Pokémon Black and White/Fridge

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Fridge Brilliance

  • It's been mentioned on other pages that Cheren is said to be a strong trainer while Bianca is a weak one, despite her team being objectively better than his. The thing is that the producers are going back to Karen's speech back in the Johto games—a truly skilled trainer tries to win with their favorites. So basically, Cheren does so well not because of the stats and moves of his team, but because he has faith in them and believes in them, even pre-character development (he just gets his priorities straight after that point). The makers are just subtly reinforcing that idea that you can be a good trainer without using all the same Pokemon everyone else does.
    • Except Bianca clearly adores her Munna/Musharna and her Pokemon all reach maximum happiness, so she's the nurturer of the two.
    • Having faith does not imply nurturing, per se. A general in the army (hopefully) would believe in his subordinates, but barely ever "adores" them.
    • It could also be argued that Cheren does so well because he has goals and strives toward them. Bianca doesn't, so her Pokemon don't get enormously better each time you see her because she isn't pushing them to become better.
  • In the Devon Corporation building in Rustboro City, there is a scientist who mentions that "I'm attempting a device that lets you see into the dreams of Pokemon!! But it's not going well..." Two generations later, you get to do just this in Pokemon Black and White.
  • The name team Plasma... just think about the types of the two legendary dragons and you will realize how they got their name.
  • The HUD in the Japanese version is more-or-less bilingual—this game is set in a facsimile of New York, after all.
  • Throhs always travel in packs of five. There are (usually) five people in a Judo team.
  • Sigilyphs are said to have once guarded an ancient city, which explains what they're doing in the Resort Desert.
  • When a Pawn (Pawniard) reaches the other side of the chessboard, it may be promoted into a Bishop (Bisharp).
    • ...So that's why Ghetsis has a Bisharp.
  • Elgyem and Beheeyem, the alien Pokémon. Elgyem is a Little Green Man, whereas Beheeyem is a Bug-Eyed Monster. Now say the names out loud.
  • The constantly-bickering red and blue Basculin have been compared to the Bloods and Crips.
    • Also to the antagonistic relationship of the two major political parties in America, the R and D.
    • Also the rivals of the original games.
    • Groudon and Kyogre anyone?
  • The state shell of New York is the scallop. See that thing on Oshawott's chest? And that region you're playing in?
  • Drillbur bears a strong resemblance, particularly in its facial expression, to the Mischievous Mole enemy from Mother 3. The ordinary mole "evolves" into a Chimera, just like in Mother 3!
  • Goletts are golems created by an ancient civilization and are only found in the Dragonspiral tower. They were probably built to defend Reshiram/Zekrom.
    • That, or, given how destructive their power is said to be, in order to keep them in there... plus Golurk is said to be programmed to defend people and Pokemon, and Ground happens to be super effective against both dragons' secondary typings. Which would possibly mean that the creators of Golett and Golurk were trying to prevent something like the events of the game from happening...
      • I'd like to combine both theories by saying, that Goletts and Golurks were built to keep people like Team Plasma from taking Reshiram/Zekrom AND/OR stop the dragon if it were to be caught.
    • The Gol family can't learn any moves from breeding. Since when did statues breed?
  • Durant's Dream World ability is Truant. Presumably, the "dream world" allows Pokemon to act out their dreams. Durant only wants to have a day off. D'awww.
    • It would probably need a day off, considering how often it gets attacked by Heatmor...
    • This could also mean that Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour (plus their evolutions), having Overgrow/Blaze/Torrent as their hidden abilities, just want to be loved as much as the starters. Bet you feel bad for ditching them after the first gym...
    • Following that train of thought, Vanilluxe may want to lower its weight, or is S/M considering its hidden ability is weak armor.
    • This could go with Tornadus and Thundurus wanting to break away from the force of Landorus!
    • Also, Scraggy and Scrafty have "Intimidate". The little guys just wanna be perceived as the big, bad gangstas they are!
    • Kangaskhan gets "Inner Focus". Well, the ability to never trip sure comes in handy when you're always carrying a baby.
    • This Troper went on Bulbapedia to see some more of these. The most adorable is Cleffa, Clefairy, Igglybuff, Jigglypuff, and Happiny's; Friend Guard. They just want to help their friends.
    • Omanyte and Omastar have Weak Armor. Remember the Pokedex entries stating they died out because their shells got too heavy and they couldn't get food?
    • Absol has "Justified". He wants to finally be seen as a good guy.
    • Garbodor/Trubbish have Aftermath. They seek VENGENCE!
      • Or maybe that's the consequence of attacking a trash bag. Beat it, they break, and you get covered in crap.
        • They dream of being ordinary garbage bags?
    • Nidoking/queen: Sheer Force - they want more power!
    • Psyduck: Swift Swim - remember how Misty's Psyduck couldn't swim on the tv show?
    • Eevee: Anticipation - they wanna know what they're gonna evolve into!
    • Teddiursa: Honey Gather - it can be its own supply of honey!
    • Raikou/Entei/Suicune: Volt Absorb/Flash Fire/Water Absorb - following the theory they are Jolteon/Flareon/Vaporeon that were revived by Ho-Oh, they want to be like their previous, better, life.
    • Banette: Cursed Body - It just wants to hurt everything it comes in contact with.
    • Perhaps this belongs in the Fridge Horror section, but Slowpoke gets Regenerator. Let that sink in.[1]
    • Paras and Parasect get Damp—Dry Skin (and 5x weakness) no more!
      • Mushrooms grow better in damp environments than dry ones.
    • Onix gets Weak Armor. Now why does that sound familiar?
    • Caterpie, Weedle and Wurmple all got Run Away... The guilt trip works...
    • Qwilfish gets reassigned Intimidate. Oddly hilarious (and kind of adorable) from a puffer fish.
    • Corsola gets Regenerator, too—well, it IS based on coral!
    • Smeargle's Moody is worth a laugh, too. As cliche as it is, there's a reason the phrase "Temperamental artist" exists...
    • Goldeen and Seaking both get Lightningrod. The only reason for this can be their magnificent headpieces. "AIM FOR THE HORN!"
    • Toxicroak gets Poison Touch - It wants more effective poison. -shiver-
    • Cubone and Marowak get "Battle Armor" the bones of their mothers now protect them even more.
    • Ekans and Arbok get Unnerve
    • This could be in Fridge Horror, but the Litwick line gets Shadow Tag in DW, and as the ability says, it immobilizes the oponent by trapping its shadow with theirs. They have their own light that leeches the victim's life, but now also helps it by creating it's shadow and that of it's prey to trap it. Made worse that they don't necessarily have to know you're around to catch you, your shadow just has to be in contact with theirs, and you're pretty much paralyzed until they find you or until their light drains your life.
    • Some of the legendary's abilities count.
      • Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. Articuno has Snow Cloak(it causes blizzards), Zapdos has Lightning Rod(it lives in thunderclouds) and Moltres has Flame Body(its Wreathed in Flames!)
      • Mewtwo has Unnerve. Well, it was designed to be the most powerful Pokemon, and had all Red/Blue trainers quaking in their booties.
      • Ho-oh has Regenerator. It "regenerated" the legendary beasts from death.
      • Landorus has Sheer Force. It's showing that its boss!
    • Pawniward has Pressure. It's giving in to the pressure of the group.
    • Acclegor has Unburden. It isn't burdened by the shell that restricted its speed!
    • Stunfisk has Sand Veil. It references the fact it hides under the seabed to shock people.
  • Cryogonal's name comes not only from "Kryos", Greek for coldness, but also because it's crying. Cheer up, big guy.
  • All of Bianca's Pokemon know Return in the rematches you have with her. Return grows more powerful the happier a Pokemon is. This means all her Pokemon love her very much. D'awww.
  • When you first fight the Elite Four, they make a few references to a previous challenger. That was N. However, they didn't seem to care about the fact that they were swept by Reshiram/Zekrom. Before Black and White, a popular strategy against the Elite Four was to use the powerful and recently caught cover legendary. Maybe they're just used to this kind of thing.
  • (Can also be filed under Fridge Horror) At first, Ghetsis's hacked Hydreigon seems like it is there for the sake of having the powerful pseudo-legendary dark type on the final boss's team just so GF could. It turns out, a fast (compared to Reshiram/Zekrom) Dragon type with decent power is a rather good counter to your freshly acquired dragon legendary during this fight. As he clearly is shocked you managed to contact the legendary and thus can't have been factored into his plans, what do you suppose he was planning with it?
    • This also explains why it has Focus Blast-- everything N has except his Dragon is weak to Fighting, especially if it might actually be Zoroark just pretending.
      • His Hydreigon has absurdly high Special Attack and knows the moves Fire Blast, Focus Blast, Surf and Dragon Pulse. Now look at the weaknesses of N's team: Reshiram/Zekrom: Dragon, Carracosta: Fighting, Zoroark: Fighting, Archeops: Water, Klinklang: Fighting and Fire, and Vanilluxe: Fire and Fighting. Now, factor in what would have happened if you weren't part of the plan.
  • At first it's really disappointing that you can't have a Pokemon follow behind you like in HG/SS. But come to think of it, in Unova, you don't see a single Pokemon just hanging out outside. In houses, sure, but not outside like in Kanto. And Unova is an urban region, far away from the others and based on New York instead of Japan. Perhaps the rules are different, and having Pokemon out in public isn't socially acceptable the way it is in Kanto and Johto?
    • Or perhaps it used to be, but Team Plasma has caused enough social strife that your player character deems flaunting their trainer status to be... unwise.
    • Yet there is a Minccino in Lacunosa Town that sits by the edge of one of the walls until night time, when everyone goes inside. Its caretaker even states that he doesn't mind it wandering around because the Minccino will return by nightfall. Note that you can only visit Lacunosa Town after the main story was completed, but it is implied that the Minccino has been doing this for a while.
      • It could be that, since it appears that Team Plasma only started their "pleas" when you and your friends start your adventures, and then follow you around (coincidentally, one hopes), that they just never got round to the other side yet. The other two cities attract tourists (one's a battle plaza or a nice little forest, and the other a holiday destination) so it might be that those people have heard of them before and keep their Pokemon in their balls.
  • For the Fridge Horror of Skyla's gym below, how much do ya wanna bet that Skyla herself uses that cannon to land against the wall feet first, Tifa style?
  • In the castle, a scientist mentions Teams Rocket and Galactic, but not Teams Aqua and Magma. This is a bit odd, until you remember that in Ruby and Sapphire, only the team that matched your version color was actually villainous.
    • What about Emerald Version?
      • Then he'd have to say FOUR teams. In both real dialogue and those tiny textboxes it's a bit much.
    • Or maybe it's just that it's been a long time since Magma and Aqua's schemes. The universe plan in Sinnoh and radio incident in Johto happened relatively in a close time frame and were the last teams around, while the weather disaster in Hoenn happened before those. It hasn't happened in recent memory, so it wasn't mentioned.
      • That applies in real life too. Both HGSS and DPP came out fairly recently, whereas RSE came out quite some time ago. Considering the Hoenn games weren't even on the same system as BW, most of the younger fan base may not even recognize the names "Team Aqua" and "Team Magma."
  • Deerling is found almost entirely in the part of Unova analogous to New Jersey. Anybody who lives in suburban Joisey can tell you how hilariously spot-on this is.
  • Despite having a 87.5/12.5 male/female gender ratio, the event Zorua and Zoroark will always be male and female, respectively. Now, consider the genders(and ages) of the illusion people they appear to be at first.
    • There's not much to consider - they're suppose to be based on the ones from the movie, so they're mother and son.
  • Why do the Plasma grunts occasionally scream "PLASMAAAA!" when they're beaten? Pokémon-Speak, that's why.
  • Garbodor has a chance of carrying a nugget. Why? One man's trash is another man's treasure!
  • The desert route is essentially Gangsterland. Gangstahs? Check. (Scraggy/Scrafty) Crooks? Check. (Sandile/Krokorok/Krookodile) Pyromaniacs? Check. (Darumaka) If you really wanna stretch it, there's creeps (Frillish/Jellicant), Hobos (Dweeble/Crustle), and Hispanics (Maractus), too.
    • What about Sigilyph?
      • Drug users?
        • No, police. They exist to guard an ancient city (aka before all the crime waltzed in), but became corrupted by the influence of evil and the not-so-metaphorical destruction of that which they once protected.
        • I agree that they would be police, but not that they became corrupted. Notice how it's the rarest Pokémon in the area, and doesn't appear in the desert areas outside the Resort—the police force's power waned as crime took over, and the larger desert area is completely out of their control.
  • Have you ever wondered why the incense dealer in Driftveil City is still wearing his Team Plasma uniform? Well how likely would you have noticed him if he was dressed like an ordinary civilian?
  • Ghetsis' signature Pokemon is Hydreigon. Hydreigon is based off Orochi, an evil god from Japanese mythology, fitting his evil nature.
  • N uses a different team each time he's fought. This makes perfect sense when you remember he considered all his Pokemon his close friends. He cycles through his Pokemon to spend time with all of them.
    • That or he's charming the Pokemon in the local area to help him out, letting them go home when he leaves the area.
      • This makes sense considering that, aside from his team at N's Castle, all of the Pokémon he uses are from the surrounding area of where you fight him.
  • Some Team Plasma members are really Well-Intentioned Extremists while others seem to be following Ghetsis' true plan. One of the Seven Sages said they were convinced to join Team Plasma by Ghetsis offering them what they wanted; he did the same with the Grunts. Some were recruited by truly good intentions while others were recruited with the promise of power. Incidentally, this also goes with the legendaries Team Plasma is involved with, one fighting for truths, the other for ideals. Some of Team Plasma are working for Ghetsis' true purposes while some are fighting for Team Plasma's ideals. It fits with the truth/ideals and general yin/yang theme.
  • The depiction of Ghetsis and Team Plasma in general. Ghetsis is the chief sage of the Team Plasma sages, who are styled like priests. Since N is the king and the Plasma grunts are knights, the sages would represent the Church, who were allied with the king and knights in holy crusades during the middle ages. To Team Plasma, freeing Pokemon is their holy crusade. Thus Ghetsis and his true intentions represents lies, hypocrisy, and corruption of a person who knowingly and maliciously takes advantage of beliefs held sacred by people and twists them into something to suit his dark, selfish ends. He even holds public sermons and preaches on the matters, when in reality he's full of crap. But it gets worse from there: he's outed as an Evil Sorcerer type person who's scheming to take power as a tyrannical, despotic dictator. Hiding this under the ruse of priesthood makes him the lowest scum possible for the series, so thus he gets a makeover once everyone knows what he truly is. He keeps his pointed, horn-like hairstyle, but now wears a black and red visor on his right eye (his left eye is already red.), wraps himself in a Black Cloak with creepy eyeball symbols decorating it, and carries around a staff with the Plasma insignia that is almost pitchfork-esque at a certain glance. So not only has Ghetsis gone from dark priest to all out Evil Overlord, but he's essentially styled as The Devil himself. His original name, G'Cis Harmonia, can even be translated as "the Devil in music." His battle theme sounds like a Dark Reprise to that of Arceus, the God Pokemon, and the opening for the "Episode N" arc of the anime even has him set against a red, fiery, flaming backdrop as he throws back his cape in a very Devil-like fashion. Based on the man's actions and behavior, it's hard not to see this depiction as fitting, but then it really hits you...Satan was running the Church! Is there perhaps some disturbing commentary on religious groups of Knight Templar zealots here?
    • Ghetsis can also be seen as playing an evil version of Merlin to N's King Arthur, and also an inversion - rather than helping the king claim the throne, he's using the king to help him claim the throne.
    • It gets worse - some Biblical Scholars believe that the concept of The Antichrist would have a misshapen or scarred right side, including his right eye and right hand. Not only does Ghetsis match that description, but he also has the deceptive charisma to sway people into following him and his alleged cause as well as the desire for world domination that are also primary Antichrist qualities. So Ghetsis is the Pokemon Worlds' Satan and The Antichrist, with N being the false idol he's made for everyone to worship in service to his devilish agenda.
  • The elemental monkeys' names already made sense, but Pansear's is especially apt, considering the first place you're likely to see/use it—the Striation Gym, which doubles as a restaurant. What do you want to bet that Chili is an expert at pan-searing entrees?
    • A girl in Cafe Warehouse indeed confirms that the monkeys help the trio make tea.
    • And in the manga, it's confirmed that the monkeys help the trio with more than just making the food.
  • Alder tells Cheren to reconsider his quest to become Champion with no further goal. In the post game, he explains that he and his starter fought for the same reason, only he didn't learn this was an empty goal until after his starter had passed on and he lost the chance for the two of them to pursue a more meaningful goal together. He merely wants to prevent Cheren from making the same mistake he did.
  • Unova is noticeably more racially diverse than previous regions, with many characters and NPC's being clearly white, black, Asian, Hispanic, and others, rather than the Ambiguous Whiteness of the preceding generations' casts. Since Unova is based on an area in the United States (a very racially widespread country), and previous regions were all based on regions of Japan (which is mostly inhabited by natives), this makes perfect sense.
    • Plus, it makes sense why the player characters here would be older than in the Japanese-based regions. Culturally, it's more common for Japanese children to travel without parental supervision (think eight-year-olds walking to school in groups of two or three) whereas Americans tend to be more protective (see, the NYC mom who came under fire for letting her children travel subways alone) until you're at least a teenager.
  • Ghetsis's theme is often said to sound like Arceus, now who do you often think of as an evil version of God?
    • Not to mention that his name is derived from G-Cis or a tritone, known as being part of the 18th Century "The Devil in Music." That's more than fitting.
      • Also fitting for a man with a name based on the TRItone, he has THREE horn-like strands of hair.
  • It ties in with Fridge Horror, but Zwelious has two brains. Hydreigon has three heads, but one brain. The fact it takes the longest of any Pokemon to evolve makes sense; the heads don't want to die/be merged!
  • Approaching the Giant Chasm is stated on the Town Map to bring disaster. The route leading up to it is Route 13; an unlucky number indeed, but not the real brilliance. One of the Pokemon that appears on the route is Absol, the Disaster Pokemon.
  • How does a Pokemon Center stay open when it performs totally free services? One good way to keep finances coming in? Merge it with the Poke'Mart.
  • Why does Zekrom's Fusion Bolt appear as blue lightning? It is meant to show opposition against Reshiram's red Fusion Flare, similar to the Basculin example above.
  • Why is Excadrill so small (2'4")? If it and Krookodile were really intended to be homages to Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, then it woule be the ideal size for an EXCADRILL IMPACT!!!!!
  • Upon beating the Elite Four for the first time, you skip the Champion and go on to fight N instead, making this game the first in the series where you don't face the champion during the main playthrough, right? Well, considering that N cleared out the Elite Four and the Champion right before you in presumably official matches, N technically was the champion at that point. Much like the protagonists in each generation (including Black and White), N simply declined to hold onto his title after the end credits.
  • Why can't you trade items over Poke Transfer? Gameplay reasons, of course, but considering that you're in Poke America, it's more fun to assume that the TSA is involved somehow.
  • Eelektross is stated to live in the water, even though it's a pure Electric type incapable of learning any offensive Water moves. Many fans have expressed confusion about this, but think about it—Water is weak to Electric, meaning Eelektross has a type advantage when it hunts.
  • The reason why the Pokedex entries for Yamask and Cofagrigus and other such Pokemon are considerably darker this time around could be because Hilbert/Hilda are older than the previous protagonists and are therefore accustomed to more mature concepts. After all, it is the player character who fills out the Pokedex entries!
  • N's final team(minus Reshiram/Zekrom) is heavily implied to be his childhood friends. Keep in mind that these include either Pokemon you can't get in the wild (Zoroark because it requires an event, Carracosta and Archeops are fossils that need to be revived) or generally urban Pokemon(Vanilluxe's first form appears to be farmed for Castelia Cones, and Klinklang is a system of gears). Given N's sheltered upbringing, it would make sense for these to be a part of his main team.

Fridge Horror

  • A good deal of the gyms are pretty hazardous; Opelucid and Icirrus in particular would have a constant risk of falling to your death into a functionally bottomless pit.
    • Don't forget Mistralton, where you get shot out of cannons to proceed from floor to floor. One of the final ones even has you hitting the wall face-first!
      • That last part was funny.
  • The Relic Castle consists of a pair of burnt out, ruined towers. A pair of burnt out, ruined towers in a fantasy version of New York City.
    • Not to mention Yamask and Cofagrigus (the former of which is actually the soul of a human who now carries around a mask that was the face it had when it was living) can be found inside.
    • Even worse, if you overlay a map of New York with a map of Unova, Ground Zero aligns with Route 4, which has the entrance to the Desert Resort & Relic Castle...
    • This was probably purposefully invoked, and not to be funny. The location is a relatively quiet, sorrowful remnant acknowledging that something happened which caused a lot of death and destruction. Making it something that happened in the distant past puts enough distance between it and the events of the game that it can be acknowledged without dragging in the very sensitive issues surrounding the real-world disaster.
  • Ghetsis must've had some pretty grand plans if he had the Adamant, Lustrous, and Griseous Orbs...
    • And how did he come to have those, when they were last in the possession of the Diamond/Pearl player character?
    • Hell, just Ghetsis' plans in general. Just look at his big one in the game: Ghetsis knew a self-centered man like him could never be the hero of legend, so he raised his own son N specifically to fit the qualifications needed to be the hero and to be the key pawn in his master plan. He kept N locked up in a room filled with toys for years in order to stunt his emotional growth, and had Anthea and Concordia frequently tend to him so that his innocence and purity could be preserved. He himself told N that Team Plasma was fighting to liberate Pokemon from their captivity and oppression at the hands of humans, and even provided abused Pokemon for N as playmates. Ghetsis' own minions had abused the Pokemon and since N could hear their thoughts and feel their pain, he came to believe that all humans hurt Pokemon and that all Pokemon long to be far away from humans. After N had come of age and was crowned Team Plasma's king, Ghetsis began his crusade to capture the hearts and minds of the trainer population, the grand crescendo of which would come when N, using Reshiram or Zekrom, could defeat the Champion and allow Team Plasma to take over the league. N would then issue a command to every human in the Unova region to release all their Pokemon or risk the region's destruction again. In reverence of the hero and the belief that his way is the truth or ideal ("having Pokemon will be considered a bad thing" as Ghetsis puts it), the trainers would release all their Pokemon...which would leave Ghetsis and his select followers as the only ones with Pokemon that they're able to use. After N's purpose had been served, Ghetsis would throw him away and take Reshiram/Zekrom for himself, and then with his personal Pokemon army headed by the legendary Pokemon of the hero, would go to war with all other regions and repeat the process so that more region's worth of Pokemon get added to his forces. The more Pokemon, the more power, and with enough power, Ghetsis could take over the entire world, bringing about a Dystopian new world order in which he, as the ruler who is the only one allowed to have and use Pokemon, has unlimited influence, privilege, and control over everything that lives and is free to oppress and suppress everyone by using threat of force via his supepowered mons. And the reason for all this? He felt entitled to it.
      • And if Ghetsis did take over Unova, the entire economy of Unova would be a wreck, given that everything runs on Pokemon here.
      • As dictator of not just Unova but the entire world, Ghetsis would turn the world into one where every day was one of suffering under his reign - a world where your oppressors have all the power to harm you and keep you in line (as the only ones able to use Pokemon) and you lack the power to fight back, and are thus made to feel enslaved in this dystopian world order. It's a Fate Worse Than Death, arguably as horrific as Cyrus' vision for the world, if not moreso seeing as here you'd keep your emotions and would thus feel every last bit of pain.
      • WARNING: Major guessing ahead. Consider why he had those orbs. One could make the argument that he had the orbs because he was trying to attain the Creation trio to kill anyone in his way. This presents 2 flaws: Ghetsis could use any legendary to do this, and you don't need the orbs to get the Creation trio. In addition, the killing of a trainer is likely to spark a revolt. But remember what the legendaries he was trying to acquire are capable of. This implies three things. One: Ghetsis is willing to erase people from existence to continue his plans. Two: He only gave you the orbs because he knows they are useless to both him and the player character. Three: He wants to become God, rule over the cosmos as a despot and maybe even go beyond that.
      • I'm going to throw my own slightly less alarmist theory into the mix here: Ghetsis states at the end of the game that he is the one who awakened Reshiram/Zekrom along with manipulating events so that N would actively seek it and thus become the hero Ghetsis needed to take control. We know that the legendary yin/yang dragons are awakened both by the presence of their hero AND the specific stone needed to awaken them, according to whichever version you're playing. We also know that Team Plasma were delving into absolutely any leads they could find on the dragons, as their appearance at the Nacrene Gym shows us. If Team Plasma were seeking out any methods they could find to try and awaken the dragons, perhaps Ghetsis came across the orbs whilst seeking the yin/yang stones and thought they might be the items he desired, which they obviously proved not to be. Bear in mind that the region of Unova and its people don't know a great deal about Pokemon from distant lands; perhaps Ghetsis thought the orbs were worthless when they did not awaken Reshiram/Zekrom and so had little trouble casting them off to the player. I'm sure a third version of the game with an extended post-game story will put the theories to rest in time, but just in case this one is right, everyone should really be thankful that Ghetsis never learned which "dragons" the orbs were connected to...
  • Many of the quotes randomly generated by opponents in the Battle Subway are surprisingly humorous, deep, and - yes - terrifying. Including this gem of a quote from a subway worker:

"I've never left this place even once since I was born."

  • It's revealed near the end that the Pokemon that Team Plasma stole were actually enslaved and forced to build their castle. Now keep in mind that N grew up with abused Pokemon. How many of those "playmates" of his also doubled as slave labour for Ghetsis, who likely saw the convenience in this plan?
  • One of the Seven Sages mentions that N might not be related to Ghetsis. Then where did N come from?
    • And also, where did his real parents go?
    • If you think about it, this might be the less unpleasant option. Assuming that N is related to Ghetsis, who did Ghetsis fuck to produce a child, and in what way? And worse, there's no hint of N having a mother anywhere. Where did she go?
    • Speaking of N's lineage, let's look at his powers for a moment: He talks to Pokemon, yes, but he says in the final speech he heard your Pokemon's voices the first time he met you, where you don't seem to have a Pokemon out of its ball. This might imply, say, telepathy. I think everyone knows about a green-haired, humanoid psychic type, yes? Now, consider two things about Ghetsis. First, it's pretty clear he wouldn't be averse to horribly mistreating a Pokemon if it'd further his goals. Second, Ghetsis has red eyes, green hair and sociopathy on levels previously unknown to mankind. I wonder what could produce a combination like that... Maybe N gets his telepathy from his grandmother's side?
      • Thank almighty Arceus this is an impossibility. Misty appeared in that fanfic, and Ghetsis would've been born decades before her.
  • Ghetsis himself admits "The moment when someone loses all hope...I really do love to watch that moment." Now consider when he revealed to N that he was an Unwitting Pawn, crushing his hopes and dreams. The implications is that this Moral Event Horizon wasn't just done out of anger, but sadism. Indeed, N's entire life of being manipulated could've been something Ghetsis was turned on by. He may have mindraped his own son without him even knowing it.
    • In general, Ghetsis' sadism is disturbing, but it becomes moreso when you consider that many of the things he does, in both games, can be considered forms of torture - physical torture (his Pokemon abuse, what he does to Kyurem and has Kyurem do to Unova, commanding Kyurem use Glaciate on a human child), emotional torture (his treatment of N and what he has Team Plasma put a lot of people through), and even psychological torture (towards N and to an extent all the masses of Unova through his plan with the freezeover of the entire region). And when you look at his Pokemon team, all of his Pokemon seem to be tailor-made for use as living torture weapons on his enemies and their Pokemon. Team Plasma's initial medieval style might also be part of this, seeing as brutality and torture chambers were big in the middle ages.
  • You ever wonder why N has a One-Letter Name? Or what the hell happened to A through M?
    • Alternatively: What does N stand for? Null? No-one? Nothing? Nobody?
      • Or the calculus variable n, making N just a variable in Ghetsis' perfect formula, less predictable than Ghetsis would have liked but unfortunately necessary to complete the equation. And N does like math...
      • Also, giving his son (if N really IS his) a One-Letter Name could just be Ghetsis' first step in dehumanizing N.
      • Jossed. His name is Natural Harmonia Gropius. Confimed here.
        • Yes, but he refers to himself as N. Giving him an actual name may have been so people don't get suspicious, so he can eventually dehumanize N.
  • The Black version Pokédex states that Cofagrigus's favorite food is gold nuggets; the White version Pokédex states that its body made of pure gold. Who's to say that it hasn't tried to eat its own kind... or itself?
    • All the food we eat is carbon based, and we're also made of carbon. Why don't we eat ourselves then?
      • Because we neither eat raw carbon or are made of raw carbon.[2]
      • [3]
    • Probably not itself, since the gold it eats reinforces its body.
  • Speaking of Yamask and Cofagrigus... Yamasks were originally humans that got mummified, keeping their human faces as a masks. They evolve into Cofagrigi, Pokémon that swallow humans whole and turn them into mummies, probably more Yamasks. This could very well be their natural way of multiplying...
  • Deino starts off with one head, then evolves into Zweilous, who has two heads that hate each other. Zweilous evolves into Hydreigon—who only has one brain and two brainless heads for hands.
    • I actually find that thought hilarious. Two quarreling heads? It's like they were brainless to begin with!
    • Fridge Horror returns—judging by their behaviour, one may end up killing the other. Leaving a single brain. Would it be stunted, or evolve? Ghetsis has a Lv 54 Hydreigon.
  • The TM for Toxic is found in the shallows in the middle of a mostly water route. A water route full of Ghost jellyfish.
  • One trainer on Route 15 says that she's looking for Pokemon that have escaped from the Poke Transfer Lab. Notice how the whole northeast of Unova is full of Gen I-IV Pokemon. Yes, that's right: Unova's being overrun by invasive species that are probably wreaking havoc on the ecosystem now because you wanted to keep the Pokemon from your old games.
    • Except they're there before you ever do any transferring, so... yeah, not the player's fault.
      • Probably brought there by other trainers. Which raises the question, what happened to the previous-gen regions you traded foreign Pokemon into?
  • When you get to the pool in Crater Forest, Kyurem freezes the entire place, covering everything in snow. How many Pokemon died from hypothermia/suffocation when that blizzard hit?
    • Probably not that many; most of the Pokemon found there probably wouldn't be affected by a harsh change in temperature (Lunatone/Solrock, Metang/Metagross, Piloswine/Mamoswine), and Ditto can change its form to match the temperature. Clefairies/Clefables probably have thick fur to insulate them from the cold.
      • Clefairy and Clefable are from space. It's not exactly known for its heat...
      • And so we get back to suffocation.
      • Mmhmm, sorry, I forgot about that.
        • Magic Guard. Many Clefairies and Clefables presumably cannot suffocate. Besides, we've known for a long time that Pokemon aren't easy to keep consistently Frozen.
  • The Flying game in Dream World, which features a Pelipper flying through the sky. Though it needs 3 Water orbs to speed up, it only needs one single Electric one to go down a speed level. Then it hit me... Pelipper has a double weakness to Electric. The poor thing gets double as much damage from them.
  • The entire Solosis line can learn Explosion by TM. Those Pokemon are based on developing embryos. You're basically teaching your Pokemon to abort itself. Nice job, kid.
    • Made worse by the fact that the game takes place in Unova, which is said to be like America, where abortion is considered a hot-button topic (right to life vs. pro-choice).
    • Except the line is more based on a general cell division, rather than embryos.[4]
      • The Explosion-Solosis connection doesn't come from dividing cells, but dividing atoms. Nuclear fission, anyone?
  • This one came up after this troper finished getting a Castelia Cone in Castelia City. Basically, the Castelia Cone is ice cream that looks too similar to Vanillite. The stand where you buy these ice cream cones are opened from the spring to the fall season before it closes up in the winter because of the coldness of the weather. However, winter is also the season where Vanillite appear more in the wild because of the weather. This troper thinks that the owner of the stand leaves during the winter to capture more Vanillite and serve them to people when it's spring again. To add to this, if the player were to watch the TV, there will be one instance where there is a girl that talks about buying a Castelia Cone but then it came alive and ran away. Basically, humans are eating Vanillite and are re-stocking when they come out to play.
    • That's not so bad. Pokemon are seen as both allies and food if need be.
    • You use Castelia Cones like full heals. Think about that. You can feed it to your Vanillite. Smooth.
    • Alternatively - the Vanillite come from the cones, not the other way around. There have been tsukumogami-(inanimate objects that become animate creatures) based Pokemon since the first generation, and Unova has several that come from various sources. It wouldn't be that big of a stretch to say that the Castelia Cones are so magically delicious and well-loved that they occasionally gain sentience. The owner probably keeps them in the freezer throughout the warm seasons so they won't melt, then goes on a journey in the winter to release them all around Unova once it's cold enough for them to travel comfortably.
    • Actually, Vanillite looking like ice cream doesn't necessarily translate to it tasting like ice cream. Even if it's body is ice-based, it could just taste like regular ice, which is basically flavorless. Even if they're sweetening it or adding flavor, killing Vanillite to make them is pointless, as you could just use normal ice for effectively the same product. Although, if you really want to draw a connection between the two, you might be able to put forth the idea that the Vanillite are creating the ice cream themselves.
  • The elemental monkeys pansage panpour and pansear despite being apparently in the hands of near every trainer in the game are extremely rare in the wild (only a 15% chance of encounter in shaking grass), the reason for this is that they were originally a very plentiful pokemon that since the invention of the pokeball has become near extinct in the wild due to everyone trying to catch one, those few ones that you encounter are TheLastOfTheirKind
    • That doesn't make them extinct, just makes them the last ones that aren't in captivity. I really doubt that they would go extinct considering how much breeding trainers put them through. And if they're anything like the trainers I know, they'd probably release tons of them into the wild until they got one they could train properly.
  • So, what did Team Plasma want with that Munna's Dream Mist again? Oh, right, they wanted to use it to brainwash the people of Unova into releasing their Pokemon and joining Team Plasma. If that had worked, Ghetsis would have an unstoppable brainwashed army, which he could continually replenish and expand by harvesting more Dream Mist from Munna to brainwash new "recruits". You're welcome.
  • There's an unpleasant foreshadowing for the sequels in Fridge Brilliance above. Absol is found outside the Giant Chasm, as if it's warning the protagonist not to enter. Fast forward to the sequels. (Continued on the fridge page for those games.)

For Fridge Logic, see Headscratchers.

  1. ↑ Hint: Slowpoke tails are considered delicacies in and around Kanto/Johto.
  2. ↑ why are we considered carbon based when we're something like 75% water, which has no carbon? Not that it really matters in this disscussion...
  3. ↑ As a very simple explanation, carbon-based simply means that we're held together primarily by interactions of carbon-loaded molecules, not that we're made of "raw carbon" or anything like that. Same goes for (as far as I'm aware) every other living or once-living thing on this planet.
  4. ↑ On another note, Explosion and Self-Destruct are described as a large release of energy that tires the Pokémon out too much to battle, not physically bursting into pieces. Don't know quite how that would translate to actual cells, but you get the idea.
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