A Theory: The Starters and Dog are the Keys to the Four Guardians

[Kelleo]

Yeah, I really believe this is going to be the case. It makes complete sense to me after thinking about it a little.

We saw in the E3 footage of Sun and Moon that each of Alola's four islands has a guardian deity, the one for the island you start on being Tapu Koko.

I don't know a word of Japanese, but the CoroCoro scans of the new dog and new koala Pokemon seemed to show that the starters and the dog have a secret.

In the E3 footage, Hala says the player character met with Tapu Koko the day before that festival battle. Besides a few NPCs, the only living thing the player met that day had to be his/her starter. In this case, Popplio. Whichever starter you picked is the key to finding whichever deity it goes with, and is a messenger of some sort to it. What I mean is that the player met Tapu Koko not literally, but simply through the starter Popplio. The other two starters and the dog will be the keys to the other three. If you pick Litten or Rowlet instead of Popplio, you'll be told that you "met" with a different island's deity and if Hau picks Popplio, he'll have been the one to "meet" Tapu Koko.

In the end, these deities are surely legendary Pokemon. I think we'll only be able to catch them if we acquire the dog and starter Pokemon, perhaps in their final evolutionary forms. It's also possible that the four deities' types will match those of the starters and dog too. Rowlet's deity will be Grass/Flying, Litten's Fire and whatever second type it gets, Popplio's deity Tapu Koko is Water/Fairy (?), and the dog's deity is Rock (and if it gets a second type, then said second type as well).

This make enough sense?

 

[Silktree]

The guardians are associated with the islands. By your logic, the player has to choose Popplio just because of Tapu Koko, which is obviously not the case.

 

[Kelleo]

The guardians are associated with the islands. By your logic, the player has to choose Popplio just because of Tapu Koko, which is obviously not the case.

...What? My logic doesn't say this. I said that if you pick a different starter, the dialogue will change to say that you met a different deity etc etc.

 

[Silktree]

Why would the player meet another guardian on the island associated with Tapu Koko?

None of the NPCs imply that Popplio is the reason Tapu Koko showed up. For all we know, the encounter happens before the player chooses a starter.

 

[Kelleo]

I said it wasn't literally. Didn't you guys actually read my post?

 

[Silktree]

I said it wasn't literally. Didn't you guys actually read my post?

I read the gist of it, but if the theory boils down to the "player didn't actually see Tapu Koko", then I am not buying it. If the natives thought that Popplio was Tapu Koko's messenger, they would honor it in the festival, but the only one who mentions it is the player's mom.

Either way, the festival is about Tapu Koko (the local guardian), and it makes no sense for its importance to be reduced if the starter isn't Popplio.

 

[Kelleo]

Sorry, but I just don't agree. If you don't like it, fine. You don't need to post in here anymore then.

 

[Esserise]

The guardians are associated with the islands. By your logic, the player has to choose Popplio just because of Tapu Koko, which is obviously not the case.

I think what they're getting at is that the specific guardian that corresponds to your home island will change based on which Starter you choose. So for example if you choose Popplio, the guardian of Melemele will be Tapu Koko, who in this theory corresponds to Popplio. Whereas if you choose Rowlet or Litten, the guardian of Melemele will be a different guardian, and Tapu Koko will be shifted to a different island.

I personally don't think it will play out like that, but that's how I'm understanding what's being suggested here.

 

[godiego]

i don't think i quite agree. unless it's a flavor text-type change (ie., Tapu Koko just changes its name to something different), i don't think there's going to be "branching" changes. after all, because there's likely still only one save file, Game Freak probably wouldn't make it so that a mandatory choice would have such a large impact on the game.

i honestly think that the 'secret' the four hold is much more benign than what people seem to think it is. if i had to guess, i'd bet: a) there's a new battle mechanic that the three starters and Iwanko can use; b) an unknown rival character uses it as their primary Pokemon (after all, it's possible that Iwanko draws inspiration from the Hawaiian Poi dog, which was a companion dog for young children); or c) the three starters and Iwanko, and perhaps even more, can follow the player. but really we have next to no information as to what the secret could be anyways so we're practically all stabbing in the dark.

 

[Arceus the Dragon]

I don't know if they are going to limit the guardians like that by having a particular starter or rock pokemon to encounter them. It makes more sense to have access to all four guardians without a required pokemon in my personal opinion. I don't believe that the starters or the rock dog have anything to do with the four guardians.

 

[Kelleo]

I think what they're getting at is that the specific guardian that corresponds to your home island will change based on which Starter you choose. So for example if you choose Popplio, the guardian of Melemele will be Tapu Koko, who in this theory corresponds to Popplio. Whereas if you choose Rowlet or Litten, the guardian of Melemele will be a different guardian, and Tapu Koko will be shifted to a different island.

I personally don't think it will play out like that, but that's how I'm understanding what's being suggested here.

No, this isn't what I'm getting at. What I was saying is that if you pick Popplio, the scene will play out as it does in the gameplay footage shown at E3.

But if you pick Litten or Rowlet, the scene will instead have Hala say you "met" another island's guardian the other day, and if you picked Rowlet, he'll also say that Hau was the one to meet Tapu Koko (because if you pick Rowlet, Hau will have Popplio).

But your idea could work too. I just worry about that meaning that each location of the guardian has to be ambiguous enough so none of them are put in unfitting areas.

 

[ToddMann10000]

I like the idea of the starters being the heralds of the respective guardians... i just cant imagine anyone giving such an important pokemon to a child who literally just moved there.

Also, why the dog? theres no guarantee that we'll ever see this pokemon in the wild (Yeah, we probably will. But with it being a random encounter?).

And, as we cant catch the other starters (and possibly the dog if we don't meet it)- does that mean we cant catch the other islands guardians? Assuming they are catchable/a pokemon, not an npc.

As i say i like the idea behind the theory, i just dont think it pans out.

 

[Esserise]

Also, why the dog? theres no guarantee that we'll ever see this pokemon in the wild (Yeah, we probably will. But with it being a random encounter?

There is at least one wandering around in the overworld next to an NPC, as we have seen in that one trailer, and in the Corocoro screenshots.

 

[Zeta]

It could be a loser connection like the Eeveelutions and the Legendary Beasts. There's a lot of implication that the LBs may have been Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon but it's never outright stated. Perhaps there were four individual Pokemon uplifted to becoming the Legendary Guardians of Alola like Ho-oh did in Johto?

 

[Muur]

It wont be the starter... they will have just avoided showing the PC meeting it due to spoilers. Or it's off screen? doubt that part though.

 

[Desdar300]

I think the mystery is just that the starters and Iwanko have the ability to synchro evolve.

 

[ToddMann10000]

There is at least one wandering around in the overworld next to an NPC, as we have seen in that one trailer, and in the Corocoro screenshots.

To date, the only overworld pokemon we've been able to catch are legendaries/mythical pokemon.
(...unless thats Rock Dogs secret! He IS a legendary! Hidden in plain sight... Now that would be an awesome plot twist!)

I believe in the trailer you mention, Rock Dog is stood next to another npc. If the other starters are picked up by our friends/rivals who meet the 2nd and 3rd guardians; either this other npc is ANOTHER friend/rival (we had 4 in X/Y so it IS possible) who meets the 4th guardian... or its just a random npc and rock dog.

 

[Shadow Rush]

That is quite a reach... and unlikely.

The canine pokemon might be a based on the Hawaiian Poi Dog that became extinct because of colonialism hence the rock-type. As for the starters, if the developers made them plot significant that would be a first though problematic. Your theory considers the starter pokemon as sacred creatures. Sacred things are not given away to people like candy otherwise they would not be of significance. So the island's guardian deities are either legendary pokemon or something else under that guise.

 

[GiraFragMich]

But if you pick Litten or Rowlet, the scene will instead have Hala say you "met" another island's guardian the other day, and if you picked Rowlet, he'll also say that Hau was the one to meet Tapu Koko (because if you pick Rowlet, Hau will have Popplio).

But in the footage that was shown, Hau isn't implied to have met one of the other guardians. Why would Hala only mention that detail when you choose Rowlet, but not Popplio?

 

[Kelleo]

Well, the starters and the dog hide SOME kind of secret. And there are four of them. And four islands and four guardians. And if a certain well known theory is correct, they're also all connected through alchemy references and certain symbols for certain things (namely sulfur for Litten, mercury for Popplio, salt for Rowlet, and lead for the dog).

I have a hard time that all this would just lead to nothing or just "synchro" evolution (I really hope GameFreak doesn't call it this. Not after all the jokes Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's got since it has synchro summoning).