The Elite Four and the Keystones [Spoilers]

[IdleThoughts]

These past few days, probably my favorite topic to dwell on has been regarding who exactly are those trainers we'll be facing towards the end of the game are. Of course, there are several people whom have orchestrated likely scenarios, but I think they were missing something. I'm certain we're all aware of how crafty our beloved Amethyst is, so I would never put it past her to silently hand us all the pieces to put together the Elite Four so soon.

Disclaimer: Since disclaimers are the best part of every thread, I'd like to note that I decided to create a separate thread to discuss the Elite Four because I felt like I was bringing something new to the table that I didn't want to get lost in the middle of some huge 20 page thread. Also, if there's someone else out there that has beaten me to this particular point, sorry, I didn't know. Great minds think alike I guess, and I have an amazing ego so you must be the embodiment of awesome. On with the show.

The Ordeal: I've taken note of how, like four members of the Elite Four, there are four keystones (Ruby, Amethyst, Emerald, and Sapphire). That was totally necessary to point out because I'm a great counter. So anyways, I'd like to use this thread to talk about my speculated connections between the Elite Four and the Keystones, as I've noticed some interesting things.

Before we really get to it, I'd like to discuss the apparent significance of the four keystones, as they aren't limited to only those ancient ruins below. We see their colors all throughout Reborn, decorating gates, doors, and whatnot. The examples I can think of offhand are the doors to the Wasteland, Desert, Grand Hall, and especially on the Grand Gate; additionally, I recently noticed the colorful stones surrounding the Grand Hall also flaunt similar hues. In general, even on the surface we can see that they are very important to the entirety of the league.

Another worthwhile thing to mention is how each keystone is in the form of some type of jewelry, instead of ever being a regular key. By masquerading as an accessory, it's a person's attachment to a keystone can be more clearly defined, in any other scenario, the keys would be locked away somewhere; in Reborn, the Keystones are worn by people and occasionally clash with your outfit.

Transitioning back into the Elite Four, as of episode 15, Heather is a confirmed member of the Elite Four, El has been dubbed "one of the elite" and boasts of possessing the influence to make Bennett an additional member of the Elite Four, and Laura is fired from her formerly confirmed position as a member of the Elite Four.

Leading off, we have these four "key" players. (Aren't I funny? I sure am.)

• Heather
• El
• Bennett
• Laura

Keystone Origins: As talented as I am a stand-up comedian, perhaps instead I'll knock out what I believe are the easiest Elite connections to the keystones.

Ruby, "the seal of pain" (quotations are ripped from Sirius' speech when accessing the Reborn Ruins below the Grand Stairway.)

Heather had received the Ruby Ring from her father, and is a confirmed member of the Elite Four. In regards to pain, between the betrayal of Heather's

father participating in Team Meteor, Corey's suicide, and Heather's running away from home and eventual abuse by Doctor Sigmund and Blake, Heather is

already no stranger to pain. Thus, the Ruby Keystone should be rightfully her's.

In addition, we have confirmation from Episode 14, that Heather's mother was previously a member of the Elite Four, and that the Ruby Ring formerly belonged to her mother.

Emerald, "the seal of faith"

El had retrieved the Emerald Keystone from his daughter Luna, although with him being the original owner. At his exposition, it is obvious that El is a religious

man. With his aims to resurrect Arceus, and his management of an entire devoted cult, with which he attempted to preform a mental cleansing on his own

daughter's mind, we can establish his clear ties to faith. Also, keeping up the father-daughter theme, I love it.

That leaves two Elite Four Members and two Keystones. The next easiest to explain would be the Amethyst Keystone, "the seal of the beyond."

Continuing this pattern, Anna would be bound to the Elite Four by the Amethyst Pendant, which she received from her parents, and holds on to while in the custody of Sigmund, fretting anxiously at its theft. I don't think it takes much to link Anna to the beyond, considering she exhibits some otherworldly abilities. Specifically, I'm referring to her ability to distinguish us with a glow, her reports of hearing voices in Doctor Sigmund's presence, and her description of Cain's eyes as completely black. Additionally, her imaginary friend, Nostra is a Jirachi, the wish pokemon.

To establish Anna's prowess as a potential Elite Four member, I've noted at Anna's exposition, we're treated to the following dialog:

Charlotte: "So, you saw Laura on the way out, yeah? That's my sister. She's also one of Reborn's Elite Four. Awesome kind of runs in our family. No big deal."

Noel: "If you're going to say that, you may as well mention how Anna-"

Anna: "Yeah! Laura's so cool! And Charlotte and Noel are also Gym Leaders~"

Noel: "..."

From this conversation, it's easily implied that Anna wields some prominent position in the Reborn League, based on the timing of Noel's attempted clause and

Anna's swift interruption. As we already know, all the gym leaders, we can establish that she must be either a member of the Elite Four, or the Champion of the

Reborn League. In theory, this could imply that she might be a reserve gym leader (if I want to be lame and destroy my own theory), but for simplicity's sake, I'll

claim otherwise. In fact, it's been brought to my attention Gossip Gardevoir has been on the case!

Gossip Gardevoir: "Today I'm meeting with one of Reborn's strongest trainers! She's big! She's bad-ass! And she's set to tear you a new one--"

Anna: "Hey! I'm not any of those things!"

Gossip Gardevoir: "Only joking! Everyone say hi to Anna!"

Anna: "And Nostra! Don't forget her~"

Gossip Gardevoir: "Yes... Nostra too... Wouldn't want to forget her... Anyway! Anna, you may not be big or bad-ass, but if your rank is and indication, you sure know how to battle. Tell us, what's your secret? How can you be so talented at such a young age?"

Anna: "Huh? I'm not sure I understand the question... Because it doesn't matter how old you are as long as you're good at something, right? There are talented people who are old, so it only makes sense that there would be talented people who are also young."

Gossip Gardevoir: "Surprisingly wise words! Or I guess we shouldn't be surprised by now. Tell us, how did you earn your position?"

Anna: "Oh, Mr. Shadow recommended me for it and Nostra helped me beat all the competition! I owe it to all my friends!"

Gossip Gardevoir: "A shadow and a doll... Right...

Anna: "Miss, have we met before?"

Gossip Gardevoir: "...I'm sorry, what?"

Anna: "I think we met before. Nostra thinks so too."

Gossip Gardevoir: "Well, it's only natural that I should seem familiar! I am, after all, a celebrity."

Anna: "Oh you are? That's so cool! I thought you were just a random Gardevoir who wanted to talk."

Gossip Gardevoir: "I-- You... haven't heard of me?"

Anna: "Nu-uh."

Gossip Gardevoir: "..."

In this rather recent interview, Anna has been established as "one of the best," and she admits that she "beat out all the rest" to gain her rank. Of course, this

could support a conflicting theory that Anna is our champion, but from my perspective, this isn't so obviously drawn out. For instance, Anna could have beaten

out the rest among Psychic Trainers, the single type in which she specializes in. Either way, we're pretty set on the assumption that Anna is the master of

Psychic types. The Elite Four are subsequently highly respected and the honors dedicated to them shouldn't deviate too far from that of the Champion.

Additionally, after all the mayhem Amethyst has caused us thus far, I don't find it likely that our Champion will submit to a single type akin to how the Elites

ultimately must.

My position is that this probably affirms Anna's status as our fourth member of the Elite Four, with her having ties to bound to one of the four keystones in sync

with the other Elites I've discussed thus far.

This leaves just one more Keystone, the Sapphire Keystone, the seal of love, which is FIRMLY in the possession of... Amaria, the water gym leader? This requires some hefty explanation...

Upon meeting Amaria and Titania at the Fiore Mansion, you're told a number on the Sapphire Bracelets, and how they were a gift from Titania. Conveniently,

Amaria idly asks Titania from where she had received the Sapphire Bracelets, with which she replied:

"A long time ago, I was wandering around in the Chrysolia Region and found a hidden lake. Across the lake, the ground was covered in ash. Some building

had burned down. It was partly buried in the ash, but completely unharmed by the flames. It seemed important, so I took it with me."

When I first came across this strand of text, I found it inconsequential and quickly forgot it, although this mysterious origin story gives off more clues than at first

glance. At some point I made the connection that perhaps the charred building mentioned here could be the former home of our resident Firebug, Charlotte,

and of course, her sisters Laura and Saphira. What's that? In the Chrysolia Region? A hidden lake? Burned down!? That CERTAINLY sounds like Laura,

Charlotte, and Saphira. My primary assumption here is the Sapphire Keystone once belonged to Laura and the rest of her family, that was before Sirius burned

down their house and completely ruined everyone's day. Not cool, Sirius. Also, it would also be fun to mention how the eldest sibling is named Saphira, could

this perchance be a namesake to said Keystone? This could be the nail in the coffin that connects the bracelets to Laura, our precious terminated Elite Four

darling.

Additionally, during our short stay in the Chrysolia Region, Laura actually refers to losing these same Sapphire Bracelets in the fire, making those now in

Amaria's possession the same that once belonged to Laura. In regards to the seal of love, despite sounding attributable to Amaria and Titania, their love isn't

particularly pure. Whilst reading Titania's diary, we learn that love is a facade to keep Amaria feeling secure and joyous. However, love itself is ambiguous, so

these same Sapphire Bracelets could stand in representing the bond between sisters Charlotte, Laura, and Saphira; sisterly love, that new kind of love Disney

won't shut up about these days? Yeah, that. It conquers what a kiss from an attractive specimen of the opposite sex cannot.

Conclusion: TL;DR

So, I've basically attributed each of the four keystones to a separate person, who each has their secured their own position within the Elite Four, except for Laura because she was fired, sorry Laura.

Ruby - Heather

Amethyst - Anna

Emerald - El

Sapphire - Laura

Assuming these are all valid connections, and I solved the puzzle just like Amethyst wanted us to (Reborn knows Ame likes her puzzles), perhaps could we attribute a greater purpose to the Elite Four? Could it be suggested, Instead of mere hurdles before the Champion, in Reborn, could they potentially be some sort of guardians for said Keystones? I'll not dwell on that because it's a whole different can of worms.

But wait... how does Bennett play into all of this? Well, unfortunately, he kind of doesn't. My assumption is after the beautiful fire show Sirius put on, Laura lost possession of her Keystone, giving her the excuse to be eventually booted with the proper nudge from El, thus giving Bennett the opportunity to hop aboard.

Closing off, I'd like to speculate the Elite Four would be:

Heather,

El,

Bennett,

and Anna. I have no idea who the Champion is though so um... not these guys?

So does anyone else have anything to add to either strengthen the evidence provided in my argument, or anything to derail this theory and submit me to crying in the corner? Maybe you can even elaborate on some things where I'm vague. I'd love to hear it.

Ame. Ame. Am I right? I know you're not going to tell me if I'm right or not, but am I right?

Edited December 28, 2015 by IdleThoughts

[Azeria]

Actually;it wasn't Charlotte who burnt down the house. It was our favourite dickface;Sirius. Aside from that interesting theory....

[Omega_Ra1der]

One interview would like destroy half of the theory and Anna part completely.

As for the interview... I think I'm going to transcribe the whole thing with line-by-line commentary.

"Today I'm meeting with one of Reborn's strongest trainers!"

Huh, sounds like maybe an El or Laura interview. Or I mean, I suppose there's the other option...

"She's big! She's bad-ass! And she's set to tear you a new one--"

Oh, not Anna. Sapphira.

Anna: "Hey! I'm not any of those things!"

Or I was right the first time. This is the interview I REALLY wanna see.

G: "Only joking!

Everyone say hi to Anna!"

A: "And Nostra! Don't forget her~"

You can already tell this interview is gonna be awesome.

G: "Yes... Nostra too...

Wouldn't want to forget her..."

Now, I have to wonder with this. Gardevoir's a strong psychic pokemon. Is she hesitating because Nostra is just a doll, or because she can sense something far, FAR more at work.

After all, since when does Gardevoir get thrown off by people being weird?

"Anyway! Anna, you may not be big or bad-ass, but if your rank is and indication, you sure know how to battle."

I'd say E4/Champ confirmed, but from the Orphanage, we more or less already knew she was one of those. Y'know, unless there's a Reborn Frontier that's been kept a really big secret.

"Tell us, what's your secret? How can you be so talented at such a young age?"

A: "Huh? I'm not sure I understand the question..."

Hmm, gotta wonder whether she's going somewhere with this, or being evasive.

"Because it doesn't matter how old you are as long as you're good at something, right?"

Well hey, she WAS going somewhere with it.

"There are talented people who are old, so it only makes sense that there would be talented people who are also young."

G: "Surprisingly wise words! Or I guess we shouldn't be surprised by now. Tell us, how did you earn your position?"

Get ready, we're about to get some evasion hax that'd make smogon cringe.

A: "Oh, Mr. Shadow recommended me for it and Nostra helped me beat all the competition! I owe it to all my friends!"

That was direct. We already knew Shade recommended Noel from his profile, I believe. Or at least I theorised it. More fuel for the "Shade is their dad, not Radomus" theory, I guess.

G: "A shadow and a doll... Right...

Well, your talent certainly is undeniable."

Champiooooonnnnn

A: "Miss, have we met before?"

G: "...I'm sorry, what?"

A: "I think we met before. Nostra thinks so too."

Do my ears mistake me? Or is that the sound of PLOT?

G: "Well, it's only natural that I should seem familiar! I am, after all, a celebrity."

Alternatively, this could be a sign of the 'Radomus is their dad' theory.

A: "Oh you are? That's so cool! I thought you were just a random Gardevoir who wanted to talk."

Classic Anna right there.

G: "I-- You... haven't heard of me?"

A: "Nu-uh."

G: "..."

[Xiri]

There was speculation like this before - where it was discussed that the Elite Four members were connected to the four keys. But yeah, clever thinking

[dead account]

One interview would like destroy half of the theory and Anna part completely.

As for the interview... I think I'm going to transcribe the whole thing with line-by-line commentary.

"Today I'm meeting with one of Reborn's strongest trainers!"

Huh, sounds like maybe an El or Laura interview. Or I mean, I suppose there's the other option...

"She's big! She's bad-ass! And she's set to tear you a new one--"

Oh, not Anna. Sapphira.

Anna: "Hey! I'm not any of those things!"

Or I was right the first time. This is the interview I REALLY wanna see.

G: "Only joking!

Everyone say hi to Anna!"

A: "And Nostra! Don't forget her~"

You can already tell this interview is gonna be awesome.

G: "Yes... Nostra too...

Wouldn't want to forget her..."

Now, I have to wonder with this. Gardevoir's a strong psychic pokemon. Is she hesitating because Nostra is just a doll, or because she can sense something far, FAR more at work.

After all, since when does Gardevoir get thrown off by people being weird?

"Anyway! Anna, you may not be big or bad-ass, but if your rank is and indication, you sure know how to battle."

I'd say E4/Champ confirmed, but from the Orphanage, we more or less already knew she was one of those. Y'know, unless there's a Reborn Frontier that's been kept a really big secret.

"Tell us, what's your secret? How can you be so talented at such a young age?"

A: "Huh? I'm not sure I understand the question..."

Hmm, gotta wonder whether she's going somewhere with this, or being evasive.

"Because it doesn't matter how old you are as long as you're good at something, right?"

Well hey, she WAS going somewhere with it.

"There are talented people who are old, so it only makes sense that there would be talented people who are also young."

G: "Surprisingly wise words! Or I guess we shouldn't be surprised by now. Tell us, how did you earn your position?"

Get ready, we're about to get some evasion hax that'd make smogon cringe.

A: "Oh, Mr. Shadow recommended me for it and Nostra helped me beat all the competition! I owe it to all my friends!"

That was direct. We already knew Shade recommended Noel from his profile, I believe. Or at least I theorised it. More fuel for the "Shade is their dad, not Radomus" theory, I guess.

G: "A shadow and a doll... Right...

Well, your talent certainly is undeniable."

Champiooooonnnnn

A: "Miss, have we met before?"

G: "...I'm sorry, what?"

A: "I think we met before. Nostra thinks so too."

Do my ears mistake me? Or is that the sound of PLOT?

G: "Well, it's only natural that I should seem familiar! I am, after all, a celebrity."

Alternatively, this could be a sign of the 'Radomus is their dad' theory.

A: "Oh you are? That's so cool! I thought you were just a random Gardevoir who wanted to talk."

Classic Anna right there.

G: "I-- You... haven't heard of me?"

A: "Nu-uh."

G: "..."

How does that interview destroy this theory? There is nothing there that could be implying that Anna is the champion any more than it implies that she is one of the Elite Four(if there is, at least put it in bold).

"Well, your talent certainly is undeniable." How is that supposed to mean Anna is definitely the champion? You seem to forget that the Elite Four are also among the strongest trainers in the region. Their talent should be undeniable, or else they wouldn't be called the "Elite Four."

[IdleThoughts]

Oh yeah... It was Sirius! I forgot about that part. I'm just now starting my second run, so I may of forgotten that little detail. Good thing that doesn't disprove it, I'll have to edit my post to fix that. Thanks!

There was another topic like this? Do you know of the thread? I'd love to check it out and see if they found something I have not.

As for the Interview, it does indeed establish that Anna is a powerful trainer, but it doesn't clearly state her position. Just saying that she's one of the best doesn't outright confirm her position. When Anna indicates she beat out all the rest, we don't know EXACTLY what she beat out all the rest in, perhaps she beat out all the rest in her chosen type, as any member of the Elite would do? But I'll give you credit, this certainly IS something to think about, and perhaps I should add this in via a spoiler to give anyone that to consider as well. Thanks for the information though.

On another note, I just noticed how I connected Laura to the Sapphire Bracelets and her eldest sister is named Sapphira, a namesake perhaps?

Edited September 1, 2015 by IdleThoughts

[Foamy]

Saphira's name has only one "P" in it. /nitpick

[IdleThoughts]

A nitwit like me deserves to be nitpicked.

Anyways, I'll be sure to fix it.