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Could these be the darkest Pokemon games yet?

HeroLinik

HeroLinik

To this day, he still can't beat Air Man...
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    From what's been revealed so far, it seems like the franchise is taking a much darker route, both literally and metaphorically, when compared to even SM, which is often labelled for being "dark" what with all the whole thing about death being thrown around, and the notion of the Ultra Beasts. First of all, let's take another look at the map of Alola. As you can tell and probably know, the sun is setting, the clouds are bigger and there's a massive rift above Poni Island not unlike the one seen above Spear Pillar:

    [PokeCommunity.com] Could these be the darkest Pokemon games yet?


    The trailer that released last week also contains some clues, because there are some important translations of what tells us a bit more of the fate of Alola.

    Spoiler:

    In the top-left image, Kukui tells the player a story about Alola, which was covered in darkness once. This is actually somewhat striking because the cutscene is very early in the game, so it could be that the game is not holding back with the themes and is throwing them at us, full-force. In the top-right picture, the Ultra Recon Squad inform the player that Necrozma is a Pokemon that can control light, and suggests that it is capable of stealing Alola's light. Then, there is the eclipse, and lastly in the bottom-right, Necrozma seems to be doing what the URS warned about and steal the light of Alola (if you look closely at the bottom left of the image, small islands are visible).

    It appears as though the tropical vibes are still there, but there's also the heavy fear that Necrozma is in hiding, ready to strike at almost any moment, almost heavily contrasting the heavy happy-go-lucky holiday vibes of SM. There is a possibility that at some point, Necrozma will actually strike and steal the light, and we get to play in complete darkness. If that happens, then it'll appear to transcend the boundaries of what makes a Pokemon game, thus adding to the dramatic value.

    What are your thoughts on US/UM being the darkest games yet? Have your thoughts on Alola changed at all since the region was first revealed?
     
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    I'm pretty convinced that USUM will be much darker in terms of theme compared to SM. I definitely get that vibe from the trailers and translations.
     
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    I think it will be the same level of "darkness" that other games had, in other words, mostly through veiled world-building. For example, N's childhood in gen 5, or the domestic issues faced by Prof. Cozmo's family hinted at in ORAS, or the matters involving Team Galactic obtaining the Red Chain in gen 4.
     
    Even if it is dark, I highly doubt that the PC fanbase will think it is. Anything "dark" in Pokemon is not gonna match up to other games we have access to. This is marketed for YOUNG children, after all, so if anything a 7 year old is gonna think it's dark, not a 17 year old.
     
    It's going to be the darkest game yet.....because Necrozma is stealing all the light. :D

    Seriously though I'm not convinced it'll be a much darker entry in the series, more action packed with more at stake? Possibly but that's not the same thing as a darker story.
     
    I think the story will be deeper, not "darker" GF wouldn't dare to do anything that actually pushed the envelope. E10+ maybe, but ten years old isn't the rating for "Dark". I assume its going to be a black city sort of thing, where only the visuals look moody and atmospheric while the story remains light hearted fun.
     
    Colosseum was pretty dark for a Pokemon game, with the pokemon getting turned into fighting machines.
     
    From the trailers they already appear to be darker than Sun & Moon which is great! I love the mystery surrounding these games and I definitely think they will delve much deeper into the Ultra Beast plot which will no doubt make for a great storyline.
     
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    I really think it will be. Thematically, it's almost unavoidable - Necrozma is suggested to be violent and literally feeds on the light of the worlds it encounters, and it seems to forcibly assimilate with its respective box legend. The Ultra Beasts, of which there are now more and which have some rather gruesome lore attached, look to be more significant this time around. Lusamine, even if she is handled in a radically different way this time around, is a character that has some really dark stuff going on in the background - to say nothing of her partner in crime, Guzma. The Ultra Megalopolis is a world that's had it's light sucked out and its inhabitants seem to be actively searching for Necrozma, or something related.

    The premise of these games relies on some deeper, darker material than past generations to effectively communicate the point. That was evident in Sun and Moon through its major antagonists, and seems like it'll be a big part of these games. In order to tell a better story and turn Pokemon into an RPG with real narrative gravity, they have to be willing to explore themes that are darker, more mature, more serious. Marketing these games to small children might not be the best way to go anymore, speaking from a commercial standpoint, and I think their emphasis on story in Sun and Moon is a hint that they might be willing to shift demographic - and consequently shift in tone as well - in order to make the franchise something more respected and long-lasting.

    Remember all the Pokedex entries this generation, and how people reacted to them? I think that's another huge sign that Game Freak and the Pokemon Company are willing to go a few steps further than what's traditionally expected of them.
     
    IIRC, one of the earlier trailers advertised these games as rated E10. I remember because I was kinda shocked and trying to remember if we've ever had a Pokemon main series game that was rated E10. According to the website though, it's rated E.
     
    I still think it's a little early to tell... GameFreak and The Pokemon Company completely smashed the formula we have all been used to for the past 20 years when they published Sun and Moon...
    I feel like they're taking risks to feel out who their REAL target market is. Maybe they are realizing that their mature audience has a bigger market share than everyone thinks? Then again, there's a delicate balance to making sure they don't alienate the next generation of Pokemon fans by creating something too dark/heavy that will go over their heads...

    TBH, I'd be down for something more complex and seemingly a little darker. :3
     
    I'd be careful about how I'd use the term "dark" in reference to a Pokemon game's storyline, although it is interesting to point out that the plot has been getting rather dark ever since Gen IV...
     
    Honestly, once we got to "I want to destroy the planet and here's a really long, gruesome explanation about a war and pokemon ACTUALLY DYING in said war" in XY, I knew this was going to be a continuing pattern.
     
    Quite frankly, I hope the franchise doesn't keep darkening :
    there's already darkness aplenty in reality as well as fiction, and
    we could all use some cheerfulness to sooth our stressed souls,
    don't you think?
     
    Something that I thought of, I'm going to bring out a description from Bulbapedia about Kommo-o:

    "According to legend, Kommo-o's glittering scales are meant to drive away a great darkness. The reason it seeks strong opponents is also said to be a quest for power to defeat the darkness."

    Combined with this, I also found it very interesting that Kommo-o was the one they chose for E3 to show off its exclusive Z-move, Clangorious Soulblaze. So I came up with a theory that maybe this legend about Kommo-o fighting a darkness might be referring to Necrozma. Even though Necrozma has a type advantage over Kommo-o's Fighting-type, maybe Kommo-o's Z-move is meant to break the crystal structure of Necrozma's body and reveal the light creature that we see in the boxart. And what if not just any ordinary Kommo-o? How about the Totem Kommo-o from Poni Island? In one of the trailers, the dialogue from the Pokemon Death Squad Ultra Recon Squad seems to hint that they're seeking out something with an aura and mentioning the kahunas. Maybe they're seeking out something powerful enough to defeat Necrozma, and it's mentioned in-game in SM that the aura given off by Totem Pokemon is the same as the UB's.
     
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    Sure, maybe "dark" literally, but this is a children's game. Unless they rate it E10+, I can't really see it being "darker" than Pokemon XD and Colosseum, which were the darkest games in the franchise, imo.
     
    Pokemon games do have dark themes. Sinnoh and Kalos have the darkest themes since Cyrus nearly ended all life in the universe and Lysandre tried to eradicate everyone in Kalos. Then you have Ghetsis who almost took out the B2W2 character with Kyurem's attack. Maxie and Archie almost ended all life in Hoenn with the massive drought/heavy rain. Team Rocket has the least dark theme with them being responsible for the death of a Marowak.

    I am not sure how much dark theme will be in USUM but i doubt it be as dark as sinnoh and kalos in my opinion.
     
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