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Z-Rune

Z-Rune

@zrune.bsky.social

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Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 9h

If it sounds like I'm being overly critical about this, I'll clarify: I am not and I love this turn of events. I love it because it keeps the history of the Pokemon world more vibrant but I love it even more because it makes solid use of continual story telling.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 9h

MGS3 is a prequel where we see the origin story of major bad guy Big Boss. Turns out in 1964, he saved the world in a covert mission. For the first four major Metal Gear games, this wasn't part of canon but after MGS3 came out, every MGS game heavily references it with critical plot points.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 9h

And Kalos is running a full bore exhibit on Hisui with actual artifacts from the period and region on display. Hisui lives historically and it's great.

Wanna know what this kinda reminds me of? MGS3's relevance after it came out.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 9h

But now Legends Arceus is made and part of the Pokemon canon. Now we run into people with a knowledge about the region. Professor Laventon is now being taught in classrooms (as he should be, making the first PokeDex).

Perrin has two Hisuian Growlithe as if her family breeds them.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 9h

And, again, the framing during the time of Arceus was this was so so so far back that only historians would have a shred of knowledge about this place. This is the in-universe explanation as to why characters in Gen 4 weren't bringing up alpha Pokemon or the Diamond/Pearl clans.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 9h

See, it's been so long since the days of Hisui, the region became far less harsh which meant Pokemon like Stantler and Ursaring not having the same intense environments that would encourage their evolution. Similarly, it seems Pokemon like Avalugg, Liligent and Braviary go extinct in the region.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 9h

I think its a little funny that when Legends Arceus came out, the concession about Hisui was the events of this game happened so long ago that much of it has been outright lost to history and that includes new Pokemon and forms.

But now both SV and ZA are running contrary to that and I love it.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 2d

Now, there isn't really an excuse for his little luncheon with Sycamore and the Kalos 5 where he basically talks like Sephiroth for five minutes and Sycamore basically applauds him for the philosophical poetry and ignores this world class scientist with the funds to enact his horrid philosophy.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 2d

They go on and on about how a beautiful world is coming and they imply pretty bluntly that what's coming can't be stopped.

I'm not saying the story was told perfectly or that you have to like it. I'm more saying I think the Gen VI villain isn't given proper credit for the antagonist he is.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 2d

Teams Galactic and Plasma seemed to keep their lower rung grunts in the dark about the endgame of the villanous team. Not a single soul in Team Skull had a clue about what Lusamine was up to and Macro Cosmos's "grunts" were just hired security.

But Lysandre seemed to have told the team the plan.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 2d

The rest just go to jail or, in the case of Sada/Turo... they time travel? Regardless, Lysandre was a man consumed by nihilism and misanthropy and his flock only gathered around him because they wanted to be under his umbrella when the deluge came. This is some compelling stuff, honestly.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 2d

Dude very bitterly tries to overload the weapon that would basically cause an apocalypse and he goes down with the ship. That's kinda bold for Pokemon. Before that, we got Ghetsis's nervous breakdown, Cyrus's weird Distortion World migration in Platinum exclusively and Lusamine going catatonic.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 2d

And to be clear: both of these people are greatly misguided with bad plans, but that's the tragedy of the character. They think the situation is so hopeless that they think mass killings is the only real way to keep the program going.

Lysandre is also the only Pokemon villain to explicitly die.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 2d

And like... Thanos had the exact same plan and everyone across the USA talked about the nuance of his character, some people developed such a misanthropic streak that they outright said Thanos did nothing wrong.

Yet Lysandre gets shit on.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 2d

When XY came out, a lot of people poked fun at his weird "beautiful world" nonsense. About how he didn't see resources as sustainable and felt that over-consumption and the majority of people being too selfish to work on a solution, he figured the only way to preserve life was mass genocide.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 2d

I know Pokemon characters and stories kinda get dumped on as being terrible, but I just wanna say, antagonist motivations starting with Gen V really ramped up complexity and depth.

Ghetsis is an easy pick so I'm gonna talk about Lysandre because the dude was kinda ahead of his time.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 4d

I swear this thread wasn't supposed to be about this. I just wanted to joke about how much Kalos changed in five years.

But then I started thinking and it all spiraled out of control.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 4d

If all 50 states in the USA were their own countries, an organization like the FBI wouldn't get anything done, given that on concept the idea of a deployed super police that requires local authorities to transition into working for said international super cops instead of being... well, cops.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 4d

There is a single solitary implication that there is a governing force in the world of Pokemon and that's the International Police, the organization Looker comes from. They seem to be a covert operation, but with enough pull that every police force in every region cooperates unquestioningly.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 4d

The Pokemon world has civic workers, a police force, free universal pet healthcare, and a thriving worldwide sporting event that the economy seems to hinge on.

It also has rampant unregulated gambling and an organized crime problem so ubiquitous that every major region has at least one mafia.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 4d

There are no capitals in Pokemon. There are big cities, but those cities are seemingly more or less run by whatever tech conglomerate that took root, but only in the biggest populated areas of any given region. Silph for Kanto, Devon for Hoen, ect.

Is... is Pokemon a anarcho-capitalist society?

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 4d

Mind you, the longer I think about it... the more I realize that the absolute closest thing we have to a government in any given region is the Pokemon League which is like saying the closest thing we have to the mayor is the local MLB commissioner. We have cops, but no government...

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 4d

Look, man. We can talk about a lot off things regarding Legends ZA, but can someone explain to me how it's only been five years between XY and this game? My local city planning committee needs years to deliberate on roads but Lumiose decided to give half the city back to nature in five years??

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 5d

But now revisiting these games is the only thing people talk about wanting from Pokemon. I genuinely know and work with individuals (plural) who would rather a remake or Home compatible re-release of BW and B2W2 over a Gen 10 coming out. Deny the cycle and look like a fool.

Z-Rune @zrune.bsky.social · 5d

I don’t even know why I’m bothering, here. In five years, I’ll be reading about how this was the “last good Pokemon game” the way every other generation gets because it’s not cool to like these games when they come out.

I was there on the front lines when BW came out. The rage was omnipresent.