Red – Pinkie's Paradise

Pinkie’s Guilty Pleasures: Hikonin Sentai Aikbaranger

“A tiny paradise amongst a sea of skyscrapers: Akihabara. There we find three warriors who believe pain is power and who fight battles that exist entirely in their heads. They are…Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger!” With these words we open this amazing Sentai Show that I just finished the first season off entirely and I adore it. It’s basically Power Rangers..but instead of do gooder teenagers we get low life Otaku with Deadpool powers.

Plot Power

The word Hikonin stands for unofficial. When this show came out in 2012, it originally aired at a different time slot than any other Ranger show. It was not a morning show for kids.. no this was a tribute show to all Sentai Geeks who have loved the genre for all their life. This was a show designed for Otaku.. but since it veered away to much from the base formula, it was set in another world…our world… but not really. Where Super Sentai is just a show, where the main characters in this show could recognise former power rangers as both the ranger or the actor. So the tag unofficial as added.. and it became a plot point.

This show is about as fourth wall breaking as it gets. Let me try to set up the basic plot. Three Otaku get recruited by a mysterious woman named Hiroyo Hakasa, who gives them devices called Moe Moe Z-Cune’s which allows to transform them into the Unofficial Sentai, Akibarangers. With these new powers they have to stop the Blatantly Evil Marketing Firm (rough translation) from turning Akihabara into a dull commercial wasteland. Fighting the good fight, the rangers hope the be one day be acknowledged as actual rangers and be official and marketable. There is one problem however, they aren’t actually fighting evil.. they are just Otaku imagining they are fighting through the power of delusion/imagination.

The Moe Moe Z-Cune allows people to share imaginations with each other and thus can create powerful delusions that Hakase studies. Also seemingly using the sense of the Otaku people to sense evil.. to let the police do the actual work. So while our heroes are fighting in their suits, the real world only sees them punching in the air as if they are pretending to rangers. This pain apparently has some sort of power… yet a mysterious chain of events bring these two worlds of Akihabara closer together..with serious consequences.

Fourth debries pile

That was the most sober description of Akibaranger I could muster because this show is completely and utterly INSANE and I love it! These rangers powered by the power of delusions for example do not fight with their strength and determination, no their main way of combating evil is to trigger “victory flags”. They are so Otaku they know how these shows go, stats do not matter. If the main bad guy teleports away and tells the other villain “take care of this” the victory flag has been raised and the rangers become unbeatable. On the other hand if such flags are not triggered or they miss to acknowledge it they can’t really win either. A fighting style that is quite different from the usual shows and that works as hilarious tool to understand what makes this genre so lovable. If you loved Power Rangers, you see these guys as your peers. These guys look at the show through the eyes of the audience which can create a surreal experience.

The early episodes are focussed on the three heroes trying to figure out “which episode/which story structure” will apply so they can trigger their story flags. For example in an episode that focus on the training of one Ranger they have to get the spotlight. In an episode where a ranger leaves the team for a bit, the victory flag can only be triggered by having them rejoin this fight. The problem of such an episode is not the monster fight but making a phone call ..with flippy phones, to call up the last ranger to come and share a delusion with her friends. There is a beauty in how low-key this all can be and how simple the solutions actually are. As they grow the rangers learn more and more to break the fourth wall until they accidently shatter it…. literally.

Oddly enough this show has an amazing progressive curve but since episode 1 starts out weird, episode 10 and mostly episode 12 are completely out there. While I will not completely spoil this show to you all because I really recommend watching this the final fight the rangers have to conquer is quite literally “the end” . The thirteenth episode is a clipshow with commentary episode.. set IN UNIVERSE. The characters realise the series creator Saburo Hatte has set them up to make a lame last season episode in the end. Other examples include that the rangers have the power to hit their opponent who is far away with melee punches as long as it on camera looks like you are punishing them or by imagining older rangers they can make them show up and take their weapons, and even combine cross series weapons into a new super weapon. Oh and don’t forget.. once they break the confines of their fictional fourth wall.. they also break that new set ups fourth wall into ours. .. so that the 5th wall or the 8th wall they break?

Red Yellow and Blue

Let’s step back a bit and let me introduce you to the three Sentai making up the team and take a bit of a closer look at their powers and their abilities. To maybe make some sense of this.

The first ranger I want to talk with you about is Nobuo Akagi, who is better known as Akiba Red.He is a 29 year old man who still lives at home and has a job as a part time delivery boy, which he uses to finance buying Sentai Toys and figurines of the popular anime Z-Cune Aoi. His trope is that of the super otaku. He knows all tropes of Sentai shows and can quote every line of it. He is desperately in love with this girl he often has to bring deliveries too, but because he usually just imagines kissing her ..nothing ever happens between them. (Pre show) His name Akagi has “Aka” in it which is Japanese for Red because he knows so much about the genre he is the leader but the other two rangers keep calling him Old Man.. because he is a 29 year old living with his parents. He also complains that his mother nearly threw away his Aoi Dakimakura.

When he transforms he becomes Akiba Red.. his suit is based on the anime protagonist haircut. A black lighting shaped visor goes across the helm that has the “anime protagonist” haircut modeled on top. As he is the most delusional of the three rangers he is also the strongest, he can summon red rangers of the past to fight with them for a while usualing heading them a weapon. These include a pair of giant handcuffs a giant shovel and a flight suit that also can be shot forward as a launcher. He is also the first ranger that is so delusional and otaku that he is able to transform in reality as well as he is first ranger that realises he is just a character in a tv show. His signature is shouting out Super Sentai trivia during their Ranger Roll Call.

The second ranger in the first season is called Mitsuki Aoyagi , with Aoi representing as a word. She is takes on the role of the Closet Otaku. She fell in love with the Z-Cune anime because of the strength she displays, Mitsuki is a martial artist and trough that passion she discovers the art of fight choreography and anime and steps into Otakuism showing a deep but hidden love for it. Because of the fact she keep her geekism hidden she has seen significantly less tropes than her peers and is the worst at things like ranger roll call until she discovers martial artistry is her thing.
She also is the youngest character, stating she is underage to drink and can not drive. Her age is never fully disclosed. In the second season (which I will review later) the creator makes a retcon to get her to leave the show. Yet her development in the first season was amazing we see her embracing her hobbies more and more as she makes friends accepting of that hobby.

As Akiba Blue she starts of as the ranger with the most fighting potential, but is not very good at recognising tropes, costing them a few battles. She is the first ranger to be able to use cameras to make punches connect while not actually making an impact and she is very potent with the shovel weapon the group takes from BoukenRanger Red. She can not drive .. so she is the one ranger who is not able to control their “zord/mecha’ Machine Itasha. Her suit is based on the classic ponytail anime trope. Her rollcall is usually a kata of fighting moves and she has the most consistent and professional one.

Yumeria Moegi is the yellow ranger, which apparently has something of yellow it as well. Her real name is Yuko Yamada though, as Yumeria is just her cosplay name. As such Yumeria is the cosplay Otaku and my favorite character. Her personality changes depending on what cosplay she is wearing. Usually this means her voice changes and she has an anime sentence ending. If she cosplays a catgirl she ends sentences with Nya and if she plays a Warlord she ends sentences with De Gozaru for example. Over all she seems to be bubbly but can be Tsundere as well if it its her cosplay. She creates Yaoi Doujin and seems to be romantically interested in monsters. However she mostly is drawn by Seme characters. Having a great weakness for anime smut and Seme characters she can even faint at the sight of them.

As Akiba Yellow she has less stand out features as the other two rangers. Though her delusional powers do outclass that of the others at several times, allowing her to imagine Yaoi scenes that create a stunlock for everyone involved. She is quite versed in Sentai lore and is idolised by many in the city, when the rangers appear in reality she becomes the most popular one. Her suit is based on the anime trope of twintail characters. Her roll call just as her ramble on conventions, cosplays or discussions until she is interrupted. This character made me cry with sadness, in the fifth episode of the first season and her story .. as well as the other rangers is pretty fleshed out. She needs to be together with the other rangers to be inspired as a Yaoi creator because if she is alone she tends to fall back in the same type of delusions. This is reflected in her delusion themes coming back numerous occasions showing she has some dominance in that.

Unexpectedly Good

While this show is really low-brow comedy, it succeeds way too well in making a great show. The first season is SOOOOO well paced it is insane. The rangers actually grow at a pace that makes sense, even in this weird setting. The moment where the rangers are able to break the fourth wall and fall into reality makes so much sense! There is actual build up to it, foreshadowing as well. While the twelfth and final real episode bulrushes you with insanity and weird twists, it is actually a plot point. This show is so incredibly meta that the final villain basically is the plot itself, again that is not completely true but you can watch this for yourself to discover the full details.

Every single character, except for the one that is made to be bland gets story, character development and interesting opportunities. This includes the main villain, but even the secondary villain , and no that is not a spoiler because everything that happens in any other sentai show will happen here it is designed like that. It is easy for fourth wall breaking shows to go stale.. but this one doesn’t .. because it knows when to change it’s pacing. I had a Megu-Nee cry moment in episode 5. I really felt inspired by episode 7. I felt nostalgia , I laughed and I felt confused. This is a show is set in reality but realises that it still would be fiction thus not would be set in reality and the characters realise this in time as well?! It almost feels like inception.. but campy and with deadpool. There should be no way this should work this well, it’s to campy for this to work so well yet it does.

***The rangers gets startled by their posing explosions!***

The show is meta enough to suddenly shift tones and you can be taken aback by it, things suddenly becoming really cool and epic in terms of fighting, keeping you engaged. When you are fed up with the main character, he suddenly becomes someone much more respectable.. when we grow to like him he has to leave, it plays with all these set ups and throws it in your face that it does yet it succeeds so well in them that this show to me surprised me all the way throughout In one episode for example (major spoilers for episode 8) they encounter a super weak alpaca monster named Tsukishimaalpaca (All Monsters have very long or tricky names the rangers instantly remember). Because they want to show themselves in the real word to the real Sentai producing head honcho, they need to move through the fourth wall again which they are only able to do with a strong monster.

We see them try to train up the Apaca in which they learn he just wants to sell street food, they take him to a theme park to conquer his fear, cook with him to hone his craft and also make him stronger. We see them bond and they suspect it might become the monster turns extra ranger trope or a switching side pattern! Yet in the end they decide it should be a reward him for his effort and make a tragic decision pattern as they murder their new friend by blowing him up with a new super weapon. While it flies of to explode it congratulates his friends for using him as a stepping stone… I did not expect that. The way this is paced is just so well done.. I felt really heartwarmed when the heroes hugged the Alpaca and just when I think.. well this is going to be hard to write yourself out off, they misinterpret a trope to end the deadlock.. surprising me.

In the first episode we see a monster called Shibuyaseitakaawadachisohidenagaaburamushi face of against the Akibarangers, a standard corporate monster villian that is defeated by the power of the Moe Moe Magnum, in the second they fight Shibuyakouzorinahigenagaaburamushi a monster that looks exactly the same.. but deems this racist and he tells the rangers there is a big difference between them. He has the power to induce nudeness in people.. but not like regular.. in real life he sells these sort of bubble screens that are skin coloured that you can lay over a the Aoi Tan anime character movie so it covers up her clothes so it seems nude.. he can create these screens for everyone! Trying to turn official dvd’s into bootleg versions of themselves and kill Akihabara’s degeneracy like that. However it is never revealed what the difference is. Until the Clip Show episode where the characters finally realise! The slow burn joke really made me cough up some soda. It would be kinda funny to reveal they actually have a difference but making the character realise after the season was so much better.

The mecha being a giant weeb car, the morpher being a anime figurine all seem like jokes but this all actually is somewhat believable interwoven in a story between father and child… because obviously the main villain is someone’s father..it’s a trope. Despite how weird the show is except for the twelfth episode it never really makes weird story stretches. Reveals in episode 9 make sense since there were hints since episode 1. Despite how utterly random the show feels all episodes have a part in the story and a place where the need to be and I was really amazed by it all. I felt like this was made for me and I very much look forward to delve further into season 2. I only know one spoiler for it! In this season they can harness the power of their Waifu.

What if Red Joined Team Rocket Part 2

Hello my little monsters, it’s the middle of the week so that means the voices in my head lay low so that I can tell you another story. This week we are coming back to the story of what would happen if Red joined Team Rocket after getting their invitation just beyond Nugget-Bridge. In the last part we saw him getting orders from Giovanni to capture Bill so they could steal Pokémon from the box system. However at his house Red found a talking Nidorino. In the original story this pokémon tells Red he is in fact Bill and Red helps him go back to normal, however Bill pretended to be just a Pokémon to the criminal boy, unfortunately revealing he could talk. Red captured the talking Nidorino which refused to tell him where Bill is. In order to force the Nidorino to obey he decided to challenge some gyms along the way. Just as he was about to leave the house Red found a ticket for the SS Anne, perhaps his mark could be there. Recruiting Gym leader Misty, Red then moved on towards Vermillion City.

Chapter 4: A Pie-red’s life for me!

There she was the SS Anne, the most luxurious and brand new cruise ship in all of Kanto. People from all over the world had come to embark on it for its maiden voyage. This seemed like the perfect hit! Bill would be here for sure, and think about all those rare pokémon from those snooty rich people! ‘Red, how do you expect us to come on board’ Misty asked him grinning a bit , still excited by this thrilling lifestyle she had chosen. ‘Well dollface I have one ticket, I will board the ship and cause a commotion, distracting that ticket guy, then you sneak in’. Red walked past her donning his old trainer suit for a bit to sneak on board, as he flashed his SS Ticket the man allowed him to pass, with Misty pretending to wave him out. Inside the ship felt even more elegant than it was on the outside. Beautifully polished hardwood floors and an immaculately white ceiling with big luxurious lights welcomed the young criminal. Immediately he noticed some staff patrolling the hallways knocking on cabin doors to deliver tiny cute looking pies. Perfect! Red thought. He checked the room number on his ticket and then proceeded to move into that cabin, redressing in his Team Rocket outfit! He would make a statement here today! Perhaps Blue would then see he is not just average. Red waited impatiently until there was a knock on the door. A man with a thick Kalosian accent spoke ‘Sir vould you like some cherie-pie!?’ Red grinned at how stupid this sounded. ‘Ah yes come in mister waiter’ the order was quickly followed and a thin balding man appeared in a red velvet suit, wearing some gloves and a thin moustache.

Le cake.. would be 300 Poké s’il vous plait. As Red took a cherry pie, he pretended to get his wallet but ended up smooshing the pie into the waiters face, before slamming his head onto the tray. Calling out his pikachu to zap the man into paralysis right after. Ripping up his bed linens, he would tie his victim to the pie trolley. smooshing more tartlets into the man’s face. Turning him into a display, before rolling the trolley out he waited to see if the hallway is clear. With the cost clear he drove the trolley to the ramp leading outside.. where he entered a while ago. He waited for the perfect time and then gave the trolley a final push.
Outside Misty grinned when she saw the trolley storm of the ramp, waiting for the ticket checker to chase after his co-worker before he would drive at the docks. It happened exactly like Red planned. The ticket guy ran full force after the cart having noticed it’s tiny wheels on the metal ramp earlier. Giving Misty more than enough time to make it onto the ship. Just before heading inside she would order her Staryu use Water Gun and push the pair over the edge before they could inform anyone. Inside Red waited for her with a smile and gave her a hug with a malicious smile on their faces. ‘Time to find and capture Bill and do a little plundering for ourselves.’

Chapter 5: The great Blue.

After Misty got suited in her Rocket outfit as well, they were ready to steal some Pokémon. Their first victim a Galarian Gentleman who had but a single growlithe. No match for Misty’s water pokémon the growlithe was easily taken care of with a water gun. Being ripped from hs originals trainers hands, they threatened that if he left his room or would inform anyone he would suffer a worse fate than his former pokémon. As the man sobbed over the loss of his beloved friend the pair moved on, searching the rooms for Bill and taking any Pokémon they liked. They would not steal everything however, many trainers had such basic Pokémon. Red ended up stealing a machoke from on of the sailors of the ship as well as the growlithe mentioned before, while Misty only claimed a Poliwhirl for her own. The rest of the trainers were just relieved of their money and other valuables. Having searched most of the ship without any succes of finding Bill , the former hero of Pallet Town became restless.
“Darn it all, where is that Bill guy’ he sighed as he punched a wall in frustration. A waiter hearing a unhappy guest came to check up on them.. alerting the ship with a yell that team Rocket had arrived. ‘Well I guess we are done playing nice’ misty snickered, readying her Staryu to battle off the weak crew that staffed this ship. Red readied his Pikachu telling it he would buy him something very fancy if he would help them defeat everything. ‘Pikachu we are going to commandeer this ship, you can be the first mate of Captain DrRed! The most fierce pirate in the Kantonian see! Help me make those weaklings walk the plank!’ Red though having chosen a much darker path still loved pokémon, his ones particularly. Having been disrespected so much by all these weak trainers however he felt he was clearly superior and others were not worthy of keeping Pokémon. Pikachu growled somewhat angrily in response ‘Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” as if it was ready to face anyone. With the powers and talents of Red and Misty combined there was no stopping them. The combination of Misty’s Staryu and Red’s Pikachu proved to be to much. When nearing the captains quarters however they were faced with one final challenge. Blue stood guard outside the captains quarters.

‘Red you joined Team Rocket? I always knew you were weak minded but to think you were such a coward’ Blue said the look on his face hardening. ‘The captain is sick.. and I will not allow you to harm him or anyone else on this ship’ Blue looked at Misty, he knew he could not beat the two of them, he had to play this smart. ‘Red fight me Man to Man, if I win you leave this ship and you leave the Pokémon you stole. If you win..you will get all my Pokémon’ Red shook his head. ‘You’ve never one against me Blue.. and I am planning to take all your Pokémon anyway. I don’t need the captain.. I just need Bill’ Blue looked puzzled for a moment, but then realised what was going on. ‘Bill isn’t here.. but I know where he is beat me and I’ll tell you lose and leave.’ Red nodded this time. ‘Very well then Blue I accept!’ First I’ll choose Nidorino!’ Red tossed out the ball as Bill landed on the battlefield. Blue looked different from before, less relaxed and casual, this time the stakes were high, he could not afford to lose here. For the sake of everyone on board. Silently he tossed a pokéball onto the field as Pidgeotto came out. This was a battle he needed to win. His brown sparrow like pokémon looked at him, it’s pink hair waving in his face as it flapped its wings. It’s pink and olgen tail feathers moving upwards as the Pidgeotto moved towards his target. “Pidgeotto Sand Attack”

Chapter 6: Team Rocket’s Blasting off

My eyes” Nidorino yelled while it was being blinded. Blue gasped when he could hear it talk, but he could not lose concentration now, whatever that pokémon was it was his opponent now and he could not let these people be harmed. ‘Nidorino use poison sting’ Nidorino disobeyed and tackled the Pidgeotto instead, landing close to Blue he whispered ‘help me’ Red cursed his Pokémon ‘I told you poison sting.. obey your master’. ‘Pidgeotto use gust’ Blue said while nodding to the talking creature, stakes had just been raised. Bill the Nidorino immediately after impact pretended to have fainted to be withdrawn by Red. ‘Ha that one was just to show you I have special poklémon.. it will learn to obey once it gets beat up enough like that, Pikachu destroy that bird! Thunderbolt’. In a bright flash of light the room was illuminated with yellow. When everyone’s eyesight returned Blue’s Pidgeotto was lying fainted on the field. ‘I can’t let you win here Red, not today’, hand me that Nidorino and this doesn’t have to end badly for you’ Blue said while sending out his Nidorina. ‘You never won Blue.. and today you shall lose everything and learn to respect me’ Blue frowned ‘Is that what this is about Red? I can not respect someone like you especially now… I may have lost before but I didn’t take you seriously.. stakes are to high for me to do that now’ Red ‘s face turned into the purest colour related to his namesake yelling out many profanities Blue before snarling at his Pikachu. ‘Pikachu kills his pokémon, Use Thunderbolt’ In the brief moment Pikachu doubted this order Blue took out a rock like item from his pockets and tossed it towards Nidorina, then the room went to a bright mix of yellow and white once more. This time even leaving a big cloud of smoke at the spot of impact.

As Red stared at the cloud of smoke he laughed diabocaly. It’s over Blue, your squirtle is not enough to defeat my team, your Nidorina is dead and soon you will be too.’ Blue became visible from the smoke cloud first for Red, his arrogant smile had returned to his face. ‘I am not using Squirtle Red, and I do not have a Nidorina’. Red nearly hurt himself in confusion at this having lost all self control. “What yo do you mean you don’t have a Nidorina….. you….’ Red felt silent as the smoke began to clear, A blue hulking bipedal presence was standing in the place of where Nidorina used to be. ‘What is that?’ Red asked frustrated. Blue shouting ‘Nidoqueen use Earth Power’ immediately answered his question as Pikachu got hit by its tremendous force of conjured earthen energy. The attack caused massive damage to the hallway they were standing in as well. Pikachu now fainted was withdrawn by Red who knew he was outclassed. ‘Misty have Staryu tear open the hull!’, Charmander use smoke screen’ Red’s little fire lizard filed the room with a thick smoke as Red took Misty’s hand. ‘Let’s get outta here dollface, if Bill is not here this fight is not worth losing, Team Rocket is blasting off’’ Misty being a former gym leader knew she had type advantage over this thing but should the law be outside it would be best not to arrive with all their pokémon drained. They should escape while they still could, she really liked her new Poliwhirl as well and did not want to risk losing it now. “Staryu Rapid Spin through that wall’ she commanded, her seastar beginning to spin like a massive shuriken torn down the wall, allowing the two to leap outside. Once in the water she would grab onto staryu and Red ordering the first one to get them out of there as fast as it could.

Once the smoke cleared Blue stood in the torn hull, watching a little wake with two black dots connected to it fade away in the distance. He realised he had been mean and petty to Red before with no reason, this felt like his fault. Though Red’s lack of knowledge and self control were his main flaws, flaws that Blue was able to use today to get him this “victory” he knew that with those two Team Rocket got some very dangerous new members. In order to stop them he would have to find out the secret of that mysterious talking Nidorino and he would have to find Bill before his rival did. He called his grandfather to ask him if he could send information about Bill’s research to him. Samuel promised to do what his grandson asked and then offered to analyse his pokédex for him. Blue didn’t pay any attention to that, his goals were no longer that selfish, or deluded. His new goal was to stop Red before it was too late.

With Red retreating, Blue has been given a wake up call! He could no longer ignore his rival’s skill and has to go all out and grow quite early. Blue and Red now further apart than ever before! Who will be the one that comes out on top? Can Red learn to keep his temper and stomach disrespect? Will Blue be able to compensate for his shortcomings and become the saviour Kanto needs? Find out in our next episode! Another four weeks of waiting! What do you think will happen? Very important to say this little monsters:
I am not weird, just very pink!
Until we read again.

Theory: A post-apocalyptic world

Welcome to another post my little Monsters. Since 1996, 1998 or 1999, depending where in the world you are from, we have been referring to ‘the wonderful world’ of pokemon. Yet in today’s Thursday’s Theory we will be taking a look at a contemplation of mine, which is shared by some on the net. However I decided not to take a look at these. So all evidence I bring for this theory is the ones I found by simply playing the original games and the original anime.

Some reservations before getting started
Alola in both anime and game has been shown to be fairly utopian, Kalos was quite decadent and nice as well so over time the vision on how the world of Pokémon should be has changed quite a bit. So the theory we will be addressing today isn’t really based on it’s modern intentions. Much of the Pokémon world were decisions due to its large success. Spin-off games and the explosive growth of the franchise would always have led to create a much more moldable world, a continuation of the rules established in Kanto would have driven the franchise against a creative wall. So for the purposes of this post, we will only look at the original games and the first ‘season’ of the series. Rather than asking if the pokemon world IS post apocalyptic, we focus more on the question if it was ever meant to be.

Don’t expect anything like this, clearly this is untrue… Ethan doesnt wear his cap.

Evidence: No government
The ‘wonderful’ world of pokémon, doesn’t seem to possess any form of government. The rules of the region seem to be established by the pokémon organisation. If that even is a thing. Though in Galar we can see a stricter hierarchy, in the original games and in the anime we never really see those who have decided that 10 year olds can travel the land with their pokémon. We see some chairmen around the time Ash participates in the pokemon league but that is about it. Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu argued that a government should exist with three separate forms of power. The legislative, the executive and the judiciary power.

Here I thought I could never give him Pokémon flavor? Why is stage 1 a cat though?

The first and the second barely seem present, if anything there is only the laws leading up to the Pokémon League and its organisation. Even if that is what goes for those powers, they are controlled by the same organ, the league organization, which is a no no. However there seem to be no laws, except for some very basic criminal ones when it comes to non trainers. Everyone can open their own stores, there doesn’t appear to be any fines on polluting and trespassing etc, no gambling age or any sort of systems for civic control. The only law that does seem to exist is criminal law, and even that seems to mostly based on the common moral and values rather than hard written laws. All in all, the legislative force’s presence is neglectable in Kanto. Their judiciary force is up next, which quite honestly is a joke. In the anime, there basically only is Jenny who has to do it all. Yet like the lawmakers, there is little to no real influence. Though later in the series we are introduced to Looker and his organisation that try to prevent crime, which is a basic task of those who need to enforce justice, the Jennies seem to function reactively only. Their capabilities far beneath sub par, where in basically every instance we see them they do require some aid from our protagonist. To me it feels more like the officers are actually renegades trying to do the right thing, or something else I will talk about later. The executive force, why would it surprise anyone is also sorely missing. Schools, for non trainers aren’t a thing, like at all 10 year olds can travel the world using their Pokémon but later throughout the anime , and also in the game it’s revealed that there are even younger ones drifting on the road. There is educational tv and that’s about it.
In the games we at least have a trainer passport, showing some kind of governing agency to hand those out, but in the first game.. not so much, in the anime Ash just pins the badges to his vest and carries no form of ID what so ever. In no gyms do you actually have to identify yourself as a legit trainer and in the anime, Ash discovers the Pokémon League challenge by accident , seeing a poster, never it being his true goal. All in all it’s pretty solid proof that there is no government so at least there is something wrong with this world..

Rumor: The War
Fact, Kanto has recently seen a war at the beginning of Red and Blue, and though people theorise Red is Ash’s father, I do not believe that theory for in the japanese game Red and Ash are both named Satoshi. No that is not a last name, he is named after Satoshi Tajiri the creator of Pokémon, Tajiri being his family name/ last name. (In Japanese he is called Tajiri Satoshi) Since Red and Ash are thusly established as the same person it’s safe to say he would have seen the war as well. Lieutenant Surge is the one who talks about using his Pokémon in the war to zap his enemies into paralysis, yet it would be a war that did not do Kanto any favours. Perhaps Surge even belongs to those who ‘took over’ or deleted the Kantonian government. Making the Pokémon Organisation a potential antagonist. Evidence of this war is found throughout the entire game, evidence which would not fly nowadays cause it might not be totally PC. Kanto has a severe lack of adults, mostly of mature men above the age of 25 and below the age of 65. Given Lieutenant Surge’s age being mid 30’s at best, quite possibly younger this war could not have happened over 20 years ago. Since Ash father is nowhere to be seen, it would make very much sense if he was drafted, yet killed after he at least made Delia pregnant, meaning this war at least ended a little less than 11 years ago.

The Pokémon War Theory fits inside my theory…apparantly so does Bobba Fett

Whatever this war was about, it left deep wounds onto Kanto. Gyms are oftenly entrusted to kids, males are sparse and are often either extremely capable, like Koga and his ninja’s , beefy bulky sailors, or soldiers, warriors and the likes. Scientists are still there, but their role in a war would have probably put them out of harm’s way, But are these even kantonians? Could it be that the scientists are the ones that took over, because Mew was in Kanto? It is no secret that Professor Oak would have a boss battle at the end of the game. Maybe Team Rocket are actually old world kantionian rebels fighting to regain their independence from the Pokémon company. It would explain why they steal Pokémon from the government, because they do want to topple the system. It would also explain why the want Mewtwo.. to prevent the government from abusing it. This might just seem like wild speculation, but let’s look at Team Rocket’s motto for a bit shall we? To protect the world from devastation! To unite all peoples within our nation! To denounce the evils of truth and love!. These are the three lines that speak mostly about their intentions. Their original writing not a lot different except for the last line. In japanese they say’ To prevent the destruction of the world! To protect the peace of the world! To stand by the evils of love and truth!’
Rather than denouncing truth, they stand by it.So these people seem to fight for peace and against the furthering of the apocalypse. They also wish to let you know the truth!. Truth doesn’t sound evil.. but it IS evil if a lying organisation took over, which prevent the world from knowing the truth. So perhaps in this war, the League organisations took over, wiped out Kanto as it was before and Rockets are the (R)ebels to fight

Team Rocket being good is ASO a seperate theory… well apparantly I am onto something! Just look at theem being good!

The technology
Pokémon has always felt a little odd in the technical aspect, on the one hand, there is a company that is capable of dematerialising throwable pocket dimensions in your hand and store them in their grand database, as well as healing tables that seem to radiate healing energy inside those pocket dimensions. The common folk however have technology that seems miles and miles away from this. Your overruling company can send Pokémon through time, people rarely even have TV’s. Roads are barely being maintained, while the company is able to make life.
Cloning clearly is a thing, no matter what the Joys and Jennies say, they aren’t sisters. It has been ESTABLISHED in the world, that the Pokémon Company, which they work for have cloning technology as Mewtwo was a Mew clone and Ditto basically a failed mew clone.. manmade. To test it first on the legendary Pokémon that created all Pokemon live makes no sense, they must have test it on others first. ‘We are sisters’ has never really been proven in the series.
Technically even if cloned they would not even be lying coming from the same parent.. the Joy factory or whatever. Common sense would say that the likelihood of all Joy’s being 100% the same, would all end up in the same job but at different cities would be extremely flimsy at best. But no one notices.. because no one goes to school anymore to learn some common sense!If it was an anime only thing I could understand it being a running joke, but the same joke twice odd. Joy is funny because it could work due to sprites, but the same logic is not applied to anything else, hikers all look different in the anime. Jenny even is barely a thing in the game so why?!Because they are clones thats why! Just because a character says something, it doesn’t mean they have to speak truthfully. When Rose tells Jack she would never let him go, she was just saying something. When Ash in the first episode of the series told he would swear he would become a pokemon master, he was kinda full of garbodor. Clones working for the evil company.. sounds pretty messed up and post apocalyptic to me, after all , all the other nurses and health care has gone away.

If you even doubt these are clones you might need some X Intelligence!

Much like in fallout, there is plenty of drugs that are commonly available as well. Steroids for your pokemon? No problem have some X attack, pretty much what Psycho is in Fallout, how about a PP up? Well that’s just some jet! What utopian world would allow you to alter your Pokémon’s core by pumping it full of medicine? How about forcing it to learn moves it would not naturally learn by using training discs. Yet this is all technology that is readily available. However lights in a well traveled cave, roads to drive, no investment is made in that because it has nothing to do with Pokémon, so the company can’t do it therefore doesn’t care. Besides Gary’s car, we rarely see any technology that isn’t owned by the company.
No matter how you twist or turn things, something doesn’t add up in the difference in tech, the power balance shifted to an extreme, Gary proves that exist(ted) but he again is linked to the company, for the power balance to tip so far in one direction, some big event must have happened. Where did all that normal tech go? Why is the gap that big? It doesn’t match with the utopian theme. Something bad must have happened

Propganda I say! Tech is only available to those who follow the will of the company!

Closing thoughts
Nowadays it seems unlikely that the organisation behind Pokémon is evil, look at how chill professor Kukui is, elegant stuff went in Kalos. Lance became a great hero, though all he ever did was face Rocket, which may have just been a resistance. Lorelei helps you in let’s go, but only to stop team Rocket. But there is not a snowball’s chance in hell that gym leaders and elite four could be evil right? No one ever intended that?! …. Well if we follow the manga , they are all pretty darn evil. World ending and “I‘d have to murder your pokemon to stop you” evil.
However there is no way the company destroyed the world of Kanto and rebuild it in their image so they can just earn money and experiment with Pokémon right? There is no way professor Oak would ever be evil? Well he might have been, there was this boss battle… and he didn’t look too friendly with the sprite. So yes I do think it is entirely plausible that at some point in the development of at least Red and Blue , it was designed with a different vision than it has now. Ideas that seeped into the world, however the project had been adapted because the game took on more hype then expected and might have been better than expected. Now i’ll finish this up, if iI have to think of a peaceful post apocalyptic world that is kind of nice to have fun in as a young boy…I would depict that in one scene. Four boys, walking on a railroad.

So my little monsters, that ends yet another blog on the subject of Pokémon. I really like dedicating myself to a subject , it may be niche but I do hope you enjoy some of my content.
Please keep reading in the future, catch them all and most of all stay pink! Also let me know why you think Montesquieu evolves from a cat please!
X

What If: Red joined Team Rocket Part 1

Hello there my little monsters!
In my What If series we take a look at a familiar story, but apply some changes to the story. Since this is my first actual blog it makes sense that we start with the first Pokémon story as well, the story of Red as in the original games. Though the story began exactly the same and Red chose his charmander, and went on to defeat Brock and clear Mount Moon, everything you knew is about to be thrown out the window.
Because after he defeated blue, and the Nugget five, Red got an interesting offer, and this time, he will not decline.

Prepare for Trouble

A man in a trenchcoat approached Red after he had just defeated the fifth trainer of Nugget bridge, without to much trouble he might add. “Hey kid congratulations you have got some skill, here is your price” said the mysterious man while handing Red a little gold Nugget, who gratefully accepted to valuable metal. Wow, that was some easy money, this money could really let Red stand up against people who pestered him like Blue. “By the way kid, would you like to join Team Rocket, we could use someone like you” the man suddenly said. Taken aback by the offer Red was about to decline when a thought popped up in his head.
The way how Blue treats him, even if he was the better trainer, the way that weak old man had blocked his path when he tried to leave Viridian city, that guy who doubted he was strong enough to move through mount Moon, forcing him to deal with Brock.
No one had shown him much of the respect he by now should have started to earn. If the other trainers are as weak as these ones, there would not be a real thrill in battle. Perhaps this could solve all his problems.
At that moment time seemed to stop as Red thoughts entered overdrive. Finally he would be able to command some respect, he and his Pokémon could train to be truly great. He did not need Professor Oak’s mission to complete that virtual encyclopedia, Blue was going faster than him anyway. The world had been rough to him long enough, it was time for the age of Red. ‘Yes… I will accept your offer’ Red said to the man his eyes shining with the same determination he had faced Brock with. ‘Ah excellent, well then if you follow me , you will meet our Boss and get your gear recruit!’.
The criminal seemed excited guiding the kid back across the bridge, guiding him back to the foot of Mount Moon, where they would wait a while in silence, Red telling his Charmander what their new objectives would be. Suddenly a man in an orange tailored suit would step out of the cave, a persian walking besides him, his skin tone darker than most of the region, more akin to something you might find to the south of Kalos. ‘So you are the kid who stopped our operation in Mount Moon.. but now you want to join us huh? Welcome to Team Rocket then Red… thank you for pointing out the rotten apples in our organisation’. Red just stood up and reached a hand out to the man, as they shook Giovanni looked at Red with a smile.’ ‘Get ready kid, because I got an important mission for you something I can not trust to these grunts of mine’

A talking Pokémon
After Red finished fitting his new outfit he approached Giovanni again, his new found demeanor allowed him to talk to the man rather casually. ‘So.. Boss…I guess? What do you want me to do that these clowns of you can not?’ Giovanni chuckled a bit before he spoke in his deep voice.’Well that compliment certainly went to your head very fast. I want you to go across Nugget bridge again, once you cross it head East and you will find the house of a man named Bill. I want him captured, he is the designer of the box system for Pokémon, with his help we can steal all the Pokémon that people hide in their pc’s without them even knowing, it will be glorious.’
Giovanni looked down at the 10 year old to see if he understood the mission, the boy reminded him of his own son Silver, whom he had left behind some years ago, but it was not only the sentiment that made Giovanni warm up to this boy, his years as a gym leader made it a very easy tell that this boy had potential. He would have been an eyesore if he would have kept interfering with them like he did in Mount Moon, so Giovanni would do what he always did, pay well and allow the young man to feel powerful, feed his ego to make him feel entitled. Red looked at the man, his eyes seemingly excited at the prospect of commanding respect, and stealing Pokémon away from that horrible Blue, he would teach his rival to respect it. “Done Boss” Red said trying to sound casual. ‘Bring him to Celadon city, I will bribe the guards to let you trough, head to the arcade.. we will greet you there’. Giovanni dipped his head and began to wander off, after petting his Persian, which looked at Red callously. Red went on with the task, noticing now he walked in a rocket outfit, people were scared to challenge him. It felt good, instead of being looked down upon by these weaklings, with their Rattatas and Pidgeys they now finally saw him for what he truly was.
After defeating a camper and his girlfriend, just for the heck of it , Red arrived at Bill’s house. Choosing to use a Geodude he captured in Mount Moon to bash the door in , Red was ready for his success as he stepped in the doorway.
Inside the house was very cluttered a large machine with two chambers hissing and the sound of a computer running were all Red heard after the initial ruckus he had caused. No Bill to be seen though, but when examining the room he did see a Nidorino which was looking at him.“Hi I am a Pokémon, Bill is not at home right now, he is dating a cop and they will be back any minute now” the Pokémon suddenly said. Red looked at the Nidorino amazed, who start back at the black clad boy. While Red felt the R on his shirt, a smile creeped over his face as he reached for a Pokéball and ordered Geodude to attack the Nidorino. “Wait” the Pokémon yelled, but it was already to late, his breath was knocked out of him as the Geodude slammed itself into him, the Nidorino hit the wall. Dazed he tried to get up.. but suddenly the room around him began to spin and then there was no room at all.

Make it Double
The room came back as fast as it had disappeared. When the Nidorino gained back his sight and orientation he saw Red standing above him. ‘You are my Pokémon now, tell me where Bill is, I need to find him so my boss can access the box system he made’. The Pokémon knew he could never let that secret fall into the hands of team Rocket..but this one did not really seem to have a clue on what happened, for now he would just have to play along, he would escape as soon as he saw a chance. ‘I can not tell you, Master Bill forbade me to’ the Nidorino said somewhat wooden. Red driven by his desire to succeed and be respected to angry to notice the strange intonations just shouted at the purple monster. ‘You are my Pokémon.. Obey’. The Nidorino just shook his head, with an angry yell Red called the disobedient monster back into it’s Pokéball. ‘Fine I will look for clues myself.’
Searching the room, he only found some computer entries of three elemental dogs, one lighting one fire and one water. Just as frustration began to get the best of him, he noticed a booklet, with a ticket to a cruise ship on it, one ticket seemed to have been torn out already. ‘Hmmm the SS Anne huh…. I bet Bill is sipping some champagne and caviar boasting about his fancy system’ red said to himself before packing up. Still frustrated that his new Pokémon would not obey he walked all the way back.. to head to Vermillion city. When he passed the Cerulean city gym, he suddenly had a thought, if he would trash their leader and get the badge his new Pokémon might obey, he would not fail his first mission and that Pokémon might know more then it would tell now.
As red entered the gym, the man in the white suit looked at him ‘Yo Champ in the making what happe…..’ Red punched the man in the gut who keeled over laying on the ground . ‘I have no time for your preaching old man, I just need to defeat the gym leader. Not even paying heed to the others in the Gym, Red walked straight for the red head. ‘Yo toots you and I battle right now, I am here for your badge, if you refuse me and my friends will trash this place’. Red enjoyed the sensation of showing this bravado, seeing the other trainers cower, but this girl in front of him was different she was brazen and spunky, he would relish defeating her. Misty looked at him, she was kind of fascinated by this boy, his confidence and determination where dare she say it even quite attractive, sure he might be a criminal of team Rocket, but she does like herself a confident man.
An intense battle unfolded , Red’s clever use of his Pidgeotto and the Pikachu he caught in Viridian forest gave him the win. Despite his alignment, the boy still had a bond with his Pokémon that was very strong, they would follow him wherever he may go. Misty felt her heart throbbing in her throat, what was this raw passion, this ferocity and intensity she felt from this boy. ‘Well toots Time for you to cough up your badge’ Red said smirking when he suddenly had a realisation. ‘By the way Toots, I could use a girl like you in my team, need to visit a cruise ship..could use a fine water trainer like yourself along, I bet there are some fancy water Pokémon for you there and you don’t have to hold back either anymore’.
That final line was enough to push Misty over the edge. She DID have to hold back as a gym leader, and her dating life had not been particularly interesting either with those weird experiments going on at her favorite dating spot. This boy proved to her that you do not have to treat Pokémon badly as a Rocket, but that if she joined she could finally chose herself, over her duties. She could finally be selfish. A smile appeared on her face, and a blush as she stared into the boys eyes. He smiled back to her while he reached out a hand to help her off her little podium. As soon as she began reaching he grinned at her and ushered the words “Prepare for trouble”. Misty took Red’s hand allowing him to help her step of the podium, letting him pull her a bit closer then he had intended to, she grinned back and replied. ‘Make it double’

And so comes and end to the first part of this story,As Red and now Misty as well, travel to vermillion city to raid the SS Anne to find Bill, what kind of criminal adventures await them next. How long will Bill be able to resist obeying his new master? Will the box system fall into the hands of Team Rocket or will Blue maybe be able to stop them? Find out on the next part! Don’t be shy to leave a comment or a like! Don’t steal Pokémon in real life, that would be super mean and remember to stay pink my little monsters. Untill we read again.