Pokémon Legends Neo: Ghetsis
is a series of Pokémon fan videos created by Lockstin of Gnoggin with art commissioned by various artists. They provide details about a hypothetical Pokémon game in the Action RPG generally aimed at a teen audience.
Forty years ago, a great disaster drove scores of Pokémon mad and devastated the world. Most of the remaining population now lives in Neo-Kanto, a sprawling region-sized city. Neo-K (as the younger residents call it) and the lands surrounding it are protected by Guardes, who receive a Pokémon of their own when they begin their training. One of the newest Guardes is a young man named Auburn; he is the grandson of Kanto Champion Red, who gave his life while protecting the region from the cataclysm.
Auburn's fledgling career as a Guarde is taking place in interesting times. There's the usual incidents caused by wild Pokémon in Neo-K to deal with, but more compelling problems are cropping up. Mega Evolved Pokémon, thought to have died along with the world outside Neo-Kanto, still exist outside of the city. Meanwhile, a group of people from a long-gone organization work in the shadows, aiming to do something with a Legendary...
Tropes present in Pokémon Legends Neo: Ghetsis:
- Achievements in Ignorance: Apparently Regigigas wasn’t even trying to create a new Regi when it made Reginger, and was simply just trying to bake cookies when it forgot the Fairy type suddenly existed.
- Adapted Out: The Pokémon that have trading as their sole evolution requirement don't exist in Neo-Kanto because the cataclysm forty years prior cut the setting off from the parallel worlds they used to trade Pokémon to for evolution. While species that needed to be traded with an item can now evolve solely with the item, the ones that evolved through trading alone have alternate evolutions they get through leveling up.
- Ambiguously Related: Several characters have appearances suggesting they're descendants of preexisting characters, but a few of them are never outright confirmed to have a familial connection.
- Taida's orange hair and ponytail evoke Cerulean Gym Leader Misty. He also works with Water-type Pokémon as part of his job as a Magikarp fishery manager.
- Pike has a similar hairstyle and manner of dress to Indigo League champion Lance, and is also named after a type of spear.
- And Then What?: After Neo Ghetsis explains his plan to merge with Arceus, Giovanni raises this question, believing the explosion of infinity energy that would come from merging with Arceus would wipe out everything, and what worth is ultimate power without anyone to rule over? Neo Ghetsis has an answer; he'll make people to rule over.
- Antagonist Title: Neo Ghetsis is the main villain of this story.
- Body Horror: Red's Charizard has definitely seen better days. While it has physical similarities to Mega Charizard X, its body is horribly mutated, with a black, purple, and green coloration, its arms missing/malformed, and breathing out greenish flames out of the sides of its mouth. Its body is also noted by Auburn as storing up massive amounts of pent-up energy, possibly due to the massive hoard of Mega Stones that it has accumulated.
- Boob-Based Gag: Sopaiktus is a feminine Grass/Fighting-type anthropomorphic cactus Pokémon with two very large spikes on her chest, based on the tendency for T-rated JRPGs to feature significantly busty women, as well as a cultivar of cactus that resembles human breasts, and the mammillaria genus of cactuses, which are named after nipples. Sopaiktus' name even includes a shortened version of the Japanese word for breast, "oppai".
- Cataclysm Backstory: The story takes place forty years after Ghetsis forcibly merged with Xerneas, which released a massive explosion of infinity energy that caused a chain reaction in every Mega Stone and Keystone in Kalos, unleashing a wave of destruction that caused most Pokémon to go berserk and devastated the majority of the world. Unova was already destroyed in a smaller-scale event when Ghetsis merged with Colress.
- Continuity Cameo: One of Auburn's choices for a Starter Mon is Therpal, the Fire-type starter from Lockstin's Kaskade region videos.
- Cruelty Is the Only Option: In order to evolve Neo Miltank into Mutank, it must use "Magic Milk Drink" 30 times without visiting a Pokémon Center, overdosing itself on it's genetically altered milk. The move has only 10 PP, so PP-restoring items must be used. So unless Mutanks can be found in the wild, this must be done in order to Catch 'Em All.
- Cyberpunk: Much of the action is centered around Neo-Kanto City, a sprawling region-sized metropolis populated by the descendants of refugees from a cataclysm that devastated the rest of the world. The Guardes of the city sport high-tech uniforms and keep order by patrolling the wastes outside Neo-Kanto's dome and responding to Pokémon-based incidents within.
- Darker and Edgier: Pokémon is mostly kid friendly, with darker elements relegated to later plot developments and backstory, with Legends: Arceus being the most blatant about it but still keeping a happy vibe about it. Here, these darker elements are at the forefront with the world being ravaged by Ghetsis' fusion with Xerneas and the ensuing explosion of infinite energy as most Pokémon have been driven berserk, all resulting in a massive part of the population dying. The game itself takes place in a metropolis and the surrounding wastelands.
- Fusion Dance: Neo Ghetsis is a combination of Ghetsis, Colress, and Xerneas, forming a part-human part-Pokémon being with all of Ghetsis' will, personality, and ambition, Colress' intelligence and curiosity, and Xerneas' immeasurable power.
- Generation Xerox: Like his grandfather Red before him, Auburn is a dour-faced young man from Pallet who happens to be the protagonist.
- Genetic Abomination: Mutank is what Neo Miltank becomes if its genetically boosted milk production isn't dealt with appropriately, only having the slightest resemblance to its predecessor with its bloated, immobile body.
- Godhood Seeker: Ghetsis, having become a demigod by merging with Xerneas, seeks to merge with Arceus and obtain complete power over reality.
- Hijacking Cthulhu: Giovanni had Zygarde's cells implanted with chips in order to control it, but this gave the Ultra Beast Doppv a means of hijacking Zygarde and turning Zygarde into a berserk upside-down corruption.
- Merging Machine: Ghetsis and Colress made one by accident, while making a machine that can harness the infinity energy that lies dormant within humans. A second human was needed as a catalyst, and the results were Ghetsis and Colress fusing together, and the side-effects of such a concentration of infinity energy were atom-splitting to say the least.
- My God, What Have I Done?: It is heavily implied that Colress feels remorseful over his part in causing the disaster that ravaged the world forty years ago. Ghetsis, naturally, couldn’t care less.
- Mythology Gag: The artwork of a young Auburn has his pose taken from Red's official art from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. Fitting, as Auburn is Red's grandson.
- Right-Hand Cat: Meowth's new evolution Purreshiss plays into this trope, being used by Giovanni and having whiskers and facial fur resembling stereotypical villainous facial hair.
- The Runt at the End: The last legendary titan Lockstin talks about is Reginger, a golem made out of candy and gingerbread. Lockstin specifically notes that Reginger is the smallest of the legendary titans and one of the last ones Regigigas made.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Evolutions exclusive to trading (barring those who must be traded with items, who are still available by using said item on the Pokémon) have been replaced with entirely new evolutions unlocked through leveling up.
- Spin-Offspring: The protagonist is Auburn, the grandson of Red from Pokémon Red and Blue.
- Starter Mon: Guardes-in-training are given a choice between three Pokémon to have as a partner. Unlike the starters of the past, which three species they are vary due to general lack of beginner-friendly 'mons in Neo-Kanto. Protagonist Auburn is shown to have had the choice between Snivy, Therpal, and new Pokémon Dreel.
- The Strongman: Dismandurr, the new alternate evolution for Gurdurr, has this look due to Gurdurr's clownish elements that are downplayed in Conkeldurr's design. It's a proboscis monkey-like strongman who is always seen carrying a boulder almost as big as it is.
- Succubi and Incubi: Xxubis is a Fairy/Dark devilish figure with a masculine and a feminine form that it's locked into upon evolution. Additionally, its signature move Seduct inflicts infatuation on the opponent regardless of gender.
- Take That!: When Lockstin talks about how challenging it was to make a concept for a Pokémon game that's Darker and Edgier without it veering into being too edgy, a clip from Shadow the Hedgehog plays. Lockstin briefly shudders in dread before moving on.
- Who's on First?: Dismandurr, the replacement for Conkeldurr, is prone to popping up when it's comedically appropriate, akin to Wobbuffet and Wynaut, shouting "DISMAN!" in response to a "Who" question.
