PSA: Pokémon can kill a human at any time
This isn’t really a secret, but a Pokémon can kill a human at any time if it wants to. These beloved creatures possess elemental powers beyond the power of any human, and even a lowly Weedle can easily maim or kill a person. When you really think about it, every Pokémon trainer is just one Razor Leaf or Flamethrower away from death.
For a long time, it’s been relatively easy to ignore these kinds of ambiguities in the Pokémon world. For example, I’m much more focused on taking cute selfies with my Pawmot and less concerned about overthinking every unexplained detail in the world. However, there is new content in the first part of the Pokémon Scarlet And purple DLC, called The teal maskraises some of these questions in a surprising way.
(Ed. remark: This post contains spoilers for the story in the first part of the Pokémon Scarlet And purple DLC, The teal mask.)
In part one of Pokémon Scarlet And purplethe DLC, Area Zero’s hidden treasure: the teal mask, trainers head to the land of Kitakami. As we play, we discover that the town has a local legend that took place generations ago. Legend has it that three Pokémon – Okidogi, Munkidori and Fezandipiti – once saved the city from a rampaging ogre. At the time the story takes place in the game, the townspeople call these Pokémon “the Loyal Three” and honor them at a local festival. However, as we learn more about the village’s history, we discover that this legend has a secret dark side.
The DLC introduces two new characters to the game: Kieran and Carmine, siblings and local residents of the region. At the festival, Carmine and the player encounter a mysterious Pokémon named Ogerpon, who drops his teal mask out of fear. It is up to the player to then return the mask. As part of the main mission, the player and Carmine show the mask to Carmine’s grandfather, who then reveals that the touted version of the legend is a lie.
It turns out that the real villains of the legend were the Loyal Three. They are in fact not loyal; instead, they seemingly killed Ogerpon’s only friend and trainer. In the true version of the legend, the ogre – a docile Ogerpon – lived his life as an outcast alongside his human trainer after being rejected by the local villagers because he looked different. Only one villager, a mask maker, took pity on Ogerpon and his trainer, and he made beautiful masks for them as gifts so that they could stand out at the local festival. The masks stood out for their beauty and quality, and this eventually caught the attention of greedy Pokémon: the Loyal Three. One day, the Loyal Three decided to steal the masks.
Carmine’s grandfather tells the true legend as follows: ‘The man happened to be there. He managed to hold on to one of the masks… but he wasn’t strong enough to protect them all. The Pokémon stole the other three masks. A few hours later, the ogre returned to the cave… He found his beloved home in ruins. All that remained were the signs of a battle and a blue-green mask.”
The legend doesn’t say that these three Pokémon killed the man outright, but all signs point to his death. After the theft of the masks, legend no longer mentions the man, and Carmine’s grandfather says that the ogre returned to his home “alone and with great sadness.”
So while it’s never explicitly stated, it appears that the Pokémon series has one of the first major cases of Pokémon murder. The story serves as a grave reminder: you know those battle-ready creatures that can manipulate the elements and basically unleash powerful attacks at will? Maybe you don’t want to get on their bad side.