[B/W] What's so special about N? [May contain B2W2 spoilers]

[FluffyTC]

I like how N has so many fangirls XD

[King Raichu]

N is not special at all. He's just a doosh.

[(=Nemesis=)]

New bloke here, my two cents on N. Yeah, ignore the avatar for now.


N is the most interesting character in Pokemon so far.

1) N isn't a strong adversary? Of course he isn't, but neither was Gary, and neither was Silver, etc. N, however, is the only person with a genuine reason not to be a strong adversary. He goes and asks local Pokemon to act as his bodyguards for the time he is in the area. The others have been using the same core team through their games and they're still easy to beat. To me, that puts N as being a stronger adversary than most other rivals.

2) Only N can talk to Pokemon. Enough said, really...

3) N turns out to be a good guy even though his dad is Ghetsis. The fact that he's been brainwashed and groomed to become the Useless and Powerless Figurehead Leader of Team Plasma his whole life is a testament to how much harder that was.

4) Throughout the game, N is applying his own ideals and directly confronting what he considers to be the evils of the Pokestablishment, which has been heralded as the absolute gospel truth by every Pokemon game from Red to Platinum. This culminates in his fiery argument against Professor Juniper's rather wishy-washy views in the Chargestone Cave. He gave a voice to everyone who ever thought it somewhat unethical to trap a Pokemon in a ball simply to complete a checklist, and then to leave it in stasis forever. Game Freak didn't have to do that. They could have glossed over it as they had for more than ten years. But they didn't, and N was their vessel to deliver this viewpoint. Furthermore, I was rather expecting Juniper's feeble argument to somehow convince N, or otherwise leave him without a valid argument - but no. Game Freak surpassed themselves by allowing an honest argument to take place. If anything, they artificially weakened Juniper's position.

5) N is confused. Hey, I said he was the most interesting, not the most competent. He believes that making Pokemon fight is wrong, but whenever he wants to have a little chat with you, it's often on the condition that you can beat him in a battle. What for? He wanted to talk in the first place. It shows that Ghetsis' teaching that Might Is Right really rubbed off on him. This culminates, interestingly to Ghetsis' downfall, when he bets the fate of Unova on his ability to defeat you in battle (in spite of the fact that you've probably never lost to him so far, but hey, that's game design for you). So these two ideologies, Might Is Right and Make Love Not Pokemon Battles, are shown as being in direct contrast to each other, which throws into light the startling fact that Pokemon has taught us that Might Is Right ever since Professor Oak warned us to beware of the tall grass. Everything you know is wrong.

6) You make N inwardly conflicted. All his life he's been made to believe that Pokemon in captivity are miserable and wretched; so much so that he's ready to force everyone in Unova to release their Pokemon for their own benefit. Then he meets you, shortly after his exposure to The Real World. Before long he's become fascinated with you because to him, you represent the clearly impossible; a trainer of happy Pokemon. Throughout most of the game, he's desperately trying to reconcile what he "knows" to be true, what you are proving, and what his own conscience is trying to say. This brilliant turmoil actually had me looking forward to the time when he would next send out the Shadow Triad to invite me to another little discussion.

7) N resolves his issues in a mostly-satisfying way right at the end, when everything reaches a climax. Ghetsis goes from Freudian slips to right-out admitting that he wants to Take Over The World, and mercilessly berates N for essentially being a puppet. But N proves his worth by turning against Ghetsis' plans and then, by setting out to make a new life for himself, with Reshiram/Zekrom. I would elaborate further, but it's been a while since I saw the end. I will say that with all the drama at the end, it wasn't until the next day that I realised, wait, am I the League Champion now?


In summary, my own feelings are that not only is N the most interesting antagonist in a Pokemon game, but in any game that I've played. Including the whole villainous roster of Final Fantasy.

[Gothitelle.]

You can make fun of his name XD. It's that memorable and catchy. Like his Spanish counterpart can be: Ñ

Jokes aside; he's one of the few antagonists in the games that want to actually do good for Pokemon however is very misguided. In short, he's not a generic villain character. I like the whole Team Plasma concept really.

[Nintendork15]

me and my friend found him creepy ... almost like a perv ._.''
the way he says 'your pokemon are really happy hahahaha'
and 'Let me hear your pokémon one more time!!!'
druing battles ... it' like whaa D:'

[ManaphyLv100]

I quite like N, although it was easier to like him when I didn't understand the nonsense he spouts for half the game. I always saw him more as a rival than a villain, so all these Plasma goons calling him 'king' kinda ruined the dream. But he has cool hair, he's got a Menger Sponge on his belt, and he can talk to Pokémon! What's not to love?

I also think he fits the ancient legend perfectly (with Zekrom; I think he's fighting for his ideals, while you're fighting for truth), which is nice.

Besides, N's Farewell has to be the second-best theme in the whole game.

[Poke-Amph]

At first N reminded me of a home schooled kid who didn't know any social norms and was completely awkward. By the end of the game he wasn't too bad though.

[feralig8rx]

Because he's just plain awesome?

He's got cool attire, music....N's actually got a reason to be in the storyline, unlike characters like Bianca or Cheren <.<

[Forever]

Originally Posted by (=Nemesis=)

6) You make N inwardly conflicted. All his life he's been made to believe that Pokemon in captivity are miserable and wretched; so much so that he's ready to force everyone in Unova to release their Pokemon for their own benefit. Then he meets you, shortly after his exposure to The Real World. Before long he's become fascinated with you because to him, you represent the clearly impossible; a trainer of happy Pokemon. Throughout most of the game, he's desperately trying to reconcile what he "knows" to be true, what you are proving, and what his own conscience is trying to say. This brilliant turmoil actually had me looking forward to the time when he would next send out the Shadow Triad to invite me to another little discussion.

That's the weird thing though, you'd expect with a storyline where N befriends you in such a way, that... you'd at least be able to input something, while no, he changes as a person because you never talk. I'd say that was kinda a letdown tbh.

Originally Posted by Glaceon_

As a villain, he... doesn't really sit very high, either. Frankly, he's simply a misguided boy who was brought up by Ghetsis to believe that all Pokemon caught by people were mistreated and beaten, all in a plot that would give Ghetsis the chance to declare himself the master of Pokemon-- as no one else would have Pokemon of their own. In the end, N was used by his own father and Team Plasma to gain the kind of influence they wanted over people to force them to part ways with their, in some cases, long-loved Pokemon. Not for the ideals that N followed, but for the plan that Ghetsis had obviously spent years preparing, raising his son so that he would one day liberate Pokemon from their Trainers so that he could be the master of them all.

I never really considered him a villian when playing through, since he never actually does anything evil. Though without knowledge of the games back in September I thought he was a villian...XD; Infact, his plot was kinda confusing at first more so than evil.

[PkMnTrainer Yellow]

Well, N is the first villain that reaches the level of depth he does. Team Rocket isn't that deep. Team Aqua/Magma isn't even that deep. Basically, his character design is a first that a lot of people really enjoyed seeing in a pokemon game, me included.

[(=Nemesis=)]

Originally Posted by PkMnTrainer Yellow

Well, N is the first villain that reaches the level of depth he does. Team Rocket isn't that deep. Team Aqua/Magma isn't even that deep. Basically, his character design is a first that a lot of people really enjoyed seeing in a pokemon game, me included.

Precisely. Although it's true that, yes, you can seldom say anything back to him to influence his thinking (yep, saw that one, Forever), that is actually exceedingly rare in video games anyway; it's true that video games' narrative should be truly interactive every step of the way, and it can work to tremendous effect, but I'll say that with N they've done the next best thing, which is to put you, the player, into a situation where you are clearly a factor, but where you have little power to change things beyond those which the gameplay offers you.

I'll be the first to admit that I was role-playing my own responses to N's confused outbursts. It was a little frustrating not being able to convey them. But would I rather have a game where I can convince him of his errors, and thwart Ghetsis' plan in a moment? Of course not. I would rather play the game, and allow the narrative to raise the tension; much better than driving the narrative into avoiding a climax!

See: railroading vs derailing. Some people don't like to be railed and will de-rail an RPG as soon as they can find some leverage. Some people don't like to be de-railed because it ruins their hope for an epic plot.

For those who don't mind being railed in exchange for an engaging (by video game standards) character-driven story, N represents a good deal.

[Chatot Lover]

I like N, he's a great character and the mere fact that he can talk to Pokémon is pretty awesome itself.

However, I don't get what's all the fuss about him either xD I mean, he's cool and all but nothing too special.
I still think Silver (in HG/SS) has more deph and I prefer his entire personality better.

[DarkAlucard]

It is the first trainer / boss, of the team trying to conquer the world does not look strange, is personality is very important to give that depth it has in the game apart is pokemon team is so inconsistent that it appears to do the same thing as you: capture as many pokemon. But for me the best will be Gary and then Silver.

[Joey's Rattata]

Originally Posted by Xilfer123

Ok, people. Just like the title says, what's so special about N?

What's "special" about N is that he's the first in the Pokemon games that has been able to talk to Pokemon. However, despite this fact we never really see him do it except to stalk White/Black. Sure, his background is apparently that he talked to lots of Pokemon who were abused and etc., but we never see him doing anything like that during the game.

So while it may be a cool idea, it was downplayed in the actual game.

Another thing that makes N "special" is he's a villain (of sorts) that actually captures their Legendary goal. Let's think about this for a moment.

Pokemon G/R/B/Y/FR/LG: Didn't really have a legendary goal, although they created Mewtwo... Who then apparently gave them the middle finger and left to live in a cave.

Pokemon G/S/C/HG/SS: Team Rocket was never really after a legendary in this game, all they wanted was to find their boss and then take over the world or something.

Pokemon R/S/E: (I'll go with Emerald's version of the story as it makes the most sense to me) Team Aqua/Team Magma were the first to be after a legendary (in the main series). However, they failed and wound up causing the worst natural disaster in Hoenn since whenever these Pokemon were last awake. However, somehow a 10 year old convinces another Legendary to stop the fighting and all is well. No capture here either.

Pokemon D/P/Pt: I'll admit I never did beat Platinum, but as far as I'm aware they failed to capture the legendary like in D/P. Yay 10 year olds!

(I'm not going to comment on side games, although I am aware that several dealt with legendaries such as Gale of Darkness.)

Then, finally, in B/W we have a villain that achieves his goal of having a Legendary by his side. Although his plan failed in the long run, he got the closest to his true goal out of all games. (excluding perhaps GSCHGSS, as their goal was to try and find Giovanni... which they almost did, but yay time travel!)

Originally Posted by Xilfer123

Do you like him?

I like him all right, but I'm not super attached to him. I didn't really find myself growing attached to any B/W characters except White because her design is awesome.

Originally Posted by Xilfer123

Do you more than like him?

He isn't physically attractive enough for me to develop a crush on a fictional character.

Originally Posted by Xilfer123

What's your opinion on him?

I think he's an okay character, but they should have fleshed him out more. He felt half-completed. :/ (This comes from somebody who writes ORIGINAL stories in her spare time, so she's super picky about stuff like that.)

However, when I walked into his room I just kinda stopped and was silent for a while... I probably spent at least 5 minutes in his room just going "._." at the whole thing. I honestly can't describe the feeling I had when I saw that, and that is what makes such a thing awesome.

Originally Posted by Xilfer123

Why do you think he's so special apart from his looks?

Uh. He looks like a hippie. Unless we're talking about a different kind of "special", that doesn't make him a particularly special character.

Originally Posted by Xilfer123

Is he a retard or a dream?

I wouldn't call him a retard, I'd call his whole life freakin' messed up. I want to punch Ghetsis in the face (okay, maybe a little more than just that) for the whole thing.


-

I'd say N isn't 'special' beyond the fact he's done a few things not done in the main games before... But is overused in other media.

[antoj]

i don't mind him,
but he made the storyline a bit better than the original bad guys

[The Nightmare]

I don't really get whats so special about him either but sometimes he is special because he can talk to pokemon or something.

[mscat]

I liked N. His philosophy was better than any other villain in Pokemon...and yeah I know his not a villain but the opposite side anyway. Awesome hair, awesome room, and btw I think Gary is a dork....and when did N have fan girls? I also like how he was kinda RIGHT when you think about it. Most people playing pokemon are just using them and trading pokemon like slaves. I know you can't really make friends with pokemon since it's a video game but it's some what humorous he's right.

P.S. I also like his rubix cube thing

[インフェルノの津波]

Originally Posted by mscat

I liked N. His philosophy was better than any other villain in Pokemon...and yeah I know his not a villain but the opposite side anyway. Awesome hair, awesome room, and btw I think Gary is a dork....and when did N have fan girls? I also like how he was kinda RIGHT when you think about it. Most people playing pokemon are just using them and trading pokemon like slaves. I know you can't really make friends with pokemon since it's a video game but it's some what humorous he's right.

When did N not have fangirls.

Go to Deviantart, search N and you'll see a small portion of the N fandom.

Don't even get me started on Fan Fiction.net.

[Frostweaver]

I think Nemesis summed it up pretty much right there, though I think the fact that he battles you every time is a game design + age limit. It would've been more interesting if Gamefreak puts N in a "some evil is necessary for the greater good" approach that N battles to stop battling by taking then releasing captured Pokemon, but that's probably pushing Nintendo's buttons too much.

As for fangirls... anime cons since release of BW got plenty of N, just cause he's easy to cosplay. Just need a simple cap, pretty simple outfit... only the hair needs a bit of dyeing but that's relatively easy for a cosplay. Tons of crossdressing N fangirls right there!

[Åzurε]

N is the most sympathetic, successful, detailed antagonist in main-continuity Pokemon games thus far, and his motive is both justified and easier to accept than any other villain in the series.

Sympathetic in that he genuinely wants to do good for Pokemon, the creatures the games are centered around. Not only did he manage to obtain the Pokemon he was after, it actually likes him. It chose him. In order, Giovanni ran away/possibly died, Maxie and Archie just gave up and disappeared, and last we heard Cyrus was still trapped all alone in an alternate dimension, probably subsisting on the flesh of his fainted Pokemon. N makes friends with the protagonist, keeps his legendary and flies off to another inhabited region of the world to sort out his ideals. There's actual backstory to him, not just "oh that guy was a social recluse and now he's evil." He has mannerisms that aren't listed under villainy, he likes math, he has a dad! There's plenty of reasons to like him.

[インフェルノの津波]

Originally Posted by Åzurε

N is the most sympathetic, successful, detailed antagonist in main-continuity Pokemon games thus far, and his motive is both justified and easier to accept than any other villain in the series.

Sympathetic in that he genuinely wants to do good for Pokemon, the creatures the games are centered around. Not only did he manage to obtain the Pokemon he was after, it actually likes him. It chose him. In order, Giovanni ran away/possibly died, Maxie and Archie just gave up and disappeared, and last we heard Cyrus was still trapped all alone in an alternate dimension, probably subsisting on the flesh of his fainted Pokemon. N makes friends with the protagonist, keeps his legendary and flies off to another inhabited region of the world to sort out his ideals. There's actual backstory to him, not just "oh that guy was a social recluse and now he's evil." He has mannerisms that aren't listed under villainy, he likes math, he has a dad! There's plenty of reasons to like him.

Well Ghetsis isn't exactly his dad. Not to mention he was kind of a dick.

[Hypno]

Just for the fact that he is one of the few NPCs that was able to catch a legendary, he is alright.
Still, Blue and Silver are the best ones.

[sarious]

It said that pokemon came and killed his whole village, which would obviously make someone go insane. Then team plasma tricked him and used him. I believe he's just a confused person, I don't think he's very special, but I don't think people should hate on him.

[Sarcastic Prince]

Originally Posted by インフェルノの津波

Well Ghetsis isn't exactly his dad. Not to mention he was kind of a dick.

Why not? Isn't his green hair heredity from his dad, Ghetsis?
Not to mention that they have the same surname - Harmonia.

Ghetsis Harmonia's son is N Harmonia.

[Molts]

I am male, and I'm a huge fan of his. I personally adore villains that use thought as a weapon. People that think differently and seek to change people's behavior for their gain, or "saving the world from itself" plots are very cool to me as not enough games use them.

On the reason why he "keeps" them. If you noticed all of his battles, he uses pokemon you can catch in the zone you fight him, and then in the next battle he doesn't have any of the same pokemon. So you nca assume he sets thme free after battling you. He also seems to only battle you to figure out what you are thinking, and how you treat your pokemon. Since he was raised that humans abused pokemon or vice versa.

He's special to me because all the other "villians" in pokemon games are overtly so. Archer, Maxie, Giovanni, Cyrus, they're all the classic "evil" trying to take over the world, or the universe. N has no such goals, he wishes to set pokemon free from their oppressors, though he was mislead, his goals are so entirely different from any other major bad guys I give him the credit of being special in that sense.