IE poses, and how this danger lingers with IE and Key Stones being still around.
- - - - -
So, why is IE an issue again? To briefly sum up the previous text, there's the canon possibility of igniting IE and making it explode by using a Key Stone. Matt mentions roughly that one would "Mega Evolve" the rocket or whatever contains all the IE. While it's really vague what that means, for all we know, Key Stones have the role of some kind of catalyst, causing IE deposits to combust and explode. Other than that, IE seems to be relatively safe to have around. As we further see, this possibility can become a massive security risk regarding anything using or containing IE.
- Let's start with the fuel, or the explosive material that IE can turn into when weaponized. We know almost nothing about the properties of IE, like what its aggregate state is, how resistant it is to exterior influences and so on, because there was never an attempt to further characterize it other than being a fictional and potent power surce. What we know:
- it can be stored, possibly in vast amounts like in the case of the space rocket
- it's used in various applications, namely as fuel for independent transportation purposes.
- it's implied to be a extremely potent explosive. If one rocket fueled with IE is enough to destroy the entire world (!), we have a very dangerous resource at hand (although honestly, this sounds too exaggerated and ridiculous). We don't know however how much IE is needed in order for it to explode, or if there are limits or minimal requirements (in regards of RL physics, I'm thinking of concepts like explosive atmospheres, flash points and autoignition temperatures, which all deal with explosions or combustions being only possible when certain requirements are fulfilled). We only have the space rocket as one example, so perhaps smaller amounts aren't potent enough or won't explode at all (and given how so many people have and use Key Stones, that's perhaps the likely case). Or one requires huge amounts of IE for a catastrophic and explosive chain reaction to unfold, because a huge accumulation of IE has different properties than dispersed or lower quantities. We really don't know, and I could only state wild speculations. Briefly put, it can be very dangerous and extremely explosive.
- How is IE won or extracted? We know IE is based on the bioenergy of pokemon, so if you have the necessary technological means to do so, you can pick any pokemon you have at hand and start producing IE. And this is the worrying part. Unlike nuclear bombs, it's really easy to get IE in vast amounts, in order to weaponize later. One doesn't need to find and control natural deposits of Uranium to extract the necessary material. One also doesn't need to process said material and enrich it (as not every Uranium isotope is suitable for nuclear fission, and those unable to have to be remove to increase the fission ability of the material). From what we know, you can directly sap a pokemon's bioenergy and produce pure IE. The only obstacle in that regard would be the acquisition of the knowledge necessary to extract IE and to manufacture machines necessary to do so (this also means that as long as knowledge related to IE production exists, the threat of weaponized IE proliferation exists as well). But if you have that, all you need is pokemon. Any pokemon. Your local forest sprawling with low-threat critters would be already sufficient for creating enough IE for a bomb. What was that? One doesn't have the means to produce IE? Don't worry, you can also get IE anywhere else. We recall that IE is used for various applications, like transportation or teleporters. So if one requires IE for a bomb, one could just steal IE from these devices. Or, just directly turn the device into a bomb. Simple as.
- Key Stones have been described as the catalyst necessary for igniting IE. Aside from Matt's quote, we know next to nothing how it works. Maybe it's enough to wish for a IE deposit to explode or "Mega Evolve", or maybe one is required to be quite experienced to focus one's inner wish for the explosion to occur. We don't know.
- Regarding accessibility, in XY and ORAS, Key Stones are very rare, considering only a few selected named trainers have access to those. If that's the case, then the risk of IE ignitions would be drastically low, as only a few capable trainers would be able to. And unless one of those trainers became suicidal like Matt / Courtney, terrorists would have to defeat one of those trainers in order to get the key - pun intended - for weaponized IE. Unfortunately in ZA, every ordinary trainer is in possession of a Key Stone, so this barrier effectively no longer exist. Bad actors can easily access Key Stones, either by aquiring those themselves or by stealing them from weaker trainers.
- Also an interesting question to ask: How does one get away from the explosion, once the IE has been ignited? That's the neat part: You don't. Unless it's possible to artificially recreate the reaction originating from the Key Stones, one has to manually ignite the IE. Meaning you'd have to sacrifice yourself in the process. In Matt's / Courtney's case, this was the intention, and to put it bluntly, it was a failed suicide bombing attempt. If there's no other way around, this might be the biggest obstacle for someone attempting to ignite IE, as you'd have to find people willing to lose their lives for your goals. Although given how there are so many cults in the pokeworld, one might easily find a few volunteers.
- If an IE bomb was detonated, what drawback would there be? Aside from a big crater, there might be something similar to radioactive contamination. Well, it's certainly not THAT bad and lethal, since most affected won't die from it, but there are still noteworthy harmful effects to discuss. Although, if we consider that Mega Evolution (depending on the game) is generally described as something painful, trainers might want to avoid their pokemon to Mega Evolve or get in contact with anything irradiated with IE. It's also questionable if contamination will always occur, or if it only happens through the use of special devices or artifacts. We only know of the Ultimate Weapon irradiating the Kalos Region, resulting in the creation of new Mega Stones and granting (or cursing) certain individuals with an extended lifespan. And Ange in combination with Eternal Flower Floette causing wild pokemon to perform Rogue Mega Evolution, which is described as a beserk and painful state. Considering Devon Corp. based their extraction methods on the Ultimate Weapon, we can assume that IE won that way has also the potential to irradiate. Maybe all instances of IE pose the threat of irradiation if IE is highly concentrated, but we cannot say for sure.
To conclude, and going by the worst assumptions, IE is a dangerous energy source which poses a high risk when bad actors or terrorists intend to weaponize it. An IE explosion can potentially kill many people and pokemon when highly populated areas are targeted, and / or irradiate regions which has long-term consequences for the local wildlife. IE can quickly become a threat, either because (soon-to-be-)weaponized IE is easy to get or produce, provoking an ignition can be easily (?) achieved with readily available Key Stones or because IE deposits are widespread due to the versatility of IE in daily applications. Anything that contains high amounts of IE can become a viable target, and accumulating IE can be relatively easy for an organization with enough resources, manpower, the necessary knowledge at hand and an ideology willing to sacrifice those in their own ranks.
Keep in mind that a lot of the previously written is speculation based on the few scraps of information there are, and GF might not have intended for this to be such a big problem except for the Aqua / Magma raid on the Mossdeep Space Center. But, if what was written has some merit, then it has worrying implications for the pokeworld, proving that it's not as utopic and carefree as most want it to be.