The unconnected dots in Pokemon Reborn

[Fallen King]

As it happens in many great pieces of literature, there's much more than meets the eye in this game. Behind the scenes, there's a multitude of stories that
either will come to us later, are merely hinted, or will hide from all but the most shrewd readers at all. As we haven't seen the end of the plot, it would
be presumptuous to pretend to have all the answers: I can only guarantee to bring questions, but more often than not, the right questions are the paviment on
which we walk towards the truth.

 

I will often quote walls of text from the game, as it will not only help you to better understand the context of these claims, but will also ease you the
opportunity to dispute them, correct them, or taking them even further away. I will also quote other users from this forum, as they have unveiled several
fundamental pillars on which the plot rests.

 

As it's obvious, I may make use of everything that has been revealed in both the main story, the side quests and the extra dialogue, so If you haven't played
up to the end of Episode 18, I strongly advise you to stop reading until then. There may also be hints about what will happen in Episode 19, so read with
caution. Given that it is a very long text, feel free to read each different section at different times, so that it's a lesser effort.

 

Spoiler

 

For those of you who have been following the discussion from Episode 16, the first section will probably not be much more than a recap. Please understand that I
want to cover as many details as possible so that nothings slips away, so feel free to jump to the other sections.

 

Before the beginning

Spoiler

 

On December 16, 2016, pyrromanis said:

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On the server me

@Odybld, @Bazaro and @Guzam have already speculated the theory that this is an altarnate universe that is part of a loop. There are various hints about that
throughout the E16 content.

 

 

Bazaro takes the witness and explains the theory in ample detail, so I'll quote him directly:

On December 16, 2016, Bazaro said:
    

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Basically, Reborn is in a time loop that has been reset several times already. The more the resets happened, the more people are aware of them (Ms Direction
+ there's a man in one of the parks who mentions how the night sky could just disappear in an instant (implying he somehow remembers when the universe
resets)) Fern was the main hero in most, if not, all of the previous loops, aided by Cal, Arclight, etc. But every time, something would go wrong. Arclight
would die when the fissures opened in the city. Cal would go back to being afraid of Blake. Reborn would fall. And Nostra (Anna's Jirachi) would reset the
universe over and over until it got something right. Jirachi has the ability to grant a wish every 1000 years before it falls back to sleep, so this wouldn't
be too far-fetched.

As to what Nostra really is, we think it might be the Meteor mentioned in Elias's books. They mention how Arceus was created from whatever power is in this
Meteor, and Arceus used the "stardust" to fabricate new worlds from those in the past (look up direct quotes, I don't have them offhand) In other words,
Nostra created Arceus, likely with one of its wishes. Arceus is able to fabricate new worlds similar to the way Nostra was able to, so now two magical wish
creatures exist. Arceus, being a creature that transcends all concept of reality, is likely able to continue existing even after the world gets reset (by its
own powers) So Nostra wished Arceus who wished yet another New World. Then, when people inside the loop started to understand Arceus, they tried to control
it and use its power for their own doings. Like resetting the world to their own design ("I can see EVERYTHING from up here!" ~ Glitch City) This leaves
Nostra's wish untouched, meaning they could wish for anything. Maybe someone wished to be able to control Arceus (the 6 keys (yes there's 6, not just 4. The
Ivory and Gold Keys are mentioned in another one of Elias' books)) or maybe they wished they could exist in future resets to warn people of the impending
loops (Shade?) or maybe they wished a competent hero to save the day.

Anna has a special connection to Nostra, but it doesn't have to be Anna who made the wish. Personally, I believe Lin has used at least one of Nostra's wishes
to make her continue existing throughout the time loop. If she lived one continuous existence without ever changing, she might continue to age normally, even
as everyone else gets set back exactly how they were at the beginning of the time loop. That would explain how she is so much older than everyone remembers
her. She probably also kidnapped her younger self, to prevent Young Lin from doing what Real Lin did several resets ago and interfering with her plan.
There's no real basis for this claim, just a theory.

Elias is aware that some greater force created Arceus, and he is aware of the time loops. He feels powerless to the time loops, as he only says "and the city
shall live up to its name once more." If he ever realized that controlling Arceus means he could break the time loop, that means either he succeeds in
summoning Arceus and wants to keep the time loop, or he fails to summon/control Arceus in all of the previous time loops. If Lin "hacked" this loop, she
likely steals Arceus for herself. Shade I believe is a being from the previous timelines, somehow living through them again and again. He has the videos of
the future probably because he's already seen them, over and over again. 

Lin is shown exploding in one of Shade's videos, but his message in the WTC says that of the 4 videos, only 2 will truly lose everything (Kiki and Corey),
meaning Lin somehow planned for her "death." Perhaps she used one of Nostra's previous wishes for immortality?

 

 

This refers to a fair share of material to investigate, which I'll gladly directly paste from the game.

Subseven Sanctum's literature

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- Rebirth and the New World
"When one door closes, another opens. And there shall come a day, as is foretold by the prophets of old, and on that day,
It shall come to pass: Our world shall end.
'Light shall consumeth all within its cleansing fires.' -- Arceus 23-3
From its ashes, a New World shall begin.
Nascor, Nasci, Natus, the Lord Arceus."

 

- Charge of the Faithful
"So be it the duty of all, human and Pokémon alike:
'Bestow light upon thy brethren; give sight to the blind and life to the lost. Arceus shall grant thee favour in the New World.'" -- Arceus 12-3"

- The Lord's Blessing
"From the darkness, from stardust,
From the memories of eons passed and visions of eons yet to come,
from these things did the Lord Arceus mold the heavens, the Earth, and all that walk upon it." -- Arceus 2-4

 

- In Worship of the Lord
"Praise the Lord. Worship the Lord. Bequeath thy soul unto the Lord, that he might cleanse thee of the impurity.
'All shall be white before the eyes of the Lord Arceus.'" -- Arceus 16-5

 

- Remnants of the New World
"When our Lord Arceus had at last finished crafting the world from stardust, what then should the divine do with the remnants of immateria?
These forgotten fragments of reality have been sealed away in the Sacred Land.
Behind stone doors, four pillars of light bind the New World to a shadow of our own.
Yet, the sleeping legend remains. 'The Lord Arceus shall come again. The New World, too, shall be Reborn.'" -- Arceus 38-27

 

- Light's End
"So kind was light to show us mercy, then in its shade we festered heresy.
Twixt three stones, each shaded void, six pillars shone, their truth deployed:
Emerald, Crimson, Violet, Gold, Azure and Ivory seal as told.
Take heed of its prison, o ye foolish men, for the blackest beast lies at light's end." [No reference]

 

There's an extra untitled and hidden book, in which Elias talks about his own background, as well as Solaris'. It's long and it serves to understand those
characters, but it's of little use to quote it entirely.

Beryl Library's Secret Room

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- Destiny's End
"In the beginning, there was nothing.
This non-existance was nearly perfect. But in not being completely perfect, existence was inevitable.
When entropy first came into the world, it must have failed.
And for the next infinite number of times that entropy was created, all of them must also have failed.
However, eventually one of them would not.
That single successful instance of entropy-- a mere flaw in the fabric of non-existence-- was simply a tautological certainty.
And we who live within it were destined to see it, and it alone.
Destiny does not pull us towards it. It is not a fated end.
Rather, from a beginning, it is the only logical outcome.
When the world as we know it was created, it was given form. At that time, so did that what created it give itself a form. This is the Pokémon we know as Arceus.
And so at that time that which created this world also create a means for its new form to have been itself created.
This, of course, following all of the laws of physics that Arceus was writing into place, must have been the meteor.
The meteor enshrined below Reborn is often said to be that upon which Arceus first came into this world.
And while every piece of physical evidence would verify that claim, in reality, it was only constructed to serve that purpose in whatever retrospect may have
existed before the process of time was created.
Those astronomic and geological events that would set such a meteor in motion so as to crash onto out planet, were all determined long after they must have
ocurred.
Therefore, what is not to say that this world that we are experiencing is the same?
Every event set into motion as we know it, is simply a logical outcome of what happened in the past,
And what must happen in the future for Arceus to be realized.
When the world as we know it was created, it was given form.
At that time, so did that which created it give itself a form.
This is the Pokémon we know as Arceus, but Arceus is not complete.
And so at that time did that which created this world also create a means for its new form to have been itself created.
This world is that means.
Arceus will complete itself yet.
Until it does, each and every one of us, each molecule in this constructed world, each thought in our predetermined lives,
is just a means to Destiny's End."

 

This text requires a deeper reading. We'll come back to it later.

 

In the same library, Gothitelle says:
"You will meet the void. It will embrace you. This much is inevitable. What happens after that, however... That, not even Arceus must know."

 

An older man says:
"No one's quite sure who owns [the library], but everyone knows that Gothitelle tends to it.
I remember, back when I first came to Reborn, that little Gothorita that was always helping people out here.
It doesn't talk about its past, but I can't help to think that maybe it once belonged to the person who founded this library.
Of course, that has its own implications..."

 

 

Jasper Ward's Miss Direction. 

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- Miss Direction:
"Very well. I will look through my Crystal Ball again.
I would hope that what I see is different this time, as it sometimes is,
But I know already that it is not.
Ah, ah, ah~ What I see in your future... is hard for me to understand.
It is a future where you do not exist.
It is a future where there were never any traces of you existing.
This is strange, because you are the only one I will ever see such a thing for.
But let me tell you about this world you are not in.
During a time that this ward is still garnished with a deadly flora,
A boy with a beaded tooth necklace steps forward to destroy the chaos.
He earns friends to fight alongside him.
A man with spiked bracelets...
Another with azure hair...
A girl blessed with a sleeping star...
And a taciturn woman in a black and red suit.
Together, they cut the tainted roots away from this city, purge poison from the lake, and chase fire from the mountain peaks.
And then... The city streets crack, spiked bracelets splinter in the fissure below.
Shining armor strikes, azure hair is redyed red. And enemy of his own blood stands before him,
and beaded hope breaks apart upon the tattered stones of a city forced to live up to its name once again.
The sleeping star invokes a wish.
From there, the suited girl disappears.
And that future follows shortly after."

While I remember about the NPCs that talk about the world suddenly disappearing, I've tried to find them to no avail. If you find them, I'd thank you If you
copied their dialogues here.

There are several questions to tackle here, but let's analyze some things about these texts first.

 

Simply due to method, we should notice that there are three "factions" and at least 5 sources: the religious texts that reference "Arceus XX-XX", the
religious text that doesn't reference "Arceus XX-XX", the author of the hidden book in the library, Gothitelle, and the medium. The religious texts would be
one faction, the library related sources a different one, and the medium the last one.

 

The distinct factions have different objectives, biases and beliefs, while the different sources have different degrees of knowledge. We can assume that all
of the religious texts would belong to one faction, because otherwise those texts wouldn't be freely available for all the believers to read. We can assume
that both the library's author and the Gothitelle would belong to one faction, because the Gothitelle is protecting their deceased master's legacy - once we
analyze its content, we'll notice that they also have the same beliefs or intellectual positions. Finally, Miss Direction must be considered a faction on her
own because she doesn't align with anyone else, apparently.

 

I've taken the freedom of considering that "Light's End" is a different source than the other books in the Subseven Sanctum because it doesn't reference
"Arceus XX-XX". The "Arceus XX-XX" books might be a collection of texts from different prophets, mediums or intellectuals from the same tribe or cult, but it
appears that Light's End was possibly written long after the other texts. It'll take a while before we come back to this detail.

 

It should also be noted that the library faction knows in detail about the religious faction's doctrine, while most of Reborn's citizens don't even know
about its existence. This proves that the founder of the library was in the religious faction for a while, or at least, in contact with them.

 

As for the content of the text: both the religious faction and the medium agree that there was or there will be a different world or timeline, and several
users have explained in detail several reasons about why it is a "was". As far as I know, we don't have proof that they were or weren't several, but as long
as we know that the world went back in time, it's clear that it may happen again.

 

It's also been explained that in Miss Direction's vision, Fern takes the role of the Player Character, while Arclight, Cal, Anna and an unidentified
"taciturn woman in black and red" aid him.

 

As for the library's author, we should note: they want to explain the world's history in a scientific way; they concede that it is tightly linked to Arceus;
they apparently have a deterministic outlook on how the Universe works and they claim that the world is a pre-determined machine that Arceus did set in
motion to complete itself. Even If you made it that far, you may have missed a detail.

 

"Until it does, each and every one of us, each molecule in this constructed world, each thought in our predetermined lives, is just a means to Destiny's
End." Library's author.
"You will meet the void. It will embrace you. This much is inevitable. What happens after that, however... That, not even Arceus must know." Gothitelle

 

Both the library's author and Gothitelle defend at the start that there are events that are pre-determined, destined to happen, but their vision isn't
deterministic as they add Ending Clauses: <[Once Arceus is created, the destiny ends]>, and <[Once you have met the void, not even Arceus has determined what
will follow]>.

 

From there, the library's author would follow that: "I can't prevent Arceus' 'birth', but then we may have a chance to decide what happens next", and you
would follow that: "Once I'm embraced by the void, whatever comes next won't be decided by an higher force."

Of course, it's always healthy to keep an skeptical attitude, even from those who appear to be guided by reason, but I suspect that, sooner than later, we
will find that the library's author has done their fair share of calculations.

 

  Giratina and the fabric of Arceus' world

Spoiler

 

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"Wonderful! Let's start with this. Did you know that long ago, Ametrine Mountain used to be a volcano?
But that's not all! Pyrous Mountain in Apophyll used to be as frigid as Ametrine now is!
Legends from an old civilization say that the day their civilization ended was the day that Giratina came to Reborn.
They say the dragon was in a frenzy, and all around it bizarre things would happen.
Objects would disappear, lands would be spun upside down, and whole towns were transported across the region in the blink of an eye.
According to the stories, by the time the dimensional warrior finally settled in the south-east of the region, its chaos had already sealed the fate of
Reborn.
Ametrine froze, and every speck of magma turned into crystal clear ice water.
Pyrous erupted all at once, a volley of smoke and snow upheaved from its peak.
The lava bled down the slope, burning away what traces of lives had been there in what now is Apophyll.
And in the months to follow, the rising temperatures thawed the snow, which formed what is now Azurine Lake, burying their old city beneath it.
I hear some divers can still find artifacts from those days down there!
As for Giratina...
I wonder what could have happened to it? The record about it ended there."
Jasper's Geologist

Giratina's first mention in the game was given to us as some trivia from this character in Episode 16. Episode 17, however, added a whole new area, the
Mirage Tower, which, according to Taka, was linked to the period mentioned.

 

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"The text on here is way too faded to read...
All I see is something about 'being chosen' and 'distortion'?
This is...
...
I remember now.
My father took me here once, when I was very young.
He told me a story about our family.
A long time ago, Arceus created the world as we know it.
He also had to retroactively create the method for his arrival on that world.
This was the meteor which our family dedicated themselves and their culture to protecting.
But there was another legendary Pokémon that appeared in Reborn too--
Giratina.
It appeared here after the world's creation, and its very presence began to distort Arceus' holy ground.
So, that legendary Pokémon became the enemy of our ancestors.
They fought, and they won, and supposedly Giratina left the region forever.
But even today there are many distortions in Reborn that could be said to be caused by Giratina's past influence.
This tower...
isn't one of them.
I remember my father telling me that our ancestors made this place to train themselves to withstand Giratina's distortions.
After the Pokémon's defeat, it became a tradition to climb the tower.
And enshrined at the top was... That.
[Player], go ahead. Take it.
The original weapon that defeated Giratina...
...is probably not that one.
Who knows if something like that could even still be around by now?
But at the least, this should be similar.
Maybe a descendant, like I am.
But... I'm not suited to this.
I may have the slayer's blood in me, but by now even water must be thicker than it.
So whether you end up turning that sword on Giratina or Arceus,
I want you to take it.
Come on, let's get out of here."
Taka

According to Pokémon's lore, Giratina was created along with Arceus so that it would manage matter. However, given its incredibly violent behavior, it was
expelled to Distortion World.

 

To the humans who fought Giratina in Reborn's region, defeating it was a matter of life of death - and many did indeed die. What does it mean, however, for
Arceus? In the Arceus sect and the library factions there is a recurring theme: Arceus is destined to be born. The library's author would add: after all, the
laws of this world were made so that it would be its only logical outcome.

 

However, does Giratina even live on this world? If a being that opens a tear in the fabric of the Universe intervenes with a perfect clockwork's machinery -
would the clock still reach midnight when it was expected? After all, the clock's designer didn't build it that way.

 

Let's go back to our geologist's story. According to him, "by the time the dimensional warrior finally settled in the south-east of the region, its chaos had
already sealed the fate of Reborn". If you take a look at Reborn's map, there are two areas in the south-east corner: Chrysolia Forest... And
Byxbysion. It is an area characterized by its chaos: everything gets broken, the soil is filled with poison, there are things that shouldn't be there
everywhere, and we find several references to dead characters. You may have the fake memory that there was a PULSE there, but If you check it again, the
optional boss wasn't powered by a PULSE, and its PULSE entry was the #0, earlier than the original Magneton PULSE itself.

 

At the very least, it is a hot hypothesis to claim that Giratina's tomb, portal or prison being there is causing Byxbysion to be the chaos-filled land that
it is.

 

There are several questions here:
-Could Giratina interfere with Arceus' design, and prevent or even radically change the conditions of its "birth"?
-Could someone want or have wanted to take advantage of it, for good or evil?
-Is the Void connected to Giratina? 
-Is any of these matters connected to the fact that Byxbysion was one of the few areas depicted by Terra in her Glitch World, along with Reborn's center and
the meteorite's tower?

 

Sirius and Radomus

Spoiler

 

"I heard a story once about these 'keys' being purchased from a travelling merchant. I wonder who that might have been?"

A fair amount of Radomus' background was already suspected by the sharp reader. The Episode 18 revealed some factors of the equation. This section won't be
as much making questions, as it'll be summing the answers.

I haven't been able to find the exact quotes, but we know the following: Around 10 years ago, or even sooner, Radomus acquired the 4 keys that Team Meteor
had: Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald and Amethyst. He made someone disguise the keys as jewelry, and sold 3 of them to Corey and the parents of the gym leader
sisters. Corey would give one of them to his wife, who was killed for it, and their key was passed onto Heather. Out of the other parents' keys (and I may
have some wrong detail here), one ended in the hands of Laura and another one in those of Elias. The last key was given from Radomus to Anna, after being in
Radomus' wife possesion. Corey's wife and Laura's parents were all killed by Sirius, who was trying to take the keys.

We also know that Elias and Radomus used to know each other. Given that Radomus took the keys, this would put him in a terrible relation with the Arceus
Cult, for which Elias didn't really feel devotion until recovering sight. Radomus also knew of the location of the Subseven Sanctum, as it's he who hints the
player that they should go there to rescue Luna and Cain. It follows that the relation or even friendship between Radomus and Elias ended at some point
between Radomus stealing the keys and Elias recovering his sight. There's also room for Radomus to have been part of the Arceus Cult or Team Meteor.

In Agate City, after finishing a certain side quest, we find the following notes in a house that used to belong to a member from Team Meteor: "I didn't
know... He tricked me...", "I have to fix it. I'll get them all back...", "History was in my hands, and then my skull. It is written by the winner, so I must
take up the pen. Nose to the grindstone, eye to the needle. The sword follows only after."

In the desert, Taka tells us plenty of things about Team Meteor's inner dynamics. Among them, he talks about how Sirius is more dangerous than his father, as
he has the mentality that "history is written by the victors" and is willing to sacrifice anything to that end. (A collection of Taka's quotes could be
helpful, If anyone has them all)

Putting the pieces of the puzzle together: Sirius, probably before he joined Team Meteor, was the one who was entrusted by Radomus to disguise the keys as
jewelry. After discovering it (probably when he was investigated by Team Meteor), he put as many murders on his own back as he deemed required to take the
keys - though he only managed to keep the one that Solaris would later give to Elias.

 

Shade, Anna, and the golden thread of destiny

Spoiler

 

Quote

"So dying souls offer the keys to your gain...
...Let not them suffer to the poison in vain"
Shade

 

On July 18, 2018, Winter said:

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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

 

 

Quote

"...Huhhhhh, [Player]?
You made it!
Buuuut it's not time to wa--
Wait, what...?
No, this wasn't supposed to--
It wasn't supposed to be like this...
The boy with the broken wing wasn't supposed to--
Wait...
No, I can fix it--
We can still fix this!
Um.
You just do your thing; don't worry about it!!!
Good night!"
Anna

Poor, poor Noel. Had he been born in any other family, or under other circumstances, he would have been special. A particulary gifted and conscious kid, who
has a deep potential to solve logical problems and is constantly aware of the situation. However, as close to unique those talents are for someone his age,
they're far, far away from those of her sister's. I swear, by the time the plot wants us to focus on his particular situation, it'll be to sacrifice himself
to save her, to illustrate how, as much as it pains him, he realizes that she is much more important to save Reborn...

 

But let's not lose ourselves in jokes. Let us remember what we considered in the section "Before the beginning". The library faction and the Arceus Cult
shared something: a totally or partially deterministic approach as to how reality would advance. Now, in order to make predictions about the future, the flow
of time must remain unalterable, this is: If we could use our choices and actions to change the future, predictions about the future would only be
conditional: they couldn't be absolute as otherwise our choices would be predetermined, pointless in the great scheme of things.

 

Why is this metaphysical gibberish important? Because it helps us understand the nature of these characters: is anyone working under a perfect plan? Can we
defy their predictions? If their abilities allow them to see the immovable laws of nature and we surprise them - are we defying the laws of nature?

 

Let us analyze Anna's powers in detail. During one of our early interactions, she opens the orphanage's door claiming that she had "seen us" behind it - not
in the common way in which humans perceive light, but by noticing our "glowiness", according to her words, brighter than anyone else's. She later tells
Shelly that she has "tons of friends", as she's connected by golden threads to many other people. She is unable to see Lin, she tells Serra that her face is
fractured, and she refers to Taka as "the boy with the broken wing".

 

As long as you're slightly open minded, her ability to find us behind a door reveals that the things she sees are, in some way, true. If we have paid
attention to Serra's background and personality, it's easy to notice that she highly values the physical beauty of a person; If we go a little further, she
feels some contempt towards herself due to the unavoidable deterioration that age provokes in her; and If we take our analysis to the extreme, we could argue
that she's obsessed with it, as the puzzle in her gym implies to break the mirror in which symmetry breaks - or the part of our vision where we see our own
imperfections. The metaphor of the fractures in her face (or her soul's face) fits her fairly well. If we analyze her description of Taka, we could make two
interpretations: either he wishes to be a free bird, able to fly away from his father's legacy and organization, or he is an angel who wishes to bring good
to the world, but in both cases there would be reasons that impede him to do so, hence the broken wing.

 

If we read her previous conversation about Taka's death, we can deduce the following: she had, either in her vision or her mind, a general route through
which reality would develop, which would lead us to a nice end, or destination. However, since Taka has died, we have been led astray from that route, but
she then finds that she still has a way to make up for it. Does this mean that, in choosing a route that makes Taka die, we have defied destiny, and altered
the expected course of the world?

 

We can yet learn more about Anna's powers, specifically, during our travel through the void. The first time that we see it, it's perfectly normal to be
confused: some characters talk in direct quotes about their prior meetings with you, others have a much darker vibe, and others directly look like they're
onto something completely different. Now that we can think about the scenario in retrospective, let's separate them in a more useful manner: there are
characters who aren't in the void, but there are reflections or shadows of their past (Fern, Florinia, Radomus); there are characters who are trapped in the
void (Cain, Gardevoir, the player); there are characters who have entered the void (Shade, Luna), and there are characters who are "looking at" or projecting
themselves into the void (Anna). Some characters are in more than one category.

 

When we find Fern, Cain, Shelly, Radomus and others, we're directly looking at their psyches, their inner fights and chaos, their very soul. Sounds pretty
much like what Anna does, doesn't it? Let's make a sharper question. Our route during the void kind of goes in flow with the passage of time. When Luna gets
in our way and invites to leave, she's preventing us from going further.

 

-What would we have found If we had gone beyond the present?
-Would we have seen what Anna saw? What If we had found a static, unmovable future?
-Would that have prevented us from change the future?

 

Just before we close this section, it's worth mentioning that our travel during the void hinted that Winter's points about Shade and the black and red
taciturn woman were correct,

 

And also added:

 

That Shade is Anna's and Noel's mother, Radomus' wife, and most likely, the owner and author of the Beryl Library.

 

The Missing Lin

Spoiler

Quote

 

"Welcome.
I understand that you and your petty shambles of acquaintances have come here to stop me.
How funny.
You thought you were strong together. And here you are now.
Let this be a lesson.
Numbers do not help.
Friends do not help.
Spirit does not help.
In the end, you are still powerless. You are still a victim.
You always will be, won't you?"

 

"Do you understand yet?
You have no control.
You never did, even If your glass-spun egos depend on convincing yourselves otherwise.
You are pigs to be herded. You are pigs to be hurt. Sputter, shiver and squeal. It changes nothing."

 

"No one ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever 
ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever helps."
Lin

 

"What we know about Lin" by Lord Wallace

 

Lin appears to be a personification of power and ruthlessness. Whereas characters like Solaris and Elias have justifications on which they build their
crimes, Lin doesn't care about any greater good or the impact of her actions in other people's well-being. She has her own objectives (which aren't
absolutely clear), and sweeps the floor with anything that gets between them and herself.

 

But is this everything that Lin is? As Lord Wallace comments in his video, it's widely believed that Lin climbed the meteorite tower. And, doesn't she appear
to be there?

 

"Hee hee hee~
This is fun...
Hey... Everybody... Come back and play again sometime, okay?
Let's keep playing together for a long, long time... Isn't that right~? Hehehe..."

 

Of course, there is no proof that this person is also Lin. Only hints, such as the following: During our travel through Terra's virtual world, one of the
Reborn scenarios that we see is the same tower. Upon leaving it, the player hears, or rather, reads:

 

"Hee hee hee~
This is fun...
Hey, everybody... You can pass here onyl if you have the FURYBADGE, isn't that right~?
Oh! That's the FURYBADGE!
Hehe, okay, then you can leave... for now...
But come back and play again sometime, okay?"

 

In the previous section of Terra's world, there's a book that says:

 

"hee hee! this is fun!
i can see everything from here!
and i can make everybody play with me!
it's all thanks to baby arceus!
i'm going to make sure i repay him by setting him free!
then we can all live in the new world together and have lots of fun forever and ever!"

 

If we didn't have the dialogue that we see upon leaving the meteorite tower for the first time, we could easily disregard this personality as something
created by Terra's madness. However, it seems clear that there is or there was one character that has this way of expressing themselves. Given that we know,
thanks to Taka, that Terra joined Team Meteor through Lin, our suspicions just keep adding up. For the sake of easy communication, we'll refer to this
character as "Missing Lin", even though there's no definitive proof that they're the same person.

 

And we'll find evidence that pushes in this direction. Let's compare the psyche of both characters: while Adult Lin is sadist, controlling and ruthless,
Missing Lin "just" enjoys being entertained - and according to Terra's depiction (If we can truly trust it), she appears to want to repay a debt with "baby
Arceus". It also looks like ¿Lin? cares for Terra's well-being within Team Meteor. This definitely looks more like a Missing Lin's trait than Adult Lin's
though.

 

However, between being the same character and not being the same character, there's also the possibility of being both. Extreme idea, perhaps, but there are
two hints that give merit to it.

 

The first one is Shade's gym. When we first enter it, we're shown four sequences of people apparently dying. We saw Corey's one not too long ago at that
moment, and Kiki's and Amaria's would eventually happen. However, after we find out that Amaria remains alive, Shade adds:

 

"Forget not: four screens foretold four souls' fortune forsaken...
...For forsooth, from foreshadowed, only two will be taken."

 

Which, however, didn't make Amaria's fall through the waterfall any less real. The fourth sequence was probably the most disturbing of the lot: Lin lost her
head. It appears to be something that will happen, yet Shade tells us that she won't lose her soul.

 

This has a very simple explanation, though one hard to take. If people lose their souls when they die, and Adult Lin is going to lose her head, which is
definitely something that makes people die, but will not lose her soul: Adult Lin must not have a soul.

 

The second hint is much simpler. We analyzed Anna's powers earlier, and we saw that she sees people's inner beings - their personalities, their torments,
possibly their very souls. However, when Lin is fighting at the top of Tanzan's Mountain, she is the only one unable to see her.

 

The pieces of this puzzle do seem to fit in. But we do not have all of them yet. For now, let's present the following questions:

-Are Missing Lin and Adult Lin the same person? Are they not?
-Is Adult Lin as vessel of Missing Lin's will?
-What is the actual relationship between Missing Lin, Adult Lin and Terra?

 

If we could trust Terra's interpretation of Missing Lin and believe that she wants to "free baby Arceus",
-Why is Team Meteor preparing a PULSE that would allow them to revoke Arceus' will?

 

Before I close this section, there's a thought experiment that I'd like to propose:

 

Let's assume that Missing Lin is pretty close to what we have described, and that Adult Lin is her will's vessel. Let's also assume that Adult Lin has an ego
of her own, and probably a soul.

 

Re-read the Adult Lin's quotes that we started this section with. Pretend that Missing Lin says that to Adult Lin.

 

Once you've done it, pretend that Sigmund says that to Missing Lin, or Missing Lin to herself under Sigmund.

 

The Player and the Lost Keys

Spoiler

 

Quote

- Remnants of the New World
"When our Lord Arceus had at last finished crafting the world from stardust, what then should the divine do with the remnants of immateria?
These forgotten fragments of reality have been sealed away in the Sacred Land.
Behind stone doors, four pillars of light bind the New World to a shadow of our own.
Yet, the sleeping legend remains. 'The Lord Arceus shall come again. The New World, too, shall be Reborn.'" -- Arceus 38-27

Quote

- Light's End
"So kind was light to show us mercy, then in its shade we festered heresy.
Twixt three stones, each shaded void, six pillars shone, their truth deployed:
Emerald, Crimson, Violet, Gold, Azure and Ivory seal as told.
Take heed of its prison, o ye foolish men, for the blackest beast lies at light's end." [No reference]

If there is something that characterizes the Player Character is that they become powerful. It's definitely not an original trait for a protagonist, and If
it's the only defining trait of a character it will probably be considered a bad character - it's, however, the problem of writing a game on the footsteps of
the Pokémon franchise: you'd either have to change a trope in the genre that has never been defied, or use a self-insertinf, blank character, which
definitely doesn't go without problems in a plot as rich as Reborn's.

 

In any case, that's what's the player is: a trainer that becomes so powerful that solves the problems of a world consumed by chaos and conflict. However,
such a story would be boring: in order to avoid that, the Player Character is often faced with threats and obstacles too big for them to overcome, or at
least to do so themselves, in solitary: the multiple times that we face Solaris are varying examples of that.

 

There is one particular threat, however, that feels like someone who could break our neck just by looking at it, that however never defies us directly. I'm
talking, of course, about Adult Lin. To her, it looks like, the player is a tool, or at least a person that is functional to her purposes. Where Lin has no
problem in murdering Taka and Ame, she simply keeps letting the player go. In the most obvious case, she makes all the way to Titania's gym, even If Taka
isn't there, just to make sure that the Player gets the bracelets. However, the Player doesn't keep the bracelets for too long: they end up on the hands of
Laura, an Elite Four member, just like the rest of the keys are on the hands of the rest of the Elite Four.

 

But the Player's utility to Lin doesn't end in being a carrier: during the end of the Agate battle, she could have attacked us when we were alone with her,
yet she just left.

 

Why is the Player so important for Lin?

 

In order to investigate this, let's consider the following: Why would Lin want the four keys in the hands of the people who have been holding them for years?
Shouldn't she try and get them for herself? That would easily allow her to open the gate, right? Well, apparently they are not enough.

 

It was previously stated by other users that there aren't 4 keys, but 6. Several things in the game hint to this, but the most direct one is the following:

"Emerald, Crimson, Violet, Gold, Azure and Ivory seal as told." Light's End, Subseven Sanctum library.

 

However, we haven't seen the Gold nor the Ivory keys anywhere, and we seem to be close to the end of the game. Because we haven't, right? Or have we? What If
the keys aren't physical keys? And, what do we know about the physical keys themselves?

 

Their most highlighted feat is, without a doubt, giving their sight back to Elias. As he himself writes, he gained sight for the first time in his life after
a night sleeping with the Emerald key, after Solaris gave it to him. This is a fairly big evidence that they have some sort of power. What do we know about
the rest of the holders? Laura and Heather don't seem to have any special power, but Anna does, as we have throughly discussed. But If we left it there we'd
be missing something: they all are members of the Elite Four. And, isn't it strange for two girls as young as Anna and Heather to be worthy of that position?

How is it that they are that strong?

-Is it because of their strength that they should hold the keys? Or,
-Is it because of the keys that they are that strong?

 

Extending our doubts: how is it that Solaris' family did have the four keys for such a long period of time, yet they didn't open the door? Shouldn't they
have wanted to do so in order to revive Arceus? Or could it be that

-Are the keys not actual keys, but the means through which the real keys are built?
-Are the real keys the members of the Elite Four, and possibly two other people?

 

If things were to be this way, it would explain why Lin made it so that the physical keys would be in the hands of the Elite Four: she needs them to open the
door. This leads us to the following scenario: the Player is about to collect their last badge, face the Elite Four, and then the champion. But the champion
was murdered by Lin, does that mean that she is the champion? Or does she want the Player to be the champion in order to challenge them? If this were to be
the case,

Quote

 

"I see you have the Bracelets, just as Lin said. (...)

Unlike you, I've learned not to pick fights I know I can't win. I may now be a member of the Elite Four, but even I know better than to go one against two.
Especially when the two are a Rock-type specialist and the golden child themselves." Bennett

 

 

-Is the Player the Golden Key?
-Who, or what is the Ivory Key?
-What is the proccess to make them all open the door?

 

Quote

"Behind stone doors, four pillars of light bind the New World to a shadow of our own.
Yet, the sleeping legend remains. 'The Lord Arceus shall come again. The New World, too, shall be Reborn.'" Remnants of the New World

 

-Were four keys used to make the previous world be reborn?
-Was that not enough for someone's objectives?

Quote

"Take heed of its prison, o ye foolish men, for the blackest beast lies at light's end." Light's End

 

 

-Are the last two keys required to release the blackest beast?
-What is the blackest beast?
-Was the world reborn in order to give us a chance to save it, but we'll be functional for someone who wants to doom it even further?

But even If that were to be the case,

 

Quote

"You will meet the void. It will embrace you. This much is inevitable. What happens after that, however... That, not even Arceus must know." Library's
Gothitelle

-Did the Library's author think that it would all be inevitable, but yet in its doom, there could still be a chance for salvation?

 

 

 

It's taken not only a great deal of time to write this, but also to research it. There were still many things that I wanted to write about, but this was
already getting so long that I was about to cut the Sirius and Radomus section. In any case, I hope you enjoyed it!

 

And of course, I couldn't finish this text without thanking Amethyst and the Reborn Team to make such a jewel of a story a reality. The time I'm going to
have to wait to see the end of it is going to feel really, really long.

[TK3600]

Who is miss direction? Who is Anna and her Jirachi? I never met them and I am past EP18. Also, Miss Direction, misdirection, hhm.

[Ice Cream Sand Witch]

3 minutes ago, TK3600 said:

Who is miss direction? Who is Anna and her Jirachi? I never met them and I am past EP18. Also, Miss Direction, misdirection, hhm.

Miss Direction is part of a sidequest chain in the renovated Reborn City. It's a fetch quest that starts with finding an NPC's ring that she threw in the waters between Coral Ward and Azurine and Apophyll. 

 

If you're past E18 then you have met Anna; she appears frequently in the story including in E18 content.

[TK3600]

3 minutes ago, Ice Cream Sand Witch said:

Miss Direction is part of a sidequest chain in the renovated Reborn City. It's a fetch quest that starts with finding an NPC's ring that she threw in the waters between Coral Ward and Azurine and Apophyll. 

 

If you're past E18 then you have met Anna; she appears frequently in the story including in E18 content.

So that is her. This game has a habit of cramming too many character that are important but that divided our attention so none of them are remembered. I dont recall her Jirachi though. Route specific?

[Ice Cream Sand Witch]

2 minutes ago, TK3600 said:

So that is her. This game has a habit of cramming too many character that are important but that divided our attention so none of them are remembered. I dont recall her Jirachi though. Route specific?

She's holding it. It's a doll named Nostra (but implied to be real).

[TK3600]

By the way on T33ra quote, I thought she meant she could see player struggle in glitch world. Could it be?

[WujiKyurem]

You may never see this, as you haven't been active in a while, but I have to say that this post is an absolute treasure-trove of information.

Aside from the time loop theory and the theory of Young Lin, I personally haven't seen any of these topics be discussed to a significant degree on the forums.

And as it so happens, I've been a firm believer in the theory of 'Shade is Zina' long before the events of E18, so it feels great to finally have an idea be validated by someone else!

 

[WujiKyurem]

@LordWallace you should definitely take a look at this 

 

[BRS swag]

10 hours ago, WujiKyurem said:

I've been a firm believer in the theory of 'Shade is Zina'

Now, that actually makes real sense, cuz Anna knows her well too.

[Ulti]

....I...am speechless. Almost at least.  It was bad enough i was trying to contain my excitement for the finale. 

 

But reading this over just got me even more hyped. Which isn't really a good thing when you have to wait over a month for an update. Lol.

 

This made a scary amount of sense. Of course this over powered sadist of a woman would have a reason for keeping us alive. Needing us to be at our absolute peak of strength to be used as a key. The word 'sacrifice' suddenly comes to mind. 

 

Aside from a couple of things i need to do, I'm staying off the site till next month.

 

Lastly, Please don't hate me for t his.....but is anyone else getting undertale flashbacks with all this talk of resets?