maandag 25 november 2013

Pokémon Z Confirmed? Zygarde completes the circle with Pokémon X and Pokémon Y


 The newly leaked Pokémon X and Y legendary Zygarde completes the XYZ theme of the new games. Could this mean we'll see Pokémon Z release sometime soon? (Photo: SomethingAwful Forums/Kanpachi)
Talk about an important Pokémon X and Y new legendary. A wild Zygarde has appeared, thanks to the leaker Kanpachi of the SomethingAwful forums -- not to be confused with Kenpachi, though we like to think they're the one in the same. The snake-like Z legendary makes things regarding these Pokémon X and Y new games very interesting. Some may think the fact that Zygarde starts with a Z and forms the letter when seen profile-view is coincidence. Though the high level at which Kanpachi has encountered Zygarde, along with the fact it's ability Aura Break directly counters Xerneas and Yveltal's abilities leads us to believe this is in fact a Pokémon X and Y new legendary.

"The effects of 'Aura' Abilities are reversed," thanks to Zygarde's Aura Break ability. Not only would that nullify the effects of Xerneas' Fairy Aura and Yveltal's Dark Aura, but it could possibly make Fairy and Dark type attacks even weaker when Zygarde's on the field! Mighty convenient for a
Pokémon that's part dragon. Though it makes sense Zygarde could shift the odds in its favor this way, with it being the order Pokémon and all.


The idea that this Pokémon X and Y new legendary Zygarde brings balance to the world interestingly aligns with the other two letter-based pokes. Xerneas is known as the "Life Pokémon" while Yveltal carries the title "Destruction Pokémon." The fact that a third Pokémon would govern the balance between creation and elimination makes perfect sense. Some predicted that the X and Y legendaries would be based on Norse mythology and the discovery of Zygarde would seem to confirm that. The Yggdrasil from Norse mythos signify a gargantuan tree, with creatures living within it. Including the stag, the eagle and a snake-like dragon -- it certainly helps that Xerneas is next to an enormous tree during the original trailer for Pokémon X and Y. The dragon Nidhogg (or traditionally Níðhöggr) gnaws away at the Yggdrasil tree -- which seems fitting for someone whose name means "he who strikes malice." Though surprisingly we'd expect the eagle Yveltal is based on to do this -- GameFreak must have tweaked some of the mythology to their liking. A fourth animal lives in the Yggdrasil by the name of Ratatosk, a squirrel like creature. We can't say we see the Pokémon Company including a squirrel legendary creature, but who knows what the future may hold.

Zygarde (Photo: Imgur)
Zygarde
There are no official announcements of a Pokémon X and Y new game, but the rumors of a Pokémon Z being released are now more likely than they have ever been. Since the announcement of Pokémon Yellow to accompany Red and Blue, a third version has always been released in addition to the initial two. The only time we've seen this pattern disrupted was with the launch of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. The leaked spoiler of Zygarde strikes us as a Rayquaza/Giratina situation, where Nintendo could make available a third game, Pokémon Z, based on the third legendary. Doing so only makes sense: a Z game to accompany Pokémon X and Y would complete the three planes needed to make a three dimensional coordinate system. With 3DS games tending to have "3D" in the name, XYZ would complement this nicely.