The Most Tragic Pokemon Stories

Despite being a kid-friendly series, Pokemon has a surprising amount of tragic characters and backstories. Today I break down the best of them all.
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[@JPRPokeTrainer98]

Who do you think is Pokemon's most tragic character? If you can afford to, please donate to the AHA! Even a few dollars can help someone in need :)

[@poatanstonehands]

juanks is a pretty tragic character

[@zoned2524]

Honestly idk arvin has one and he is a great character but team rocket had really tough backstory’s so I can’t pick

[@TheShadow1347]

Arven and AZ

[@jonahdengler3858]

It’s pronounced glad-ee-AHN and NYE-UH-LEE-goh, “Patrick Star”! 🤨

[@mattschaffner3391]

I think it's AZ. I mean, everyone in this video has a pretty dang tragic story, I just think AZ has the worst, because, we already know how bad things were for him, but only for a bit of his 3,000 year life before X/Y. We have no idea what absolute despair he might have experienced during the unknown period of his story.

[@Jackson_DevVito]

Most tragic character: the old guy in black and white 2 on the bridge with a 999 win streak 😔

[@JPRPokeTrainer98]

man.....

[@PS-th9jc]

Or the miner whose whole life got ruined because of you.

[@TheShadow1347]

Oof, that one's really tragic

[@giboit.]

AZ´s storyline giving the message of letting things go. ...And then you have some pokemon fans still asking for megas to return.

[@IcE-_-Kidd]

Being Youngster Joey's Pokemon Have Got To Be The Most Tragic Existence In That Universe

[@DeepWeeb]

Actually Jessie's childhood is even sadder once you consider her fondest memory comes from *eating snow to fill her stomatch when there was food scarcity*

[@Galdr]

I vaguely remember, but was it Jessie that said something about snowcones, too?

[@amogus4430]

​@@Galdr i dont think so..? Don't properly remember

[@lckyminer_2256]

​@@Galdr The snow that Jesse was served by the old lady was actually shaped into rice balls/onigiri that is flavoured with soy sauce. Even sadder, in the Japanese dub, Jesse said that she's is too fortunate or considered herself spoiled to have/eat the snow onigiri.

[@MelonHere20]

I still remember that

[@Ak.Ash2180]

James was rich had great food and all the things needed for life but jessie that girl 😢

[@esteban8471]

I'm surprised Guzma wasn't mentioned. It's heavily implied he was abused by his father because he wasn't doing good in competitions, and ran away from home to create Team Skull, who were all social outcasts. Sure, Guzma was a jerk at times, but he gave all those people a place to call home.

[@iamalwaysalone73]

Can we all remember that his father broke the golf clubs while beating him?

[@byronlyons3548]

....Except if you talk to his father, he says that it was him who got beaten at the end. And as far as his room went, he seemed more upset at losing in golf, than he was being beaten by his dad. And seeing how Team Skulls hideout is, and how they like beating up public property stuff, such as a sign even. It should be no surprise Guzma bent those golf clubs out of frustration from just not being good enough. Which is probably all that it is, is him not being good enough to be recognized by his parents, which is all. Plus those clubs would probably be more bloody, and have caved either Guzma's, or his father's skull in, before they would get bent, or have big dents as described. So it's more likely to have been beaten into the ground, or tossed all over. Rather than beating a person with them. In other words, you guys really read too far into this, in the wrong direction.

[@esteban8471]

@@byronlyons3548 In our defense, the conclusion was easy to jump to considering Pokémon's history with abusive and/or dysfunctional families, especially given the fact there was one in that exact generation.

[@leonardofarias8843]

@@byronlyons3548 Its only natural the golf clubs in a pokemon game lack blood

[@MaximeLafreniere433]

At least he found his people that way just like his people found him. Life was unfair He was dealt with a bad hand So for those with bad luck He opened his bad hands

[@SentaiYamaneko]

The Aether family's story is even sadder in the manga. Mohn ending up in the Ultra Wormhole wasn't an accident. Faba was in love with Lusamine and was jealous of him, so he shoved Mohn into the wormhole on purpose and lied to the family saying he ran out on them. They were devastated. Faba intended to 'comfort' Lusamine, but she still only saw him as a trusted friend and colleague. He was so angry that he poisoned her with Nihilego toxin so that she herself would destroy everything she'd ever cared about, as 'punishment' for rejecting him. Gladion took off to try and find a way to fix things, refusing to ask anyone for help because he was trying to contain the disaster as well as he could. He didn't want people knowing that his mother had become a monster. But that just upset Lusamine even further; in her infected mind, he ran out on her just like Mohn did. This resulted in her abusing Lillie so badly that the poor girl had a panic attack when Burnet innocently asked her what she would like to wear when taking her clothes shopping, and being called 'beautiful' is another trigger. Then USUM happens. Mina notices Lillie at the resistance base on Exeggutor Island. She approaches her and tells her that on her travels, she met a very sad man who was trying to find his family, but he couldn't remember them. He had a locket with a picture of them, but he couldn't recognize any of them. Mina had offered to take it off his hands and see if she could find them for him. And she'd recognized Lillie from the picture. That man was Mohn. Realizing that he didn't abandon them, she ran off to find Lusamine and tell her the truth. Lusamine was possessed by Nihilego at the time, but Lillie was able to get through to her. Naturally, Faba's response was to try and kill Lusamine. He'd rather have her dead than sane. He failed, and he got his comeuppance in the most terrifying way possible.

[@jalenquest31]

Oh my God...

[@littlefox_100]

Well, that's just manga lore, tho.

[@littlefox_100]

(The part about Faba, I mean)

[@DHMP0426]

OMG, I NEVER KNEW THIS

[@taylorrobertson6035]

Game and anime this is a kid's game but let's put some darkness in it manga pour the whole thing in(darkness)

[@wikiuser92]

Jessie's backstory explains why she and James are still in Team Rocket despite being constant failures: her mother was the favorite of Giovanni's mother, and Giovanni wants to respect his mother by keeping her favorite agent's daughter in the organization. And adding a bit to that Mewtwo backstory you mentioned; in the Japanese version, Dr. Fuji literally states that only humans and God are able to create life.

[@eglol]

Ahhh, that makes a lot of sense now.

[@ravenschippers8267]

also if you red the manga, mewtwo is technically Amber and Amber2's partial sibling since Fuji uses his own DNA to make mewtwo.

[@wikiuser92]

@@ravenschippers8267 1) Two different canons. 2) It was Blaine in the manga, not Fuji.

[@BJGvideos]

@@wikiuser92 I would say "different manga", because there is one with Dr Fuji, but that one doesn't use Ambertwo

[@wikiuser92]

@@BJGvideos No, you're misunderstanding. The Adventures manga is a completely different canon compared to the anime.

[@NoOneAsk]

Ghetsis is somehow even worse in the Pokémon manga. In the BW2 adaptation, N tries to save Ghetsis from falling to his death and N explains that despite everything, he still loves him as a father. And what does Ghetsis do in response? He uses his cane/staff to bludgeon N unconscious. I was genuinely surprised the manga went that far.

[@SentaiYamaneko]

That same chapter also cuts away to a close-up of his Hydreigon's scars, implying that he's been beating it. No wonder it runs Frustration.

[@potatospeedwagon3994]

You know where I can read that chapter?

[@NoOneAsk]

@potatospeedwagon3994 English translations on most of the issues can be found on Mangadex!! Searching for Pokémon Adventures Black and White 2 should yeald the results you're looking for!! If you're having trouble though, the subreddit for the manga has direct links!!

[@SentaiYamaneko]

@@potatospeedwagon3994 Tenmanga is where I go to read it.

[@ditzyditz7329]

My favorite dark story in Pokémon has to be the one from the abandoned house in b2w2 where as you explore, you start to get bits and pieces of what happened. Eventually discovering that the ghost girl who haunts it was a unintended victim of darkrai that was trapped in an eternal nightmare, and her desperate father went to search for cresselia, only to be too late. In the end, the ghost girl gives you the lunar wing saying “I don’t need this anymore” which is how you get cresselia on a bridge later on.

[@eclipses3131]

It’s not as sad but more scary for me. She went through that alone while begging for her family to be their with her in her last breathing moments. 🫣 scary to think about how she was basically in a Freddy Kruger situation and slowly dying

[@goblinslayer1115]

This is why Darkrai is my favorite Pokémon

[@13CrystalHeart]

Cyrus is pretty tragic, given his background of implied emotional abuse from his parents and never living up to their extremely high expectations of him. Things were so toxic for him, his grandfather wanted to step in and raise the kid himself, but never did, and Cyrus eventually cracked under the pressure and ended up forming his ideology that emotions were to blame and only bring pain. In Masters, Cynthia even notes that she feels an immeasurable despair coming from the guy. With N, at least he's got found family with Alder and the Unova protagonists in Masters, and he's finally free from Ghetsis's manipulations, but I just remember in USUM when we see Ghetsis throw out N's Dragon, and I have to wonder if N died at the hands of the man he saw as a father? His team in the original BW games was built to counter N's, especially Hydreigon, and we know Ghetsis isn't above murder. Arven will probably never know where in Area Zero his parent's body is buried. Also, I will die on the hill of Masters being the second chance for the writers to build on the characters and tell the stories they wanted to in the mainline games but just couldn't for whatever reason (like showing how far along N has come, building on Sycamore's friendship with Lysandre, having Lusamine try to repair the damage she did to her family and acknowledge her mistakes, etc) and in this regard, _Masters is canon._

[@NagKai_G]

Yeah for as much as I may at times dislike how the writing or animations are done sometimes (Pokémon style), it is really amazing that there is a game where writers are able to expand on the characters and stories that the company would never have gotten around to doing in the mainline games

[@giboit.]

The interesting part of Ghetsis plan is to think how he managed to mold N´s mentality into thinking that all pokemon trainers mistreat their pokemon. What he did was that he exposed N exclusively to pokemon that were terribly injured by their trainers. But you have to wonder: Where those injured pokemon came from? Where they pokemon from actual evil trainers or he was literally injuring those pokemon himself? (which would explain the instinctive reaction of the pokemon near N when Ghetsis appeared in that episode of Pokemon Evolutions).

[@georgspielberger9780]

This is why I love Masters Despite being a Pay-to-win game its content and story with the characters is surprisingly well done

[@NagKai_G]

@@georgspielberger9780 It isn't ptw, you can get through almost everything the game has to offer without spending a single penny (for example I've got 900 days in the game and have never bought anything). The only thing is that you'll never realistically get all the characters in the game w/o spending money, but as long as you don't care about losing out on them you shouldn't have any problems

[@georgspielberger9780]

@@NagKai_G You're correct, but... That's the small issue here as I wanna collect as many characters as possible without going overboard with spending gems in general or money to see what they're capable of and how they are personality wise It gives lots of material to inspire me to write a whole fan-series

[@MUSICBLASTROCKS]

notable mention: the old dude in XY who asks to look after a low level pokemon, and when returning, is gone and your pokemon's ball is on the ground

[@adrianleonce455]

Man, Arven was quite the surprise. At first, I was kinda meh on him due to his early attitude and giving me a quest for sandwich ingredients. Things drastically changed once Mabostiff entered his story. And then his issues with his parents just made me feel more bad for this guy. GF did an amazing job with this character and I'm glad he now has some human friends (and a dino/mecha lizard) to rely on now.

[@lunawolf6288]

😢😢😢

[@ShadowSkyX]

What's more disheartening is that the ending isn't without sadness. Even N has closure with ghetsis getting arrested, but arven doesn't even get that, not really. They save the region and prevent disaster, but he's ultimately left even more alone than ever. The bit of closure he does get is so sad.

[@adrianleonce455]

​@@ShadowSkyXHopefully, he gets some kind of closure in the Indigo Disk DLC. After all, it does involve the creature that possibly increased his parents' obsession with their research.

[@lckyminer_2256]

Emmet would be also a tragic character if you think about it since he lost his twin brother into the past. That's just speculation but I do hope they could touch on that opportunity to feature Emmet's state after losing his twin brother in a future Pokémon game/Legends entry.

[@Jessica_Schweser]

Really hope they do, I don’t want Game Freak to just do this to us and then never continue this story.

[@Idontlikeanyonehere]

I hope they add warden Ingo to master EX na have a storyline/ event about him and emmet meeting (I also just want to be able to have a team of 3 ingos)

[@theblitz1070]

I'd toss Necrozma into this conversation. Despite not being a 'character' in the typical sense, it was betrayed by the people it gifted with light and left critically injured, permanently damaging its body. This caused it to fly into a blind rage induced by the unending pain that lead to it seeking out any light it could find to try and soothe that pain. It then gets beaten down by the Tapu and locked up in a tower for 100s of years, while the Ultra Recon Squad plans to pacify it further by catching it. Then it breaks free, and grabs hold of Lunala/Solgaleo and fuses with them, using the given light to finally return to its former form... only for that form to still cause it pain and continue to prolong its blind rage due to it missing so much of its body. It's only able to find solace after being beaten down again and joining the player character, where it can get some comfort being close to the Z Ring since it's part of Necrozma's body.

[@hrrrrmmmmmcvillager]

Wow....

[@Ghostface1998]

Arven is the first Pokémon game character that made me cry and get really emotional. Like ugh this poor guy I want to give him a hug and eat his cooking. I hope we get more backstory on AZ cause the fact the literal king of Kalos who’s not immortal barely had any screentime or talked about whatsoever is very shocking to me.

[@dragonslayer7724]

If the upcoming S/V DLC is actually a Kalos DLC, then I'm down for an appearance from AZ (but sane this time thanks to his reunion)

[@Ghostface1998]

@@dragonslayer7724 I mean we are gonna find out tmmr. Right Pokémon day is tmmr?

[@dragonslayer7724]

@@Ghostface1998 yep

[@Ghostface1998]

@@dragonslayer7724 I swear if they don’t show off anything related to SV I’ll be so disappointed and I’m holding my expectations on whether when we do get it that it’ll be Kalos related cause they haven’t connected a region since Johto

[@jakequaza3567]

Pryce and lance in the manga are other ones. Lance’s exact backstory isn’t explicitly told to us but there is a flashback frame that suggests his dratini died due to pollution/human activity of some kind and pryce lost his two lapras just when their baby hatched so nearly destroyed the world trying to reunite them

[@esteban8471]

So many characters get more tragic in the manga.

[@ladynoluck]

I think Arven and Penny’s stories are partly about how making supportive social connections in life is often more important than how those connections look. When you lack the connections you need, it’s okay to have a shitty family life and have your closest family member be the family pet. If you find in-person interactions hard, friends you connect with online/through tech are just as real as the ones you can make in person. Maybe you befriend the Pokemon that ruined your childhood and relationship with your mom/dad. Maybe you do things to help your friends and that’s not the help they wanted. Maybe you make a group of friends through harrowing adventures when you first pushed them away and lied. Basically, connections with other people are messy, and that’s okay. What’s important is finding your people.

[@roxstarmozart9410]

That’s a beautiful message

[@kaistephens2694]

Or in the game's terms, your "Treasure".

[@ladynoluck]

@@kaistephens2694 Exactly 🥰

[@pkmntrainershaq]

N is the best written character in Pokémon. When you realize that he was essentially left for dead after being abandoned by his real parents in a forest with potentially very dangerous creatures simply because he can understand Pokémon, it's pretty tragic. Also, seeing as N is confirmed to be very intelligent it's quite unfortunate that he was manipulated and groomed by an actual psychopath whereas if he had a normal life he could have grew into an exceptional human with the ability to communicate with Pokémon. Not to mention his (dropped) ability to forsee the future. He would have been even more of a legend.

[@eclipses3131]

ONG team star had a lot of potential but they definitely needed to rush their character development 😂 ik some will say arven is such an amazing character but literally we don’t know that much about him. He comes off as annoying rather than he himself finding and getting herbas he relies on us and still has a mood 😒

[@pkmntrainershaq]

@Eclipses Right. I wanted there to be more from the characters in this game, especially considering how they were pushing the school aspect a lot. The story could have taken an approach similar to that of Super Mystery Dungeon, where there would be scripted classes with more interactions from students to help sell Team Stars members more. Or even the teachers and sporting cast as well. Arven is OK, but like you said, we don't know much about him, and the game expects us to care about him simply because he's the professor's son. Kinda wasted some potentially great stuff there.

[@eclipses3131]

@@pkmntrainershaq yep! I totally agree with the team star characters. I was really hoping they had a bigger role but it’s gen 9’s biggest problem. They have way too much characters and they couldn’t have juggled all of them. Prior before release of a lot information I thought mela was the leader and we would get our first Kid evil team leader and she HAD THE DESIGN to be a perfect leader. Man was i disappointed seeing her only once before the conclusion of that storyline. But even with 5 people they had an interesting storyline but they didn’t give enough time to truly explore. They begin spilling all the facts to new people like it’s normal. “Oh let me tell my whole motive and raw story that was pivotal for me becoming team star” the topic of bullying and the cycle of abuse is fascinating but they don’t fully go for it because by the end it’s all over and they are happy. Personally it would’ve been better if they continued to be team star. It really undercuts how bullying can affect someone, potentially for the worst

[@pkmntrainershaq]

@Eclipses I agree with you. The game had a weird way of giving exposition by telling too much without showing much of anything. I know pokemon games aren't known for their stories and character writing, but this franchise has unlimited potential. It's sad to see them not abuse it ):

[@eclipses3131]

@@pkmntrainershaq agreed! It was like whiplash like me cuz I know bullies ain’t just gonna spill everything to a never before seen student. Lmao it’s like what? Also Team Star had no presence in the game. I mean like outside of their bases. It’s like everyone just accepts that they’re breathing and living but no one is even afraid. Such a weird feeling for an evil team. As much as I hate PLA because it had so much potential for a new story, it ended up rehashing the DP story. That game at least did an amazing job showing off their story. Like you said SV they had a lot of telling stories but not showing but not the case for PLA

[@mr.thinmint2848]

I love Looker and I wish they would keep finding places for him to appear in the games.

[@ailehunter]

He's in Masters now. And during the Sinnoh Villain Arc as well as the Kalos Villain Arc. And the Hoenn Villain Arc.... Huh he gets around.

[@TechnoArpan]

@@ailehunter Tbf, Looker was the entire post game of XY alongside Emma

[@pokefanwes_astral]

i agree

[@piplup2884]

Arven really had a rough life. Thankfully we were able to save the one family he had left

[@spookyskeptic4978]

When you finally get to take on Arven's team and see his now healthy very good boy in action, it made me so happy.

[@rosethepinkhairedsaiyan769]

I think red's mother might be another tragic character as she had no idea where he was as he never came home

[@TJ_zz7264zz]

I'd agree if Red didn't also cameo in Sun and Moon, I'd think he's stopped home plenty since the last we knew she saw him. The BW protagonist however disappeared for years and the mom has no clue and in Canon we never learn where he went and if he made it home

[@timmyreobed5043]

I've always felt bad for Absol. It basically dedicated itself to saving people by warning them of upcoming disasters, and in return it's been treated with scorn. Hydreigon got hit by this too, according to Violet. Apparently it was much less violent in the past, but because of how scary it looked, it was loathed and despised to the point where it became the nightmare that everyone was afraid of.

[@pokekidcyber]

Out of the tragic characters discussed in the video, Ingo has the least amount of information given about his backstory within Legends: Arceus’ context. Which is why I was disappointed with no dlc added to Legends that could’ve added more details about how Ingo ended up in Hisui. While I want to be cautious about my hopes for revisiting Unova, at the very least Game Freak should give us more information about the events that lead up to Ingo being stuck in Hisui. Anyways, good job on the video about these intriguing characters.

[@ForzeblazeZX]

While Game lusamine might not ever get her husband back I’m happy that in the Anime she reunited with mohn and managed to Rejog his memories it might have been an emotional roller coaster with her finding out he had amnesia and had a supposed new daughter but it was worth it in the end to gain back the man she loved so dearly and to make her fractured family whole once more and even gain a new member to it thank you pokemon journeys

[@lytelost965]

Have you ever thought about how Mewtwo is the oldest legend gamewise, but one of the youngest lorewise as it was created in a lab while many others have been around from the dawn of time, the birth of the Earth itself and etc.

[@jellsies]

YES, INGO AND EMMET NEED TO BE REUNITED. I SOB EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT IT.

[@Jessica_Schweser]

REUNITE THEM GF EMMET MIGHT NOT BE DOING FINE WITHOUT HIS BRO

[@Mimikyou_2312]

I KNOW SO DO I WE NEED THEM REUNITED AT ONCE I DEMAND

[@smoldoritochild4136]

Controversial opinion but I think Hop deserves an honorable mention. While he doesn't have any trauma like Lillie or Arven, it does feel like he has some inferiority complex. His brother is the champion of the whole region and wants to be as good as he is. After many defeats and harsh words from Bede he starts to doubt himself, even going as far as to box wooloo, his starter and best friend. Eventually he realizes that he doesn't have to be exactly like Leon to be good and after gaining a ledgendary's trust, he realizes he wants to help Pokemon and starts following his own path

[@someone-ss7bm]

I was really hoping to see some SwSh characters in this video. Gen 8 is a guilty pleasure of mine, it doesn’t bother me that the games are not-so-good because I just love the story, pokémon and characters so much. I think Bede himself deserves a mention, too: he grew up as an orphan and his story is about learning to live for himself and to not let others (Rose and Oleana) control him.

[@deffscracked8896]

I kinda wanna mention Leon too, on screen and all, I know he doesn't look and seem tragic but I also feel like it's an honorable mention (In my opinion that is). He may be the strongest but he's also vulnerable than most champs cuz off screen and little hints in-game, it showed how Leon is basically locked up and overworked by rose (and was badly injured during the darkest day while Rose tried to pin the blame on him). He was champion at the age of 10 and had to deal with sponsors and responsibility, and having to do champion duties, he had to hide away his emotions and mask away his fears (there was a quiz outlet on Opal's place where it said "but you're rather hard to read", and Opal is known to read people). While fighting Oleana, she threatened to beat player in order for the championship to not continue and for Leon to be in the state to "listen to anything the chairman says". After the end game, when Leon took over the battle tower, when you talk to his mom she said "The last time Leon came around, he actually took his time to enjoy a meal with us... it's been ages since I've seen him like that!" and in Pokemon Twilight Wings Episode 7, that just proves those.. Opal said "Well sometimes..I can't honestly tell if he wants to win or lose.." and after that, the kid said "The champion.. he's not really smiling, is he?"

[@TheProswagonist]

Odd thing I notice with the characters losing their memories falling through wormholes is the its eerily similar to what happens to the player character in the Mystery Dungeon: Explorers games. Idk if there's actually a connection there or if it was just inspiration to be used in the mainline games.

[@DustyPhantom-ne5hy]

I'm a little surprised Zinnia wasn't mentioned. Her story's significantly worse in the manga, but her desperately clinging to her god while her mentor's murderer faces no repercussions and then tries to overwrite what she believes to be her life's goal is so hard to read. Perhaps worst of all, she's brutally rejected and nearly killed by the god she tried so hard to gain acceptance to and seems to be her last connection to her beloved mentor.

[@mushroomdude123]

There’s a disturbing amount of characters who have been yoinked into a portal and dumped somewhere without their memories in recent gens. It happened TWICE in gen 7. I wonder who’s next… 3:50 CROAGUNK’S DEAD?!? How have I never heard of this?

[@scrunkore]

iirc looker mentions his partner pokemon dying once in the xy postgame so a lot of people miss that

[@kaistephens2694]

My money is on one of the Battle Chatelaines being next.

[@kirbysuperstaruhh3769]

Caitlin doesn't know how lucky she is. Out of all the facility heads who gained more relevancy by reappearing in another game, she is the only one who didn't have to be sent to another space and/or time with no memories in order to appear

[@jean-pierrebenzenique]

I love N and Lillie equally, thanks for putting them together in the thumbnail

[@LycanMOON]

Jessie,James,N,Lillie,arven Whenever they give a character trauma they turn out great- One character i'd like to add is hanbei from Pokémon conquest,he knows he's about to die,all he can do is hide behind a smile and use his wits to better ransei.adding all the special events like him leaving for a bit if you lose a fight (showing he doesn't want to waste the limited time he has) just adds even more pain.the manga is more lighthearted but definitely continues this trend for his character

[@BJGvideos]

Ooh, Conquest pick. Neat! I was rather astounded that the game even referenced his terminal illness even if it was easy to miss.

[@shayminskyforce4533]

I'd say the ghost girl from Black and White and this old man from X and Y were pretty sad. Not the saddest, but still up there. The ghost girl tragically passed away after being put into a nightmare by Darkrai. And she's still trying to return the lunar wing to Cresselia since she can't take it now. In the first games, she's only briefly there. And in the second games, you can explore an abandoned house where she calls out to her family and Abra. That's also where she requests for you to take the wing back to the pokemon. And I learned this one more recently. In X and Y, there's a lonely old man who asks you if you can lend him a pokemon level 5 and below. Doing so, he will promise to take care of it. When you return (I assume after a few real world days. Like I said, I just recently learned this), he'll be gone with a single pokeball on the floor where he once stood. Inside is the pokemon you lent him at max happiness. I believe he wrote you a letter as well, but I can't remember.

[@JasonDS64]

Anabel's story in Sun & Moon is honestly why I prefer the Ultra Beast quest in that game compared to Rainbow Rocket in USUM.

[@giboit.]

I still don´t get how Looker joined the International Police first and yet Anabel is Looker´s boss XD.

[@goldenboy1805]

I have yet to play Gen 7 games eventho I have the games and wondering about the difference between the two. So Anabel chapter does not exist in USUM right?

[@JasonDS64]

​@@goldenboy1805correct. She and Looker show up for the Battle Tree, and that's it.

[@BJGvideos]

I prefer SM for a lot of reasons over Ultra. Their changes to Lusamine were utterly ridiculous.

[@SERMareep2007]

​@@BJGvideosusum are better to playtrough than sm but sm has the better story

[@pokemoon7367]

Arven oh arven, That story genuinely made me finish the game in one day just so I could see Arvin finally get peace

[@MoonMoon-cl4co]

R.I.P Amber and the clones- That prologue still hits. Hard. I was really hoping they would be in the remake but that sadly not the case :( And they never mention her- like ever. At least we got that extra room in Let’s go!

[@futureDreamer4]

Mew probably didn't want to save Jessie's mom because Mew knew her and Team Rocket never had good intentions.

[@castform7]

What's interesting to me is that Arven is the only character here without a full happy ending. Nemona finally has someone to finally satiate her love of all out battles, Penny not only is assured that the school is a safe enviornment but also kept her other friends from getting expelled. We.....are the main character and thus don't have a personality. Koraidon/Miraidon found strength thanks to us and even the AI professor gets to satisfy the curiosity they have, going to their desired time period. Arven, yes, has Mabostiff back in proper shape but he never gets the real closure. He never sees his real parents, never gets to rant to them on how much he suffered because of their absence, never gets to truly hear what they have to say. The best he's given are some hollow words from a robot. Arven may not have gotten closure but he got his emotional support dog, a time lizard he can now see in a new light and some great friends he made on the way home. Maybe that's all he really needs (along with lots and lots of therapy of course).

[@emmylou_a]

You've got me concerned with the Nemona part, but it is nice that she broke through her "invisible wall". They all have pretty nice stories, especially Arven. (why do i say such sophisticated things with that goofy ahh look on my face tho)

[@BJGvideos]

I don't think the AI's words were hollow at all, but agreed on everything else

[@amogus4430]

Man, poor Jessie, she mentioned that she loved eating snow (i don't remember what of snow) made by her mother..

[@alphaareus]

i did not go into 2022 expecting heartbreak by two separate pokemon game characters, but oh boy, did Ingo and Arven do a good job at that.

[@eclipses3131]

I feel Ingo is actually sad since we’ve seen their closeness in gen 5. We understand them and their relationship/bond. But Arven tho? Really?? I’ve played Scarlet and Violet twice once each version and we really know nothing about the professor or Arven. All I know is that Arven hates his dad/mom so why be sad for losing a awful parent? Change the professor for his Pokémon and boom changes everything. Arven constantly talks about his Pokémon and how much he loves it and the willingness he is to getting him back to normal health. We see growth and a establishing relationship. That’s what should’ve happened and I was disappointed it didn’t happen. I could really care less about Arven losing his awful parent.

[@BJGvideos]

​@@eclipses3131 Have you no soul?

[@briancorvello3620]

I've often wondered if the reason Giovanni never fired the duo is because he feels he owes it to Jesse's mother, but then, that is just conjecture.

[@castform7]

Wobbuffet may not fit into the sadder backstories of the trio but Benny was trying to trade him away after training it with reasoning similar to the Toy Story meme of "I don't wanna play with you anymore".

[@janithernest3929]

If u look at Ghetsis team it looks like he was going to betray N and take the legendary for himself his cofagrisgus would change the abilities and hydregion is the perfect counter to both of them. So, regardless of N being defeated or not Ghetsis will still betray him

[@kirbysuperstaruhh3769]

Also the rainbow rocket episode where ghetsis (from a timeline where he succeded) has the dragons

[@MiloMondo]

I mostly felt moved by Ingo, because there is no closure. The one I cared the least for is Lusamine: she was a terrible person, yet she got downgraded as a character in the UM/US version.

[@anonymousmonkey9491]

there's also the ghost girl/dad of the haunted house in B2W2. Kid got trapped in darkrai's nightmares, dad looks all over for a legendary pokemon's feather, just to be too late in the end.

[@piemanlee4420]

I hope they give Avern large roles in whatever DLC they release for S/V. He's my favorite character in my favorite(official) Pokémon game

[@ailehunter]

Looker, Anabel and Emma are getting story beats now in masters. We're waitibg for Anabel to show her other partner pokemon except for Snorlax.

[@ehong2925]

It's been mentioned before but ingo got sent back in time bc his jp name Nobori means upward or to ascend in Japanese. Nice to see that God has a sense of humor

[@Jessica_Schweser]

Haha. Verrrry funny Arceus.

[@kirbysuperstaruhh3769]

​@@Jessica_Schweser -Emmet ((In a verrrry bitter sarcastic tone)

[@Jessica_Schweser]

@@kirbysuperstaruhh3769 Yes that’s what I was going for!

[@personsomeone2760]

Bro. I seen another comic strip of ingo brother calling out to him in the subway tunnels they used to fight in. But that shot at the messuem is horribly sad

[@theginkgo]

Another video on Pokémon's well written characters! Love to see it! A character that wasn't mentioned that I'd like to throw into the conversation would be the AI Professor. Created as a means to an end for a treasure turned a curse, trapped inside its deepest depths and burdened with the memories of their deceased original yet unable to make any sense of them, forced to carry on their twisted legacy despite witnessing first hand how destructive it is, and eventually having their own free will torn from their body and being transformed into a lethal weapon that threatens to eliminate who they feel for as their own child, and then ultimately having to sacrifice themself in order for their creator's dangerous dreams to truly be laid to rest. If _that_ doesn't sound like a tragic story, then I don't know what does...

[@eclipses3131]

Wait what!? He didn’t sacrifice himself he literally goes into the past or future to current players yes he technically dies but they don’t really. It’s not really that sad cuz it’s a mission to do and it was the professors passion to do so

[@BJGvideos]

​@@eclipses3131 They don't have to die for it to be a sacrifice.

[@BJGvideos]

Totally agreed. I felt worse for this character I just met than I did for Arven, and I felt awful for Arven. Also I feel like I know you from AO3 because someone with a very similar username has posted on my fics about the AI.

[@theginkgo]

@@BJGvideos Yeah, that's me! I commented on some of your fics before and I'm also newly in your discord, although I haven't had time to really check it out yet. I think part of what hits so hard with SV's storyline is that it's kind of a collective tragedy at the end, not just one or two characters having an arc with a sad conclusion. Arven, the AI, Koraidon/Miraidon, you could argue even the original professor end(ed) up losing or being denied important parts to their lives. And the protagonist kinda just has to... live with that?

[@BJGvideos]

@@theginkgo Yeah. Even the Guardian is a tragic figure. It's a wild animal ripped from its home, acting on instinct, and used as some sort of bizarre test subject and hooked to the security system of the machine that tore it away from its home era. It didn't even mean to kill the professor. It didn't know they would intervene. And after you defeat it, it runs away to hide, probably scared out of its mind, and stays in one spot until you find it again.

[@EdgardoJCruz-dk5kv]

Sooo where is XY's Emma?

[@dramaking9559]

Arven was the one that messed me up the most. For some of the others there is hope for him? All he has left is the doggo and to me it seemed he felt neglected and unloved when his "parents" came back only to later realise nah they dead and they did indeed love him very much

[@BJGvideos]

But what good was their love when they didn't act on it? Sure they believed they were by building "Paradise", but they had stopped even talking to Arven, long before their implied time of death.

[@_Rhatsody]

I think Coco is also a pretty tragic Pokemon character from the Secrets of the Jungle movie. Both his parents were killed on screen for no good reason and he grew up being an outsider his entire life.

[@TheJmlew11]

I think one distinction to be made is that even with tragedy that individuals do have a choice. Case in point being N. Not to say that tragedy does not give insight into one’s choices, but even despite it folks still have the capacities to enter into either virtue or vice.

[@pirateraider1708]

Jessie's whole life has been sad. We learn about bits of her past in random episodes, with previous jobs and love interests, and each time it's ended poorly. She joined Team Rocket because she'd already failed at everything else. And I remember one time they tried to go straight and make an honest living, but the jerk they were working for ripped them off and paid them for weeks of service with an old box. That sent them rocketing back to being criminals.

[@easymodegamer501]

Yeah, Jessie is tragic because she doesn't just have one tragic backstory, she has many.

[@dragonsalty]

Surprised to see Emma not get a mention, but great video, got me a bit emosh! :')

[@FTChomp9980]

Looker deserves more love he is up there with my favorite Pokemon characters.

[@ThatGuyorsomething]

What makes Arven's story even sadder is that he never gets closure.

[@user-mx4is4fx3c]

Well, in the Pokémon generations recreation of N's B2W2 return, it shows Hilbert was travelling with him, so I'd take it as canon. It's not just in master duels.

[@masterreece1098]

i find it kind of interesting that the pokemon series is not afraid to get dark and morbid when it wants to

[@Zerobasssoul]

I'll admit I think Arven genuinely has probably the third worst parents after N, Lilie and Gladion

[@BJGvideos]

It would be cool to get a supervillain in this series who's a halfway decent parent. ...other than PokeSpe Giovanni.

[@jsn9921]

I think a Legends Unova game would be so perfect. Gen 5 is my favorite and I don't think remakes are necessary, but a legends game? To get to see the original dragon, include Ingo getting his closure, and having Hilda and Hilbert being the player character would explain why they went missing without a trace in their search for N.

[@BJGvideos]

Considering that a Legends Unova game would likely take place during the era of the warring princes, how would it give Ingo closure?

[@naschterraphantom495]

In the manga Touko and Touya reunite with N so at least in the manga they get their happy ending. And it is implied that Touko has romantic feelings for Touya. But damn, I still think Touko and N should be the official ship.

[@StickMaster500]

Scarlet and Violet’s story alone makes me love these games even more and would say it’s probably one of Pokémon’s best story, alongside or even surpassing Pokémon Black and White

[@theginkgo]

Same, and what's even better is that we're not even done with it yet.

[@thomasdegroat6039]

I loooooved Lily's storyline in SM. Her and the female protagonist are maybe my biggest ship in the Pokemon franchise.

[@ShadowRealmZ373]

Amen Yuri gang

[@emmylou_a]

* confused noises *

[@BJGvideos]

Lillie is my daughter now sorry your mom was a supervillain I'm going to adopt you.

[@TheReaperofHades]

It's why I'm happy the Alolan Anime reunites Mohn with his family x3

[@Ranger-bt1pz]

The second mabostiff came out of that pokeball the path of legends became priority number 1

[@RxxTyFlipped]

Another one is the old man in anistar city. (Kalos) One of the saddest stories in Pokémon

[@Evie0133]

Arven still makes me tear up, man :c

[@tabbender1232]

Considering Looker appears in battle resort in ORAS, maybe he's secretly one of the gen 3 frontier brains? He kind of could be Noland tbh

[@Feurigel1806]

In the manga there are some more tradgic backstorys, like Silver and Green/Blue (the girl xD), Deoxys, Lapras, Ruby and Sapphire, Emerald and so on xD

[@BJGvideos]

Mitsumi has a terribly sad backstory too.

[@Feurigel1806]

@@BJGvideos Yeah, you're right :0

[@Leon_LF]

8:15 I never realized how good the animation here is, his shaking and expressions are so expresive and well made.

[@Mimikyou_2312]

At 4:20 i started too cry because he is one of my favourite characters and that fanart of emmit/emmet or however you pronounce it at the museum made me tear up like bro i wanna buy all the ingo and emmit/emmet merch

[@MoonLitChild]

Jesse will always break my heart because there are several points in the show where she has a chance at happiness, but after so many years of things not working out, she self-sabotages because ultimately that's easier for her than something going wrong that's complete *out of her control*. James actively chooses to stay in TR time and again because it's the only place he's ever felt like he can be himself, and there's hints as the series goes on that he thinks that Jesse can't be alone in the world because there's a chance she'll not just be more self sabotaging and destructive, but that those feelings will be projected more onto others.

[@phantomraimundo]

ngl so far pokemon scarlet & violet are my faw pokemon games so far not only because of its story but also because the legendarys remind me of Toothless of HttyD and also because the games open world

[@clairewiley9720]

I had the end of Pokémon scarlet. I cried man. Ed Sheeran’s celestial at the end made me feel a little better.

[@Eevee_Playz]

This is true: Misty’s parents abandoned her and her sisters at a very young age due to gym duty’s. This made me cry bc misty is my fav

[@raptorskilltor4554]

Arven backstory is up there too

[@zarahpanichello8130]

0:26 Team Rocket Trio 2:03 Mewtwo 3:12 Looker & Anabel 4:25 Ingo 5:43 N 7:42 AZ 8:35 The Aether family 10:22 Arven

[@Volkaroar]

I wrote a fanfic to describe a conclusive fate to Miyamoto and Jessie in the context of a Journeys episode. I have my theories based on pokedex descriptions and i think it was a missed opportunity to not explore it, especially when a central theme when Ash and Goh were travelling together was to find Mew

[@toychica6936]

What’s the name of the fanfic?

[@Volkaroar]

@@toychica6936 I haven't found a good place to publish it, but it's called Memories Frozen in Time

[@toychica6936]

@@Volkaroar Have you tried Wattpad, for the publishing? Honestly I would really love to read that.

[@gamestation2690]

@@Volkaroar Did you come up with an English name for Miyamoto, or is that still her name?

[@Volkaroar]

@@gamestation2690 I figured on shortening it to just Miya to keep it relevant and easy since the whole Miyamoto portion of the birth of mewtwo arc was only ever released in Japanese. Figured that would be better English-wise.

[@aetheralmeowstic2392]

You know, since AZ never died and never technically gave up the throne...he's technically the rightful leader of Kalos.

[@BJGvideos]

Pretty sure he abdicated at some point.

[@alexandergonyea4642]

Emma from XY is pretty sad in her own right. A girl from the streets that was taken in by Looker and the player, but felt so unworthy of their support that she volunteered for Xerosic's experiments, becoming a puppet used to steal Pokemon, blissfully unaware of what she was doing. And in the end, both Looker and Xerosic up and leave, with Looker returning to the International Police and Xerosic so moved by Emma's kindness that he turned himself in, leaving Emma totally alone save for the player. And the manga - yeesh! Don't even get me started.

[@BJGvideos]

Emma has her friends though. Those punks that were helping her out.

[@ImyIsStillHere]

It's not particularly tragic but while watching/reading adventures pokémon XY. I noticed how off Clemonts life is. For starters there is Bonnie who is nine years younger than him since he has no mother that means he must of had one until at least nine years old. Next there the fact that there is a high probability of him having Autistic Spectrum disorder as he shows multiple symptoms. In the manga he got kidnapped by team flare and forced to do what they wanted which must of been traumatic as he was only 15/16. In the anime however this didn't happen except when he had to use the circuit jammer in facing the needs of many but then there's Clembots death. If I was him I'd be very depressed.

[@theofficialliedetector1545]

Isn't Clemont 10, just like Ash and Serena

[@ImyIsStillHere]

@@theofficialliedetector1545 sorry no he's cannonly 15/16 like team rocket I looked it up sos

[@theofficialliedetector1545]

@@ImyIsStillHere That's in the games, not anime

[@ImyIsStillHere]

@@theofficialliedetector1545 no it's in both I know that he looks ten in the anime but I swear he's 15. Dude I take this far too seriously 🤣

[@charlesaustin8898]

I’d say it’s likely that Mewtwo only survived because it was created from the DNA of a Pokémon that was the progenitor of almost every other pokemon

[@SpaceGoddess]

I don't care for the Subway Bosses, but seeing that fanart, it gets me every time and I can't help but feel horrible-

[@xx_squirtle8621]

Even with the fanart, I just feel nothing for these two stooges. What’s the deal with them anyway? Went through a whole Gen 5 not knowing they existed and I wish that stayed that way

[@shironasama0445]

What about the kid outside Jubilife who got a Magikarp from his dad? Probably the biggest tragedy of them all

[@TeaquestSagas]

Shoutouts to jessy and james and ofc meowth who I've ended up loving as much as the original trio of protagonists.

[@awesomeocelot7475]

This is why if the current series is the end of the trio I hope it gives them all a happy ending.

[@BJGvideos]

What do you think of how it ended for them?

[@blockeontheleafeon]

While not "tragic" per-say, Hop and his constantly losing Team of Pokémon is pretty sad. Especially because he looks up to Leon before he became a Pokémon Professor.

[@ryanirsyd07]

so, we're not talking about how Bede saw chairman Rose as a father figure but then left alone just because he make 1 big mistake? as a 10 yrs old? who don't know whats bad and whats good? And not even including the fact that Bede has no parents.

[@BJGvideos]

Bede committed a national crime though. Rose was absolutely justified in dropping him like a sack of hot crap.

[@the.gamer.558]

I'm suprised Silver wasn't mentioned on here

[@luvaarsnowfield]

Arven's parents did Not in fact die in an expedition in area zero. It is like this guy did not pay attention to the games. According to the Actual games the respective game's prof. was Killed by the second and more violent box art legend that was pulled through and one of the books in the rest stops along the way down area zero reveals his other parent is still alive they just left. Not kidding, they "left shortly after the boy was born" pretty much what it said.

[@Ikcatcher]

Got me crying in the Game Corner rn

[@kalejuice5701]

I don't know if anything gutted me more abruptly than Sorrel recounting the time he lost Luxray in the movie Pokémon: I Choose You. I remember full on gross sobbing after how badly it caught me off guard.

[@laquandrastevenson8895]

Ingo has the most tragic backstory in Pokémon and emmet has to see him. But not the way he wished

[@gustavorolim4712]

wait... South america is cannon on pokémon universe??

[@jansonshrock2859]

A couple more come to mind. First is sabrina from the anime, the girl was possessed by a younger version of herself, made her turn her mother and trainers that lost to her into literal dolls, and the way it was all broken was just by making Sabrina happy and laugh for the first time in probably years, a sight that her own father never believed he would see again. And second is the girl from the first entei movie, like entei and rise of the unknown or something like that. Girl's story is that her father was obsessed with Pokemon history and the unknown, but eventually she learns that her father is actually entei or became entei, and she has to let go of her attachment to her father because it's causing the whole world to be turned into crystal. It's like she was forced to give up her bond with both a pokemon and her father at once, or else the world would end. edit: it's pokemon movie 3: spell of the unown

[@Chicenk]

i cry when i hear about the pupper being hurt

[@bacd-nn2lg]

Mewtwo backstory is the most tragic one.

[@ddcreativeideas6115]

Not so fun fact: the cloning machine that mewtwo made is made of the bones of the people who created mewtwo...

[@Nick-wd2os]

Wow, this is a really good video

[@michaelanthonygutierrez]

Awesome thanks for making this