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A quick recap of the gen 4 main characters' names and the meaning behind them. I'll refer to the languages I know more, so English, Japanese and obviously Italian. Could they hint something about PLA plot?
Cyrus: It takes its name from the Sun and in fact the Commanders of Team Galaxy have the name of the planets to imply they revolve around him. In Japanese his name is Akagi, which contains the word akai (red) in it. Could probably refer to the red in the Japanese flag that represents the Sun. Red is often associated with passion, but I really don't think it's the case. Red is also associated with blood and therefore violence.
Cynthia: It is a name referred to the Ancient Greek Goddess Artemis, Goddess of Crescent Moon. In Japanese, her name is Shirona which has the word shiroi (white) in it. White represents purity and it's the other color of the Japanese flag. Note how in both cases Cynthia and Cyrus names are in contrast. Also, just like in Japanese their names refer to colors, in English their names both start with Cy-. It's implicit, but still a thing.
Cyllene: It comes from the Ancient Greek Goddess of the Full Moon Selene. The intent here was to create the counterpart of Cyrus. So, again, Sun versus Moon. Also, idk if this may be a thing but it seems to be a connection between Cyllene and Cynthia when it comes to their names. They both start by Cy-, but as I've said before, there's also Cyrus. That is quite confusing. Japanese seems to be clearer on this, but, again, this may just be a case. In Japanese, Cyllene is called shimaboshi, that seems to be a poetic name for moon (I have no evidence for this tho). It starts with shi- just like shi-rona (Cynthia). Also both of them have something to do with the Moon. In Italian however, this connection is lost because their names have nothing in common (Cynthia → Camilla; Cyllene → Selina). That's why I said this may not be a thing. Anyway, could these two characters be associated in some way?
Volo: It comes from Latin and it means "to want". In Japanese is the same, in Italian his name is Ethelo, which means "to want" in Ancient Greek. (Having studied Latin and Ancient Greek finally becomes useful lol). It's Cynthia's ancestor. There's no connection between those names, but I still have a speculation for this. In pokemon platinum Cynthia says that everything is already written and basically that destiny exists. The idea of wanting something and the personality of this character shown in the trailer pretty much imply that Volo is ideologically almost the opposite of Cynthia. Volo is indeed described as curious and interested in new things and new people. Be careful because I m pretty sure Volo will be particularly important in the game.
Honorable mention: Irida and Adaman. I only have an unrealistic speculation about them. It could be an implicit detail, but tbh I don't think so. My theory is that their names could hint at them being our rivals. In gen 4 games, when it's asked to give a name to Berry, if u choose to give a name and then u just go back without giving a name, it will be called Diamond or Pearl, based on the game u are playing. Barry is our rival and given that Adaman and Irida don't seem to be in a very good relationship with Team Galaxy, they could actually be our rivals, in some sort of way. I reckon this is just pure overthinking tho. Actually, I think the best candidate for the role of rival in this game is def Volo. He says that he wants to travel, he comes from another region and we'll often meet them in various parts of the game. Who does that? A rival in every pokemon game lol
For now, I have nothing more to say about these and also the other characters. Do you have any speculation, any detail to add or some ideas about other old or new characters?
Cyrus: It takes its name from the Sun and in fact the Commanders of Team Galaxy have the name of the planets to imply they revolve around him. In Japanese his name is Akagi, which contains the word akai (red) in it. Could probably refer to the red in the Japanese flag that represents the Sun. Red is often associated with passion, but I really don't think it's the case. Red is also associated with blood and therefore violence.
Cynthia: It is a name referred to the Ancient Greek Goddess Artemis, Goddess of Crescent Moon. In Japanese, her name is Shirona which has the word shiroi (white) in it. White represents purity and it's the other color of the Japanese flag. Note how in both cases Cynthia and Cyrus names are in contrast. Also, just like in Japanese their names refer to colors, in English their names both start with Cy-. It's implicit, but still a thing.
Spoiler:
Cyllene: It comes from the Ancient Greek Goddess of the Full Moon Selene. The intent here was to create the counterpart of Cyrus. So, again, Sun versus Moon. Also, idk if this may be a thing but it seems to be a connection between Cyllene and Cynthia when it comes to their names. They both start by Cy-, but as I've said before, there's also Cyrus. That is quite confusing. Japanese seems to be clearer on this, but, again, this may just be a case. In Japanese, Cyllene is called shimaboshi, that seems to be a poetic name for moon (I have no evidence for this tho). It starts with shi- just like shi-rona (Cynthia). Also both of them have something to do with the Moon. In Italian however, this connection is lost because their names have nothing in common (Cynthia → Camilla; Cyllene → Selina). That's why I said this may not be a thing. Anyway, could these two characters be associated in some way?
Volo: It comes from Latin and it means "to want". In Japanese is the same, in Italian his name is Ethelo, which means "to want" in Ancient Greek. (Having studied Latin and Ancient Greek finally becomes useful lol). It's Cynthia's ancestor. There's no connection between those names, but I still have a speculation for this. In pokemon platinum Cynthia says that everything is already written and basically that destiny exists. The idea of wanting something and the personality of this character shown in the trailer pretty much imply that Volo is ideologically almost the opposite of Cynthia. Volo is indeed described as curious and interested in new things and new people. Be careful because I m pretty sure Volo will be particularly important in the game.
Honorable mention: Irida and Adaman. I only have an unrealistic speculation about them. It could be an implicit detail, but tbh I don't think so. My theory is that their names could hint at them being our rivals. In gen 4 games, when it's asked to give a name to Berry, if u choose to give a name and then u just go back without giving a name, it will be called Diamond or Pearl, based on the game u are playing. Barry is our rival and given that Adaman and Irida don't seem to be in a very good relationship with Team Galaxy, they could actually be our rivals, in some sort of way. I reckon this is just pure overthinking tho. Actually, I think the best candidate for the role of rival in this game is def Volo. He says that he wants to travel, he comes from another region and we'll often meet them in various parts of the game. Who does that? A rival in every pokemon game lol
For now, I have nothing more to say about these and also the other characters. Do you have any speculation, any detail to add or some ideas about other old or new characters?