The Outrage

Since this page list Keldeo's Pokédex number as 153, I have strong doubts about starting in a new region. I may be overanalyzing, but the page basically promotes using Keldeo in B2W2 early on in the adventure (that's the reason its level is so low), so I suspect that the Unova Pokédex will still be used in the beginning. Granted, there should be a Platinum-like expansion, but it doesn't seem likely that there will be a new regional Pokédex (they wouldn't want us to know about it now, but they could have used the national number).

What if the new region were handled similarly to the Sevii Islands, but better? We would be able to go there before the end of the main story, but not from the very beginning. Imagine if we had been able to travel to the islands as soon as we arrived in Vermilion instead of waiting until Cinnabar.

And what about Hoenn? Do you think a DSiWare port would suffice?


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I've been away from the Hoenn Pokemon League for too long. I'll have to excuse myself... Oh, I never got your name... But I won't ask for it this time. Our fun will have to wait for the right time.
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I hate the fact that this and the other Hoenn references were taken to be a sign of remake plans. HGSS are clearly set after RSE and Steven appeared in Kanto (which played off HGSS being sequels rather than remakes), so if anything, it is more appropriate to consider his words as foreshadowing a sequel (especially since he was curious about the reason the Soul Dew ended up in Kanto, which wouldn't be answered in remakes). Again, even though I don't think Hoenn has a lot of sequel potential, I wouldn't want to think that Game Freak have no intentions of ever re-exploring the region and yet are arguably leading on some of their fans.

I'm interested to see how Game Freak have handled two regions in B2W2, assuming that is the case. Perhaps Hoenn, Chugoku and Shikoku can share one game with the 3DS' prowess, considering that Shikoku is just an island. I will say this: There is something wrong with the fans that hold that Hoenn has to be brought back without playing second fiddle to any region; for a silly whim like that an Emerald port would be just fine.

Don't get me wrong: Generation VI may certainly delve deeper into the Hoenn myths, and it would be good to see Chugoku and Shikoku. But I'd rather see such a game as a replacement for remakes than have it be the center of a new generation. Would Hoenn, Chugoku and Shikoku be pushing it for one game? Perhaps, but they could make do with Hoenn and Shikoku in that case. I don't personally have much interest in revisiting Hoenn (I do want to see evolutions of several Generation III Pokémon, though), but I guess an Emerald port (which I can see being released as a DSiWare anniversary edition this November) wouldn't permanently satisfy all those fans who keep harping about remakes.

Incidentally, don't you find most of the posts in this thread annoying? I mean the ones that state that the sequels are just an experiment and that the third version formula will return as soon as the next generation.

Back in early 2010 when we didn't know much of anything about Black and White, I was one of the fans who wanted the region to be based on Tohoku rather than a combination of Chugoku and Shikoku. Simply put, the Embedded Tower isn't comparable to the Sinjoh Ruins; the Weather and Creation trios may be comparable, and ancient civilizations were involved in both cases, but the mystery of the Unown is unparalleled by anything else.

My theory about the Embedded Tower is that after Groudon and Kyogre's first battle, the people of Hoenn were afraid of what would happen if the titans were ever awakened from their slumber. Realizing that the source of Groudon and Kyogre's abilities is the Cave of Origin, those people hypothesized that the titans would not pose a threat if they were taken to another region. So they traveled to the Shikoku-based island and built the Embedded Tower as a place where the Weather trio might even co-exist one day. Of course, they couldn't risk awakening the titans to move them, so they resolved to protect the orbs at Mt. Pyre throughout the ages. But their descendants, the Mt. Pyre couple, were probably told about the purpose of the Embedded Tower, and they imparted that knowledge to May/Brendan after the second battle had ended. When rumors of Ethan/Lyra defeating Red in battle surfaced, May/Brendan had Mr. Pokémon deliver the orbs to the one person in Johto they knew was worthy of their trust.

But they could also link the Britain-based region to Unova using real-world history as a reference. If some of the old Pokémon ended up in Unova due to mass migration, then something similar could have happened with the Generation V critters when Unova was "created" by the original dragon. Where did the twin heroes come from?

I wouldn't be surprised to see a new Unown colony in the second region, as trading all the Unown from the Generation IV games is a little tedious, and the Unown are universally relevant. So I'd rather see Professor Silktree appear strictly in the context of the Unown, and I'd also like him to end up heading to the Sinjoh Ruins to foreshadow the next generation.

A lot of fans don't expect Game Freak to explore the remaining regions of Japan now that any country is a possibility, but I think that some things can only be wrapped up if we return to Japan at least one more time. So by all means, B2W2 should showcase a region from yet another country (Britain seems ideal to me), but after that I think it will be apt to continue where HGSS left off.

I should have known that's what you were getting at. Yes, the ruins have supernatural elements to them, so it is not a stretch to assume that two of the encoded characters were designed to be interchangeable depending on certain circumstances. It is also possible that the last paragraph in the inscription was added after the split; I believe that the descendants of the civilization have been very much aware of the prophecy throughout history. I wonder if Anthea and Concordia are the last descendants, or there may be more people out there.

I rather hope that Cynthia doesn't reappear yet again to shed light on the Abyssal Ruins. She had her chance in Black and White, and she wasted on it idle chat and contemplating the color of her swimsuit. She never seemed interested in myths that weren't directly related to Sinnoh, anyway, as evidenced by her ignoring the Unown in the Sinjoh Ruins.

VMs are supposed to be publicly available, so of course I don't mind. I even wrote that to see if you would notice.

Black and White made the Gym quest feel almost secondary. I'm sure that a lot of players were interested in going to the next city to see what Team Plasma was up to rather than to get another badge. If becoming the Unova Champion was ultimately optional and the real reason to go through the quest was to stop N, then is it really unlikely that the sequel will further depart from the old formula? The Gyms would still be there and there might even be new ones, but if Hilbert and Hilda were the player characters again, they would have better things to worry about than conquering another League. The Gyms would still be a means to acquire experience points and TMs, but the main story wouldn't depend on them.

We know that the Abyssal Ruins are at least 3,000 years old and the Relic Castle is at least 2,500 years old. We can assume that the twin heroes resided in the Relic Castle due to the following reference (which you pointed out to me): "According to what I've heard, that Relic Castle is the ruins of a city built by the hero of old and the dragon Pokémon that accompanied the hero." My assumption is that the singular form, which the translators chose, doesn't mean anything. As I see it, the inscription could have been written at any time, so it might as well have been written long before the twin heroes came into the picture. The prophecy doesn't focus on restoring the original dragon but rather on the king's attributes and actions. If I'm right about the civilization yearning for a king that would complement the original dragon and use its power only to do good, then those people could have foreseen the split due to the realization that the original dragon would never be whole without the fated king. In other words, I would argue that the split was inevitable; it would have happened with or without the twin heroes.

Do you really think the new region should feature new Gyms? I'd much rather that the main story not have anything to do with that tired formula, with the Unova Gyms being an optional sidequest to anyone who is still interested in them. Granted, there could be new optional Gyms, as well, but you get my point.

Ah, blasted education system, trying to get in the way of fun.

I was wondering when you'd be back. Hope school doesn't keep you too busy.

I... You... I've spent the last hour or so pouring through you blog. In an obsessed hunt for your Skyward Sword related posts.

I must say... I... Will you marry me?

Well yeah Diamond AND Pearl... sold 17 million... not just Diamond or Pearl Both... Platimum sold 8 million (I was using 7 Million as a number honestly) Compare 17 Million from two games counted as one and a single game you honesty shouldn't compare it....

But how much did Diamond and Pearl sell seperatly? counted as one game like Platinum?

I noticed that you were being quite the Ditto supporter during that DW poll. ^_^

I was being facetious. I doubt Tecmo Koei even know who Mr. Fuji is. :-/

The attractive human body Jigglypuff uses to lure young, foolish men to their deaths?

Oichi and Jigglypuff will not only unite Ranse, but the world!

Maybe you were right and Mr. Fuji sent Mewtwo to the distant past to serve as a weapon of war. He had to create Mewtwo because history dictated so.

Sorry to bother you, but is your avatar from The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks? It looks vaguely familiar...

I think it's normal for your latest blog post to have comments disabled, even though it's not exactly something serious?