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Matt apparently not only confirmed Mega Jynx used to exist but also that there was a scrapped second form for Celesteela? What the heck could that have been
I've had a headcanon for a while that Celesteela was originally going to be Grass/Steel given the movepool and how the UB-02s share both types (contrasting how only Steel is shared between Celesteela and Kartana). Interesting to see that there's apparently more evidence for it.Since Celesteela is based on the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter story, maybe there was going to be a version without the thrusters. "Pre-lift off" kaguya form.
MFW:
Matt apparently not only confirmed Mega Jynx used to exist but also that there was a scrapped second form for Celesteela? What the heck could that have been
Perhaps Mega Jynx was one of the Megas planned initially for the Kalos follow ups which were confirmed to exist thanks SM’s source code being leaked?MFW:
Considering the Pokemon we're talking about I think it's just as likely that they decided against it mid-development of XY or even ORAS due to its history of controversy. It's noteworthy that this is the only cut Mega with remnants in various code when common sense dictates there must be a ton of others we don't know about whose only pieces of evidence for existing are gathering dust in a vault somewhere.Perhaps Mega Jynx was one of the Megas planned initially for the Kalos follow ups which were confirmed to exist thanks SM’s source code being leaked?
Regardless, looking back at it, if Megas we’re going to be discontinued, I would have been like the Kalos follow ups to be real, not because I think the third version would be a good buisness model, but only for new Megas and the more time with Mega Evolution.
Perhaps Mega Jynx was one of the Megas planned initially for the Kalos follow ups which were confirmed to exist thanks SM’s source code being leaked?
Regardless, looking back at it, if Megas we’re going to be discontinued, I would have been like the Kalos follow ups to be real, not because I think the third version would be a good buisness model, but only for new Megas and the more time with Mega Evolution.
Jynx was more likely to be intended for XY because it was part of a group of trademarks in 2012 that included most of the XY megas.Considering the Pokemon we're talking about I think it's just as likely that they decided against it mid-development of XY or even ORAS due to its history of controversy. It's noteworthy that this is the only cut Mega with remnants in various code when common sense dictates there must be a ton of others we don't know about whose only pieces of evidence for existing are gathering dust in a vault somewhere.
The anime also showed cloakless Burmy, which always existed via concept art but has never actually been used in the games, so I think this is a reasonable assumption.I know this is a creative liberty that the anime could have taken on its own for the sake of its story, but given the information we have now, I can’t help but wonder if maybe this was adapted from unused concept art for the form?
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I never realized that Black/White Kyurem had different activated "forms" like this. I think I just assumed they changed/glowed like Reshiram and Zekrom do.My realistic hypothesis is that Celesteela had a form change like Xerneas and Kyurem-Black/White, changing only slightly for battle.
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With regards to Paldea, I think it worth considering that Champion is not a singular/Zero-Sum title that way it's suggested to be at least in Galar and Leagues like Kanto, with context of things like the DLC suggesting that the team you battle against "Champion" Geeta is lesser than some like Nemona, or at the very least is not Geeta's own best. I always had the impression that Geeta was the strongest member of the League establishment and the first trainer recognized as Champion level, but the "Champion" Title is more an accolade than a position with her serving as the Final Test or "benchmark" thanks to her Chairwoman position.Galar is pretty obvious though, Leon doesn't have the same authority over the Galar League like other veteran Champions, that's held by an actual League Chairman, which for a while is Rose. Though Leon eventually does gain that authority himself after he loses to you, as while he formally loses the title of Champion, he ends up inheriting Rose's former position as the League Chairman after the latter turned himself in, and now he's the current Chairman. Paldea also has a Chairwoman in Geeta, although in this case Geeta is also formally the one in charge of the League.
Just my thoughts on those.
I would imagine the Indigo League long predates Professor Oak. Bulbapedia seems to think the first Pokemon League competitions were 150 years prior to the events of RBY, though I'm not sure what that's based on - the Adventures manga and the Origins anime depict the League having a long history, though I don't think either case solidifies it as 150 years.I think at least for the Indigo League in Kanto and Johto, I'm inclined to believe Professor Oak is in charge of that League. Kukui running the Alola League seems to be inspired by him once having taken on the Kanto Gym Challenge and Oak may have been an influence for him. Professor Oak seems to have authority over how that League operates since in both RBY/FRLG and GSC/HGSS, he's the one who steps forward to formally incite the player into the Hall of Fame once they have defeated the Elite Four and/or the reigning Champion. Considering there's an implication by Agatha that he used to be a very strong Trainer before becoming the researcher he's known as nowadays, I imagine he may have founded the Indigo League and that the rules of how it operates were created by him.
iirc there's dialog in Legends Arceus that implies that there's a more active battling scene in Kanto (& other regions)I would imagine the Indigo League long predates Professor Oak. Bulbapedia seems to think the first Pokemon League competitions were 150 years prior to the events of RBY, though I'm not sure what that's based on - the Adventures manga and the Origins anime depict the League having a long history, though I don't think either case solidifies it as 150 years.
I know they invite him in the games, but I always took that as "Professor Oak, we'd love to see you" rather than a plea for him to challenge them or because he's the League's founder. The email they send to his lab ("There's an e-mail message here! ... Calling all Pokemon trainers! The elite trainers of Pokemon League are ready to take on all comers! Bring your best Pokemon and see how you rate as a Trainer! Pokemon League HQ Indigo Plateau. P.S. Professor Oak, please visit us!") could be taken to mean the League didn't exist prior to that, but I always interpreted it as meaning "we've been closed for a while, but our training's over now and we're open to the public again". The gym system in Kanto has clearly existed for a while, and none of the NPCs at the Indigo Plateau or at the badge checkpoints (or, really, in the whole of Kanto come to think of it) imply that the League is a new thing.
This topic could also apply to the Ultra Beasts and also the entire franchise, but there is something that always bothered me about the nature of the Paradox Pokemon and their introduction to Paldea. From the journals I've read from Area Zero, the reason why the Professor wanted to bring the Paradox Pokemon to the present was to make a paradise for their family, specifically Arven and their spouse. This reasoning comes off as extremely selfish- the professor wanted to bring Pokemon from another dimension with little to no regard for what the Pokemon's feelings are for their sake of their own ambitions.
To continue out from that, is it really fair to call out the opposing Koraidon/Miraidon for killing the professor? Imagine if you were living your life normally until someone or something captures you and literally takes you across space-time just for the sake of someone's own goals. Of course Koraidon and Miraidon have a right to be angry and view the professor as an enemy. It can be seen as a form of self-defense if anything- what Professor could be seen doing is a form of kidnapping, or illegal wildlife trade since they recieve coporate funding. What makes matters worse is that the AI lets a child carry another specimen despite knowing well that species could also potentially turn aggresive and attack the player; in fact, the truth that the player could catch the Koraidon/Miraidon that killed the Professor comes off as extremely dangerous, negligent and selfish for both the public trainer, and Pokemon.
And then at the end, Clavell actually states that the commonfolk cannot know of the incident within Area Zero, the existance of Paradox Pokemon, and the fact that the professor was killed- as if he knows it will make the school look bad ( Professors were alum and Heath, the person who did the first exploration of Area Zero was sponsored by the director of the academy ). And the fact that the player is allowed to capture the remaining paradox Pokemon from this event despite the dark history of the Professor fate and the dangers surrounding one of them comes off as selfish, risky and unethical, and the school not facing consequences for the events surrounding the Professor and the Paradox Pokemon ( not even trying to find a way to send the Pokemon back instead of letting them inhabit Paldea ) really feels wrong and undermines SV's story- I think the conclusion of the school and Paradox Pokemon was too light for themes they were trying to discuss with the nature of for-profit and non-profit programs.
The Quaking Earth Titan also suggests that the Paradoxes can co-exist to some degree with the native species, with the danger being a large population of them being spat out by the time machine and doing damage by outcompeting. If we take their "No Egg Group" status at face value, the Paradox Pokemon are effectively sterile in the present, so it's not significantly different than something like Domestic Cats that have been Spayed/Neutered: they won't sustain a population but can do serious damage even in a single generation IF they are not kept under supervision of an owner (or in this case trainer), so taking obviously-meta playstyles like Shiny Hunting out of the equation, the player capturing and training a few individuals is the only theoretically ethical way they can be studied outside Area Zero.Clavell (or Geeta, more likely) covering it up to the public is probably less "makes the school look bad" and more "we probably don't want Paldea freaking out over a bed of super weapons and also a time machine".
I also think we should probably steer clear of the "kidnapping from another dimension/timeline/environment" thought processes when they're both wild animals who seemingly adapt to the crater pretty well and also you know...how pokemon training works, in general.
Calling out the other raidon for killing the professor also isn't something the game really does. It brings it up as a fact to make the other raidon a threat, explain what happened to the real Professor and to explain why our raidon has trauma. Narratively it's just the ultimate sign of the professor's hubris; we get to side step that because we defeat it directly and then catch it on normal terms. We defeated it twice, its claim on the territory is nulled and now we can make it happy like you would an especially angry stray cat.
I mean we call it out because it's grimly funny to catch a murderer (and then we do it again! and then 3 more times!), but that's different.
(Also I think that maybe the fact we can capture the paradoxes, and the other raidon, is likely meant to be like...story/gameplay segregation)
But hey while we're here...
The game doesn't bring it up directly but the fact the League is still keeping tabs on and letting Briar go down there for further research (including publishing some of the findings) shows they're probably more open to doing more down there. Though messing with the time machine more is likely off the table. The lab was in dissarray, the two people who could do anything about it are dead-dead and presumed-dead (if the AI actually went through time or not is irrelevant, it cannot exist outside the crater...), the machine's prime directive is to bring in more paradoxes and several routiens that even the AI couldn't overcome on its own, the lab locked out people until we put the disk in and now the elevator to the machine is out of order....and messing with time travel more is probably not a good idea.
I cannot cite the source as I do not remember, but I believe it was a DidYouKnowGaming Video for RS, but the idea behind the Slakoth line is this: Slakoth is lazy, Vigoroth is motivated, and by the time Vigoroth is fully evolved, it realizes being hard work isn't worth and goes back to being lazy. This of course translates to gameplay by having first two members having Truant of course.
The Slakoth line is one of the strangest lines of Pokemon created. We all talk about Slaking, how it has an abnormally high BST of 670 but has a crippling ability in Truant that forces it to only move every other turn, being a unique novelty/gimmick Pokemon in that regard, which Gen 3 had a few of (like Shedinja). But while Shedinja has IRL bases in cicada molting their shells, Slaking has another unusual trait that I always found interesting: the existence of Vigoroth as the middle form.
Slaking has the same ability as Slakoth and the same overall throughline lore of Slakoth of being a lazy, do-nothing Pokemon who just sits there and does nothing all day, being very low energy creatures. Hence their ability Truant. And they're based on sloths, which makes sense.
But the real unusuality that no one really talks about is what's between them, Vigoroth, who is an anomaly. It's the complete opposite, being extremely high energy and full of vigor, hence its name, and its signature ability is Vital Spirit, aka it can't sleep. Its lore is that it's so energetic that it must keep moving and rampaging and attacking at all times, and being unable to move is dangerous to it because then its energy will overwhelm it.
It's definitely odd how this thing exists the way it does and between Slakoth and Slaking. A low energy Pokemon who does nothing but sleep evolves into an extremely high energy Pokemon who can't stop moving, and then evolves again into something that is once again low energy, never moving much, only it now has much more power than before.
Vigoroth is definitely an odd beast that contributes to the weirdness of its line.