5th Gen Ghetsis' Deformity.

A common thing that is easily missed in Gen 5 is how strange Ghetsis actually is.

In both games, you never see his right arm, one can also assume he is blind in his right eye, due to his eyepatch, also, in his mug shots, you can see he seems to have difficulty opening the right side of his mouth:



We do, however, see his right arm in the introduction cutscene of Black and White, however, it is discoloured...


Now this could either be shading, just making his arm look a different colour, or it could be a deliberate difference.

Another great little bit of evidence from ProjectL, this quote is from black and white 2...

ProjectL said:

"I can't believe it! The BlackB2/WhiteW2 Kyurem I went to all the trouble of preparing! How irritating! Now I have to go recapture Kyurem, don't I? But first, I'll take down this disgusting Trainer with my own hand! This time I WILL succeed! No matter what they try, no one will be able to stop me!"

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Not hands, no. HAND.

Now I know Pokemon is aimed to suit a younger audience, and I know this may seem a little "dark" for Pokemon, but just remember this is the same man who try's to kill a child in B/W2, and there is A LOT of evidence with his mugshots and general appearance that there is something wrong with him.

What do you guys think?

Do I just need to get out more? Hahahaha

I believe that there's a theory circulating around that Ghetsis' discoloured arm was caused by his Hydreigon. It's quite believable actually, as his Hydreigon has the lowest base happiness possible, meaning that one day it might have tried turning on Ghetsis for his cruel nature.

Dr. Silver said:

I believe that there's a theory circulating around that Ghetsis' discoloured arm was caused by his Hydreigon. It's quite believable actually, as his Hydreigon has the lowest base happiness possible, meaning that one day it might have tried turning on Ghetsis for his cruel nature.

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Oh cool! I've give it a Google search! I heard somewhere that there is some backstory to Ghetsis and Kyurem? Apparently he tried and failed to catch him at some point? I'm not too sure, I havn't played B2/W2...

Oh, wow, haha. I actually thought he was wearing something on his right arm, because when you look and think, it starts looking like a light layer of some clothing of sorts.

Ghetsis is actually immortal. He was once a pokemon, a part of the original dragon. Then it split into Zekrom, Reshiram, Kyurem and Ghetsis. His right arm holds part of Zekrom in it and his right arm holds part of Reshiram, though not enough to do anything with obviously.

Ya know, when I first saw the thread title, I was like "Why are we talking about Necrum? And since when does he have a deformity?" But we're talking about the Ghetsis in the games XD

I did notice the fact that you never see his right arm. You can also see it in some other things:




Though I somehow missed the thing about his arm being discolored. I do think that it is discolored; its a little too different to just be a product of the lighting. Though I'm not so sure about his face though. I think it might be just the way he's drawn, but who knows.

How dare you! I am extremely sensitive about my injuries! And I think you need to learn som-

What's that? They're talking about the Pokemon character? WELL!

It definitely seems that Ghetsis was probably in some sort of accident at some point in his life. In fact, looking at his animation in BW2, he seems to be getting weaker. I mean he even uses a cane now. He's definitely not a man with the most healthy body.

I actually think this is likely a reason he uses deception over force, because it's where he can excel most, even if he is handicapped to some capacity.

Dr. Silver said:

It's quite believable actually, as his Hydreigon has the lowest base happiness possible, meaning that one day it might have tried turning on Ghetsis for his cruel nature.

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Actually that distinction belongs to Buneary of all Pokemon, who has a base friendliness of 0!

I actually never noticed these particular quirks regarding Ghetsis. I mean, taking a glance at him, you can tell he's not your every day citizen, but now that I've been prompted to look more into detail, there are some vastly odd things about his appearance. That Hydreigon theory makes sense considering how terrible of a trainer Ghetsis is supposed to represent, but his mouth might just be a sprite differentiation. Interesting finds though, never would've discovered these myself.

"I can't believe it! The BlackB2/WhiteW2 Kyurem I went to all the trouble of preparing! How irritating! Now I have to go recapture Kyurem, don't I? But first, I'll take down this disgusting Trainer with my own hand! This time I WILL succeed! No matter what they try, no one will be able to stop me!"

From B2/W2 obviously, after you defeat Black/White Kyurem

ProjectL said:

"I can't believe it! The BlackB2/WhiteW2 Kyurem I went to all the trouble of preparing! How irritating! Now I have to go recapture Kyurem, don't I? But first, I'll take down this disgusting Trainer with my own hand! This time I WILL succeed! No matter what they try, no one will be able to stop me!"

From B2/W2 obviously, after you defeat Black/White Kyurem

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Solid evidence I'd say, gonna put that in the original post...

Does he say the same kinds thing in Japanese? Anyone know?

ProjectL said:

"I can't believe it! The BlackB2/WhiteW2 Kyurem I went to all the trouble of preparing! How irritating! Now I have to go recapture Kyurem, don't I? But first, I'll take down this disgusting Trainer with my own hand! This time I WILL succeed! No matter what they try, no one will be able to stop me!"

From B2/W2 obviously, after you defeat Black/White Kyurem

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Wow, I never actually thought of how he says it like that. I think Marriland said in one of his White 2 videos back after the game was released (or it might have been the Japanese version, I don't remember) that he heard stuff about Ghetsis having only one arm, so this isn't the first time i've heard about this.

Origin Green said:

We do, however, see his right arm in the introduction cutscene of Black and White, however, it is discoloured...

Spoiler:

Now this could either be shading, just making his arm look a different colour, or it could be a deliberate difference.

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It's also interesting that N's coronation scene never occurs in the game, which could mean that:
a) the introductory scene in B/W is just a premonition of what would have happened had the hero/heroine not stopped N in time.
b) N was crowned sometime before B/W's story started in a closed ceremony when the castle was still underground. Though, given how much of a showman Ghetsis is, wouldn't he prefer N's coronation to be broadcasted worldwide to be witnessed by the entire world?


The Hydreigon theory is an interesting one. Ghetsis certainly looks arrogant enough that he would continuously mistreat a three-headed dragon not once thinking that it might not end up good for him.

KostK2Boss said:

It's also interesting that N's coronation scene never occurs in the game, which could mean that:
a) the introductory scene in B/W is just a premonition of what would have happened had the hero/heroine not stopped N in time.
b) N was crowned sometime before B/W's story started in a closed ceremony when the castle was still underground. Though, given how much of a showman Ghetsis is, wouldn't he prefer N's coronation to be broadcasted worldwide to be witnessed by the entire world?


The Hydreigon theory is an interesting one. Ghetsis certainly looks arrogant enough that he would continuously mistreat a three-headed dragon not once thinking that it might not end up good for him.

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Since Team Plasma grunts and the Seven Sages all refer to N as "King N" i would guess he was crowned before the story took place.

Sage Ghetsis said:

Actually that distinction belongs to Buneary of all Pokemon, who has a base friendliness of 0!

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You misunderstood me. Ghetsis' Hydreigon has a 0 in its Friendship when you battle it.

So, what I think is that, maybe, he has some sort of muscle, skin or nerve disease perhaps, or perhaps even a full combination of all three? Maybe he was born like that actually? Maybe the reason he went psycho is because people were mean to him because of it and he had no one who cared about him or something? Maybe he was bullied for something he couldn't change, and that would explain why he tries so hard to conceal it from everyone. Maybe he's inflicting his own pain that he has felt in his own life from others because of his deformity upon everyone and everything? The fact that he used N also tells me that maybe his parents abused him, as he repeated on N? Perhaps they called Ghetsis worthless when he was young and such and now he has become an empty void? All of this because of other people hurting him because of his difference. Something he couldn't even control about himself. Notice how all of his Pokémon as well he treats so badly, and it's obvious that he knows he's treating them badly, because his Hydreigon knew Frustration in B2/W2. I'm trying to make a point here, he's evil, I know, but there's always a reason behind the evil done by another. He's still human, and they all have a reason, perhaps that is his own? Who knows?

You're maybe one of the only people I've seen actually think about Ghetsis logically, rather than headcanoning him being burned or beaten by his Pokemon (not that those HCs are bad, but I prefer more realistic HCs),, with that being said, I believe Ghetsis actually has morphea--an autoimmune skin condition causing discoloration of the skin, and/or disfigurement of muscles and/or bones. I'm no dermatologist, but this condition would explain everything about his appearance; from his eye (which is likely closed and not lost), to his discolored arm, to his mouth, and at the fact that he uses a cane in the sequels (his legs are probably affected as well). Because morphea can affect one side of the body more than the other, (with all the symptoms affecting his left side) Ghetsis having the condition aligns perfectly.
As a child, Ghetsis likely had more symptoms of linear morphea due to the condition being more apparent in white children, and was neglected by his peers and family. (Something interesting to note is that the lore suggests he's related to an ancient Unovan king--so his family was probably wealthy and expected him to be perfect.) Growing older, his morphea worsens and his dreams of becoming the Champion vanish. Later in life, he stumbles upon a kid named N and uses him as a pawn to become Champion because he could not. (And thus the cycle of abuse continues--until N breaks it by accepting his father and Team Plasma were bad)

Oh oops I got a bit off topic, but in conclusion,, Ghetsis having morphea makes perfect sense. I can also see how his morphea was perhaps written to convery that he is manipulative, or rather, "morphs minds". Not sure how I feel about that hinted symbolism given that I am also disabled, however I do like the fact that he's evil due to his ideals and actions and looks frightening due to what he's wearing, not by his (possible) morphea.

in several official works, his both arms are okay. somewhere I had seen him with a black glove, like Hiatus mentioned. his eye is probably scarred and unfunctional, possibly blind, as early artwork shows it damaged. perhaps he suffered trauma to the right side of his face.. or a heart attack even because drooping features are not unusual after surviving. I personally like the idea that his Pokémon/Kyurem damaged him - and that his arm is frostbitten or burnt, the former more likely as frostbite leaves dark discoloration.