Are you ready for the most outrageous Pokemon: Legends Arceus theory ever?
Well, strap yourself in because one Redditor has come up with their thoughts on what the 2022 release is all about.
It's actually so well thought that out that it could be on the money. Fellow trainers have given it over 5,000 upvotes as they try to work out what this mysterious title is all about.
So let's dive into the meat of the theory and where the story may go.
Read More: Why Are Cyndaquil, Rowlet And Oshawott Starters In Pokemon Legends Arceus?
Pokemon Arceus: Legends Story Theory
Reddit user U/SternMon theorises that Pokemon Legends: Arceus' story will be based on the real-life colonization of Hokkaido; which is the province of Japan that the Sinnoh region is based on.
There's a lot of text to this theory, so we're going to try to summarise it as much as we can.
How Are Sinnoh, Alola, Johto and Unova Connected?
It begins with - why use Cyndaquil, Rowlet and Oshawott as the starters?
SternMon came across this photo that details how the symbol, shown in the trailer, is made up of the first letter of some major regions in Pokemon.
- Sinnoh - the game's region
- Alola - the region Rowlett originates from
- Johto - the region Cyndaquil originates from
- Unova - the region Oshawott originates from
Photo via @marowak_art on Instagram
We previously highlighted a theory that these three were chosen due to their ties to Japanese culture (which you can read by clicking here).
The symbol also looks like the kanji symbol that the word "Galactic/Galaxy" is associated with in Japanese; perhaps there is a much deeper meaning in this context.
They believe that this is a joint effort by Alola, Unova, and Johto to colonize the Sinnoh region, and this game's story will be loosely based around the events of the real-life colonization of Hokkaido; which occurred in the 19th century.
SternMon goes on to talk about the history of Hokkaido and explain that it wasn't a part of the country of Japan until the 19th century when they were inspired by American westward expansion and moved to colonize the island. It was one of the first projects between America and Japan to develop Hokkaido.
They believe this explains the regions represented in the game. Johto best represents Japan and its history, whereas Unova best represents America (as it's based on New York City) and Alpla is an example of a colonised location by the US (based on Hawaii).
He also believes the characters we play are a symbol of the joint effort of the three regions to explore and conquer the Sinnoh region.
What Can We Expect In The Story?
SternMon believes that there will be some native people who live in Sinnoh prior to the colonisation efforts.
This is evident from the lore in Diamond and Pearl - Celestic Town is home to the near-forgotten traditions of the ancient people who lived in the Sinnoh region since its creation.
The theory suggests that this is based off of the indigenous Ainu people.
Since Celestic Town contains ruins that bear information about Azelf, Mespirit, and Uxie, and where the player gets the Pokedex entries for Dialga and Palkia, it stands to reason that the natives of Sinnoh are directly connected to the Creation family of Legendary Pokemon.
If this is true, the story will be centred around the conflict between the colonists and the natives, where the colonists aim to capture the Legendary Pokemon of the Sinnoh region.
This would give context to the eventual design of Team Galactic's logo in the modern period of the Pokemon world, as his methods, motives, and details of his plan would be based on something that the colonists of old attempted, likely during the climax of the main story of Legends: Arceus.
Team Galatic Logo
This ultimately leads to a big clash and face-off between the colonists and natives.
What Part Do Your Pokemon Play?
It's still interesting to see how the traditional Pokemon format works in this game. In most cases, you catch Pokemon, you train them, you take on gyms, win badges and win the Pokemon league.
Will we see a game without that climatic final tournament?
SternMon eludes to this as he details that Pokemon could be used to develop the colony. Helping them to explore Sinnoh for materials, items and tools to assist.
If this is really an open-world RPG, these kinds of tasks will lend easily to side-quests and will explain how you're not just there to battle with Pokemon, but to use them to complete quests and solve puzzles.
Landscape
SternMon also details how the potential location of the starting area and the location of Celestic Town, work perfectly story-wise.
The first Japanese settlement on Hokkaido was on the Oshima Peninsula, which is roughly where Twinleaf Town (the starting town in Diamond and Pearl).
Celestic Town, which is where the remainder of the natives of Sinnoh reside, is located on the other side of Mt. Coronet; which divides the Sinnoh region in half.
Is It Legit?
There's some solid theory behind it, but u/Klench replied to the theory informing them that they don't see a Pokemon game setting up a “natives vs imperialists dynamic" with you on the side of the imperialists.
The main character is always the hero, so if we are on the wrong side of the story, it's unknowingly and likely our allegiances switch during the game.
What do you think about this theory? Is it a miss or a good idea?