• Check out the relaunch of our general collection, with classic designs and new ones by our very own Pissog!

SPOILERS! Mysteries and Conspiracies of Pokemon

As a side note, but one thing I find a little odd is how Slowpoke, Larvesta, Deino/Zweilous, and Grubbin/Charjabug are all physically oriented while their evolutions Slowbro/king, Volcarona, Hydreigon, and Vikavolt are all specially oriented.

Like, I'm not sure what gives here. Charjabug and Larvesta even lose base Attack points upon evolving in exchange for their Special Attack going way up. Slowbro, Slowking, and Hydreigon hit slightly harder physically than their pre-evolutions but are dominantly specially oriented, even though their pre-evolutions straight up do not hit hard from the special end of the spectrum.

Not saying it's inherently bad per se, but it's an odd dissonance. It does hurt when raising them because once they evolve they now have to switch their attacks or even in the case of Slowpoke in RBY it couldn't even use its higher physical Attack much at all and hits like a wet noodle on the special side. Still, I really wonder what thought went into them when designing them like this.
 
So who are these four Rocket Brothers who show up in Silph Co? They all announce themselves like it means... something... anything?... and are never referenced again in any media as far as I'm aware. There's no significance to fighting or beating one of them, all of them, none of them... they just exist, oddly.

Are they four brothers who just joined together, or were they bred in a lab like the Powerpuff Girls to be the ultimate Grunts? The significance and grandiosity with which they declare themselves makes the latter seem plausible. Theories abound!

And oh yeah in LGPE they're the four Rocket Sisters instead because female reboots are all the rage now I guess.
 
Last edited:
green_typhlosion said:
So who are these four Rocket Brothers who show up in Silph Co? They all announce themselves like it means... something... anything?... and are never referenced again in any media as far as I'm aware. There's no significance to fighting or beating one of them, all of them, none of them... they just exist, oddly.

Are they four brothers who just joined together, or were they bred in a lab like the Powerpuff Girls to be the ultimate Grunts? The significance and grandiosity with which they declare themselves makes the latter seem plausible. Theories abound!

And oh yeah in LGPE they're the four Rocket Sisters instead because female reboots are all the rage now I guess.
Click to expand...

It worked for Ghostbusters! /s
 
green_typhlosion said:
(I was kidding about that part)

It's a pointless change either way because it doesn't shed any new light on the characters.
Click to expand...
It probably wasn't meant to shed any light on them, they probably just changed them to women because as lemingue said there werent any women originally and they wanted more variety in the rocket grunts. The """"notable""""" rocket brothers (itself probably the designers just being bored and wanting to add even a little flavor to a fairly slog of a dungeon) probably just seemed like a fun set to change.
 
401.png
402.png


What is up with the antennae on these two? Kricketot's antennae are the same as Kricketune's mustache (complete with a second nose), and Kricketune's antennae are the same as its arms.
 
DrPumpkinz said:
View attachment 375237View attachment 375238

What is up with the antennae on these two? Kricketot's antennae are the same as Kricketune's mustache (complete with a second nose), and Kricketune's antennae are the same as its arms.
Click to expand...
I hope I'm not the only one who thinks Krickitune is a huge step down from Kricketot. Other than the funny cry nothing about Krickitune is appealing...especially the weird antennae-arm thing now that you mention it.

Also, Krickitune seems to have that extra "nose" but towards the bottom of it's body.
 
ScraftyIsTheBest said:
As a side note, but one thing I find a little odd is how Slowpoke, Larvesta, Deino/Zweilous, and Grubbin/Charjabug are all physically oriented while their evolutions Slowbro/king, Volcarona, Hydreigon, and Vikavolt are all specially oriented.
Click to expand...
DrPumpkinz said:
Venonat and Venomoth are also like that. Same with Wurmple and Caterpie. And Scatterbug. For some reason this seems to happen a lot with Bug Pokemon.
Click to expand...

Slowpoke: At the moment Slowpoke is unable to concentrate its thoughts so special powers hasn't fully developed, it's likely reacting on instinct when it attacks which is little more than flailing around. It's not until it evolves and is under the influence of Shellder's poison is it able to hone its mind and develop its special powers.

Basic/Mid Stage Bugs: They physically do not have the means to unleash (at least strong) special attacks, they're just larvae whose best offense is biting or jabbing with a spike if they have one. And for ones which evolve into cocoons their too busy using most of their energy to transform into their adult stage. When they fully evolve to their adult stage is when they've developed the parts of their body to use special powers.

Deino/Zweilous: Both of them are blind so firing special attacks is that wise. It's just easier for them at the moment to use their powerful jaws to bite on anything which threatens them... or they perceive to be a snack... or it just comes by.

green_typhlosion said:
So who are these four Rocket Brothers who show up in Silph Co? They all announce themselves like it means... something... anything?... and are never referenced again in any media as far as I'm aware. There's no significance to fighting or beating one of them, all of them, none of them... they just exist, oddly.
Click to expand...

As R_N said, just the game writers having fun with the grunts dialogue. For in-world speculation, whether they're all brothers who joined Team Rocket or are just four close comrades doesn't really matter. They probably decided that if they form a mini-group within Team Rocket it may give them more notoriety which means the higher-ups may pay more attention to them (and maybe lead to promotions in status and money).

Heck, it sorta worked. We're talking about them now, right? And if it wasn't for that we probably wouldn't be talking about any Rocket grunt, even wacky ones just meld together at some point. So, even if they're not as big as a deal they say they are, us remembering even their group name has done it's job.

DrPumpkinz said:
What is up with the antennae on these two? Kricketot's antennae are the same as Kricketune's mustache (complete with a second nose), and Kricketune's antennae are the same as its arms.
Click to expand...

It's just them trying to be cute with the design. Kricketot doesn't have a second nose, it's just that the antenna hub joint is the same color. This was done cause they wanted to make Kricketune look like a stereotypical music composer with a bushy mustache, hence when it evolves the design of the antenna carry over to the nose.

I'm not quite sure why its antenna and arms look similar. Its arms are supposed to look like a string instrument bow. Now it doesn't mention it plucks any strings to make its cry, but it does say it crosses its blades in front of its chest so it may do something to the pitch. BTW, they're based on both the Violin Beetle and Leaf Beetle, both who have their legs and antenna look similar.

Chadlad50 said:
Also, Krickitune seems to have that extra "nose" but towards the bottom of it's body.
Click to expand...

It's supposed to look like a violin/guitar/cello/similar string instrument. That "second nose" is actually a hollow part of its body which it uses to reverberate its cry according to the Dex.
 
Random Passerby said:
We can encounter Pokemon that evolve by Stones and high friendship in the wild. What causes such evolutions?

Also, there are some baby Pokemon that can only be obtained if you breed themwhile the parents hold incenses. Later on, they can be found freely in the wild. Did people just abandon baby Pokemon or something?
Click to expand...

My take on this from the Weird Theories thread:

green_typhlosion said:
I've always thought this about stone-based and generally manmade evolutions in general. They're short-cutting a natural process that in the wild might take years. Growlithe probably evolves into Arcanine naturally but it takes years of exposure to heat and sun and various elemental energies that are too specific or dangerous to replicate in captivity. Similarly for trade evolutions, this is stated in canon to be "a burst of energy" so there's no reason this couldn't happen under specific conditions in the wild.

We even see this happen in canon; in the manga Gold's Sunkern evolves after receiving a large and very strong dose of sunlight, which is stated to replicate the properties of a Sun Stone.
Click to expand...

Basically my thinking is that all of these evolutions can happen naturally. This fits with the idea that humans and Pokemon together are stronger than they are apart; sure a wild Growlithe can evolve into Arcanine naturally, but it might take years. Whereas humans have developed the capability to unlock this process in an instant.

Re incense, I've never really thought too hard about that because it seems evident to me that in Azurill and Wynaut's case it was done to justify them not existing in the previous generation. And again with Chingling, Budew, Bonsly, Mime Jr, and Munchlax. But, if I were to put some thought to it beyond "it's pure gameplay and story segregation", my guess would be that the incense replicates the respective Pokemon's natural breeding environment. Just as some animals are difficult to breed in captivity, certain Pokemon do not breed properly in captivity either. If a species such as Marill breeds without the incense, it may not gestate properly and so the baby is born already evolved as a kind of safeguard against potential threats.

I just came up with that though, so feel free to tear it apart. No doubt someone will.
 
Nominative determinism seems very much to be a thing all over the Pokemon world (ref Volkner explaining that Flint only decided to train Fire-types because he learned that a flint can be used to create a flame).

So it's not remotely surprising to see four trainers of different types in Pokemon Colosseum's Pre Gym, all with suitably themed names.

1634477386823.png


Grass-type trainer Botan (as in botany), Water-type trainer Liqui (as in liquid), Ground-type trainer Dugo (as in dug or dugout), and, er - Rock-type trainer Gwin. I've been racking my brains and I can't think what that relates to, if anything. Anyone got any idea? Perhaps it doesn't but it's odd to have the first three be themed and not the fourth...
 
green_typhlosion said:
er - Rock-type trainer Gwin. I've been racking my brains and I can't think what that relates to, if anything. Anyone got any idea?
Click to expand...

Gwin... Gwin... how do you pronounce it? Is it G-win with "g" as in "gum", or maybe the "w" is supposed to be silent and your supposed to pronounce it like "gem", hence the stone reference. It's a reach but it's the only thing I could think of (having come up with many punny names for my made up Pokemon characters, I'll admit I sometimes have made such strange stretches; why I often include the inspiration for the name cause otherwise future me will likely have no idea what past me was thinking).
 
Pikachu315111 said:
Gwin... Gwin... how do you pronounce it? Is it G-win with "g" as in "gum", or maybe the "w" is supposed to be silent and your supposed to pronounce it like "gem", hence the stone reference. It's a reach but it's the only thing I could think of (having come up with many punny names for my made up Pokemon characters, I'll admit I sometimes have made such strange stretches; why I often include the inspiration for the name cause otherwise future me will likely have no idea what past me was thinking).
Click to expand...

I assumed to rhyme with -inn, but maybe? If it's meant to evoke or sound like "gem" that's pretty counterintuitive spelling (and this is coming from someone half Irish, with cousins who have names like Oife and Naoise and Caoimhe...)

Ironically Gwin is wing backwards, so would be perfectly suited for a Flying-type specialist.
 
green_typhlosion said:
Nominative determinism seems very much to be a thing all over the Pokemon world (ref Volkner explaining that Flint only decided to train Fire-types because he learned that a flint can be used to create a flame).
Click to expand...
I'm going to ignore that fact. My theory, which I don't think I mentioned here before, has always been that it's remarkably easy to change your name in the Pokémon universe, and people often do it when they reach significant life milestones. Oak genuinely is asking what you want to be called as a trainer when you start the game, and has completely forgotten what his grandson chose because Gary picked the name, like, yesterday. Gym leaders etc pick names that reflect their types when they take on the job, because it's so much cooler to be Roxanne, the Rock-type leader, than Alex.
 
Hugin said:
I'm going to ignore that fact. My theory, which I don't think I mentioned here before, has always been that it's remarkably easy to change your name in the Pokémon universe, and people often do it when they reach significant life milestones. Oak genuinely is asking what you want to be called as a trainer when you start the game, and has completely forgotten what his grandson chose because Gary picked the name, like, yesterday. Gym leaders etc pick names that reflect their types when they take on the job, because it's so much cooler to be Roxanne, the Rock-type leader, than Alex.
Click to expand...
So you're saying Silver just accepts whatever the gen 2 PC says his name is because that name is representative of being the player's rival (presumably no longer using whichever name he had before because it was associated with being Giovanni's kid)?
 
Ironmage said:
So you're saying Silver just accepts whatever the gen 2 PC says his name is because that name is representative of being the player's rival (presumably no longer using whichever name he had before because it was associated with being Giovanni's kid)?
Click to expand...
iirc he drops his trainer card & the pc sees it? & that's the excuse they give for why you can name this juvenile delinquent "MR. PEE" or whatever
 
Hugin said:
I'm going to ignore that fact. My theory, which I don't think I mentioned here before, has always been that it's remarkably easy to change your name in the Pokémon universe, and people often do it when they reach significant life milestones. Oak genuinely is asking what you want to be called as a trainer when you start the game, and has completely forgotten what his grandson chose because Gary picked the name, like, yesterday. Gym leaders etc pick names that reflect their types when they take on the job, because it's so much cooler to be Roxanne, the Rock-type leader, than Alex.
Click to expand...

Interesting take, and I could see it being true in some of the more outlandish cases. Lt Surge, for instance, obviously isn't a real name, and sounds just like the sort of title you win in war, like calling someone Gatling Gun Jones or Two-Bullet Peter. We're told by one of his underlings how he used Electric-types in the war so that fits. Chuck, similarly, sounds more like a nickname than anything else (not to mention it'd be hilarious if the brawny and uncouth Chuck was actually born Charles or something similar). Crasher Wake is canonically a title. Skyla definitely sounds like a name someone would choose for themselves, but idk maybe it's more common in the USA - I've never met someone with that name in the UK.

I'd honestly just take the nominative determinism route with some characters. Wattson, for instance, his big thing is laughter and engineering, so electricity fits that, but so could steel - but I could see him deciding electric-types are his bag. Volkner, too, may have had a similar route to Electric-types as Flint. It's sometimes far more overt with generic NPCs like the ones I cited though.

Thinking it over, though, with a lot of characters, though, I think most of their names are just about subtle enough to accept as a coincidence. Winona very, very passingly sounds like "wing", but it's also just a generally spacey and dreamy-sounding type of name, so it fits with her effervescent personality. Blaine is so vaguely related to fire (there's just as much of a link to the cold if you think of the word chilblains, interestingly given Blaine's backstory) that it's not really a strong link. The same goes for Grant, Byron, Roxanne, Sabrina, and a bunch of others I could name. Marshal has a vague link to fighting, but it's also just... a name. Clair, too, isn't a particularly dragonish name (Bulbapedia suggests it's derived from lair, as in "of a dragon", which... sure) nor is Wallace a very watery one. Giovanni has nothing to do with earth. Tate and Liza allegedly derives from levitate, but Tate & Lyle is a big sugar brand in the UK so it's what always comes to mind for me when I hear those names (shouldn't it be Tate and Liv/Livia?)

Obviously I'm going via English names here, but the English names have little to do with the original Japanese names. So many characters are named after flowers and grains and berries and vegetables in the Japanese versions that it's a whole other conversation.

Total Clefairy said:
iirc he drops his trainer card & the pc sees it? & that's the excuse they give for why you can name this juvenile delinquent "MR. PEE" or whatever
Click to expand...

I know so many people (myself included) who didn't get the intent of the original scene in GSC, where he just declares his name to be "???"; I thought his canonical name was literally ??? for a good few years. No wonder HGSS had to make it more obvious what was going on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top