Vol. 2, Issue 8 - Pokémon Legends Celebi: A Concept
This week's feature focuses on a concept for a hypothetical Pokémon Legends Celebi game, which I had tons of fun writing! We also have the latest Pokémon news, and more from the Johto Times mailbag
Another week, another issue of the Johto Times newsletter! Vol. 2, Issue 8 marks the final week before Pokémon Day on February 27th, 2024, a day that will mark 28 years since the original release of Pokémon Red & Green in Japan. For the past few years, the Pokémon Company has marked the occasion with exciting announcements during a live stream on their official YouTube channel. I am happy to confirm that this trend hasn't been broken, and a Pokémon Presents presentation will be happening once again on February 27th, 2024, at 14:00 UTC. I am hopeful for lots of great announcements next week, and you can be sure that Johto Times will recap everything!
In this issue, I wanted to share some ideas I’ve been thinking about for a while: a Pokémon Legends-style game set in the land of ancient Johto, called Legends: Celebi. I am sharing them here in the hope that someday, a game just like it may be created! We’ve also got some Pokémon news and more from the Johto Times mailbag!
On a side note, I was recently invited to take part in a podcast by As The Pokeball Turns to discuss my early memories of Pokémon during ‘Pokémania’, my experience with Pokémon GO, and the first anniversary of the Johto Times newsletter. You can check it out here.
News
To celebrate Pokémon Day and the upcoming U.S. premiere of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, The Pokémon Company, in collaboration with The Toy Foundation, have teamed up with New York's Empire State Building to illuminate the iconic landmark on February 27th, 2024. It will light up in yellow and blue, colours which represent the iconic Pokémon logo. The Pokémon Company will also be donating $10,000 to New York based charity The Toy Foundation, which supports children and families in need.
Fans in New York that are visiting the Empire State Building that day can also take part in exclusive Timed Research tasks in Pokémon GO. Full details are available in the source link below.
Source: Pokémon
Speaking of Pokémon GO, fans can currently obtain some Rotom Timed research using the code "0HY0UF0UNDM3" You can enter your code via the official website by logging in with your credentials: https://store.pokemongolive.com/offer-redemption?passcode=0HY0UF0UNDM3
Please note that this code was shared last Friday, so may already be out of date. Redeem as soon as possible!
Source: Serebii
More episodes of Pokémon Concierge will be released in the future, according to Director Iku Ogawa, in a statement to Variety. Pokémon Concierge premiered on Netflix in December last year. It focuses on adorable Pokémon characters visiting a Pokémon Resort on a tropical island.
Source: Variety
Feature: Pokémon Legends Celebi: A Concept
Two of my favourite Pokémon games are Pokémon Crystal and Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Both titles captured my interest significantly longer than most other games in the series, and are what I consider to be the benchmark for other Pokémon entries. Despite these products being released more than two decades apart, I hold each of them in high regard.
Crystal takes me back to a time when Pokémon was everything to me. It built on the original Gold & Silver games with rich features and improvements, and remains familiar and nostalgic, taking me to a happy place. Legends: Arceus brought a fresh new approach and rejuvenated a series that I felt had grown old and tired, bringing the world of Pokémon to life with its large open expanses to explore in ways I could only dream of as a child. With this in mind, I couldn’t help but speculate about ideas that combined the two titles into a Legends-style game set in the Johto region - Pokémon Legends: Celebi. For my game concept, I will be leaning heavily on Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but with a few plot differences and new features.
Legends: Arceus was set in the Hisui region, a land that would one day be known as Sinnoh, with familiar locations, landmarks and references to the modern-day region, and characters that are strongly hinted to be ancestors of notable trainers, Gym Leaders, and popular characters from Diamond & Pearl, games which originally released in 2006. Jubilife Village would eventually become Jubilife City as the world developed and the population increased. It also featured the same protagonist from Diamond & Pearl. All of this really appealed to me, so I will be adopting these ideas for my concept.
Plot and Characters
A short time after being defeated on Mt. Silver, Red would be sent back in time 150 years by Ilex Forest’s protector, Celebi, due to his great strength and courage. He will be expected to fulfil an important purpose: to calm several Pokémon that are wreaking havoc across the land, and to protect Ecruteak Village and the land of Johto from a calamity that threatens to destroy everything. The cause of the unrest would be a group known as the Rocket army, controlled by an ancestor of Team Rocket’s Giovanni, and these rampaging Pokémon would need to be calmed with specially prepared Balms. The goal of the Rocket army is to cause enough of a disturbance to summon the legendary Pokémon Lugia back to the Brass Tower in Ecruteak Village and control its tremendous power for themselves.
In Pokémon Gold & Silver, Cianwood City is home to a pharmacy that has been around for 500 years, and will play a vital role in my Legends: Celebi concept as the source of the Balms used to calm the rampaging Pokémon Red will discover in his quest.
Ecruteak Village would serve as the hub, due to the location having such a significant role in the original games. It would be home to a leader who looks out for Red and the other villagers, an ancestor of Johto’s Gym Leader Morty, similar to how Commander Kamado from Legends: Arceus is an ancestor of Professor Rowan from Sinnoh. I did consider an ancestor of Professor Elm for this role, but I much prefer the idea that Morty’s ancestors protected and guarded the village during their lifetimes. While it is not considered part of the official video game canon, Morty confirmed this in the Johto League Champions episode “A Ghost of a Chance”, which sealed the deal.
The village also has a man who can turn Apricorn fruits into balls to capture Pokémon, with similar catch mechanics as Legends: Arceus. In order to obtain these balls, Red would need to gather materials for him to make them. There would probably be a store that functions similarly, with certain items and clothing available in exchange for resources, which players would need to go out and gather.
The village would be populated by two different tribes called the Gold Clan and the Silver Clan, who came together to seek peace, support and cooperation under the two Legendary Pokémon, Lugia and Ho-Oh. Their ancestors worked together to construct two towers known as the Brass Tower and the Bell Tower 550 years previously (700 years by the time of Pokémon Gold & Silver). Despite their differences, the village leader ensures that there is harmony between the two groups. A variety of tasks and challenges could be given to Red from both groups, which would allow him to gain enough reputation to eventually capture the legendary Pokémon they honour later in the game.
Threats and Locations
The peace would eventually be broken when an enraged Pokémon appears outside the village, and Red intervenes to calm it. This leads to reports from other locations across the Johto region where settlements are threatened. Legends: Arceus introduced five Noble Pokémon, descendants of the Ancient Hero of Legend and blessed by Arceus. Each of these Pokémon caused a great upheaval, and I believe a similar approach could work for my Legends: Celebi game, with inspiration taken from legends mentioned in the original Pokémon Gold & Silver games.
One of these Pokémon could be the Bellsprout which stood over 100 feet tall and became the central pillar of the Sprout Tower in Violet City. This Pokémon would have been sleeping deep within the Ilex Forest, which is in proximity to Violet, until it is awoken by the Rocket army in a violent attack, causing it to awaken and rampage as it heads towards the small town of Violet. As it reaches town, it terrorises the population by destroying buildings, believing that these innocent humans are responsible for awakening it. Eventually, Red will come and save the day, which is when we realise that this is no ordinary Bellsprout, but a unique specimen! Red will engage it in battle, calming it until it comes to rest in place for the remaining years of its life. I love the idea of introducing brand-new Pokémon this way and implying that eyewitness reports wrongly assumed it was a regular Bellsprout.
It was stated in Pokémon Gold & Silver that the Lake of Rage is actually a crater that was made by a rampaging Gyarados long ago. The story was passed down by the Fishing Guru’s great-great-grandpa, so 150 years sounds about the right sort of timeframe for this event to have occurred. The threat at the Lake of Rage that Red faces is another unique specimen! I envision this Pokémon to be a monotype Dragon and an even greater threat than a regular Gyarados.
This ancient Pokémon lives at the bottom of the lake and is awoken by the Rocket army, but this time Red is too late, and the Gyarados destroys the town, once again believing that these innocent humans are to blame for it being awoken. Despite this, Red will succeed in calming the creature, which dives back down into the lake to fall into a long slumber, never to be seen again. In a beta version of Pokémon Gold & Silver, the lake at the site was much smaller, and had a Pokémon Center, Poké Mart, and a Gym, which was the basis of this idea.
Other areas such as Blackthorn and Goldenrod, would make great locations for battles with rampaging Pokémon. The mountainous Blackthorn City, known for its close connection with Dragon-type Pokémon certainly feels like a place that could have existed for hundreds of years. Perhaps an Ice-type Pokémon from the nearby Ice Path would pose a real threat to the area.
According to Pokémon Gold & Silver, a Bell Tower similar to the ones in Ecruteak City used to exist on the site of the Radio Tower in Goldenrod, and that was the place where the Rainbow Wing was originally discovered. Perhaps there could be a flying-type threat inside this old tower causing some problems?
There’s also Azalea Town, due to the story in Gold & Silver that mentions a Slowpoke’s yawn ended a drought 400 years prior. Or maybe the site of the National Park could once have been a vast meadow. Perhaps they contain some special forms of Pokémon that could be introduced? There are so many opportunities to introduce some great Pokémon and forms in the game, and plenty of familiar areas with a great history.
Climactic Sequence
Once all the threats have been taken care of, Red returns to Ecruteak only to find that the Rocket army has unleashed an attack upon the village. A Rocket executive, who could be an ancestor of Eusine, the trainer who seeks Suicune in Pokémon Crystal, will have infiltrated the Brass Tower and taken the Apricorn maker hostage, along with the Silver Wing, in an attempt to summon Lugia. The Rocket army executive will have a team of four Pokémon: Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon and an Eevee.
After the battle, Lugia descends angrily upon the Brass Tower to face the executive and uses its powerful wings to generate an almighty gust to attack him. However, because Lugia’s power is so strong, it summons a storm, creating a bolt of lightning which strikes the tower, engulfing it in flames. The gust of wind it generated with its wings, causes the fire to spread rapidly throughout the tower. Red escapes, rescuing the Apricorn Ball maker in the process. Despite the cowardly executive also being able to get out, he can’t save his Pokémon, leaving them to perish in the fire. Horrified by its actions and tremendous power, Lugia flies away to the Whirl Islands, while Ho-Oh descends from the skies to calm the storm, before flying away once more.
The Executive hands over the Silver Wing to Red, an item used to summon Lugia which the Rocket Army had obtained prior to Red arriving, and he leaves. He suggests that Red can use it to correct his mistakes, and vows to quit the Rocket army and earn Lugia’s forgiveness. With Lugia gone, the village leader gives Red the Rainbow Wing, an item he had possessed from his childhood, in the hope that Red can encourage Ho-Oh back to the Bell Tower and calm the chaos which has occurred. Red climbs the Bell Tower with the Rainbow Wing and summons it.
It challenges Red, and upon its defeat, it acknowledges that he is a trainer of pure heart, grants his wish and resurrects the Pokémon that were trapped inside the Brass Tower, granting them new life as the legendary beasts Entei (Flareon), Raikou (Jolteon) and Suicune (Vaporeon). After the Rocket executive deserted it in the tower, Suicune cannot forgive him or his descendants for his abandonment and cruelty to Pokémon, which is why Eusine will never be able to achieve his dream of encountering it 150 years later.
The reason I included Eevee in the Rocket Executive’s team is because I had the idea of introducing a fourth legendary beast that the Eevee becomes after its resurrection, which will be called Demenshu, a ground-type beast representing the earth element who Red has to tame through battle. With the Rocket army disbanded and defeated, its leader escapes, vowing to find and capture Lugia for himself.
Puzzle Elements
The Ruins of Alph were a really fun side quest in Gold & Silver, featuring puzzles and mysteries to uncover, items to be found, and strange Unown creatures to be captured. According to those games, they were created 1500 years prior, making them the oldest described structures in the region. Pokémon Legends: Arceus gave us the opportunity to capture all twenty-eight Unown characters and gave clues to their whereabouts, which provided a neat little side quest. My idea would be to have ruins across the entirety of the region, not just within the Ruins of Alph themselves.
I would like the games to return to puzzle-solving, just like Generation II with the Ruins of Alph and Generation III with braille puzzles. Each ruin would offer the opportunity to capture a specific Unown form, with clues on how to access them. For example, Unown E’s chamber could be unlocked by using a move that starts with the same letter, such as the move “Earthquake”, or by standing on a mark on the ground that resembles an X somewhere close by in order to open Unown X’s chamber. There’s a lot of creative and fun ways that could be explored to unlock each one!
Once inside a chamber, a further puzzle could be required in order to summon the Unown, similar to the sliding puzzles featured in the Ruins of Alph in Gold & Silver, deciphering clues within the chamber spelled in Unown text, or more elaborate time-based puzzles and challenges similar to the video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Perhaps certain chambers could unlock hidden rooms, with precious items to choose from, giving a further incentive to explore and complete each one! These temples could then crumble into the ground and seal themselves away upon completion, to explain why they don’t exist in the modern-day Johto.
The Sinjoh Ruins could also play a role in the game. They were previously an event-only feature in Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver, offering an opportunity to capture Dialga, Palkia or Giratina. Maybe the character of Volo from Pokémon Legends: Arceus could show up here, explaining his whereabouts after he disappeared in the game? This could be a cool way to connect Legends: Celebi and Legends: Arceus together.
Postgame Content
In the game’s post-credits scene, Ho-Oh will return to the Tin Tower for a reception with Red, the trainer who showed true bravery in the face of evil. It wishes to challenge him once again, and this time it can be captured. The Whirl Islands also opens up as a location, and there, Red can encounter the Rocket executive and its leader. It is clear that the two have had an altercation with one another, spent from an intense battle. They tell Red that he is the only one who can bring calm to Lugia and recommend that he uses the Silver Wing to fight or capture it. Once Lugia has been encountered, the two Rocket army members disappear, vowing to disband their organisation, echoing how Giovanni dissolved Team Rocket in Gold & Silver.
Red can return to Ecruteak Village and meet with the Apricorn Ball maker. He thanks Red for saving him from the tower blaze and gives him the mysterious GS Ball, named after the Gold and Silver clans who gathered the resources to help create it to show their thanks to Red for everything he has done, and prove that the two clans will continue to work together in harmony. He claims it's strong enough to capture a rare and powerful Pokémon that dwells deep inside Ilex Forest.
After capturing every Pokémon in the game, including all twenty-eight Unown forms, Red can take the GS Ball to Ilex Forest and use it to summon Celebi, who uses its psychic abilities to speak to Red. It confirms that it was responsible for bringing Red to this time period because of his unmatched strength, bravery and kindness to Pokémon. Celebi recognises his achievement in capturing all Pokémon and allows Red to battle it. Once defeated, Celebi agrees to return Red to his own time, which serves as an end point for the game. After the credits we see Red in his home of Pallet Town, holding the GS Ball containing Celebi. It seems that it has decided to stay with Red and can send him back to the past to explore the land further after the game is complete, if the player wishes.
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, I was disappointed that the protagonist didn’t get to return to his or her time period, suggesting that they were trapped in Hisui forever. My ending ensures Red can get home by allowing him to travel between the two time periods.
Closing
There are many ways this story could be told; these are just some of my own ideas that I wanted to share. Ultimately, I believe that a game like this should offer a close connection to the legends mentioned in the Gold & Silver games. Tying the lore and history of Johto together like this could be super special and rewarding for fans of the original games and new fans alike. I truly hope that we will eventually see a game like this in the future!
Special Thanks
During this feature, I reached out to Nob Ogasawara, the man responsible for the original localisation of Gold & Silver and dozens of other Pokémon titles, from the original Red & Blue titles to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. I would like to thank him for suggesting the name of my fourth legendary beast, as one of his recommendations was Demenshu, (meaning ground, master/owner, often territorial). Special thanks also to our reader Glaedrax for suggesting and illustrating the unique Bellsprout and Gyarados forms. Finally, thank you to Jim Roszel for providing us with the logo used for the feature.
Additional artwork
Mailbag
Want to be a part of our newsletter? You’re welcome to submit content including (but not limited to) questions, fan-created art, short stories, cherished memories, photographs from your collection, and anything else you think we would like to see. Today we have a question from SteC, who you may know from our Pokémon fan in Japan features!
Aside from the trading cards and in-game Pokédex, if you began a physical collection of your very own, what would it be and why?
SteC, Japan
Hey SteC, it’s great to hear from you! I have so many Pokémon items that I have collected throughout the years of being a fan, from trading cards, Tazos, figures, stickers and even video game soundtracks! Currently, I am trying to complete a set of Pokémon Sliders, which were figures released in the late 90s and early 2000s. They had a metal ball inside the base that would allow the Pokémon to roll across flat surfaces, and crash into targets and other Pokémon Sliders. I only learned about them last year, but they look so charming that I decided I would try and collect them all! Currently, I have ten Pokémon Sliders, and I think I’m about halfway done!