Pokemon SwSh Story Discussion Thread (Spoilers INCLUDING POSTGAME)

[Bguy7]

I agree. Those descendants of the original kings were more interesting that Chairman Rose going crazy. It seems out of nowhere that Rose would feel that type of way. Like the dude is the most successful business man in Galar, everyone keeps saying that he like controls most of the companies or some **** like that. Why would he throw it all out? I think it would be more meaningful if during the story, there’s scenes that make him more fleshed out like a reason of why would he be scared of Galar losing its power. Maybe he had dreams or visions of a disaster coming in a week or something. Rather than him doing research that only in a thousand ****ing years, that’s when Galar would finally fun out of energy. Please. The dude wouldn’t even live that long and surely Galar would figure out something by then and probably would have even more advanced technology to either have more energy or an alternate source. Jeeze.

You know, I don't think Rose's point of view was completely unrelatable. There's definitely something to be said about trying to avert an energy crisis before it happens. Like wouldn't it be great if people realized a hundred years ago that the use of fossil fuels was unsustainable? We might have lived in a much better world. the fact that the single most successful and well-off person in the region is worried about something he'll never live to see is a good thing, as it shows he's not selfish and greedy, as you would expect of someone as successful as him. The mentality of "I won't be alive then, therefore it doesn't matter to me," is not a good one. That being said, Rose's issue was the fact that he wouldn't even wait one day. As much as I can applaud being proactive, refusing to wait one day for one of your region's most important events makes no sense. That's where his stuff falls apart.

At the same time though, by the time the game is putting Rose in full villain mode, the only "evil" thing he's done is try to delay the Champion match. While unreasonable, that's certainly not evil by the loosest definition of the word. These two problems with Rose's story are both bad by themselves, and together they just become even worse.


Speaking of Rose, what in the world was up with his battle theme? Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved it, probably my favorite track in the game, but why am I listening to a menacing Latin choir, which sounds like it was meant to play when battling some sort of demonic cult leader, while I battle a middle-aged man with a pot belly? That music would have been fitting for Eternatus, but not Rose.

 

[Divine Retribution]

You know, I don't think Rose's point of view was completely unrelatable. There's definitely something to be said about trying to avert an energy crisis before it happens. Like wouldn't it be great if people realized a hundred years ago that the use of fossil fuels was unsustainable? We might have lived in a much better world. the fact that the single most successful and well-off person in the region is worried about something he'll never live to see is a good thing, as it shows he's not selfish and greedy, as you would expect of someone as successful as him. The mentality of "I won't be alive then, therefore it doesn't matter to me," is not a good one.

The problem was never that Rose was concerned about a potential energy crisis, the problem was more that he was willing to take a huge gamble by awakening Eternatus which he himself admits he probably can't control in order to stop it, when there's a thousand years before the crisis actually hits home to come up with a better and less potentially destructive solution. If people 100 years ago realized fossil fuels were unsustainable and then decided that the only solution was to level every country that uses fossil fuels, I'd say that's a pretty rash and stupid decision to make regardless of whether or not it had good intentions.

That being said, I do agree that Rose isn't a villain, and that's actually one of the things that annoys me the most is that he had a ton of squandered potential to be an interesting character. The most compelling villains aren't always really villains. A truly compelling antagonist can be related do and sympathized with, and sometimes the best way to do that is to have an antagonist who is willing to do something terrible for a good cause. It's just that what Rose was trying to do wasn't just terrible, it was dumb and didn't really make any sense, given the overall lack of urgency the 1000-year-off crisis presented. If the crisis was a lot closer, it might have made more sense and have been more understandable for Rose to be desperate enough to take bigger risks, but as it stands, his actions were far too rash to really be defended.

 

[shoz999]

On another note, did anyone else felt like there was 2 or maybe 3 hours of storytelling missing in-between the wild Dynamax Pokemon mystery and Rose suddenly saying, "YOU THOUGHT THE MAIN VILLAIN WAS ROSE! BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY ME! ROSE!" with the player character saying, "Yeah. I knew that."

 

[Bguy7]

The problem was never that Rose was concerned about a potential energy crisis, the problem was more that he was willing to take a huge gamble by awakening Eternatus which he himself admits he probably can't control in order to stop it, when there's a thousand years before the crisis actually hits home to come up with a better and less potentially destructive solution. If people 100 years ago realized fossil fuels were unsustainable and then decided that the only solution was to level every country that uses fossil fuels, I'd say that's a pretty rash and stupid decision to make regardless of whether or not it had good intentions.

I agree entirely. I was just examining what he was supposed to represent. There definitely is intended symbolism in the fact that he's trying advert a future energy crisis. Of course 1,000 years is an exaggerated number, but the idea of not leaving today's problems for tomorrow's generation to solve is still present. My point was that Rose wanting desperately to solve a problem a 1,000 years away isn't necessarily a crazy thing (even if the lengths he went to is).

That being said, I do agree that Rose isn't a villain, and that's actually one of the things that annoys me the most is that he had a ton of squandered potential to be an interesting character. The most compelling villains aren't always really villains. A truly compelling antagonist can be related do and sympathized with, and sometimes the best way to do that is to have an antagonist who is willing to do something terrible for a good cause. It's just that what Rose was trying to do wasn't just terrible, it was dumb and didn't really make any sense, given the overall lack of urgency the 1000-year-off crisis presented. If the crisis was a lot closer, it might have made more sense and have been more understandable for Rose to be desperate enough to take bigger risks, but as it stands, his actions were far too rash to really be defended.

Yeah, Rose had potential, but it was completely wasted. Honestly, it's not often I complain about the the writing itself when it comes to Pokémon, but I think all the parts involving Rose were simply poorly written, and that made a massive contribution to how poor of a villain he was.

On another note, did anyone else felt like there was 2 or maybe 3 hours of storytelling missing in-between the wild Dynamax Pokemon mystery and Rose suddenly saying, "YOU THOUGHT THE MAIN VILLAIN WAS ROSE! BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY ME! ROSE!" with the player character saying, "Yeah. I knew that."

I certainly felt that way. The story was basically non-existent between those two parts, and then they spring all the Rose stuff on you at once in the worst way possible, leaving the player confused and underwhelmed all at the same time.

 

[T3K(Aesthetic)]

I'm partial to the post-game campaign over the initial one. I get the same energy from Swordward and Shielbert as I do from OG Jessie and James. They're vain and petty.

I imagined a reworking of the initial narrative to blend it with the post-game and here's what I got:

- The characters stay the same, along with the trajectory of their character arcs; (Bede replaces Opal, Marnie for her brother, etc.)

- The narrative now centers around the "royal duo's" plot to humiliate and discredit Zacian and Zamazenta by triggering the second "Darkest Day," and broadcasting Eternatus defeating the legendary pair publicly. This is because they believe Zacian and Zamazenta have overshadowed their ancestors in Galarian lore as the original heroes, similar to how it already is in-game. Once the legendary pair would be defeated, they assuming control over Eternatus, would seal it again and gain the acclaim and approval of the public as the true nobility of the region.

- To this end, they enlist Chairman Rose, and his resources, along with Oleana, and Bede. They introduce themselves as Galrian royalty, and win Rose over by promising him that their goal will bring about "everlasting prosperity to the Galar region, for Rose himself and his descendants." Of course, they sell that summoning Eternatus and harnessing its Dynamax power is the path to attaining it. They keep the rest of their plan among themselves.

- As their plan requires the legendary pair to lose to Eternatus, they have Bede, through Rose, steal the Rusted Relics at the beginning of the game. This introduces him earlier and establishes his dutifulness towards the Chairman. This also gets the player a battle with him sooner (presumably with a lower leveled team.)

From this point, the narrative goes parallel to how it does in-game, with one minor difference:

- Bede still destroys the mural in Stow-on-Side in his misguided attempt to gain Rose's favor. However, the brothers notice this and hold Rose responsible as Bede's guardian. Rose still disowns Bede.

- The narrative reaches its climax when Rose unleashes Eternatus before the Championship match. This time, the legendary pair arrive unprompted by the player and are defeated by Eternatus, as they are without their relics. Leon steps up to hold off Eternatus, along with Sonia offering support with her research. Leon attempts to catch Eternatus and fails, and the gym leaders are instructed to evacuate their cities and towns.

- The player and Hop arrive and confront the brothers to reclaim Zacian and Zamazenta's relics. (Personally, I liked that Hop lost battles in the narrative and want to incorporate that here.) The player defeats the brother they confront and regains one relic back, then teams up with Hop in a multi-battle to reclaim the other.

- Once they do, the battle with Eternatus happens the same. Eternatus is caught.

- Rose, Oleana, his men, and the brothers are arrested. The former two are apologetic and wish to atone. Rose even apologizes to Bede for mistreating him. The brothers remain unapologetic and now hold vendettas against the player, Hop, and the legendary pair.

 

[janejane6178]

I thought the story started well and then went downhill... I want DP remakes so much

 

[Orphalesion]

You know, I don't think Rose's point of view was completely unrelatable. There's definitely something to be said about trying to avert an energy crisis before it happens. Like wouldn't it be great if people realized a hundred years ago that the use of fossil fuels was unsustainable? We might have lived in a much better world. the fact that the single most successful and well-off person in the region is worried about something he'll never live to see is a good thing, as it shows he's not selfish and greedy, as you would expect of someone as successful as him. The mentality of "I won't be alive then, therefore it doesn't matter to me," is not a good one. That being said, Rose's issue was the fact that he wouldn't even wait one day. As much as I can applaud being proactive, refusing to wait one day for one of your region's most important events makes no sense. That's where his stuff falls apart.

To me where it fell apart were the 1000 years. That's what made his inability to wait a day unreasonable. There was no urgency. If the energy crisis had been urgent (maybe with the story hinting here and there that Dynamaxing fails on occasion in the last few months/weeks) then it would have worked.

 

[Bguy7]

To me where it fell apart were the 1000 years. That's what made his inability to wait a day unreasonable. There was no urgency. If the energy crisis had been urgent (maybe with the story hinting here and there that Dynamaxing fails on occasion in the last few months/weeks) then it would have worked.

I agree entirely. I was just trying to point out that Game Freak, in writing that story, was attempting to invoke some (rather literal) symbolism to the real world. On an extremely surface level, Rose's logic makes sense, but only if you ignore the fact that he wasn't willing to wait one day.

 

[Ronnerino]

I actually liked the story despite the flaws.

Though I don't agree with Rose, I totally understood why he became the most successful person in Galar. The fact that he couldn't wait a day makes it even more believable how he became such a successful person

 

[Leonhart]

I actually liked the story despite the flaws.

Though I don't agree with Rose, I totally understood why he became the most successful person in Galar. The fact that he couldn't wait a day makes it even more believable how he became such a successful person

I didn't really think much of Rose, although I did like that he specialized in Steel-type Pokemon. I'm probably just biased because I like Steel-types overall. On a related note, Olive (Oleana) reminded me a lot of Lusamine in these games.

 

[Ophie]

You know, I don't think Rose's point of view was completely unrelatable. There's definitely something to be said about trying to avert an energy crisis before it happens. Like wouldn't it be great if people realized a hundred years ago that the use of fossil fuels was unsustainable? We might have lived in a much better world. the fact that the single most successful and well-off person in the region is worried about something he'll never live to see is a good thing, as it shows he's not selfish and greedy, as you would expect of someone as successful as him. The mentality of "I won't be alive then, therefore it doesn't matter to me," is not a good one. That being said, Rose's issue was the fact that he wouldn't even wait one day. As much as I can applaud being proactive, refusing to wait one day for one of your region's most important events makes no sense. That's where his stuff falls apart.

At the same time though, by the time the game is putting Rose in full villain mode, the only "evil" thing he's done is try to delay the Champion match. While unreasonable, that's certainly not evil by the loosest definition of the word. These two problems with Rose's story are both bad by themselves, and together they just become even worse.


Speaking of Rose, what in the world was up with his battle theme? Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved it, probably my favorite track in the game, but why am I listening to a menacing Latin choir, which sounds like it was meant to play when battling some sort of demonic cult leader, while I battle a middle-aged man with a pot belly? That music would have been fitting for Eternatus, but not Rose.

I certainly got vibes of "Let's make it tomorrow's people's problem" and that I like that he wanted to solve the problem as soon as possible, though his means definitely came off as extreme and way too risky, and yeah, delaying it by one day would've been fine.

I think a better argument for Leon than simply "You got 1,000 years!" is to tell him to do a lot of thinking and come up with the best possible solution. After all, since he's the main figure in Galar'spower needs, he probably has a team of engineers who work for him (and likely has an engineering backgound too), and they could probably come up with something better than harnessing Eternatus. Saying "You got 1,000 years!" sounds like putting off the problem until later.

To this end, they enlist Chairman Rose, and his resources, along with Oleana, and Bede. They introduce themselves as Galrian royalty, and win Rose over by promising him that their goal will bring about "everlasting prosperity to the Galar region, for Rose himself and his descendants." Of course, they sell that summoning Eternatus and harnessing its Dynamax power is the path to attaining it. They keep the rest of their plan among themselves.

I feel like Sordward and Shielbert could work as the leaders of an evil team directly. They have money, they have resources, and they have influence. They could gather a number of loyalists who agree with their cause and genuinely believe they should be the rightful rulers of Galar, as well as those who are just in it because they're paid well, and they can hire any number of talented people to help them achieve their goals.

In this sense, they would be foils to Guzma. Both would have teams made of people who want to drastically change society because they feel it's unfair, but whereas Guzma came from a background of poverty and created Team Skull out of people with similarly unfortunate upbringings, Sordward and Shielbert come from backgrounds of immense privilege and could create Team Whatever by throwing that privilege around. In the games as they are, they are already opposites: Guzma is from a low social class and strives for greater equality; Sordward and Shielbert are from the uppermost class and want to be even further above other people.

 

[Bguy7]

I feel like Sordward and Shielbert could work as the leaders of an evil team directly. They have money, they have resources, and they have influence. They could gather a number of loyalists who agree with their cause and genuinely believe they should be the rightful rulers of Galar, as well as those who are just in it because they're paid well, and they can hire any number of talented people to help them achieve their goals.

In this sense, they would be foils to Guzma. Both would have teams made of people who want to drastically change society because they feel it's unfair, but whereas Guzma came from a background of poverty and created Team Skull out of people with similarly unfortunate upbringings, Sordward and Shielbert come from backgrounds of immense privilege and could create Team Whatever by throwing that privilege around. In the games as they are, they are already opposites: Guzma is from a low social class and strives for greater equality; Sordward and Shielbert are from the uppermost class and want to be even further above other people.

You know, in other games, I would have said that Swordward, Shielbert, and their followers sound like an awful excuse for a Team, but compared to Team Yell, they'd be great. What I'm saying is that I am surprised at myself for agreeing with you on that.

To be clear though, I only say that in reference to Swordward and Shielbert as they were presented in Sword and Shield. Two weirdos (litterally called that in-game on multiple occasions) who are impossible to take seriously wouldn't make for the best main villains. However, their background and goals had some pretty good potential, if it were part of an actual plot about some more serious characters.

 

[Orphalesion]

You know, in other games, I would have said that Swordward, Shielbert, and their followers sound like an awful excuse for a Team, but compared to Team Yell, they'd be great. What I'm saying is that I am surprised at myself for agreeing with you on that.

TBF Team Yell makes Team Skull seem threatening and the Rocket Trio from the anime competent in comparison.

 

[Bguy7]

TBF Team Yell makes Team Skull seem threatening and the Rocket Trio from the anime competent in comparison.

Well, yes, but that was basically my point. I was pretty much just saying in a roundabout way, give me anything but Team Yell.

 

[Ultra Beast Lover]

I hope the next game gives a deeper look into the conflict, the games have gotten deep before but we haven't really had anyone just talk about both sides of an argument in a while. Also, I'm glad the adults were doing more and not just saying, "Kid, go fix our mess!" But maybe next time we could help out a bit more when things go bad?

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Well, yes, but that was basically my point. I was pretty much just saying in a roundabout way, give me anything but Team Yell.

...Team Yell literally isn't an evil team though. They're just actors taking their role a bit too far, and the authorities clearly have no problem with them.

 

[Bguy7]

...Team Yell literally isn't an evil team though. They're just actors taking their role a bit too far, and the authorities clearly have no problem with them.

Okay, and that in of itself is a major issue. They fill the role of the evil team, it's in the name, and therefore you expect something more out of them. Had they just been Marnie's obnoxious cheerleading squad (let's say they're called "The Yell Squad"), then there would be no role for them to fill, and they would be what you described them as. Given, we'd still be complaining about the lack of an evil team, but we wouldn't hold it against Team Yell.

 

[catzeye]

I actually liked the story despite the flaws.

Though I don't agree with Rose, I totally understood why he became the most successful person in Galar. The fact that he couldn't wait a day makes it even more believable how he became such a successful person

While I didn't like the main "villain" story, I agree with you that I liked the overall story of the gym challenge. I really appreciated the focus they gave it and it was the first time I've ever played the games and I felt truly compelled to take part of the gyms.

And yeah Rose definitely showed why he was so influential in Galar. It's why I wish we could have had more time with him in-game before the Eternatus plot as I feel like he (and many other characters) were not as fleshed out as they could have been.

I certainly got vibes of "Let's make it tomorrow's people's problem" and that I like that he wanted to solve the problem as soon as possible, though his means definitely came off as extreme and way too risky, and yeah, delaying it by one day would've been fine.

I think a better argument for Leon than simply "You got 1,000 years!" is to tell him to do a lot of thinking and come up with the best possible solution. After all, since he's the main figure in Galar'spower needs, he probably has a team of engineers who work for him (and likely has an engineering backgound too), and they could probably come up with something better than harnessing Eternatus. Saying "You got 1,000 years!" sounds like putting off the problem until later.

I'll say I didn't necessarily get the "let's leave it for someone else" vibe from Leon so much as I got a "What's so special about tomorrow that we need to cancel the match?" vibe. My interpretation of the "You got 1,000 years" thing was again part of the whole question Leon originally posed about why the day of the match. I agree his dialogue could have been better to reflect that he did care, though. I think (as what others have pointed out), what made the logic for Rose's story fall apart was that he never answered Leon's question about "why tomorrow?". Like if the energy crisis was happening sooner than 1,000 years, Rose's urgency would have made a lot more sense. Even if was still off in 1000 years but the day of the Championship match held some type of significance (like a rare meteor shower) that might make awakening Eternatus easier would have made more sense. Instead actually giving a logical explanation, Rose just defaulted to impatience. In fact it would have made more sense for Rose to wait a day, as there was a possibilty (which actually became an inevitable fact) that someone stronger than Leon could rise up. If Rose was so worried about maybe not being able to control Eternatus, waiting until he knew for sure who was the current strongest trainer in Galar was at the time would have made the most sense as far as acheiving his goals without screwing everyone over.

I feel like Sordward and Shielbert could work as the leaders of an evil team directly. They have money, they have resources, and they have influence. They could gather a number of loyalists who agree with their cause and genuinely believe they should be the rightful rulers of Galar, as well as those who are just in it because they're paid well, and they can hire any number of talented people to help them achieve their goals.

In this sense, they would be foils to Guzma. Both would have teams made of people who want to drastically change society because they feel it's unfair, but whereas Guzma came from a background of poverty and created Team Skull out of people with similarly unfortunate upbringings, Sordward and Shielbert come from backgrounds of immense privilege and could create Team Whatever by throwing that privilege around. In the games as they are, they are already opposites: Guzma is from a low social class and strives for greater equality; Sordward and Shielbert are from the uppermost class and want to be even further above other people.

This is exactly why I would have preferred Sordward/Shielbert. There was a lot of untapped potential there (as @T3K(Aesthetic) brilliantly laid out) that would have made for a compelling story.

I hope the next game gives a deeper look into the conflict, the games have gotten deep before but we haven't really had anyone just talk about both sides of an argument in a while. Also, I'm glad the adults were doing more and not just saying, "Kid, go fix our mess!" But maybe next time we could help out a bit more when things go bad?

I hope this happens too. Like I feel like if they had of explored Rose's conflict in the story we could have gotten a deeper look. It's the type of plot that would definitely lend itself well to examining multiple sides of a story.

As far as the adults stepping in, I definitely LOVED that about the story and it's what for me made the cast of Galar my new favorites of the Pokemon NPC. I do agree they could have allowed us to help out more as the player. Like it would have been reasonable for the player to accidentally stumble upon a Dynamaxed Pokemon before Leon and the others could get to it (they can't be everywhere at once after all) and taking it down. It would allow for the player to not only get a sense of accomplishment in helping save the day, but also could have helped as a way to move the plot in an organic fashion.

 

[Ophie]

I'll say I didn't necessarily get the "let's leave it for someone else" vibe from Leon so much as I got a "What's so special about tomorrow that we need to cancel the match?" vibe. My interpretation of the "You got 1,000 years" thing was again part of the whole question Leon originally posed about why the day of the match. I agree his dialogue could have been better to reflect that he did care, though. I think (as what others have pointed out), what made the logic for Rose's story fall apart was that he never answered Leon's question about "why tomorrow?". Like if the energy crisis was happening sooner than 1,000 years, Rose's urgency would have made a lot more sense. Even if was still off in 1000 years but the day of the Championship match held some type of significance (like a rare meteor shower) that might make awakening Eternatus easier would have made more sense. Instead actually giving a logical explanation, Rose just defaulted to impatience. In fact it would have made more sense for Rose to wait a day, as there was a possibilty (which actually became an inevitable fact) that someone stronger than Leon could rise up. If Rose was so worried about maybe not being able to control Eternatus, waiting until he knew for sure who was the current strongest trainer in Galar was at the time would have made the most sense as far as acheiving his goals without screwing everyone over.

Very true, and that would be something I would agree with. Leon could've said something like, "Could this wait one more day? Why are you doing all of this all of a sudden?" I mean, one possible argument from Rose's side is that he would pick the day of the Gym Challenge Finals so that the most people in Galar would be watching, and so he would get his point across to the largest possible amount of people. It'd be like those moments in TV and movies where the villain replaces the signal for a major TV event with his or her own (or replaces all the signals in Times Square, etc.); the villains do that so they can have as many people watching as they can. Though Rose doesn't consider himself selfish or evil, he does come across as the sort of person who would want to broadcast to the whole of Galar the problem he's trying to solve.

As far as the adults stepping in, I definitely LOVED that about the story and it's what for me made the cast of Galar my new favorites of the Pokemon NPC. I do agree they could have allowed us to help out more as the player. Like it would have been reasonable for the player to accidentally stumble upon a Dynamaxed Pokemon before Leon and the others could get to it (they can't be everywhere at once after all) and taking it down. It would allow for the player to not only get a sense of accomplishment in helping save the day, but also could have helped as a way to move the plot in an organic fashion.

I feel like an older set of player characters, and an older group of traveling companions, could allow for the player character to be more involved. The Pokémon games have used a variety of reasons why the kid is taking matters into his or her own hands though (which began as "the kid is the only one who notices" but has included "the bad guys have bought the authorities" like Cipher, "the kid is too tricky for the adults" like Team Plasma, and "adults aren't taking the threats seriously" like Team Skull and Aether Foundation).

 

[Mr.Munchlax]

I'm partial to the post-game campaign over the initial one. I get the same energy from Swordward and Shielbert as I do from OG Jessie and James. They're vain and petty.

I imagined a reworking of the initial narrative to blend it with the post-game and here's what I got:

- The characters stay the same, along with the trajectory of their character arcs; (Bede replaces Opal, Marnie for her brother, etc.)

- The narrative now centers around the "royal duo's" plot to humiliate and discredit Zacian and Zamazenta by triggering the second "Darkest Day," and broadcasting Eternatus defeating the legendary pair publicly. This is because they believe Zacian and Zamazenta have overshadowed their ancestors in Galarian lore as the original heroes, similar to how it already is in-game. Once the legendary pair would be defeated, they assuming control over Eternatus, would seal it again and gain the acclaim and approval of the public as the true nobility of the region.

- To this end, they enlist Chairman Rose, and his resources, along with Oleana, and Bede. They introduce themselves as Galrian royalty, and win Rose over by promising him that their goal will bring about "everlasting prosperity to the Galar region, for Rose himself and his descendants." Of course, they sell that summoning Eternatus and harnessing its Dynamax power is the path to attaining it. They keep the rest of their plan among themselves.

- As their plan requires the legendary pair to lose to Eternatus, they have Bede, through Rose, steal the Rusted Relics at the beginning of the game. This introduces him earlier and establishes his dutifulness towards the Chairman. This also gets the player a battle with him sooner (presumably with a lower leveled team.)

From this point, the narrative goes parallel to how it does in-game, with one minor difference:

- Bede still destroys the mural in Stow-on-Side in his misguided attempt to gain Rose's favor. However, the brothers notice this and hold Rose responsible as Bede's guardian. Rose still disowns Bede.

- The narrative reaches its climax when Rose unleashes Eternatus before the Championship match. This time, the legendary pair arrive unprompted by the player and are defeated by Eternatus, as they are without their relics. Leon steps up to hold off Eternatus, along with Sonia offering support with her research. Leon attempts to catch Eternatus and fails, and the gym leaders are instructed to evacuate their cities and towns.

- The player and Hop arrive and confront the brothers to reclaim Zacian and Zamazenta's relics. (Personally, I liked that Hop lost battles in the narrative and want to incorporate that here.) The player defeats the brother they confront and regains one relic back, then teams up with Hop in a multi-battle to reclaim the other.

- Once they do, the battle with Eternatus happens the same. Eternatus is caught.

- Rose, Oleana, his men, and the brothers are arrested. The former two are apologetic and wish to atone. Rose even apologizes to Bede for mistreating him. The brothers remain unapologetic and now hold vendettas against the player, Hop, and the legendary pair.

I actually really like this idea since it makes everything fit together narratively , though the one thing I liked about Swordward & Shielbert being in the postgame is that it gives Sonia something to do during the main story. Since she spends most of the story learning about Zacian & Zamazenta, discovering Galar’s true past, it makes more sense when the royal brothers show up because her findings and character arc from the main story go against everything they believe in.

What if instead Rose either turned out to be another follower of the royal brothers, or maybe he’s indebted to them because they (or their family) gave him the funding to start his company and rise in corporate ranks to make his business & the power plant what it is today. Essentially, the brothers or their parents gave Rose a chance when no one else would, similar to what Rose did for Bede & Oleana (they could’ve also been the ones who endorsed Rose for the gym challenge when he was a trainer).

Then, the brothers were the ones who pushed Rose to unleash Eternatus using the Wishing Stars Bede collected as a stunt to flaunt their royal lineage. They most likely wanted to do it before the champion league started to remind Galar who the real celebrities are before the tournament started. Rose would be against it, but he reluctantly go through with it since the brothers could take back their money and seize control of Macro Works. It could also serve as a reference to how some companies are forced to rush, cut corners, and do things they don’t want to do in order to meet the demands & deadlines of their higher ups

Then, the plots of the main game & the postgame would remain the same on the surface. However, when Rose said he only did it to prevent an energy crisis 1000 years from now, you find out Rose’s connection to the brothers during the postgame & learn that he only said that since the brothers told him to keep their involvement a secret or else they’ll still take everything away from him. Swordward and Shielbert would then think they got away with everything Scott free until they saw Sonia’s book, thereby setting up the plot of the postgame