What ARE They Building In Vermilion City? | Pokemon Investigation

[@droomish1]

trying to stream more and just play pokemon more on my twitch if that's your kind of thing: www.twitch.tv/droomish_ and if its not hope you're having a nice day! really enjoyed making this one and hope to do more like it 🤠

[@Jediwhoever1]

You didn’t try and find out machop’s moveset.

[@codywalden7105]

A 17 minute video just to talk about the unfinished building in Vermilion City? The video is way too long, shorten it to 6-7 minutes max.

[@Banner.]

@@codywalden7105 attention span?

[@garcardosotan6172]

I always figured this was supposed to be the Radio Tower, or a Lighthouse. It's on the harbor, so a lighthouse makes sense, and the Radio Tower was added to Lavender Town for various reasons, but I think it would have fit here more, in a more centralized locations, no?

[@NY4NVaporKINGCatz103]

noob dirt house

[@radioactivechimp]

I guess Machop is flattening the land every day and the Diggletts underneath are poking up and ruining it at night, so they’re just caught in an endless cycle.

[@brokki]

wow that makes so much sense

[@jimjimson6208]

ok this is my headcanon from now onward

[@mertensiam3384]

That would make sense

[@Muddeen-12]

Diglett cave is nearby so it so 🤔

[@ianfinrir8724]

Friggin Digglitt

[@cwmaib]

I really think that this construction should’ve been finished in the Johto games.

[@timr.2257]

LazyFreak cutting corners as always.

[@willcooper8028]

I gues you just hate the natural environment of vermillion city

[@emarti3853]

At least HGSS

[@milotic3333]

.

[@serenitynow85]

With what money?

[@xelac1334]

Personally, I think the guy with the Machop was originally meant to just be a lore-building tidbit to show players that in this universe, Pokemon are used for more than just battling. But when Gen 2 came out, the devs knew players would be expecting a new building or something there. But rather than do that, they decided to leave it the same and just have the guy say he has no money as a little joke. I also think the rocks we see in HGSS are not building materials, but rather that the Machop's job is to clear those rocks out and flatten the land. The man says he has no money to START the project, not finish it. He hasn't even started aside from buying the land and having the Machop start to prepare it. The are no building materials because he hasn't bought them yet, and it would make sense to clear the land first.

[@CWCvilleCop]

Yeah this is the exact theory I've thought was the MOST likely explanation since I first encountered it in the 90's. It's not the sexiest, but it's the most believable, and most fitting with the lore and dev cycles. Gen 1 and 2 are HEAVY about telling the player that pokemon are used in all manners of tasks and jobs other than battling, and when Gen 2 came out I just assumed they didn't come up with a purpose for the building and put his little comment in there as a tongue-in-cheek explanation. I didn't know about how tight space was on the cartridge back then, but it still made sense. But looking back, the man saying he has no money to start the project in Gen 2 MIGHT have been a sneaky little way to say they don't have SPACE, or maybe even time, to do anything with the spot. Hence, he doesn't have the money (space/time) to even start the project, even though the land is ripe for it. Just some speculation on my part, but it could have been the devs actually giving us the explanation for it, if read into correctly.

[@marhawkman303]

@@CWCvilleCop the funniest one was the idea that his funding came from Team Rocket. you, the player in Gen 1 are the reason it was never finished. the old man didn't wanna tell people why he has no funds now, so he just keeps messing with it.

[@masterstealth11]

Makes perfect sense

[@lythd]

yeah thats the realistic answer and pretty much what i was thinking too, especially since those arent aesthetic sort of stones those are just random rocks that you would find in the terrain

[@theakaneko]

I just always thought he was trying to build himself a house and ran out of money between red/blue/yellow and gold/silver, and the diglets kept mucking up his progress.... And then "it is a running gag now, let's keep it going!"

[@cinnamintie]

alternate take on his Machop: there's no indication that the Machop is unhappy with his situation, and has been hard at work at this for years. I have an alternate proposal: Machop wanted to see his trainer's dream fulfilled just as much as the old man himself wanted. But after years of working at it, the old man had nothing to show for it, and doesn't even have money to continue. His machop continues in spite of this, doing the only thing he can, continue preparing the ground. Refusing to give up or let his trainer give up on the project. I think Machop is working hard to inspire his trainer to keep working as well. This is why in HGSS the machop is running in circles and the man is not stopping him. Machop doesn't know how to continue the project, but still he continues. He's showing his trainer that even if they've hit a dead end he's not going to stop until the building is built.

[@JessieJussMessy]

Machad

[@TheSilverInfinity]

aww thats really sweet, I like this version

[@flash0utz965]

least based machop

[@throwawayaccount4009]

This is obviously a money laundering scam. While everyone is preoccupied with Team Rocket, the S.S. Anne, Diglett Cave or the local Gym, this man funnels grant money for the construction of the building and never gets around to finishing the building itself. It’s genius.

[@ldmassey]

And then he travels through diglet cave to pewter city (so the locals in vermilion city don't recognize him) where he lives his true life full of money and glamor, enjoying all the fruits of his labor. I totally see him at the museum there at some high-societal banquet like a batman villain. Giovanni's got nothing on this guy.

[@joemck85]

I think you're on to something. If it's just a private building project, the city would probably have stepped in and told him to get building or tidy up the site by now. It's pretty prominently located in the city and the site is an eyesore. So it's on his land, but whatever it is has to be something useful to the public or generally beneficial to the city. If he's building something the city wants badly and doesn't have the funding, he's probably receiving some sort of funding from them. Yet the only worker is a single Machop and two years later he's still preparing the ground. One sort of private building that a port city needs that Vermilion doesn't have is a hotel. Maybe it's that. But since he hasn't even put down a foundation or hired any workers yet, I have to conclude one of two things. Maybe he's incompetent and Vermilion isn't very well run so they don't assist him or order him to sell it to a competent developer. But since the rest of the city seems to be kept nice enough, he's probably receiving public funding for the project and keeping all of it while Machop pushes dirt around to make the site look at least somewhat active.

[@1stCallipostle]

Ah yes, so he's pulling the China strat (Seriously, it's a major problem over there)

[@akirekoko7415]

@@1stCallipostle lol

[@ChupeTTe]

​@@1stCallipostle Or Saudi Arabia, heck, in every country which is subverted by corruption. The Kanto region, unlike the real counterpart, has huge criminal problems, because of the war which occured not long before rby.

[@JC-hi8fk]

As a kid I couldn’t find the Day Care after I dropped my Pokémon off and thought they’d torn it down to start building this place…

[@MerkhVision]

Lmfaooo I bet u were really worried about what happened to ur Pokémon!

[@AdfasSSBM]

@@MerkhVision imagine dropping off a machop and seeing it now being forced to tear down the daycare and now have to level the ground with you unable to take it back

[@MerkhVision]

@PowerOf47 I'm sorry but that's hilarious regardless of how potentially traumatic it could be lol

[@yarrmander3197]

This video reminds me of a speculation, if you traded a Machop from RBY to GSC it will always be holding a brick piece. Maybe it was meant to be a side quest where you get a bunch of brick pieces to help him with the construction, but the idea got scrapped. As far as I know the item itself doesn't do anything in game and if you get it you can sell it for 25 pokedollars/yen.

[@MuchWhittering]

I can explain that. So Hold Items are stored using a specific value on a Pokémon. That value actually existed in Gen 1, but went unused. This is how you can trade something to Gen 1 and back and have it keep its held item, since the relevant data stays on the Pokémon, Gen 1 just ignores it. However, Gen 1 Wild Pokémon don't just have blank data here, they have something there. So Game Freak made that data corrospond to specific held items, generally useless filler stuff like that brick piece.

[@yarrmander3197]

@@MuchWhittering Ooh, that's really neat. Thanks for taking the time to reply!

[@ChupeTTe]

But isnt that cheap ah brick, 25 yen holy shit... you dont even get a snickerbar in real life Kanto for that money.

[@ianfinrir8724]

​@@MuchWhitteringSo it's like a item version of MissingNo?

[@tatherva7387]

​@@ianfinrir8724More like the ? placeholder Pokemon in later games. It's an intentional placeholder to prevent a missingno. kinda glitch from occurring.

[@thrptn4150]

As a true genwunner, I can only tell you that there used to be a playground rumour that this man was actually building a house for you (Platinum Villa-like), that was going to be finished once you catch all 151 mons or something like that. I was surprised back when the sequels and remakes came out that this did not turn out to be true... the power of children making up stories.

[@SnoFitzroy]

why would you identify yourself as a genwunner on purpose lmfao might as well type a sign to your shirt that says "I HAVE BAD OPINIONS"

[@NFKTN]

an imagination of a child is really fascinating lol

[@senabecool7232]

@@NFKTN "Truly wonderful the mind of a child is" - Yoda

[@lindseylindsey9200]

That actually sounds really fun

[@nirgunawish]

when i played blue as a 13 year old i checked back every gym because i wanted a house

[@wafteers7080]

My head canon was that Machop's stomping pissed off the Digletts underneath, so they constantly would push dirt and rocks up to the surface. That's why the Machop endlessly had to keep reflattening the ground. Property taxes slowly ate away at the old mans income, while he tried for years to get the foundation to pass inspection. That's why in the very first gen, it looks the cleanest and even like the foundation is ready.

[@oakgreenoak]

It's ultimately a good thing whatever he was working on didn't get built, because that building would be one angry Dugtrio away from collapsing in a sinkhole. I always kinda guessed- for no real reason and with no concrete evidence whatsoever, mind- that he was preparing land for a Radio Tower, but that the project decided to go to Lavender Town instead and he'd just been left with no money and a plot of land.

[@SnoFitzroy]

that first part makes negative sense though. Diglett Cave doesn't go under the construction site at all, it literally goes cleanly around the edges of it. It's also *two* levels down, so there's more than enough support there.

[@UltraAryan10]

​@@SnoFitzroy How is Diglett's Cave two levels down?

[@SnoFitzroy]

@@UltraAryan10 How is this confusing? There's the entrance rooms on both ends, which have a ladder that goes DOWN to the actual diglett cave. Have you even played a Kanto game lmao?

[@UltraAryan10]

@@SnoFitzroy Thats only one level down. What makes you assume the ladder is longer than other ladders in the game? The underground is B1F so if you build right above it you might break through. The closest thing I can think of, that might make you assume Diglett's Cave is much deeper is the addition of rock climb spots in HGSS which takes you slightly higher up. But these spots didnt exist in the first three generations. Also, since Diglett's Cave has moved in both johto generations, it implies that the Diglett's are constantly digging the cave even 3 years later so any building built close to Diglett's Cave is under high risk of being dug into by the Digletts over time. Btw I have over thousands of hours in Kanto but I dont just spend my time pondering over the diglett's cave.

[@iZ-the-Egoni]

@@UltraAryan10 I think he’s suggesting that a cave entrance, or exit for that matter, is a move underground, or overground, when it’s just a move into a cave which is on the same level as the terrain outside it. I sorta used to think that too, but then I played Oblivion. So maybe the further you go into a Pokémon cave there would be some elevation changes but the game couldn’t display that back then being 2D. I tried out Pokémon Violet at the start of this year and the way it handles caves is honestly a lot more like Oblivion now and less like the average JRPG dungeon from 20 years ago. So, uh… a weird case of GameplayAndStorySegregation?

[@TheAwesomeDarkNinja]

The sheer disappointment I had when I reached Vermillion in the postgame for the first time then immediately thought "YO THE BUILDING IS PROBABLY FINISHED!"

[@mayanightstar]

Thinking WAY TOO HARD about a very MINOR detail in a video game... I love content like this

[@CWCvilleCop]

Oh for sure. But what he was building and if it ever got completed are questions that have plagued the back of my mind since the 90's. So it's good to hear some discussion on it at last.

[@HankJ666]

@@CWCvilleCop It never got completed cuz the old man just has dementia u_u

[@katalystkatapatheticalyssa5987]

We need answers, no matter how trivial.

[@darren45-54]

@@CWCvilleCop You must be old.

[@mattalan6618]

@@HankJ666 or he died

[@Aceius]

What could happen in between Gen 1 and Gen 2 that causes this man to lose all his money? My theory is that he had a benefactor, perhaps even... Giovanni. When Red defeats Giovanni and Team Rocket is forced to go into hiding, of course Giovanni would stop sending funds to his unfinished projects. That combined with the fact that this man seems to come from outside of Vermillion City could imply that Giovanni sent this man as a sort of sleeper agent to set up some sort of lucrative attraction or maybe just something to serve as a safehouse for Team Rocket activities in the area. And the Machop? It doesn't seem particularly close with the man, perhaps it was stolen by Team Rocket and given to this man to help in his project, that would explain why barely any progress has been made. That Machop may have belonged to a normal trainer or maybe even just a casual Pokemon enjoyer and thus never had any construction training, which would explain it's blatant disregard for safety standards and seemingly unfocused attitude (compare this Machop running around a rock to the very disciplined Machop that work the Oreburgh Mines.)

[@PelemusMcSoy]

I read something like this once, though with a more alturistic goal. Giovanni knew that the radio tower was going to be built in Lavander Town, so he used his money to fund a replacement construction here. Like your post said, once defeated he couldn't fund the project anymore. A bit of a stretch, yes, but still interesting.

[@CWCvilleCop]

@@PelemusMcSoy This theory was probably never intended from the devs, but I find it one of the deepest and most fascinating. And if the project was started in Vermillion was either to prepare an alternate spot for the radio tower as to not disturb the cemetery, or as a replacement house for the cemetery, it makes Giovanni's defeat a tragedy in this regard. Even though the player would be totally unaware of this, and couldn't necessarily be faulted for it, it would still have an unfortunate consequence. Some nuance and depth to a character and game that rarely receives it, but is absolutely ripe for it.

[@marhawkman303]

@@CWCvilleCop yeah one interesting quirk in Gen 1 is that Rocket aren't mustache twirling villains for the most part. their disbanding was a legit economic shift.

[@lanceuppercut6168]

What came to mind first was a casino. Perfect for money laundering since money would be moving hands at all times, and also be getting extra money from all the tourists arriving through the port. Would've been funny if that were the case an NPC could say something like "I blew all my money in the casino. Now I have no way of getting back home..."

[@allideni836]

I actually got the opposite vibe about the old man. I think he wants to build some sort of nature society. That's why he's having his partner Pokemon stamp the ground, and using rocks rather than concrete for foundation. I think he lost funding because Vermilion City modernized due to becoming a bustling port city, and he's old and stuck in his ways, refusing to budge and do anything that might harm the nearby Diglett population. If he was in it for the money, surely he would have evolved his Pokemon into a Machamp or at least a Machoke.

[@rjskillz92]

Pikachu suddenly shouting "SODA!!!!!!! :D" was a pleasant surprise.

[@randomRyze]

That was such a hilarious edit right off the bat! 😂

[@lucifermorningstar8562]

Lol. I thought he said Shota implying he was a shotacon or something.

[@catsforever420]

​@@lucifermorningstar8562 what

[@lucifermorningstar8562]

@@catsforever420 It's an anime thing.

[@catsforever420]

@@lucifermorningstar8562 no it's a you being a freak thing. be normal and keep your sick fantasies to yourself perhaps.

[@Amalunatic]

I feel like you were onto something mentioning how much closer Diglett cave was. I remember an episode of the anime about construction and Diglett and Dugtrio being the causes of it failing initially.

[@matthewroberts198]

Yep. Where the Pokemon wouldn't come out of their balls cause they knew (or couls sense) the construction would have led to devastating results for the Pokemon living in the areas nearby

[@radioactivechimp]

I would love a video like this investigating New Mauville. What was Wattson building down there and why?

[@droomish1]

writing this one down. great idea fr

[@DarkNia64]

Subbing for this, don't fail us OP❤

[@RealCryptoTest]

New Mauville was an abandoned project practically meant to be a nuclear bunker. And can you blame him? He lives in Hoenn; hell if the player hadn’t been as successful as they were facing down Groudon and Kyogre, the region would probably have ended right there. But look at Mauville in the remakes. It’s a capitalist nightmare, with expensive apartments and a generally unhealthy culture. So do you really think that Wattson would save anyone in his bunker who couldn’t afford it? A place where he could rule as capitalist dictator over the world’s champions, billionaires, and such? Something to think about.

[@DarkNia64]

@benjamincooper358 bro it's a kids game Based take though ngl

[@stevenfeagley3227]

That's no mystery. It was stated that it was supposed to be an underground city but it had to come to a stop due to the pokemon that lives there.

[@professordrakon]

This is exactly the Pokemon content that I want. Give me incredibly deep dives into specific game mechanics and specific unsolved mysteries. Keep up the good work!

[@KosmosKatze]

x2

[@metaltornado3457]

Since Vermillion City is based on Yokohama, I always assumed that the man was building the Cosmo Clock 21 ferris wheel or he was setting ground for the Cosmo World amusement park. It would make sense for an electric type city like Vermillion to have an amusement park nearby.

[@pcho93]

I wanted to say the Gundam Factory that was recently built there, but this seems to make the most sense considering that it was build closer to the release of the game.

[@KEATONSTOOS]

One interesting fact is that if you trade a Machop from gen 1 to gen 2, it will be holding s brick piece, which is an item that you can't find anywhere else in the game and doesn't actually do anything. Could be some of the building material used in this project.

[@freal]

I was literally waiting for this to show up the entire video and nope, nothing. I think this whole thing was just an unused planned game mechanic based on that location and the item.

[@linhero797]

It's a junk item that exists because the Variable data used for holding Items was a thing that existed in Gen 1, but was never used. So to prevent glitches the item was added@@freal

[@pleasedontwatchthese9593]

I can take a guess about what I know about Japan at that time. In the 80s Japan was at a peak economic bubble that ended in the early 90s (about the same time the first game was being made). At that time there was actually a lot of construction and buildings that just got left or abandoned to this day. So I could see how this could be a cultural reference to the time when first gen was made. As for the old man, I am not sure why a old man but I can take a guess too. Japan does have a large older population and a declining birth rate. Japan has the most people at and over the age of 100. After WW2 to the 80s Japan grew a lot and the work culture was not always the best. When the 90s happened that stagey no longer worked that did for decades past. So idea of a old person doing something but running out of money in the early to mid 90s makes sense.

[@silviocupica2521]

Actually, between the events of the Kanto games and the Johto games, there is a 3-year gap, not a 2-year gap

[@nuggetpotato5471]

Wdym? The game clearly says that it takes place 2 years after gen 1

[@silviocupica2521]

@@nuggetpotato5471 ??? I have only played through a Johto game (Crystal) once, but I remember some dialogues mentioned Team Rocket being disbanded and defeated by a kid three years prior (Something you do in every Kanto game, and your player is always a kid).

[@hunterdolatowski7995]

I look it up apparently at different times in the game it says 2-3 years, so some says two and some say three but I don’t actually know if this is true, but from what I know most people say it is three online.

[@westernbrumby]

People are probably getting it confused with the two year gap between bw and bw2

[@Torquedbattlespec]

In the lets go games, interacting with one of the sea cans gives you a full heal, this implies to me it contains full heals, full heals arent super easy to find so its possible the man intended to open a rare items store

[@Coinfliptails]

In the Manga, he's building a power plant, due to the old one where zapdos resides being run down (you van see it in the manga being two green tube structures/turbines.). Then it gets destroyed by Lance when he decides to destroy the entire city because he got angry.

[@CommanderWiggins]

I remember reading an old creepypasta where that spot was the planned site to build a new Pokemon Tower so that the original in Lavender Town could be torn down to build the Radiow Tower. But the project seemed to be cursed, and both the Machop and the man leading the construction ended up passing away. The twist at the end is that the construction site was abandoned, but some people claimed to still see a man and his Machop working on the site. It being the site of a new Pokemon Tower doesn't totally make sense, but it's an interesting theory to think about.

[@furball192]

Game freak has put ghost npc in the games before, like ghost girl.

[@hunterdolatowski7995]

He actually brought that up but only said it was to scary.

[@camma...]

I was just gonna say this lel, first thing that came to mind when I saw the video title

[@PeruvianPotato]

Fr i remember reading that story as a kid and while I wasn't scared, I did find it interesting. Sure, there's some plot inconsisitencies but damn, did the author let his creative juices flow

[@woahdudeitsme9742]

I have been wondering about this for 25 years!!!! Finally a comprehensive investigation!!! Liked and subbed!!!

[@Pheebeee_]

My theory was always he was planning to build the Kanto Radio Tower. But sometimes curing RBY and GSC the planning committee for Kanto decided to use the old Pokémon Tower from Lavender Town instead. Meaning this guys funding got erased and removed, leaving with with nothing more than a hole in the ground. It makes sense because the Radio Tower is the only HUGE difference in a Kanto City in GSC.

[@phiefer3]

My favorite part was when you specifically used the lack of construction equipment or other workers as evidence that this was some sort of industrial project....just like those super industrial farms that consist of an old man and his single horse plowing the land by themselves without any other workers or modern equipment at all.

[@dannykazari]

I was wondering how anyone could possibly make a compelling 17 minute video about this subject but you honestly did a good job lol

[@dillonklasse4980]

I always interpreted it as a little old man wanting a home, but he has very little save for his Pokémon, after two years he runs out of money and with nothing else to do and no we to go he and his machop continue working the land for no other reason than it being something to do

[@caiofiuzaseixas9027]

i love that the creppy pasta is like "remenber that construction site on Vermillion city? Anyway Lavander town..."

[@PeruvianPotato]

I mean to be fair, Lavender Town actually does have a purpose in that story considering it's the catalyst as to why there's even a construction site to begin with

[@espyjump2725]

I think the joke the devs are trying to make is that the diglet beneath the ground are making it impossible for machop to flatten the land. the added boulders in HGSS seem to suggest this as well, as the breakable rocks are objects that respawn, implying that the diglet are continuously messing with the guys land. he goes broke because the land is impossible to flatten

[@WSNO]

He was the guy who built the cinnabar mansion and was collecting a paycheck from the previous owners even after the fire. but once the volcano blew, that stream of revenue dried up and so did the plans. I always thought it was going to be something like a bigger mart, and after gen 3 came out i figured it must have been an attempt to bring contest halls to Kanto.

[@zoom7619]

As a child I remember having a VERY vivid dream about this area in FireRed. I dreamt that I just so happened to have a Ponyta in my party that knew the move Stomp. When I talked to the man, and exclamation mark popped up above his head and he said something along the lines of “does that Pokémon know stomp? That can be used to stomp this ground flat!” Then a short little animation plays showing my Ponyta (same animation as when a Pokemon uses an HM like cut). I don’t remember anything after that, but coming across this video was pretty crazy considering, other than my dream, this area is pretty forgettable.

[@relt1554]

I always thought the man was using Machop because he didn't want to use construction equipment because it would be bad for the environment. This would match his approach with the thoughts of the rest of the city.

[@jazzercise300]

I live in Lexington, Ky. In the center of downtown there were a buncha historic clubs, theaters and buildings that were torn down in 2009 for the 2010 world equestrian games. They hoped to build a hotel/city center for the games. It stayed a vacant lot up until i think 2016 when they FINALLY blasted and started work on the underground parking complex. It stayed a giant open pit for another 4 or 5 years and then actually opened right before covid. So yea this stuff happens in real life. Pretty sure it was all funding related too, insurance fraud the first time around. Not sure why there delays after the games tho.

[@PeruvianPotato]

This also happened with a planned construction complex in what used to house some old buildings that looked to be a paper mill if my memory served correctly beginning around 2015. Even into 2024, only the first floor remains built with no signs of completion in sight.

[@ShyShyTAS]

As someone who started from Gen 2. Finding out the bug as a kid where if you use your Coin Case after talking to the old man, it will soft reset the game with some interesting bugs like where you will have glitched items in your PC and you can sell it for infinite money.

[@gabrielboman1340]

Wish there was a secret thing in like hgss where if you have a machop as partner pokemon you would be able to station them there to help the man finnish his project

[@Philostipher]

They basically did this in Legends Arceus, so it has precedent

[@DJZaneZatasuki]

I feel like once your able to get infinite money beating the elite, champions, you can help build that new building under construction. The idea of having your own buisness inside a video game is awesome.

[@TheGhostFart]

go play recettear

[@DocDoesGamingTV]

I've recently run a Pokemon Tabletop RPG campaign and in my setting this guy laid the foundation for another Sprout Tower for a new monk chapter in Kanto!

[@dylanzlol7293]

Imagine a romhack where you play as this old man, like maybe you try to find a way to finish project, perhaps you could choose what to do, maybe trying to join the romhack's evil team to get them to build whatever the old man wants, or take on the elite 4, or perhaps rely on prof. Oak and bill for help?

[@supernova9014]

So long as this building remains unfinished and Onix's attack remains pathetic, another Kanto remake is on the way.

[@AmiiboDoctor]

I think it was supposed to be a temple to counter the Pokemom Tower. Temples usually have stone foundations and are expensive to build. Temples have also historically been funded by the locals, who don't seem to be interested in this project enough to fund it.

[@depressedpacito7024]

Im a personal believer that the diglet cave being below the city caused them to randomly pop up in people's homes and causing damage. I think in reality the project is him and his Machop re flatten any ground the diglet kick up and displace, it would explain alot and why in later gen games its less of construction business and more of a, re flatten this designated diglet spot we made in the city. Its also entirely possible he was promised by the seaside city more funding for his diglet location, it would kinda make sense with the Pokemon fanclub and it being a port city, trying to protect the diglet and the people while keeping modernism to the towns architechture is realistic.

[@miguelrg0503]

The area he's building on in hgss is raised, I believe the rocks are what's left of the hill top that he's having the machop flatten.

[@mrniceguy7168]

8 minutes in and I’m just realizing this is for real

[@themangomanjuice]

The Machop always had me curious about what was being built.

[@Eibarwoman]

The other issue is Diglett's Cave which might cause a structural issue.

[@SummonerArthur]

Nah, this dude wants to build a genormous hotel for all the tourists coming in, but the diglett bellow, startled by the stomping, wont let the dirt sit hard and quiet. Thus he fails to build it.

[@davion4777]

I was so bummed when I was a kid and I played Gold for the first time, because I was like “so I’ll finally know what was that Machop building!” Only to find out it was still nothing

[@Crow_Rising]

The things that stick out to me: -In the early days of the project the man clarifies that he owns all of the land and intends to build something on it. -Two years later the project is not only not finished, but construction still hasn't actually made progress and he's still working on the foundation and talking about being out of funding. -The rest of the city flourished and grew around him, but his construction site remains untouched. -The site itself seems to suggest the building he wants to construct is much larger than anything else in the town. My theories to make sense out of this information (in no particular order): 1. He's a wealthy business owner who purchases a plot of land to build a new location for his business to operate on. Maybe some kind of hotel or fast food location. However, he underestimates the cost of building the location and is unable to get any financial support, leaving him exhausted of funding. 2. He never actually intended on building anything to begin with. The construction site is functioning as a tourist hotspot in and of itself, and is singlehandedly the reason for the city's growth around it. Although a temporary measure to bring in tourists and therefore their money, the mystery and speculation around what is being built there is enough to intrigue people who otherwise would have skipped over the town to pay a visit and see what's going on there and get their picture taken. While in town, they spend their money at the nearby shop and possibly even need to rent a hotel room to stay overnight. 3. He has attempted to build something multiple times, but every time his endeavors have fallen flat, resulting in rubble. While the rocks could just be a result of his Machop smashing the ground repeatedly for years on end, it could very well be that he has actually made good progress on building something there only for it to come crumbling down and for him to lack the funding to salvage the project. One way or another, the fact that he's broke and yet still working at it two years later seems to be telling some kind of story here. A lot of people feel like it would have been satisfying for his building to have been completed between games, but I feel like him not having made any visible progress is more interesting, emotional, and thought provoking of a storytelling moment. Instead of a simple matter of a construction project getting finished, we have this larger mystery surrounding a guy building who knows what for what reason while the city around him starts thriving. The possibilities are endless, and that to me is a lot more interesting than if there had just been a simple building there in the second game.

[@armorbearer9702]

I like your theory that the old man was gonna build a new tourist destination. Vermillion could use a marketplace or department store. Imagine how lucrative one of those places would be in a busy port city.

[@LeyendaV]

I can't believe I just saw a 17 frinking minutes video about *this* specific topic, and even recommend it to my friends.

[@MoyShepard]

What would be hilarious is if they did a reverse of Legend: Arceus and went to the distant future to further go with the whole past/future thing with Paldea. Kanto would be extremely modernized/futuristic... But when you get to this plot, you can see this old man's grandson with a Machamp. It will still look like crap, but at least there is a lofty house there. He should say: "My grandfather wanted to make this land a business venture, but after I inherited it with his Machoke, I decided that this would be a great place for a starter home. The Diglets would cause a mess though, so we are constantly patching holes..." This would also imply that his Machop had evolved into a Machop which then evolved to a Machamp upon receiving the Pokemon.

[@Giondi]

It was for Team Rocket. I think it's reasonable to believe that Giovanni could have learned about the SS Aqua and the regular trips between Vermillion City and Johto. He would probably want to capitalize on that by building a tourist place there. When Red beat him and he disbanded Team Rocket, the funding for the project went away, which is why the construction wasn't finished and the old man ran out of money.

[@armorelarmadura7807]

I really thought a landfill was the answer you were building toward with all the talk about the environment! As a kid playing FRLG I always just assumed he was building a house though.

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

So, I just remembered that kinda bad, early ronhack of Pokemon RB, which was named Pokemon 3000, or something, because it was supposed to be a long future of version (but it was mostly the same with a few edits here and there iirc. You started with the evolved forms of the starters). Anywat, that building ground was replaced by an unenterable skyscraper. Pretty sure it didn't even had a door. It doesn't help the investigation, I just had a weird blast from the past...

[@toiryusei]

As someone who lives in a place where people fought the construction of a new Wawa, it was definitely supposed to be a Wawa

[@grlluigi]

really makes you think about how we as a society (we live in a society) deal with housing/developing land for people's use

[@austinmitchell2652]

I love this type of investigation! Great video

[@25tundra95]

I am also a fellow Gen 3 enjoyer just like you. It would be amazing to get coverage on a similar mystery in Emerald.

[@hamdaniel1994]

There’s more to this mystery than meets the eye. In Sun and Moon, there’s a guy tamping the land with two Machamps next to the malasada shop! Coincidence? I think not!

[@AVeryUncreativeUsername]

Good video. I enjoyed the comedic touch to it. This spot did always stick out to me, but I never thought much of it. However your points about how his project wouldn't be popular with the other residents of the town, and the potential impact to Diglet's Cave were interesting. Controversy over a developing project and lack of funding can cause construction projects to go unfinished. So it is a pretty mild conclusion. Anyways I look forward to seeing what other oddities you cover in the future.

[@jemm113]

Another way to interpret the stones in Gen 4 is that they're part of the old natural landscape. Looking at the way the Machop is moving, it's almost as if he's trying to work down and bulldoze the stone. Seeing as how the machop is meant to be leveling the ground, all of the small stones around would make sense if the old man was trying to tame some very heavy and shattered landscape. Seeing as how there's a very large cave nearby, it makes sense that the area would have been rather untamed before and he needed the machop to clear the space. Granted the future interpretations showing a much more clean area contradicts this, but it's also likely because LGP/LGE is much more of a 1-to-1 remake including graphics and layout save for small details like pavement, which is closer to the Gen2/4 look than the Gen 1/3 grassy look. But also since LGP/LGE is set in some ambiguous point in the future, perhaps they pulled on the later gen paved roads to show that it isn't the old old Vermillion, and would make sense that even without money, the old man managed to finally flatten the land and get rid of all of the rocks. but if we take Gen 4's interpretation to be accurate to Gen 3's then yeah it's clear he brought the rocks as construction material that he likely wasted his money on. Imagine if he imported in Hoenn or Sinnoh rocks for the project lol.

[@ladyakkyn]

Not gonna lie, the Yellow segment isn't exactly easy for me to listen to. The lack of crew could be due to hardware limitations, as could be his little dialogue. If not that, it could be a solo project. Theres no crew because he's building something for him to use. He lacks supplies because the area isn't prepared. At the same time, it looks like a small amount of that area was paved, likely with concrete. It's certainly possible for a single person to place concrete. When I was in high school, my Agricilture/Shop class helped use a cement mixer to build fences for a calf pen. Based on what I do know, I'd say the man is probably going to order a house to be moved via truck. That's a thing that can and does happen in real life. Having his Machop flatten the land helps save him money. (I haven't watched the whole video yet. And to clarify, I'm not bashing Droomish. I just have a niche interest in construction and thought I'd give my two cents.)

[@droomish1]

thank you for dropping the expert intel! it's especially tough in the oldest games because of the graphics, I was just thinking that area was dirt but I'm seeing it could be paved now. was really hoping to find the crossover pokemon construction enthusiasts when I made this so this rocks.

[@ladyakkyn]

@Droomish Thank you! I can definitely understand the confusion. That barrier texture used in RBY becomes ocean rocks, buoys AND bushes come Gen 3. Then Gen 4 added stairs to the area. And Gen 3 added some land where the docks are that wasn't present in Gen 1. So there are a LOT of cross-generational changes.

[@ladyakkyn]

​​@@droomish1 I actually finished watching the video and struck a thought during the Heartgold segment. As of HGSS, the area is elevated. There are rocks around (even if I doubt you'd want to use rugged Rock Smash rocks for cobblestones). The area is fenced off. It's covered in dirt and grass, in a port town, overlooking the city. The man is old. My best guess is he doesn't actually LIVE in Vermilion City. He wanted to construct a seaside vacation home. Come Red's visit to Vermilion, the project is fresh. Come Gold/Lyra's, three years have passed. Vermilion is much fancier and MUCH more popular. The property taxes probably skyrocketed, leaving him unable to begin the project yet unwilling to give up on it. Lore-wise, of course. In reality, Kanto was pretty rushed since it had to be redesigned. They probably just carried over what already existed.

[@soul4speech]

This was really cool. Never really had much thought about the old man, but this type of mysteries is something I've been thinking of would make fun for a series, so I am looking forward to more.

[@LazarouDave]

I know it's a fan game, but in Infinite Fusion, the building in it's spot ends up being a place to re-battle the gym leaders in an arena style battle area. That'd have been pretty cool if canon

[@TheProPlayZ69]

When you realized that old man and machop is already dead, and the lot area is a private property that's why no one touching it The reason the building not getting finished is due to diglet cave, that may collapse the building if build wrongly, and also the reason why the oldman got bankrupt, until the end of his life

[@sagacious03]

13:02 I know it's because both are Gen 2 mons, but it feels weird that it'd be Pichu, but Marill & not Azurill, as opposed to say, Pikachu & Marill. Both are 3-stage lines with a Baby form. I guess it's just because Azurill is technically Gen 3? Anyway, great analysis video! I like thinking about stuff like this, & think Pokemon dialogue is often under-appreciated! Thanks for uploading!

[@submarinemagnet7965]

My theory is that he was trying to build a luxury home / a "staycation" spot for travellers but failed to realize how it would cost and he was so stubborn and went to start it with hos machop (not even a machoke) and because of the noise, the local digletts get scared and those who travel diglett cave is now attacked by confused digletts, causing public harm

[@Thatonelivingsweater]

If they ever make a direct kanto sequel, I swear i will menace the game freak employees with a spoon if they dont make him finish his building Edited:The old man probably doesnt use tools or anything else than his pokemon is because Kanto is the region with the less technology in the pokemon world.

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

I don't think it's the less technologically advanced. It's a heavily industrialized region, as shown by the underground, and all the big cities. Just because we're familiar with it earlier on the timeline doesn't mean it's less technologically advanced

[@Super_Top_Secret_Area]

That cannot be true, Kanto is one of the most technologically advanced regions. The entire theme of Kanto revolves around the concept of "has science gone too far?" The place is so heavily industrialized and polluted, that Grimer started popping up in lakes. This is the place where Porygon and Mewtwo were created, where sci-fi devices like the Master Ball and the Silph Scope were invented. Even the widespread use of the Pokédex as an electronic tool can also be attributed to Kanto. Kanto still remains among the most advanced regions to this day, and there are indeed less technologically advanced regions, such as Johto and Alola.

[@Christoffski]

Yeah, Kanto feels like it advanced way too fast technologically for its own good. Your guy starts out literally picking up the pieces of several disasters that already happened. It has a Fallout feel, despite how lush it looks. Especially Cinnebar mansion. One guy literally turned himself into a Pokemon too. 😅

[@Beyondthe5thPanel]

The anime tackled some about the Diglett when a similar person tried to build in their land. If he’s building over that cave, then there’s certainly problems

[@milessaxton]

Do people still think let’s go Jhoto is still a thing?

[@droomish1]

people are me and I'm coping so yes

[@Silversi1370]

There was a romhack where it was completed, and it was so much fun. I forget what the romhack title was, though.

[@cecillewolters1995]

There might be more to this then meets the eye. First of all, these games all have themes which could impact this scenario with their overarching story; being Kanto is focussend on Kanto and the future, while gen 2, Johto, is focussed on history and traditions. Second of all: Team Rocket. During the first game they have several businesses and buildings for money making and they sell pokemon, this Machop might have been a slave of theirs. Kanto has a lot of attractions, but no contests, mini games (except Yellow with surfing Pikachu), no battle frontier or pokestar studios. Team Rocket might have been on this and dragged the old man into their plans, before being stopped by the player. Also saw a comment that he is making a nature something or a temple, that’s why he is using pokemon labour instead of machines, very plausible!

[@AZtacos]

I am shocked you hadn't connected the suspiciously broke old man in gen 2 to a potential Team Rocket member who was sent to build a secret hideout, since we never officially saw any Rockets in Vermillion. Maybe they sent a seemingly "innocent" looking old man to get the job done with his "best friend" AKA his abused construction Machop, with the intention of taking over the St Anne, or Diglett cave and it's inhabitants. He DID go broke in gen 2, the same gen that Team Rocket were attempting an official return but were ultimately disbanded and went broke. A SUPER stretch, but I couldn't shake this theory considering every single clue you gave 😂

[@Christoffski]

It would be awesome if in later games they built a Pokemon lab where you can change nature, special abilities, moves and be able to modify the pokemon you breed more freely once you are champion and catch enough Pokemon. It would mean less 3rd party apps too.

[@droomish1]

agreed. they're getting pretty close but if vgc is gonna be the main thing there should just be some in game facility that let's you almost freely team build

[@AlmostCoolGuys]

Its wild how well the algorithm reads my mind. I was thinkin of this recently. Never said anything outloud and definitely never seen this channel before. Spoooooky

[@ChillingDusselgurr]

I'm like a year late, but the Pokémon anime had an episode regarding a construction site in Vermillion City. It's the third episode of Journeys. In there, the construction site is meant to be a gym, but iirl they had to quit or at least pause the project too.

[@Namingway248]

I recall hearing somewhere once (probably untrue) this spot was planned to be the battle tower. However, when crystal did introduce a battle tower, it wasn't even in kanto, so either the idea had changed by then or that was never the intent

[@michaelmalachite4404]

I think the old man ran out his lucky streak at celadon's game corner and didn't have the cash for the rest of the project. Def a fun little symbolic mystery

[@ItsNep]

I remember as a kid playing LeafGreen, I thought he would finish the building after I beat the game and it would be some kind of mall.

[@kokkiro]

i could've sworn i saw somewhere that he's making a building like the ones in the battle frontier, like a battle tower or something but idrk..... man, this guy is the mystery itself

[@randomRyze]

The intervention of the Digletts & Dugtrios right next door (and directly underneath) makes the most sense to me. Imo this is the explanation for that land being elevated in gen 4, and is also a primary reason why nothing can be sustainably built there (in addition to being broke, of course). But, of course, that doesn’t answer the question of WHAT he was building.

[@jaybeans981]

I was always hoping that in the Let's Go games, that place would become a Battle Tower or something after you beat the Elite 4. You know, something to keep you playing.

[@TheManInBlueFlames]

What if it was a mining project that went wrong when it dug into Diglett's Tunnel or even worse...he CREATED Diglett's Tunnel?! Maybe the local pokemon or environmentalists attacked him leaving the businessman destitute?

[@heroldjaras9909]

i like that people want to understand little things in very old pokemon games. you dont even think about it back in the past but someone makes a video about it....

[@zachwise476]

It should have been the radio tower instead of removing the Pokémon tower in Lavender Town.

[@SodaMazing64]

My theory is that its a trade center thats connected to the construction building in GTA 5.

[@randomRyze]

Also, I have to say, I love your editing skills/technique. You’ve gotten me to ponder on an interesting idea, and done it in a hilarious/entertaining way. Well done sir.

[@JDoradoTube]

Imagining the old man with his Machop stomping the dirt indefinitely, while the theme for Vermillion City (HGSS) plays...it just tugs at my heart strings.

[@boredhuman6512]

I just want to say this is like perfection of what I love in games in a video. I love wondering about some random small details thinking what could have led to things even if its reaching kinda far.

[@josephmort4039]

Back when Gen 1 was fresh, one of the crazier playground theories I heard about this guy was there was a way to trigger him building a Master Ball factory here.

[@17jbeltran]

This was fun! I am now subscribers ❤ Another oddity of the Kanto region that’s possibly worthy of discussion, maybe a KZbin short: there’s no way that Diglett Tunnel is long enough to make it from Route 11 to Route 2 and I’d be surprised if I’m wrong on that. There’s a possibility that it goes under the ocean floor and if so it’s not deep enough as the depth would translate to different levels in gameplay, though an argument could be made that it’s sloped but that’s refuted by the fact that if you ride a bike, you have to continuously pedal. If it doesn’t go below the ocean floor, it should be even longer and not just a diagonal line… maybe it’s a magic tunnel? Maybe the nature of the tunnel reveals something about the nature of Diglett? visual aid would clear all this up. Anyway, if you like this idea, feel free to run with it for a video. If not, I’m also content with being the comment-thread pokemon conspiracy theorist

[@slimeprivilege]

i always saw this construction site as some visual representation to the player of how Pokemon were used in day to day outside of just battling and could fulfill many different purposes and roles for society

[@j.a.a.mproductions588]

I remember when I was a kid in gen 2. The rumor around the playground was that he was building a new gym that the player could take over, but only after beating Red, completing the pokedex and investing 1million pokedollars.

[@handoverthestromboli6715]

Its a smuggling operation! The old man orders "boulders" for his alleged construction project, these rocks make it through Vermillion city ports. Then his Machop uses Rock Smash to reveal what he actually purchased... Max Ethers, X-speeds, Salac berries and the incredibly addictive "Rare Candy". These illegal substances are then distributed through Giovanni's many Digletts and Dugtrios underneath the construction site to fund Team Rockets criminal enterprise. Two years later, Team Rocket's empire falls and the old man loses his source income, uttering the chilling line "But I have no money to start the project". In Heart Gold/Soul Silver you can rock smash the remaining rubble. Machop has given up on his job. And you can still find the odd Ether or so in rocks.

[@THEdonnymurph]

my guys had his machop doing intense labor for almost 30 years

[@rampagegage2259]

There's been so many opportunities to put something there I don't understand why gen 2 never bothered to finish it