What are your game headcanons?

[Jimothy]

Bear with me this is long. I copy/pasted this from another site of where I posted this several months back.

XY are a trilogy.

Pokémon X and Y's plot in a nutshell is you and your four friends touring around Kalos to discover the secrets of Mega Evolution. Along the way, you all fight off Lysandre to stop his plans of mass genocide, then by the end of the game, you inspire AZ to finalize his path of redemption. During XY, Lysandre worked with a group of five scientists to locate the legendary Pokémon (Xerneas/Yveltal) who could be utilized as a greater source of "infinity" energy for the Ultimate Weapon than what AZ used 3000 years prior. Xerneas and Yveltal have a third legendary who accompany them, called Zygarde, but it only arrives when Xerneas and Yveltal are in real danger or if the natural order is being disrupted in some other way. It doesn't seem as if XY did put them through enough danger because despite Lysandre draining 99% of their energy all they did was miraculously wake up, take back most of their energy, and break through the weapon as you arrived. These legendaries either create and give off life energy (Xerneas) or take and destroy life energy (Yveltal). They could not really be threatened by this and they've proven this to Lysandre even within Team Rainbow Rocket. Lysandre would not have had Xerneas/Yveltal on his team in USUM if his plans were 100% fulfilled. Even in the Kalos manga Xerneas and Yveltal prevented Zygarde from arriving to Lysandre. This left Zygarde hanging without a suitable role in all of XY's plot.

ORAS is a sequel/prequel to XY. This may sound weird and people often think ORAS took place during the same time as FRLG because RSE did for sure, but I think in the Mega Evolution universes, ORAS took place much later than RSE and around the same time as XY. To start off, Zinnia finalizes the lore on Mega Evolution and explained the cause of it was AZ's Ultimate Weapon. She also mentioned how AZ was in Sootopolis, witnessing the very first Mega Evolution happen live during a fight between Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon. She then summons Rayquaza to have it mega evolve and have you save the world from a giant meteor. Kalos had the technology to be aware of a meteor threatening the entire world and should have known about this in XY had it taken place before then. By this logic, they should've also known of a Mega Rayquaza. Additionally XY and ORAS events happen similarly near each other in the anime, the manga utilizes the old and new team magma/aqua people as two completely different people, and nothing in Gen 6 indicates any significant time travel between XY and ORAS. We also know that LGPE does not take place during the same time as RBY/FRLG thanks to Red and Blue being established while Team Rocket events were ongoing and Mina being about only 5 years younger when SM/USUM takes place a minimum of 10 years after RBY/FRLG. Lastly, Wally in SM/USUM looks as if he aged significantly less than Red and Blue have. It is very possible for ORAS to take place during XY in mega universes while RSE happened during FRLG in non-mega universes.

A smaller thing relates to how Alpha is the first letter of the greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter of the greek alphabet. It's sorta like "Pokémon AZ" if you know what I mean. They also had Archie and Maxie create something known as "Project AZOTH" in ORAS, which would be a plan to bring an end to all life from Earth and reset everything to a new beginning. A grunt even confirms that "A" stands for beginning and "Z" stands for end in Project Azoth. We even have Zinnia in the game with her partner being a Whismur named Aster. A and Z respectively. Gamefreak clearly knew what they were doing here.

Another major point about ORAS is the confirmation of multiverses. Zinnia confirms that Pokémon was not just one universe, but an entire multiverse filled with (at least 2) separate universes. Archie and Maxie also vaguely hinted out that Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are another two separate universes and when you reach the Battle Resort, you find Looker. He was washed up on shore and a woman brought him to her cottage, saying he fell from the sky and has amnesia for some reason... little did we know this would be the biggest foreshadowing of the next generation for its time.

SM and USUM expanded on the information ORAS gave to us to the utmost extreme by making its lore and plot mostly about Ultra Wormholes. Ultra Wormholes are portals that grant access to Ultra Space. Ultra Space is an indefinitely-expanding dimension with countless amounts of portals all leading to separate universes each. They also inhabit a large group of special Pokémon known as the Ultra Beasts. The Ultra Beasts are invasive species of Pokémon to the natural Pokémon world and their existence in Alola defies the world's natural order. This is the big thing Zygarde WOULD be largely present in a Pokémon game for. Zygarde was checking out Alola to scale how threatening the Ultra Beasts were, since they were species of Pokémon who didn't belong to the order of nature. However, there were never that many to begin with and we dealt with most of them by ourselves in the Gen 7 games. Zygarde was there but never had to go to the extreme of becoming complete. Additionally, there were people who fell from the sky out of Ultra Wormholes. The Ultra Wormholes would take them from their old universe to SM/USUM's current universe and give them amnesia. This sounds exactly like what happened to Looker in ORAS Hoenn; although the Looker in SM/USUM seems to be a different Looker altogether (yes this means there are at least two Looker roaming around in one universe). With Gen 7 giving a significant role to XY's Zygarde and heavily expanding on the event ORAS foreshadowed, I can confidently say that Gen 7 is the third installment to the XY trilogy. SM and USUM are two separate universes of their own with different plots during the same time, so USUM isn't a sequel but rather a game where events of SM took a different path.

For a couple other things, Magearna was the first Generation 7 Pokémon introduced to the series. Its lore states that it was created by a scientist 500 years ago to accompany a princess. We later learn from the release of its own movie that it was created in what was known as the Azoth Kingdom in Kalos; the same name as Archie/Maxie's plan in ORAS. We can also say that Magearna's creation was inspired by AZ's Ultimate Weapon. Magearna is a machine fueled by the life energy of other Pokémon. When it uses its signature attack, its hand opens up in a flower-like shape and unleashes a powerful beam. AZ's Ultimate Weapon is also a machine fueled by the life energy of other Pokémon and it also opens (something) up in a flower-like shape to unleash a powerful beam. This next part might be a big coincidence but Magearna was also the biggest overall check to the combination of Xerneas and Yveltal in Gen 7 Ubers/AG metagames and would be the biggest counter to both against Yveltal lacking Heat Wave. It resists all of Xerneas and Yveltal's STABs and fires back with Super Effective attacks against both. It even had Heart Swap to steal all the Geomancy boosts from Xerneas back then. Coincidence?

Additionally Ash Greninja was featured in SM. It took a significant role in the XY and XYZ anime before leaving Ash at the end of his Kalos adventure.

Lastly, Generation 7 just seems like an expanded iteration of Generation 6. Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion were kept in main series, Pokémon Amie was changed into something considerably close, items like the Vs. Recorder functioned mostly the same, the same 60 minute battle timer was carried across from the previous Gen 6, a plethora of older gen characters made a return, both Gens 6 and 7 were the primary games for the Pokémon Bank app, the 3D models were the exact same(?), not even re-polished or rendered differently? Gen 7 did not add anything super big to the series unlike Gen 6, but not remove many notable things either. Gens 6 and Alola also take place on one specific timeline of mainline games, separate from Gens 1-2, 3-5, LGPE, and presumably Gen 8+. There isn't a confirmation on whether or not Gen 8 is a part of that same timeline. There is probably a lot more but, Gens 6 and 7 feel more connected to each other than any other gen does to another, even Gens 1 and 2 despite Gen 2 being a confirmed Gen 1 sequel. Gen 7 finishes off Kalos, expands on ORAS discoveries, and does not fundamentally change itself into a series reboot in any real way unlike most generations prior. Because of all of this, I consider all the 3DS core series games to be part of a trilogy between one another.


Edit: I did get awareness that one 3D model changed between Gen 6 and 7. Glameow's 3D model was changed to have its ears positioned differently. This was the only 3DS model to have changed in Gen 7.

I like and agree with almost all of this! I do think people are too unwilling to decouple Hoenn from Kanto and that placing ORAS much closer to XY and SuMoUSUM should be seriously considered.

There's even a hint about something that happened 12 years before-- concurrent with RSE's release and presumably its storyline. Archie met Jirachi in 2002. Jirachi is only supposed to be awake every 1000 years, and I've always interpreted that as meaning its true eye only opens consistently during this time-- it's sleeping otherwise. Look back at all of Jirachi's sprites and models. Unless it's using Doom Desire, its true eye is only open in the gen 3 games. Around 2002. So the line in ORAS about Archie and Jirachi indicates to me that in the universes where RSE happened, they happened at the same time that a younger Archie was meeting Jirachi in the ORAS universes. So RSE and ORAS really do happen over a decade apart.

To expand on something you said towards the end there, there's an idea I read somewhere in recent years that I'm starting to more strongly consider-- that every time we get a new version of the Kanto story, the timeline "resets" and we're looking at a new version of it.

So for instance, the general timelines might look like:

RGBY > GSC

RSE/FRLG > DPP/HGSS > BW > B2W2

Origins > XY/ORAS > SuMoUSUM

Hisuian Snow > PLA > LGPE > BDSP > Twilight Wings/SwSh > SV


Notes:

These are the general flows of storylines, obviously there are far more universes as you have to account for each save file (characters' names, which starter/fossil you picked, etc) and combinations of games (maybe I played Emerald, LG, Platinum, SS, and you played entirely different versions).

Yes, I'm counting the various game-world-based anime series, as I do believe they count. I don't think the main anime entirely counts (I don't think the orange islands exist, for instance), though some aspects of it seem to still exist-- Alain is referenced, and some of the newer mythicals that don't have an in-game storyline have something referencing their respective movies to function as their backstory.

Obviously the other regions exist and some version of their storylines still happen even if they don't get games in a given timeline (as you said, Mina in LGPE, as well as Sabrina's reference in the same game that Johto's storyline will still happen three years later), though when they happen in relation to the games' stories in a given timeline are either merely hinted at or entirely up in the air.

Cynthia does have a line of dialog in BW that indicates that they must have happened specifically after Platinum and not DP. Not sure whether to just handwave it or have some timelines end at the Sinnoh story and not continue on to Unova, but mostly I just didn't feel like typing out that many timeline permutations.

I really like compartmentalizing things in various different timelines/universes as I like doing stuff like keeping the GB games in the 90's (since they feel so 90's) and keeping Tajiri's games mostly separate-- his games can still take place in a world where animals exist and Pokemon only first appeared two million years ago (Masuda's first game as director, Crystal, is the first game to introduce the idea of Kabuto fossils being 300 million years old-- both the Pokemon Zukan book and the TCG Fossil expansion claim that Pokemon have only been around for two million years (I kind of want to separate Crystal from the others for this reason but I didn't for simplicity's sake)-- we can see that once Tajiri stepped back from game development and Masuda started directing, the concept of the Pokemon world changed dramatically). We can also have Red starting with Charmander in the 3DS timeline but Bulbasaur in the Switch timeline, stuff like that.

Obviously a few years after BDSP, the protagonist gets timenapped, but I didn't know where that might happen in relation to SwSh or SV and that event doesn't have a handy abbreviation. BDSP's placement is based less on "where it happened in previous timelines" and more on the fact that LGPE Sabrina indicates that some version of the Johto storyline happens three years later and BDSP's opening references that storyline.

Yes, Mr. Bonding is created during the events of ORAS, but the games that happen concurrently don't necessarily have all their events happening at the exact same time or the same rate-- as evidenced by the Sinnoh story typically starting partway through the Johto story (Lake of Rage event).

 

[Ryoma Maser]

In Legends: Arcues, Johtonese Sneasel and Hisiuan Sneseal exist in the same era, the former just hasn't migrated to Sinnoh yet. Weavile exists thanks to space-time distortions accelerating its adaption/evolution from carrying it over from Johto or Razor Claws are not in abundance in its native region.

Cogita has some form of trauma induced disorder due to being unwilling to speak in some scenarios, reduced contact with other human beings and other reasons (like mistaking the Pixie Plate for a cutting board).

Raihan and Iona have a Vitriolic Best Buds scenario as both being Gym Leaders and social media stars, their fans unironically ship them in-universe.

To go along with manga canon, Sonia is the only person to defeated Leon in his entire career official or unofficial before the Swsh protagonists. No one knows except a few people like Magnolia and Raihan, who secretly rubbed it in on him. Hop learned when he started working as Sonia's assistant and was never the same since.

Much like their mother, the Swsh protagonist are florists and gardeners though at a more intermediate level.

Ever since the Ultra Wormhole incidents and the space-time rift of Hisui, the barriers around the Pokémon multiverse are becoming more and more weaker allowing more people and Pokémon to get through in different ways (this includes the most recent game).

Rotom Phones and Porygon Phones are not actual Pokémon possessing devices, they are modeled after said Pokémon and designed to act like it but are not the Pokémon. Rotom Dexes and other devices were tried outside of the USUM protagonists with Rotom possessing them, but every test case found it annoying.

Most people in Alola believe Samson Oak to be a clone of Professor Oak, he's too similar looking to be his cousin. Same applies to Grand Oak of Pokémon Home by whoever sees him.

 

[Crisbee Donut]

-Poppy is Hassel's grandchild
-All regional birds are part of the same family tree
-All regional bugs are part of the same family tree

 

[Pasio]

Time to ramble...

Pokémon Sun and Moon's plot was made entirely to cater to Zygarde's role in Pokémon.

Zygarde's role is to monitor the balance of life and death in ecosystems and ensure populations don't get destabilized in some way. The Ultra Beasts were directly designed to interfere with this unlike anything before. They are widely known to be invasive species to the world of Pokémon and served as the main focal point of SM's story . Gamefreak went pretty far express how threatening they were to ecosystems without straying from PG, and much of it included info about them being detrimental as far as even 10 years before the events of Sun and Moon.

Zygarde was in Alola to monitor its ecosystem as it detected destabilization made by Ultra Beasts in it. It could have fought some off behind the scenes in its doggo form, it could have simply kept watch to prevent the destabilization from getting too severe. Who knows.

Sun and Moon also tried to have Zygarde involved midgame from an optional standpoint. You get to be able to build one in Route 16 and have it join your team to fight off Ultra Beasts. It was not forced but something neat to have by your side.

Technically, Lysandre never did anything to trigger Zygarde in Gen 6. In X and Y, sure he was about to commit mass genocide. Zygarde isn't about preventing a sudden mass genocide. Zygarde has to detect an imbalance going on first. Lysandre would have needed to fire the weapon and kill too many living creatures at once for Zygarde to do anything. Technically Xerneas can fix much of this anyway, and it dismantled Lysandre's whole plan by itself by breaking out of his weapon. Zygarde is neither a protector of good or evil. It simply holds a neutral stance and its only job is to maintain the natural order so the world can sustain. Its goal is not to save lives (Xerneas does that), but to ensure enough lives are left for the world to sustain.

The anime was an exception as Zygarde reluctantly decides it wants to help out humanity when previously it was just standing there watching everyone struggle. We know Zygarde can make exceptions in the anime with how it turned 100% in a quick second just to save Bonnie from getting hit by an attack in the Magearna movie.

Honestly they did more with Zygarde in Sun and Moon than they did with Rayquaza in Emerald. All you did was summon Rayquaza then it roared at two legendaries then left.

 

[BackSet]

Is this... the place for this? This feels like a real life headcanon, not a Pokémon one.

 

[Pasio]

Is this... the place for this? This feels like a real life headcanon, not a Pokémon one.

I'll move it to the controversial opinions thread if that is more suitable. The post does look like an opinion that's be widely unpopular .

 

[Emmy]

This is totally part of Bede's training regiment.

 

[c la fet]

This is totally part of Bede's training regiment.

Oh my gosh mikan0u0, I know his/her (idk) art from Miiverse !

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

Some corporations have started using Snorlax’s as bouncers for private meetings, since they’re basically immovable without their pokeball in hand.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Conquest takes place in modern day. Ransei has been closed off from the outside world for centuries due to the war, and their modern technology comes mostly from shipwrecks.

 

[Pasio]

Conquest takes place in modern day. Ransei has been closed off from the outside world for centuries due to the war, and their modern technology comes mostly from shipwrecks.

This  would explain why fossils and Mewtwo show up, as well as why Motonari was able to bring up how he heard about people from faraway lands using Poké Balls to catch Pokémon.

 

[BackSet]

Since Sonic doesn't look all that much like a Hedgehog in the first place, the Pokemon version (Sonic the Sandslash) doesn't look all that different from the real world verison.

 

[Herbizarre]

Going off with the Pokémon Adventures manga, I like to think that Saturn has his own gaming channel on PokéTwitch, and is actually good friends with Iono.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Since Sonic doesn't look all that much like a Hedgehog in the first place, the Pokemon version (Sonic the Sandslash) doesn't look all that different from the real world verison.

Eh, I think Togedemaru is more fitting for Sonic. Apparently it's based on the spiny rat, but it rolls.

 

[Pasio]

The Heart (Arceus) designed Mew to be the first ever Pokémon.
It was given the genetic composition of all Pokémon that ever will exist.
Upon seeing its first created species, The Heart then decided,
"I too want to be a Pokémon"
and so it had Mew lay its first egg
and from that egg, hatched Arceus, the Pokémon.

 

[stunning_cyan]

I have a headcanon about Pokemon breeding process and that it's actually separate from Pokemon falling in love and even having sex. Pokemon who breed simply exchange their energies and that's why ghost Pokemon can breed, including breeding with non-immaterial Pokemon. Technically, in animal/human world breeding also doesn't necessarily mean pleasure but I do really believe that breeding in Pokemon and sex are really two separate things. It's more like a ...ritual. And Pokemon CAN have sex but it's limited to their own kind only and only for material Pokemon obviously.

 

[Pasio]

In many areas of the Pokemon multiverse, Arceus got bored of Dragon-types dominating the battling scene, and so it created a new plate and a new type in Fairy, then re-wrote all of history to account for the changes it would make. It then warped the memories of most people to believe Fairy-types always existed, but wanted to leave a handful of people surprised and think of it as a newly discovered type, like Dexio and Sina.


This is a type that got added, and Arceus is the ambassador of all Pokemon types, so this could only make sense. In addition, Arceus far more than just capable of achieving all of this.

Same goes for the Dark and Steel-types in the case of nerfing Psychic-type, just, it did this in a separate universe, and Gen 1 games occur in entirely separate universes where similar events go on. Gen 1 events still happened in Gen 2 games, but not in the exact same manner.

 

[Greninjaman]

In many areas of the Pokemon omniverse, Arceus got bored of Dragon-types dominating the battling scene, and so it created a new plate and a new type in Fairy, then re-wrote all of history to account for the changes it would make. It then warped the memories of most people to believe Fairy-types always existed, but wanted to leave a handful of people surprised and think of it as a newly discovered type, like Dexio and Sina.


This is a type that got added, and Arceus is the ambassador of all Pokemon types, so this could only make sense. In addition, Arceus far more than just capable of achieving all of this.

How would you use this to explain Dark and Steel?

 

[Pasio]

How would you use this to explain Dark and Steel?

just added that in before reading this ,oops

 

[BackSet]

All the time fuckery as of late can be blamed on Cyrus messing with the Sinnoh Legendaries.