History VideoGame / PokemonInsurgence

* BreakingTheFourthWall: As part of Essentials' default responses in the walking Pokémon feature, one of the responses from talking to the partner Pokémon is "...loves this tune so much that it's singing it", referring to the game's current background music.

* ButtMonkey: Rival Damian starts as this, being put down harshly by his stepmother and rudely ignored and dismissed by the Trainer School teacher. Becomes a ZigZaggedTrope a little later when the Abyssal Cult kidnaps him in Vipik City... [[spoiler:and [[OlympusMons Shaymin]] shows up to save him, causing the cultists to have a major OhCrap moment and flee]]. Even after this, though, he doesn't get that much in the way of respect ...

* RealityEnsues: Towards the climax of the game, [[spoiler:it turns out that Jaern's hold over the region isn't as strong as everyone thought. He held onto his rule mainly through propaganda; thus, once people watch him get defeated by Nyx and realize he's lying about his battling prowess, his public image rapidly collapses and he presumably is either lynched or flees the region]].
** Additionally, [[spoiler:defeating Nyx doesn't result in NoOntologicalInertia; her summoning of Giratina still happens, forcing you to either capture or defeat it]].

** The Cultists of Darkrai at the beginning of the game don't bat an eye to the fact you're walking around with a [[OlympusMons Mew]] behind you. Neither will any of the game's other cultists, even when you actively have Mew as your following Pokémon. A later update fixes this by having Mew be visibly transparent while walking through the base, showing that it has turned invisible.

** The Cultists of Darkrai at the beginning of the game don't bat an eye to the fact you're walking around with a [[OlympusMons Mew]] behind you. Neither will any of the game's other cultists, even when you actively have Mew as your following Pokémon.

** [[InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons Flygon]], seeing as Flygon gets two custom [[SignatureMove Signature Attacks]] (Drakon Voice and Ancient Roar), a new Mega Evolution, and an [[PoweredArmor Armored Form]]. Flygon is also the strongest (non-legendary) Pokémon used by [[TheRival Nora]]. [[spoiler:Reukra]] even uses a Mega Flygon during his champion fight.

** One of the biggest features to be added were making [=HMs=] much easier to use, without the need of turning a party member into an "HM Slave". These include items that perform the functions of an HM (Flashlight that acts like Flash, Instant-Lapras that works like Surf), making it so multiple moves can be used in place of an HM (any fighting move can be used as Rock Smash, while several moves, like Bulldoze and Steamroll, can be used as Strength), and the addition of the Pika-Taxi Service, which takes the place of Fly (although the game does still give the player Fly, in case they would prefer using that instead).
** Secret Bases house a variety of features and can be acquired before you reach the second Gym. While you have to purchase all the various functions, there are a number of useful ones such as a level trainer who can scale with the number of Gym badges you possess (and uses self-defeating Audino for easy EXP, albeit one must pay a fee to fight him), an EV trainer, an EV resetter in case you make a mistake distributing effort values, and a NPC who can (with the use of an IV Stone) max out Initial Values of a Pokémon.

* ArtificialBrilliance: The AI in this game has been programmed very well and is not opposed to using tricks that people use on a tournament level, including a smart selection of bred and TM moves, and a great use of held items that can seriously make up for normal exploitable weaknesses (for example, Anastasia with the Kepler Gym uses ''three'' Air Balloons to protect three of her Pokémon who would normally have an AchillesHeel to Ground-Type moves).

* BusCrash: According to a book, Steven Stone came to Torren to help against the cults, but he died in a freak accident where his Keystone got switched with his Metagross's Metagrossite, which caused ''[[BodyHorror Steven to Mega-Evolve]]''. He died shortly after, though he was able to take down some cultists with him. [[spoiler: Or it might have been a case of FakingTheDead for him to join the [[AncientOrderOfProtectors Timeless]]]].

** TheCuckoolanderWasRight

** The Oracle claims TheChosenOne of prophecy is basically this. Everyone assumes that he is destined to save Torren, but in a case of a ProphecyTwist, he's only destined to abolish the cults of Torren, as in plural. [[spoiler:In the end, he will join the last remaining cult and turn on Torren.]] [[spoiler:Subverted in that the player ends up taking out all the cults and that the prophecy by the Oracle was all just a stage act.]]

** You're able to get a Level 25 Delta Grimer (which is Ground-type) before you fight Orion, who uses Fire-types up to Level 25. Plus Delta Grimer has the ability Sap Sipper, making it [[NoSell immune to Grass attacks.]]

* SealedGoodInACan: [[spoiler: Adam, the First Augur. When he was finally beaten, he couldn't be killed due to Arceus's Crystal, so his foes eventually convinced Darkrai to trap him in the Dream Realm of his child (the player), whereupon Persephone's Gengar would use Dream Eater to erase his child's memories (and by extension Adam)]].

** When Zenith tries to mind control the player, he says, "[[Videogame/{{BioShock}} Would you kindly]] touch the back wall?

** The Delta Squirtle line is based on the ''[[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Ninja Turtles]]''. And Delta Blastoise's shiny form is pretty much [[Videogame/SuperMarioBros Bowser]]

** As of Version 1.2.3, this not the case for the Shiftrite and Zoronite, as they can be found at the Mt. Rose Base and REM Ocean areas (respectively). Currently the only unavailable Mega Stones left are Aerodactylite, Houndoomnite, and Reuniclite.

* PurposelyOverpowered: [[spoiler:Primal Giratina]] is this. [[spoiler:Its ability, Omnitype, makes it factor in the resistances and weaknesses of every type. In essence, it multiplies every type's weaknesses, resistances and immunities by every other type; in practice this means it's weak only to Rock, and has ''eight immunities''.]] In-story, it's incredibly dangerous, being instrumental to the BiggerBad's plan, so it only makes sense.

* FissionMailed: Asking the Human Calculator in Gaea Town to DivideByZero causes the game to crash... [[spoiler: while also unlocking the area known as NODATA where you can catch {{MISSINGNO}}]].

** Metagross. Its owner Steven is one of the Endless Boss Fight, it has two Delta forms, both of which come with Mega Evolutions ,and one of its Delta forms is used by [[spoiler:Taen]] for his final fight. And it also has ''an entire new type'' exclusively created for one of its Mega Evolutions.

** You're able to get a Level 25 Delta Grimer before you fight Orion, who uses Fire-types up to Level 25. Plus Delta Grimer has the ability Sap Sipper, making it [[NoSell immune to Grass attacks.]]

** [[spoiler:Audrey is killed by the very same Kyogre that she was trying to use to TakeOverTheWorld, having lost control of it after her shard of the Augur's crystal was taken from her. Averted in the light mode, where she's only taken away by Damian.]]

* NonIndicativeName: Delta Pokémon all retain their base species' names, but some of them have their types and appearances flipped right around, giving you wildly contradictory names and looks. For example, we have the Delta Magmortar line and their magma-based source names, now with Water/Steel-typings and looking like armored divers, or the Delta Electivire line, which now resemble gargoyles and have no reference to electricity whatsoever.
* NoSell: Some of the new Mega Evolutions get abilities that let them negate certain types. Mega Gothitelle has Ethereal Shroud, which gives it Ghost-type resistances and immunities, and Mega Magcargo gets Vaporization, which negates damage from Water-type moves and damages Water-type Pokémon every turn when in effect.
** [[spoiler: Primal Giratina's Ability, Omnitype, makes it ''ALL'' Pokémon types at once, giving it '''eight''' type immunities, but Primal Arceus counters that with its own Ability, Ancient Presence, which makes its attacks ignore all damage multipliers, including the x0 multiplier of type immunities. Possibly an in-story reason for why Giratina is said to be as strong as Arceus, but Arceus managed to beat it and become the world's creator]].

* PoweredArmor: A new item called "Armor" has been added to this game, and equipping it to the appropriate Pokémon will not only increase their Defense and Special Defense by 25%, but give them a cool new armored sprite. So far, the only Pokémon to get armors are Tyranitar, Flygon, Leavanny, Zekrom, Delta Volcarona and Mewtwo. InUniverse, they are inventions of Anastasia, the Kepler Gym Leader

* SealedGoodInACan: [[spoiler: Adam, the First Augur. When he was finally beaten, he couldn't be killed due to Arceus's Crystal, so they eventually convinced Darkrai to trap him in the Dream Realm of his child (the player), whereupon Persephone's Gengar would use Dream Eater to erase his child's memories (and by extension Adam)]].

** Eduard of the Elite Four is loaded with references. His battle strategy revolves around using [[SandBlaster Sandstorm]], he uses a Mega Mixtape as a Keystone, and what is his name an anagram of? Music/{{Darude}}!

** Any Pokémon, especially {{ComMon}}s, that gets a new Mega Evolution in this game, like the Johto starters, Eevee, Sudowoodo, Zebstrika, Stunfisk...

** [[spoiler: Trapping someone in the Dream Realm of another sleeping individual and then getting a Pokémon to use Dream Eater on that sleeper will erase that someone from existence, no matter how immortal they are. Adam remembers how Persephone and Jaern used that tactic on him when he was protected by Arceus's Crystal, and when his son gets ahold of Darkrai, he threatens the mutated Malde with the same fate if he doesn't surrender]].

* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: Literal example, in that Pokémon Professor Sylvan, Sonata Gym Leader Harmony, Kepler Gym Leader Anastasia, and Perfection Cult leader [[spoiler:and League Champion]] Reukra all knew each other in university.

** Persephone tries to get Darkrai to [[spoiler: trap you in the Dream Realm]] by holding the Poké-ball containing its partner Cresselia hostage, and threatening to break the capture mechanism to seal Cresselia away forever. [[spoiler: Darkrai responds, but it gets the last laugh on Persephone by trapping her and her cultists in the Dream Realm too]].

* NonIndicativeName: Delta Pokémon all retain their base species' names, but some of them have their types and appearances flipped right around, giving you wildly contradictory names and looks. For example, we have the Delta Magmortar line and their magma-based source names, now with Water/Steel-typings and looking like armored divers, or the Delta Electivire line, which now resemble gargoyles and have no reference to electricity whatsoever.

** Delta Pokémon are a reference to the Delta Species era of the TCG in which various species of Pokémon were given different typings from what they would normally have. In-game, you can even travel to the Holon Region, which is filled with Delta Pokémon.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:The Second Augur, Jaern, who has manipulated the region of Torren]] to believe he's a beloved savior when he's actually the leader of the Sky Cult planning to use the power of Rayquaza to take over the world.

* BusCrash: According to a book, Steven Stone came to Torren to help against the cults, but he died in a freak accident where his Keystone got switched with his Metagross's Metagrossite, which caused ''[[BodyHorror Steven to Mega-Evolve]]''. He died shortly after, though he was able to take down some cultists with him.

* CallBack: Several books you read in people's houses and the Utira Library speak of a King [[VideoGame/PokemonZetaAndOmicron Vesryn]] of ages past.
* TheChosenOne: There is a prophecy in which a Trainer aided by a Pixie Pokémon is destined to save Torren. Three people fit this criteria — you, who is aided by Mew, Nora, who trains a Celebi, and [[spoiler:Damian]], who [[spoiler:Shaymin]] chooses later on. [[spoiler:At the Fiery Caverns, an Infernal cultist confirms that the rain-themed gym leader, Caelrath, was also chosen by a mythical Pokémon which is later revealed to be Manaphy. And then there's Vesyrn, one of the Timeless who was chosen by Victini.]]

* {{Fauxshadow}}: During the cutscene that plays after defeating [[spoiler:Jaern]] for the first time, one of the people seen picking up a third of the Augur's crystal is [[spoiler:Reukra, leader of the Perfection Cult]], which will probably make the player assume there will be a confrontation with [[spoiler:Perfection]] over the crystal shard. [[spoiler:Nope. A Perfection Scientist defects to the Infernal Cult and steals the crystal shard, resulting in you fighting Zenith to retrieve it; in fact, Reukra even cooperates with you to help get to the Infernal Base!]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Audrey is killed by the very same Kyogre that she was trying to use to TakeOverTheWorld, having lost control of it after her shard of the Augur's crystal was taken from her. Averted in the light mode, where she's only taken away by Damian.]]
** Persephone [[spoiler:ordering Darkrai to trap you, Malde, and Damian in the Dream Realm. Darkrai traps her and her cultists as well, and while you escape in relatively short order and Malde and Damian also make it out, Persephone herself is still there by the end of the game]].

** Someone else points out how ludicrous it seems that every single criminal organization in the world is defeated by a 10 year old. Once or twice, maybe, but ''every single one?!'' [[spoiler:Reukra]] uses this as his reason for leaving Torren and to find a region to cause trouble in without this happening.

* OfficialCouple: Diana and Caelrath are both gym leaders dating each other.

* PoweredArmor: A new item called "Armor" has been added to this game, and equipping it to the appropriate Pokémon will not only increase their Defense and Special Defense by 25%, but give them a cool new armored sprite. So far, the only Pokémon to get armors are Tyranitar, Flygon, Leavanny, and Zekrom (although this last one can't be obtained by the player, yet).

* ProphecyTwist: Nora, Damian, and the player know of a prophecy that says a trainer who has been chosen by a Legendary "Pixie Pokémon" (Like Mew, Celebi, Shaymin, or Victini) will abolish all the cults on Torren... [[spoiler:the twist comes when they learn that after the trainer does this, [[FaceHeelTurn he will turn on the others]] and join the Infernal Cult]]. [[spoiler:Subverted, as the Oracle that told them the prophecy was lying to get Zenith's guard down.]]
* PurposelyOverpowered: [[spoiler:Primal Giratina]] is this. [[spoiler:Its ability, Omnitype, makes it factor in the resistances and weaknesses of every type. In essence, it multiplies every type's weaknesses, resistances and immunities by every other type; in practice this means it's weak only to Rock, and has ''eight immunities''.]] In-story, it's incredibly dangerous, being instrumental to the BigBad's plan, so it only makes sense.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Nora delivers a rather scathing one to Damian. [[spoiler:Only thing is, she didn't ''mean'' to do it, she was upset because they just discovered in the prophecy that one of them would [[FaceHeelTurn turn on the other two]], and she lashed out at Damian in anger.]]

** Delta Pokémon are a reference to the Delta Species era of the TCG in which various species of Pokémon were given different typings from what they would normally have.

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Zenith]] gets one when you defeat [[spoiler:him the second time at the Infernal Base]].

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: One of the options you have when choosing your character's appearance is purple hair. You can also buy blue hair dye in the clothes shop in the Pokémon Center basement. Several of the [=NPCs=] have actual blue or purple hair as well. ([[spoiler:Zachary]] is a subversion: it's dyed.)

* DifficultySpike: While the game starts out pretty standard fare, it's obvious the pacing of the story and gym battles have been slowed down (likely to provide a real challenge even at high levels) and the difficulty has been ramped up. Compare the first gym battle which, although in the mid 20's instead of low 10's, is still pretty straightforward to the second gym battle, [[spoiler:in which the leader uses a Mega Beedrill!]] By the third gym battle, the difficulty feels more like what would be appropriate to the late story/7th gym battle point in a normal Pokémon game. [[spoiler:By the 6th gym, the leaders have started casually using legendary Pokémon, something that typically isn't seen until after the Elite Four in normal games!]]

** You can meet a Rich Boy [[Disney/{{Frozen}} Hans]] in Cyan Cavern. He says he'd like to own a mansion filled with every Pokémon [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg except Ice]].

** Shadow Mewtwo, a Pokemon only appeared in Pokken Tournament, made extensive appearance as a Pokemon used by [[spoiler:Champion Reukra]] and got a Mega Evolution.
** Spiritomb. It has a Mega Evolution and has a new Hidden Ability as a New Moon setter, an ability previously exclusive to Mega Delta Charizard. What's make this an Author Appeal is that this weather condition is the one that weaken the Fairy type moves - the only type that is super effective against Spiritomb.

** Metagross. Its owner Steven is one of the Endless Boss Fight, it has two Delta forms, both of which came with a Mega Evolutions and one of its Delta forms is used by [[spoiler:Taen]] for his final fight. And its also have ''an entire new type'' exclusively created for one of its Mega Evolution.
** Sunflora. It has a Mega Evolution for both of its gender (something which the main game doesn't really put emphasis on), a Delta form that also has a Mega Evolution and is used extensively by Gail.

[[caption-width-right:371:One of the many [[EvolvingTitleScreen title screens]]]]

''Insurgence'' is an VideoGame/RPGMaker game by [[http://www.reddit.com/user/thesuzerain thesuzerain]], creator of ''VideoGame/PokemonZetaAndOmicron''. The game introduces Delta Pokémon, special Pokémon with completely different typings you find in-game.

** Spiritomb. It has a Mega Evolution and has a new Hidden Ability as a New Moon setter, an ability previously exclusive to Mega Delta Charizard.

* AuthorAppeal: It's pretty obvious the creator is a big fan of [[InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons Flygon]], seeing as Flygon gets two custom [[SignatureMove Signature Attacks]] (Drakon Voice and Ancient Roar), a new Mega Evolution, and an [[PoweredArmor Armored Form]]. Flygon is also the strongest (non-legendary) Pokémon used by [[TheRival Nora]]. [[spoiler:Reukra]] even uses a Mega Flygon during his champion fight.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: One of the options you have when choosing your character's appearance is purple hair. You can also buy blue hair dye in the clothes shop in the Pokémon Center basement. Several of the NPCs have actual blue or purple hair as well. ([[spoiler:Zachary]] is a subversion: it's dyed.)

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Audrey's uniform does not include shoes.

One day the [[TheMessiah Augur]] disappears without a trace. In his place, a charismatic and kind man by the name of Jaern assumes the title of the Second Augur. While he is widely trusted by the people, five cults remain wreaking havoc and bloodshed.

* HundredPercentCompletion: [[GottaCatchEmAll Catching every Pokémon in the game]], including all the Delta Pokémon and [[spoiler: [=MISSINGNO.=]]], allows the player to [[spoiler: catch a brand new Pokémon named UFI.]]

* ADayInTheLimelight: This game predominantly features several of the "Secret Pokémon" as being central to the plot. Right at the start this includes Darkrai and Mew, who rarely get ''any'' screentime in the main Pokémon games.

* AesopAmnesia: While The First Augur did break up over half of the region's cults, he also spared punishment to any members who begged for forgiveness. As a result, it's pointed out that these former cultist learned nothing and just turned around and joined a new cult later on.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Being a fan game, many of these features have been added, including an auto-run feature, quicksaving, and in general time consuming aspects of the original game (like text scrolling and healing at a Pokémon Center) have been reduced.
** One of the biggest features to be added were making [=HMs=] much easier to use, without the need of turning a party member into an "HM Slave". These include items that perform the functions of an HM (Flashlight that acts like Flash, Instant-Lapras that works like Surf), making it so multiple moves can be used in place of an HM (any fighting move can be used as Rock Smash, while several moves like Bulldoze and Steamroll can be used as Strength), and the addition of the Pika-Taxi Service, which takes the place of Fly (although the game does still give the player Fly, in case they would prefer using that, instead).

** [[spoiler:Jaern]] acts like this, he's a cult leader but he honestly wants to use the power of a legendary Pokémon to punish and kill those who break the law, as opposed to The First Augur who would spare anyone who begged for his forgiveness just for them to turn around and join a new cult. Although he refers to himself as an AntiHero:

** Reukra also qualifies, he explains that he doesn't consider "Perfection" to be a cult since they don't worship any legendary Pokémon nor do they want to take over the world, they just want to create or discover the "Perfect Pokémon". He even expresses regret over the failures of the [[AnimalisticAbomination Delta Pokémon]] he helped create, wanting them to find trainers to take care of them since he believes all Pokémon deserve the chance to be loved and go on an adventure. [[spoiler: Later [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] as he eventually reveals that he only pretended to care about the Delta Starters as part of a BatmanGambit to obtain data on Mega Evolution, and even more subverted by the time you gain access to his labs.]]

* AuthorAppeal: It's pretty obvious the creator is a big fan of [[InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons Flygon]], seeing as Flygon gets two custom [[SignatureMove Signature Attacks]] (Drakon Voice and Ancient Roar), a new Mega Evolution, and an [[PoweredArmor Armored Form]]. Flygon is also the strongest (non-legendary) Pokémon used by [[TheRival Nora]]. [[spoiler: Reukra]] even uses a Mega Flygon during his champion fight.

* BatmanGambit: Audrey is revealed to have pulled this [[spoiler:when she revealed ''she's'' the one who donated the fake Blue Orb to the Miara Town museum, not only expecting people to underestimate the Abyssal Cult since everyone would assume they knew where the Blue Orb was, but also correctly assuming it would be the perfect place for the museum curators to hide the Tidal Bell, which was what she was really after.]]
* BigBadWannabe: [[spoiler:For all his big talk and control over the region, Jaern ultimately boils down to this; once people see [[GreaterScopeVillain Nyx]] defeat him and reveal he's a cult leader, his popularity implodes upon itself and he is presumably lynched.]] In fact, he's so unimportant that [[spoiler:Nyx]] didn't even consider him in her plans ([[XanatosSpeedChess not that it mattered much]])!
* BigDamnHeroes: At one point [[spoiler:you save a baby Riolu from getting kidnapped by a cult along with Nora.]] [[spoiler: {{Subverted}} in that they actually wanted to bait its Mega Lucario mother into appearing. Fortunately the Lucario has no trouble in eliminating them.]]
** PlayedStraight [[spoiler:when you have to save Damian from the Abyssal Cult.]]

* BilingualBonus: If the player knows Latin, several of the spells used can be understood. [[spoiler:It also allows the player a first glimpse at Jaern not being as kind as he gives himself, since he lies to Damian about not having killed the two cultists; the spell he used translates to Bonds of Death.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: The Second Augur, Jaern, who has manipulated the region of Torren]] to believe he's a beloved savior when he's actually the leader of the Sky Cult planning to use the power of Rayquaza to take over the world.

* BodyHorror: After Malde is injected with the Pokérus, the faint Deoxys DNA in his body reacts to it, turning him into a grotesque [[HalfHumanHybrid Half-Human/Deoxys Hybrid]]. Later, Malde infects [[spoiler: Damian]] with the same half-hybrid affliction, with plans to do the same to the rest of the world.]]

* BusCrash: According to a book, Steven Stone came to Torren to help against the cults, but he died in a freak accident where his Keystone got switched with his Metagross's Metagrossite, which caused ''[[BodyHorror Steven to Mega-Evolve]]. He died shortly after, though he was able to take down some cultists with him.
* ButtMonkey: Rival Damian starts as this, being put down harshly by his stepmother and rudely ignored and dismissed by the Trainer School teacher. Becomes a ZigZaggedTrope a little later when the Abyssal Cult kidnaps him in Vipik City... [[spoiler:and [[OlympusMons Shaymin]] shows up to save him, causing the cultists to have a major OhCrap moment and flee.]] Even after this though, he doesn't get that much in the way of respect ...

* TheChosenOne: There is a prophecy in which a Trainer aided by a Pixie Pokémon is destined to save Torren. Three people fit this critera- you, who is aided by Mew, Nora, who trains a Celebi, and [[spoiler:Damian]], who [[spoiler:Shaymin]] chooses later on. [[spoiler:At the Fiery Caverns, an Infernal cultist confirms that the rain-themed gym leader, Caelrath was also chosen by a mythical Pokémon which is later revealed to be Manaphy. And then there's Vesyrn, one of the Timeless who was chosen by Victini.]]

* CompanionCube: Orion spends a lot of time talking with his best friend, a white rock. [[spoiler: Subverted when the rock turns out to be the Light Stone sealing Reshiram.]]

* DarkIsEvil: The Cult of Darkrai who use mostly Ghost and Dark types. [[spoiler:This is in contrast to the Pokémon they worship, which doesn't want domination or sacrifices]]

** Diana. She uses Psychic and Ghost types and [[spoiler: her sister is a cult leader]], but she's not a bad person.
** The final gym leader, [[spoiler: the player's father, Adam, who uses a team of Dark-types and is the First Augur.]]

** [[spoiler:Jaern, The Second Augur. While he's the leader of the Sky Cult,]] he also acts like the savior of Torren, and forces the citizens (even children) to pay him tributes in the form of gifts and build statues in their towns in his honor. That, and he truly ''believes'' he's saving the world despite planning on [[spoiler:using Rayquaza to kill anyone who breaks the law (at his discretion).]]
** The Oracle claims TheChosenOne of prophecy is basically this. Everyone assumes that he is destined to save Torren, but in a case of a ProphecyTwist he's only destined to abolish the cults of Torren, as in plural. [[spoiler:In the end he will join the last remaining cult and turn on Torren.]] [[spoiler:Subverted in that the player ends up taking out all the cults and that the prophecy by the Oracle was all just a stage act.]]

* DifficultySpike: While the game starts out pretty standard fair, it's obvious the pacing of the story and gym battles have been slowed down (likely to provide a real challenge even at high levels) and the difficulty has been ramped up. Compare the first gym battle which, although in the mid 20's instead of low 10's, is still pretty straightforward to the second gym battle, [[spoiler:in which the leader uses a Mega Beedrill!]] By the third gym battle the difficulty feels more like what would be appropriate to the late story/7th gym battle point in a normal Pokémon game. [[spoiler:By the 6th gym, the leaders have started casually using legendary Pokémon, something that typically isn't seen until after the Elite Four in normal games!]]
* DisappearedDad: Like with the player's mother, the player's father is nowhere to be seen. [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted when the last Gym Leader, Adam (who is also the First Augur) reveals his identity as the player's father.]]

** You're able to get a Level 25 Delta Grimer before you fight Orion who uses Fire-types up to Level 25. Plus Delta Grimer has the ability Sap Sipper making it [[NoSell immune to Grass attacks.]]

* TheDreaded: Any of the Cult Leaders count, case in point when Audrey was approached by the security guard in the Miara Town museum he made it clear he wasn't afraid of some Abyssal Cult grunt ... then she revealed she was the Abyssal Cult ''Leader'', and the guard very quickly stepped out of her way.

* EvolvingTitleScreen: The Pokémon featured in the title screen changes based on what point in the story the current saved game is in. It starts with Mew, but later changes to feature [[spoiler:Celebi, Shaymin, Lugia]] ... basically whatever Legendary is currently important to the immediate plot.

* {{Fauxshadow}}: During the cutscene that plays after defeating [[spoiler:Jaern]] for the first time, one of the people seen picking up a third of the Augur's crystal is [[spoiler: Reukra, leader of the Perfection Cult]], which will probably make the player assume there will be a confrontation with [[spoiler: Perfection]] over the crystal shard. [[spoiler:Nope. A Perfection Scientist defects to the Infernal Cult and steals the crystal shard, resulting in you fighting Zenith to retrieve it; in fact, Reukra even cooperates with you to help get to the Infernal Base!]]
* GangOfHats: Each of the five cults has a distinct focus. Abyssal uses Water and Poison-typed mons, Infernal uses Fire and Rock, Darkrai uses Dark and Ghost, and Sky uses Dragon and Flying. [[{{MechanicallyUnusualClass}} Perfection]] makes use of Mega Evolution, armor, and legendaries.
* GoMadFromTheIsolation: What everyone in Suntouched City thinks has happened to the gym's leader, Orion, since he spends all his time talking to a rock[[spoiler:, turns out this is an AvertedTrope as the white rock is really the Light Stone, Reshiram in stone form.]]
* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler: Nyx, the leader of a group of cultists from the Distortion World that helped create the Infernal Cult, which in turn sparked many other cults. She intends to use the Crystal and Giratina to rewrite reality.]]

* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: The Abyssal Cultist Leader Audrey pulls this on the protagonist after she captures [[spoiler:Lugia]], even saying outright even if the player beats her she won't release [[spoiler:Lugia]] and she'll still continue with her plans, but if the player loses then they lose everything.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Audrey is killed by the very same Kyogre that she was trying to use to TakeOverTheWorld, having lost control of it after her shard of the Augur's crystal was taken from her. Averted in the light mode, where she's only taken away by Damian.]]
** Persephone [[spoiler: ordering Darkrai to trap you, Malde, and Damian in the Dream Realm. Darkrai traps her and her cultists as well, and while you escape in relatively short order and Malde and Damian also make it out, Persephone herself is still there by the end of the game.]]

* HumanSacrifice: The Cult of Darkrai does this at the beginning of the game in the dark mode to summon Darkrai itself. [[spoiler:And the Sky Cult does this later on to summon Rayquaza]], it's insinuated the other cults may be involved in sort of summoning as well.

* HypercompetentSidekick: Taen, Reukra's number two and only other seen Perfection cultist, does most of the work for the cult.
* IKnowYourTrueName: In order to [[FusionDance fuse Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem]] back into the Original Dragon you need to know its True Name. [[spoiler:Taen was not aware of this fact, and while reading from the summoning scroll actually made the mistake of thinking the dragon's name was, in fact, "Namehere" (as in [Name Here]). Nora (and later Taen himself) eventually figure out that the original dragon's name was simply 'Kyurem' and Taen comes dangerously close to succeeding.]]

* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Taken to an illogical extreme here as there are hazards blocking the player's advancement like discarded magazines, bottles, and paper balls. Insurmountable Ankle-Height Fence?

** One girl basically calls bullshit on many of the infamous Pokédex entires, the one she specifically cites being that Magcargo's body is supposedly as hot as the surface of the sun.

** After the player defeats Audrey in her lair, it is revealed that [[spoiler: she is Damian's biological mother who gave him up to pursue her cult's goals.]]
** When the player makes it to the eighth gym, it's revealed that [[spoiler: the gym leader Adam is the player's father and the First Augur.]]

* MagikarpPower: Eevee in this game becomes very powerful if you choose not to evolve it until you reach Helios City, although it will struggle to keep up with the rest of your team during then. Once there, you can teach it moves that it wouldn't normally learn as an Eevee, which allow it to transform into various Eeveelutions when it Mega Evolves in battle.

* ObviousBeta: Much downplayed compared to [[VideoGame/PokemonZetaAndOmicron its predecessor]], even though it still has some of this trope in common, such as stock Essentials music (but with an actual OST alongside this time), and stationary/legendary Pokémon being PermanentlyMissableContent. [[note]]The latter was this way in the core games in the beginning, but since Fire Red and Leaf Green, they can be brought back by making another Pokemon league hall of fame entry.[[/note]] The light mode is especially an example of this trope, since [[FailedASpotCheck there are still lots of deaths and other dark scenes described]], [[SerialEscalation especially as the story progresses]]. Even worse is that it's in the options menu rather than being a permanent choice. Probably the most broken part of this game is the battle frontier, as lampshaded by a guard next to the entrance.

* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: The Level Trainer in the Secret Base will (for a price) battle the player with three Audino that give massive amounts of experience points upon defeat. Each Audino also only know a single move, Healing Wish, which causes it to KO itself, so earning levels this way is ''exceptionally'' easy. A bit less of an example on his last Audino, because the move fails if the user is the last available member of the team. This can be sped up by using a disabling move (taunt, disable, torment, etc), forcing it to use struggle. It may be an attack move (which can take a toll on weaker trainees), but it still at least does recoil damage.

* PoweredArmor: A new item called "Armor" has been added to this game, equipping it to the appropriate Pokémon will not only increase their Defense and Special Defense by 25%, but give them a cool new armored sprite. So far the only Pokémon to get armors are Tyranitar, Flygon, Leavanny, and Zekrom (although this last one can't be obtained by the player, yet).
* PowerOfTheSun: The first gym leader Orion, uses a team based on sunlight, such as Vulpix with Drought.
* ProphecyTwist: Nora, Damian, and the player know of a prophecy that says a trainer who has been chosen by a Legendary "Pixie Pokémon" (Like Mew, Celebi, Shaymin, or Victini) will abolish all the cults on Torren ... [[spoiler:the twist comes when they learn that after the trainer does this [[FaceHeelTurn he will turn on the others]] and join the Infernal Cult.]] [[spoiler:Subverted as the Oracle that told them the prophecy was lying to get Zenith's guard down.]]
* PurposelyOverpowered: [[spoiler: Primal Giratina]] is this. [[spoiler: Its ability, Omnitype, makes it factor in the resistances and weaknesses of every type. In essence, it multiplies every type's weaknesses, resistances and immunities by every other type; in practice this means it's weak only to Rock, and has ''eight immunities''.]] In-story it's incredibly dangerous, being instrumental to the BigBad's plan, so it only makes sense.

* RealityEnsues: Towards the climax of the game, [[spoiler: it turns out that Jaern's hold over the region isn't as strong as everyone thought. He held onto his rule mainly through propaganda; thus, once people watch him get defeated by Nyx and realize he's lying about his battling prowess, his public image rapidly collapses and he presumably is either lynched or flees the region.]]
** Additionally, [[spoiler:defeating Nyx doesn't result in NoOntologicalInertia; her summoning of Giratina still happens, forcing you to either capture or defeat it.]]

* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Jaern is the big bad]], although some people, such as the cultists from the beginning, saw it coming.
** [[spoiler: Damian is the son of Audrey, the Abyssal Cult's leader]].
*** [[spoiler: The prophecy turns out to be fake, and the Oracle made it under the orders of Nyx, the true main antagonist]].
*** [[spoiler: You are the son/daughter of Adam, the First Augur, and his (presumed) deceased wife.]]

** When Zenith tries to mind control the player he says, "[[Videogame/{{BioShock}} Would you kindly]] touch the back wall?

** Delta Pokémon are a reference to the Delta Species era of the TCG in which various species of Pokémon were given different typing from what they would normally have.

* TemporaryOnlineContent: Shiftrite and Zoronite can only be received as a special promotion via Mystery Gift, and if you miss the availability window they're lost forever. It's been suggested that these Mega Stones will be available later on in the game once it's more complete, but for the moment they play this trope straight. Flygonite used to be this but can now be found in-game.
** As of Version 1.2.3 this not the case for the Shiftrite and Zoronite as they can be found at the Mt. Rose Base and REM Ocean areas (respectively). Currently the only unavailable Mega Stones left are Aerodactylite, Houndoomnite, and Reuniclite.

** It's implied that whoever was chosen by a Pixie Pokémon but doesn't end up being TheChosenOne will end up as this. [[spoiler: In light of the Reveal that the prophecy was a fake, the player character actively claims this role by thwarting the cults anyway- and in doing so gains the attention of Nyx, who faked it in the first place, and Malde, who despite being an antagonist occasionally aids you for his own reasons. Thus the player ends up playing the role of TheChosenOne after all, although Chosen by specific people. DoubleSubverted ?]]
** It's revealed that the The First Augur was this, despite the fact he was chosen by Hoopa and tried his best to abolish the cults in Torren, he ultimately failed.
* UndergroundMonkey: Delta Pokémon, which are the same Pokémon with different typings, moves and abilities.

** A man in the late-game area [[spoiler: Dream Realm]] will express his fear of [[spoiler: Darkrai]], but will not react if you have [[spoiler: Darkrai]] with you.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: You can choose to get a [[TheWoobie Delta Pokémon]] as a starter rather than an Eevee at the beginning of the game. It's made clear by doing this, you're saving at least two of them (since your [[TheRival rival]] will also pick one) from being released into the wild where they would most likely die.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: In the Sonata Hills hospital there's a sick boy in bed with a nurse who specifically chastises you to ''not'' go through the boy's items on the table, however you can just ignore her and collect all of these items for yourself (for an Ultra Ball and a couple healing items).
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: Zenith]] gets one when you defeat [[spoiler:him the second time at the Infernal Base.]]
** A downplayed example; [[spoiler: Persephone]] gets progressively less stoic and more fed-up as the game progresses, which reaches a peak when [[spoiler: she's trapped in the Dream Realm. By the time you catch Darkrai, she's reduced to spitting threats she's powerless to act on.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler:Jaern, the leader of the Sky Cult. As The Second Augur (after getting rid of The First Augur) he runs a propaganda train that has pretty much all of Torren treating him like TheSavior.]]
** Later, [[spoiler: Zenith]] takes this role, albeit on a smaller scale. Fittingly, their goal is [[spoiler: to overthrow Jaern and take his place as Augur]].
* TheVirus: [[spoiler:The fusion of the Deoxys virus and a strain of the Pokérus, it can turn people into immortal [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human/Deoxys hybrids]] and is contagious through physical contact]].

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: One of the options you have when choosing your character's appearance is purple hair. You can also buy blue hair dye in the clothes shop in the Pokémon Center basement. Several of the NPCs have actual blue or purple hair as well. ([[spoiler: Zachary]] is a subversion: it's dyed.)

* ObviousBeta: Much downplayed compared to [[VideoGame/PokemonZetaAndOmicron its predecessor]], even though it still has some of this trope in common, such as stock Essentials music (but with an actual OST alongside this time), and stationary/legendary Pokémon being PermanentlyMissableContent. [[note]]The latter was this way in the core games in the beginning, but since Fire Red and Leaf Green, they can be brought back by making another Pokemon league hall of fame entry.[[/note]] The light mode is especially an example of this trope, since [[FailedASpotCheck there are still lots of deaths and other dark scenes described]], [[SerialEscalation especially as the story progresses]]. Even worse is that it's in the options menu rather than being a permanent choice.

* CallBack: Several books you read in people's houses and the Utira Library speak of a King [[PokemonZetaAndOmicron Vesryn]] of ages past.

* BigDamnHeroes: At one point [[spoiler:you save a baby Riolu from getting kidnapped by a cult along with Nora.]] {{Subverted}} in that [[spoiler: they actually wanted to bait its Mega Lucario mother into appearing. Fortunately the Lucario has no trouble in eliminating them.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: This game makes no hesitation showing just how ruthless the cults are. For example, in the "dark mode", before you can even get to the first town, you get to watch Persephone, leader of the Cult of Darkrai, sacrifice one of her members to make Darkrai appear. She then kills two more people for daring to suggest to try it again when Darkrai leaves. In fact, the creators actually included a LighterAndSofter mode at the request of fans, basically keeping the plot the same but toning down the violence and [[NeverSayDie removing any in-game deaths]].

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Calreath]] was unexpectedly dropped to the lava via trap door in the Infernal Cult base as the player is about to battle [[spoiler:Zenith for the last time]]. After escaping, he was simply said to be missing, and there was no further mention of him

** [[spoiler: After the player defeats Audrey in her lair, it is revealed that she is Damian's biological mother who gave him up to pursue her cult's goals.]]

* ObviousBeta: Much downplayed compared to [[VideoGame/PokemonZetaAndOmicron its predecessor]], even though it still has some of this trope in common, such as stock Essentials music (but with an actual OST alongside this time), and stationary/legendary Pokémon being PermanentlyMissableContent. [[note]]The latter was this way in the core games in the beginning, but since Fire Red and Leaf Green, they can be brought back by making another Pokemon league hall of fame entry.[[/note]]

* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: The Level Trainer in the Secret Base will (for a price) battle the player with three Audino that give massive amounts of experience points upon defeat. Each Audino also only know a single move, Healing Wish, which causes it to KO itself, so earning levels this way is ''exceptionally'' easy.

** Secret Bases house a variety of features and can be acquired before you reach the second Gym. While you have to purchase all the various functions, there are a number of useful ones such as a level trainer who can scale with the number of Gym badges you possess (and uses self-defeating Audino for easy EXP, albeit one must pay a fee to fight him), an EV trainer, an EV resetter in case you make a mistake distributing effort values, and a NPC who can (with the use of an IV Stone) max out Initial Values of a Pokemon.
** With a little investment, it becomes easy to keep up with the game's difficulty and helps ensure that no Pokemon you capture remains useless if it starts out less than ideal.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: As part of Essentials' default responses in the walking Pokemon feature, one of the responses from talking to the partner Pokemon is "...loves this tune so much that it's singing it", referring to the game's current background music.

* TheChosenOne: There is a prophecy in which a Trainer aided by a Pixie Pokemon is destined to save Torren. Three people fit this critera- you, who is aided by Mew, Nora, who trains a Celebi, and [[spoiler:Damian]], who [[spoiler:Shaymin]] chooses later on. [[spoiler:At the Fiery Caverns, an Infernal cultist confirms that the rain-themed gym leader, Caelrath was also chosen by a mythical Pokémon which is later revealed to be Manaphy. And then there's Vesyrn, one of the Timeless who was chosen by Victini.]]

** The Oracle claims TheChosenOne of prophecy is basically this. Everyone assumes that he is destined to save Torren, but in a case of a ProphecyTwist he's only destined to abolish the cults of Torren, as in plural. [[spoiler:In the end he will join the last remaining cult and turn on Torren. Subverted in that the player ends up taking out all the cults and that the prophecy by the Oracle was all just a stage act.]]

** You can buy a Secret Base before 2nd Badge. It includes a Friend Safari, and you can enter someone's Safari to get powerful Pokemon early.

* HonorBeforeReason: As most of the cults worship their respective Legendary Pokémon like a deity, they refuse to just try and capture them and instead beseech them to join their causes, normally with disastrous results. Taen with the "Perfection" Cult actually calls the other cults out on this.

* IKnowYourTrueName: [[spoiler:In order to [[FusionDance fuse Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem]] back into the Original Dragon you need to know its True Name. Taen was not aware of this fact, and while reading from the summoning scroll actually made the mistake of thinking the dragon's name was, in fact, "Namehere" (as in [Name Here]). Nora (and later Taen himself) eventually figure out that the original dragon's name was simply 'Kyurem' and Taen comes dangerously close to succeeding.]]

** Someone else points out how ludicrous it seems that every single criminal organization in the world is defeated by a 10 year old. Once or twice, maybe, but ''every single one?!''

** [[spoiler: When the player makes it to the eighth gym, it's revealed that the gym leader Adam is the player's father and the First Augur.]]

* ProphecyTwist: Nora, Damian, and the player know of a prophecy that says a trainer who has been chosen by a Legendary "Pixie Pokémon" (Like Mew, Celebi, Shaymin, or Victini) will abolish all the cults on Torren ... [[spoiler:the twist comes when they learn that after the trainer does this [[FaceHeelTurn he will turn on the others]] and join the Infernal Cult. Subverted as the Oracle that told them the prophecy was lying to get Zenith's guard down.]]

** Delta Pokemon are a reference to the Delta Species era of the TCG in which various species of Pokemon were given different typing from what they would normally have.

** The Cultists of Darkrai at the beginning of the game don't bat an eye to the fact you're walking around with a [[OlympusMons Mew]] behind you. Neither will any of the game's other cultists, even when you actively have Mew as your following Pokemon.

* VideoGameCaringPotential: You can choose to get a [[TheWoobie Delta Pokemon]] as a starter rather than an Eevee at the beginning of the game. It's made clear by doing this, you're saving at least two of them (since your [[TheRival rival]] will also pick one) from being released into the wild where they would most likely die.

* WretchedHive: Much of Torren, but what really takes the cake is Helios City's underground BlackMarket, where, unlike ordinary battles, Pokemon are pit against each other to fight to the ''death''.