Greatest twists in the Pokemon series! (Games, Manga, Anime, Spinoffs etc. HEAVY SPOILERS)

[shoz999]

As the title says, this can be plot twists, unexpected moments, maybe even exploits or loopholes around certain things that make a lot of sense. That sort of thing, the unexpected! I'll start with what I think is arguably the best twist ever to happen in the Pokemon series! And of course, since this is about unexpected moments, every post here is not just spoiler spoilers, this is HEAVY SPOILERS.











Here is my absolute favorite twist!
X/Calem in Pokemon Adventures does the seemingly impossible. He mega evolves all five of his Pokemon through a simple but logically lore and battle mechanic-safe exploit in mega evolution. Cause that's how mega evolution works!

Spoiler: Detailed Spoilers

So if you know Pokemon Adventures, you know it is heavily story-driven and therefore just full of twists! What I think is the most amazing twist because it's just such an unexpected epic moment but at the same time it actually makes a lot of sense with the competitive mechanics and lore of Mega Evolution is that it is theoretically possible to mega evolve your entire team of potentially mega-evolved Pokemon through the use of multiple mega rings/keystones. Here X/Calem does the seemingly impossible, he borrows Diantha's, Green's, Lysandre's, Y's/Serena's keystones and uses it to mega evolve Pinsir, Gengar, Kanghaskhan, Manectric and Charizard to take on the rampaging Zygarde that already defeated Mega Mewtwo, Mega Charizard Y and Mega Gardevoir previously. This leads to a battle on epic proportions, a battle of Mega Evolution vs. Zygarde. The thought of this battle is just so freaking awesome!

 

[NovaBrunswick]

1. Lusamine turning out to be the true villain in Sun and Moon.
2. Silver turning out to be Giovanni's son during the Celebi/Arceus event in HG/SS.
3. Professor Kukui being the Champion (of sorts) in S/M.
4. Anabel being a member of the International Police with Looker in S/M.
5. Ghetsis turning out to be N's (adoptive) father in Black and White.
6. Iris being the Champion in B2/W2.
7. And of course - Blue/Gary being the Champion in the very first games.

B/W and S/M I think had the most plot twists of any games in the whole series, which could be tied in to them having very heavy plots.

 

[Mega Altaria]

I think there were a couple that happened near the end of Black and White. As the player is about to battle the Champion before beating the game, the player finds out that N has beaten the Champion. N's Castle rises out of the ground and the player enters to battle him within. He then reasserts that his goal is to create separate worlds for humans and Pokémon once the player meets him at the castle. After the player defeats N, Ghetsis, under a fit of rage, reveals he manipulated N so that he could use 'liberation' as an excuse to steal Pokémon and become the sole user of Pokémon in order to gain power.

 

[Xuxuba]

Tbh i don't think there was ever a plot twist that surprised me in Pokémon.

 

[shoz999]

1. Lusamine turning out to be the true villain in Sun and Moon.
2. Silver turning out to be Giovanni's son during the Celebi/Arceus event in HG/SS.
3. Professor Kukui being the Champion (of sorts) in S/M.
4. Anabel being a member of the International Police with Looker in S/M.
5. Ghetsis turning out to be N's (adoptive) father in Black and White.
6. Iris being the Champion in B2/W2.
7. And of course - Blue/Gary being the Champion in the very first games.

B/W and S/M I think had the most plot twists of any games in the whole series, which could be tied in to them having very heavy plots.

Interesting fact about Silver being Giovanni's son. Silver has actually been confirmed to be Giovanni's son in the Pokemon Adventures manga FireRed and LeafGreen arc years before HeartGold and SoulSilver games was released. Before that, Silver was hinted to be Giovanni's son in the FireRed and LeafGreen remakes during the Sevii Isles post-game.

 

[Mega Altaria]

Lusamine turning out to be the true villain in Sun and Moon.

Although I can say that is definitely the case but it’s a weird one because she wasn’t inherently evil but she became a villain under the influence of Nihilego’s toxins.

 

[Zhydra]

Although I can say that is definitely the case but it’s a weird one because she wasn’t inherently evil but she became a villain under the influence of Nihilego’s toxins.

Though to be honest, IMO this kind of plot twist was better handled before.

Dusknoir from the Mystery Dungeon games being a case of blink and you will miss the foreshadowing.

Es Cade/ Evice from pokemon Colosseum is a case of the foreshadowing was well laid out and you the player have to piece together the puzzle.

Lusamine popping the evil smile during the Nihilego scene in S/M made it WAY too obvious, in addition to her resemblance to Lillie and Gladion, then Lillie talked about life at home.

US/UM did the hiding the Lusamine is a villain part a little better, in the Nihilego scene, they took the evil smile out and gave more explanation as to what was going on, with both her and the Recon Squad. Saying that Necrozma is a threat and this is what the Aether Foundation and URS are working together to try and stop.

While she is less crazy in US/UM and less of a villain, she is a better indepth character in the new games. (As well as on screen development that carried on in the post game.)

Probably because she didn't get drugged out of her mind, which makes the frozen pokemon scene even more scary than in S/M, because there is no Nihilego venom in this one, this came from her and she actually gone crazy on her own.

 

[shoz999]

Though to be honest, IMO this kind of plot twist was better handled before.

Dusknoir from the Mystery Dungeon games being a case of blink and you will miss the foreshadowing.

Es Cade/ Evice from pokemon Colosseum is a case of the foreshadowing was well laid out and you the player have to piece together the puzzle.

Lusamine popping the evil smile during the Nihilego scene in S/M made it WAY too obvious, in addition to her resemblance to Lillie and Gladion, then Lillie talked about life at home.

US/UM did the hiding the Lusamine is a villain part a little better, in the Nihilego scene, they took the evil smile out and gave more explanation as to what was going on, with both her and the Recon Squad. Saying that Necrozma is a threat and this is what the Aether Foundation and URS are working together to try and stop.

While she is less crazy in US/UM and less of a villain, she is a better indepth character in the new games. (As well as on screen development that carried on in the post game.)

Probably because she didn't get drugged out of her mind, which makes the frozen pokemon scene even more scary than in S/M, because there is no Nihilego venom in this one, this came from her and she actually gone crazy on her own.

The Mystery Dungeon games is full of twists and turns! I don't know about you but I thought Munna turning out to be a villain in Gates of Infinity was quite unexpected.

 

[Mega Altaria]

Though to be honest, IMO this kind of plot twist was better handled before.

Dusknoir from the Mystery Dungeon games being a case of blink and you will miss the foreshadowing.

Es Cade/ Evice from pokemon Colosseum is a case of the foreshadowing was well laid out and you the player have to piece together the puzzle.

Lusamine popping the evil smile during the Nihilego scene in S/M made it WAY too obvious, in addition to her resemblance to Lillie and Gladion, then Lillie talked about life at home.

US/UM did the hiding the Lusamine is a villain part a little better, in the Nihilego scene, they took the evil smile out and gave more explanation as to what was going on, with both her and the Recon Squad. Saying that Necrozma is a threat and this is what the Aether Foundation and URS are working together to try and stop.

While she is less crazy in US/UM and less of a villain, she is a better indepth character in the new games. (As well as on screen development that carried on in the post game.)

Probably because she didn't get drugged out of her mind, which makes the frozen pokemon scene even more scary than in S/M, because there is no Nihilego venom in this one, this came from her and she actually gone crazy on her own.

I remember we had a good debate over Lusamine’s role in the games a while back. But at least we could agree it was more subtle in USUM than SM and in both games her ultimate goal to bring back Mohn was a lot more subtle than other games. But the twist in SM felt more obvious than USUM because the effect was amplified from her craziness in SM as a result of Nihilego’s toxins.

 

[Zhydra]

The Mystery Dungeon games is full of twists and turns! I don't know about you but I thought Munna turning out to be a villain in Gates of Infinity was quite unexpected.

Munna being a villain that runs a suicide/ Omnicide cult while Hydreigon (My favorite pokemon of all time.) was actually the hero. (As well as Hydreigon being the best character in that game.) Were IMO the only good things about that game that made it stand out, besides its post game where your partner brings you back. (The most heartwarming/ realistic depression plot I seen.) I'll give Gates that much credit.

Also this next one is to you Mega Altaria.

You are very correct about why in S/M that plot twist was more obvious. Amplified a reaction to its worse and only caring about the jellyfish WILL result in subtlety going out the window, seeing a different take on one character as well as what ifs can open your mind if you allow it to.

That debate we had was the best one I had on this site, but since we did it already, there is no need to do it again.

 

[Mega Altaria]

Kincaid in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. He is first revealed as a teacher at the Ranger School the player begins at and he reveals himself as the vice president of Team Dim Sun when the player goes to rescue Barlow in the Cargo Ship after the graduation.

 

[shoz999]

A twist that comes in to mind is Greevil from Pokemon XD. I already knew that he was some kind of big baddie underneath that smile, I mean his name is Greevil and his two sons sure stand out in that clothing. What I wasn't expecting however were those two freakishly huge orange eyes!

 

[NovaBrunswick]

The Mystery Dungeon games is full of twists and turns! I don't know about you but I thought Munna turning out to be a villain in Gates of Infinity was quite unexpected.

I was just about to mention that. I must be a Munna myself.

It was pretty clever of Game Freak to make Munna the villain and Hydreigon the good guy, as usually people would think it's the other way round based on their appearances and typings, possibly influenced by Ghetsis' Hydreigon. I don't believe Pokémon are born inherently evil, humans or other Pokémon raised by humans make them evil.

I remember we had a good debate over Lusamine’s role in the games a while back. But at least we could agree it was more subtle in USUM than SM and in both games her ultimate goal to bring back Mohn was a lot more subtle than other games. But the twist in SM felt more obvious than USUM because the effect was amplified from her craziness in SM as a result of Nihilego’s toxins.

I remember that, it was in the 'Scary/creepy/weird stuff in the Pokémon games' thread.

I still haven't played US/UM, so I don't know if Lusamine's villainous traits were toned down. But still, imagine if your own mother was like Lusamine, especially the one in Sun/Moon.

Interesting fact about Silver being Giovanni's son. Silver has actually been confirmed to be Giovanni's son in the Pokemon Adventures manga FireRed and LeafGreen arc years before HeartGold and SoulSilver games was released. Before that, Silver was hinted to be Giovanni's son in the FireRed and LeafGreen remakes during the Sevii Isles post-game.

Which probably explains why Silver was so abrupt and rude during the first half of G/S/C and HG/SS.

"...What are you staring at? *KICK!*

I think he does let himself up eventually, after the battle at Mt. Moon.

 

[Mega Altaria]

It was pretty clever of Game Freak to make Munna the villain and Hydreigon the good guy, as usually people would think it's the other way round based on their appearances and typings, possibly influenced by Ghetsis' Hydreigon.

Yeah, I wouldn't imagine a Dark-type being a good guy and a Psychic-type being a bad guy, but at least that is definitely interesting. I guess because of that, Munna's illusions are pretty clever and that once the player discovers the truth, it just completely blows your mind.

I remember that, it was in the 'Scary/creepy/weird stuff in the Pokémon games' thread.

I still haven't played US/UM, so I don't know if Lusamine's villainous traits were toned down. But still, imagine if your own mother was like Lusamine, especially the one in Sun/Moon.

Yeah, that would be very scary indeed. Imagine your mother seemed to be caring at first but her mental state was slowly degrading.

 

[Zhydra]

I still haven't played US/UM, so I don't know if Lusamine's villainous traits were toned down. But still, imagine if your own mother was like Lusamine, especially the one in Sun/Moon.

Yeah, that would be very scary indeed. Imagine your mother seemed to be caring at first but her mental state was slowly degrading.

For the first one, in US/UM, Lusamine's villainous traits are toned down quite a bit due to no Nihilego venom in this one. However... the exchange for this is that the things you see in that game are 100% from her, she still went nuts, just in this one she is more human.
For Mega Altaria. Its a scary thought when your parent use to be a half decent one, only for a tragedy to strike and slowly he/she gets worse and worse, to the point that they become abusive. By the end of S/M, we meet Lusamine hitting the bottom of the insanity ladder.
In US/UM she wasn't quite at the bottom and is a bit less scary. Still, by the time she was snapped to sanity, she started regretting everything and the damage is already permanent. Things can never go back to the way they were and the best course of action for the family is to split apart and go their separate ways.
Still a tragedy, but US/UM ended things on a much more mature/ lighter note IMO.

 

[Mega Altaria]

For Mega Altaria. Its a scary thought when your parent use to be a half decent one, only for a tragedy to strike and slowly he/she gets worse and worse, to the point that they become abusive. By the end of S/M, we meet Lusamine hitting the bottom of the insanity ladder.
In US/UM she wasn't quite at the bottom and is a bit less scary. Still, by the time she was snapped to sanity, she started regretting everything and the damage is already permanent. Things can never go back to the way they were and the best course of action for the family is to split apart and go their separate ways.
Still a tragedy, but US/UM ended things on a much more mature/ lighter note IMO.

I meant for the case in Sun and Moon though. But for the Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon case I definitely expect it to be less scary and that the problem gets solved before it gets much worse. But then overall I would say her villainous attitudes were more of a progression rather than a twist because it wasn't as sudden and that it was more expected that Lusamine will become one. It's pretty much like seeing the double life of Aether's president so that we can see that even her life isn't perfect.

 

[Ducolamia]

Oooh, I think I'm gonna like this thread a lot.

-For me, N being the leader of team plasma wasn't that exciting. For me, the twist of Ghetsis being N's adoptive father and Alder losing really drove home how serious the situation was. Like imagine if in a modern pokemon game, a champion lost to the bad guy. Talk about raising the stakes. And what made it even better was that Ghetsis was the final boss. Not even N. Now personally, if it was just battling N I would've like it better, but that's just me.

-How Ruby and Sapphire turned out in the Manga. I won't say too much because I barely remember, but from what I recall, Ruby and Sapphire were complete opposites until they got attacked by a random Salamance. They both changed drastically because they thought the other person hated one another for different reasons. It actually is pretty cool how they turned out.

-Yellow being a girl in the Manga blew my mind. I feel stupid for not seeing it earlier.

- Lusamine being the villian was obvious to me. What I did not expect was her working with Guzma OR the Nihilego fight. Now that was one shocking plot twist. All totem pokemon and power up. That was a fun battle.

-Okay, maybe this doesn't count, but I love the fact that the starters got leaked for gen 7 early and it was confirmed to be true. I remember the debates going on about the legitimacy of the leaks. Man, that was a fun time.

 

[shoz999]

Oooh, I think I'm gonna like this thread a lot.

-For me, N being the leader of team plasma wasn't that exciting. For me, the twist of Ghetsis being N's adoptive father and Alder losing really drove home how serious the situation was. Like imagine if in a modern pokemon game, a champion lost to the bad guy. Talk about raising the stakes. And what made it even better was that Ghetsis was the final boss. Not even N. Now personally, if it was just battling N I would've like it better, but that's just me.

-How Ruby and Sapphire turned out in the Manga. I won't say too much because I barely remember, but from what I recall, Ruby and Sapphire were complete opposites until they got attacked by a random Salamance. They both changed drastically because they thought the other person hated one another for different reasons. It actually is pretty cool how they turned out.

-Yellow being a girl in the Manga blew my mind. I feel stupid for not seeing it earlier.

- Lusamine being the villian was obvious to me. What I did not expect was her working with Guzma OR the Nihilego fight. Now that was one shocking plot twist. All totem pokemon and power up. That was a fun battle.

-Okay, maybe this doesn't count, but I love the fact that the starters got leaked for gen 7 early and it was confirmed to be true. I remember the debates going on about the legitimacy of the leaks. Man, that was a fun time.

- Personally I think Dennis is the greatest Pokemon villain ever to be made. You don't hate him because he's some whiny spoiled badly made character. You hate him because he really is an awful person.
- Don't know about you but I think the Ruby and Sapphire Arc is not only the greatest Pokemon love story ever made, it is absolutely one of the greatest romance stories ever made.
- Yellow is such a fun character, I hope the writer does more with her in future story arcs.
- I enjoyed the final battle against Lusamine. What really stood out from that battle was her Bewear being the only Pokemon who showed no expression lol. I can't tell if that was clever or kind of creepy, maybe both.

 

[Mega Altaria]

And one from the Gen 1 games. The only plot twist from then is when the player realises that after the player finds out Giovanni is the boss of Team Rocket in the Team Rocket Hideout, the player then finds out he has a double life as the Gym Leader of Viridian City.

 

[Zhydra]

- Personally I think Dennis is the greatest Pokemon villain ever to be made. You don't hate him because he's some whiny spoiled badly made character. You hate him because he really is an awful person.
- Don't know about you but I think the Ruby and Sapphire Arc is not only the greatest Pokemon love story ever made, it is absolutely one of the greatest romance stories ever made.
- Yellow is such a fun character, I hope the writer does more with her in future story arcs.
- I enjoyed the final battle against Lusamine. What really stood out from that battle was her Bewear being the only Pokemon who showed no expression lol. I can't tell if that was clever or kind of creepy, maybe both.

1. Ghetsis is a complete monster and the narrative doesn't hide this! His evil rivals the entirety of Cipher and he is literally the Devil of the franchise.
2. I haven't read that chapter in the manga.
3. I heard a lot of Yellow and what she brought to the table, she came before N and... I really hope they use her character.
4. The build up was nice and her pokemon having a totem boost was a nice feature. Even if my team turned them into a joke, the A.I becoming rather stupid. (Though that might be because the woman giving orders is having her brain cooked on drugs.) and the fact we DON'T FIGHT HER kind of disappoints me! We just fight her pokemon and the anime did this better IMO. Ultra Necrozma maybe a bit shorter in build up, but to me, he is the better fight by far.