Finally, Ruin Pokémon

[@tyranitararmaldo]

Chi-Yu being behind a lot of water makes sense. Where else to seal off a fire type that you never want to get out.

[@rollingvice]

perfect seal for literally goldfish that likes swims in lava

[@arachnihood7887]

If it can melt rock, it can evaporate water. Ironic considering its weak to both types.

[@TheWanderingNight]

The place where it's sealed of also surrounded by a mountains of obsidian, which is a volcanic rock.

[@derpmeister652]

I was assuming that it the mountain was a volcano, and in sealing the fire type away it also “killed off” the volcano

[@Miner49er201]

Should’ve sealed the others in areas that weaken them, too. Ox in the tundra, icy ferret in the desert, and slug in a giant bucket of salt.

[@a-bomb777]

These four are like the Anti-Tapus: -A group of 4 Destroy humans instead of protecting them - share the dark type - signature move cuts hp in half

[@GatorEX]

OHHHH, THEY ARE! 🤯

[@hunterhq295]

@@GatorEX They were born from negative emotions after all-They are artificial or at least unnatural pokemon in a way.

[@crppledizzle9374]

4 abilities that are the same with slight differences They all make OU a nightmare, except the grass one

[@Forged4War206]

@@crppledizzle9374 I'd argue Ting-Lu is at least giving OU some kind of actual way to deal with the immense amount of power creep thanks to its sheer bulk and defensive utility. Chien-Pao and ESPECIALLY Chi-Yu are in a league of their own though.

[@rareshiny1945]

I want a battle between those two groups.

[@BrightofNight]

I love the follow up to catching these guys where Raifort is just adamant about wanting them for herself and stops short of just flat out asking you to turn them over to her. Definitely a socially acceptable lawful evil character here.

[@Pilachio]

Also her giving the player a Nasty Plot TM is just very nice.

[@frytoes]

she's evil as hell lmao

[@ice8erg]

My thoughts: fight me first 😂

[@FTChomp9980]

She may be evil but I would ask Ms.Raifort on a date seriously she's beautiful.

[@calvinjones4480]

@@FTChomp9980 😂

[@taiscommentingaccountusedf1908]

I adore Wo-Chien so much He is grudge and is constantly side-eyeing everyone Of course they are all great, but I love Wo-Chien just a tad more.

[@toptencheese8491]

same

[@GatorEX]

Side-eyeing Snail, 😂

[@Zistheone2]

Too bad it sucks competitively

[@ignaciosantander3356]

@@Zistheone2 its ttar level defensive stats but the crazy amount of random weaknesses and lack of longetivity really sucked the usefullness out of it

[@a-rando-on-the-web]

Live Wo-Chien reaction

[@TheWanderingNight]

Being a Chinese speaker, I have some hypotheses as to how their named. Basically, they all seem to be puns that have a non-zero chance of being intentional, but the frustrating thing is that these are not referenced in the official Chinese translations (which are in the whole very literal) - they all follow the formulaic names of "ancient" + sword/beads/cauldron/tablets + leopard/fish/deer/snail - so they can't be relied upon. Wo-Chien: literally "snail" 蝸 + "bamboo tablet" 簡, but interestingly the word for "snail" 蝸 /wō/ is very close to the word for "ruin, trouble, disaster" 禍 /huò/, even sharing the same phonetic radical. (The closeness is even more pronounced in Cantonese, where they are both /wo/ but differ in tone). So "snail tablets" could also be interpreted as "ruinous tablets" or the "tablets recording ruins/troubles". The latter interpretation would fit with the Dex entry about the history of the Pokemon. (Note that this does not work in Japanese, which replaces the word for "snail" with the word for "bug" 蟲 /chóng/, so "bug tablets"). Chi-Yu: literally "crucian carp" 鯽魚 /jìyú/ + "jade" 玉 /yù/. The pun is a bit more obvious here, because "fish" 魚 /yú/ and "jade" /yù/ sound similar, differing only in tone. I would also go so far to say that the "chi" element is a pun on the word for "envy, taboo" 忌 /jì/, so Chi-Yu could also be interpreted as "fish of envy" or "jade of envy", or "forbidden fish/jade". Again, this fits in well with its dex entry. Chien-Pao: literally "sword" 劍 /jiàn/ and "leopard, panther" 豹 /bào/. The latter could also be interpreted as "treasure" 寶 /bǎo/, and indeed 寶劍 /bǎojiàn/ is a word meaning "treasured sword" (and that is how its name is rendered in Japanese). Not willing to let that be, I would suggest that "chien" could also refer to 姦/奸 /jiān/, which means "wicked, evil, criminal" (note that the first character also has a modern sense of sexual wickedness or violence). So Chien-Pao could have the double meaning of "sword panther" or "wicked panther". I couldn't find anything related to any Chinese words for hatred, so that's out. However, as a side note, Chinese bulbapedia theorises that the sword in question refers to the "victor over evil" blade 勝邪 /shèngxié/, the craftsman of which, Ōu Yězǐ, was said to have noted "With every sword I forge, a new evil is forged, hence this sword shall be named Victor Over Evil." Ting-Lu: literally "three-footed bronze cauldron" 鼎 /dǐng/ and "deer" 鹿 /lù/, so "cauldron deer" (the game chooses to use the more neutral term "vessel", which is probably better). The word for "deer" 鹿 /lù/ is an exact homophone of 陸 /lù/ "land, continent", which would match its Ground-typing but the rendering "cauldron land" doesn't really make sense to me. More curiously, the combination of deer and cauldron is reminiscent of the metaphorical terms 問鼎 /wèn'dǐng/ and 逐鹿 /zhúlù/ - "inquiring the cauldrons" and "pursuing the deer", which both mean something like "vying for supreme authority" in the context of war and conquest. They are both also referenced in the title of the modern comic Hong Kong novel "The Deer and the Cauldron" (鹿鼎記 /luk6 ding2 gei3). Basically Ting-Lu combines two symbolic objects of authoritarian power, somewhat comparable to the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones.

[@toolatetothestory]

DAMN That's some elaborate naming

[@chicapizza29]

You...I appreciate you.

[@raymiemiller1455]

One thing to note for these - I'm pretty sure Raifort will be evil in the DLC. If you talk to her after catching all four Treasures of Ruin, she will tell you that you can keep them "for now" and gives you a TM for Nasty Plot - that's not suspicious at all...

[@axxi4748]

my thought for the dlc was to be able to use the time travel machine to find the legendary pokemon mix from the books, but you might be onto something :D

[@Shinmegamitenseistrangejourney]

It's even more obvious if you fight her during the academy ace tourney. She uses pokemon that are associated with being sneaky and cunning. She even leads with a zoarark

[@TechnoArpan]

Raifort definitely is plotting something nasty under the illusion of being a normal teacher .........I'll see myself out

[@elvenbuttress]

@@TechnoArpan no, no, you got a point.

[@TechnoArpan]

@@elvenbuttress the see myself out part was for the 2 puns, lol

[@jare3959]

In feng shui, the term for bad energy is sha chi. It creates disharmony when the 5 elements are not in balance. In this case, the elements are fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. In this "theory", I believe Ting-Lu is earth, Wo-Chien is wood, Chi-Yu is fire, and Chien-Pao is water. I also believe Gimmighoul is related to this story, and is the metal element. It's scarlet dex reads "This Pokémon was born inside a treasure chest about 1,500 years ago." I think that treasure belonged to the merchant.

[@ishudsonn3183]

Really cool theory!

[@Will.cosplay.Solace]

Funfact : I have 2 of them but they all have a special dark move called ruinnation word play because they ruined the paldea nation

[@zed2653]

@@Will.cosplay.Solace ruination is a word, it means the act of ruining someone or something, or the past tense of being ruined

[@marcoasturias8520]

@@zed2653 sure, but it could also be that pun.

[@AnderisZ]

@@Will.cosplay.Solace not a fun fact because most people know about Ruination, and it's literally just a word.

[@wyattdupre2721]

I feel like nobody talks about how these guys are literally "object" pokemon. I hope this was on purpose with how much people complain object inspired designs. I love how the object they come from are the focus point of the design its really cool

[@calvinjones4480]

Lol like some jujutsu kaisen type of vibe

[@syahrezadifachri5121]

@@calvinjones4480 now that you mention it, they are basically curses that identified as pokemon

[@calvinjones4480]

@@syahrezadifachri5121 lol 😂 you get the vibe hahaha. It’s a dope comparison if you ask me. I view a lot of ghost and dark types like they are just shinigami and demons.

[@GiveMeMeatballsImHungry]

Chi-yu is a goldfish

[@leaffinite2001]

I much prefer object pokemon to the current design philosophy of "animal with a human profession", cuz that makes me uncomfy

[@connorreed7523]

The first of these "ominous black stakes" I encountered was the one behind Kofu's gym. Was indeed worried about what would happen if I removed it (the game even gives you a foreboding prompt), so I saved before plucking it out. After doing so, nothing happened, which simply added to the mystery...

[@elvenbuttress]

Hey, same! I mean, I DID decide (stupidly) to take on Kofu as the second gym leader

[@connorreed7523]

@@elvenbuttress My second Gym Leader was Grusha ( big mistake, had to go back later in the game), but I still found the stake behind his gym

[@elvenbuttress]

@@connorreed7523 yeah. I know that feeling. Especially cause I was naïve and decided to take Larry on as my 3rd gym badge (he gave me the most difficulty. Mostly from the staraptor. But I found a Breloom with a rock Tera type, and Mach punch)

[@The-Silliest-Little-Guy]

I saw one of them in an area that i think is intended for you to get the gliding ability first before going to it but after seeing it i proceeded to spend about a full hour and a half trying to find some way up the cliff to see what it was And i did And i felt like a god

[@Koenna99]

I think these pokemon will stick in my mind due to the fact that since Miraidon and Koraidon are actually Paradox mons, it makes it so that this region has no legendaries actually tied to its story and as far as I know it also makes this region the only one with no benevolent deities. (Not counting man made or mythical or those that are technically normal mons) Gen 1 had the birds. Gen 2 had the beasts and Ho-oh and Lugia. Gen 3 had the weather trio and Latios and Latias. Gen 4 had the creation trio and others. Gen 5....way too many to list but mostly good god-like mons. Gen 6 had gods of life, death and balance. Gen 7 had the tapus (box arts are also technically not true legends and are instead normal mon in a another context). Gen 8 had ancient Heros. Gen 9....because of the techincality the box arts are just normal mon. Leaving the actual legends to only be evil (thus all being dark type) This is the only gen like this! (until DLC maybe)

[@GatorEX]

Oh wow, I never really thought of it that way!

[@ASquared544]

Definitely until DLC cause of those paradox legendaries

[@dranz8125]

The box art pokemon for gen 7 and gen 9 are absolutely legendary pokemon. There's no, "they're technically not". Pokemon has flat out said that Solgaleo and Lunala are LEGENDARY ultra beasts, and Koraidon and Miraidon are LEGENDARY paradox pokemon. With that being said though, Cyclizar really got the short end of the stick in creation's timeline

[@vicentetapia749]

@@dranz8125 miraidon and koraidon arent legendary because theres more of them. they're just regular pokemon in the place they come from

[@megamask3158]

@@dranz8125 the game itself says that Miraidon and Koraidon are the Paradox version of Cyclizar, even in the Pokédex they’re both labeled as “Paradox”. Never are they referred as “Legendary” unlike other regions Legendaries. Of course if we count them as legendary then we have to count the other Paradox Pokémons as such.

[@TriforceChad]

These guys look like they are based on the Chinese myth of "the 4 perils", which would actually make them the lore counterparts to the forces nature quartet. The 4 perils are also known as the 4 evil animals, or the 4 criminals (just like how the pokemon are sealed as prisoners). The 4 perils have physical descriptions, but the pokemon dont really seem to be based on what the perils supposedly looked like, instead being designed around what the perils represent. Each peril represented chaos, greed, ignorance, and war. I think chien pao is easiest to identify as war, being a sword. Greed is chi yu for being the most valuable of the treasures. I think wo chien is supposed to be ignorance, as his tablets contained stories of evil acts, but can no longer be read. That leaves ting liu as chaos. His bowl is designed to look like a type of shrine, and its torn in half, like a shrine ripped appart by an earthquake (pretty chaotic). I really love these guys design a lot In the myth, the perils fight with "the 4 benevolent animals". These are the the azure dragon (thundurus therian), the vermillion bird (tornadus therian), the white tiger (landorus therian), and the black tortoise (enamorus therian)

[@stevensilvainus6084]

good eye.

[@Jetfox967]

I feel like the Legendary Quartet is hinting at a future region.

[@shinigamiryan5837]

Given Portugal & Spain's influence: there's a lot of references to their colonies such as Mexico & Brazil. That said, these four being what they are and Chinese influence definitely is homage to Portugal's history in China via Macau. There was quite the bloody feud due to how the two nations got along, primarily due to Portugal's actions of annexing Macau as a colony. Which is fitting with Portugal's history towards their monarchy, especially around the beginning of the 20th century where they dismantled it via rebellion. It's also unsurprising that European royalty had a love to export exotic animals for their menageries. Portugal's trade routes for spices is a good mix. And it isn't the first Portuguese reference. That would go to Pokemon's love for Malasadas. And unsurprising that China is being referenced as Pokemon has been hinting at India, so seems like Pokemon does want to explore more of mainland Asia.

[@dk2157]

Gen 10 in china ?

[@OddMoonlight]

We shall see when Paldea's Mythical Pokemon is revealed. Somewhere in DLC, of course.

[@GatorEX]

I would love if they did!

[@brendanboomhour7606]

@@dk2157 CCP won't allow that, Japan and China have also had a history of very rocky relations

[@nathan714]

I actually got all of the ruin pokemon before taking the history classes It took me over an hour to find the yellow shrine myself, but I found the blue shrine almost immediately because an npc at the base of fury falls wondered about its name prompting me to explore it I love how these legendaries truly take advantage of being an open world game... you really have to explore every nook and cranny of paldea to find all of them Chi-yu was is my favorite because it was the first one I encountered Which was hilarious to me because it was just a little goldfish sealed behind several feet of granite

[@axuwu6939]

I laughed so hard when Chi-Yu popped out! I was expecting a massive, monstrous beast, but then got faced by a little fishy. That immediately proceeded to slaughter my team and eat through all my ultra balls. I love these legendaries so much, no matter how many times I had to restart the game when they used up all their PP and struggled themselves to death

[@Neorecon19]

One of the things I noticed is that the color of each respective seal represents a color of a typing that is strong against each of the four Pokemon. . . . . . Wo-Chien - Purple - Poison Chien-Pao - Orange - Fighting Ting-Lu - Green - Grass Chi-Yu - Blue - Water

[@UndeniablyMac]

I just assumed they were matched up with the section of the map they were in, North, South, East and West. The green stakes were in the green part of the map, the blue were in the blue, the orange in the yellow, the purple in the red.

[@addisoncana2654]

@@UndeniablyMac that could also be possible as the map and stakes are trying to suggest something where the dens are

[@baddragonite]

It's commonly theorized that the glassy obsidian tops of the mountains near Chi-Yu were caused by its immense heat in the past before being captured

[@ThePokeMusicLover]

I wondered about that, but it makes sense.

[@BrandonJames2016]

The most out of place legendaries in a region. They are so cool from their designs and origins. Chi-Yu is easily my favorite and it has the best shiny of the four. It took me awhile to catch these Pokémon’s cause the color coordination person that I am wanted to catch these in balls that matched their colors. A nest ball for Wo chien, a dive ball for chien pao, a luxury ball for ting lu, and a repeat ball for Chi Yu.

[@trentonoochima8325]

lol i used these balls exactly too

[@minicle426]

I'm one of those who prefers to catch everything in normal Poke Balls, for the sake of uniformity. I'll be glad of the feature one day that allows us to change the look of them.

[@SeddyAm]

@@minicle426 found one of my kind since my first game gen 4 after that I went only for the PokeBall for being the iconic for the rest of game the I played.

[@GatorEX]

I might try to do matching Poké Balls in my Violet playthrough. Just because these Pokémon are so dang unique!

[@BrandonJames2016]

@@trentonoochima8325 I kept debating on using a premier ball on chien pao cause it’s white but the ball had red and chien pao even tho it’s white it has lots of blue. The luxury ball is the closest thing to having similar colors to Ting Lu and I didn’t even know it was a ground type and I was using thunder wave to catch these Pokémon. I didn’t even realize the fast ball (the apricorn ball was available) was in the game and I would’ve used it to catch chi-yu. I even reset my game multiple times to catch a shiny glimmet in a beast ball cause the colors are perfect for it.

[@dededeletethis9940]

I just want to point out: these four are probably the legendaries with the most potential for regional variants. The Pokemon themselves are the objects, so if they simply use a different material to form their bodies, such as maybe Chien-Pao using rocks instead of snow or Chi-Yu using gas instead of fire, that’d make for easy regional variants for future regions. Of course, that requires there to be additional sets of treasures, but considering how many versions of some legendaries exist (like how there’s a Regi trio sealed in Hoenn and a seperate trio in Galar), that’s not too far-fetched

[@AzureGreatheart]

Pretty much anything with a similar origin to the treasures could become Ruin Pokémon given the right circumstances, and it is the bloody history of them that makes them Legendary, meaning this is not just the group most open to regional variants, but that Ruin Pokémon we could even get additional sets of non-regional Ruin Pokémon. Most groups of Legendary Pokémon are hard to expand upon due to having established lore, but these guys are surprisingly versatile.

[@danielorlovaquinn]

Alot of pokemon that are basically possessed objects can easily have regional forms just imagine what a phatump would be like if it possessed idk metal instead of a tree stump

[@agentblackbird9435]

Paradox Beasts and Swords of Justice: hello

[@ChillingDusselgurr]

Lol I thought it was just my game that had Raifort's hair glitch. I can't stop looking away, it's weirdly hypnotising :'D Anyway I agree, the ruin quartet is great, I love them!

[@AzureGreatheart]

**Twitch**

[@CloudsAndDays]

In my head, she’s actually a Zoroark that mastered speech and she’s trying and failing to hide her ears twitching.

[@minicle426]

Chien-Pao is actually very similiar to how I originally envisioned Sprigatito's final evolution. Maybe that's why it's my favourite.

[@hhjan594]

Chinese audience here. If it wasn't obvious enough they are Chinese Pokemon, like they didn't even bother to translate their Chinese names. Their Chinese names actually directly tells you what they are, because that's how Chinese Pokemon names work. Chi-Yu is the Jade Fish, which has those Jade beads around its eyes Ting-Lu is the Cauldron Deer (Ting is a kind of ancient Chinese Cauldron often used in religious practice, and Lu means Deer in Chinese) Chien-Pao is the Sword Leopard (Chien means Sword and Pao means Leopard) which we can see its saber tooth is a broken sword And Wo-Chien is the Bamboo slip snail (Wo means Snail, and Chien here specifically means the Bamboo slips that were used as writing materials before paper was a thing) Personally, I don't believe they are really inspired by Chinese mythology. The scale of destruction and years don't really match. Though there's a common theory that they are based on the 4 perils, it really doesn't fit them one-to-one. As the History class mentioned, they were treasures brought to the West from China. This actually matches the real-world history of the Silk Road Which is a real road that links China and Spain for merchants to use, I believe that was a thing around the 5th~13th Centuries (and this matches the in-game time) After European people knew how to sail this road wasn't used that often anymore. According to what we know, the Pokemon's real body is actually the treasure object, not the animal. A lot of ancient Chinese antiques embed animal designs on them, so it's likely this is where the inspiration came from Each of them represents a Chinese idiom that actually has a historical story, which I believe it's not easy for Western people to understand this part. I'm not including the stories here because it will make the comment too long. Just to note they have real Chinese historical inspiration backgrounds

[@GatorEX]

Ooh, okay, that’s real interesting to hear about the names. Though I guess that does fit with other Pokémon names actually being pretty simple. But yeah, the whole exploring and expanding does make sense as a theme for a Spain region. Thank you for the comment! Real insightful!

[@hhjan594]

@@GatorEX Due to how the language works, Chinese Pokemon names were always this straightforward. Like Charmander is literally called "Little Fire Dragon" in Chinese. Funny enough, a lot of English speakers were complaining about how bad the names for Paradox Pokemons are. This wasn't a complaint in Chinese because we are seeing those kinds of dumb names since Gen1. Originally I felt weird about why there were Chinese Pokemon in the region of Spain, but the history class explained it pretty well. Chinese antiques were popular merchandise at that time in history, and the Chinese usually trade silk from Europe with this stuff.

[@tspeedy3396]

I think it’s an especially nice detail that the Scarlet Pokédex entries focus on their past history while the Violet entries focus on the future harm that they can bring once released

[@eldritchangel4058]

I like to think that when the trainer passes away, if the pokeballs weren't passed down to a new trainer, the Ruinous Pokemon will get bored, and break out. Meaning the moment you catch these pokemon, your lifespan is now a countdown to the world's ruin.

[@ShadowCatGaming26]

Not if I Explode Yveltal first!

[@octopusoup]

I quite like Wo-Chien's design a lot. The use of the tablets to depict a shell is quite unique and visually interesting. The motif integrated into the design better than the other Ruin Beasts, not that they're poorly designed. Wo-Chien just uses the tablet visual better than the very cumbersome bowl. Another thing to consider is how these somewhat play as a counter part to the Weather Quartet, so would the Ruin Beasts get an alternate form down the line? Maybe opposite how the Quartet is normally humanoid with an alternate creature form these instead are beasts that have an alternate humanoid form?

[@quaggotoak]

my favorite is definitely chien-pao. adorable sabertooth stoat who plays in avalanches, i love it so much

[@GatorEX]

Its cry is so cool too!

[@pokefan7446]

Small correction, but Chien Pao is supposedly meant to resemble a leopard more than a stoat, as the second part of its name is meant to be Chinese for "Leopard". Plus, you could say that Chien Pao is a SNOW Leopard, which is also the name for a species of leopard.

[@Yiffonthehaters]

@@pokefan7446 If you look up clouded leopards they actually the body shape to a T I really love all kinds of wild cats and am sad our "snow" leopard isn't big and bulky enough to be a snow leopard proper but am happy with having a snowy clouded leopard instead lol

[@MyNaymIsSnek1526]

isss cat tho

[@Zorualex]

No one mentioning that Ting Lu roars “POOOR!” When it comes out 😂

[@icanthelpit2026]

My favourite has to be Chien-Pao. It’s cute and cool at the same time. Here’s hoping gen 10 will be set in China🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@xord6286]

I don't think we'll be getting a China or Russia region any time soon

[@infernooverdrive1122]

Due to political regions that might not happen but I could see an Legends paldea game being focused on the exploration of far away regions like with 1600 Spain. Just less genocide and enslavement of locals.

[@infernooverdrive1122]

We could visit small parts of an Egypt region, China region and Brazil region.

[@xord6286]

@@infernooverdrive1122 I think for gen 10 if they continue the open world format which they probably will Australia would be perfect for it

[@infernooverdrive1122]

@@xord6286 True, though I wonder how ride Pokemon will work in that region. I don’t want every box legendary going on to be with us on our journey let alone be part vehicle.

[@oucyan]

I caught all mine in luxury balls. What better ball to store an ancient treasure in than one of luxury? ironically, the ball that most fits the aesthetic that caused these pok'e mon to manifest in the first place, is also the ball that will make them friendly towards humans since luxury balls make the friendship stat increase faster.

[@fredbeardreemurr]

We had the same idea!!! :D

[@jacobfoxfires9647]

Do like the lore of these Pokemon, along with how these are very devious Pokemon. Like the details that the Pokemon are actually those items, and the animal bodies are just like an avatar made up of the elements. I like how they are actively beings of destruction and disasters. Bringing in earthquakes or avalanches. And their possible relations to a king and how Pokemon masters had to fight them back and seal them. Certainly would like to see what would happen next after they are caught and made docile.

[@mariawhite7337]

The real question is HOW did they seal them? That's something I want to know how. Did they use some legendary pokemon? Or did they use the 'pokemon magic' that can happen. (ah la first pokemon movie.)

[@jacobfoxfires9647]

@@mariawhite7337 Probably pokemon magic. That or some ritual involving those spikes in the ground. OR possibly a third option being some other legendary pokemon that sealed them away?

[@LunaP1]

We caught Eternatus (space demon), Giratina (Pokémon Satan), Darkrai (nightmare fuel), and let's not forget Zygard (Captain Planet on steroids). I think catching the Four Horsemen Pokémon is no different.

[@LordTonzilla]

This is either Giratina or Satan slander and I can't decide which.

[@mothmanafterdark5924]

And necrozma (taker of ALL light)

[@LunaP1]

@@LordTonzilla 😂😂😂😂😂

[@LunaP1]

@@mothmanafterdark5924 oh, forgot about that one.

[@justindahl9341]

Speaking of these cursed treasures…. Did you notice that the unknown hexagonal disc legendary Pokémon in the Violet/Scarlet book is depicted wearing a crown? Is it a paradox Pokémon created by the King’s corruption infused into the crown? Perhaps, somehow this corrupt crown Pokémon has the power to make events repeat itself or even manipulate them for personal gain? Maybe that is why Heath became possessed and wrote that weird page, and the professor eventually became obsessed in the way they did? Perhaps this Pokémon has an ulterior motive. That would be so cool.

[@CloudsAndDays]

I wonder if it’ll be a dark-steel type. Somebody brought up how the five Chinese elements are fire, water, earth, wood and metal and that disaster comes when their power becomes out of balance. They believed Ghouldengo was the last piece and represented the merchant, but perhaps it was the king and his crown, throwing about his wealth to get these rare goods…

[@lianaverwood9810]

I'd be more inclined to say that many of the more sinister people of Paldea's history have been influenced by *the Disk Pokémon,* as that Crater has to have had _many_ people trying to explore it without telling anyone - not _everyone_ going in there would've disappeared, ones who escaped probably just hadn't come out with their discoveries! And if *the Disk Pokémon is one of these Ruinous Treasures,* it's clearly _the most powerful and malicious_ one of them: It tempts explorers within their dreams, *corrupting their deepest wishes* into subservience to itself; the longer the person stays within the Crater, the _more delirious they become,_ following the creature's instructions to achieve their dreams; some even succeeded, like *the Paldean King and Geeta* - who likely was _Acting Bodyguard to Professor Sada/Turo_ while down in Area Zero; and Sada/Turo was told how to build a 'Time Machine', to create a Paradise full of Pokémon from the *Ancient Past/Distant Future...* This Pokémon is obviously out to *send the world into Ruin,* using _Human pawns_ to set up disasters that would cause massive destruction - and I think *Raifort's* another of these pawns... It'd make sense that Raifort's _knowledge of Paldea's History_ would greatly assist with Professor Sada/Turo's expedition into Area Zero, thus putting her into range of the Disk Pokémon's influence. Other (older) members of _the Paldea Pokémon League_ and _the Academy Staff_ could also have travelled with Geeta, Raifort and Sada/Turo - so _anyone_ in those powerful positions may be *under the Disk Pokémon's influence already!*

[@mothmanafterdark5924]

@@lianaverwood9810 beautiful theory work man!

[@TheKarishi]

It's really fascinating to me that Raifort - absolutely everything about her dialogue - screams villain. She's got all the signs of the villains of Pokemon games gone by, often even more blatant than the "surprise" villains we've had before. She even has a line where she spitballs the idea of screwing with the timestream, out loud, and you say, "That seems like it'd cause a lot of problems" and she's like, "Oh, sure, right. Right. Guess it's better this way." And yet, she never does anything actually bad. You get the impression that if she had the means she WOULD, but when push comes to shove she recognizes her own limits and doesn't try to trick you into giving her the Ruin Pokemon, or releasing them on the world, or using their power for some nefarious purpose. Behind the scenes I wonder whether they wanted her to be the villain but they couldn't make it work writing-wise or maybe didn't want to have one of your teachers turn out to be evil for public image reasons. In-universe I like the idea that as a history nerd fascinated with the lore behind them, she really does just want to see them and learn about the past events. So when you catch them and show them to her she's content. It's such a weird mix of you subduing her motive (by helping satisfy her curiosity) and her never quite having the means to make trouble on her own. But one can easily envision a different Pokemon game where Raifort is the final boss.

[@marcoasturias8520]

Something cool about the treasures animals: They're all based on luck charm animals, goldfish are fairly obvious, but snails, deer and snow leopards are all luck granting sights in Chinese folklore, customs and mythology. So they are the devilish, dark and twisted reflection of these animals!

[@dativo1631]

Chi-Yu is my new fav legendary mon, fire goldfish, masterpiece

[@cyndaquil1433]

Do you think it will forget what it did after every 5 seconds?

[@dativo1631]

@@cyndaquil1433 yeah, fish brain goes glu glu glu

[@GatorEX]

The snack that fires back! (Goldfish)

[@cyndaquil1433]

@@GatorEX the snack that burns your back! (GOLDFISH)

[@curiouscreator8806]

@@cyndaquil1433 the snack that burns you to a crisp back! ( G O L D F I S H )

[@indulgent_pooch]

that little bit of hair on the side of raiforts head that always twitches drives me fucking insane, and thats why i havent finished her class lmao

[@hellschatt]

I wonder if these pokemon are foreshadowing the region of the next main line entry. I think Pokemon entered the Chinese market and it would make sense to choose China as the next region to further expand in that region.

[@cyndaquil1433]

Well the theme sounds more african or Indian then Chinese

[@joaogomes9405]

@@cyndaquil1433 Their names are literally in chinese, buddy. Not to mention all of them have at least one element of Chinese history in them. Wo-Chien's body is made of bamboo slips, Chi-Yu's eyes are made of jade and shaped like the Yin and Yang, Ting-Lu has a copper vessel above its head called a Ding that used to serve as a symbol of Chinese Imperial authority, and Chien-Pao's teeth are shaped like chinese Jian swords.

[@crppledizzle9374]

The one piece is real

[@mistercrusher5108]

Who a good little calamity? "Splashy" You are. Yes you are. *Screams can be heard as a fire fills the night shy* Hehe fishy.

[@Zistheone2]

When you learn the story of the ruination quartet, they make a little more sense since they kind of reference the various treasures and artifacts from different lands that Spain collected during their expeditions

[@ReshyShira]

I like when legendary pokemon actually are incorporated into the setting and have some sort of puzzle or quest involved with acquiring them. This was a pleasant surprise compared to what has become kinda normalized where you just *get* a legendary pokemon for free with little build up beforehand, often just being handed to you via an event.

[@AviaBomber]

I ADORE Chien-Pao. The design of it looking like both a Smilodon (saber-toothed tiger) and a weasel may have been intentional, since the beast it's based on looks like a leopard in China and a weasel in Japan, while also bringing the elements of Kamaitachi to the table that were lost in translation with Sneasel and Weavile/Sneasler I also like Chi-Yu being the embodiment of greed and envy, while also being comprised of multiple symbols of affluence (namely, the specific kind of goldfish it is and the jade beads). I like to imagine its trainer feeding it koi pellets and spirit money on a silver spoon to keep it pacified.

[@blockeontheleafeon]

Chi-Yu is an adorable fishy that was hard to find and even harder to catch. They're my favorite of the Ruinous Treasures that Scarlet and Violet unleashed onto the land.

[@WaketheFallen131]

my teachers and classmates will surely be impressed and definitely not run screaming in terror when I bust these bad boys out at the Academy Ace Tournament

[@pyromaniac000000]

Yknow this makes me wonder, what happens to the pokemon you own when you die? Because these arent normal pokemon, they are 1000% going to outlive you, and they are definitely pure evil and destruction incarnate. Hope to hell they dont just release your pokemon en masse when you die, or the world is gunna be in some DEEP shit

[@TheKitty699]

i caught all of the ruinous pokemon within dusk balls.

[@sup_my_bwana]

I did regular Pokeballs lol. They were ez

[@GatorEX]

Ooooh, that’s such a good idea! I bet they look cool.

[@VIofCaffeine]

I did Timer balls myself. Because time? Heheh

[@netsukii7594]

I did luxury balls cus i do for all my legendaries

[@MidnightCapricorn2696]

I caught 3/4 in Dusk Balls (Wo-Chien still caught despite it swapping to daytime) but Ting-Lu is in an ultra ball

[@undondory8569]

Chi-Yu really takes "burning envy" to a whole new level!

[@barrybend7189]

I blame Volo for the treasures of ruin. He caused chaos to get access to the crater. Volo did say he waited a thousand years to get Arceus. It makes sense as it was a thousand years before Legends Arceus that the Paldean calamity happened.

[@truserunknown]

chi-yu has to be my favorite little fire fish swimming through lava not giving a care in the world, aside from the blistering heat i aspire to be like it

[@tsgooch5198]

5:24 BRUH HOW!? My Chi Yu was freaking stubborn as a mule headed bull and kept dragging the fight out until it was only able to use Swagger the damn thing then I said "Fuck it!" and chucked a Timer Ball at it I was so fed up w its bullshit

[@joshuacanales6419]

I love the begging it was accurate to how good the theme is

[@minimumwageworkerheath]

god i love these guys, absolutely wonderful designs and just as good lore (bunch of tablets turns into a snail, commits war crimes) chi-yu's gotta be my favorite just because it's just a silly little goldfish, but ting-lu is a close second

[@alfadarkwolf]

Not me staring at Raifort's hair on one side as it bounces like its a spring....

[@vulpinitemplar5036]

Poor any local Absols probably foreseeing all kinds of horrible futures with the binds being broken.

[@gothcsm]

the names I gave these guys are so… 😭 theyre literally legendaries and I gave them all the most STUPID names LMAO

[@-voiddemoni-9243]

These legends are lovely and I love the little lore behind them and what they embody as said in the dex Wo-Chein embodies a Grudge Chein-Pao embodies Hatred Ting-Lu embodies Fear Chi-Yu embodies Envy And looking at their designs I can see exactly that in each of them

[@slickrickjr8616]

20% sure Raifort planning something with the legendaries. She literally gives a TM Nasty Plot, uses Zoroark in the Ace Tournament, gives u instructions on how to find legendaries that are part Dark/Evil type, and literally proceeds to have a team of sneaky pokemon. But it could just possibly be a coincidence

[@joshuaconnall4237]

I love how these guys are basically just everything the tapus are in the Alola games but opposite. From types they have to the lore about them being how the tapus defend their land, whilst the ruiners destroy it

[@LazyQahnaarin]

I can't believe you found the legendary Houndour of the Lake.

[@shawnheng4686]

U fight legendary variants of pokemon old and new, but now getting the quartet here is actually more admirable than beating the game

[@Mr._Sherwood]

I love Chien-Pao's design. Dude's a LITERAL snow leopard, that's just brilliant.

[@diegoreckholder945]

"I wanna play with the fishy" 🤣🤣🤣

[@SnowWing000]

After catching them, i walked to the lab to ominously stand.

[@TheGamerGoons]

The 4 seals let you know what typing is effective against said Pokémon inside. The Fire Fish- Blue/Water Grass Snail - Purple/Toxic Ice Sabertooth - Red(Orange)/Fire Ground Moose- Green/Grass

[@NeoGraena]

Wo-Chien before: One of the big legendaries in S/V Wo-Chien now: *LIVE WO-CHIEN REACTION*

[@Infindox]

I really liked how the game doesn't tell you outright how to open the shrines and makes you find the stakes themselves. While not as cryptic as the Regis, it was pretty refreshing to see. There's also an air of mystery to these Pokemon, even with the teacher explaining them. They also feel so out of place, like they are some sort of invasive monsters.

[@Kvltyst]

Bro Raifort sus af, she says she'll let you have them "For now". And she gives you the tm for NASTY PLOT

[@ricardoludwig4787]

Fun competitive Pokemon fact: all of them except wo-chien are currently not only usable, but amazing at the highest level of competitive singles. Poor slug..

[@flyingstonemon3564]

>Is snail >Is the slowest capture Makes sense alright

[@MidnightCapricorn2696]

I accidentally wandered upon Ting-Lu,'s shrine while wandering around, so I took it upon myself to pick up most of the stakes while searching up the location.

[@agentblackbird9435]

I got these guys but I didn’t know Raifort could mark the shrines and allow you to fly to them

[@HyperfixationWizard]

Definitely getting regi vibes from these four, especially with how they're ordinary objects transformed into a pokemon. Also, I never hear anyone talk about this, but I swear the isolated motif before the melody in their battle theme sounds like something I would hear from older games like RSE or BW. Like it sounds like a soundfont.

[@CeliaNightstep]

the designs of these pokemon are absolutely amazing, specially the fish. Like all of them feel so oldschool, like something to come out of gen 2

[@Pingimaster]

i like how the scarlet entrys talk about their past, while their violet entrys talk about their present/future!

[@Furrynokaka5430]

what if they are inspired by invasive species of animals taken from one country to another?, the snail is like those african snails wich put on danger some plant species, some of those are so mutch of a problem when you found a spot without vegetation theres heavy chances theres a lot of those snails around.... the fish are like the golden fishes people throw at rivers and grow oversized, in my country the chien pao thingy, those animals are VERY forbidden as pets and stuff cause they had cause heavy ecosystem damage,and the deer thingy is the weird one.... but taking on mind his settups remember me that thing in yellowstone where they took out the wolves from the park and they were soo many deers at the poins where the deers ate way too many plants and that cause erosion on the area, funny thing they did that to preserve some species of deer, but that problem come also with the fact they were ALSO dealing with an external invasive species of deer called axis deer, wich was taking a spot into the ecosystem, to preserve the native one they created a nicer ecosystem and started hunting the invasive ones, but of course, they were too many deers, they were force then to re introduce the wolfs into the area , maybe isnt the case, but the topic of "playing with an animal location and getting severe consequences " fit quite well , specially on the thing of animals coming from a diferent country.

[@daniellelondon439]

I also love “On the one hand, I may have put the world in danger again by releasing these Pokémon, but on the other hand, lava fishy”.

[@DragonboltBlastter]

7:49 Whaha, set the world on fire an play with the fishy...

[@HaxHaunter]

im surprised nobody made the connection yet, but this is in a sense the second time we get a mention of a pokemon from a Chinese region. the first one was Urshifu from Gen8's Isle of Armor, which also mentions he comes from another region.

[@Commander_Appo]

I was so convinced Raifort would be a villain

[@PokeHokage]

The gold dish definitely caused those spikes of hardened Lava in the mountains near its shrine.

[@Peppermint0M]

Wo-Chien was my easiest encounter. I used Yawn from one of my Eevee-lutions and then caught it a few moments later. Unfortunately, all the others were not so simple!

[@croissant2434]

I also found interesting that the color of each seals can match a pokemon type each of the ruin legendary have a weakness Ting-Lu: green -> grass type Chi-Yu: blue -> water type Chien-Pao: orange-yellow -> combat type Wo-Chien: purple -> poison type just a cool potential implication as to how the ancient managed to sealed those pokemons. (and probably how painful it could have been.)

[@kerbethegodkiller2914]

I am like, 90% sure that ghimigoul and goldengo is supposed to be the merchant that sold the treasures to the king, we know the merchant was showered in gold, but since the king wasn't the nicest person he probably executed him by putting melted gold on his insides since that's an irl way of execution used back then, that would explain why gholdengo is so happy and sociable, cause those are the traits of a merchant, that also would explain why ghimigoul only appears near the ruins of the paldean empire

[@alvaropinilla8639]

Apart from Chinese mithology, I do think they are also based on the deck of Spanish cards: wo chien would be the club, ting lun the cup, chien pao the sword and chi yu coins

[@Banana-cc5rx]

It's based off the chinese perils and items for sure. Since even lore wise they were mentioned to be treasures sent from the east to the peldian king

[@nicolai3023]

These four things are my personal highlight from this game, Chien-Pao and Chi-Yu are definitely in my top 5 paldea favorites.

[@CB_W0lf]

When I encountered these four, I caught the first in a lucky premiere ball. Then, I put a self-imposed rule to catch all the others in premiere balls to have them all match. Needless to say, it took a long time to catch them. Especially Wo-Chien, for the reason you stated in video. But I did it! Now I have all these ruinous disaster beasts in pretty matching pokeballs, haha. Chien-Pao is my favorite of the four, I love the blade teeth and the lanky ferret body!

[@MossCoveredBonez]

Love the mystery and history to these pokemon. But I think there's a potential writing mistake with Wu-chein. It seems to imply that the evil king of paldea both bought Wu-chein and help in it's creation by having a scribe sentenced to death. I think there may have be a change in direction with the story line at some point in development

[@vollium]

7:32 Good thing i never realised what i see there as a kid ...

[@EddieTale32]

Anyone else reminded of the Alolan Guardians when they saw these 4 new legendaries?

[@tysondennis1016]

I’d love the anime to make the Four Perils terrifying.

[@elemangell2981]

My favorite of the four is Wo-Chien, mostly because they remind me a lot of Leshy from Inscryption. They both initially appear to have floating, glowing eyes, their bodies are covered in greenery, and they’re both associated with writings on cards/tablets. All of the quartet’s IRL inspirations are also really cool. They’re all based off The Four Perils of Chinese mythos, four malevolent beings and the antagonistic counterparts of the Four Benevolent Animals, which is what the Forces of Nature are based on (Thundrus, Tornadus, Landorus, and the recently introduced Enamorus).

[@orAethenLee]

these pokemon origins are pretty much based on the chinese beasts of four perils i dont know much of this chinese mythology but i think it's pretty interesting i absolutely love chien-pao and it's based on Qiongqi, who's supposedly one of Shaohao's sons whose spirit became resentful after his death qiongqi has been described as an ox with a hedgehog's hands who possesses a canine-like cry or a fearsome tiger that sprouts wings on its back, which funny enough, pretty much resembles closely with each other with chien-pao in pokemon except instead of canine, its a feline in pokemon lol love how you just included a hong kong mcdonald's ad to (i should know, i live in hk and i speak cantonese)

[@gaylimulus7129]

I love how the raifort simps were like "i can't believe i released the 4 embodyments of evil just to impress my hot teacher" Also, i remember saying that i prefer to keep them closed off but Raifort said about how the pokemon feel, and that could be true After all, they all experienced bad emotions, but are still living beings and deserve love

[@muderschaferhund]

You did the four of them in the exact same order as me, and you also had the exact same issued with Wo-Chien that I did, I thought the other three were going to take forever based off that one alone 😂

[@styx64]

I have a feeling that the ruinous legendarys are somewhat connected to gimmieghouls and goldengo, since it was a marchant that gave the king the legendaries. The gimmieghouls are also most commonly found among ruins of the old kingdom, so thats something to think about

[@nunyabiznes33]

That fire fish Pokemon's eyes are made of magatamas right? Since one of the other Pokes is a pair of swords, the only thing missing is a mirror and you've got the 3 treasures of Japanese mythology. The moose is definitely a ceremonial bronze bowl. I dunno what the snail is supposed to represent but the way those wooden planks are arranged reminds me of the bamboo strip books that were used before paper was invented.

[@momsaccount4033]

My favorite is the fire fish. It’s such a goofy goober

[@Riolunator]

something i noticed about each shrine i thought is cool is the color of each is the weakness of each pokemon inside; purple for poison, orange for fire or fighting (most likely fighting type), green for grass, and blue for water

[@felixcatnapping]

Yeah, evil humans do evil things, and creating the ultimate evil is very traditional Chinese folklore.

[@technoraptor7778]

Thank goodness someone other than me sees him as a ferret/weasle not a cat!

[@LunaP1]

That opening for the video is exactly how I felt about the battle music for those legendaries. Also, 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@farlowhater]

I hope the DLCs give these guys some more backstory, reallllly cool pokemon!

[@bleurdreemurr4277]

¨Why did you pause the video? There's nothing here¨ YOU LITTLE GENIUS