Shades of Black and Red [Reborn Theory]

[Winter]

Hello, it’s ya [insert gender here] Winter, back at it again with the theory shit.

 

A few days ago I made a theory about Reborn’s Elite Four, and how we will fight them. There were a few things I wanted to include in that post, but since those things weren’t directly related to the main theory I decided to leave them out, and save them for a separate theory. 

 

That’s this theory right here, specifically it’s about Anna and the prophecy told to us by Miss Direction. To recap, the prophecy describes a future where we do not exist, where Fern becomes hero of Reborn instead of us with the help of, among others, Anna and a woman in a red and black suit. At the end of the prophecy it’s mentioned that Anna makes a wish on Nostra, which leads to the mystery lady disappearing, and the timeline with us in it being created.

 

Multiple people have made theories about that prophecy already, and while that prophecy probably is important, I believe it’s only one part of the puzzle. Let’s not forget that Miss Direction isn’t the only character with the ability the predict the future. The first of these characters we met as early as Episode 3; the talking Gothitelle that runs the Beryl Library. When we return to the city after defeating Ciel this Gothitelle says that ”You will meet the void. It will embrace you. This much is inevitable. What happens after that, however… That, not even Arceus must know.”

 

That certainly sounds like a future where we don’t exist. But why would Gothitelle know this to begin with? Sure, Gothitelle’s Pokédex entries mentions that it can predict the future, but if that were true why wouldn’t Gothitelle know what happens after we disappear? Is it possible there is some other reason Gothitelle knows what will happen to us? An NPC in the library mentions that Gothitelle’s past is unknown, because they don’t like to talk about it. What if the reason Gothitelle doesn’t talk about their past, and doesn’t say much about our future is because our future IS their past. Let me explain: We know that our timeline was created by Anna’s wish in a previous timeline, and that this wish made the mystery lady disappear. What if this wish also somehow sent a young Gothita, Anna’s own Pokémon, back in time? This Gothita then created the Beryl Library, and filled it with information that might one day be useful for preventing the horrible fate that happened to Gothitelle’s original timeline.

 

We already know that this Gothitelle knows more than a regular Gothitelle could. For one they can talk, a trait shared by fellow Psychic-type Gossip Gardevoir. In Gossip Gardevoir’s interview with Anna, the latter says she finds the former familiar. (Possibly due to Anna being Radomus’s daughter) We already know that Anna can communicate with Nostra and Nomos, with Nostra being implied to be a real Jirachi. It’s possible Anna can talk to all of her Pokémon, and that Gothitelle might have learned to talk to other humans as well. Gossip Gardevoir’s ability to speak might have something to do with Anna as well.

 

Possibly the most important piece of information in the Beryl Library is the Field Effect Read-Out for the New World Field, obtained by pressing colored books in the same order as the one listed in ”Light’s End”. Now, why would this even exist? Florinia invented the Field Notes Dex not too long ago, so any Field Effect Read-Outs must have been created recently. How could there possibly be a Read-Out for the New World Field, unless someone in our timeline has already witnessed the creation of a New World? Considering the Read-Out is found in Beryl Library the only explanation is that Gothitelle is that someone. In the previous timeline, the one described in the prophecy, Lin (Or possibly someone else) succeeded in their plan to create a New World. As a last resort Anna made a wish upon Jirachi that lead to Anna’s Gothita being sent back in time and the mystery lady disappearing, creating a new timeline with us in it.

 

Speaking of that mystery lady, I should probably talk about her huh? It’s seems most people assume she hasn’t appeared in the game, given how there’s no one that fits her description and the prophecy says she disappears anyways. But are we sure she disappeared for good? Why would this woman be mentioned if she wasn’t going to be important to the plot? And then there’s also Amethyst saying that we’ve met all the characters in the story already, so it’s not like she’s going to show up later and be someone we’ve never met before. This leaves only option open, that we have met her already. But who is she? The only things we know about her is that: She wears black and red, she’s taciturn and she’s a woman.

 

Well, there is one character that hits two of those points. You’ve probably realized who considering I put their name in the title of this thread, it’s Shade. Yup, the Entity himself(?) is the mystery lady we’ve all been speculating over. While this might seem like a crackpot theory, I’m convinced this is the case. Just think about it, Shade’s color scheme consists entirely of Red and Black. (Well, his teeth are white I suppose. Actually, it’s gonna be confusing to refer to Shade as ’he’ in this theory, I’m going to use they/them pronouns when referring to Shade for the rest of this post.) Not to mention, they’re the most quiet character we know, speaking in so many ellipses they give Red a run for his money. The main problem with this theory is that Shade is a boy ghost. At least this is what we’re lead to believe since Anna refers to them as ”Mr. Shadow”, and everyone else uses male pronouns for them. But honestly I kind of doubt anyone has asked Shade directly what their gender is, they could be a woman for all we know.

 

So Shade is black and red, is taciturn and maybe a woman. All of these things could be coincidences, but there is much more evidence to be considered. Let’s circle back to Anna, she’s one of the only characters with a known connection to Shade, and just so happens to also have a connection to the mystery woman. We know that Shade was the one that recommended Anna and Noel to the league, but it’s never really explained why. If we assume that in Shade’s original timeline Lin succeeded in her plans, it’d make sense for Shade to try to keep the Amethyst Pendant safe by making Anna a member of the Elite Four. Furthermore, it’s implied that Shade helped Luna escape from El, which could be both to protect Luna and to keep the Emerald Brooch away from El.

 

Remember when I said there were multiple characters in Reborn that can predict the future? Shade is the last of these, and unlike Miss Direction and Gothitelle there really isn’t a reasonable explanation to Shade’s future vision abilities. Yet their predictions have been the most accurate; Kiki’s death and Amaria’s suicide attempt happened exactly as Shade predicted them. From the way I see it, the most likely explanation for Shade knowing what will happen in the future is because they are from the future. They are from a doomed timeline where Lin wins, and was sent back in time by Anna’s wish and somehow lost their body. Since then, they’ve done everything they can to prevent such a future from happening again.

 

In fact, Shade has been watching over and protecting us from the very beginning. In E17 redone intro, they appears in front of Ame to notify her that the train is gonna crash. This makes Ame react and she manages to push herself and the MC out the window, saving our lives. If it wasn’t for Shade, Ame wouldn’t have reacted fast enough and we would have perished. Without us in Reborn City, things would have played out just like in the prophecy, without us to compare himself to Fern would have become a hero himself. But once again, he would have lost.

 

Actually, it’s probably not a coincidence that Team Meteor happened to bomb the train station just as we were pulling in, but that’s has it’s own implications… A theory for another time I guess!

 

TL;DR: In the previous timeline, Team Meteor won. Anna made a wish on Nostra that lead to us being brought into existence, and Anna’s Gothita and the mystery lady being sent back in time. Gothita became the Gothitelle that runs the Beryl Library. The mystery lady lost her body and became Shade. Since then Shade has been watching over us and doing everything they can to prevent Lin from achieving her goal again.

 

So yeah, don’t count out a side character with barely any lines. They could end up being one of the most important characters in the entire story ~

 

/Winter

[Ragxenak]

1 hour ago, Winter said:

Kiki’s death and Amaria’s suicide attempt happened exactly as Shade predicted them. From the way I see it, the most likely explanation for Shade knowing what will happen in the future is because they are from the future. They are from a doomed timeline where Lin wins, and was sent back in time by Anna’s wish and somehow lost their body. Since then, they’ve done everything they can to prevent such a future from happening again.

I kind of disagree with this, since on his gym they told us that of all the visions only two were a fake death (which we can safely assume its been our survival to Solaris Garchomp attempt at decapitation), yet Amaria survives her suicide attempt (unless we consider her partial amnesia a kind of death). So I lean more to the fact that Titania will switch clothes and be our Red and Black clothed woman (since she is more of an introvert kind).

Edited July 18, 2018 by Ragxenak
Bad memory, slip up

[MadHappy]

I think you're onto something here, as is pleasant to see another theorist. 

 

By my guess, a thing that could support your claim is that Absol that keeps appearing. Let's remember: Absol's Pokedex entry is : 

Quote

Absol, the Disaster Pokémon. Absol live in steep mountainous regions, and rarely venture down into areas inhabited by humans, but should an Absol be seen by humans, it is said that catastrophe is soon to follow.

Or rather:

Quote

Absol, the Disaster Pokémon. When disasters are detected with its horn, Absol comes down from the mountains to warn people.

 So my guess: While Absol appeared and disaster struck multiple times - the train explosion with the other passengers dying in the water at the beginning of the game ( the water was so acid it melted boats, so they were f*ked, to say it blunt ), Kiki's death and other moments I don't remember clearly ( I will as I will replay the game ) - it's trying to save you. This Pokemon somehow knows events, just like Gothitelle , and can sense them. That's why you trigger it's event by having the Ill Fated Doll in your inventory - it senses the danger it will cause in the future. It's not the first time in Pokemon games where if you have a certain Pokemon with you could turn up new stuff - one prime example that I still remember is N's dialogue in B/W2 if you have Zorua/Zoroak in your party. 

 

Now, Shade is a special case. I will not talk about his strange appearances, having somehow transformed Corey into a Gengar ( you thought Shade simply disposed the body of Corey? ), but his predictions in his gym ( 3 of which already happened ) and the one in the Sewer :

Quote

Forget not: Four screens foretold four souls' fortune forsaken, for, forsooth, for, foreshadowed, only two will be taken. 

(what a mouthfull)

I'm diving into another theory already, in which i guess we can bring back Corey and Kiki, but sacrifice Amaria and Lin, i think.

But, coming back to our theory, it also shows Shade can see into the future, or, nonetheless, saw what the future holds. 

As you said yourself, Shade saw all four deaths happen : Amaria's suicide attempt, Kiki killed by  Solari's Garchomp, and Corey's successful suicide (excluding Lin until we see it in-game)

And to what happens to us, well: that's where the relationship system kicks in. We get and lose points with certain characters with our actions. If we have a high enough score, who knows. There isn't any consequence if we have a high amount of points with someone or not, but this system might be crucial to the endgame. It might be the way for us, the players and our characters, to survive. That's why Gothitelle says : "What happens after that, however… That, not even Arceus must know." Not even Arceus must know the aftermath of this crucial moment, our entering into the void. Although, in my opinion, it should've been : That, not even Arceus knows.", to suggest multiple endings. But idk, we can only wait and see.

Sorry if this theory sounds strange, i'm dead tired as I made it.

 

EDIT @Ragxenak does have a point with the Lady in Black and Red being Titania. Although , Amaria fakes her amnesia, and also tries to kill us so she and Titania stay together( if you take the Reshiram route that is ).

Edited July 18, 2018 by MadHappy

[Ragxenak]

7 minutes ago, MadHappy said:

EDIT @Ragxenak does have a point with the Lady in Black and Red being Titania. Although , Amaria fakes her amnesia, and also tries to kill us so she and Titania stay together( if you take the Reshiram route that is ).

Well thanks, and I do believe she is our woman since the more pissed off she is the less she talks. And considering how we end with her after the gym time, we can consider she is mighty pissed off at us, meteors and more or less everyone. 

What did happen if you took Zekrom route? I read it and forgot, and may be related.

[MadHappy]

@Ragxenak Amaria won't try to drown you, taka lives, and you fight Zekrom in Titania's gym. But I believe Reshiram is the good run as it shows the true face of Amaria.