The Last Rival

(This post will contain spoilers for the HOENN Campaign)

This post will analyze the last rival introduced in the game.

The players meet BLADE at the train station of GOLDENROD CITY. It becomes immediately apparent to the player that BLADE outclasses the player since he posseses the Legendary ZEKROM. During the first meeting BLADE mentions such things that may be considered Social Darwinism where ‘weak people are sustence of the strong’. BLADE’s cruelty is further emphasized during the player’s encounter with him at BLACKTHORN CITY. He doesn’t think twice before striking VETERAN VIRGIL down with ZEKROM’s lightning. He expresses his desires to take RESHIRAM from N in order to combine it into the Legendary UNOVA Dragon. As the player ventures through the HOENN Campaign, BLADE’s cruelty seems to have no end as he is the one responsible for several casualties the Tri-Regional Federation suffers.

However, like most rivals, BLADE too has a backstory. . . .

Born to two struggling farmers of the UNOVA region, we see SHIN’s first memory taking place during a particularly cold weather season.

***The interesting thing here is that this is a possible reference to the events of Black and White (2) due to Team Plasma’s use of KYUREM’s powers. I DID NOT make that connection on purpose and was only reminded of it recently by picking up my version of White 2 again (which I still need to finish, lol).***

Back to SHIN . . . . It seems his parents have been struggling to raise crops to survive. SHIN is seen raising a Pichu that is starving along with SHIN and his parents. However, SHIN’s father is able to gather roots and herbs to make some of their food last longer. It is during their meal when thugs show up storming into the family home looking for food. SHIN’s father is immediately killed while SHIN’s mother urges for him and Pichu to run before being murdered herself. . . .

The second flashback shows SHIN and Pichu struggling to find food during the cold weather in UNOVA. They go door-to-door begging for food to no avail. It is then that they meet a father and son who happen to want to purchase Pichu. Although hesitant at first, SHIN agrees to sell Pichu. This marks the very first moment that SHIN begins to think of Pokémon as bartering tools. . . .

SHIN’s life does not get better after selling Pichu. He continues to struggle to find food and after a very desperate and traumatic event, becomes dark in order to survive. Eventually, he is taken in by MAGNUS who renames SHIN as BLADE in order to be MAGNUS’ right-handed man.

Clearly, BLADE is far different from any other rival introduced in the game. When first met, he comes off as being much more powerful than the player as he is the new leader of TEAM BLACK PLASMA and possesses ZEKROM. He comes off as much darker than the other rivals as well. Thus, I believe it really was best to introduce BLADE as the last rival since he so much different compared to say, REINA.

However, BLADE does share similarities to the other rivals by having a tragic backstory. The largest difference about BLADE is that unlike HARUKA and VALDIS, BLADE had no one to turn to when he was young. Whereas HARUKA had Miss Maruno and VALDIS had BILL, BLADE has no one. . . . .

He was forced to fend for himself and to do anything necessary in order to survive. As his own mother had said, “When people lose something, sometimes they get desperate. Desperation drives people to do things. . . .”

One may possibly describe BLADE as “pure evil”. This can be both correct and incorrect. It is not quite accurate to describe him as being “pure evil” in the most traditional sense where he has no redeeming moments at all (which you’ll see during his very last event). He certainly is “evil” in the sense that his actions have hurt many people and Pokémon. And at the same time, he is still “pure”. He is pure in the sense that he acknowledges the Truths of this world and blatantly expresses such truths including things that people may not want to hear. In addition to that, MAGNUS also mentions that BLADE preferred not to use the SHADOW TRIAD which were technically always at his disposal, instead preferring his own brute strength. He is thus pure for choosing more direct tactics as opposed to cunning means to achieve his goals.

For me, BLADE represents the by-product of desperation in humans from the bare need of an individual to survive in the world. From an early age, BLADE reasons that he must be ruthless in order to survive because from his experiences, he knows that humans may turn on each other if resources ever become scarce. He states that weak people ban together in order to survive. However, he also states that he more than anything, he wants to become stronger. Perhaps this is so that he never risks working with people who may someday betray him ? I don’t know. Whereas REINA had stated to KENT that he should only wish and work to become stronger when he knows his reasons for doing so, BLADE’s reasons clearly stem from his experiences as a child and his desires to survive.

BLADE’s story is actually extended into a major theme present in the game involving “Humans vs Pokémon” that connects BLADE to such characters as N, WES, and Mewtwo. Perhaps that will be for the next post !