The Strange Souvenir Pokémon

[The Outrage]

Fair enough. But if its the regions protector, and not a trip master, what would thaf make the legendaries? Certainly not evil, but without a 3rd to keep em in check, then it could be an interesting dynamic.

The only "Trio master" that kept the other two in check was Rayquaza. Giratina was the "rebel" of Arceus' children. Kyurem was the empty husk of the Original Dragon and played a more antagonistic role than Reshiram and Zekrom, because instead of guiding a hero to seek truth/ideals, Kyurem absorbed the truth/ideals of anyone due to being empty. Neither Xerneas nor Yveltal were actually playing an antagonistic role, their powers were merely harnessed while they were dormant. Zygarde isn't stated to "keep them in check" but rather to keep the world in balance, so it plays a separate role.

Based on WPM's post, I'm thinking that Marshadow is another "Celestial" Pokemon and its going to be used in SM by the opposing team, and the PC has to awaken either Solgaleo or Lunaala to fight it. Alola is considered a "paradise" region, and the antithesis to that is war. If Marshadow is another legendary, then its name fits. Mars is the Roman god of war.

 

[Shadow Rush]

It would be funny if the souvenir had plot relevance like being a key or medium.

 

[Osprey]

I'm betting that the Strange Souvenir is depicting some event-exclusive Mythical. For some reason, I don't really like the idea of an astronomy-themed tiki thing. I'm not sure why.

 

[Falconwing]

I'm going to be the guy who is totaly different and say the pokemon is just the Alola version of Golurk. Cool, but not altogether special.

 

[Silktree]

For some reason, I don't really like the idea of an astronomy-themed tiki thing. I'm not sure why.

That does sound pretty silly. The tikis are supposed to be earthly.

I'm going to be the guy who is totaly different and say the pokemon is just the Alola version of Golurk. Cool, but not altogether special.

If it isn't a legendary, then it should be like Unown or Spiritomb. At least they had a sidequest, although Spiritomb's was ridiculous.

 

[Shadow Rush]

The only "Trio master" that kept the other two in check was Rayquaza. Giratina was the "rebel" of Arceus' children. Kyurem was the empty husk of the Original Dragon and played a more antagonistic role than Reshiram and Zekrom, because instead of guiding a hero to seek truth/ideals, Kyurem absorbed the truth/ideals of anyone due to being empty. Neither Xerneas nor Yveltal were actually playing an antagonistic role, their powers were merely harnessed while they were dormant. Zygarde isn't stated to "keep them in check" but rather to keep the world in balance, so it plays a separate role.

Based on WPM's post, I'm thinking that Marshadow is another "Celestial" Pokemon and its going to be used in SM by the opposing team, and the PC has to awaken either Solgaleo or Lunaala to fight it. Alola is considered a "paradise" region, and the antithesis to that is war. If Marshadow is another legendary, then its name fits. Mars is the Roman god of war.

Correction: the antithesis of 'paradise' is 'hell' or 'nightmare'. So the villainous team of the Alola region either want its destruction, a reign of chaos, or unintentionally provoke "Marshadow" who goes on a rampage. That is probably when the player intervenes with the help of the respective version mascot legendary. I hope it is the latter since volcanoes are a motif of Hawaii often associated with angry deities.

 

[Silktree]

From the E3 demo:

For all life on our islands... and for those who undertake island challenge with joy in their hearts... we pray for your protection... for them and all of Melemele. May this Pokémon battle be an offering to our island's guardian deity - Tapu Koko! Before you stands Hau - guardian to the kauna. Before him stands Sun - one who has met Tapu Koko.

What? What a curious little thing Tapu Koko is! Hah, that's just typical of it!

It seems reasonable to assume that the Strange Souvenir pertains to Tapu Koko, unless each island has its own guardian. The player seems to have been chosen by Tapu Koko, and some of the natives find that amusing. Probably because Hau would be a more logical choice?

 

[Necrozma]

Tapu Koko? Is that its actual name?

And the player character met it? Huh?

 

[Garren]

Interesting, though the way they talked about it it didn't seem like a Pokemon perhaps but an actual "God".

 

[Zeta]

From the E3 demo:



It seems reasonable to assume that the Strange Souvenir pertains to Tapu Koko, unless each island has its own guardian. The player seems to have been chosen by Tapu Koko, and some of the natives find that amusing. Probably because Hau would be a more logical choice?

The impression that I got was that there are four guardians - one for each island.

 

[GiraFragMich]

I also got the impression that there are guardians for each island. I think I even read it somewhere, maybe Serebii.

 

[Silktree]

Tapu=Sacred/Taboo

Koko -> Koko Head (possibly a reference the sign language speaking gorilla, too?)

The impression that I got was that there are four guardians - one for each island.

It's hard to tell since the speech starts with a reference to all islands: "For all life on our islands... and for those who undertake island challenge with joy in their hearts... we pray for your protection... for them and all of Melemele."

Melemele might be considered more important than the other three for whatever reason.

 

[Mitchman]

Wild guess, but 4 guardians=4 Cores? Tapu Koko is small after all, and it doesn't sound like a Pokemon name. Maybe each 10% forme is a different one depending on the island it protects?

 

[Silktree]

So the four guardians are actually confirmed, and they're referred to as Pokemon. I doubt that they're Zygarde cores with the Strange Souvenir existing. Not to mention how odd it would be to refer to each part of Zygarde as an independent deity.

The are four Hawaiian Tiki gods:

Ku: God of war, whose worship required human sacrifice.

Lono: God of fertility, music and peace. In his honor, the great annual festival of the Makahiki was held. During this period, war and unnecessary work was kapu (forbidden).

Kane: God of procreation worshipped as ancestor of chiefs and commoners. Kane is the creator and gives life associated with dawn, sun and sky. No human sacrifice or laborious ritual was needed in the worship of Kane.

Kanaloa: Symbolized by the squid or by the octopus, and is typically associated with Kane. Together, they represent a divine duality of wild and taming forces. Kanaloa is also considered to be the god of the Underwold and a teacher of magic. Legends state that he became the leader of the first group of spirits "spit out" by the gods. In time, he led them in a rebellion in which the spirits were defeated by the gods and as punishment were thrown in the Underworld.

Kane seems to be especially important:

In the beginning, there was nothing but Po; the endless black chaos. Then Kane, sensing that he was separate from the Po, pulled himself free of Po by an act of sheer will. Sensing Kane's presence, Lono and then Ku also pulled themselves free of Po. Then Kane created the light to push back Po. Lono brought sound to the universe and Ku brought substance. Between them they created all the lesser Gods. Then together, the three Gods created the Menehune, the lesser spirits to be their messengers and servants. Next they created the world to be a foot stool for the Gods. Finally they gathered red clay from the four corners of the world, they mixed the clay with their spittle, and molded it into the shape of a man. Then Kane took a special magical white clay and formed it into a head. Then the three Gods breathed life into the statue and created the first man. The first man was created in the image of Kane.

There is an alternate creation legend:

Kane alone breathed life into the man-statue. At the same time, Kanaloa tried to duplicate Kane's feat, but his statue failed to come to life. So he challenged Kane, saying something to the effect, "that man will live only a certain span of time, then he will die. When he dies, I will claim him as my own." This seems to tie in with his position as ruler of the dead as an entity separate from Kane. Some versions say that Kanaloa is the alter ego of Kane, the dark half so to speak. Others say he is a lesser God who was created to be in charge of the dead.

The author of this particular book says that in the very oldest legends, prior to about 1100 A.D., there is no mention of Kanaloa. The author is of the opinion that Kanaloa is therefore, an addition from some later wave of immigration to the islands.

I'd guess that the Strange Souvenir pertains to Kane, while Tapu Koko is almost certainly based on Lono. I wouldn't be surprised if the Kane-based Pokemon were a mythical due to its importance, but Kanaloa is another possibility since it is basically an outsider (not being part of the first creation myth).

 

[Arceus the Dragon]

I think the Strange Souvenir might not be used for Sun and Moon. I think it is another item that had gone unused which has happened before.

 

[Zeta]

I think the Strange Souvenir might not be used for Sun and Moon. I think it is another item that had gone unused which has happened before.

Nah, it'd be ridiculous for a Tiki Pokemon not to show up in Hawaii after it was foreshadowed 3 years ago.

 

[Jun]

There are four guardians so, probably inspired from the 4 tikis as Silktree said. Another interesting point is that in alchemy, there are four elemental symbols.

 

[GiraFragMich]

Wow all of this makes so much sense. Do you think these four are a new quartet or are the cover legendaries part of them?

 

[Necrozma]

There are four guardians so, probably inspired from the 4 tikis as Silktree said. Another interesting point is that in alchemy, there are four elemental symbols.

Air = Rowlet?
Fire = Litten
Water = Popplio
Earth = Iwanko?

There's also the mention that the four share a secret....

 

[Silktree]

Wow all of this makes so much sense. Do you think these four are a new quartet or are the cover legendaries part of them?

I think they're a separate quartet. The mascots can't very well be two of the guardians since they're associated with the same island (the westernmost one). So at most, only one of them could be a guardian depending on the version, but that would be weird.