Fixing Pokémon Sword and Shield's Story

The narrative in Pokémon Sword and Shield had a lot of interesting ideas and concepts that unfortunately weren’t given proper treatment. What could they have done differently to make these ideas shine? Let’s look at the story’s strengths and weaknesses and then discuss how it could have been done instead.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
02:11 - Story Summary and Critique
31:19 - Improving the Narrative
56:53 - Conclusion
Sources
Videos:
H I G H Q U A L I T Y A N I M A T I O N S - DistantKingdom
• H I G H Q U A L I T ...
Pokemon Sun & Moon - All Gladion Encounters & Battles - Zephiel810
• Pokemon Sun & Moon - A...
Background Music:
Hi Hi Hi - Earthbound
Court Jesters - Final Fantasy IX
Fleeing - Gin no Saji
Through the Woods (Forest Area) - Kirby’s Return to Dreamland
Nanimo Okoranakatta Sekai - Little Busters!
Ticktack Routine - Little Busters!
Dimble Woods - Act 1 - Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Dimble Woods - Act 2 - Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Friendly Battle - Pokémon Colosseum
Sevii Islands: Six & Seven Island - Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
Goldenrod Game Corner - Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Pewter City - Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Battle! (Trainer Battle) - Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee
Kecleon’s Shop - Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
Northern Desert - Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
Hazy Pass (Highlands) - Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity
Battle! (Bede) - Pokémon Sword and Shield
Battle! (Chairman Rose) - Pokémon Sword and Shield
Battle! (Champion) - Pokémon Sword and Shield
Bede’s Encounter - Pokémon Sword and Shield
Chairman Rose Encounter - Pokémon Sword and Shield
Sonia’s Encounter - Pokémon Sword and Shield
The Darkest Day - Pokémon Sword and Shield

[@IamLaTerry]

I think it needs to be publicly stated that there was a Piloswine named DabbingGod in this video.

[@insertobligatoryreferenceh489]

He doesn't even evolve it. Unsure of what vibe this emanates.

[@hisshoes1107]

I love how this is pinned instead of hearted

[@thewizo6848]

Also a frosslass called weeb trash

[@anonymouss1270]

Time stamp please?

[@milkmanmcgee6683]

Shhhhhhhhhh

[@curllum]

“Oh No! My brother is late for dinner!” “Time to raid a million dollar corporation”

[@w0lfyfl00f]

Yep it’s the only thing to do

[@UnwantedGhost1]

Pretty sure it's multi billion dollars. But you're still on track. 👍

[@doodlebug4360]

Eh... I've done worse for less...

[@Noblegotstilts]

You're not you when you're hungry, eat a Snickers.

[@afarensis9720]

Leon: *late for dinner* Oleana: omg I'm evil by the way for some reason!!! I'm gonna make you run around the city looking for a key! Hop: let's break into a high security private facility to rescue my brother even though there's no indication that he's trapped or needs help!!! Leon: ok let's go to dinner as though nothing out of the ordinary happened :) Me: ????????????????????????????

[@charliewhite3905]

My biggest change? Let Piers sing an actual song. That foottapping, mic squealing cut scenes was a disgrace

[@Majokodomo]

Not to mention, that booing..... -_-

[@MightyAverage]

Yeah, when a DS GAME FROM SEVEN YEARS EARLIER HAS SINGING IN IT, BUT THE SWITCH GAME WITH AWESOME MUSIC DOESN’T, there’s a problem somewhere.

[@salt8044]

that scene made me just stare blankly at my switch like "this is what I was so hype for?"

[@Satherian]

I thought the audio got messed up when I saw it

[@noelsrx376]

@@MightyAverage sorry but gen5 music is way awesome

[@submariNervous]

50:20 - If we go with the backstory idea of "maybe she was homeless before Rose helped her", her team could still make sense. All the graceful ladylike Pokemon are ones she got _after_ Rose, and her Garbodor could be a dear old friend she'd made when she was still living on the streets that she couldn't bear to leave behind.🤔🤔

[@mathilda6763]

that would also say something about her character. in that she's loyal to a fault and even sticks to her pokemon even though others see just garbage...just like she sticks to Rose even after he turns out to be the bad guy.

[@animationdude9]

@@mathilda6763 Beautiful idea

[@fuckomcducko2844]

i was thinkng of that too

[@HoodieHorizon]

I think for Bede it would’ve been pretty interesting to see how he would’ve reacted to Rose’s plan. Just that “oh god I helped cause all this with all my wishing Star gathering” which could’ve helped Bede with some character development later on Also a bit ranty but gladion is such a good character, his backstory, motivations and personality fit really well with the story and his character. I personally think the only eh characters in that sun and moon are the trial captains since you only see them for a tiny bit

[@kidnow_squidnow]

same!!! i've been thinking about that for a while, it would've been a very interesting and impactful scene for his character development. i also really would've liked to see marnie's reaction to the situation as well, but sadly neither of them showed up at all during the CLIMAX OF THE GAME..

[@angrynoodletwentyfive6463]

I legit went through 80% of the game thinking Bede was a 50 year old woman based on his charater design... What kind of 10-13 year old boy, no it has nothing to do with the gender what kindof child, boy or girl, has the same hairstyle as betty White, is a full head taller than all the other kids, and wears a knee length magenta parka everywhere?

[@galuxius1861]

@@angrynoodletwentyfive6463 A real stylish kiddo I tell you that

[@mr.e3300]

@@angrynoodletwentyfive6463 whats sad is betty white died about a week ago

[@Noname-qk6qp]

@@angrynoodletwentyfive6463 same! I was shocked to hear Bede is not an old lady

[@tyrant-den884]

Step 1: don't have Hop be ALWAYS impressed that you know fire beats grass.

[@michelecastellotti9172]

2: PISS OFF HOP!!! no serioisly, you fight the guy more times than the gym leaders in this game

[@unwithering5313]

I kinda didn't mind because it felt like he was trying to patronize me and I wanted the rival to have a bit of 'confidence'; maybe I was just hungry after the Hau and Trace shenanigans.

[@tyrant-den884]

@@unwithering5313 I never bought that he had enough self confidence to be patronizing.

[@unwithering5313]

@@tyrant-den884 I was probably just re-sensitised

[@TankEngine75]

Only in the first parts and that's it,Tbh Hop is a good rival,but I understand all the complains,he's kinda like Wally or Barry (Pearl in the Manga) to me

[@LeafRazorStorm]

I love how the game plot's so sloppy that the anime's just like "Screw it! We're not even gonna spend the whole season in Galar!"

[@KyleEvra]

Even the anime knows how terrible the story is.

[@AzureGreatheart]

Kind of unfortunate, because this video shows that the ideas behind the story are really good, and the execution is the big problem.

[@akabaneaki]

Thank god for that i guess. I happen to love the current series so im happy they didn't do all this from game.

[@akabaneaki]

@King Lion26 Yes i agree. I love the new series cus they actually explore more on the POKEMONS. Which is the main point of the show. Pokemons are more fleshed out here and you can see how they interact with the trainers in daily lives etc. It FEELS like a pokemon universe then a normal universe with a few bird pokemons here and there ^^

[@akabaneaki]

@King Lion26 How? Would love to hear some alternative opinions :D

[@SeveralGnomes]

During the game I always wished we'd actually see Leon get lost. It was mentioned so much that I thought it would have plot relevance at some point but as far as I can remember, it was only relevant for why Hop didn't get worried sooner when Leon was late for dinner. As it is in the game, it just feels like they decided Leon needed some kind of character flaw or fun fact about him and they just decided on "having no sense of direction". Plus it would've been fun to find Leon at a route like "Oh so nice to see you, could you point me towards Hammerlocke?" and he'd maybe give you an item or tell you about the place he's going to/the person he's meeting there.

[@PharaohMan135]

Or just plop him somewhere in the wild area for the player to find at random points as an easter egg

[@thebookless3381]

@@PharaohMan135 *I'm having flashbacks from Gen 4 right now mf* I'm still checking if Cythia is inside my wall to this very day...

[@Alphapkmn]

Or we could even do one of those “escort the lost trainer” things we did back in DPPt

[@PharaohMan135]

@@thebookless3381 *laughs in Garchomp*

[@genderenigma8276]

@@PharaohMan135 !! A wild Leon appeared!

[@cfmusic3752]

Tbh I think Rose turning himself in at the end is actually stronger characterization for him not feeling guilty for his actions rather than him being on the run by the end of the story. If Rose turns himself in, it’s as if he’s saying; “I did what I set out to do, and the future is safe, and that’s all that matters. Do whatever you want with me, I have no regrets.” His ideals are all he cares about, and he puts them before his own personal well being. And ultimately, he did what he did because he cares about the people of Galar more than anything, even if it manifests in a super twisted way (a la Thanos) Rose going on the run at the end weakens that characterization because it implies that he cares more about saving himself, and basically means that he acknowledges he knows he did something wrong so he needs to flee the consequences.

[@kuribohbrother]

Also the rich man could probably get himself bailed in under 10 minutes rather than being on the run and leaving everything he’s built up behind

[@Sammy-qx5mx]

Hell, he might end up building some sort of charitable foundation within prison itself. Helping his fellow prisoners get a second chance at life once they're out.

[@Icemirror319]

I kinda love that Opal wanders in and forcibly adopts Bede. "Congrats kid, I'm going to be a positive influence in your life and you have no choice in the matter!"

[@dalekrenegade2596]

It's even more awkward with being no animation in that exchange.

[@WildCharger]

it’s molestation, is what it is

[@rokkraljkolesa9317]

@@WildCharger "I need an adult."

[@VicDScott]

@@rokkraljkolesa9317 Opal: "I am an adult."

[@tochie-ugorji2021]

But Bede agreed to it.

[@MrPlab1780]

52:09 Jacob: "Firstly, swordbert and shield guy don't exist, period. They were either not born or were murdered before the game started" Me: *"HECK YEAH!!!"*

[@mynamesnotcoolandimheretos4188]

Maybe we can take that murder plot and have that escalate into the post game? Like, some NPCs mention about how they were "murdered" as well as maybe Sonia before the darkest day investigation. This thing can also be brought up after the player becomes champion, and such. I've no idea how this escalates from here, but I think that since at this point the player still doesn't have Zacian/Zamazenta, we can still use their projection ability thing to lead the player to find out what happened to them or something. Swordbert and Shielbert don't even have to still be alive! They both can stay dead and we can still have this proposed post-game content since it is a bit like a murder mystery/ investigation. That's all that I have in mind for now though. It still needs some development, but it might end up as a good post-game content idea.

[@Mgauge]

They both tripped onto the weapons and died of tetanus before the game.

[@mynamesnotcoolandimheretos4188]

@@Mgauge But what if, hear me out, someone intentionally murdered them or had them "taken care of" because someone heard their plan to essentially cause havoc in the region. This could contribute to Rose's moral ambiguity if it was him who sent those assassins to protect the region at the cost of 2 lives. Thats just what popped in my head just now They could've also died of something else, like their ridiculous hair would've caught on fire while they styled it, also causing their home to catch flames. That would be funny

[@MrPlab1780]

@@Mgauge This is objectively the best possible timeline, no questions asked.

[@Kidomaru222]

@@mynamesnotcoolandimheretos4188 You REALLY want them to get murdered, huh. I like that.

[@DualSwordBesken]

One of my biggest issues that could so easily be fixed is the game constantly tells us how great Leon is but never really shows us in a meaningful way. A cutscene I'd have loved to see would be: The player character, Hop, and Leon are near a city when a dynamax Pokemon begins to rampage. In this case we are close enough that Leon doesn't just shoo us off, but opts to handle it himself with the player character and Hop watching. At this point, we have experienced a dynamax battle and how "tough" they supposedly are. However Leon steps in, Gigantamaxes his Charizard and proceeds to one shot the dynamax rampaging Pokemon. This shows just how powerful he is without any words needing to tell us, a real show don't tell moment. As Leon basks in the cheers of all the randos around and the player character is clapping in amazement, the player character looks over at Hop, but hop isn't clapping. He is actually looking down, away from his brother. Leon's display further reinforces Hop's feelings of inferiority to his brother and pushes him further into his depressed state that Bede began him down. This cutscene would add so much to really hitting home how great Leon is supposed to be and Hop's internal struggle in just a few minutes better than any words could.

[@mcreena]

One of the biggest tragedies of this game and the plot was how amazing Rose's battle music was for what felt like a side battle, and I really love how you built Rose up in your video to the battle. It felt like it solved all the problems about his battle in the games. In the games it didn't feel like I was battling the Big Boss because Rose was never a bad guy up until that point. There was no bad guy up until that point, I wasn't battling against anything bad. Rose's battle music could honestly be the best Pokemon Boss music out of all the games, but the impact of it was lost because the story fell short, and that's honestly criminal. A perfect boss battle song for a really sad excuse at a boss battle. However, when watching your video, after hearing the build up of Rose's potential story, the moment in your vid when the music cuts in and the Rose battle starts, I got actual goosebumps! THAT'S the reaction you want in your game to your boss battle!

[@triforceofcourage100]

One more thing that I would add is to ensure we see eternatus pulsing in the background of the fight and reactions in the fight could have it pulsing faster and faster with the last one making the cry of the dragon skeleton this is an excellent way to raise the tension and investment of the player without doing too much

[@Depressed_Spider]

@@triforceofcourage100 That somehow gives me Earthbound vibes.

[@conic2721]

Also the lyrics on Rose's theme are WAY too deep for the character he is. It is "Rosa seda credo", in english it's "The hurt pride of the rose" according to some people I saw months ago. LIKE THEY COULD MAKE HIM HAVE A PRIDE THAT GETS HURT IT'S LOGIC 101

[@Kyumifun]

And i thought the audio wasn't from the game but some other game as a joke... I'm dumb

[@deen7530]

Rose's theme is so different from the rest of the game its insane. Like, most of the game is bouncy, blood-pumping techno tracks, then in comes Rose with music that wouldn't feel out of place in a Dark Souls game.

[@CesarTorres61296]

Can we just give credit to this guy for completing Sword/Shield with an entire Ice type team? That's pretty impressive.

[@joemontondo9113]

I've done an ice run too, it was a fun challenge! (The trickiest part was having to fish for a sheldar at the start because I didn't get the right weather in the wild area.)

[@Salt_Mage]

Mono ice was a fun run. Especially when not using items. Pokemon really needs a challenge mode again.

[@machina5]

Oh please, you could complete Sword and Shield with a toothpick and an expired Walmart coupon. The games play themselves lol

[@billvolk4236]

It makes you think: why does every gym leader specialize in one type when the game has never offered a benefit for doing that?

[@user-jl7cz2pe6d]

Yeah. That was pretty cool of him

[@geet9830]

also on the whole “leon being late to dinner” thing, why did nobody think to just CALL leon to see why he’s late? the pokedex is literally a cell phone in this game but nobody thinks to call him??

[@robertlupa8273]

Maybe he muted it? You wouldn't want a phone call to interrupt an important meeting.

[@cyncynshop]

I also think it'll be best to show them call Leon and he doesn't reply. Hop goes like, "Usually Leon never gets late meeting with me.....and he'll call me back. Let's wait a bit....." They call people close to Leon and gotten no indication on why he's late. Now they have more reason to worry.

[@tydshiin5783]

Ikr? It would have made it so much more realistic and less stupid Also on the topic of the dinner, did the protagonist and anyone ever eat when they were in any restaurant?

[@johannesseyfried7933]

@@tydshiin5783 Nope. I actually noticed that after my Fight with Nessa: Rose invited me and Sonia to the Restaurant, we sat down, talked....and then the Chairman and his Assistant just stood up and left! Now, sure, he's a busy Man and all, but couldn't *we* at least get something to eat?! Or make it so that the entire Conversation at least happens while we have a Bowl of Soup standing in Front of us? Or....Curry. Because Arceus knows why, all of Galar is obsessed with Curry for some reason! (I actually laughed when Opal told me she prefers Omelett) We could start the Conversation with full Plates, and end it with empty ones, at least implying that we got to eat something.

[@henrymars6626]

Im playing the game in spanish despite not knowing any spanish and uh Yeah rotom dex thingie is just called SmartRotom So literally a smartphone At least it isnt talking to you every 2s like it was in USUM

[@MuttonTheDragon]

Alternative Rose story: he was the first character to be the introduction to the world of Pokémon that ISN’T a professor. The man is a showman above all else. In Hullbury, the people treated him like a celebrity. And the Championship? He believes that’s the perfect time to show off a whole new means of using Wishing Stars as energy, but as you go through the game, you start learning the myths a little more, and Eternatus is actually obsessed with Wishing Stars, so if they are energized the way Rose wants to, Eternatus will return. A mix of Chernobyl ignoring safety in the name of showing off amazing energy and a Dragon turning attention to a brilliant hoard of treasure.

[@-voiddemoni-9243]

So what you’re saying is he gains a liking for wishing stars that seems fine until Eternatus suddenly busts through his room like “YOOO I LIKE THOSE TOO” And becomes a problem

[@MuttonTheDragon]

@@-voiddemoni-9243 It worked for The Hobbit. Dwarves liked digging up gold. Smaug also likes gold. Smaug decides a symbiotic relationship with the Dwarves would be stupid and instead burns Dwarves, and the nearby humans, alive to get the gold. Rose likes Wishing Stars. Eternatus also likes Wishing Stars. Eternatus decides a symbiotic with Rose would be stupid and instead starts to wreak havoc to get the Wishing Stars.

[@-voiddemoni-9243]

@@MuttonTheDragon seems like fair logic to me if you’re a dragon that’s hated for literally existing because your existence causes chaos

[@Deathmare235]

@@-voiddemoni-9243 which one are you talking about

[@cleverman383]

imagine Pokemon having a game where the main plotline is about Chernobyl

[@beatrix4519]

I think honestly that the twist ending that Hop wants to be a professor is more suited for a rival like Barry. Barry literally talks about feeling empathy for the pokemon mistreated by Team Galactic.

[@Fernandanatac]

My big deal with Hop’s twist is that what he described is a Pokemon Ranger, not a Pokemon Professor. Also, it’s weird how he went from coping his brother’s ambition, to say “I have my OWN dream now” and then proceeds to copy Sonia’s ambition. 🙃

[@KaiserVarius]

@@Fernandanatac yeah… apparently the creators of the game seem to have forgotten that Pokémon rangers existed pass gen 6. As well what Pokémon rangers do. Seriously what happen to them?

[@GreenSpyro]

@@Fernandanatac Hop as an actual Pokemon Ranger sounds awesome.

[@StonedSammieSue]

Dude you’re so right and so is fucking Yuna!!! Pokémon ranger totally would have fit him better instead of reverting back to his base personality and copying Sonia smh

[@senpaipigeon9149]

Ll

[@calebporter3735]

"She's (Marnie) popular because she's a lovable character with positive traits" No. Let's be real. It's because she's goth.

[@ZoulStar]

Yeah. That’s honestly the pure gist of it. I’ll admit, it’s a nice aesthetic, but once you take it away, I don’t really see much in her beside what’s already been said.

[@ZoulStar]

@@foot_fetish Mhm.

[@KyleEvra]

That's her whole character being Waifu material for Rule 34. XD

[@juicyknuts9181]

@@KyleEvra Eww

[@krisyphus6194]

@@KyleEvra she’s like 12

[@TehFoamy]

As I was playing through Sword and Shield, I was thinking to myself how neat it would be if Oleana was actually behind everything, and she was planting all of these "change the world" ideas in Rose's head so she could steal his company out from under him at the opportune time and use its capitalistic monopoly on the region to take over and rule Galar. After all, she's his VP and most trusted advisor, yet she deals with most of the nitty-gritty work while Rose just goes around doing whimsical shit. She's in the best position to usurp control of his company, and she would arguably have the most incentive to do so. But then it turned out that she was just a blind follower of Rose, and I was like "oh that's way more boring"

[@tekayo63]

this could've been a cool angle to take the story from as well, especially considering how non-existant oleana is in base swsh

[@elliying1116]

I genuinely thought she was the villain while playing, right until it turned out not to be.

[@brinashiloff3439]

I thought she was the villain to!

[@Deathmare235]

It’s better that she’s loyal instead of some schemer

[@TehFoamy]

@@Deathmare235 ok but why though

[@penguinivana5768]

There's a lot of headcanons where it's said that Leon caught Wooloo for Hop, maybe we can add that to his character, similarly to morpeko and Marnie! At the beginning, we can show that Hop likes to take care of pokemon, even taking care of the Wooloos to the point that one of the babies got attached to him, which is why the wooloo is now his pokemon because Leon helped Hop catch it with a pokeball. He once said that he's "probably the best at wrangling wooloos", so a cutscene where he used to take care of Wooloos wouldn't be out of place, especially with his first pokemon being a wooloo. Around that time, maybe Hop can promise that he will defeat Leon with his Wooloo by his side. Maybe Hop wants to be champion because in a way, he wants the attention and wants to be equals with Leon. It's not that his family doesn't give him attention, they love him and he knows it. It's also more so that Hop wants to be around his brother more. Being champion is a very demanding job, and that in a way, Hop misses Leon and he thought that being champion would also mean Leon would be back more, and at the same time, part of him wants the attention, and at the same time, it's peer pressure. His brother is the champion, so he should be as great as the champion! People keeps saying that Leon's little brother should be as great as him, and that also gives some sort of pressure of Hop being a champion just as Leon is the Unbeatable champion. Bede, just to give him a bit more asshole into his character, might point out that Hop just wants to be champion just because of the attention, which isn't true, but there's a part of him that does wants it and that makes him gets into a crisis. Especially when he realises that the pressure is starting to get to him, and it sinks in, which starts the entire moping thing. He would then realise that, as he gets defeated by the mc, he's crushed because his hardwork was put to waste, but at the same time, he doesn't really feel hatred nor jealousy, as he slowly realises that, he likes to battle yeah, the adrenaline of going in with strategies and trying out different things is fun, but at the same time, he can't picture himself as a champion anyways. Later when we talk to him, it's the final push to a realisation that he's been fighting FOR Leon, but never for himself, like what Opal said. That's my intepretation anyways

[@hhjan594]

I always thought that since you have 3 rivals and a raid battle needs 4 people, the final raid with Eternatus should be with the player and 3 rivals. Possible the player and Hop use the 2 dogs and Marnie and Bede use their pokemon.

[@waleedkhalid7486]

Actuallly a decent idea. Would require a bit more work be done to build up marnie and bede so I guess a multi billion dollar company would find that too difficult.

[@renab.7390]

Oooh, love that idea!

[@clawcakes]

that'd be sick as hell bro

[@Joseph_Drew_III]

Except Bede needs to spend as much time at his new gym as possible for training not to be a Silver-level asshole

[@stardasuperstar895]

I would actually really like that. And it does make sense considering the raid battle format.

[@karmiya-plays]

You did a great job of cleaning up the original story without drastically changing or adding anything. Sometimes people go too overboard and it's just kind of a mess, but you took all the original plot threads and put them together more neatly, nice and simple. I do think that Rose's conflict would be a lot more meaningful if the energy crisis was, say, 100 years in the future instead of 1000. It would make for a more poignant parallel to our own real world concerns of fossil fuels and pollution, after all.

[@Joseph_Drew_III]

Yeah, I was worried this was gonna be one of those dime-a-dozen hate vids.

[@shadowmanwkp]

Because the new story hinges on Rose not being taken serious, I think that Rose's motivation would be stronger when he's the only one who believes the energy crisis will happen within 100 years. It's true that with the current energy consumption it would take a thousand years, but Rose sees energy consumption ramping up, making the matter much more urgent in his eyes. He would be further motivated if it's revealed that dynamaxing consumers a lot of energy from wishing stars, which he himself uses to generate electricity. We'd thus have a competition wasting energy in his face en masse, and in his eyes he can't do anything about it, unless he takes very drastic measures.

[@emblemblade9245]

shadowmanwkp It’s very important that there be a good reason given why only he can see the crisis approaching, but I think you’re onto something!

[@janrafaelyrigoyen7433]

He didn't have to do anything

[@zimonzieclown1633]

I don't know about shortening the timespan, though. I mean, Rose does say that future generations would act the exact same way we are; "it's still X hundreds of years away, we still have plenty of time to deal with it" and then eventually it will be too late.

[@FSSmash]

Excellent take on Sword and shields shody story

[@SwitchMaster-fb5mw]

T

[@hardgem7768]

@@SwitchMaster-fb5mw U

[@flamegeyser9781]

I like what you did with Oleana, and I think that even more could be done with it. Her obsession with Rose could mirror Hop's with Leon, and upon her defeat Hop is the one who talks her down and tells her to be her own person. I think it could be a neat parallel.

[@shrilleth]

Sword and Shield’s original story feels like you’re a side character, this is a vast improvement

[@moonwolf9250]

We had more involvement in sun and moon but even then it was gym challange fight reject teens and babysit a blond and her apperently legendary pokemon and then solve her mommy issues

[@KyleEvra]

Player Character doesn't feel important until the end of the game. I felt like a NPC while the NPC's felt like Main Character's. I wish they could give you the option to give Hop the Championship. I would've gladly gave it to him. Since the Player Character just doesn't feel important anyway. XD

[@debu4093]

@Marav Reviews but that's what a game is supposed to be like. It's an rpg. You are supposed to be the main character.

[@YooranKujara]

I disagree

[@five-fold]

@@moonwolf9250 but really the "mommy issues" part i feel was the most intriguing in sun moon even though i'm not exactly involved in it

[@mechashadow]

I do love Oleana’s additions. Her league card does add to her backstory showing she came from scraps before Rose hired her which is why she has the trubbish from her orphanage days. It does still line up with your backstory trying to fit in with the high class crowd while hiding her roots.

[@michaelgum97]

So he sort of managed to guess what her backstory is before even knowing about her league card?

[@typemasters2871]

Well there is a Pokemon short on KZbin that builds on Oleana’s backstory Simply put, Oleana is a workaholic, Rose noticed how hard working she was so gave her a promotion (or something along those lines)

[@knucklejoe26]

Actually, last I checked Oleana doesn't have a league card. The whole "Trubbish is from her orphanage days" thing is probably just some theory/headcanon that got wildly out of control.

[@rainpooper7088]

Oleana doesn’t have a league card, that supposed backstory with Trubbish is entirely made up. Not that I wouldn’t approve of it if it was canon, but it’s just not legit.

[@knucklejoe26]

@@cradiculous No, that's Rose's card

[@TehFoamy]

55:12 At this point, I think it would have been cool if the player, Hop, and Leon worked together with Rose, who was watching these events unfold and realized that Eternatus is not a being that bestows energy, but rather, a being that consumes energy and is on the brink of consuming all of Galar's energy. Seeing the error of his ways and wishing to rectify his mistake, Rose attempts to assist you three in taking down Eternatus. Rose and then Leon both get knocked out of the fight partway through, leaving you and Hop with no recourse but to summon sword and shield doggos to help save the day.

[@skullbonk1081]

I really agree with this, I think it’s the most significant criticism of Sword and Shield. The last Pokémon game I finished before Shield was Platinum, where I feel the story was pretty compelling. There was a lot of secrecy and mystery around everything and you were always at the center of the action. Sword and Shield has a lot of interesting characters, but it doesn’t feel like you participate in the story. It’s the first Pokémon game I’ve played where they actually treat you like just some kid. Every time a big event happens Sonia or someone says “Oh, I’ll go deal with that! You just keep fighting gyms.” Aside from feeling a little too linear in terms of exploration, that was my biggest problem with Shield. You just feel uninvolved, so it’s not as exciting.

[@cleverman383]

Leon is the main character doing all the cool things, and you're just told you're a ten year old and shouldn't be worrying about this stuff

[@Raintheartist3688]

i think that hop should have had a moment at the end of the game where he realizes that he has only ever wanted to follow in leon's footsteps so he would have more praise and attention, i mean at Hop's house everything in the living room has something to do with Leon, not Hop, so it feels odd that he never seems effected by it

[@AmyoftheFlowerField]

Oh my gosh I never noticed this before. I'm totally stealing this for my fanfic.

[@al3xskvum]

@@AmyoftheFlowerField Link? :)

[@enchidIe]

@@AmyoftheFlowerField I'd also like the link when it's ready :D

[@Kidblaze86]

But he already knows he's following his brother's footsteps no he wanted to prove that he was better...

[@al3xskvum]

@NS 317 I like teh idea of that yea!

[@luiscortazar6291]

Why 1000 years? Why not 10 years to display urgency or even 100 years, which is long enough to brush off but close enough to worry about the next generation. Not to mention why can't they say that with an increase in energy consumption and demand has moved up Galar's time limit.

[@07dki]

100 years would be ideal. Far enough away that Rose's actions still feel too drastic but close enough that it's understandable. 1000 years away was just ridiculous

[@PatManDX]

@@07dki It'd also be realistic to the timescale for real life energy issues, not that it matters to the internal logic of Pokemon, but it might make for an effective environmental message for children to take away from the game.

[@dalekrenegade2596]

That's what I've been saying. This version of the story could also include power issues throughout the game from trains suddenly powering down forcing the player on foot through the wild area to Marnie's hometown being in the sorry state it's in to name a few.

[@jauume]

I think 50 years would be best

[@jauume]

@@PatManDX not really because if we're relating this to the climate change crisis, the youngest generation will feel its impact when they're relatively young

[@dj-master660]

That's a misconception: Piers didn't form Team Yell. Team Yell was formed on the declination of Spikemuth in terms of industry and economic growth and thus, to help combat the problem, the Team was formed to encourage Marnie, who took part in the gym challenge, to become Champion and help make change within the city

[@R0DisG0D]

I feel the economic aspects of the game are not talked about enough, because there was a lot of potential there that just wasn't used at all. It's honestly kind of insulting they build up Rose as having a monopoly on the economy on one hand, and Spikemuth being impoverished and not having the energy source Rose is obsessed with on the other hand, and then just don't do anything with that at all. Rose's ridiculous amount of power and the influence it had is never brought up as a bad thing and I just don't understand why.

[@RocketHarry865]

@@R0DisG0D Imagine if Spikemuth used be one of those old industrial town in the past was important and thrived but when times changed and Spikemuth was unable to adapt to their loss of relevancy

[@GODZILLA2915]

I say you’re version is pretty great. Though I have a few things to add. Make Team Yell more important. Like say have Rose frame them for the fossil goin missing. Also when Eternetus awakens, he started destroying everything in the room, shocking Rose. Then when it looks like Eternetus is going to kill him, have Olivea come in and push him out of the way, taking the attack. This causing Rose to realize what he has done and maybe help out in the final battle.

[@not_elias2373]

A thing i'd like to add from the anime's interpretation of the story Rose lost his father at a very young age, while he was gathering energy in one of Galar's mines. This adds huge motive to Rose wanting to supply Galar with infinite energy

[@testerwulf3357]

I remember that! That was an amazing character moment that made you understand his urgency so much more..he wasn’t fighting so hard to save a future far away he was fighting so hard to save lives from the treacherous mines that kill people like his father. He was concerned for the safety of citizens! I also would of liked if in the end instead of battling him he runs up to you and guides you up to help fight the darkest day, a raid battle with rose and the champion with hop tagging along would of been great. It would of shown his concern for the people and him sort of making up for what he did.

[@unwithering5313]

@@testerwulf3357 Also, I was hoping for Rose to not be a bad guy because we already got a seemingly nice person being a villain the generation prior with Lusamine.

[@SilveeYT]

But,, That should've been in the game? Didn't know I had to consume an entirely different medium as well, to understand the story of a $60 game I bought.

[@beastwarsFTW]

That actually gives a good reason why he is so impatient, every day they use fossil fuel is another day someone could die the same way Rose's father did when Rose has the power to prevent it.

[@MightyAverage]

I have a question, since I’m not watching Journeys. Is Peony in it? Have they added any lore to him? If you’re gonna back up Rose, they have to back up his brother too, right?

[@parkerspeedy2]

50:35 It actually makes even MORE sense that Oleana's character would have a Trubbish then, if she was Homeless or down in the dumps, then the pokemon based off trash fits, as its the one pokemon she could connect with. Im sure someone else had said this before but I just had to share this

[@casperrabbit7254]

Honestly I just saw it as a funny contrast compared to her team of oversexualised furry bait 😂

[@zz7073]

Pokemon made some animated shorts that show how she was before she was "beautified". I kind of like her simple story- she was a diamond in the rough, she looked disheveled and was extremely smart but overlooked. Rose saw something in her and brought her out in the light, hence her new look and dedication.

[@callmesilver2683]

iirc this was actually a part of her lore

[@angrynoodletwentyfive6463]

I don't think you meant that the way it could be misinterpreted, but as somebody who has known a lot of homeless people in my community, I know that They are compared to trash a lot. Told that they; are trash, belong with the Trash, live in Trash, etc. and it is something that can seriously harm their mental well being. And when somebody makes a statement that connects homeless people to being related to garbage that can be very hurtful for a person who has gone through that or is going through that to read.

[@socialistrepublicofvietnam1500]

I thought the whole homeless thing was canon lore

[@simonsonian8977]

48:00 Having Olena be homeless really works, given that the only tidbit of her backstory we get is her Garbodor. It's the only thing she shows emotion to in the story, and could be explained by it being her one companion on the streets before Rose saved her! Oh god, this is going into fanfic territory 😅.

[@skepsiez]

If this was the actual story then this genuinely would’ve been one of my favorite Pokémon games lol. The story alone was my biggest issue with it.

[@AlbertFingernoodle959]

I actually quite like Gladion as a rival, he starts off seeming like a generic mean rival, but he’s on the same side as you, even helping you go up against Lusamine and the Aether Foundation, he even one time apologizes for lashing out at you in anger at one point (I honestly think Sun and Moon are some of the best games in the series, plus his battle theme is really good)

[@itgetsdarker]

7 might not be my favorite Generation, but I do believe that Sun/Moon and their Ultra adaptations are the best main games in the franchise, only in front of XY.

[@georgelongcoal1117]

@@itgetsdarker being honest... ultra was kinda uncalled for. A few years from the original release? Sure, but a year after? Meh

[@Phyrren]

@@georgelongcoal1117 i’m actually confused how they took a year to copy and paste the code into a different cartridge and add some more gameplay, usum was so unexpected, but i myself, liked it ;D

[@endersul]

I love gen 7

[@Bemw0]

@@Phyrren same lol

[@FaolanKitekaze]

The fact that hop goes through a confidence crisis by losing to Bede and that they don't face off in the challenge semi finals (hop just beats an unnamed trainer off screen) is such bad writing. Also the game cucking you every time something potentially interesting happens and shooing you away to let the adults handle it makes it feel like this isn't really your story, like you're just a bit player next to Leon

[@Nikolaos-Koemtzis]

Step one: When Hop joins as a partner in a battle, attack his pokemon. Step two: his pokemon faint. Step two: Turn to him and tell him to fuck off. I always did that. Enjoy the game.

[@spongy7426]

Honestly Hop was the best character in the entire game

[@TheHICDealer]

These two replies There are two types of people

[@andrewrenshaw2741]

@@Nikolaos-Koemtzis oh I'm not the only one, thank goodness!

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@Nikolaos-Koemtzis They should have tag battle partners attack you if you attack their Pokémon

[@talesfromatiredmind4785]

A good post game story could expand on the Rose storyline by having random NPCs talk about Rose's conservation efforts and how he helped them in the past, so maybe instead of making the energy crisis be his only act of activisim he can be a core part of his character. Like at the sea town where you battle the water gym leader you can find someone who says Rose helped the water pokemon in the area who were suffering from some type of habitation loss caused by humans, friction between the wild pokemon and humans that could have escalated to dangerous levels before Rose stepped in to fix things. The NPC could then express disappointment over Rose's actions. As you travel around stopping out of control pokemon who've lost control due to the reintroduction of Eternetus to the world you can constantly hear about Rose's conservation efforts prior to the game which will add juxtaposition since as you're hearing about his efforts to make a better future for all of Galar you're having to witness the destruction that his actions caused for the current Galar. In the end the player character would be approached by Leon who confirms that Rose was a very caring individual before the darkest day incident. He constantly emphasized the impact that humans had on the pokemon world and tried to bring awareness to the responsibility that humans had to maintaining a positive future. Leon could then express disappointment for how things ended and remind the player character to never allow their ambitions no matter how righteous to drive them to insanity like Rose.

[@lapzidorus1786]

5:43 One good option for Marnie's 'losing' animation in the tourney is perhaps for her to rub her eye or otherwise be implied to be holding back tender tears, calling back to her sensitive youth and showing that this side of her had not entirely faded away. Not only would that add an extra, albeit tiny, touch of depth to her character (and perhaps make her even more endearing to fans), but it would also further tighten the already decent dispositional triangle between the three rivals. I imagine, though, that perhaps the dev team decided her normal losing animation worked just fine since it still befits her cute and stoic demeanor (which I think myself). 33:42 Whoa, I actually did not notice that Hop was copying his big brother in his animations! It probably helps that their respective battles are far enough apart that this can be a hard catch. 35:52 Having the Darkest Day be foggy would even fit the Great Britain region inspiration more if you relate it to the Dark Ages, which from my understanding are called that because we are very in the dark about what the time was like due to few surviving resources (perhaps amplified by "economic, intellectual, and cultural decline"). 41:47 I think nearly all your suggestions for fixing Rose's story are great, but I am a bit iffy on the cast being so persistently dismissive of his concerns; it would surely make them less sympathetic if they come off as the reason Rose resorts to extreme measures. I also think ending that first exchange with an unheard ellipsis would be a bit on the nose with the foreshadowing. I also do not really mind Rose turning himself in regret for his actions, and I think that it would still fit in just fine with the revised story presented here (i.e., presuming he can manage to calm down and return to his senses). With that said, I also like the suggestion from another commenter of seeking out Rose and Oleana being the post-game.

[@R0DisG0D]

I agree about your last comment. I also see this in many recent movies, where the villains have totally resonable concerns, but they act in an evil way that allows the main characters to just dismiss them without engaging in the underlying valid point and it can be kind of frustrating.

[@seineevee]

In regards to your last comment, I think it could work if Leon was the largest opposer/dismisser of Leon, since Hop (and maybe Sonia) would be more likely to side with his opinion than with Rose. The same applies for the majority of Galar, as Leon is their champion and their star, so Rose could get increasingly frustrated that such a crucial public figure is being so nonchalant about possible imminent danger. Or maybe Leon, the protagonist, and co. all believe there’s an imminent energy crisis, but aren’t actively doing anything. Rose could put unreasonable expectations on the protag and Hop to help him, possibly putting them at risk. Having the protagonist and co. be willing to listen but not in a hurry to do much could be a way to make Rose sort of understandable without sacrificing the likability of the main cast. Maybe?

[@conmanay4563]

Yup, Rose was shaping up to be a relatable, genuinely understandable antagonist, but then he completely fell apart at the end! Seems like Unova’s story will remain unchallenged for the foreseeable future…

[@1992holycrap]

The fact that Gen V continues to be vindicated by history and the lackluster Gens that've come after it fills me with a warm, comforting sense of smugness that I never thought I'd ever get to feel in my lifetime.

[@sageoverheaven]

@@1992holycrap You put it into words. Good job 💀

[@robertlupa8273]

@@1992holycrap Even though Gen 5's story isn't the best in a vacuum, it's still pretty good by Pokemon standards.

[@mr.preston1632]

@@robertlupa8273 Yeah, it kind of doesn’t fit the whole “New York” thing they were going for

[@wannabehistorian371]

Sun and Moon was quite good though

[@rattyxoxo7397]

I feel like Leon absolutely deserves better in the post game. He’s pretty much only presented as the unbeatable champion, so it could be really interesting to explore what he actually is without that reputation after losing that to the player.

[@reniac3128]

There were theories of him being a cheat who only used social media to get to where he was and that would've been so cool but that wouldn't work in this rendition of the stroy

[@skullguy4863]

@@reniac3128 sounds a little more like Raihan honestly

[@doodlebug4360]

@@reniac3128 That sounds really interesting. I could see how it would affect characters like Raihan or Hop

[@ps4pro668]

@@reniac3128 I saw a video talking about how originally (I think) Rose set up the Champion matches where he always wins because of Rose or something. Then the player investigates or something idk

[@KrissyBlues]

​@@ps4pro668 Yeah, "Rose is rigging the champion cup" was an early fake leak about a potential role for leon and rose, citing his charizard as like juiced up basically It would've been kind of interesting but I also feel like it would've been a really weird direction for leon specifically, so like if leon wasn't aware his victories were spoonfed I think it would've been cool and led to an interesting arc for him and hop both

[@Karlz1212]

One thing that I would had liked to see on SwSh is for MC to show some emotion to Hop’s struggle Because its heavily hinted that Hop and them are childhood friends that had known one another for a long time, so that makes him basically their brother So that MC never shows any sort of emotion to Hop’s OBVIOUS depression and inferiority complex is a very jerk move by their part Because one thing is to make a self-insert character, and another is for them to be a literal statue that doesn’t know to do anything other than smile I would’ve liked that after his first few battles, MC shows concern at Hop’s constant loses against them The next times they see Hop they try to be more insistent on not wanting to battle him as they don’t want to make him feel worse, but that only makes Hop feel like if they truly believe that they also think him as weak so they have no other option but to battle him But during said battles instead of smiling, MC has an expression of worry and their dialogue when they take out their Pokémon isn’t as cheerful as in other battles Saying things like "Go [Insert Pokemon Name], try to not hurt him please…" or something similar They win of course as they’re the protagonist, but instead of celebrating MC looks at the ground guiltily and/or tries to comfort Hop the best they can When Bede insults Hop MC looks at him with outrage and immediately demands to battle against him every time they meet him That would make the battles against Bede feel more personal as we’re battling against our friend’s bully and not simply 'our eyes met so we must battle' During the semi finals after Hop loses instead of celebrating because that would look like if we’re mocking him MC instead hugs and gives him a reassuring smile as if to tell him that "You’ll always be a champion for me" On the battle against Leon instead of fighting him right away we have a final conversation with Hop in which we thank him for being alongside us this whole way and that they will win the battle for him, and that no matter what he was more than enough for them

[@Zelkiiro]

When it comes to the history of the Darkest Day and the twin heroes storyline, a lot of your suggestions are exactly what I would have done. As for the main storyline, I've said it a million times before, but I'll say it again: It seemed to build up to a Doctor Faustus kind of plot, in my opinion, and so it should have gone like this... - A young Rose inherits the Macro Cosmos energy company from his family. It's a modest business. Galar is a bit backwater but does fine. - As technology advances, Macro Cosmos scientists discover an odd energy signal deep in the mountains. Rose comes in to investigate. - Rose discovers Eternatus, an extremely emaciated and primordial dragon Pokemon that can generate tremendous energy. - After some research, they discover Eternatus craves Wishing Stars, because they restore its strength. In return for Wishing Stars, it willingly allows Rose to harness its energy. - Over the next 20 years or so, Rose and Macro Cosmos turn Galar from a quaint backwater to a technological wonderland brimming with power and energy. - During this time, Rose encounters Oleana and her Trubbish living in a dirty alley in Spikemuth. Seeing potential in her, he takes her in, gets her an education, and she becomes his secretary. - But over the years, Eternatus' hunger for Wishing Stars grows exponentially. Rose and his employees used to be able to find enough easily, but now they have to outsource. - Enter Bede. Aside from running an energy company, Rose is heavily involved in the Trainers' School program, believing the Pokemon Gym Challenge to be an important and fulfilling pasttime for Galar's people. Bede's situation resembles Oleana's, and Oleana was a huge success, so he naturally takes Bede in as well. - Since, as mentioned, Eternatus is becoming harder to please, Bede takes to the task of finding Wishing Stars with earnest. - Around the 3rd gym or so, we get the first quake. Eternatus is becoming more demanding and more unreasonable, so the quake serves as a warning. Rose begins to panic and asks Bede to step it up. - Maybe Rose even tries to enlist the player's aid in finding Wishing Stars, but Leon says, "Nah man, they just started as trainers. They need to focus on learning the ropes!" to which Rose awkwardly and nervously concedes. - Then we get Bede trying to knock down the mural in search of Wishing Stars, to Rose's chagrin. As desperate as he is, he doesn't believe destroying historical monuments is the way to go, and pulls Bede from the project, to prevent anymore such incidents. - Of course, this means Wishing Star acquisition slows down. More quakes. Random Power Spots resulting in Dynamaxed wild Pokemon. Things are getting hairy. But when you see Rose, he is flustered and panicked, but tries to insist everything's fine. - The night before the match, Leon is late and Oleana shows up to let you know the match is cancelled and Leon will be working with the chairman. Oleana's tone seems to imply coercion, so the usual suspects all bust into Rose Tower to save Leon. Oleana thinks your interference will cause a catastrophe, so she becomes unhinged and challenges you. - The emergency meeting on the eve of the match really was Rose trying to get Leon to cancel the match, but for an emergency Wishing Star search and not for anything sinister. Leon doesn't take the threat seriously, but promises to help once the match is over. Rose hopes that they'll have enough time. - Finally, as the Champion's match is about to start, Rose appears on the monitor desperately calling Leon for aid, before the beams of energy start blasting out everywhere. - You rush to Hammerlocke, Oleana begs you and Leon to head to the Power Plant, and you find Rose down below. Eternatus has escaped, and Leon rushes to stop it. You go to join him, but Rose stops you. It's too dangerous! And so Rose challenges you to a battle--if you can't even beat him, then you stand no chance against the legendary beast. - You win, and Rose commends your courage and strength, allowing you to pass. Hop shows up afterwards, and catches up on the situation. - Eternatus has gone to Rose Tower, because it's the highest point in Galar and thus the best staging point for the Darkest Day. - But there are Dynamax Pokemon everywhere, and you, Hop, Leon, and Sonia fear that there may be too many to stop. That's when Hop shows initiative and gets the idea to go to the Slumbering Weald. Given the wolf-like Pokemon beside the heroes at the mural on Stow-on-Side, he thinks that mysterious wolf Pokemon you encountered at the beginning could be related. It's worth a shot, at least! - Then the rest of the story plays out largely as presented. Leon rushes straight for Eternatus, and you and Hop go to find the sword and shield before flying back to his aid. Eternatus overwhelms the party, but doggos show up, and you fight off the disaster. - Rose then arrives, apologizing for his actions. He made a pact with a dangerous creature out of sheer short-sightedness, and he almost caused the downfall of all of Galar because of it. Hailing you, Hop, Leon, and the twin wolves as heroes, Rose announces that he will resign as chairman of Macro Cosmos, to let someone with more foresight and caution take the reins of the company's future. - Exhausted from your perilous battle, you wake up the next day and are summoned to Wyndon for the Champion match. You win, because of course you do. - Yay credits.

[@Robochuck]

When you said that Rose was there to delay you, I had a miserable idea where his team, still consisting mostly of steel type pokemon, would be one of defensive walls with Protect on each members of his team. Make it feel like Rose knew someone would show up and built a team designed, not necessarily to win, but to make a pokemon Battle as LONG as possible.

[@dustymcwari4468]

That would be interesting, and to better sell the idea that he’s just there to buy time for the big something something to arrive undisturbed, giving the player the same frustration the main characters may be feeling at that critical moment, and the team being full defensive can further say that he really doesn’t wanna hurt anyone, but he’s still gotta protect his ambition at all cost somehow

[@MegabombGamer-rb5kh]

Also in the background, you can see Eternatus' fossil surging with energy, intensifying as the battle goes on, to emphasis the situation.

[@TheKawaiifan]

I am screaming in pain at the mere thought of this

[@thebookless3381]

NPC stalling

[@crystallion1269]

Minimise recovery eviolite Chansey… and that’s just the first Pokémon

[@SoughtAnarchy]

24:30 I legitimately never knew Eternatus was even connected to the wishing stars. I just kinda went "oh cool dragon energy monster".

[@silikerYT]

I remember waiting and waiting for the "big thing" to happen in this game and it just never did, I thought that storming rose tower was gonna be it, but left disappointed, but your changes would've definitely fixed that also please finish sun/moon it actually has a great story

[@R0DisG0D]

Second the Sun/Moon part. It's actually a great example of how even if a villain does not have too much of a direct presence, it can really work because of the impact they have on many of the other characters in the game, wich is a path I think could have worked for Rose as well.

[@mariustan9275]

@@R0DisG0D One good example of this is in Avatar the last airbender. There King Ozai rarely shows up and is basically a non entity in the character department. However, we can already figure out who he is based off the dynamic with his children. Zuko is a loner obsessed with finding the avatar because his father told him to, and at this point in the story the avatar is believed to be long dead. Clearly Ozai doesn't give a crap about him and just wants him gone, and when it IS clear the avatar is still alive, the other fire nation characters keep pushing Zuko away. And don't forget Ozai PUBLICALLY MUTILATED HIM after he protested a decision that would have killed an entire unit of new troops. Meanwhile we have Azula. While Zuko is shunned by Ozai, Azula is praised for being a firebending prodigy. Ozai teaches her taht power is everything, and this causes her to fail in every social situation trying to keep an iron grip on the situation. So even though Ozai is very rarely shown, we already know about who this guy is as a character, we get to know EXACTLY who he is simply seeing what he did to his children. HIS OWN CHILDREN. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

[@dahomeboi9759]

This all looks pretty good for a story change for Sw/Sh. However, I do have some criticisms: - I definitely think Sordward and Shielbert could have some potential, and they don't have to be removed. However, the premise for a large bulk of what the post-game is has to be changed from Dynamax Pokemon running rampant to something else (maybe battling people who support the duo and are causing ruckuses in the cities). - Maybe instead of Turffield, some ruins in Route 8 could work better, as Route 8 is essentially ruins, and those had potential to have some lore tied to them, but instead they copped out of it. - Make the DLC stories play some role in the main story. Some of these Pokemon could have had the potential to have their stories expanded upon, like how maybe the Regis went on a frenzy because of the Galar Particles and destroyed large areas of Galar, causing them to be sealed, there could have been many Urshifu trying to fight the Dynamaxed Pokemon, but failed since almost all of them turned to Dynamax and Gigantamax and they could have been slain by Zacian and Zamazenta, with the remaining fleeing to the Isle of Armor, Calyrex could have went into hiding to prevent Glastrier or Spectrier from going berserk, fleeing to the Crown Tundra to escape all of the chaos, and the Galarian birds could have utilized the Galar Particles to improve their physique, while not turning berserk. Of course, some of these might sound a bit far-out, but I find it very weird that while absolute armageddon is happening in mainland Galar, Calyrex is just chilling doing the Freezington Shanty or whatever it's called.

[@cleverman383]

Sordward and Shielbert have dumb names and dumb hair. But having a royal family trying to suppress the knowledge that their royal family descends from a fake hero is a cool story. Maybe Rose could have been a prince and taken their role.

[@FenillaVee]

It's funny, in the anime (which I know is a separate continuity, but still), Rose *didn't* turn himself in after the Darkest Day arc. Both he and Oleana disappeared, with Leon trying to track them down. So it seems even GF realized how stupid his sudden "I feel bad now" moment was in the games, after he was legit driven mad about Galar's future. Also, Eternatus' Poké Ball got sealed deep underground, which would've been cool if perhaps the player was given a choice to give up the dangerous Legendary, sealing it to be secure, or keep it and risk another Darkest Day event. Your version of the story is amazing, no joke! For someone who said they weren't that big on Pokémon, you still did a better job than GF did. Seriously, if there was a modded version of SwSh put out at some point with your story or based on it, I'd actually enjoy playing SwSh, minus the dex cuts, heh.

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

Actually it is more likely done because they want a reason for Leon to travel the world or a second arc. Not any form of logic in improving it. Animation thrives based on never letting it conclude to get 3000 episodes.

[@froggers8945]

Aren't mods just Homebrew?

[@charondusk5608]

Honestly, if that choice regarding Enternatus was in the game, it'd make me feel even more inclined towards keeping it than I would already be. Not because it's powerful or a legendary, but because "No, I feel bad for it, I'm not letting you put it in eternal time-out, let me love my funky alien dragon child in peace,"

[@Aquabzs]

@@charondusk5608 Me: YOUR NOT TOUCHING ANY OF MY BABIES *CRIES*

[@ondiiina]

@@charondusk5608 imagine getting invited to lunch, beaten down once you arrive then trapped underground forever.. Not happening to my long stick boi anytime soon. Not on my damn watch!

[@instantpurple1282]

Just the ProZD skit of “Twist Villain” Me: So, who’s the bad guy? “Don’t you know? It was me all along, Johnson Smith.” Me: Who? Gamefreak: It’s Johnson Smith, the CEO from the beginning of the game! Me: Oh, yeah- yeah that’s pretty cool, what was his name again? Gamefreak: J-Johnson Smith..

[@omerozel4716]

What i love about your version is how Rose is brushed off by all the others because the crisis will happen in 1000 years when they are no longer alive. Brushing it off is like the worst thing in Roses view as if everyone uses that argument than it will continue until its to late. Current Generation: In 1000 years? Not our problem. Next Generation: In 900 years? Not our problem. Generation after that: In 800 years? Not our problem. And so on. And than when the generation in 1000 years is around they will face a crisis no previous generation even thought about the prevent from happening because they brushed it off.

[@LDrago4VOID1MR]

*Looks at the current state of the world* that hits... just a little close to home.

[@cleverman383]

@@LDrago4VOID1MR Don't worry, it's not our problem

[@DSTmune]

It's funny how much potential this game has for telling a great story, and how awful its delivery is. There's so much this game could've done right but it absolutely sandbagged it all. I think honestly, a great way of telling the story of Sword and Shield is to look at Twilight Wings, which I think paints a better story of the character of Rose. I think it would be very interesting if Rose was a character absolutely obsessed with the idea of power, but different to how most other evil team villains handle power. Without directly showing it, Rose is the most influential person in Galar. He's wealthy, he's calculated, and his company (Macro Cosmos) holds investments in many, many different types of companies in the Galar region, from construction to insurance to freight to banks to everything you can think of. But most importantly, he is in charge of the Pokemon League. I think this businessman character is really fascinating to explore, creating a narrative of how Rose is a masterful marketer and manipulator, and how he uses Leon's power and fame to strengthen himself and his influence throughout Galar. I think what showed this very well was the seventh episode of Twilight Wings, where everyone was so confused about where Leon was. And the second Leon comes flying in on a Corviknight, Rose smiles, snaps his fingers, and the spotlights appear on Leon. To Rose, Leon is a toy, a pawn that he uses to keep the Galar region under his control. I don't think Rose needed to be a strong trainer, mostly because I don't think he's supposed to be one. Rose is a puppet master and Leon is his puppet that he uses to strengthen himself, but find who Rose really is and all you see is his weak, pathetic side. I think what would've been much more fascinating is seeing Leon become the sort of bad guy in the story, who gets further manipulated by Rose into believing that the player and Hop are threats, growing mad and challenging them both to battle (which would give a great opportunity to improve the story of Hop, Bede, or Marnie by making one of them the champion after Leon and Rose are arrested). Alternatively, Oleana could serve as the trainer stronger than Rose, showing that even though Oleana loves Rose and supports everything he does blindly, Rose is in fact using her too. Or alternatively there, have ROSE use Eternatus. He doesn't have to catch him, but have him use Eternatus using some kind of "magic rope" or something like what Cyrus used in Platinum, I don't know. It's another thing he manipulates and controls for power and portrays his character well too, I think. All of those would have been incredible methods of improving Rose's character. It's so frustrating that with characters that have so much potential and great design, they waste all of it. Rose could have been such a fascinating and strong character that could have had real-world implications (comparing him to somebody like Donald Trump or Jeff Bezos and their marketing, manipulative skills, and the power they have over everybody). Every single character in this story had way too much potential, every gym leader, rival, the champion, villains, everybody, and they dropped the ball so heavily. It's truly disappointing.

[@The2mightybeanfans]

I think youre forgetting that its just a kids game

[@lucasclyde7424]

@@The2mightybeanfans And you know what else is also a kids game? Pokemon Black and white yet it has a good storyline and characters like N, Cheren, and Alder are well written.

[@purinwithahat1891]

@@The2mightybeanfans what are you doing here commenting this? just go away

[@daniele7989]

I really do love this, in the anime Rose reveals his father died in a mine collapse, people struggling for energy ruins lives, If you wanted to twist the knife, he could see his rashness destroy a town (maybe have a death count), and have him spiral. Even having achieved his goal people are still suffering. Agh why did the anime rush this plot too

[@dragonninja3655]

My problem is we have seen electric Pokemon powering power plants before. How could the Pokemon world ever have an energy crisis? It is literally infinite and easily obtainable.

[@notmyrealname5268]

@@dragonninja3655 Maybe a line about it "exploiting" them? His goal with the wishing stars is to grow his company to phase out powerplants that use electric pokemon? Could work.

[@-voiddemoni-9243]

@@dragonninja3655 true but it’s been considered inhuman very often

[@TrueBladeSoul]

Another thing is I saw someone say that maybe you could have Eternatus consume energy rather than create and the wishing stars are just the energy it’s absorbed causing Rose to panic realizing he was wrong you can even include the dlc as an expansion to the main storyline with regileci by having Rose flee after the main story intending to make things right with him discovering a legendary Pokémon that can solve the energy crisis but he comes to the main character for help not wanting to risk repeating his past mistake you can even have him turn himself in afterwards as he feels he has made up for his mistake and is ready to face justice

[@notmyrealname5268]

@@TrueBladeSoul That would have been awesome. Great idea!

[@Endyre]

The one strange interaction/ thing I would have loved to see changed in the game/ your rewrite would be bede destroying the mural, since Rose shows up to that and considering it’s A. What he wanted Bede to do by collecting the things and B. Uncovers a much more valuable piece of art than the meal being the statues. Having something different happen there like everyone else pressuring Rose to punish Bede for destroying a tourist attraction and having him disown Bede unwillingly would have let him keep the “caring man who just wants he best for everyone” personality while slightly showing that he’s changing for the worse because he caved in and disowned Bede. Rose just disowning Bede without a second thought in the main game seems slightly out of place for him since his character only had one established trait at that point and it was being very caring towards everyone (also the line when rose asks what bedes name is right outside one of the gym would have to be removed since it shows that Rose doesn’t really care about Bede and contractdicts the likable man we see at the start)

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

The problem with this... is Bede doesn't really have a reason to destroy the mural. There MIGHT be something behind it... or not at all. Imagine walking up and shooting someone because they MIGHT be a murderer. He doesn't have a valid reason or point, but rather assumptions and not what he was looking for at all. Yes his action did good... but if someone doing good despite it being bad then you can twist some of the worst people in history into being good because they killed bad people.

[@bearysweetgyu2774]

@@Buglin_Burger7878 ur example kinda doesnt make sense cuz bede destroying public property isnt on the same level. additionally considering bede is an overzealous and overconfident kid trying to carry out the mission president rose gave him its not completely ridiculous for him to trust his instincts that historical locations would contain the wishing stars hes looking for. hes a cocky and inconsiderate kid, destroying public property for a "greater purpose" kinda fits his character motivations

[@sarapetals3963]

Hmm. I've been thinking about this for a while after having gotten back in Sw/Sh. For the gym leaders they could have littered each town with a little bit of the legend or even a piece of the sword/shield and they could have helped player + sonia gain access to it thus tying them a little more into the plot (hell Raihan is sitting on the damn vault and we got pretty much NOTHING from him)

[@Stellie3341]

Bede’s character development becoming the new fairy type trainer was my favorite part of the game. Seeing him go from being cocky rival to being chosen as the replacement was so fun

[@Matthew_Murray]

I actually think Bede was a bad attempt at a jerk rival, what made Blue a good rival was that he had the skills to back up his talk, but Bede feels like fighting any random route NPC. Also it bothers me how both Bede and Marnie end up Gym Leaders, it just seems like both were forced into it because someone else wanted them to and not as a natural evolution of their character

[@ItsYourPalJacob]

That is a good point. The entire game is incredibly easy, and unfortunately Bede doesn’t give off a threatening vibe because of it. But would that mean if we were to modify the game to make Bede’s battles very challenging that it would fix that and that he’d be a good rival character? If yes, then I’d argue that from a storytelling perspective Bede is fine, but from a gameplay perspective he is as you say, the equivalent of a random route NPC. But this being a video game, storytelling through gameplay is just as important as the writing itself, and making that change would be very beneficial to his overall impact as a character. As for Marnie and Bede eventually becoming gym leaders, I agree with you that it was poorly handled. The idea itself is fine, but they didn’t implement it well enough for it to be meaningful.

[@ghengiroo4143]

@@KyleEvra I personally liked Hop becoming an assistant, since it relates to how passionate he was while Sonia was uncovering the mystery of the Darkest Day. Also, most other rivals are “supposed” (big emphasis here for some of them) to be pretty much equal to the player, supposed to be weak at the start and then strong at the end or really don’t care about becoming a strong trainer. Hop, on the other hand, is meant to be weak the whole time and his arc is realising that becoming the strongest trainer just isn’t for him, so doing something else he’s passionate for makes sense.

[@thefunnyaerialman]

So, about the discussion of Hop's "becoming an assistant professor" arc in the replies... I remember seeing a few people say that becoming a Ranger would be a better idea given his motivations. What do you guys think?

[@Kidomaru222]

The idea that Blue was anything close to ressembling a good character and rival is so bothering to me...

[@ghengiroo4143]

@@thefunnyaerialman I think Hop becoming a ranger could make a bit more sense.

[@powwowken2760]

It's easy to fix the story actually include the player in it 99% of the games story goes by ignoring the player entirely, Leon just does everything, off screen, then suddenly we have to fight an 'evil' corporation and a world destroying entity, all because our friends brother is slightly late joining us for dinner

[@robertlupa8273]

Still better than Pokemon Reborn. Not that it's a high bar to clear :P

[@astracrits4633]

@@robertlupa8273 Haven't played Reborn yet; how bad was the story?

[@thundrr1929]

@@astracrits4633 well, I dunno about them, but the game is a bit edgy. But hey, its enjoyable, and it actually did pique my interest to go through the brutally hard game. It's a bit complex, though, and I'd reccomend seeing it. If you want me to tell you about it, tell me.

[@thetraveler2224]

Leon plays the game instead of you.

[@robertlupa8273]

@@astracrits4633 Story? Pretty bad. Especially if you know the backstory behind some decisions about the game, especially certain deaths. I reccomend reading a let's play on SomethinhAwful if you want to know more. And yeah, I never played it either and I don't want to. Not when at one point they throw you into two 12v6s and a 6v6s with no option to swap the lead between them, and a heal between _one_ of them being added in a later update _because for some reason they didn't think it'd be necessary._ Despite all of that, I still reccomend at least reading about it. It's a unique experience.

[@lemontree7792]

When I first played the game I thought there was going to be a plot twist where Oleana was pulling strings behind the scenes and manipulating+gaslighting Rose for some sort of intense and malicious motives....

[@risel56]

This re-imagined narrative building up to the Rose fight kept me far more invested than the original SwSh plot, and the payoff of including -One-Winged Dadbod- Rose's battle theme legitimately gave me goosebumps the first time I watched this.

[@davidflores5907]

I actually like the original concept of Rose turning himself in To me, instead of this action making it seem as though he regretted releasing eternatus, it makes it seem as though he accepts the consequences of releasing eternatus It shows that Rose doesn’t care about what happens to him as long as he is able to save the future of Galar

[@darknessknows1235]

Agreed. Nothing about turning himself in suggests regretting what he's done, and even if it did, depending on how it's spun it could show his growth in the same way N after his defeat or even the Gen 3 evil team leaders realized they were wrong.

[@Juslin7989]

It could also be spun that he didn't realise how dangerous Eternatus would be or smth.

[@chocken2651]

Another thing is that rose turns himself in by releasing eternatus but you catch that thing with a great ball and nothing comes out of it like you can just use it on some random onix as a normal pokemon but it's a cool pokemon anyways

[@authoreyes101]

"I've done what I came here to do; take me away, boys!"

[@renab.7390]

Actually the main problem with the story is the lack of player interaction. We're fed bits and pieces of the story by Sonia but never do anything ourselves. Throw out Sonia's character and let us uncover the story ourselves by interacting with the world!

[@sarafontanini7051]

precisely also make rose a better villain

[@sammich1009]

I kinda like Sonia, but I agree that the player could do more. Maybe the player could discover things then call Sonia or bring items back to her so she can explain them/theorize about them, providing a bit of the storytelling? I don’t know full story of the game as I haven’t played it, but maybe she could even ask the player to help her with her research, and that’s why they could go exploring for things. She might’ve already done that though, I dunno those bits

[@Luchux177]

My take on this is to do something interesting during those sections where Leon directs us towards the next gym while he takes care if it: Let us play as Leon! Think about it, puzzle battle where you have to figure out a way to win with a fixed team, a small dungeon with him, it would've been so cool!

[@Em-fz5uh]

Well said. Each time something mysterious that was piquing our interest happened we were told to go away. The whole "leave x situation to us and go to the next gym" was so freaking frustrating. It's so anticlimactic I don't understand why they did it. Honestly they shot themselves in the foot with this one.

[@nerdmysteria1406]

But then we get no Sonia r34, and that’s a no go for me.

[@atlasllm]

I was recommended this video on Tumblr where it was specifically labeled as "Video essays to watch about video games you've never played". Now, I've only seen RTGame's VERY edited down let's play of sword and shield, and it's been the only Pokemon content I've ever actually engaged with. I doubt I could name more than 3 Pokemon at a time, let alone know the ins and outs of lore and what would make a good Pokemon game. But, this video genuinely had me on the edge of my seat; I love how you broke down what did and didn't work in the writing and your concepts for your fixed story was absolutely fascinating. I may not ever be a Pokemon fan, but this video definitely made me excited to plot for my own writing projects in the future.

[@whatreallyisart5898]

I really hope that we get a platinum style revamp of sword and shield as a third game for galar. swsh is definitively one of my favorite games. I liked the plot but there was still a lot they could've done more with, really enjoyed your deep dive into this!

[@kiwana7469]

Pokémon gun

[@Mr0Bob]

The aftergame could have been trying to track down Rose and bring him in

[@KyleEvra]

Nice!

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@magenttaa576 Especially because Looker was implied to be British. Weird he never shows up in Galar, Fantina never shows up in Kalos, Marron never shows up in Alola, and Surge never showed up in Unova, despite each character being blatantly based on people from the countries those regions are inspired by.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@Rodrick Young Even though this would be the perfect time for a cameo

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@Rodrick Young There's always ROM hacks

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@Rodrick Young There's an obvious Hawaiian theme to Humilau and Marlon, yes to the other two though Fantina could as well be from Galar if we go by the Japanese version.

[@pigeons777]

SwSh really reminded me of XY in how it felt like they had much grander ideas than they could actually execute… which is why im keeping my eyes on the manga adaptation with how much i liked what they did with XY

[@LumosVeil]

Same actually. SwSh and XY for me though remind me of regions where the Pokémon games had very big plans for, but was just badly executed.

[@Luchux177]

Yeeeeees!!!! Pokespe is such a good manga and it deserves way more love than it gets.

[@aarondx3764]

@@Luchux177 Yeah Pokémon adventures is great.

[@ialwayscommentmushroom6993]

It always bothered me that XY had introduced some new side story lines and then never did anything with them. I would have loved a game based around Zygarde that covered those stories. It would’ve been better to include the Zygarde forms in XY rather than SM because it feels like it was just thrown into both of those games. Idk, throwing main legendary Pokémon into games with little to no backstory just doesn’t feel right. ((Mushroom))

[@benitosanchez869]

The Pokespe manga for SwSH has been pretty lacklustre so far :/ The battles are great and I love the concept of Pokémon tools/held items being upgraded.

[@SkitsyCat]

So given the A Plot being the player's journey in beating the Gyms and Champion, and B Plot being the whole thing with Chairman Rose and Eternatus, perhaps another thing we could do is to put the decision in the player's hands; Realistically, the player is just a kid who wants to be the best trainer in Galar (beating the Gyms and Champion). When presented with the growing B Plot as we progress through the game, we get to choose to either actively ignore Rose's advocacy along with the others, or to dig more into it because he do be making sense. For instance, that part where there's an explosion after we beat Spikemuth's gym, perhaps Leon does show up, but in a way that he gives us the choice to actually care and to investigate with him; if not, it'll just be us as kids leaving the serious matters to the responsible adults. Maybe the game adapts the way it treats us as the player based on how we respond to anomalies (B Plot) that get in the way of our main goal (A Plot); if we choose to focus the most on A Plot, we still get ample hints of what Rose is up to, and it would only require us to intervene at the point when Rose interrupts our battle with Leon because the world is literally ending and we need all hands on deck; if we actually tried to participate in B Plot, we get the thickest the plot can get with the deeper history that gives everything more detail, with why Eternatus and what's with the Wishing Stars and whatnot. This way, we also tackle the feeling that we're constantly being undermined as players of the game, treating us like kids even if a lot of us are returning experienced players.

[@cleverman383]

You're asking too much from a Pokemon game

[@SkitsyCat]

@@cleverman383 I mean, a kid can dream, right? 🥲

[@sheeshbro9559]

Just listening to the ideas of your revamped version of the story got me super excited! Great stuff, loved the video

[@BlastoiseMaster]

I do have one question. If Eternatus gives off so much energy and is causing Pokemon to dynamax across the region, then why are our Pokemon regular size during those battles? Wouldn't that energy dynamax our Pokemon, along with Hop, Leon and Rose's. Imagine how cool a Dynamax-only battle would be and it would fit the lore

[@adamgettings2557]

It made it out like eternatus had control of that power.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@adamgettings2557 But considering it's an animal I assume it would just keep Dynamaxing Pokémon

[@King_Minos64]

@@ChangedMyNameFinally69 I think it’s like a passive side effect of how much energy it emits. I don’t see a reason for it to go out of its way to destroy the region, it’s not malevolent, it’s just does what it does.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@King_Minos64 They kinda portrayed it as evil

[@MeboDotExe]

god imagine an epic dynamax only battle with rose in the energy plant with that supervillain orchestral battle theme GOD

[@themysticarcher3313]

The fact that the anime's storyline is easier to follow than the games REALLY makes you think.

[@natalimoina]

I mean, they've always put more effort into the anime than the games and also the anime is for storytelling and the games' main priority is gameplay. It's only natural really.

[@gbhtrain1325]

This is so cool. I really love the changes you’ve made to the story. I’m writing an anime series based on Sword and Shield and this is so helpful

[@hiraganasakura9074]

i rly enjoyed this video! i also had a multitude of gripes with sword and shield's story (you hit the nail on the head with most, if not all of them, actually) and even toyed with the idea of making a sort of novelization where i rewrote and improved upon the story. this video actually gave me a lot of inspiration, so if i ever decide to pick that idea up again, i'll take into account what was brought up here. the changes you made led to the story being a lot more compelling!

[@danielj366]

“One winged dad bod” makes this WHOLE video

[@Naro_Rivers]

I just about lost it at that line.

[@Xman34washere]

So if clouds the sword who's the shield

[@th8aone-147]

@@Xman34washere I could make a yo mama joke, but that'd be too easy

[@cradiculous]

Hm.

[@loturzelrestaurant]

I wonder if something like the Nations Strength of a Pokemon-Region has ever been covered... by anyone. Just anyone.

[@EliTheGleason]

The rose rewrite is dope, I love simple, fundamental, effective storytelling, it's so satisfying to see the little changes that could so easily reframe the character into something great

[@darkmoon2503]

No joke, there are people out there who somehow think this is the best Pokémon story ever told. Next time I see someone say that, I just need to send them this video 😂

[@nazeersadek6705]

This is an amazing video that deserves way more views!! Really happy with the changes you suggested

[@colmmc365]

What if you see Bede every so often and every time he switches one or two of his psychic pokemon with fairy until the pokemon league when it's revealed that he's the fairy gym leader?

[@TeeTop_]

nice foreshadowing

[@colmmc365]

@@TeeTop_ Thanks.

[@figs-oliomedley]

I like this idea! To add on to it, what if his team gets shaken by someone with dark types, so he slowly starts using dual typed pokemon (psychic/fairy of course, to keep his theme, as opposed to bug or fighting types)? And then at some point he outright just has one mono fairy type Pokemon amongst the rest of the psychics or something?

[@colmmc365]

@@figs-oliomedley That sounds great. Wait, did we just create a better story arc for Bede then Gamefreak?

[@figs-oliomedley]

@@colmmc365 well don't sell yourself short, you did too XD

[@collinbrown7751]

Wow hearing Rose's theme after your version of the story sent shivers done my spine. It's too bad the main story is much worse than your version and now I wish we got your version :(

[@stealthlock6634]

Exactly. First time watching that cutscene and being full of thrill instead of disappointment

[@michaelmyersjr.9142]

Imagine if someone modded this into the actual game. I mean switch mods will happen eventually. Right? Plus all the assets (text boxes, character models, etc) are all there, any new lore based areas are honestly optional.

[@CaeliaMillenart]

Hiiii~ This video has been on my list for a while now, so I hope I won't make a comment so big you won't be able to notice it. I reaaaally love this game's history. When I found your video, and the time I needed to read ir, I told myself "this person is NOT saying the game is bad. I want to hear them." And I must say it genuinely feels awesome you're as impartial as possible (let's keep what you didn't mention but wrote in your subtitles apart for this comment.) I agree with you on so many points I came here to study! I couldn't help but feels your recreation of the final Eternatus battle was awesome and super cool. I'm kinda slow and often dumb, so I needed to clear the main storyline (post-game DLC not included) to have opinions as good as yours. I won't comment on Oleana and Marnie's character because yeah. You understand them way better than I do. Regarding Marnie, though, I discussed with someone who pointed that the character really grew on this game; something about respecting her brother's ideals and understanding herself better. Couldn't grasp much of it, but that's interesting. As for Bede, I like how you sound talking about him. I don't like this character, but I think his growth and character development are indeed one of the best things to study in this game. Now... Big Stuff? Oooooh... I wonder if someone will read that thing. I don't feel your character is a part of the story. I had even forgotten Leon mentioned everyone was talking about them. To me, Victor/Gloria aren't heroes. They aren't a part of what I would call "C scenario" now that I've listened to your whole video. It's not the *gym challenge* which they are part of, or the *Darkest Day* which they interact with, but the *megalomania* part you choose to integrate to the Darkest Day scenario. I consider there is a mistake in Roses writing, but he's still my favourite character in the game. There are two Rose character. The one you see throughout the game and the megalomaniac one you managed to develop in your video. This one is hidden in the game's subtext and is indeed, brutally shown at the very end. - The same can be said about that megalomaniac character and Hop's desire to understand Pokémon. I feel you're too attached to text and literal proofs and less cautious about how the game looks. Your video made me realize that while Hop is always changing his team, for instance, he's also fighting you with very rare Pokémon such as Cramorant. Is he completing his Pokédex or is he actually interested in the Pokémon's environment? When scenes involve Hop, Leon and the professor, Hop is always put on the professor's side. I feel that's another hint. - You didn't talk about the tremors of the Dynamax Den getting far stronger as you progress through the game! I feel that's another thing that hints toward "your character isn't the hero." That's why you don't get to fight Dynamax Pokémon, but Leon does. He was already aware things could get messy and was actually working with Rose. Your character isn't supposed to be a hero when they discover Eternatus; the lack of music (in my opinion) shows they are disgusted by that surreal creature. This thing ISN'T a Pokémon. It was there all along, but it's a menace and a catastrophe. When they are talking about some "vortex" in the Darkest Day Legend, it's Eternatus. Back at Turrfield, Eternatus was on the mural. It's that tiny thing! I promise that's my last paragraph now, thank you for reading. The story of the Darkest Day has been forgotten. People are trying to find clues about it, but there is barely anything to work with. You despise these two guys in the postgame, but I feel there is a hint there. Why would the two wolves' statue be hidden? Why is that golden hero statue in this hotel? I feel Galar's aristocracy is the reason why. 3,000 years is far more than enough to forget everything about a story. And while the researches on the Darkest Day are progressing, aristocracy is losing in influence, hence the attitude these characters have: they don't want to be the last aristocrats, but there we are. Someone pretends that no king ever saved Galar. There is so much to theorize up that point, but if someone can get to this line, they can also figure out what are the questions we now need to ask. .... Argh... Out of every 3000 comments here, how many people have done the same as I did? I wonder. It would be a shame not to post it now that it is written, though. Here is a vibrating Rose to cheer you up after such a big read. It made me laugh. 49:24

[@alysshart7522]

I love all of your ideas for enhancing the emotional impact of the story!

[@Naro_Rivers]

Additionally, something I would have liked to see in terms of worldbuilding is the inclusion of the ten minor league gyms. Galar has a gym for every type and the leaders compete to see which eight will form the major league for a given year. It would have been cool to have a fuller world and be able to visit, if not battle, the other gyms.

[@artist0154]

But then you need to add 10 cities and 10 characters and more than 50-60 NPCs

[@trickytristan1]

@@artist0154 but they wouldnt need that many more. they did have a few of those gym leaders in the form of the alternate rock/ice and ghost/fighting, as well as klara, avery, and peony from the dlc, so theyd really only need 5 more gym leaders

[@artist0154]

@@trickytristan1 that's true bug, ground, flying, normal and electric could have it's own minor leaders, maybe

[@KrissyBlues]

@@artist0154 They also don't all need cities tbh, one or two of them could come from somewhere else vaguely in the region to imply there's more to it than we visit I imagine at least one could live in wedgehurst too, likely as someone who wants to be a gym leader but has a hard time convincing the league to let them set up shop because wedgehurst lacks a sufficient dynamax well, similar to piers' struggle which gives an early glimpse into the energy politics of galar

[@loturzelrestaurant]

@@KrissyBlues Question: Seen my comment?

[@juliusweiss5447]

“You can feel the urgency and sense of dread as the final battle starts” *Jacob sends out DabbingGod* Womp womp, Lol. 😂

[@indecisivewolf5620]

I remember playing Sword for the first time and just how long it took me from the start of the game until I made it to Turffield and beat Milo. The pacing was great. You have already visited several different biomes and been through several towns or cities before you even get your first badge. You're introduced to many of the games characters during that early stretch and then the game is still well paced up until you defeat Kabu. After that...it gets bad. Really bad. The 4th - 8th gym badges can take you about one to two hours while you can spend days working your way through the first 3 gyms if you pace yourself. The changes you made are fantastic and honestly wouldn't even be that difficult to implement. You managed to maintain the integrity of the original story and characters while making it into something that would've been truly exciting to play through. My only change would be to Oleana - incorporating elements from her Twilight Wings episode rather than simplifying it down to "Rose saved her" which...I mean, he kid of did in TW anyway (brings her from toiling away in a dark computer lab to making her vice president of Macro Cosmos). SwSh are still fine as Pokémon games but how much they left to be desired will always leave me a bit disappointed. Also, fuck Swordward and Shielbert lol

[@sandyjourneys]

Honestly the amount of work that you put into this story in fixing it is just immaculate. I love your passion.

[@teobaldolendario8880]

48:00 Twilight Wings helped A LOT in this, we can know the backstory of some characters including Oleana and why she care about Rose and take her job very seriously. Shame that this series came AFTER the games release =|

[@AndrewAment]

I just commented about this. Twilight Wings is a treasure!

[@laraschroeder5195]

Watched it because of this comment. Best show I’ve ever seen!

[@teobaldolendario8880]

@@laraschroeder5195 I'm really glad you liked it, it's probably my favorite Pokémon animation =) Amazing world-building and characterization, even though it was so short. I also recommend you to see Pokémon Masters EX dialogues and interactions if you like to know more about the characters and their personalities.

[@laraschroeder5195]

@@teobaldolendario8880 screenshot required and on my way now, man! Thanks!

[@popsicIes]

Don't get me wrong, I loved Twilight Wings, but if anything that proves his point further. Twilight Wings should've added more to an already great story, not be the literal savior for the game.

[@Tytotius]

Also, I think something interesting that could've happened with Rose and Oleana on the run is that the post game could be centered around finding and redeeming/forgiving them. Especially if Rose had been sidelined for most if not all of the game.

[@DuffyDevil]

Oleana i understand but rose is in jail at the end isn't he?

[@jexami]

@@DuffyDevil I think he’s describing the rewrite laid out here, cuz i had the same idea haha, in the main game rose is just cool again and goes to jail on his own yeah

[@justina1909]

Or have Looker show up and you help him track him down. Each time you get a lead you just miss him, but each time you miss him you get hints on his slow road to recovery.

[@WubbaDubba198]

@@justina1909 that be epic since looker didn't appear in any of the switch titles, even though he was in every title before from gen 4 to gen 7

[@wildebeest19]

I love how in the background footage he is using an all ice team.

[@anxiousrobot82]

The algorithm showed this video to me, and I’m glad I watched it! I really love how you restructured the plot

[@Ruebeabea]

you apologized for using the official artwork in a visual novel sorta way, stating that it was not very good-looking. but to be honest, the artwork has much more character than the 3D models, and honestly think using the art for cut scenes would have been better than what we have.

[@inconemay1441]

considering how inept GF is at making 3d cutscenes and conversations, might as well use visual novel CGs to fill in the imagination

[@literallyglados]

@@inconemay1441 they should just switch back to 2d

[@artist0154]

@@literallyglados Octopath style

[@thetraveler2224]

@@inconemay1441 Without voice acting.

[@higgsbonbon]

The silent mouth-flapping is just embarrassing, yeah.

[@ktjay9862]

That's it. This is the canon story as far as I care now. I'll defend and die on this hill. Thank you for the hours of effort that this video must have taken. The footage, your Pokemon nicknames, the analysis, your humour, passion for the game, and the rewritten plotline, I enjoyed it all immensely.

[@Blaze4ification]

My God my people, I'm a long time fan that has stuck with the franchise and that was my biggest complaint. Everyone kept nitpicking things like the national dex, the graphics, and other little things, but the biggest and most obvious short coming to me was the story... IN AN RPG, story is the most important thing, it felt too focused on competitive players, and like the story was non existant (which frankly I would've preferred) then suddenly OH SHIT'S HITTING THE FAN, right at the last possible second. After this game's equivalent to the elite 4 (since there is none), right before the champion, "oh you're about to fight the final boss, the game's been leading up to this, and you're about to throw down with the strongest trainer in the region?" TOO BAD, psych suddenly plot. It feels like a chore, like you're cleaning up after a child, he interrupted your important business meeting drawing with crayon on the wall so you gotta go yell "NO YOU'RE GROUNDED, think about what *YOU'VE DONE!*" and Rose was such an obvious villain. He's the 1st person you see, and you immediately say oh yep he's the villain, definitely. He would've been better as a red herring, maybe make the professor or champion the villain, they'd even fit his role better. His idea was doing evil for the sake of good, which Arceus knows is a really over done trope, Lusamine in Ultra games for a Pokemon example, Lysander with his Hitler view point too, lots of shows, movies, games do this trope. You got specific sprites for characters that aren't generic NPCs, you, the rival/s, gym leaders, elite 4, champion, professor, villain, professor and villain assistants, and battle frontier or similar characters, even Bill or Mr Fuji very important characters in the original games didn't have unique sprites. So you make someone you wouldn't expect the villain, the champion the strongest trainer in the region, gets ahead of himself and accidentally sets the evil loose and turns out to be too weak to stop it (which they do with Leon he's too weak to fight Eternatus... they should've just combined it and made him the villain). The professor I feel fits it better though, they're too invested in their research, they unleash the evil like 1/2 way through the game and story, they insist no what they're doing is good and for the sake of the world, only to realize at the end after something catastrophic happens what they did was wrong. Sure maybe that's like Archie and Maxie from gen 3, but I feel it would fit a professor perfectly, and it would be really new, fresh, and neat to see someone you expect to be good to flip the script. Not to mention Rose's reasoning was weak, 1000 years in the future Galar will run out of energy... YOU'LL BE LONG GONE! Why bother? Not to mention there's tons of Pokemon that can do the job just as easily, tie up a dozen Pikachu, or heck take a train over to Crown Tundra, Regieleki alone can power an entire region, and if its like the other regis there's probably multiple. So many angles could be done to improve the story, I've seen fan regions do better.

[@israellai]

I found this video halfway through my BDSP playthrough. It's insane how many investigative tasks I'm given in this game, compared to how much I'm told "let the adults handle it" in SwSh.

[@cleverman383]

Pokemon games used to always get criticism that the hero is always a 10 year old kid, and SwSh finally addressed that criticism

[@shootingstarbit]

Alternative concept: really leaning into the businessman side of rose’s character, let’s say he knows from the start that the wishing star supply is running low; his company IS the one using them to power the region, after all. Macro Cosmos has had an energy monopoly over the Galar region for decades, and it’s in Rose’s best financial interest to keep it that way, so he scrambled to find a solution. He becomes Chairman of the Galar League as a means to acquire connections with powerful Trainers like Leon, gain access to the Power Spots the stadiums are built on top of, and to collect more wishing stars; it’s a minor detail, but there could perhaps be some in-game TV news headline about how challengers’ Dynamax bands will disappear from time to time. That would only result in a meager amount of stars, though, and Rose starts getting desperate. He turns to the legend of the Darkest Day, knowing that that storm is somehow connected to the creation of the wishing stars, and decides to enlist Professor Magnolia to help him research it, as she specializes in the study of the Dynamax phenomenon. Rose has not made the information on the energy crisis public yet, but perhaps he hints to it at dinner with Sonia and Victor/Gloria, implying that it’s still quite a long ways away. This is actually a lie, though; as Rose will eventually reveal to Leon during their meeting at Macro Cosmos tower in a desperate plea, the wishing stars left are only enough to power the region for the next 10 years, maybe even less. He kept the secret for so long that he’s almost out of time, and he has no choice but to- Most conveniently, he’s interrupted by Hop and Victor/Gloria bursting into the room after defeating Oleana. Leon promises he’ll help Rose find a solution, once the finals are over. I think it would be a really fun challenge if, when Rose activates the Power Spots across the region to summon Eternatus with the remaining wishing star energy, Galar goes into a near-total blackout. The only electronics still running would be Rotom phones and Rotomis, since they’re not powered by the stars. That would mean no healers at the Pokémon Center, and the player would have to only rely on the healing items in their bag, plus occasional help from their allies like Sonia and Hop. It would also help make the situation seem much more dire (and offer a funky-fresh critique of business monopolies!). The game could subconsciously encourage the player to stock up on healing items beforehand by having them go on sale at Pokémarts because of the Gym Challenge tournament. I also agree that Rose should go on the run after he is defeated, especially in my rewrite where he will have learned no lessons whatsoever. Filthy capitalist. Eat the rich, everyone! Thoughts and critiques welcome!

[@vgamer11]

I love it. But make Piers and Marnie more punk. Like, don't just have Piers distract the guards but have him and Team Yell help storm the place together. Something like that.

[@Catterjeeo]

Welp, it might result in players softlocking if they are not good at the game or they run out of pp, so there should still be a few Pokecenters open using auxiliary power but make them few and far between

[@vgamer11]

@@Catterjeeo I agree! Have the few that are open use some sort of emergency reserve power such as a generator or an electric-type pokemon. If there are centers that are using pokemon though, there should be a limit on either how many times you can heal (maybe just once) or even how many Pokemon you can heal, as an added challenge but in-story it would be to not tire the pokemon too much.

[@xrayblaster4874]

This is really cool

[@ondiiina]

@@vgamer11 Marnie and Piers' hometown could have one of the few centers that are independently generated. It goes with their theme and shows that they always had to make do and have alternatives. A few NPCs could heal you up and others could still sell items. I'm not a fan of having yet another corrupted head of a giga corporation. I liked that Rose had good intentions. His backstory in the anime (his dad dying in the mines to get more stars) really helps his character. People are doing a shitty job and dying. It isn't enough to keep the region going. Makes sense why Rose was scared of running out of stars and energy. I feel like having his father dying be one of his main motivations would be better? Like he wants to stop the mining of wishing stars because of how dangerous it is but he can't because they need them. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place. In both cases, people get hurt. He can't switch to another energy because he'd lose everything too. Maybe it's his greed holding him back subconsciously? He's not willing to risk losing everything by switching to another energy that might not even be enough and would cost a lot more to be efficiently used. It answers why he didn't think of using the same energy other regions do. Also I'd totally play on how he's the Champion's boss. Play on how the dynamic is. Not the place to rant about it but it could deepen Leon's character and flesh out what a Champion does and how Galar Champions are different. So yeah I'd like to keep Rose's good intentions and care for his people but still keep what makes him a rich douchebag. He's good but not that good? Like Lusamine was bad but not that bad in USUM (a downgrade tbh she was better as a horrible person. Anyway it was understandable why she became fucking crazy and you feel a bit bad for her). I'd like the plot twist to be that he isn't that evil. We all knew he was going to be the bad guy and the generation before already had that twist. A slightly different one is a bit better. Anyway I had more to say but I kinda forgot lmao

[@MrSparklytuxedocat]

The game shows that Pokémon can’t write stories without an “evil” team pushing the lore story forward. They tried to subvert their normal trope of ‘evil team captures legendary Pokémon to do this thing.’ Evil team sections usually break up the becoming the region champion plot while dropping hints about the big bad guy/ legendary Pokémon reveal. Of course the story fails when your writing style is essentially a mad lib and you change actual gameplay into shitty exposition dumps.

[@GoddoDoggo]

I thought they subverted the generic "Evil Team" trope fairly well in Black and White, tbh, because they do actually make you question what you're doing for a good portion of the game and whether you're the really evil one, and at least half of the Plasma grunts genuinely believe what they're doing is good for Pokemon. Yes it does end with Cartoonishly Evil Ghetsis and "No the pokemon love battling, they looove it" but I still think it was good.

[@GoddoDoggo]

And then in Black and White 2 they're just a normal Evil Team again, but they're a fair bit more sinister than Rocket or Magma. Like, it's implied they kill and experiment on pokemon AND people. And Ghetsis outright attempts to murder a child in a fit of rage lmao. Gen 5 had weird pokemon, but damn the plot was good.

[@MrSparklytuxedocat]

@@GoddoDoggo Black and White has the strongest storyline in my opinion- which I attribute to one thing: N’s existence. He’s the only thing I remember vividly about the game, his unique motivations, dialogue, and decisions- especially at the end of the first game is fantastic character development. Sadly even N has some recycled plot points- N’s father (adoptive father?) is Ghetsis, Silver’s father was revealed to be Giovanni, obviously this plays different roles in these characters’ individual motivations, but it’s still “rivals dad is super bad big boss at the end of the game.” Obviously there’s other things to praise about the black/white storylines- but clearly I think N is the best part of the story. In my opinion removing N from the game, or changing some of his unique character traits to make him a more traditional rival, would make black and white practically the exact same as every other Pokémon game. Edit: just wanted to clarify- I like the plot point of Ghetsis and N’s relationship because it actually has weight in the story. Team plasma is torn between N/ Ghetsis and their opposing ideologies. The problem arises when Pokémon will just make people related instead of actually writing developed characters, with distinct motivations and actual reasons to interact with each other. ( ie Hop, Leon, Silver, those blondes with mommy issues, too many gym leaders to name, to a certain extent Gary oak) In conclusion Pokémon can write a good story with compelling characters (all within their tropes) but they don’t because.... idk they want more money probably.

[@senabecool7232]

The last time a game had an evil team not use legendary pokemon was Lets Go, a remake

[@theoverlord3937]

@@MrSparklytuxedocat I think the N being Ghetsis’ son really works in B/W because it shows that Ghetsis has literally been grooming his own child for this gilded role since he was a kid. The man was so evil, and self-aware of that evil, that he manipulated his own son into becoming a proxy for him to get the power of Unova’s Dragon. N’s entire motivation was based on the lies fed to him by his own parent, which is really tragic. Then in B2/W2, N spends a lot of time trying to redeem himself, even calling out to his father to try to mend their shattered relationship despite Ghetsis being an evil maniac. Silver’s connection to Giovanni played out much differently, because he kinda spent most of the game being a douche and making fun of Team Rocket before eventually mellowing out. The man hated his Dad from frame 1.

[@AndrewAment]

After watching your take on an alternate Oleana I had to rewatch Twilight Wings and I realized, Oleana should’ve been the Professor for Pokemon Sword and Shield and she became to antagonist. The first ever Pokemon Professor that went rogue. She was so obsessed with Pokemon research and how we used energy that forced evolved pokemon to gigantic sizes was perverse in her eyes and she wanted to give us a taste of our own medicine by using Rose and backstabbing him. All the build up of Rose being the enemy but Oleana was it all along. Edit: i would go far to say that she could been name changed to Oleander to fit the tree theme of Pokemon Professors. But a calm stoic professor with an unhealthy obsession could been ground breaking. We always trusted Pokemon Professors why not have the first evil one?

[@iTvngo]

Amazing video and I wish I saw this a lot earlier. I can tell a lot of work went into this. Nice job

[@justpok3285]

This was so good that I literally forgot the old story, no joke.

[@lokalcrow1470]

I'm late to this party, but it really felt like the strong point of this game wasn't the villain storyline, but the beating-the-champion one. No other pokemon game has ever made me feel as exited to beat the gym leaders, league and champion. It felt like that was the true climax of the game, and they knew it, so they threw their trashy villain plot at the end and brushed it aside quickly so we would forget about it. Your fixes are great! More foreshadowing and cohesion withought making it feel like a different story. God I wish it was true...

[@allthelonely4287]

Now that I think about it, the emphasis on beating the champion is what I like about the game. It's the plot that is immediately presented to the player and is what is highlighted in the game's marketing. It feels like just added the bad guy with a world destroying plan because they have to and not because they wanted to.

[@johnathankindall2804]

This is exactly it. Should’ve just dropped the big picture plot.

[@madeofhope9265]

I gotta agree too! I remember the night I beat the game, and the tension built up during the championship is amazing! It was properly exciting! With the villain plot through, I had to force myself to be interested in it, which was lame considering all the wasted potential.

[@PrinceyKitten]

This is my first video of yours I've come across. I think all of your points about the story were valid and I like how you re-told it. Bravo. New sub here.

[@socialistrepublicofvietnam1500]

I've always thought that Oleana's Garbodor was a hint that she was homeless Maybe when she was homeless, she befriended a Trubbish and caught it