I hope we’re out of entries because I ran out of Pokemon.
For those of you who haven’t been with us this week, Did You Know Gaming? found a lost official Pokémon guidebook that was never released outside of Japan, got one of the original game’s localizers to translate it, and is now bringing us the highlights. Apparently there was a lot to discover. Along the way trivia about the creation of some Pokémon and speculation of how this book covered it also came into play.
Now it’s time for part three, the last video in the series as of this writing. Is this finally all of it or will we be looking at more videos in future weeks? Let’s tune in and find out. Note that if you only watch the show and don’t really pay attention to the Pokédex entries and trading card flavor text this is a darker world than you realize. In this version real animals exist yet people eat Pokémon as well as Pokémon eating each other. We’ve seen experimentation, dissection, and just some horrible stuff…and yes, it’s about to get worse.
I don’t know if a war has been officially stated or given that this takes place in an alternate version of the real world if it’s based on a real war. Given Japan’s history as raiders and conquerors prior to World War II and a respite from wars after that (US soldiers taking leaves in Tokyo, at least according to stories taking place after the second World War) it’s not surprising there’d be a connection. Here you have Pokémon either created by war or things related to war. And of course being in the city the anti-pollution message leaks into origins of Pokémon like Muk (bet nobody’s eating that one) are not surprising.
I’m kind of curious why the ghost Pokémon are classified among the city dwellers. Deeper fans are welcome to correct me but I though you had to go to a haunted house in the woods to meet up with them. Plus they apparently kill people and swallow their souls. Just cute and cuddly fun…right? Man, this series is so much darker than it looks! Wars, killing people, eating souls, kidnapping children…and this is supposed to be a fun game for kids inspired by bug collecting. Imagine what spawn of darkness would have come out if the creator had less dangerous inspirations.
Wouldn’t the solution be to call female Mr. Mimes “Ms. Mimes” or would that require some extra room in the game cartridge?
It’s kind of strange that the current game creators aren’t interested in canon as clearly fans are. Granted this allows Ash and friends to be the same age for eternity while Ash learns nearly nothing, but within the games themselves there’s a lot of history to build on and the fact that it doesn’t is a bit disappointing. I keep having to ask this but why do so many modern writers see continuity as a barrier rather than a challenge?
Wait, is Gremlins canon in the Pokeverse or were the researchers just fans of the movie? Is Gizmo really a Pokémon? That would explain so much, like James Bond being a Time Lord.
Finally, I may be talking out of my behind here as someone who obviously doesn’t follow the game history (though apparently it doesn’t matter since continuity doesn’t), but would Mewtwo be a “legendary”? It’s somehow cloned from Mew, which would better qualify, and had various genetic and cybernetic enhancements if I understand his history correctly. I know that would fit Giovanni’s ego but would it be accurate?
I linked to Did You Know Gaming? on YouTube at the start of each video but here’s the channel for guest host Nekkra if you want to see what she does. Tomorrow…something not involving Pokémon.
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