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Fridge pages are Spoilers Off by default, so all entries have been folderized as a security measure. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned!


Fridge examples for Pokémon Black and White.
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    Fridge Brilliance 

Locations

  • Route 4 is essentially Gangsterland. Gangsters? Check. (Scraggy/Scrafty) Crooks? Check. (Sandile/Krokorok/Krookodile) Pyromaniacs? Check. (Darumaka) Drug users? Check. (Sigilyph) If you really wanna stretch it, there's creeps (Frillish/Jellicent) and Hobos (Dweeble/Crustle) too.
  • Approaching the Giant Chasm is stated on the Town Map to bring disaster. The route leading up to it is Route 13; an unlucky number indeed, but not the real brilliance. One of the Pokémon that appears on the route is Absol, the Disaster Pokémon.
  • Chargestone Cave might seem like a cheap gimmick of a cave. It's basically an electrically-charged cave that doesn't seem to exist for any particular reason. However, when one looks at the Pokémon in the cave, they seem to be rather odd. We normally associate plants and insects with nature and metal and electricity with technology. The cave itself is a blend of nature and technology, as well as the Pokémon who inhabit it, who are a blend of nature and technology themselves; Ferroseed is a mix of nature and technology because it's a plant (natural), but it has a metallic coating (unnatural), and Joltik is a mix of nature and technology because it's a bug (natural), but it can manipulate electricity (unnatural).
    • Interesting if you consider the version mascots representing nature and technology. The Aesop of the game is not the clashing of two different things, but understanding and adapting each other, right? In fact, what about Genesect?
  • Unova's Victory Road is a tall, dome-shaped hill pockmarked with a multitude of random entrance/exit holes that lead to a vast network of caverns. While you'll find the typical Rock-types and bat Pokémon inside, the most common wild Pokémon nesting in the cave is the Bug/Steel hybrid, Durant. Outside, your most common opponent is the fiery anteater, Heatmor (Durant's natural predator). Victory Road is a giant termite mound appropriated by the Pokémon League as their "final gauntlet" for prospective challengers.
    • That explains the landslides that made it inaccessible, requiring the formation of a new Victory Road as a backdoor, in Black and White 2: It eventually became unstable due to the increasing amount of tunnels and trainers traversing the place!
  • Inside Giant Chasm, from the top it appears that the area is enshrouded in thick fog. Because of the snow that falls, it can also be seen as snow clouds, not just fog. But taking it a step further, both mascot legendary Pokémon show that they can evaporate water, and thus melt ice. So now we have a reference to Kyurem being a part of the trio, the clouds are made of water that was once ice, which was melted!
  • Route 4 and Relic Castle are supposed to be based off Egypt, but it also has Sandile. Its final form's name, Krookodile, is a corruption of "crook" and crocodile. The Sandile and Krokorok in the Relic Castle are supposed to be grave robbers.
    • Also, the ancient Egyptians also had a god named Sobek. What did he look like, you ask? A crocodile.
  • At the Desert Resort, instead of just not being allowed into the deep sand like HG/SS/D/P/Pt's tall grass and marsh tiles, the bicycle runs very slowly when running through it. At first it's easy to pass this off as another style of deterrent, but running through sand is the fastest, walking gives you normal speed, and biking is almost unbearably slow — what's faster, walking normally or walking a bike?
  • Most of the Pokémon found in the Giant Chasm are mons which wouldn't be affected by the harsh change in temperature brought by Kyurem (Lunatone/Solrock, Metang/Metagross, Piloswine/Mamoswine). Ditto can change its form to match the temperature. Clefairies/Clefables also have "Magic Guard"note  and presumably cannot suffocate.
    • Also, Kyurem is stated to have arrived on a meteor, and many of the Pokémon found in Giant Chasm are associated with outer space. (Clefairy/Clefable, Solrock/Lunatone, perhaps Metang/Metagross...)
  • Depending on the version, Opelucid City reflects the themes of which game it's in. In Black, it's a futuristic city that's made from the city's denizens' desire for an idealistic, modern city. In White, the citizens believe that modernization is unnecessary and prefer to keep it in its original state so other people will see the truth in what the city originally was.

Characters

  • After watching the fandom for the couple of years of its existence, it might now be obvious why Hilbert, Hilda, N, Ghetsis et al. didn't appear in the anime for so long: the Pokémon Company actually wanted to distance the characters from the anime series and for them to develop their own distinct older fandom. Considering that the Unova games have a fandom more autonomous from the anime fans than previous generations, it seems to have worked.
  • It's been mentioned on other pages that Cheren is said to be a strong trainer while Bianca is a weak one, despite her team being objectively better than his. The thing is that the producers are going back to Karen's speech back in the Johto games — a truly skilled trainer tries to win with their favorites. So basically, Cheren does so well not because of the stats and moves of his team, but because he has faith in them and believes in them (like a general in the army would believe in his subordinates, but barely ever "adores" them), even pre-character development (he just gets his priorities straight after that point). The makers are just subtly reinforcing that idea that you can be a good trainer without using all the same Pokémon everyone else does.
    • It could also be argued that Cheren does so well because he has goals and strives toward them. Bianca doesn't, so her Pokémon don't get enormously better each time you see her because she isn't pushing them to become better.
    • Also, Cheren fights you a few more times than Bianca does, and his team tends to be slightly higher-leveled than hers (just compare their battles on Route 4 for a good example of this). This reinforces the idea that, while Bianca is trying, she's still not pushing her team quite as much as Cheren is.
  • All of Bianca's Pokémon know Return in the rematches you have with her. Return grows more powerful the happier a Pokémon is, and is at max level when the AI uses it. This means all her Pokémon love her very much. D'awww.
  • The elemental monkeys' names already made sense, but Pansear's is especially apt, considering the first place you're likely to see/use it — the Striation Gym, which doubles as a restaurant. What do you want to bet that Chili is an expert at pan-searing entrees?
    • A girl in Cafe Warehouse indeed confirms that the monkeys help the trio make tea.
    • And in the manga, it's confirmed that the monkeys help the trio with more than just making the food.
  • Alder tells Cheren to reconsider his quest to become Champion with no further goal. In the post game, he explains that he and his starter fought for the same reason, only he didn't learn this was an empty goal until after his starter had passed on and he lost the chance for the two of them to pursue a more meaningful goal together. He merely wants to prevent Cheren from making the same mistake he did.
  • After saving Bianca's Munna early on, Iris gives you a Yache berry. Of course the Dragon Gym Leader gives you a berry lowering Ice damage!
  • Bianca. As someone mentioned on the Black 2 & White 2 page, it's very possible that she's near-sighted, and didn't get corrective lenses until after the events of BW. Also, any or all of these may be true, as well:
    1. She makes an interesting contrast to the protagonist, if you think about it. Where raising Pokémon comes naturally to the protagonist, she's not that good at it and makes mistakes. Where the protagonist's mother trusts them enough to let them explore the world with naught but their Pokémon for protection while they're still a kid, her father feels she's too young to go out on her own and needs to be protected.
    2. She's closer to what someone that's not as gifted as the protagonist or the champion would be like. Notice how very few trainers in the games are skilled enough to raise full teams at the same time, and can only handle a few Pokémon. The protagonist can easily handle a full six without any problem. Then again, the games never outright state that the protagonist is a prodigy or anything, it's also possible that they're just more motivated to raise full teams than most trainers, or that they have more Pokémon because they explore the world instead of just staying in their own little corner of it.
    3. Bianca seems to have been intended to be closer to a normal trainer or an average beginner than the protagonist. This works nicely with the protagonist being intended to be a prodigy.
    4. She might be a space case, too, and a little detached from reality, which would explain a lot. It would also tie into her becoming the professor's assistant in the region where dreams are being researched, even if she's not actually working with the people doing the dream stuff.
  • For one thing, when you first face Caitlin in her chamber, she's sleeping and is annoyed at being woken up. That might just seem like a small joke, but think further; what's her specialty type? Psychic, a type that seems associated with sleep/dreaming. Plus, according to HG/SS, Caitlin wasn't good at controlling her psychic powers, and perhaps sleeping is her method of keeping them at bay.
    • Incidentally, what's one of the Psychic-Types introduced in this generation, which Caitlin even has on her team? Musharna, who has dream-related powers. If Caitlin does sleep to regulate her own powers, then that would be a nice tie-in.
    • It was common to interpret Caitlin as being a Spoiled Brat who had Darach fight you because she hates losing. However, we learn in HG/SS that she is psychic and when she loses, she causes damage with her psychic powers. Here? She's much more graceful - not just because she's older, but because she's more experienced with her powers. Darach might have been a crutch.
  • Ingo being a Perpetual Frowner and Emmet being a Perpetual Smiler is a subtle Stealth Pun with regards to their Japanese names, Nobori and Kudari. The word nobori (上り) means to ascend/go up, and if you draw a triangle pointing up and put it on a face, you get a frowning face. Meanwhile, kudari (下り) means to descend/go down, and if you draw a triangle pointing down and put it on a face, you get a smiling face.

Team Plasma

  • Why do the Plasma grunts occasionally scream "PLASMAAAA!" when they're beaten? Pokémon Speak, that's why.
  • Some Team Plasma members are really Well-Intentioned Extremists while others seem to be following Ghetsis' true plan. One of the Seven Sages said they were convinced to join Team Plasma by Ghetsis offering them what they wanted; he did the same with the Grunts. Some were recruited by truly good intentions while others were recruited with the promise of power. Incidentally, this also goes with the legendaries Team Plasma is involved with, one fighting for truths, the other for ideals. Some of Team Plasma are working for Ghetsis' true purposes while some are fighting for Team Plasma's ideals. It fits with the truth/ideals and general yin/yang theme.
  • A Team Plasma grunt tells you that Team Rocket and Team Galactic were defeated because they drew too much attention to themselves. Team Plasma isn't fully defeated until N raises the castle, drawing the attention of everyone to them.
  • The mascots are Dragon/Fire and Dragon/Electric dual types. Team Plasma tries to get one. Plasma is a state of matter that can be formed by fire and is typically part of lightning. So, Team Plasma is basically getting a component of itself.
  • In the castle, a scientist mentions Teams Rocket and Galactic, but not Teams Aqua and Magma. This is a bit odd, until you remember that in Ruby and Sapphire, only the team that matched your version color was actually villainous. Only in Emerald did both teams have villainous intentions.
    • Or maybe it's just that it's been a long time since Magma and Aqua's schemes. The universe plan in Sinnoh and radio incident in Johto happened relatively in a close time frame and were the last teams around, while the weather disaster in Hoenn happened before those. It hasn't happened in recent memory, so it wasn't mentioned.
      • That applies in real life too. Both HGSS and DPP came out fairly recently, whereas RSE came out quite some time ago. Considering the Hoenn games weren't even on the same system as BW, most of the younger fan base may not even recognize the names "Team Aqua" and "Team Magma."
    • Another possible reason for not mentioning them is that Teams Magma and Aqua weren't actively being criminals — their leaders, at least, genuinely thought their goals would help society, and they repented once they realized that they'd gone too far.
  • Have you ever wondered why the incense dealer in Driftveil City is still wearing his Team Plasma uniform? Well, how likely would you have noticed him if he was dressed like an ordinary civilian?

N

  • During their first meeting, Cheren notes that N speaks very fast. If you notice carefully, his text speech appears faster than other characters'.
  • When you first fight the Elite Four, they make a few references to a previous challenger. Namely N. However, they didn't seem to care about the fact that they were swept by Reshiram/Zekrom. Before Black and White, a popular strategy against the Elite Four was to use the powerful and recently caught cover legendary. Maybe they're just used to this kind of thing.
    • Two other possibilities:, either Alder warned the Elite Four about N and his dragon heading to the league, or N was simply saving the dragon for his fight with the champion.
  • Upon beating the Elite Four for the first time, you skip the Champion and go on to fight N instead, making this game the first in the series where you don't face the champion during the main playthrough, right? Well, considering that N cleared out the Elite Four and the Champion right before you in presumably official matches, N technically was the champion at that point.
    • You, on the other hand, don't become the Champion right then — you don't get registered in the Hall of Fame until beating Alder much later. This still has some Fridge Brilliance, though; it's presumably because you fight N in his castle, not actually at the League itself.
  • Anyone ever wonder why N never has the same team twice? He releases them after he battles you! This also explains why they're Pokémon you can find in the immediate area!
    • Confirmed in a Memory Link in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 you can unlock, where it shows N releasing his Pokémon after the fight in Chargestone Cave from Black and White. You can also catch his released Pokémon.
  • N's final team (minus his dragon) is heavily implied to be his childhood friends. These include either Pokémon you can't get in the wild (Zoroark because it requires an event, Carracosta and Archeops are fossils that need to be revived) or generally urban Pokemon (Vanilluxe's first form appears to be farmed for Castelia Cones, and Klinklang is a system of gears). Given N's sheltered upbringing, it would make sense for these to be a part of his main team.
  • In the OST, the theme that plays when N appears is called 'The Equated Captives'. While it's easy to confuse that as a reference to the way N equates all Pokémon as being captives of trainers, on checking the OST again after finishing the game, it became obvious: the 'equated captive' is N himself! He was kept captive in his room by his father, in order to satisfy an equation for power he had worked out! To drive the idea home, a remix of the theme — 'The Child Of Pokémon, N' — plays when you visit the room in which he was held captive! This makes even more sense in Japanese — the language doesn't designate plurals, so you'd go through the game reading the title as 'The Equated Captives', until you reached the end and realized that it was actually 'The Equated Captive', singular!
    • Another common translation for that track is "One Captivated by Formulae". This can of course allude to N's general interest in mathematics, but then again, also stand for his near-obsession with finding the "equitation that changes the world" (i.e. freeing the Pokémon). And then of course, him being held captive by his father in the Plasma castle is still valid too.
    • The English title to the song, "Prisoner to a Formula," means the same thing. N is the prisoner (in the room) for Ghetsis's formula for power.
  • N is this so much. His full name is Natural Harmonia Gropius. N and Harmonia creates "enharmonic". N is an empty variable, the same as the character is an empty variable in Team Plasma's plot. N means natural number, and he's a mathematician. The Menger Sponge around his belt has infinite value (N becomes king) and no value (he's a figurehead) at the same time. It seems like N was designed just to radiate this trope.
  • N throughout the game goes from polite (though somewhat creepy) to increasingly confrontational and belligerent. He believes that all Trainers abuse Pokémon and that Pokémon would be happier being free, however all he's encountered since he started travelling was Trainers and Pokémon getting along. He's been suffering from a Villainous Breakdown throughout the game!
  • When you fight N in his castle, his respective dragon is at level 52. Your dragon is at level 50. N was curbstomping the Elite 4 and Alder before you arrived, so it'd make sense that he'd gain enough experience points from beating them to level up once or twice.
  • Two members of N's party were more than capable of taking down the Elite Four; his Archeops with the Flying-type move Acrobatics almost certainly wiped out Marshal's Fighting-types, Dark-type Zoroark would have easily taken down Caitlin's Psychic-types and Shauntal's Ghost-types with Dark-type moves and Grimsley's Dark-types with its Fighting-type Focus Blast.

Ghetsis

  • Ghetsis' signature Pokemon is Hydreigon. Hydreigon is based off Orochi, an evil god from Japanese mythology, fitting his evil nature.
    • Hydreigon also owes its design to Ghidorah. A being who shares Ghetsis' level of morality.
  • The depiction of Ghetsis and Team Plasma in general. Ghetsis is the chief sage of the Team Plasma sages, who are styled like priests. Since N is the king and the Plasma grunts are knights, the sages would represent the Church, who were allied with the king and knights in holy crusades during the middle ages. To Team Plasma, freeing Pokémon is their holy crusade. Thus Ghetsis and his true intentions represents lies, hypocrisy, and corruption of a person who knowingly and maliciously takes advantage of beliefs held sacred by people and twists them into something to suit his dark, selfish ends. He even holds public sermons and preaches on the matters, when in reality he's full of crap. But it gets worse from there: he's outed as an Evil Sorcerer type person who's scheming to take power as a tyrannical, despotic dictator. Hiding this under the ruse of priesthood makes him the lowest scum possible, so thus he gets a makeover once everyone knows what he truly is. He keeps his pointed, horn-like hairstyle, but now wears a black and red visor on his right eye (his left eye is already red), wraps himself in a Black Cloak with creepy eyeball symbols decorating it, and carries around a staff with the Plasma insignia that is almost pitchfork-esque at a certain glance. So not only has Ghetsis gone from dark priest to all out Evil Overlord, but he's essentially styled as The Devil himself. His original name, G'Cis Harmonia, can even be translated as "the Devil in music." His battle theme sounds like a Dark Reprise to that of Arceus, the God Pokemon, and the opening for the "Episode N" arc of the anime even has him set against a red, fiery, flaming backdrop as he throws back his cape in a very Devil-like fashion. Based on the man's actions and behavior, it's hard not to see this depiction as fitting, but then it really hits you... Satan was running the Church! Is there perhaps some disturbing commentary on religious groups of Knight Templar zealots here?
    • Ghetsis can also be seen as playing an evil version of Merlin to N's King Arthur, and also an inversion — rather than helping the king claim the throne, he's using the king to help him claim the throne.
  • Ghetsis's theme is often said to sound like Arceus; now, who do you often think of as an evil version of God?
    • His name is derived from G-Cis or a tritone, known as being part of the 18th Century "The Devil in Music." That's more than fitting.
    • Also fitting for a man with a name based on the tritone, he has THREE horn-like strands of hair.
  • If you're paying attention in the battle against Ghetsis, or hacked the data files, you'll find that his team of Pokémon have excellent stats, abilities, and movesets, which suggest he's a brilliant strategist and Trainer. However, when you're battling him, he just tries to one-shot all your Pokémon with type-advantages. Why? He's so mad at you, he can't even think straight.

Dream World (Hidden) Abilities

Presumably, the "dream world" allows Pokémon to act out their dreams. Here are some fridge entries:

  • Durant's hidden ability is "Truant"note . Durant only wants to have a day off. It would probably need a day off, considering how often it gets attacked by Heatmor...
  • Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour (plus their evolutions), having "Overgrow"note /"Blaze"note /"Torrent"note  as their hidden abilities, just want to be loved as much as the starters. Bet you feel bad for ditching them after the first gym...
  • Vanilluxe may want to lower its weight, considering its hidden ability is "Weak Armor"note .
    • Omanyte and Omastar also share the hidden ability. Remember the Pokédex entries stating they died out because their shells got too heavy and they couldn't get food?
    • Onix is another user of the ability. Now why does that sound familiar?
  • Tornadus and Thundurus having "Defiant"note : they want to break away from the force of Landorus!
  • Scraggy and Scrafty have "Intimidate"note . The little guys just wanna be perceived as the big, bad gangstas they are!
    • Qwilfish also gets the ability. At first it seems oddly hilarious (and kind of adorable) from a puffer fish, however, intimidation is the main point of the puffer fish. Puffing itself up like that is meant as an intimidation tactic, making themselves seem bigger ans scarier than they actually are.
  • Kangaskhan gets "Inner Focus"note . Well, the ability to never trip sure comes in handy when you're always carrying a baby.
  • Cleffa, Clefairy, Igglybuff, Jigglypuff, and Happiny's "Friend Guard"note . They just want to help their friends.
  • Absol has "Justified"note . He wants to finally be seen as a good guy since it's always getting blamed for causing disasters.
  • Garbodor/Trubbish have "Aftermath"note . If you attack a trash bag (especially one filled to bursting like Trubbish), it will break and you will be covered in waste (and smell of it), which is the aftermath.
  • Nidoking/queen: "Sheer Force"note  - they want more power!
    • Landorus also has the ability. It's showing Tornadus and Thundurus that it's the boss!
  • Psyduck: "Swift Swim"note  - remember how Misty's Psyduck couldn't swim in the anime?
  • Eevee: "Anticipation"note  - they wanna know what they're gonna evolve into!
  • Teddiursa: "Honey Gather"note  - it can be its own supply of honey!
  • Raikou/Entei/Suicune: "Volt Absorb"note /"Flash Fire"note /"Water Absorb"note  - following the theory they are Jolteon/Flareon/Vaporeon that were revived by Ho-Oh, they want to be like their previous, better life.
  • Banette: "Cursed Body"note  - It just wants to hurt everything it comes in contact with, since it is seeking revenge for being discarded.
  • Perhaps this belongs in the Fridge Horror section, but Slowpoke gets "Regenerator"note . Let that sink in.note 
    • Corsola is another user of the ability. It IS based on coral, and coral does regenerate when broken.
    • Ho-oh has the ability as well. It "regenerated" the legendary beasts from death. Additionally, it's a phoenix and phoenixes are famous for their ability to revive themselves from the dead.
  • Paras and Parasect get "Damp"note  — "Dry Skin"note  (and its infamous 5x weakness) no more! Also, mushrooms grow better in damp environments than dry ones.
  • Caterpie, Weedle, and Wurmple all got "Run Away"note ... The guilt trip works...
  • Smeargle's "Moody"note  is worth a laugh, too. As cliché (and broken) as it is, it makes sense due to the stereotypical "tempermental artist" character type. Smeargle already has the "artist" part down...
  • Goldeen and Seaking both get "Lightning Rod"note , referencing the "AIM FOR THE HORN" incident from the anime.
    • Zapdos also has the ability - it lives in thunderclouds.
  • Toxicroak gets "Poison Touch"note  — It wants more effective poison. -shiver-
  • Cubone and Marowak get "Battle Armor"note . The (alleged) bones of their mothers now protect them even more.
  • Ekans and Arbok get "Unnerve"note .
    • Mewtwo also has the ability. Well, it was designed to be the most powerful Pokémon, and had all Red/Blue trainers quaking in their booties.
  • Pawniard has "Pressure"note . It's giving in to the pressure of the group.
  • Accelgor has "Unburden"note . It isn't burdened by the shell that restricted its speed!
  • Stunfisk has "Sand Veil"note . It references the fact it hides under the seabed to shock people.
  • Chandelure has "Shadow Tag"note . It doesn't want its prey to escape...
  • Volcarona has "Swarm"note . The poor guy just wants some friends.
  • Politoed and Ninetales get "Drizzle"note  and "Drought"note , respectively. They just wanted to be used more by players.
  • Abomasnow has "Soundproof"note  because loud noises cause avalanches.
  • Metagross gets "Light Metal"note , which is weird considering it uses its weight to hunt. However, as computers (or supercomputers, like Metagross is said to be) are redesigned and upgraded through the years, they become lighter and smaller — compare a big, room-sized 1950s computer to something like a MacBook Air, which can easily fit in your schoolbag.
  • Articuno has "Snow Cloak"note  - it causes blizzards.
  • Moltres has "Flame Body"note  - it's Wreathed in Flames.
  • The Kanto starters have hidden abilities that depended on weather: Venusaur has "Chlorophyll"note , Charizard has "Solar Power"note  and Blastoise has "Rain Dish"note . Considering how prominent the weather metagame is in this generation, the developers might have wanted to make them benefit from it for reasons.

Other/Unsorted

  • The HUD in the Japanese version is more-or-less bilingual — this game is set in a facsimile of New York, after all.
  • At first, it's really disappointing that you can't have a Pokémon follow behind you like in HG/SS. But come to think of it, in Unova, you don't see a single Pokémon just hanging out outside. In houses, sure, but not outside like in Kanto. And Unova is an urban region, far away from the others and based on New York instead of Japan. Perhaps the rules are different, and having Pokémon out in public isn't socially acceptable the way it is in Kanto and Johto.
    • Or perhaps it used to be, but Team Plasma has caused enough social strife that your player character deems flaunting their trainer status to be... unwise.
    • Yet there is a Minccino in Lacunosa Town that sits by the edge of one of the walls until night time, when everyone goes inside. Its caretaker even states that he doesn't mind it wandering around because the Minccino will return by nightfall. Note that you can only visit Lacunosa Town after the main story was completed, but it is implied that the Minccino has been doing this for a while.
      • It could be that, since it appears that Team Plasma only started their "pleas" when you and your friends start your adventures, and then follow you around (coincidentally, one hopes), that they just never got round to the other side yet. The other two cities attract tourists (one's a battle plaza or a nice little forest, depending on the version, and the other is a holiday destination) so it might be that those people have heard of them before and keep their Pokémon in their balls.
  • Unova is noticeably more racially diverse than previous regions, with many characters and NPC's being clearly white, black, Asian, Hispanic, and others, rather than the Ambiguous Whiteness of the preceding generations' casts. Since Unova is based on an area in the United States (a very racially widespread country), and previous regions were all based on regions of Japan (which is mostly inhabited by natives), this makes perfect sense.
    • Plus, it makes sense why the player characters here would be older than in the Japanese-based regions. Culturally, it's more common for Japanese children to travel without parental supervision (think eight-year-olds walking to school in groups of two or three) whereas Americans tend to be more protective (see, the NYC mom who came under fire for letting her children travel subways alone) until you're at least a teenager.
  • How does a Pokémon Center stay open when it performs totally free services? One good way to keep finances coming in: merge it with the PokéMart.
    • Why is this not necessary in the Japan-based regions? Socialized healthcare.note  Subtle Take That!?
  • Why can't you trade items over Poké Transfer? Gameplay reasons, of course, but considering that you're in Poké-America, it's more fun to assume that the TSA is involved somehow.
  • Why are the Pokédex entries of Ghost Pokémon, especially in this generation, so cryptic and frightening, yet in-game there's no evidence any of entries have happened? Because they're ghost stories!
  • The Light/Dark Stone is mentioned in the legend of Reshiram/Zekrom, yet it's in the Nacrene Museum and nobody knows what it really is. It's likely that while it was said that the Pokémon changed into the stones, there were never really pictures of those stones and odds are that history wasn't being recorded all those decades ago and even if it was, the warring heroes likely destroyed a lot of those records. Either that or due to how the legend's just a legend, a museum curator and archaeologist wouldn't jump to the conclusion that Reshiram and Zekrom are the Light and Dark stone with such little evidence.
    • Also, the curator might be intentionally brushing off the importance of the stone to keep visitors from trying to walk off with it.
  • Why do many Unova Pokémon evolve at later levels than the Pokémon from other regions? Because it's the Pokémon world version of America, which has a higher age of majority (the age you're fully considered an adult, which in America is 21) than both Japan (age 20) and France (age 18). So Pokémon become "adults" at higher levels in Unova than Pokémon from other regions.
  • The world of Black is tech-savvy and the world of White is nature-based. Their respective legendaries have opposite themes. There are two reasons for this. One, this ties in the Tao theme really well; they are the other, opposite colored dot of the world. Two, N tries to fight you with the correctly-themed dragon; this is the dragon who probably won over the other the first time, hence how Unova came out. You capturing the opposite-themed dragon and it conquering the other shows that what it represents is just as valid as the other, not better or worse. Not just simple colors on opposite ends of the spectrum, but the ideas of differing worldviews that can be seen with Black and White morality as opposed to Shades of Gray. N says that straight up at one point.
  • Little minor thing, but the Waiter sports fan who battles you in the Stadiums has a Clamperl and gives you a Fresh Water item. So, basically, you (or your team members, really) are drinking Pokémon spit. Fridge squick, indeed. Is that the case if you're stranded in a desert with only a water Pokémon? Would that be your means of survival?
    • It may be possible that the Waiter was carrying around a bottle of water from a vending machine or a store. Plus wouldn't having your water Pokémon use up its own water while in a desert be a bit hazardous if survival is at stake since it might dehydrate if it doesn't retain as much water as possible? Plus regurgitated water would likely make you sick.
    • Alternatively, the waiter probably had the bottle of water with him so that his Clamperl could stay hydrated, regardless of where the two of them went.
    • Waiter sports fans handing out water… water boys!
  • The creators stated that the three starters of Isshu/Unova are each based on a different part of the world: Japan, China, and the West (specifically, France). Now, counting the version mascots (and assuming that Kyurem will be the third version mascot), we also have three legendary trios. What are they each based on? Japanese gods, the Chinese concept of Yin and Yang, and the French novel The Three Musketeers.
  • Some may find it strange that Reshiram (a white Pokémon) is the mascot of Black Version, and Zekrom (a black Pokémon) is the mascot of White Version. But let the fact that they're based on yin and yang sink into your mind for a bit. What does the symbol for yin and yang contain? A white dot in a black area (Reshiram) and a black dot in a white area (Zekrom).
    • On the same note, the concepts yin and yang for Americans are backwards. Yang is not dark and Yin is not light. They're reversed since the Chinese read right to left and Americans read left to right. Whether this is lampshaded is optional.
    • There is also one more supposedly point of confusion between the East and West which actually points out more symbolism for the duo. In fanon, Reshiram is often portrayed as female while Zekrom as male due to Viewer Gender Confusion. Yin (Zekrom) is the female symbol and Yang (Reshiram) is the male symbol, meaning that the fandom got their genders reversed! So by that logic, Reshiram would be a Bishounen (white dot in a black area) while Zekrom would be a Bifauxnen (black dot in a white area). Their design is one giant Genius Bonus to that!!
    • Also that the mascots would be almost invisible on the game covers due to them being almost entirely one color with no shade variation.
    • Another nod to the yin-yang concept: Longterm fans are aware that every pair of debut games of each generation have always showcased a red vs blue contrast, starting from, obviously, Pokémon Red and Blue, and usually it's clear which cover Pokémon is which colornote . However, fans are divided on Reshiram and Zekrom: Some say Reshiram is red and Zekrom is blue based on the element on their tails (Reshiram's red fire vs Zekrom's blue electricity), but others say that Zekrom is red and Reshiram is blue based on their eye colors (Zekrom's eyes are red while Reshiram's are blue). This visual design is perfectly in-line with the yin-yang concept: Reshiram is red with a bit of blue, and Zekrom is blue with a bit of red (or vice versa).
  • At first, the Unova Dex's terrible learn sets (most Pokémon can't find anything beyond STAB and normal moves) seemed like bad design. However, Gen V was meant to evoke Gen I. Gen I did have terrible learn sets all around, all with the exact same issue!
    • Alternatively, it was because now that TMs are no longer single-use, you don't need to rely on a Pokémon's natural learnset anymore.
  • In the start of the game, you have a Pokémon battle in your room. After this, your room is a mess — but your Wii and TV is completely fine and didn't even seem to get hit. Now, we all know Nintendo consoles are made of Nintendium
  • At level 85, two of the Forces of Nature (Tornadus and Thundurus, to be exact) learn Thrash as their final move, whereas Landorus learns Outrage. May look like nothing, but take look at the myth again. The legend goes that Landorus punished Tornadus and Thundurus for bringing massive destruction to Unova. In other words, Landorus became OUTRAGEd because Tornadus and Thundurus rampaged and attacked, which is how the in-game text describes the move Thrash.
  • Wondered why there are preschoolers and children running around challenging you to Pokémon battles, and who would entrust a Pokémon to a 4-5 year old? It's actually the other way around: teachers likely keep Pokémon to accompany those kids and protect them from wild Pokémon attacks.
    • Tied to that, why do they have relatively low-level Pokémon and why is your starter at a measly level 5 at the beginning when it is said in several games that you need one for your own protection? Because neither you (at that point) nor those kids have any badges, and very high-level Pokémon don't always obey you without a certain kind/number of badges.
  • With the names of Pokemon games becoming more and more valuable things, people wondered how they could top the value of "Platinum". Since "Black and White" is referring to the philosophy of seeing things in black and white (a major theme in the game), one could say it has transcended materialism. Whether or not that is more valuable is a matter of opinion, but it's certainly clever and no other naming scheme would have worked the same way.
  • Three of the first Pokémon you are virtually guaranteed to catch in this game are Lillipup (a dog), one of the elemental monkeys (a monkey), and Pidove (who will eventually become a pheasant), in that order. Now who else do we know who traveled around with a dog, a monkey and a pheasant?
  • Why are Alomomola rare Pokémon only found in whirlpools? Fishing on a whirlpool usually reveals a powerful invasive Pokémon species in the deep, which is likely causing it. Alomomola is stated to be helpful and protective of people and Pokémon, so it's probably intercepting said invader to keep you, the ignorant surfer, from getting hurt. Why is it found only found on routes full of Frillish? Because Frillish attack swimmers where Alomomola save them. Furthermore, Alomomola is obviously based on a molamola, which are among the few predators that "play" with divers and which feed on animals full of cnidocytes, such as jellyfish. Changing climate and modern farming are making it difficult for molamola to keep jellyfish in check, however, so Alomomola are too busy to notice swimmers most of the time, unless there is an attention drawing event like a whirlpool.

    Fridge Horror 

Game Mechanics

  • The battle sprites are more animated, and there are some special details like Pokémon's eyes closing when they're put to sleep. And when you use a sleep attack on a Kangaskhan, its baby closes its eyes too! Does that mean that every status ailment affects a Kangaskhan's baby as well? Paralysis? Burns? Even Toxic?!
    • If we are to ask the 'Pokémon Adventures incarnation of Red, he'd say yes. In his first encounter with Blue, Red had Poli stop Blue's Charmander from burning a wild Kangaskhan with a baby because Charmander was hurting the baby Kangaskhan, who was already poisoned. While that's not the games, Satoshi Tajiri said the world of Adventures'' is the closest thing to the world he had in mind when creating Pokémon, so you can accidentally poison the baby Kangaskhan.

Locations

  • A good deal of the gyms are pretty hazardous; Opelucid and Icirrus in particular would have a constant risk of falling to your death into a functionally bottomless pit. And then there's Mistralton, where you get shot out of cannons to proceed from floor to floor. One of the final ones even has you hitting the wall face-first!
  • The Relic Castle consists of a pair of burnt out, ruined towers. A pair of burnt out, ruined towers in a fantasy version of New York City.
    • Not to mention Yamask and Cofagrigus (the former of which is (supposedly) actually the soul of a human who now carries around a mask that was the face it had when it was living) can be found inside.
    • Even worse, if you overlay a map of New York with a map of Unova, Ground Zero aligns with Route 4, which has the entrance to the Desert Resort & Relic Castle…
    • This was probably purposefully invoked, and not to be funny. The location is a relatively quiet, sorrowful remnant acknowledging that something happened which caused a lot of death and destruction. Making it something that happened in the distant past puts enough distance between it and the events of the game that it can be acknowledged without dragging in the very sensitive issues surrounding the real-world disaster.
  • Many of the quotes randomly generated by opponents in the Battle Subway are surprisingly humorous, deep, and — yes — terrifying. Including this gem of a quote from a subway worker:
    "I've never left this place even once since I was born."
  • The TM for Toxic is found in the shallows in the middle of a mostly water route. A water route full of Ghost type jellyfish.
  • One trainer on Route 15 says that she's looking for Pokémon that have escaped from the Poké Transfer Lab. Notice how the whole northeast of Unova is full of Gen I-IV Pokémon. Yes, that's right: Unova's being overrun by invasive species that are probably wreaking havoc on the ecosystem now.
  • When you get to the pool in Crater Forest, Kyurem freezes the entire place, covering everything in snow. How many Pokémon died from hypothermia/suffocation when that blizzard hit? How do we know that Kyurem hasn't frozen the forest before, and that's the reason why there are only Pokémon that could survive a freeze?
  • The Castelia Cone is an ice cream that looks too similar to Vanillite. The stand where you buy these ice cream cones are opened from the spring to the fall season before it closes up in the winter because of the coldness of the weather. However, winter is also the season where Vanillite appear more in the wild because of the weather. It's possible the owner of the stand leaves during the winter to capture more Vanillite and serve them to people when it's spring again. To add to this, if the player were to watch the TV, there will be one instance where there is a girl that talks about buying a Castelia Cone but then it came alive and ran away. Basically, humans are eating Vanillite and are re-stocking when they come out to play.
    • You use Castelia Cones like full heals. Think about that. You can feed it to your Vanillite. Smooth.
    • Alternatively, the Vanillite come from the cones, not the other way around. There have been tsukumogami-(inanimate objects that become animate creatures) based Pokémon since the first generation, and Unova has several that come from various sources. It wouldn't be that big of a stretch to say that the Castelia Cones are so magically delicious and well-loved that they occasionally gain sentience. The owner probably keeps them in the freezer throughout the warm seasons so they won't melt, then goes on a journey in the winter to release them all around Unova once it's cold enough for them to travel comfortably.
    • Actually, Vanillite looking like ice cream doesn't necessarily translate to it tasting like ice cream. Even if its body is ice-based, it could just taste like regular ice, which is basically flavorless. Even if they're sweetening it or adding flavor, killing Vanillite to make them is pointless, as you could just use normal ice for effectively the same product. Although, if you really want to draw a connection between the two, you might be able to put forth the idea that the Vanillite are creating the ice cream themselves.
    • Here's a whole new level of horror for you: every winter, the Castelia Cone stand owner goes and captures a bunch of Vanillite. Then he forces them to make ice for his cones work nonstop through the rest of the year. The following winter, the owner has to go capture more Vanillite because he's worked them to death. The odd Castelia Cone being a Vanillite in disguise happens when one of his ice-making slaves escapes by disguising itself as the product.
    • Alternately, a much less creepy idea is that Castelia Cones are just purposefully shaped like Vanillite because they're so cute and popular. The shop shuts down in winter because it's too cold to eat ice cream, not because they need to go farm for Vanillite. The question of how a Vanillite got mixed up with a Castelia Cone remains, but that's why it was worthy of televised news.
    • Another theory is that Casteliacones could've just been made out of Moomoo Milks.
  • In the graveyard of the Celestial Tower, Litwick are present there. Litwick's final evolution, Chandelure, steals souls and burns them up. No wonder why you find them in a gravesite…

Team Plasma

  • It's revealed near the end that the Pokémon that Team Plasma stole were actually enslaved and forced to build their castle. N grew up with abused Pokémon. How many of those "playmates" of his also doubled as slave labour for Ghetsis, who likely saw the convenience in this plan?
  • What did Team Plasma want with that Munna's Dream Mist again? Oh, right, they wanted to use it to brainwash the people of Unova into releasing their Pokémon and joining Team Plasma. If that had worked, Ghetsis would have an unstoppable brainwashed army, which he could continually replenish and expand by harvesting more Dream Mist from Munna to brainwash new "recruits". You're welcome. Assuming the idea would even have worked, of course.

N

  • One of the Seven Sages mentions that N might not be related to Ghetsis. Assuming that N is related to Ghetsis, who did Ghetsis fuck to produce a child, and in what way? And worse, there's no hint of N having a mother anywhere. Where did she go?
  • You ever wonder why N has a One-Letter Name? What does N stand for? Null? No-one? Nothing? Nobody? The calculus variable n, making N just a variable in Ghetsis' perfect formula, less predictable than Ghetsis would have liked but unfortunately necessary to complete the equation (and N does like math)? Or what the hell happened to A through M?
    • Giving his son (if N really is his) a One-Letter Name could just be Ghetsis's first step in dehumanizing him, as his name is Natural Harmonia Gropius, but he refers to himself as N. Giving him an actual name may have been so people don't get suspicious, so he can eventually dehumanize N.

Ghetsis

  • Just Ghetsis' plans in general. Ghetsis knew a self-centered man like him could never be the hero of legend, so he raised his own son N specifically to fit the qualifications needed to be the hero and to be the key pawn in his master plan. He kept N locked up in a room filled with toys for years in order to stunt his emotional growth, and had Anthea and Concordia frequently tend to him so that his innocence and purity could be preserved. He himself told N that Team Plasma was fighting to liberate Pokémon from their captivity and oppression at the hands of humans, and even provided abused Pokémon for N as playmates. Ghetsis' own minions had abused the Pokémon and since N could hear their thoughts and feel their pain, he came to believe that all humans hurt Pokémon and that all Pokémon long to be far away from humans. After N had come of age and was crowned Team Plasma's king, Ghetsis began his crusade to capture the hearts and minds of the trainer population, the grand crescendo of which would come when N, using Reshiram or Zekrom, could defeat the Champion and allow Team Plasma to take over the league. N would then issue a command to every human in the Unova region to release all their Pokémon or risk the region's destruction again. In reverence of the hero and the belief that his way is the truth or ideal ("having Pokémon will be considered a bad thing" as Ghetsis puts it), the trainers would release all their Pokémon… which would leave Ghetsis and his select followers as the only ones with Pokémon that they're able to use. After N's purpose had been served, Ghetsis would throw him away and take Reshiram/Zekrom for himself, and then with his personal Pokémon army headed by the legendary Pokémon of the hero, would go to war with all other regions and repeat the process so that more region's worth of Pokémon get added to his forces. The more Pokémon, the more power, and with enough power, Ghetsis could take over the entire world, bringing about a Dystopian new world order in which he, as the ruler who is the only one allowed to have and use Pokémon, has unlimited influence, privilege, and control over everything that lives and is free to oppress and suppress everyone by using threat of force via his superpowered mons. And the reason for all this? He felt entitled to it.
  • Let's say for a minute the Plasma plan went through and Ghetsis took over Unova. Short of a more moderate replacement succeeding him, the only way his dominion would end is if people took the law into their own hands and violently deposed him with "illegal" Pokémon or if a more malicious power moved in and destroyed Team Plasma. Such a violent revolution would strain human-Pokémon relations and cause them to leave or savage the region, and there's at least one villainous group out there with no qualms about attacking trainers. Seeing the potential for Cipher to expand into a disarmed Unova, whether they were behind Team Plasma's operations or not, was the key to figure out N was a tool from the start.
  • If Ghetsis did take over Unova, the entire economy of Unova would be a wreck, since everything revolves around Pokémon.
  • As dictator of not just Unova but the entire world, Ghetsis would turn the world into one where every day was one of suffering under his reign — a world where your oppressors have all the power to harm you and keep you in line (as the only ones able to use Pokémon) and you lack the power to fight back, and are thus made to feel enslaved in this dystopian world order. It's a Fate Worse than Death, arguably as horrific as Cyrus' vision for the world, if not moreso seeing as here you'd keep your emotions and would thus feel every last bit of pain.
  • At first, Ghetsis's underleveled Hydreigon seems like it is there for the sake of having the powerful pseudo-legendary dark type on the final boss's team just so GF could. It turns out, a fast (compared to Reshiram/Zekrom) Dragon type with decent power is a rather good counter to your freshly acquired dragon legendary during this fight. As he clearly is shocked you managed to contact the legendary and thus can't have been factored into his plans, what do you suppose he was planning with it?
    • This also explains why it has Focus Blast — four of the six members of N's team are weak to Fighting. And it also has Surf to cover Archeops.
    • Zweilous evolves when one of its heads gains dominance over the other. Who's to say he didn't cut off one of its heads?
    • Hydreigon as a species is said to be vicious, short-tempered and destructive, and the ones Ghetsis had under his control are known to have hated him. So what was stopping them from killing him and escaping? The answer is simple: He likely abused them so badly that they became terrified of him. That's right; Ghetsis had a vicious, temperamental dragon under his control for years and abused it so badly that it developed an intense fear of him. Twice.
      • Supported by Hydreigon knowing Frustration in Black 2 and White 2. The move is at max power, so Hydreigon loathes Ghetsis, and only obeys him because, due to Ghetsis being his owner, he has no choice.
  • After defeating Ghetsis, three of his servants accost the player in an end-game area and hand over the Adamant, Lustrous, and Griseous Orbs, which are used for three legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and Platinum that are the embodiments of time, space, and chaos. Ghetsis must've had some pretty grand plans if he had the Orbs. Consider why he had them. One could make the argument that he had them because he was trying to attain the Creation trio to kill anyone in his way. This presents 2 flaws: Ghetsis could use any legendary to do this, and you don't need the orbs to get the Creation trio. In addition, the killing of a trainer is likely to spark a revolt. But remember what the legendaries he was trying to acquire are capable of. This implies three things:
    1. Ghetsis is willing to erase people from existence to continue his plans.
    2. He only gave you the orbs because he knows they are useless to both him and the player character.
    3. He wants to become God, rule over the cosmos as a despot, and maybe even go beyond that.
  • Ghetsis' sadism is disturbing, but it becomes moreso when you consider that many of the things he does, in both games, can be considered forms of torture:
    1. Physical torture — his Pokémon abuse, what he does to Kyurem and has Kyurem do to Unova, commanding Kyurem to use Glaciate on a human child
    2. Emotional torture — his treatment of N and what he has Team Plasma put a lot of people through
    3. Psychological torture — towards N and to an extent all the masses of Unova through his plan with the freezeover of the entire region
    • And when you look at his Pokémon team, all of his Pokemon seem to be tailor-made for use as living torture weapons on his enemies and their Pokémon. Team Plasma's initial medieval style might also be part of this, seeing as brutality and torture chambers were big in the middle ages.
    • Ghetsis himself admits "The moment when someone loses all hope… I really do love to watch that moment." Now consider when he revealed to N that he was an Unwitting Pawn, crushing his hopes and dreams. The implications is that this Moral Event Horizon wasn't just done out of anger, but sadism. Indeed, N's entire life of being manipulated could've been something Ghetsis was turned on by. He may have mindraped his own son without him even knowing it.
  • At 6 foot 6, Ghetsis is one of the tallest characters in the Pokémon universe. Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon show exactly how scary Ghetsis's height is through the use of 3D models.

Dream World

  • The Flying game in Dream World, which features a Pelipper flying through the sky. Though it needs 3 Water orbs to speed up, it only needs one single Electric one to go down a speed level. Pelipper has a double weakness to Electric. The poor thing gets double as much damage from them.
  • The Dream World was shut down in January 2014 in time for the release of the first Gen VI games Pokémon X and Y. Basically, the apocalypse came for a whole world.
  • In the Dream World, sometimes a Spearow will ask to play "Find the Missing Pokémon", looking for a Burmy. Burmy is a Bug-type, and Spearow is a Flying-type bird Pokémon. As the Flying type is strong against the bug type, and baby birds eat bugs… there's a chance the player just helped a Spearow find its next living meal! Welcome to nature.

Other/Unsorted

  • The Ferris Wheel dates are just fun, sometimes heartwarming, sometimes poignant looks into the lives of various NPCs, with touches of romance… But it gets infinitely more creepy when one realizes that many of these characters are adults, and while older than most other protagonists Hilbert/Hilda is still most likely only 14 (as indicated by the fact that Cheren is 14 according to Word of God). Gets especially creepy when that one hiker is implied to be lamenting over Hilbert in the sequel; hikers are middle-aged men. This middle-aged man is crying over being supposedly rejected by a 14-year-old boy. Ew…

    Fridge Logic 
See here.

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