What are your game headcanons?

[Silktree]

Well, at least according to the legend of the beasts' creation, they embody the elements that were involved in the tower's destruction - the lightning that ignited it, the fire that blazed, and the rain that doused the flames. If that's accurate, then it would suggest that they didn't have those elemental associations beforehand.

That's the one of main things that bother me about the theory. The second thing is that it doesn't make sense to refer to the original Eeveelutions as "unnamed creatures." It would be much more interesting if they turned out to be extinct species, which Generations implied.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Misty's unidentified boyfriend, seen briefly in Generation II/HGSS when the player interrupts their date at Cerulean Cape, is named Robert Chevalier. This is a believably French name, and in the anime, Misty has at least once expressed a fondness for France and things associated with it. It can also be taken as a rough translation of a Japanese name, "Teru Shinsō" (身早輝 Shinsō Teru). The kanji character pronounced here as "Teru" means "brightness", while "Robert" means "bright fame"; likewise, the characters used to write "Shinsō" can be taken to mean "swift sword", while "Chevalier" can be translated as "knight", a person who might wield a sword. But more importantly, the kanji characters can also be read as "mi-sa-ki", sounding like 岬 misaki, the word for "cape". As in "Cerulean Cape"—the only place we ever see him.

Furthermore, he is a trainer of Fighting-type Pokémon. This is based on the fact that, in Generation II, he shares his sprite with Mike, a trainer who trades the player a Machop in exchange for a Drowzee, while in HGSS, his sprite is shared with the Week Sibling Wesley of Wednesday, who gives the player the item "Black Belt".

"But wait!" you might say. "If he trains Fighting-type Pokémon—or, indeed, is a Pokémon trainer at all—then why in the world would he run as soon as the player shows up instead of standing his ground and warning them to make tracks?" Well, I speculate that he only trains physically tough Pokémon because he himself is meek and timid, which contrasts well against Misty's outspoken personality. After all, extroverts are known to adopt introverts.

Yes, I just spent three paragraphs fleshing out a nameless sprite that's only seen for under two seconds before promptly being forgotten, never to be mentioned or referenced again.

 

[Gengarzilla]

Misty's unidentified boyfriend, seen briefly in Generation II/HGSS when the player interrupts their date at Cerulean Cape, is named Robert Chevalier. This is a believably French name, and in the anime, Misty has at least once expressed a fondness for France and things associated with it. It can also be taken as a rough translation of a Japanese name, "Teru Shinsō" (身早輝 Shinsō Teru). The kanji character pronounced here as "Teru" means "brightness", while "Robert" means "bright fame"; likewise, the characters used to write "Shinsō" can be taken to mean "swift sword", while "Chevalier" can be translated as "knight", a person who might wield a sword. But more importantly, the kanji characters can also be read as "mi-sa-ki", sounding like 岬 misaki, the word for "cape". As in "Cerulean Cape"—the only place we ever see him.

Furthermore, he is a trainer of Fighting-type Pokémon. This is based on the fact that, in Generation II, he shares his sprite with Mike, a trainer who trades the player a Machop in exchange for a Drowzee, while in HGSS, his sprite is shared with the Week Sibling Wesley of Wednesday, who gives the player the item "Black Belt".

"But wait!" you might say. "If he trains Fighting-type Pokémon—or, indeed, is a Pokémon trainer at all—then why in the world would he run as soon as the player shows up instead of standing his ground and warning them to make tracks?" Well, I speculate that he only trains physically tough Pokémon because he himself is meek and timid, which contrasts well against Misty's outspoken personality. After all, extroverts are known to adopt introverts.

Yes, I just spent three paragraphs fleshing out a nameless sprite that's only seen for under two seconds before promptly being forgotten, never to be mentioned or referenced again.

I think my only issue is that you seem to have grabbed Misty's brief fantasy from the anime's ninth episode and stitched it onto her quite distinct game counterpart. Otherwise, interesting stuff.

 

[hanecco]

The second thing is that it doesn't make sense to refer to the original Eeveelutions as "unnamed creatures."

I guess it depends on how you interpret "unnamed". I always thought that it meant the creatures were nobodies compared to the legendary Ho-oh.

 

[Glitchipedia]

I think my only issue is that you seem to have grabbed Misty's brief fantasy from the anime's ninth episode and stitched it onto her quite distinct game counterpart. Otherwise, interesting stuff.

I suppose I could have safely left that part out, but I felt like I needed to justify having chosen a French translation for the guy's name. And for some reason I thought she fantasized about France more often. In any case, she doesn't really reveal too much about herself in the games apart from her preferred training/fighting style, so I figured I'd be safe culling some details from her cross-media counterparts to flesh her out.

 

[Blaine.]

The reason that trainers that seem under the age of 10 have pokemon is:

Preschoolers are given pokemon as gifts

Trainers you can find in Pokemon Schools, aka Youngsters and Lass', have pokemon as catching and battling pokemon are subjects inside the school.

Bug Catchers catch Bug Type pokemon for either professors or their dads.

And I also take that when gym leaders/ elite 4/ frontier brains/ kahunas/ captains/ or champions have been that role for 15 years, they can retire. Exceptions might be the removal of role, promotion, or pursuit of other research.

And finally, professors have something similar to Supreme Court Justices, they keep the role for life, or at least 40 years

 

[prog rocker]

The reason that trainers that seem under the age of 10 have pokemon is:

Preschoolers are given pokemon as gifts

Trainers you can find in Pokemon Schools, aka Youngsters and Lass', have pokemon as catching and battling pokemon are subjects inside the school.

Bug Catchers catch Bug Type pokemon for either professors or their dads.

And I also take that when gym leaders/ elite 4/ frontier brains/ kahunas/ captains/ or champions have been that role for 15 years, they can retire. Exceptions might be the removal of role, promotion, or pursuit of other research.

And finally, professors have something similar to Supreme Court Justices, they keep the role for life, or at least 40 years

What about Tate and Liza? They look younger than 10.

 

[Glitchipedia]

What about Tate and Liza? They look younger than 10.

Judging by their psychic abilities, they likely have higher-than-average IQs and qualified to take the trainer license examination early. Either that, or their legal guardian is nearby to supervise them and the player just doesn't see/notice.

 

[Esserise]

I mean, given that this thread is labeled as game headcanons, the 10-years-old rule doesn't really apply to begin with.

 

[Almonds]

Since Gen7 shows us that Red and Blue have aged around 10 years since RGBY (and also RSE), by Generation 7 Mr. Stone retired and Steven became the new Devon President. After stepping down from being champion, he dedicated himself to business (he has already been acting as the Devon representative by interacting/cooperating with scientists like Cozmo) and is doing a successful job of keeping Devon prosperous. This is why he didn't show up in Gen7 when he's famous for traveling the world in search for rare rocks and making a cameo appearance/getting referenced by NPCs in other generations.

Now I really want to see Devon President Steven. Make it happen Game Freak

 

[Glitchipedia]

Since Gen7 shows us that Red and Blue have aged around 10 years since RGBY (and also RSE), by Generation 7 Mr. Stone retired and Steven became the new Devon President. After stepping down from being champion, he dedicated himself to business (he has already been acting as the Devon representative by interacting/cooperating with scientists like Cozmo) and is doing a successful job of keeping Devon prosperous. This is why he didn't show up in Gen7 when he's famous for traveling the world in search for rare rocks and making a cameo appearance/getting referenced by NPCs in other generations.

Now I really want to see Devon President Steven. Make it happen Game Freak

It's possible they've aged as much as twenty years. That is the amount of time stated in Generation VII Pokédex entries to have passed since Porygon's creation, and its Red, Green, and FireRed Pokédex entries state it to have been created using "the most advanced technologies" (さいこうの かがくりょく the best scientific power). While that could mean "of its time", no such thing is ever hinted at, meaning it was more than likely created within, at most, a year of Generation I. And even that might render its software prehistoric by computer standards.

 

[Battista]

This has been a long time coming, but I think it’s worth sharing now. Ever since Gen 4 with the introduction of Arceus and the Creation Trio I’ve taken issue with the fact that some Pokémon are essentially “gods” for multiple reasons. A lot of it is personal because of my own religious beliefs, but also there’s the classic question of “how is the creator of the universe able to captured and commanded by a 10 year old”? With a little help from Tolkien, I think I’ve been able to devise a workaround that makes sense in-universe.

Basically the legends of the Pokémon world are similar to that of the Valar in Tolkien’s legendarium. Pokémon in general were appointed by the creator of the world (God, Ilúvatar, whatever) to serve as protectors of the human race. They are the equivalent of guardian angels, and chief legendaries such as Arceus and the Tapus fill the role of Archangels. Over time humans came to see them as “gods” and objects of worship as seen in Sinnoh’s and Alola’s mythologies.

Of course things work significantly different here than in our universe and I’m working on tying up some of those loose ends, such as why some Pokémon still attack people. But it’s a start

 

[Blaine.]

I mean, given that this thread is labeled as game headcanons, the 10-years-old rule doesn't really apply to begin with.

The rule does apply actually if it is within a headcanon, in which I headcanon that

 

[Esserise]

This has been a long time coming, but I think it’s worth sharing now. Ever since Gen 4 with the introduction of Arceus and the Creation Trio I’ve taken issue with the fact that some Pokémon are essentially “gods” for multiple reasons. A lot of it is personal because of my own religious beliefs, but also there’s the classic question of “how is the creator of the universe able to captured and commanded by a 10 year old”? With a little help from Tolkien, I think I’ve been able to devise a workaround that makes sense in-universe.

Basically the legends of the Pokémon world are similar to that of the Valar in Tolkien’s legendarium. Pokémon in general were appointed by the creator of the world (God, Ilúvatar, whatever) to serve as protectors of the human race. They are the equivalent of guardian angels, and chief legendaries such as Arceus and the Tapus fill the role of Archangels. Over time humans came to see them as “gods” and objects of worship as seen in Sinnoh’s and Alola’s mythologies.

Of course things work significantly different here than in our universe and I’m working on tying up some of those loose ends, such as why some Pokémon still attack people. But it’s a start

Not exactly trying to dash your idea, but just wondering, surely it's easier and more decoupling from potential divinity to just say that the legends and myths are human-borne misreadings of situations, phenomena, and associations that were actually completely natural but seemed beyond comprehension?

Like, Arceus is undoubtedly a powerful Pokémon, but nobody has ever actually witnessed it creating the universe. People in ancient times might have seen its ability to create life under certain circumstances (as in the Sinjoh Ruins event), and then extrapolated wildly from that and asserted some presumed "creator" role onto it. All the while, it's really just a magic horse-thing with a unique power that's kind of like, I dunno, cosmic meiosis or something.

Personally at this point, I don't think I would really care if there were actual, hard-confirmed Poké-deities; I think there's a possibility it could be done in an interesting way, but I a) just genuinely, analytically don't think that's what they were trying to do in Gen 4, and b) would expect something a lot more impressive than Arceus and co. or a big lizard and whale duo.

 

[Battista]

Not exactly trying to dash your idea, but just wondering, surely it's easier and more decoupling from potential divinity to just say that the legends and myths are human-borne misreadings of situations, phenomena, and associations that were actually completely natural but seemed beyond comprehension?

Like, Arceus is undoubtedly a powerful Pokémon, but nobody has ever actually witnessed it creating the universe. People in ancient times might have seen its ability to create life under certain circumstances (as in the Sinjoh Ruins event), and then extrapolated wildly from that and asserted some presumed "creator" role onto it. All the while, it's really just a magic horse-thing with a unique power that's kind of like, I dunno, cosmic meiosis or something.

Personally at this point, I don't think I would really care if there were actual, hard-confirmed Poké-deities; I think there's a possibility it could be done in an interesting way, but I a) just genuinely, analytically don't think that's what they were trying to do in Gen 4, and b) would expect something a lot more impressive than Arceus and co. or a big lizard and whale duo.

This is a fair point; one of the reasons I like my interpretation though is because it’s sort of my twist on Tolkien. As much as I gush about him on here, I’m actually fairly new to his work but I’ve been into Pokémon since it first came to the states. So for me it’s taking my old hobby and using it to fuel my passion for something I really want to get into.

A “sub-sub-creation” if you will

 

[Rocket Zigzagoon]

It's out of random, and I didn't even have played any Johto games at all. But Gym Leader Bugsy and Youngster Joey could be brothers or cousins, if they are related. Bugsy was a former Bug Catcher before he became a Gym Leader.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

The Alola protagonist's mom was born in Alola, which explains why the protagonist already knows the language(s) of another "country".

 

[Battista]

The Alola protagonist's mom was born in Alola, which explains why the protagonist already knows the language(s) of another "country".

Oh so you’re under the impression that the protagonist already knows the language?

This is a reference to a headcanon I found on reddit that suggests that the character doesn’t know the language and that’s why they have that goofy grin all the time even in serious moments lol

 

[Esserise]

I like many think that the Anabel that fell through a wormhole and wound up in the Sun or Moon world originates from a timeline with Emerald as the Hoenn narrative.

However, I get a little crazier with the Anabel in Ultra Sun or Moon. From the perspective of Ultra Sun, I like to think that the "native" Hoenn narrative was Omega Ruby. For Ultra Moon, it was Alpha Sapphire. But both of those games featured a Looker who by all rights seemed to be a Faller, having fell from the sky suddenly over the Battle Resort and lost his memory. All he has left on his person at that point is an Audinite, which he gives to the player.

Now, in Ultra Sun and Moon, when we meet Looker on Route 9, he gives us a Thunder Stone, but also tells us that he picked up a "most unusual stone" at Olivia's shop. Let's imagine that this is an Audinite. What if, sometime after the events of the main USUM storyline, that Looker falls into an Ultra Wormhole? And finds himself thrown to an earlier point in time in a different universe, splashing down by the Battle Resort.

What I'm thinking here is that if Ultra Sun's timeline includes Omega Ruby, and Ultra Moon's timeline includes the events of Alpha Sapphire, but both OR and AS feature the Faller Looker, then the one in Omega Ruby might be the Looker from Ultra Moon, and the Looker in Alpha Sapphire might be the one from Ultra Sun.

And then what if at the same time the wormhole dropped Looker off, it also picked up that universe's Anabel, who happened to be at the Battle Resort for, say, a meeting with Scott? (In USUM, it's never elaborated that she used to be a Frontier Brain, because the whole Looker Episode where that was established in SM is cut.) So then, she finds herself flung to an earlier point in the universe that Looker came from. So that essentially, when Anabel washes up on the shore of Alola in Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon, she is discovered by the very same Looker who will eventually fall into a wormhole and be deposited in her native universe, causing her to get brought over into the one she now inhabits? You have to assume that the concept of time can get a bit wonky when you're traveling through the wormholes but still...

 

[hanecco]

Unova's main religion is called the Chapel of the Original Dragon. It worships the original dragon and the two brothers who helped to found Unova, along with other Pokemon or deities seen as important. It's an animist system, like the rest of the Pokemon world (except Sinnoh, which claims that Arceus is the only god). Their holy book is the Scroll of the Siblings, or Siblings Scroll for short, and is a collection of letters between the brothers speaking arguing about their thoughts on morality, ethics, and how a country should be governed.

Many of Unova's laws are based on this 500-year-old document, which is incredibly egalitarian and has surprisingly few faults for its age - mostly because the brothers, who had opposing views, did their best to knock some sense into one another through their writings. Adherents to the chapel are taught to value critical thinking, careful argument, and the questioning and refinement of the sect's philosophy. As a result, most of them are fairly tolerant and accepting of people outside or opposing the sect, such as atheists, the non-religious, immigrants, and so on. The religion has few fundamentalists.

However, most practitioners forget the "questioning and refinement of the chapel's philosophy" bit, which Team Plasma took advantage of. The original Team Plasma's grunt outfits were mockups of what priests of the chapel historically wore. They managed to win support in Unova by finding passages in the Siblings Scroll which they could twist to claim that living alongside Pokemon was immoral. Around 35% of Unova is actually religious, but many more than that care about the legend of the two brothers because it is an important part of the country's identity. Of course, the irony is that Team Plasma wanted to abolish any semblance of justice and free thinking and turn Unova into a dictatorship led by Ghetsis.

The events of BW led to widespread fame for the two new "heroes", N and Hilda, but the creation of what was essentially a new version of the original legend did suprisingly little to change the chapel's core beliefs. Instead, more emphasis and publicity on the "questioning and refinement of the chapel's philosophy" took place, which meant that opposition to Team Plasma was much stronger the next time they came back.