Note:Some spoilers for Pokémon Movies 10, 11, 12, and 13 are present in this article.


This article will discuss how the Pokémon series has delved into deeper, more "mature" themes over time, and how it can and may be implemented in the upcoming Pokémon games, Pokémon Black and White.

Firstly, up to this point, each game has had a somewhat arbitrary, yet prominent theme. In Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow, it was a general assertion of opposing wrongdoers and standing up for justice. Gold and Silver continued this. Pokémon Sapphire, Ruby, and Emerald focused on respecting and appreciating the bounty of nature, as well as protecting it. And finally, Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum served to show, as Saturn (サターン) said, "extremism is never the solution..." The 4th Generation main series games, along with Pokémon Ranger:Shadows of Almia (Pokémon Ranger:Batonnage) also carried a loose theme of alternate energy sources, likely to increase awareness of global warming, etc.
An example of this lies in the main antagonists of the latter claiming to be working on finding a new source of energy, the same holding true for Team Galactic:

"Perhaps we should really be searching for new sources of energy. Instead of lying about it through our commercials."

-Saturn

How does this relate to the upcoming games, you may ask? After Pokémon Diamond and Pearl were released, many people asked "How could they try and trump this? They`ve already created what could be likened to Gods?" Game Freak has done this by choosing to focus on something that isn`t material at all: what`s truly right and wrong. This may sound similar to the general idea of Generations 1 and 2, but it`s far from it. The key Legendary Pokémon of Generation V have been classified as the "Black Yin Pokémon" (Zekrom), and the "White Yang Pokémon' (Reshiram). The concept of Yin and Yang states that, without light, there is no darkness, and vice-versa. In all light there is some darkness, and in all darkness, there is some light. This is referenced by the fact that Zekrom is found in Pokémon White, and Reshiram is found in Pokémon Black. One who chooses Pokémon White because it relates to "Light" will ultimately have to face the "darkness", in this case, Zekrom. This holds true for the Pokémon Black, as well.

N is the primary expression of this concept, however. Though he may be the "antagonist", his views are not inherently "evil", just different. As revealed thus far, he wishes divide Pokémon and humans in order to "set them free", and essentially make the world black and white. Sound familiar? N has also been shown stating that Pokémon are his friends, and that he will surpass the Champion. The topic of Pokémon essentially being "enslaved" by humans has been noted since the series` inception, in the form of humor, debate and and general discussion. N doesn`t fight you in the game to prove you wrong, to harm you, or to even take something from you. He merely wants to prove his ideals as being what`s right. This very quality is what will allow players to empathize with him. Cyrus (Akagi), whilst having a somewhat deeper goal of, to create a world without spirit, was the prime example of just why he, as a character, wasn`t complete. He went to the utmost extreme, with no remorse whatsoever. Players completely opposed him, to the point where they couldn`t stop to wonder what may have even made him such a person. The only hint we receive is from his grandfather, in the games, as well as residents of Sunyshore City. As a child, he became reclusive, preferring the company of machines over people, which led to such a concept. But what made him so very reclusive? It`s that answer which could have made him whole. N, on the other hand, has a less extreme paradigm. He does not wish for complete distruction, oblivion, or nihility. He wishes for a world where humans and Pokémon can both live, but free from one another.

Not too long ago, Pokebeach.com had been notified of a supposed "leak" of details about the upcoming games. One of said details was that the choices the player makes affect the storyline. In other words, their actions have consequences and benefits. Whether this ends up being true or not, it is a valid idea in itself. Let me take a moment to reaffirm something else about Pokémon Black and Pokémon White. Game Freak took the time to make something very clear. The protagonists of these games are older than ever before. Not adults, but certainly not "children". This is a very important point which may have been overlooked. The people who have been a part of the Pokémon series since it`s creation, which includes me, are also no longer children. We`ve grown up, and in this regard, so is the series. When one is a child, right and wrong are, just as the namesakes of these games, black and white. Parents make an effort to clearly distinguish what`s right and wrong for their children. In older days, this extended past just morality, but nature itself. It was not just right or wrong, but good or bad. To take one well-known example, people of a certain cast or creed, race or religion, used to often be deemed as bad simply because of who they were. They were labelled as "inherently evil", when they had done no wrong. For a child who picks up these games when they`re released, they`ll probably see N as "evil" also, not because what he`s doing is wrong, but because he opposes them. However, for those of us who are older, we know otherwise. We can make such a distinction on our own, because unlike most children, our way of thinking isn`t black and white. When there`s one, there has to be the other. Because of this, I believe N will be the antagonist we`ve all been waiting for. He challenges the "designation" of most video game antagonists. He is no villain, he is someone with an understandable, yet different viewpoint. As they battle him over the course of the story, I believe players are meant to understand that more and more. Because, in all honesty, they can`t truly blame him for it.

To take a quick break from just N, there is another aspect of Pokémon which has "grown up" over the recent years as well. From the 10th Pokémon movie, The Rise of Darkrai, Pokémon movies have been exploring the idea of whose right or wrong as well. In The Rise of Darkrai, Darkrai was seen as "evil" merely because it (unintentionally) caused others to experience nightmares. The follow up to this was in Giratina and the Sky Warrior. Giratina was angered at Dialga and Palkia for causing the pollution of the Reverse World. Even though it went as far as to attack Dialga to get it`s revenge, it had a very valid reason. Even Arceus and the Jewel of Life carried such a theme. Firstly, Arceus itself tried to destroy Michīna, though, Gishin ("Marcus), and because of him, Damos had tried to kill it thousands of years before. Additionally, Gishin ("Marcus") trying to kill Arceus (and nearly succeeding, the second time) was revealed to be a result of his fear that returning the Jewel of Life would leave Michīna desolate and barren once again. If anything, this movie served to once again show that extremism is never the solution. Finally, the newly released movie, Gen`ei no Hasha:Zoroark (Ruler of Illusion:Zoroark) also carries a similar theme to the previous three. Zoroark is viewed as being evil by Crown City, as well as (presumably) the actual Legendary Beasts, who battle it. However, after learning of all the details, it is revealed Zoroark is being blackmailed into attacking Celebi and Crown City by Kodai, and it only does so to keep Zorua from harm. The plot of these movies challenges the viewers to abandon their simplistic views of right and wrong, good or bad, in order to fully understand the reasoning behind the characters` actions.

Returning once again to the games, we already know N`s general motive. He is seeking to obtain the power to "free" Pokémon from humans. However, there is something else to take into consideration. He says he will surpass the Champion. Whilst at the moment, more information on this hasn`t been revealed, it can be assumed that, to N, the Champion of Isshu represents the very "imprisonment" N is trying to free the Pokémon from. Presumably, he wishes to defeat the Champion to prove his ideals once and for all. Should this happen, it would also further address the problems with societal norms. N challenges the player to prove his ideals to them, but if the rest of Isshu disagrees, then it hasn`t "truly" been proven. It is for this reason I believe N also desires to change the mindsets of humans, specifically the inhabitants of Isshu, in order achieve the justice he`s been seeking.

In conclusion, Pokémon Black and White have the potential, which such a deep theme and interesting, yet complex antagonist, to be the best Pokémon games ever released. While this ultimately up to Game Freak to accomplish, we can be sure that, at the very least, these games will be most rewarding to the people who have been with Pokémon since the beginning, and will be a new turning point for the series as a whole both fundamentally, and thematically.

Wow, very nice article. I do like how the Pokémon series is becoming more "mature" as its players do so as well.

*And I'll fix the é thing for ya.

it seems very interesting, it looks like a good game.

I must congratulate you for writing all this up. I am sure it took you a lot of time. I like your theory though.

I gotta applaud you for spending a lot of time and effort to write such an excellent and informative article.
Good job, Aura.

True, the games may be becoming more adult, but the anime still acts like an annoying 5 year old

If you want to know how the B/W anime will probably turn out, I an only say that no matter how good, dark, or mature the games will be, the anime will try it's hardest to royally screw it up.......

It's nice to know that Game Freak is starting to realise that it's Pokémon game players (most of them at least) aren't children anymore, so they've finally decided to make it a slight bit more mature, yet still so the children can understand.
Wow Aura. Amazing block of text and kudos to your work.

I do kinda agree with N's ideas, as you can see, People have been relying too much on Pokemon, look at the games and the anime, everything people do involves pokemon, there are no humans doing the work, they have the Pokemon do the work for them, after a while, people would get too fat and lazy, for example, remember the movie Wall-E, where all the humans were extremely fat because they had robots do everything for them, well, that's what appears to be happening to the Pokemon world. I mean seriously, the police and the criminals do not use guns, they use Pokemon to do it, then there's the movers in R/S/E, the Oreburgh Miners in D/P/Pt, and even the Pokemon Centers in the anime (in one episode, Jessie went to school to become a nurse, and all the students in the school were Chansey). It's pretty clear that people are using Pokemon for everything, what's next, the factories are all ran by Pokemon entirely with no human laborwork, apparently! And then there's the episodes with the theatres and movies, where there are no human actors, only Pokemon actors, wow, these people ARE lazy! Apparently, N is trying to make it so that humans do not rely on Pokemon for all their daily needs, so why can't he just become the President/Prime Minister/Whatever, or some sort of philosipher or anthropoligist, instead of using the supernatural to help distinguish the line between Pokemon and humans, he could just do that instead.......

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luxray13579 It's nice to know that Game Freak is starting to realise that it's Pokémon game players (most of them at least) aren't children anymore, so they've finally decided to make it a slight bit more mature, yet still so the children can understand.

Very intelligent Aura, and very accurate. However, one thing I've been thinking about for Black and White made me curious. Because all 'base' versions (ie. Pearl and Diamond) don't usually portray the 'true' storyline, it's always the special versions (ie. Platinum) that show full storyline detail.

We'll call the special version for B&W Grey for now, and it makes me think, what if in order to fuse the two versions together, they actually are two parallel realities in Isshu? We have the Distortion world, and GameFreak can cleverly say that the Distortion World is not the world on the other half of the double helix, but the ladder that binds both sides.

Great Article dude, very interseting!!!

I find it hard to believe that they are only bringing out these versions now I thought black and whitewould have been first

I might just get the Japanise Black

Pokemon has always been an ever evolving series. Adapting to the change in times and incorporating new things into their games. So it is not surprising to me that they have incorporated all of these new, ideas in to their games. We will always know Pokemon as an amazing series as long as it exists.

Yes, but even so, the games have not even came out yet, what we think about them now may be completely different in the actuall games.....

Great job, Aura! very interesting. Makes you think of what's happening to pokemon. But I think that the real question is: what will pokemon be like in 7 years or so, when pokemon grows even OLDER? How will it mature? Will it mature, or will it stay the same as it is, from now on?

If Pokemon is truly getting older, it brings up the question (sarcastically): Will there ever be a Pokemon game that is rated higher than E or E10?

The answer to that question, is what target audience is appealing most the the Pokémon games? As we all know, Gamefreak is a corporation, set out with the idea of making lots of money. Would it not be wise to create a game that appeals to majority target market? If most of the consumers are between the ages of seven and eleven, then they will most certainly create games to suit that audience.