Pokémon X and Y Are a Bit of a Contradiction

Hello! If my voice sounded weird in this one it’s cause I’ve had bronchitis. It’s been a struggle. Anyway, what do you think of my analysis? Any differing interpretations? Anything you think I missed? Art interpretation should be treated as a conversation, so, in addition to the questions I posed directly in the video, I've listed some discussion questions below to kick-start analysis beyond what I did in the video! If you have the means, any and all support on Patreon (link in description) means the world to me and really helps me keep this going. Currents perks are just name in credits, early access, Discord server, and update posts. I’m going to rework the Patreon in a few months so I’ll save the stronger pitch til then! 1. It’s pretty obvious that Pokemon Z was originally intended to exist, but what sort of things narratively do you think would have existed in it? 2. I cut a line in the script about “Holo Caster” sounding a lot like “holocaust” because I decided I really hoped that wasn’t intentional. I think drawing that direct a parallel between Lysandre and Hitler would make the both-sidesy centrism lines borderline sinister. What do you think? 3. Rideable Pokemon! What was their deal? 4. Were Dexio and Sina characters worth mentioning in the video? The game seems a bit confused about their purpose and I didn’t really understand the secret superhero thing but I could imagine there being an interesting angle.

i think the obvious answer to "why can lysandre's gyrados mega-evolve?" is that the gyrados is also a fascist

Lysandre being able to Mega-Evolve his Gyarados actually makes perfect sense from a lore perspective, I think. You pointed out himself, he DOES care for his Pokémon. In nearly all conservative movements, more extreme the closer to Fascist you get, the core message is often "Care for your family and nobody else. Everyone else wants to hurt you, the world is a scary place, and people are inherently evil. You, Patriarch, are responsible for stamping out that evil in your own family and caring for them as we say your God intends." As I just alluded to, Fascism also often leads to abuse of the family, "for the greater good," while also stamping into said family that said abuse is "for your own good." Like a Stockholm syndrome kind of situation. That's the vibe I get from Lysandre, his team, and what his ability to Mega Evolve his Gyarados implies: A twisted kinship, an abusive love, a brainwashing. He almost certainly loves his Gyarados and it loves him back, but in the twisted "he only beat me because I was bad" kind of dynamic. That's the implication I got from what you believed to be the paradox between him willingly killing his own pokémon and still being able to mega evolve, anyway.

Its ironic that Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire used Mega Evolution more than XY did... Strong trainers like Wally, Maxie, Archie, the Elite Four, and Champion Steven actually use Mega Pokemon during the main story. :(

Your analysis of Team Flare drives home the point for me that Zygarde's absence from XY does the games a great narrative disservice. For me, Zygarde fills in a lot of the gaps in what main plot of the games is trying to do, since it raises a counterpoint to Team Flare's ideology. In terms of gameplay, both Team Flare and the player when using Mega Evolution derive power from scarcity and exclusion: while the games don't make much of it, Team Flare spend most of their appearances trying to create monopolies (on pokeballs, on energy, on pokemon themselves) from which they can derive the power to change Kalos. The games do have an introspective moment in which Lysandre likens this to the player alone wielding Mega Evolution - and denying Serena/Calem the chance to do so, highlighting how your own choices ultimately follow a similar ideology to Team Flare. Where I think Zygarde could have been such an interesting addition to the ideology of scarcity espoused by Team Flare and, to some extent, embodied by the player, is that its power comes from plurality and inclusion. Gameplay-wise, Zygarde is a collection of multiple cells and cores working together: thus in a reversal of Team Flare, Zygarde's power comes from union rather than separation. It is a potential metaphor for community, or environment - again, another kind of beauty that Lysandre fails to understand. Its beauty and its power is its ability to draw together, rather than to separate apart. Moreover, thinking in terms of lore, Zygarde becomes especially interesting when compared with Xerneas and Yveltal, who are natural forces, life and death, made individual as powerful pokemon to be dominated through capture. Where Zygarde differs is that, in Sun and Moon, it can only be assembled through the player collecting its cells: its natural force (whatever that may be: the games are not entirely clear but do classify it as the Order Pokemon which is interesting in and of itself as a trio with Life and Death) comes from union rather than binary separation. Where Xerneas and Yveltal's power have only brought pain to those like AZ and Lysandre, who have both viewed the world through a lens of scarcity and domination, Zygarde's power might represent the potential of the union of which it is a product. Zygarde is what Pokemon's central ideology (at least the one it outwardly espouses) has always been: it is coming together and nature in one - it must be assembled after exploration. Crucially, then, a Pokemon X and Y that integrated Zygarde into their narrative could have at the very least created a lot more space for disruptions of Team Flare's ideology of scarcity, highlighting the alternatives that the original games ignore. Suddenly, I think they become a lot more interesting if the opposition to Team Flare's fascism is Zygarde's plurality and inclusion. If Legends Z-A does use Zygarde, which I am assuming it will, I think it might be able to provide a much more cohesive counterpoint to what XY presents. Either way, thank you for the video - it was very interesting to think about a game I loved as a kid in a new light. Just like Zygarde, maybe your power comes from community - even though you worry your ideas haven't been original, I think that by choosing to share them you have enriched us all! Take care :D

Serena saying "If both sides have something to say, maybe it's best to meet halfway..." on Victory Road is genuinely the funniest moral I've ever heard. She literally tells the player that one meme about how we should compromise and let the fascists do a little fascism.

It's a little sad that the series ends here because I think the Sun/Moon series tried a little harder in a narrative as well (ignoring USUM which completely redid and imo botched it). That game appears to have a theme about family relationships, which is an interesting contrast to the relationships between human and pokemon, the story starts with Luis's two children taking abused pokemon away from her and running off to create a new life and relationship for them. These two children end up alone, with Gladion seemingly lonely in his apartment and Lillie finding refuge with Kukui. In the games you meet the trial captains and they each show how relationships form the backbone of Alola (which honestly, is pretty much every region but regardless) and instead of proving your worth in a gym battle, you instead befriend them, create experiences and fight the totem pokemon afterward to gain their trust and earn your "badges". You even fight the "evil team" who in reality are just people unified in their relationships simply out of lack of options for those to console with. Po town is theirs, but it's a lonely town, an echo chamber. And in the end, Luisamine goes mad trying to find relationships that she ends up "befriending" otherworldly beasts. Where not even her loyal dog Guzma thinks this is a good idea, where she's abandoned almost everything, even her reputation as a sanctuary via the Aether foundation, and your job is to use the relationship you had with Cosmog/Lillie to go find Luisamine and stop her. It comes to the point where her children don't even refer to her as their mother, it's very sad, and in her last moments in ultra space she ends up seeing Lillie's beauty for the first time in ages.

Something I liked about Pokemon Amie is that you NEEDED to use it in order to get the battle benefits... In later games, they just tied those features directly to the already existing "friendship" system. And because of this, by the end of a playthrough all of your Pokemon would be able to land critical hits and avoid attacks with minimal player input, simply because the friendship stat raises as you use them. It was nice to be rewarded for actually caring for your Pokemon rather than being given it for free.

25:56 Yep, this is really the core problem with almost every Pokémon game's story: because the franchise is unwilling to reflect on its settings beyond it being perfect utopia, it's villains don't really make sense. The whole meme image of AZ saying "it's been 3,000 years" is the entire problem with X/Y's story: instead of grounding Lysandre's thoughts about beauty and humanity in events and people concurrent to the story, the game has to scramble 3,000 years in the past to find the most relevant example. This is why Lysandre as a character feels so flaccid; what is he even talking about? How is what he's saying reflected in the world we inhabit over the course of the game? Gen 8 will make the same mistake, just temporally reversed. Chairman Rose's concerns about an energy crisis in Galar are unfounded, and that's because the game places this so-called "crisis" 1,000 years into the future. This decision conveniently avoids confronting whether the way the Pokémon world is run is unsustainable, and makes Rose look like a irrational radical who can't wait a single day to enact his crazy schemes. Of course, no other character in the game seems all that concerned about an energy crisis. It's a shame you stopped at Sun/Moon, because I'll echo what others have already said in here: Gen 7 probably has the best story in the mainline series. Admittedly, I'm kind of grading on a curve, but I also the think the story is legitimately great in its own right. S/M worries about what happens when the traditions and institutions underpinning our lives alienate and ostracize us, rather than bring us together. Sun/Moon rather boldly tackles the core tenants of the series. Guzma, the leader of Team Skull, builds up his own gang because he feels disillusioned with the Island Challenge, the "Gym" equivalent in Alola that dominates the cultural interest in the region: "Here we are, Kukui... Fellow rejects who never could become captains. We've got all these moldy old traditions in Alola -- the kahunas, the captains, it's about time we cut out all that silly garbage and make something new for ourselves ... Don't get me wrong, though, Kukui. We've got no need for a Pokémon League .... Why even bother with the island challenge? What's the point of it?" Guzma failed the island challenge, and felt useless as a result. That in a world that places such a high value on traditions like the island challenge, to be bad at it represents a fundamental flaw in one's personal character. It is telling that whenever Guzma loses, he yells at himself: "Guzma! What is wrong with you?!" Sun/Moon's also critiques the structures of the Pokémon world in Lillie's storyline about escaping her abusive mother. When we enter Lillie's home in the back half of the game, it's a genuinely disturbing beat. The house is blanketed in a sterile white, and giant iron bars barricade the entrances and stairs. This is not a home, it is a prison. Lillie tries to confront her mother, but she ridicules her instead: "Calling me mother? I don't have any children! Certainly not any wretched children who would run off and reject my love!" A scene later, we see how Lusamine treats her Pokémon; she keeps a storage of cryogenically frozen Pokémon in her basement, what she likes to call her "private collection." And it is here where the game's criticism becomes reflexive. In the climax of the story, Lillie confronts her mother again: Lillie: "I am alive! Cosmog is alive! We are not things for you to collect!" Lusamine: "How am I different from any Pokémon Trainer, like your little "friend" there? What do you do with a Pokémon you can't use? You remove it from your party, as you please." The game never refutes Lusamine's point. Lusamine does treat her children like we are asked to treat our Pokémon over the course of the game, objects to be registered in a Pokedex and then tossed away in a PC Storage Box indefinitely whenever we'd rather play with something new. It is disturbing (and rather bold) to see a Pokémon game so plainly compare the main conceit of the franchise to domestic abuse. Of course, Gen 7 is not immune from the problems you've outlined. While the game casts doubt on the efficacy of Training/Battling as a cultural touchstone, it rather uncritically accepts the establishment of the first Pokémon league as a momentous step forward for the region. Kukui points to the tallest mountain in Alola, where the League is being built, and says: "It's time to get our own Elite Four and make our own Pokémon League! To think that, someday, the kiddos in Alola will be able to go from being the island challenge champion to the world Champion! And then, when we have our own Champion, they can show the rest of the world what's so special about Alolan Pokémon and their Trainers, yeah!" The games seek to entrench Alola deeper into the monopoly of Pokémon Leagues and Gym Battles, never taking stock to see that it's discontent with precisely these institutions that created Team Skull -- and in a more abstract sense -- Lusamine's cruel abuse in the first place. Still, Sun/Moon explores the world and characters more richly than I feel the series ever has or will do again. Ever since base Sun/Moon came out, it feels somewhat like the franchise has regretted doing it. Anytime Gen 7 is represented in the wider franchise, it is the Ultra Sun/Moon versions of the characters, which quite frankly butchers the original story by essentially replacing the family drama storyline with a generic, world ending threat, and which makes Lusamine out to be a misunderstood hero who abused her children for the greater good. Meanwhile, the Anime (from the little I've seen) went for a completely different (way less hostile) family dynamic. It is doubtful we will ever see the original Sun/Moon versions of the characters again. Oh, also, this video reminded me that they really did call Lysandre's greatest tech achievement the 'Holo Caster,' which is so genuinely ridiculous lol.

It says a lot of how forgettable XY's stories are that it's heavily rumored the stories were rewritten many times. Not to mention, it also has many loose ends which just reek of untapped potential. Will those ever be tackled in Legends: ZA? Only time will tell.

38:16 If I could share my two cents... In Pokemon XY, Mega Evolution is explicitly stated to be powered by the bond between trainer and Pokemon. HOWEVER in Sun & Moon they added Pokedex entries for every mega form in the Alolan Pokedex. Many of these dex entries share horrifying details about the pain and suffering the Pokemon go through when they Mega Evolve. When I first learned about this, I was FURIOUS! They took something pure and good and made it out to be a horrible torturous thing. To this day I've considered it to be a retcon to spit in the face of Mega Evolution... But thinking about it more, maybe the reason Mega Evolution brings so much pain is because its used improperly. Despite the in-game explanation being "the bond between trainer and Pokemon," you don't NEED to have a bond with your Pokemon to use it. You can literally trade with someone, use a Pokemon you just got for the first time, and it will still allow you to Mega Evolve it. Maybe the Pokemon only feel pain when Mega Evolution is FORCED. Even the anime supports this idea... Because the only time they show Mega Evolution causing pain is in the Volcanion movie, where the villains use some strange device to force more than one Pokemon to Mega Evolve at the same time. They also have an episode where Korrina's Lucario goes out of control when Mega Evolved, and doesn't regain control until Korrina is able to properly bond with it. I don't think its a coincidence that Lysandre's Mega Pokemon happens to be a Gyrados either... Its Pokedex entry says "Mega Evolution also affects its brain, leaving no other function except its destructive instinct to burn everything to cinders." and "Mega Evolution places a burden on its body. The stress causes it to become all the more ferocious." Maybe I'm just crazy, and Mega Evolution is just evil... But in my personal headcanon, Mega Evolution is only as harmful as the trainer's intentions. A Mega Stone and Keystone is all that is required to use it, but a true bond is required to master it.

I always assumed that the reason Lysandre used Mega Evolution, was because he was brute-forcing it. I figured that was what the weird machinery he wears exclusively for that final fight was meant to do, to force the phenomenon to occur with a less stable bond. The anime also has moments where it shows that Mega Evolution isn't impossible without the power of friendship, but rather, has consequences if used without that bond. Unfortunately, that was not explained in the game's writing, and that is a problem.

I read more of XY's narrative being about the dichotomy between Generosity vs Selfishness and Status more than outright facism though I do think Lysandre's ultimate conclusions do lead to that. Your friend group is all made up of essentially the proletariat who struggle to get anything done on their journey and turn to you as their friend who is the dragon in the group to help them, even still, they helped during the final confrontation despite their lack of skill and though they may not be dragons, they still are givers rather than takers. Lysandre's tears indicate that his hatred for people outweighs his love for pokemon, explaining why he's able to mega evolve his gyarados and that he views ridding the world of pokemon as necessary only because people will abuse their power afforded to them by pokemon which doesn't really work with the kalos internarrative but does apply to the greater pokemon metanarrative with the most recent villain, Ghetsis being the polar opposite. Viewing pokemon as only tools and having no care for them but believing only he should have access to them. To answer your question about the rest of the series, I am particularly fond of Scarlet/Violet's story for how it manages to make a cast of friends who actually weaves your ability to battle well into their stories and doesn't leave their arcs incomplete because you always win against them no matter what due to them having other goals in life. It's actually my favorite cast of characters in the series. This was a really good video! I don't normally trust most video essayists with pokemon since I find they often tend to miss the forest for the trees and only examine the text when analyzing the story or only viewing things separately instead of how they intertwine together and even if I don't agree with some of your points I do appreciate your holistic view of the game. I do think the music was a little too loud at times though. Keep up the good work.

I always assumed that it was Lysandre's weird machine is what lets him mimic mega evolution. Like, he's abusing technology to force what should be something sacred.

I can't believe this is the first video on X and Y I've watched that points out the themes of team Flare connecting to facism. I feel ashamed that this went over my head. I remember playing the games when they came out; the common opinion in the youtube pokemon community was that the story was lame and the villians made no sense. But now that you mentioned facism and, of course, their contradicting beliefs, it makes a lot more sense. Of course, GameFreak still dropped the ball on the story in the end, just as they did with Black & White. The same thing happened with Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald's story - everyone thought Aqua and Magma were over the top and stupid, and the never ending memes about "too much water". It wasn' until Tama made her video on the games and actually did the research, where we learn that the two teams were based on real-life politics happening in Japan (though you can argue this didn't translate very well to an international audience, other than it's messaging being very pro nature and looking after the environment). It's so frustrating to see so many video game """essays""" or "retrospectives" basically devolve into reading the game's wiki, give a puddle-deep overview of the game's story, and tell the audience how they felt about the game (mostly saying it's bad, mid, or good) and then the video ends. Young men with no media analysis skills trying to talk about a game that they like (or hate), and struggling to grasp the story's themes. I find that video game essays done by a woman is way more engaging simply by the fact that it's written from a different perspective. Thank you for making this video, it's rare to find channels that make the effort to do media analysis on video games and actually engage with the story, no matter how simple or silly they may appear on the surface.

Also that Team Flare's whole esthetic of well, flares, is very metaphorical in its relation to fascism, the idea of rebirth, burning the old to let the new ride from its ashes. (It's also my headcanon that the visors that Flare have to conceal identity and the very similar outfits were an attempt to parallel the black and brown shirts from irl)

I wonder if you've heard of the leaked, scrapped plot of XY that was on 4Chan, that was given credit because it partially predicted Alola. If you haven't, give it a read, the scrapped plot is so weird and so cool.

I think I have satisfying answers for questions 1 and 4 you posited at the end of the video. Scarlet and Violet spend a lot of time doing anything but explaining the phenomenon of Terastalisation until the final hour, but that final hour is genuinely the best piece of writing and amalgamation of the game's themes in the entire series. This is accompanied by some genuinely really good dialogue between the game's rival characters (without spoiling much, the three rivals barely know each other outside their shared relation to you when you gather them all for the final quest, and the game does a really good job of rounding out their characters in their conversation). As for Monster Collector games that establish good writing and themes, I will never miss a chance to promote Bytten Studio's Cassette Beasts. The creature designs, like Pokemon, are based off of a mix of real/mystical creatures and more abstract human concepts. But Cassette Beasts decides to dig a layer further into the world these creatures exist, and within the story (again not trying to spoil) the biggest, heaviest and potentially most destructive human concepts become the biggest threats and therefore bosses. This alongside a cast of characters who have more far more charm than basically every Pokemon NPC (save again for the newest games, who Cassette Beasts still has beat but deserve a distinction about the earlier entries).

You really left me guessing with that "Rebonjour" chapter title for a while.

Using Emolga in Sky Battles is totally cheating, like if you agree