straightforwardly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
straightforwardly) wrote2026-02-18 07:38 pm
straightforwardly) wrote2026-02-18 07:38 pm
Entry tags:
343 | mini pokémon meta hours, cyrus edition
A incomplete collection of some of thoughts and musings I’ve had related to Cyrus over the past week or so:
1.
He has that standard villain leader disdain for the bonds that exist between the player character and their Pokémon—so far, so good. But I think it's also made clear that he doesn't mistreat his Pokémon either. We see in other parts of the game that Cyrus views the members of Team Galactic with quite a bit of disdain, despite being the one who created and leads the team, and we see that scorn echoed here, with how he scoffs at the way they treat their Pokémon.
As for what he means by “treating them as tools”—honestly, I feel like this refers to them treating Pokémon like objects rather than living beings; when we hear about his backstory from various NPCs, he's described as having withdrawn from humans and Pokémon in favor of tinkering with machines, suggesting to me that he sees them as existing on a similar level. He's not one of those villains who see humans as being superior to Pokémon—Pokémon are living beings, just like humans are, equally afflicted by the “flaw” of spirit, and he makes a clear delineation between them and tools, objects—machines.
None of this, however, really explains the nuance of what he means by “making the power of Pokémon his own”; all it describes is what it doesn't mean. Which brings me to my next point! I'd already been thinking about this quote for some days before it occurred to me in a different (fic writing-related) context that, as it's been a minute (over a decade) since the last time I faced Cyrus in an in-game battle, I couldn't actually remember what Pokémon he had on his team. So I went to look that up, and. And.
People. Friends. Whoever might be reading this.
I'd completely forgotten he has a Crobat.
Meaning: Cyrus (like Volo!) has a FRIENDSHIP evolution, aka an evolution that's based on a Pokémon's happiness. Even more specifically, he starts out with a Golbat who evolves through happiness during the course of the game. (In fact, he even has the same friendship evolution as Silver did, whose Golbat finally evolving into a Crobat is hands-down my favorite subtle detail in his character arc about growing from someone who will mistreat his Pokémon in pursuit of “strength” to being someone who forms genuine bonds with his team!)
Cyrus has a Crobat, meaning that whatever the actual specifics of his treatment of his Pokémon are—his team loves him; his Pokémon are happy.
We're now getting into headcanon territory, but the combination of all these facts make me think of a scenario where Cyrus believes he's not indulging in useless emotions or bonds because he's not like. Cuddling with and petting his Pokémon, or whatever. But at the same time, he's putting intense energy into things like crafting individually tailored training regimens and researching ideal dietary needs and so on for each of his Pokémon—all in the service of making them as powerful as they can possibly be, of course, so as to better help him achieve his own aims—and his Pokémon see all the work and dedication he puts towards making them the best they can be, strong and healthy, and they can't help but love him for it.
Anyways… self-indulgence aside, while I’m still not entirely sure what Cyrus is meant to be referring to when he talks about making the power of his Pokémon his own, I think that something along the lines of the above interpretation is certainly one possible way to view it.
Also, now I’m so curious about how Cyrus reacted when his Golbat evolved. Actually… how common is the understanding of friendship evolutions in-canon? I genuinely can’t remember at this point.
2.
At some point, I suddenly remembered that Cyrus is canonically the person who gives Dawn the Master Ball, and just had to metaphorically put my face into my hands and chant “what the fuck” under my breath. (Stressing the metaphorical part because I was literally at work when this happened, lol.)
Like. I genuinely love this, but it’s also absolutely wild. I’m pretty sure this is only time in the series where the player character gets the Master Ball not from an ally, nor through taking it away from the villain team, but rather as an actual gift given to them by the main villain. I don’t entirely know what this says about Cyrus as a character, but I do know that I love it, and it also makes for some tasty food in regards to my Cyrus/Dawn shipping.
3.
I have a surprising amount of feelings about Cyrus’ grandfather! I really love how he’s included in Platinum as this super optional, easy to miss detail, and how his story gives us so much more context into who Cyrus is as a person and, more importantly, how he became that person. But more than that… I just genuinely like his grandfather? There’s something about him, this old man filled with aching regret, feeling like he failed his grandchild, wishing that he’d just taken Cyrus away from his parents and raised him himself… I find it compelling, so much so that I'm genuinely contemplating writing a fic centering around him & Dawn post-canon.
1.
Cyrus: “Unlike you Trainers, I do not make Pokémon my friends or partners. Unlike other Team Galactic members, I don't use Pokémon as tools. Instead, I make the power of Pokémon my own.”I have spent so much time thinking about this quote and trying to figure out wtf Cyrus’ actual dynamic with his Pokémon is. So let's break it down!
He has that standard villain leader disdain for the bonds that exist between the player character and their Pokémon—so far, so good. But I think it's also made clear that he doesn't mistreat his Pokémon either. We see in other parts of the game that Cyrus views the members of Team Galactic with quite a bit of disdain, despite being the one who created and leads the team, and we see that scorn echoed here, with how he scoffs at the way they treat their Pokémon.
As for what he means by “treating them as tools”—honestly, I feel like this refers to them treating Pokémon like objects rather than living beings; when we hear about his backstory from various NPCs, he's described as having withdrawn from humans and Pokémon in favor of tinkering with machines, suggesting to me that he sees them as existing on a similar level. He's not one of those villains who see humans as being superior to Pokémon—Pokémon are living beings, just like humans are, equally afflicted by the “flaw” of spirit, and he makes a clear delineation between them and tools, objects—machines.
None of this, however, really explains the nuance of what he means by “making the power of Pokémon his own”; all it describes is what it doesn't mean. Which brings me to my next point! I'd already been thinking about this quote for some days before it occurred to me in a different (fic writing-related) context that, as it's been a minute (over a decade) since the last time I faced Cyrus in an in-game battle, I couldn't actually remember what Pokémon he had on his team. So I went to look that up, and. And.
People. Friends. Whoever might be reading this.
I'd completely forgotten he has a Crobat.
Meaning: Cyrus (like Volo!) has a FRIENDSHIP evolution, aka an evolution that's based on a Pokémon's happiness. Even more specifically, he starts out with a Golbat who evolves through happiness during the course of the game. (In fact, he even has the same friendship evolution as Silver did, whose Golbat finally evolving into a Crobat is hands-down my favorite subtle detail in his character arc about growing from someone who will mistreat his Pokémon in pursuit of “strength” to being someone who forms genuine bonds with his team!)
Cyrus has a Crobat, meaning that whatever the actual specifics of his treatment of his Pokémon are—his team loves him; his Pokémon are happy.
We're now getting into headcanon territory, but the combination of all these facts make me think of a scenario where Cyrus believes he's not indulging in useless emotions or bonds because he's not like. Cuddling with and petting his Pokémon, or whatever. But at the same time, he's putting intense energy into things like crafting individually tailored training regimens and researching ideal dietary needs and so on for each of his Pokémon—all in the service of making them as powerful as they can possibly be, of course, so as to better help him achieve his own aims—and his Pokémon see all the work and dedication he puts towards making them the best they can be, strong and healthy, and they can't help but love him for it.
Anyways… self-indulgence aside, while I’m still not entirely sure what Cyrus is meant to be referring to when he talks about making the power of his Pokémon his own, I think that something along the lines of the above interpretation is certainly one possible way to view it.
Also, now I’m so curious about how Cyrus reacted when his Golbat evolved. Actually… how common is the understanding of friendship evolutions in-canon? I genuinely can’t remember at this point.
2.
At some point, I suddenly remembered that Cyrus is canonically the person who gives Dawn the Master Ball, and just had to metaphorically put my face into my hands and chant “what the fuck” under my breath. (Stressing the metaphorical part because I was literally at work when this happened, lol.)
Like. I genuinely love this, but it’s also absolutely wild. I’m pretty sure this is only time in the series where the player character gets the Master Ball not from an ally, nor through taking it away from the villain team, but rather as an actual gift given to them by the main villain. I don’t entirely know what this says about Cyrus as a character, but I do know that I love it, and it also makes for some tasty food in regards to my Cyrus/Dawn shipping.
3.
I have a surprising amount of feelings about Cyrus’ grandfather! I really love how he’s included in Platinum as this super optional, easy to miss detail, and how his story gives us so much more context into who Cyrus is as a person and, more importantly, how he became that person. But more than that… I just genuinely like his grandfather? There’s something about him, this old man filled with aching regret, feeling like he failed his grandchild, wishing that he’d just taken Cyrus away from his parents and raised him himself… I find it compelling, so much so that I'm genuinely contemplating writing a fic centering around him & Dawn post-canon.