Weird theories.

[bdt2002]

Small one, but, here we go. I know some people might find it a bit confusing why Lysandre uses a Gyarados as his ace. I believe it's because both are harbingers of destruction. Gyarados is Gyarados and is known for its violent and destructive tendencies. Lysandre wants to destroy most humans and all Pokemon. So yeah, they fit each other in that regard. I could be wrong though, speaking that X and Y are some of the least thought out games in the franchise.

I have always believed that he used a Gyarados as his Mega Evolution to go along with some sort of theme, but I've never been able to find said theme. I will agree that XY felt kind of rushed in the "thinking out" department though.

Now that I think about it, I could ask the same question about your rival's Mega Absol in the postgame. Really, Diantha's Gardevoir is the only one of the four Megas you face in XY that makes sense from a theme standpoint, because even though Korrina's whole family supposedly had Lucario back in the day, Lucario still doesn't match Korrina's personality in my eyes. She seems more like a happy go lucky person, which isn't what I think of when I see Lucario in, say, its own movie.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Small one, but, here we go. I know some people might find it a bit confusing why Lysandre uses a Gyarados as his ace. I believe it's because both are harbingers of destruction. Gyarados is Gyarados and is known for its violent and destructive tendencies. Lysandre wants to destroy most humans and all Pokemon. So yeah, they fit each other in that regard. I could be wrong though, speaking that X and Y are some of the least thought out games in the franchise.

Lysandre's team is odd in general as, aside from his Pyroar, it doesn't feel like it quite matches him:

1. One main think working against it is that he only has four Pokemon. Maybe if he had a full party and they were all different Types it wouldn't look so odd, but as it stands now the Mienshao stands out and the Gyarados is odd being his ace.
2. Speaking of his ace, while I understand they wanted to give him a Mega Pokemon as his ace, still his design is partly based on Pyroar. It should be equal level to his Gyarados. Also Mega Gyarados is an alright Mega for Lysandre, as said representing his destructive goal. Kind of wish they did what the anime did and gave him a Shiny Gyarados, infact making his team primarily red/orange color would have been a theme that made some sense.
3. Another idea is that they could have made his team to counter the Legendary Pokemon. Seriously, aside from Pyroar all his other Pokemon are weak to Fairy-types (and his Mienshao is also weak to Flying so no matter what the Legendary it's going to go down easily)!

This is, in my opinion, a stark contrast from Ghetsis's team in BW. Actually, I think what I'm about to say can count as a theory so:

NEW THEORY: While at first it also looks like his team is a bit random, if you look at Ghetsis's team in one aspect it's probably one of the best teams made by a villain team boss: Ghetsis's Pokemon were specifically chosen to be counter to N's Pokemon:

N's Pokemon: Ghetsis's Counters:
Reshiram/Zekrom: In addition to Hydreigon, Bouffalant & Seismitoad have Earthquake, and Bisharp has Stone Edge for Reshiram.
Carracosta: In addition to Eelektross and his Pokemon that know Earthquake, Bouffalant also knows Wild Charge and Hyreigon knows Focus Blast.
Vanilluxe: Bisharp has Stone Edge (oddly it's only Steel-type move is Metal Burst), Eelektross has Flamethrower, and Hydreigon has both Fire Blast and Focus Blast.
Archeops: Eelektross, Bouffalant w/ Wild Charge, Bisharp w/ Stone Edge, and finally Seismitoad (& Hydreigon knows Surf).
Zoroark: Bisharp has X-Scissor and Hydreigon still has Focus Blast.
Klinklang: Hydreigon w/ Focus Blast, Eelektross w/ Flamethrower, and Bouffalant & Seismitoad w/ Earthquake.

And yes, Ghetsis's Hyreigon can counter ALL of N's Pokemon. Not to mention he first sends out a Cofagrigus who Toxic Stalls (and any Physical attacker gets their Ability changed to Mummy). Ghetsis's team is laser focused on defeating N's team. A very nice attention to detail while also giving him a well-rounded team just in general.

In B2W2 his team becomes much more of a team a villain would have, swapping out Bisharp and Bouffalant for a Drapion and Toxicroak. However the notable thing for that team is what they did with Hydreigon: they gave it max power Frustration and its holding a Life Orb. You know, just in case you thought Ghetsis may have treated his Pokemon any better then his adopted son.

Now that I think about it, I could ask the same question about your rival's Mega Absol in the postgame. Really, Diantha's Gardevoir is the only one of the four Megas you face in XY that makes sense from a theme standpoint, because even though Korrina's whole family supposedly had Lucario back in the day, Lucario still doesn't match Korrina's personality in my eyes. She seems more like a happy go lucky person, which isn't what I think of when I see Lucario in, say, its own movie.

Considering the Mega Pokemon available the choices for the Rival's and Korrina's Mega Pokemon feel fine. Honestly I don't know if there's any Fighting-type that matches Korrina, she's a bit of an oddity when it comes to Fighting-type experts as she doesn't study a martial arts but rather is just a very athletic roller skater.

 

[Mimas]

The theory between Haunter and Voltorb is a little weird to me:

1. Voltorb would be a Poké Ball possessed by Haunter.

Well, look at the Poké Ball and Haunter's eyes:

This would pair perfectly with Voltorb, as we can see:

1. Theory: When Haunter possessed Voltorb, he became trapped (thus the button is missing, and it can't open) and he explodes because he's angry and cannot get out.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

The theory between Haunter and Voltorb is a little weird to me:

1. Voltorb would be a Poké Ball possessed by Haunter.

Well, look at the Poké Ball and Haunter's eyes:

This would pair perfectly with Voltorb, as we can see:

1. Theory: When Haunter possessed Voltorb, he became trapped (thus the button is missing, and it can't open) and he explodes because he's angry and cannot get out.

I've really never understood this theory. A lot of Pokemon have those exact same eyes (off the top of my head, Primeape and Exeggcute). Plus, if Voltorb and Electrode were indeed trapped Ghosts, you'd expect them to learn more Ghost moves besides Curse, which was learned by virtually every Pokemon in Gen 2.

Primeape and Exeggcute

 

[Ironmage]

Two theories, both relating to anime team rocket:

1. Jesse and James are assumed names to go with the theming, they're actually the anime versions of Ariana and Petrel, respectively.

2: Team rocket is faking their incompetence. The pokemon world simply doesn't have enough law enforcement to deal with all of the villianous groups, so as long as Giovanni and Co. are at the bottom of the priority list they don't get investigated. J&J tail Ash not because they actually want pikachu, but because Ash inevitably leads them to the next legendary, which they can then send back the info for another group of Rocket agents to capture.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

1. Jesse and James are assumed names to go with the theming, they're actually the anime versions of Ariana and Petrel, respectively.

Don't they visit James's grandparents in one episode, and they call him James?

 

[Pikachu315111]

Two theories, both relating to anime team rocket:

1. Jesse and James are assumed names to go with the theming, they're actually the anime versions of Ariana and Petrel, respectively.

2: Team rocket is faking their incompetence. The pokemon world simply doesn't have enough law enforcement to deal with all of the villianous groups, so as long as Giovanni and Co. are at the bottom of the priority list they don't get investigated. J&J tail Ash not because they actually want pikachu, but because Ash inevitably leads them to the next legendary, which they can then send back the info for another group of Rocket agents to capture.

Problem with this theory is that we see the Rocket Trio on their "off time" and they're just their usual incompetent selves. They're following Ash because they do believe Pikachu is something special, Ash just so happening to run into rare Pokemon or other opportunities they could benefit from is just a bonus. If they were to ever successfully steal Pikachu that's it, they'll give it to Giovanni and never bother Ash ever again.

Also I don't think Giovanni and the rest of the Team Rocket organization is "low priority" but rather they operate in secret/Giovanni has the money and influence to keep the right people quiet.

 

[PsychicAcademic]

Silly headcanons may be acceptable?

Since... ever since everyone points seapuppy Popplio as circus boy, don't we all believe that if we pinch/poke the nose it'll honk like clown's nose? I even think this is retained up to Brionne (but not Primarina).

... nah, Game Freak should make this officially confirmed just because.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Silly headcanons may be acceptable?

Since... ever since everyone points seapuppy Popplio as circus boy, don't we all believe that if we pinch/poke the nose it'll honk like clown's nose? I even think this is retained up to Brionne (but not Primarina).

... nah, Game Freak should make this officially confirmed just because.

Looking it up,

you are not the only one

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Bumping this because this was a pretty interesting theory brought up on one of the Sword/Shield Discord channels and was a bit fun to talk about (courtesy of Mario With Lasers).

This one is an interesting theory, but it's very likely the Beldum line originated from outer space.

What evidence is there for it? Well first, despite being introduced in Gen 3, the first place the Beldum line (namely Metang and Metagross) are naturally found in the wild is in Unova, in the Giant Chasm. This is a large impact crater where a large meteorite fell and struck the area. The inner part of the crater where Metang and Metagross are found contains many meteorite, outer space Pokemon such as Clefairy, Lunatone, and Solrock, and these Pokemon are known to be from space. Therefore, it's reasonable to believe Metang came from this meteor that struck Unova.

The other known place Beldum is naturally found in the wild is on Mount Hokulani in Alola, which while not a known crater, also contains Minior and Cleffa, the former being known as the Meteor Pokemon. Hokulani means "heavenly star" and Hokulani has an observatory where people look at the outer space.

Beldum's debut appearance in Hoenn does not have it appear in the wild: it's not native to Hoenn at all in any natural capacity. Instead, it's given to you by Steven in his hometown in Mossdeep City. And what's there? A Space Center. Talk about a subtle hint.

Moreover, another piece of evidence pointing to this is Metang/Metagross's most iconic attack, which is known as Meteor Mash, or in Japanese, Comet Punch. For a long time, the only Pokemon capable of learning this move were Metagross and Clefable, the latter of which comes from the moon. Metagross's main Steel-type attack invokes the use of the word Meteor/Comet, suggesting it came from a meteorite.

Finally, a major point suggesting this is that the Beldum line is part Psychic type. Psychic type is often associated with supernatural mind energy, which makes sense as Metagross is super intelligent, but the Psychic type is also often associated with cosmic energy. The move Cosmic Power, though Metagross cannot learn it, is Psychic type. Many Psychic-type Pokemon are associated with outer space: Deoxys and the Elgyem line are literally aliens from space, Jirachi is based on a shooting star and its signature move, Doom Desire, summons much light, the Cosmog line is based off the galaxy, sun, and moon, Lunatone and Solrock are from space, and Starmie is said to communicate with and be from outer space as well.

This is all a weird, bizarre theory and there is absolutely nothing to truly confirm it, but when you piece all of this evidence together, there is one very likely possibility: Beldum, Metang, and Metagross are aliens and they originated from somewhere in outer space. They came to the Pokemon world via a meteor and other outer space entries and they are not native to the planet. This explains their strange appearance and physique most certainly.

 

[Scorpio]

Actually it's because you catch those specific Pokemon so late in BW that those levels don't seem ridiculous there:

Gonna pop in to say this isn't just a Unova thing. Kanto, to a lesser extent, had this sort of thing with the likes of Grimer, Koffing, and Ponyta, all of which are catchable late-game in the low 30s and evolve at Lv. 38, 35, and 40 respectively. Then, when made available much earlier in another game (like Ponyta in Sinnoh or Grimer(-A) in Alola), the levels get to be pretty ridiculous.

Another consequence of this in Gen 1 was their movepools; as breeding didn't exist yet, GF assumed the player wouldn't encounter them particularly often until they were able to catch them, and didn't bother to give them moves for levels they figured the player wouldn't encounter them at. As a result, Grimer and Koffing know a total of two moves by level-up until Lv. 30 and 32 respectively; Ponyta fares even worse with a whopping one move from Lv. 1 to Lv. 30.

 

[Wishy]

My bizarre yet feasible explanation for Kangaskhan having a baby when it hatches: the baby is actually a vestigial twin. All Kangaskhan eggs develop as a twin embryo, one simply overpowers and outgrows the other*. The underdeveloped twin becomes a parasite of the bigger twin. The bigger twin coddles and treats the smaller one like a child due to misplaced maternal bonding and subconscious womb guilt. 'Baby' Kanga never evolves into an 'Adult' Kanga because it technically is an adult. It absorbs all the energy from Mega Evolution to become strong and physically independent.

*Just to make this theory even kookier: the twins are of the opposite sex, and the female twin always overtakes the male in the womb. Hence why all Kangaskhan are female, the males never fully develop, except during Mega Evolution when the vestigial twin grows beyond infant size. They look different due to sexual dimorphism. In Ancient Kanto, this phenomena of female Kanga embryos taking all the resources and choking out the male embryos evolved because female Kanga could mate with other Pokemon in the Monster egg group, and having two sexes wasn't necessary for reproduction.

Fuck your sad ass Cubone theory

 

[PokemonCrusader]

I half-buy the "Blue's Raticate is dead" theory. That is, I believe the rat is dead, but I don't think the player was the one who killed it. The part about the player killing the Raticate I feel is just tacked on for the sake of edginess.

The whole theory is edge. First off, the quoted Blue dialogue in the theory is even correct. Secondly, the whole thing at the end spirals into some weird lament about how you, the PC, intentionally killed the Rat and ruined Blue's life. Ah, no. I didn't intentionally kill anything especially not his rat. It is just a cliched twist trying to make a lighthearted game into something darker. If the PC did kill Raticate, either Blue or the game would have said something. It is Pokémon. The writing isn't that subtle especially not back then.

He boxed the thing. Like he boxed his Fearow in Yellow or how the rival in XY never used the Bunnelby. He also didn't use the Cubone he caught in the Tower. He, like the PC, decided to focus on raising certain Pokémon.

Frankly, the whole Blue joined TR theory has more going for it and it is more interesting to ponder.

I like the theory floating around that RBY Giovanni is actually trying to save the world from Mewtwo.
That theory goes as follows:

Giovanni is seen trying to steal exactly two items from Silph Co.: the Silph Scope, and later the Master Ball.
Now, how is that relevant?

The Silph Scope allows one to see ghosts in their presumably true form. This in turn might allow the wielder to catch them, as they are impossible to battle (thus to catch) without it.
The Master Ball can catch any Pokémon, without fail except that 1 in a 65536 chance if you're unlucky since we're talking Gen I, and can be used as a cheat item of sorts against legendaries.

Where does that lead us?
The theory states that Giovanni knew what Mewtwo was capable of after TR bioengineered it, which is why he was trying to catch Ghosts: they're super effective against Psychic and would likely be able to dent Mewtwo. The Master Ball would have been a surefire plan in case Plan A failed for one reason or another, being a backup item to sacrifice if it meant capturing Mewtwo.

Though, since the only Ghosts in Gen I are the Gastly evolution line, and they're part Poison-type, and Psychic is super effective against Poison... well, Giovanni could've spared himself the effort and caught a Butterfree or something.

I can agree with the theory as long as it stays in the confides of Giovanni is attempting to catch Mewtwo for TR. (Despite TR having nothing to do with Mewtwo in RBY). When the theory turns into Giovanni is trying to capture Mewtwo to be the Hero of Kanto is where I draw the line. Because if he is trying to be heroic then his complete silence to Red (the PC) about Mewtwo renders his motivations suspect. Why not inform the trainer that beat you down three times about the apparent danger?

 

[khlaylav]

I mean if we're going by the logic of "Blue's Raticate disappears, therefore it's dead" then Hop is a mass murderer because he switches his team out nearly every time.

 

[Pikachu315111]

So, I have weird new theory, maybe edging a bit on wishlisting or at least more going into an idea GF had but they didn't really follow-up on despite leading to a baffling decision they keep on today.

If you didn't know, FUN FACT, Nidorina & Nidoqueen can't breed. Very strange, especially since their male counterparts can. At first you could assume it was a glitch, yet its something which has been carried out with them for several gens and never "fixed".

If you haven't heard, an old Japanese Pokemon pre-release handbook guide was found recently and translated. The pre-release guide didn't really tell you much, but it did have Pokedex entries & trivia bits here and there that were never mentioned in the games. You can watch a video about it here (note it's a part 1 and the next part isn't out yet at the time of writing this):

Now, some of the information in the guide has likely been retconned, but there is one dex entry which has caught the ears of fans: Nidorina & Nidoqueen being unable to breed was intentional. It wasn't a glitch that for some reason they were keeping, it was purposely done. Now a response to that video I did I was critical with the decision, noting how it doesn't make sense on both a mechanical level (Nidoran female are said to do all their breeding before they evolve, but the Nidorans evolve early at Level 16) and with newer dex entries (Nidorina's and Nidoqueen's dex entries keep mentioning their offspring despite being unable to breed). Now, I mentioned a "workaround" to these conundrums but in a mocking matter... but as I thought more about it, and thinking back to another post I made where I had to read up on the behavior of hens (it had to do with the Chansey family and protection of their eggs), I think the workaround can honestly work if more thought was put into it. But that's not something for the Mystery & Conspiracy thread, well, it could fit there, BUT considering the topic matter I think it would fit better as a:

NEW THEORY: Nidoran F(emale) Breeding Behaviors

• So, first let's remember a Pokemon can choose not to evolve. Upon reaching level 16 a Nidoran F doesn't have to evolve, infact I could even see a Nidoran F trying to get itself up to at least Level 16 BEFORE it begins breeding. But for now, a Nidoran F is not evolving because, like all species, it wants to reproduce so its species can thrive and pass along its genes.
  
  
• And so, no matter how many levels it gains, a Nidoran F will stay as its basic stage until it finds a mate, most likely a Nidoran M(ale) or a Nidorino, and produce a clutch of eggs. That is when its maternal instincts kick in. Nidoran F are mentioned not to be fighters having short horns (but have a strong poison to use in self-defense), but Nidorina and Nidoqueen are noted to have thick armor scales. Thus, now having their clutch of eggs, Nidoran F has accomplished its goal of procreating so now chooses to evolve (which is easy enough to do as its over Level 16) to better protect its eggs and soon offspring. It has traded its biological function to develop new eggs in order to grow thicker armor to protect the eggs/offspring it now has.
  
  
• Now, this is where the Nidoran M/Nidorino comes in. As the Nidorina are tending to the Eggs, it's the males turn to start doing some leg work. Yes, as 1st stage evos they are perfectly capable of protecting their offspring, BUT they would do a much better job if they were a 2nd stage. So, the duty of the male counterparts is finding Moon Stones for both itself and its breeding partner, and hopefully they can do so before the eggs hatch to the baby Nidoran have a strong Nidoking and Nidoqueen parent caring and protecting them. In my original response I asked wouldn't it be strange for the partner for the Nidoran F to suddenly change, but then I realized it wouldn't be if BOTH partners underwent the same change.

So, is that all? No, because there are some additional questions that need addressing:

• Why can Nidorino and Nidoking still breed than? Likely a reflection of real like animals, notably mammals. A male's part in reproduction is just providing the sperm, in biological resource terms that's very little energy to do. Meanwhile its the female which has to spend the massive amount of resources to grow the child within them, and that's taxing on the body especially an older body. Female mammals go through menopause because the body has decided it likely won't (naturally) survive having a child. Now my above explanation danced around that, but I think that's the core idea behind this decision. Nidorino and Nidoking can still breed because it takes very little energy on their part to do so, could be possible for a sole Nidorino/Nidoking to have a harem. Now thinking of a Nidoking breeding with a Nidoran F is a bit squick, but this is the animal kingdom and if a Nidoking is strong than a Nidoran F would perfectly be happy making offspring with it (also who says the Nidokings need to breed with members of its own species; Kangaskhan need males so...). And after breeding that Nidoran F will evolve into the Nidorina, and if it has a Moon Stone become an equally sized Nidoqueen. In fact having an abundance of Moon Stones could also be something alpha male Nidokings use to attract mates as that not only shows its a provider but also means the female can be ready to protect its offspring to its fullest asap. Though, flipping this around, if we're to assume that the Nidoran family are more solitary creature and the males may not stick around/females may chase them off, then the male can just keep on doing its business and find another female.
  
  
• Is there any reason for wild Nidoran F to evolve before laying Eggs? I can see maybe in a colony structure there may be some Nidoran F who choose to evolve before laying Eggs. It would have to be a situation where there's not enough males (or not enough genetic diversity) that weaker Nidoran F decide it's better for its stronger sisters to pass on their genes, so they evolve immediately to provide extra protection for the colony (and especially their nieces and nephews to keep on passing down the family genes even if it's not directly theirs). Outside of that I would say the instinct to reproduce would be stronger for individuals living by themselves or in a small group that they would not evolve under normal circumstances.
  
  
• Why need a Moon Stone to evolve to their 2nd/final stage? In addition to the above explanation of being a way for the males to provide support and possibly use as a way to attract mates, could also be another way to show how much the Nidoran F's thinking & body has changed upon reproducing. It so much no longer sees a need to reproduce, it's perfectly willing to expose itself to radiation to further make itself stronger and bulkier to protect its offspring. While Nidorina may still have their reproductive organs but its shrunk and squashed by armor scales, Nidoqueen may have used the Moon Stone to completely remove them for extra muscle and armor. Heck, Nidoking could just be a byproduct of that, no reason to not give the males a 2nd/final stage as well.

 

[PokemonCrusader]

I mean if we're going by the logic of "Blue's Raticate disappears, therefore it's dead" then Hop is a mass murderer because he switches his team out nearly every time.

Haha! Well played.

Of course, the whole gimmick behind the Blue's Raticate death isn't to cast aspersions on Blue but to say the PC is the "bad guy" of the story. It is shallow but for fans looking to make their Pokeyman game "dark" it sells. Amusing since the whole Pokemon Tower arc revolves around a murdered Pokémon.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

I mean if we're going by the logic of "Blue's Raticate disappears, therefore it's dead" then Hop is a mass murderer because he switches his team out nearly every time.

The full logic is that the Raticate disappears when you battle Blue at the Pokemon Tower. He has a rat for a few battles, and then you fight him in a graveyard and he doesn't have a rat. Considering this is the only time Blue drops anything from his team, and that the game gives no explanation or even acknowledgement of the rat's absence... I dunno, even if it wasn't intended, I'm sure someone on the dev team realized "hey, this kinda makes it look like the rat kicked the bucket".

Pokemon Tower is also the battle where Blue rounds out his FWG core with two of Growlithe, Gyarados, and Exeggcute, which leaves an empty slot open that won't be filled with Rhyhorn until the battle on Route 22, near the end of the game. Surely if they wanted to do some environmental storytelling that implies Blue has just decided to stop training his Raticate, they could have done something like leave it on his team but keep it at level 16.

No one thinks Hop's team keeps dying, much less being killed by Hop himself. Unlike Blue, the game explicitly gives a reason for why Hop keeps changing up his team, and never places Hop in a creepy graveyard to give implications where the game refuses to give explanations.

EDIT: Also, whoever said anything about Blue killing the rat?

 

[Bakugames]

Blue has just decided to stop training his Raticate, they could have done something like leave it on his team but keep it at level 16.

Doesn't seem very in character with him to do that, for the little character traits Green gets. Him boxing the thing when it isn't pulling its weight feels more in line with his little bratty kid attitude. It may also be a subtle hint that the devs are saying "maybe you should box some of your old pokémon and get new ones", using a route 1 raticate as an example of "this will not pull its weight anymore, maybe do what Green did". Not sure if it's successful, as most "psssst, swap your pokemon" methods often aren't.

As for why I think it's on the graveyard: Most of Green's fights are right before story or region progression (See: the boat, lavender, silph co, indigo league), and the swap should happen in the place where gameplay picks up and the hint to change pokémon would actually matter, which only really leaves the boat (eh?), lavender (appropriate) and silph co (too late).
TL;DR: It's just gameplay stuff lol

 

[Hugin]

I do find it interesting that they kept that Rattata swap in place in the sequels. Not just FRLG, but even in Yellow, where his team is completely different, Blue gets rid of his rat at exactly the same point. I agree it was probably coincidence, because the writers at the time didn't do subtlety, but it's odd thing to keep between games.

 

[Siggu]

I guess the whole matter is the "Your Pokémon don't look dead!" phrase Blue says. Sure, he says that in a "Why would you be here in the first place?" kind of way, but... what is Blue doing in the Tower? He doesn't have the Silph Scope so he cannot train there... (apart from the Channelers, that is)

 

[Yung Dramps]

The new Sinnoh games were revealed prematurely. I don't mean this as an opinion on their marketing strategy, I'm actually proposing that the reveal direct was at one point anticipated internally by developers and marketing departments to be later this year but was fast-tracked by higher-ups. Consider the following:

-The absurd amount of time (for Pokemon standards) we've been left waiting for news since the reveal, potentially showing a lack of planning for this scenario
-The last two old-gen revisits ORAS and Let's Go were both revealed in May, much later than brand new generations. By that logic you'd think that with two separate games on the way a June reveal would make more sense rather than going earlier, especially since again the extra advertising time has not been used wisely, or even at all
-Some of the graphical rough edges in the initial BDSP and Legends trailers, while exaggerated heavily by the fanbase, could be a sign that they hadn't quite reached the polishing stages and needed juuuust a bit more time to be in the most presentable state, which leads snugly into my next point and the most recent development
-Today a new Switch model was revealed, and the trailer included new BDSP footage that is MASSIVELY modified and refined compared to similar shots from the Pokemon Day trailer.

New pics

In case you're wondering, it's already been confirmed this model has 0 hardware improvements. This leads into an interesting question: Was this an impromptu cleanup prompted by the mixed reception to the art style? Or was this always ILCA's graphical endgame that they hadn't yet been able to achieve by February 26th? Honestly considering how unprecedented this glowup is and the other things I've said, I'm more inclined to believe the latter, especially seeing as this footage just materialized from a general Switch trailer rather than a TPC production.

So, if my assertion is correct, why was this done? Simple: It was the day before Pokemon Day on the 25th anniversary and they just wanted to show what they had in the pipeline for mainline releases, figuring that more Unite or Snap content just wouldn't cut it.

 

[R_N]

I think it was just natural changes and not necessarily proof it was revealed "too early"

Lots of games go through this. Ultimate's everyone is here trailer literally has models breaking.

 

[Siggu]

It's not the first time there would be changes from one trailer to another.

(That being said... I don't see anything different. Looks more like the difference is caused by the way the gameplay was recorded rather than an actual change in graphics.)

 

[Bakugames]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1412404434689216524

Hard to say how much is being blurried and washed out, but it does feel like they did polishing on the game yeah.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

I am loving the polish we're seeing there.

I am probably gonna pass on the OLED Switch since it's not convincing enough for me to want to buy it but seeing that little bit of footage and seeing a substantial amount of polish from the reveal trailer footage is a very good sign. The game already looks way better at that glance and this is closer to what a Switch game ought to look like at this point. This is a very good sign that the game will look solid on release, and hopefully the overworld gets the same degree of polish too because it has the potential to make Sinnoh look really good on the Switch, even in a top-down overworld fashion.

Combined with the many little details ILCA has been putting into the game's presentation so far that people have noted, and the polish we're seeing here, this is not only looking like we're gonna have a very refined and polished product in time for release, but this is also a good sign that ILCA has been working hard on BDSP and they are making this game out of passion, love, and care. Outsourcing this to ILCA was a good move, as while it also helps in that GF can focus on their primary project in Legends: Arceus, which is looking to be the most unique mainline title yet, this also means that the remakes themselves are being made by a group of people who do care about these remakes and are doing their utmost to make them as good as possible out of passion and love for the project and the source material, even in spite of whatever creative control is being imposed on them by other parties involved.

I have very good faith these games will be very good on release. Despite my concerns, I truly expect this to be one of my favorite mainline Pokémon games.