Pokemon games, including the yet to be released Sun and Moon titles, inspire no shortage of mysteries, creepypastas, and conspiracy theories, despite the games being quite simple and lighthearted on the surface. However, few theories that we have come across have ever been as detailed, well-researched, and compelling as the one put forth by YouTube’s Lockstin/Gnoggin about Pokemon Sun and Moon, and its connection to the previous games in the series.
Lockstin’s main theory, currently laid across three and eventually four videos, posits that the Pokemon games are finally going to come together in Sun and Moon, and the end result will be the beginning of the end of Pokemon as we currently know it.
Twinfinite recently had an opportunity to speak to Lockstin about his theory, and he was able to provide additional insight into some of the most important and potentially impactful details.
Whether you have time beforehand, or are feeling especially inspired after reading our interview with Lockstin, here are the links to Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of the The End of Pokemon video series, as well as his YouTube page, which contains other shorter theory analysis videos about Pokemon, all of which are very entertaining and interesting watches, whether or not any of this actually comes true.
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Twinfinite: So first, for our readers who haven’t had the opportunity to watch your videos yet, can you give us a brief summary what your theory is, and why you think it will happen? The cliff notes.
Lockstin: Basically, long story short, Pokemon ever since generation three or four, has been based vaguely on alchemy, astrology, mysticism and things of that nature; and as of generation six and soon to be seven, it has really been filling all of the holes that it has had in its lore with things based on alchemy, and all of it points to generation seven being the final generation before some sort of major change. As my theory goes, that change is a reboot, going back to a generation one remake game.
Twinfinite: Do you really think Nintendo/Game Freak has the guts to drive what has been a game for all ages into that direction [an end of the world scenario]?
Lockstin: Japan has always had a strange relationship with organized religion and just, mysticism and alchemy. There are plenty other kids games like Digimon, for example, has a Kabbalah Digimon and a Satan Digimon, like they aren’t even beating around the bush, they literally are that. With Pokemon it has been a little bit looser, but as I’ve been working on this project I’ve been uncovering a lot of stuff in the lore that is undoubtedly based on alchemy.
Like Reshiram and Zekrom, if you look at the two contraries of alchemy [see above courtesy of Lockstin], the way they are drawn, it almost looks exactly like Reshiram and Zekrom. So they definitely are putting alchemy and such in.
The thing that gets interesting, though, is that I think they are in the process of making Pokemon more mature, because there was a quote about the character design of Sun and Moon – the reason the character models look more like adults instead of kids is because they are trying to go for that older audience. And I think that’s what the reboot is going to do, because the average age of a Pokemon player is so much higher than it used to be. So they are trying to get a little more edgy.
Twinfinite: Alchemy plays a huge, huge, huge role in your theory and whether or not you end up being correct, there’s no doubt that Game Freak is obviously at least inspired by it. Why do you think Game Freak borrows from alchemy so much? What makes it an interesting source of material to draw from?
Lockstin: Just so that they have a center location where they can pull inspiration from. In a lot of Pokemon movies, whenever time travel is involved, or they flashback to the past and show the ancient Pokemon world before technology was a thing, they referred to Pokemon as magical creatures and alchemic symbols are all over the place. And I think that’s because magic in the real world is alchemy.
So when figuring out OK animals with superpowers. Where do they get their super powers from? What if it’s magic? Magic in the real world is alchemy; let’s pull from that. And a lot of it has to do with with constellations and the Zodiac. There’s that theory that the fire starters are based on the animals in the Zodiac, and the Zodiac and astrology are both heavily linked to alchemy. It’s like they are pulling from mysticism in general, but alchemy is the one of the biggest parts of global mysticism.
Twinfinite: Pokemon games, even the darker ones like Black and White, are still incredibly cheerful throughout. Would this all mean that Sun and Moon is going to have a “bad or a sad” ending this time around?
Lockstin: I feel like as the Pokemon games have gotten darker, the bad guys have gotten further and further along in their plans. Even in the anime right now, Xander wants to wipe the earth and cleanse it, and he was this close, super close, to getting it. He’s actually had Zygarde under mind control, and it was drawing a giant transmutation circle around Lumiose City with Prism Tower right in the middle and right at the end, when he’s so close, Zygarde breaks out the mind control.
So looking back, the bad guys have been getting closer and closer to accomplishing their goals, so I think in Sun and Moon or the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum remakes, the bad guy is going to almost win, the process of universal reset is going to start, but you’ll stop it before it finishes. Arceus [the Pokemon god] will start resetting the universe, you stop it from doing that, but it’s already started and it can’t stop the process that began. BUT since it’s no longer under control of the bad guy, you the player character can say, “Hey maybe we should remake the universe the way it was or remake it so humans can’t take advantage of Pokemon for evil and stuff. Let’s remake a more peaceful universe.”
So the bad guys do succeed in remaking the universe, but you take it away from them right at the end.
Twinfinite: If a reboot occurs, what do you think happens to all of the post gen 1 Pokemon ? Do they get thrown out the window and we just start back from scratch with the originals?
Lockstin: You know how there are Alola Forms of Kanto Pokemon? What if there are Kanto forms of the newer Pokemon? Something that brings in the ideas of newer Pokemon, but redesigning them in a more Kanto art style so they fit in with that generation better. Something like that. Or another idea that Birdkeeper Toby had is after gen 1, and you go back to gen 2, you start mixing them up, and pull from different generations. Some from gen 5, some from gen 3, and boom – there’s your new gen 2 Pokedex, and they are all slightly redesigned and type things are fixed.
One thing I do think is going to happen though is that they are going to retcon Mega Evolutions.
Twinfinite: You think they [Mega Evolutions] are gone?
Lockstin: Yeah. One of the things that a lot of people have complained about is that it has messed with the meta a lot. The big thing in the Delta Episode is that they discovered the parallel universe, that is the original Ruby and Sapphire, and in that world there is no Mega Evolution, Fairy type, great war and that stuff, and I feel like in Sun and Moon, they are opening up a portal to that world and in doing that, they might get rid of Mega Evolution. They might not, but if there ever was a time to do it, it would be the reboot.
Twinfinite: What do you think is the strongest most irrefutable evidence in support of your theory? Is there a smoking gun?
Lockstin: Well for being based on alchemy, just like everything. The trailer that came out with the literal Chimera Pokemon, that concretely shows everyone the main theme is alchemy. As for the reboot, it’s the tone that they are giving off, the 20th anniversary “it all comes together,” showing off that the Snorlax finally got up. There’s no super concrete evidence for the reboot but there’s a lot of underlying evidence that says, ‘hey maybe this, maybe that’. And it might not even be a permanent reboot, it could just be the next game is a big gen 1 remake on the NX.
Twinfinite: On the flip side, is there a piece of evidence that is a stretch but is also really important to your understanding of everything that if it turned out to be untrue, would force you reconsider a lot of all this? In other words, is there a weak link that you’re really worried could break?
Lockstin: Well the great thing about this theory is that there is a ton of pieces, and none of the pieces are foundational other than it’s all based on alchemy, but that’s irrefutable at this point. So in part 2, I said Ash is most likely going to win the Kalos league and then he lost. It’s like if he did win, it would further concretely confirm this theory, but because he lost, it doesn’t help, but it doesn’t completely disprove it. I really like the Jenga description I used for this, you can take out a piece but as long as there is still a foundation, it will still stand.
Twinfinite: What started all of this? What was the clue that tipped you off that you should start doing some digging?
Lockstin: The first video I made about this, [laughs] I was so innocent at the time. I was sick of people complaining about the then just announced Solgaleo. People were complaining about how its typing didn’t make sense. So I just made a video that said “guys the typing makes perfect sense. It’s steel because in alchemic times the Sun represents Solgaleo, and in ancient times people believed that sun was just a glowing red hot ball of iron and iron is close to steel and all that.
And from there everything just started; “oh that’s a weird coincidence” and “oh that’s a weird coincidence,” maybe I should look into this more. Then it was the looking into numerology and how seven is the end, and it’s perfect, it’s a finished product, and that’s when it finally ticked that maybe they are rebooting something. And that’s what started all the tumbling down and almost a thousand hours of work that this has been.
Twinfinite: That leads perfectly into my next question. Speaking of research, the amount of religious and alchemical knowledge that gets dropped in these videos border on the level of a doctoral dissertation. Did you go to school for all of this? Did you have to research it all from scratch?
Lockstin: I’ve watched Fullmetal Alchemist multiple times, so there’s a very base level of alchemy, although in my actual research I learned Fullmetal Alchemist is actually not very accurate whatsoever.
Twinfinite: Is Pokemon more accurate?
Lockstin: [laughs] Pokemon is more accurate to alchemy than Fullmetal Alchemist is. It’s hilarious. And the other thing is I grew up in a very religious household, so I know a lot about the Bible, and translating from Hebrew to English. I have a basic knowledge of ancient Greek and ancient Hebrew culture and such, and all of that definitely helped. I grew up learning multiple interpretations of the Bible instead of just one solid interpretation.
Twinfinite: Getting back to the end of the Pokemon universe as we know it, how has the new information recently released such as Type: Null and Ultra Beasts impacted or shaped your theory?
Lockstin: It filled the few holes that I had, especially with the Aether Foundation. The end of the part 3 essentially hints that the next part is all going to be about the Aether Foundation, like what I did with Team Skull. They really just fill the final gaps, it’s too perfect.
Twinfinite: A lot of fans seem to not trust the Aether Foundation, thinking they are a front for shady chimeric experiments and that Team Skull is a red herring. Can you give us some insight on what roles you think The Aether Foundation and Team Skull will play in Sun and Moon?
Lockstin: I am now also part of the popular theory that Aether is the main bad guy, although Team Skull is up to more bad than just being simple pirates. I feel like all of them are after the power of the eclipse, but for different reasons. Team Skull is after immortality and the Aether Foundation is after paradise, but like a forced paradise. It also fits with what they symbolize. The alchemic skull symbolizes a worthless, useless, leftover substance, whereas Aether is the holiest of all elements.
Twinfinite: Is there anything that you came across in your research that could be Creepypasta fuel? Something that made you shudder a little?
Lockstin: I’ll go ahead and say it, this isn’t going to be in part 3 but I might be putting it in part 4, I’m still researching it. The symbol Deoxys makes when you first find it in the triangle and it goes around, is two lines away from being the Sigil of the Gateway from Lovecraftian horror. I looked into that, and long story short, it’s a giant tentacle monster – and Deoxys has those tentacles and everything – that is not only where life came from, but also the thing that will destroy the entire universe.
Twinfinite: Another Pokemon mystery that has kept fans up at night is the ghost girl from X and Y. Does she have a role in all of this? Do you have an idea of what her deal is? Or is she just there to freak people out.
Lockstin: She’s either there just to freak people out, or she’s been hinting at the protagonist of Sun and Moon. I’ll leave that as that for now.
Twinfinite: If Sun and Moon comes out, and just ends up being another G-rated Pokemon adventure, what will be next for you? Will you be disappointed?
Lockstin: Because of all the alchemic symbols that are so obviously there, if they don’t do anything with that other than just basing some Pokemon off of it, that would be a huge missed opportunity for them. But really, I’m positive at the very least it will be about two parallel universes coming together. So at least, ‘it all comes together’ will be literal.
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