Hey thanks for the love on this video. I hope I was able to explain why this character is so great to Pokémon fans who had no idea about him. Please stick around for more videos on stories I find really cool.
Honestly I see Kieran as a representation of how us being the Main Character can actually end up hurting people in Pokemon. Since we get everything and leave everyone else in the dusty, and effortlessly at that depending on how you play the game. Other people have dreams and aspirations that they’ve worked tirelessly to achieve sometimes over years and years and here we come so random newbie accomplishing everything they worked for and/or wanted within less than a year. Kieran dreamed for become Ogrepon’s trainer, having friends, being strong, and having people rely on him but he was constantly being held back and then we appear out of nowhere and achieve all of that with ease we even do so on his turf (Blue Berry Academy)
@@tokay055 I wouldn't say self aware, but I would say he's more realistic. If you saw someone like the protagonist irl people would probably be jealous and angry that things come so easy to them while the rest of us struggle
@@hyperdreamer9483something i found realistic about kieran was his attitude towards the student when he was picking on them he didn’t just bully them for something meaningless, he literally projected his insecurities on the student, and refused to let them explain themself or speak, just how no one cared to let Kieran explain why he liked the ogre. kieran assumed the kid was slacking, and the people who surrounded keiran when he was younger assumed he was weird or crazy. i just wrote a whole damn paragraph about a pokémon character is this a bad thing
Unironically, I feel like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are very underrated in terms of writing. Both the base game and the DLC have some really good writing, making us easily connect with the main characters. Kieran in particular is one I'm a big fan of, because he basically represents what a videogame character would do if he realizes about the special powers of a protagonist, and that they're going to take away what they pursued all life.
No way, I'm much of a very big fan of Kieran too. Believe me, everyone I know is a fan of him and his championship. It's understandable that Drayton was rude to him by calling him "Ex-Champion", though.
@@michaelshea4099he is my favourite alongside penny from main game. I do think some overreact a bit with what Drayton said as tbf from all at blueberrys point of view he's the bully and no longer untouchable so they would take the opportunity to knock him whilst already down especially Drayton who lost his champion status because of him. Mochi mayhem I really liked as it did show kieran was able to learn from his mistakes and still keep the positive character developments like confidence and being able to make decisions for himself. Game freak did characters this gen very well like penny had the redemption arc too from leading a rebellious team
@@simpsons703I definitly agree with this, Kieran, my favorite characther also alongside penny, was perfect. Penny represents my favorite pokemons, the eeveelutions. Kieran represents me on irl. And i also hate Drayton for being rude to him. Lmao.
dude, I've been playing pokemon since gen 1. I am autistic, and I've enjoyed a few characters in that time. but no character has been as relatable and lovable to me than Kieran. I've dealt with the feelings he has, and occasionally I still struggle with this. I have never been moved to tears the way I have during this DLC story. it made me feel like I finally have a character in my favorite franchise I can actually 100% relate to. it absolutely broke my heart when I was forced to lie to him and didnt have more options on what to say or do. I know how I would have comforted him, but the games story doesnt allow it. its such a breathe of fresh air to hear someone analyzing Kieran and understanding him, recognizing that he is a TEENAGER and that while his response is not ok, his feelings where valid. I will always feel that if Kieran was included from the start, things wouldnt have gotten so crazy. during the time between Teal Mask and Indigo Disk, I found myself daily thinking about kieran and crying because I was genuinely worried about what they were going to to with the character I love so much. needless to say I was overjoyed at the conclusion and during the area zero part of the story, it felt very emersive despite no voice acting, becuase when Kieran poured his heart out I started crying, so whe he started crying, it felt like there was some real connection going on between our fictional and real worlds. I know some people just dont care for him at all, but I love this little guy so much and months after Mochi Mayhem, I can say I don't think this will ever go anywhere. I am so confident in that fact that I've even commissioned a plushie to be made of him. thank you for this video, its rare to see someone approach this character fairly.
Thanks dude. I absolutely adore this character’s story, too. I made this video, so more people would hopefully understand why it’s so compelling. Thanks for watching !
I completely relate, my own story is so similar to yours it felt jarring to read your comment, like I could've written it... Kieran is a wonderful, well developed character and I'm glad you, me and others like us have someone to truly feel like we connect with 💜
Honestly, the video nails Kierans character perfectly. His whole arc from beginning to end was one the best the franchise has seen. Something about his whole character between being shy and not standing up for themselves initially , wanting to prove themselves to be someone people can rely on, feeling betrayed and outraged, finally breaking his shell and opening up, and letting go hits a special way for me as I connect with that a lot. The whole S/V cast already stood out to me as characters in the franchise i actually felt something for, like points i genuinely teared up (the last time a pokemon game did this for me was when i played mystery dungeon explorers of time 15 years ago) , but Kierans whole story blows it all out of the water and I loved every moment of it, to the point that i immediately started a new save just to go through it all again after the Mochi event. I can hold it together, but man does the Indigo Disk ending start making feel a little teary eyed. The story and characters in this game is a treasure (of area zero) that i want to preserve as long as i can. It made it all the more heartbreaking when I realized they weren't gonna announce anymore S/V dlc and we wouldn't get more of these amazing characters, thank goodness the announcement of Legends Z was there to soften the blow when i needed it most. PLEASE Pokemon, use them in other media they're to good to just end it here.
I love how there’s a unique dialogue for Kieran in the Club Room if you battle him and lose. The fact he seems visibly shaken with excitement never fails to put a smile on my face when he finally got a win over me. And I even gave him Mimikyu, a Pokemon that goes through a similar journey that he does. He wanted to be like someone else, but realize they have value in just being themselves.
I'm really glad there are some people out there who understands how much of a good character Kieran is. Unlike other rivals from previous Pokemon games, Kieran is one rival who gets quite a unique and tragic story on how he turns from a shy trainer to a strong champion. I'm amazed that he's the only character who managed to catch a legendary Pokemon with a master ball and I found his character development on becoming a better person who's less shy really unique. It's just a shame that there are other people out there who don't understand how great of a character Kieran really is since others still think he's just a little kid who should be put in his place.
I never had a deep interest in the Pokemon games until my husband told me about Kieran because he thought I might like him. And boy, did I! I connected with Kieran immediately and especially by the time we got to him at Blueberry I truly understood why. As someone with bipolar disorder, a narcissistic personality disorder, and manic behaviors, Kieran is a perfect representation of how I felt in recent years dealing with some family stuff and my part in how all of it came crashing down thanks to my behaviors. His journey was a huge comfort for me, all wrapped up in a perfect little package. In a way, Kieran gives me hope to keep going and find who I really am, and push through and learn from my bad habits to not hurt others again. I really commend the creators of the game for how they wrote and presented Kieran, he'll always have a place in my heart, and he was a very worthy introduction to the video game side of the franchise for me
I love that one theory I saw online saying Kieran is bullied in Blueberry Academy and hence why he's so obsessed with being strong. We've not the reason why he started the villan arc, we were merely the trigger for it. I like his whole arc, as it's the only time gamefreak showed a rival who actually cares about losing. I was terrified they would do a Hop sitution again and make Kieran abandon his dreams to be on copium for losing to us, but thank god they teased he was going to become even stronger in the dlc. What only sucked for me is how he just accepted he wasn't the main character the moment he saw his master ball broke. Like a 180 suddenly even though he just crushed his dreams, twice. I don't want him to be toxic forever but just not the typical "rival is your fanboy for losing" so quickly.
This. I know they needed to wrap the narrative up quickly after the climax, but Kieran's character growth was just a bit too sudden. I think a handful of poignant dialogue lines demonstrating he was starting to waffle on his views before the finale and a couple after he finally does let go of his ideology would have been adequate. He just needed a tink more fleshing out.
Not just the Academy. At home too Teal Mask story gave us a front row seat to some lovely mental and emotional abuse from his sister. Who basically had no consequences
@@tristanalain9239 omg thank god I'm not the only one who didn't like how they did Carmine! I can see that they were trying to do an "Overprotective Tsundere Sister" but... tbh with how Kieran reacts to most dilouge with her, it just reads more as she hits him :/
Another thing that you didn’t mention about Kieran that I think is worth mentioning is his autistic coding and social status. Not only is he heavily implied to be autistic through so, so many autistic traits, he’s also a poor kid in a rich people school. Lacey and Drayton are gym leaders descendants, crispins parents own a restaurant business. Kieran is an immigrant from rural kitakami, who also said he used to be insecure (implying he was bullied for) his accent. Combined with autistic people feeling more insecure in general, as they feel that they don’t belong a lot of the time, he’s probably eager to prove himself as he most likely only got into BB from a scholarship given his humble background in relation to the prestigious school he goes to. Furthermore on the autism front, his actions in area zero make a lot of sense when you take into account Drayton most likely bullied him during a mental breakdown. As an autistic person who has experienced that, it’s utter hell. Tough love does not work on people with depression. I know from experience. Hence why Drayton’s scolding for all its good intent, is what made Kieran want to get terapagos.if Drayton or the player uplifted him, and briar did not use his mental state against him to terrastilise terapagos, things would be different. It is only through the player uplifting him that he sees worth in himself.
@@tokay055 I made a video discussing him as well and I’m planning to make videos on all of the DLC cast. Good to see I’m not the only one! I plan to bring these up on my eventual videos on Carmine, Drayton, Lacey, and another video on Kieran, and I’ve already made a TH-cam short discussing this point Looking forward to your video!
I'm always glad to see someone else who gets it. I've been shocked to see how much vitriol there's been toward the character, though I suppose that's an issue of a lot of people not looking at characters as part of a narrative work as much as considering them people they meet in their own adventure, so the reaction becomes "why would I want to hang out with someone with these many obvious character flaws?" rather than "oh wow this character is really interesting because they have a rich arc based around being confronted by those flaws and eventually growing as a person." Scarlet and Violet's story themes being centered on the individual journeys of personal growth and how important it is to find friends who support each other on those journeys, to finally no longer feel so alone is beautiful from start to finish. From Nemona, Arven, and Penny's stories of finding those connections through the player and, eventually, each other, to Team Star who already found those bonds through their own adversity, and finally being so fully realized in Kieran's story is honestly the single best writing work I've seen in a Pokemon game.
15:05 he was never self-centred. He was the opposite, and it was just as hurtful to himself. He hated himself, and everything like himself. Every time he saw weakness, he got angry with it, because it reminded him of what he was like. It's not self-centred, it's an all-encompassing self-hatred. that's why when the player gives him purpose by complimenting him, meaning returns to his life. Because he only ever wanted us as his friend. He only became stronger because he thought we were taking advantage of him, and if he got stronger, we would be his friend.
it doesn't change the fact he was still self centered though. you can hate yourself while also projecting your insecurities onto others and hurt them as a result
@@afro025 no, but you misunderstand that he's not arrogant or self-centred. He's just extremely angry with himself and everything like himself. It's different. I've lived with that kind of feeling. He doesn't put people down to make himself feel better, he just lashes out at people because he gets almost traumatised at the very mention of anything like himself. It's hard to explain unless you've had that kind of experience. It's a very common experience in autistic people like myself, idk if you are, but basically a lot of people misunderstand this, but Kieran does not hate the player at any point in the DLC. All of his anger is at himself. He sees the player as a source of inspiration, and he wants to be their friend. However, due to always having been being bullied, and having his first ever friend betray and lie to him, he's now, understandably, sadly, of the belief that the player takes advantage of him and hates him because he's weak and because of that, he has to fundamentally change himself if he's ever going to have friends.
@@Prauwlet213 okay but being "self centered" doesn't mean you put others down to make yourself feel better, that's not what the word means at all 💀 it simply means to be "preoccupied with oneself and one's affairs", or in other words, concerned with your own wants and needs over others. this is exactly what kieran was, it's the reason why he chose to fight the player over who gets to catch ogerpon, and it's because of this self centered pursuit to become stronger that results in things getting out of hand in area zero. kieran isn't naturally a self centered person, but it's because of his insecurities and self hatred that results in him becoming one being self centered and hating yourself aren't mutually exclusive things, both can be true at the same time. and yes, i know exactly how kieran feels, i can intimately relate to his struggle. it's the reason he's one of my favorite pokemon characters
@@Prauwlet213 This is a pretty cool interpretation, but, no offense intended, I think you may be projecting your own experience onto the character too much. Kieran suffers from cognitive distortions which lead to his self-loathing. It’s easy to see how he’s projecting how he feels onto others and how that’s how he copes. One theme in the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is being honest about how you feel. Carmine had to be honest about how she felt about tourists in her home, and Kieran had to be honest about how he felt like he was worthless. They both had to confront how they feel. It’s an amazing story.
This DLC was a nice surpise. I hadnt touched Pokemon Scarlet in a way and it was quite the story. It was fun and seeing Kieran crash out was awesome. I slightly feel bad for Kieran and everyone else. Im a champion at the level of the Primera and yet people keep fighting me thinking they even have a chance. We are literally Cynthia to the Kitigami and Blueberry academy 😂 I wish I could have told everyone, btw Im a champion level threat, Ive beaten 8 gyms twice over and gone through the trenches of Area Zero fighting stuff you couldnt imagine for training. A good point you brought up I never realized how Ogerpon probably had an attachment to us because we were outsiders like she was to the village so it makes sense she was naturally attracted to us and that we werent a villager she was used to being scorned by. Unfortunately Kieran had the misfortune of being born to the villagers and Ogerpon never would have allowed herself to get close to him.
No, for real, I just ordered Pokemon Scarlet because I need to experience this arc first hand. And I swore these games off when they were first released due to their technical issues! Good writing wins every time...
@@ClearSummerSkies I saw the memes when this game first released, at the time i didn't had a switch and never played any pokémon games besides Fire Red and Yellow, and I thought: "Damn, i won't ever buy a pokémon game." But today... This game became the reason I bought a Switch in first place, just finished the game and the DLCs, and i couldn't be more satisfied. I'm glad I played this whole game without getting many spoilers, if the next gen still release on Switch, I will surely get it on the release.
SV has two of my favorite characters/rivals in the entire franchise. Nemona: a girl restricted by the weight of her own genius, a prodigy who could never fully express her passion finally finds someone she can be completely free and go all out against in the player. Kieran: a quiet, kind boy who sees all his struggles and dreams accomplished and taken away by someone else who is everything he wants to be, his desire to change and be better turning into an all consuming pursuit of strength as he works to shed his pathetic self image that only he sees.
what i hated most about this story with kieran is how actually mean and disrespectful we the mc and the sis and practically everyone else was to kieran, drayton was clearly mean to kieran when he lost "ex champion" like talking about shooting a man whilst they are down. and mc never said basically ANYTHING encouraging until the end there. the side character had better character than the mc. kieran wasnt an asshole he was just betrayed and so few people realise that, probably cause they were never bullied in their lives. i understand why he became like this, its understandable.
I have never been interested in a game story this much, even in the beginning of orgepon arc. Its kinda normal to me with such story encountering villain and beating them, they did it in every generation. However, there was something changed when I was forced to lie him and the fact that he actually knew it. I and his sister behaved like we're in adulthood and excluded him from getting known whatsoever happening. It's irritating me since Carmine always neglected his feeling and assumed he's in rebellious phase. But that is it, till I met him again in part 2. THATS WAY IMPRESSIVE, the way they changed his appearance, his characteristics, way more than I expected. I felt his obsession towards me, I even actually thought that he really hated me after losing orgepon's favor, I did underestimate the plot planner, that's not the end yet, the fact that he has other feeling than resentment surprised me a lot. His action at the cafeteria meeting proved a lot. They really apply a love-hate relationship for this story wtf. Anyway, just wanna say how much I love him as a character, he will always be my favorite husbando since now.
Kieran really is the Getou Suguru to our Satoru Gojo. But in all Honestly Kieran’s Arc is great. he has A backstory,Motivation,Drive and a Clear end…And his story is only continuing. Frankly i was quite surprised by just how Raw His Arc was. No prettying things up,Just Strainght and Blunt Jealousy and This Twisted sense of Purpose. I loved it.
This was phenomenal! Sorry for pushing it off for so long, sheesh 2 weeks; time management is not my forte. Really sold me on Kieran as a character tbh and now I wanna play SV for myself I might go pick it up- asfhafahda
Well, you have watched now, and I am very grateful. I think the characters are what I treasured most about the experience of SV. And Kieran is the peak of it. I hope you can enjoy it as much as I did when I played.
Hopefully you enjoy it, if youre willing to look past its still lingering performance issues S/V is one the best games in the franchise. How good is up to you to interpret
lmao its quazi here laptop edition, love the vid! I already told you how you changed Kieran in my mind from decent to amazing. Great job Tokay! Also I started horizions lol, its uh not very good. But this vid is great! 😁
This is the only time, in pokemon atleast, that the illusion of choice has actually bothered me. I didn't like having to lie to Kieran, and then being the reason for his villain arc. It makes sense for the story sure, but I just hate that they make it be the fault of your choice when it wasn't really your choice. I would have rather it just be a scripted line that way the story could have happened without having to be the one to lie, bully, and eventually absolutely crush the dream and aspirations of the poor kid.
ONION BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!! 🥰 Edit: I can see why Terapagos goes to the player, actually. Upon birth, many animals imprint on the first thing they see. The player was the first thing Terapagos sees upon being pulled free.
I love the appreciation for Kieran's character, but I feel like you've forgot or maybe didn't notice one big point that affects the way he acts : Carmine's mental abuse. People keep telling me that she isn't abusive, but believe someone who was a victim of mental abuse, Carmine is undeniably abusive. She keeps trying to control his actions, and when he tries to stand up for himself, she yells at him and threatens him with lines like "if you know what's good for you". Carmine has her own depth and insecurities, even if they're not as obvious, like she's afraid of being left out by the people she loves, and it doesn't help that the inhabitants of Mossui Town don't like her, though it's kinda justified since she's attention-seeking and has anger issues. She has her reason for seeking attention, being scared being left out as I said, but that doesn't make it acceptable. And another thing that's definitly not acceptable is the way she tries to control people to make sure they don't leave her. The person she does this the most to is Kieran, hence the overcontrolling and mentally abusive behavior, because even if she's awful to him, she cares for him and she's the one she doesn't want to lose the most. I'm saying this from experience, mentally abusive people often don't realize that what they're doing is harmful, but it's very harmful. Kieran says that he can't do things by himself and depends on Carmine, which fits, as Carmine does everything for him in order to keep him close to her, but it prevents Kieran to learn to do things by himself. I'm the same, my mentally abusive mom did everything for me, and now I don't know how to do some basic tasks myself. Another impact Carmine's abuse has on Kieran is the low self-esteem. A lot of Kieran's dialogue shows that he doesn't see/doubts his own self worth. And how could he think differently when everytime he tries to speak his mind, Carmine tells him to shut up ? It leads him to think that his opinion and the way he feels are irrelevant, since Carmine has probably been doing this for years. Even when we're talking about the way he acts after the battle in front of the shrine, she brushes it off as just "teen angst", which would make him feel like his feelings aren't valid. But his feelings aren't just teen angst. He's hurt and angry, and that's absolutely valid. Sadly Carmine doesn't understand what she's doing to him and thinks it's no big deal. It's also similar to my own experience. My mom doesn't have anger issues, but when I tried to be myself and do the things I like, she kept telling me I'm weird and I should change and act "normal". This made me feel not confident in myself and what I like, feeling like I'm wrong for being the way I am and liking the things I like. And nowadays I have low self esteem, just like Kieran does. And finally, the repressed anger. The way Carmine treats him makes him feel angry, but he can't express that anger since he can't do anything against her abuse. Even if he tells her, she'll either angrily tell him to shut up, threaten him with one of her "If you know what's good for you", or brush it off as "just teen angst". This inability to express his anger properly means that this anger is building up inside of him, and our character showing up, and becoming his best friend only to lie to him and steal his dream in front of his eyes is only making him gather even more anger. And there's a point where that anger can't be contained anymore, like a balloon you slowly fill with water until it can't contain the water and explodes. And as you probably guessed, the moment he explodes is between the Teal Mask and the Indigo Disk. And another thing that might make this anger build up inside of him is that Carmine might not just be mentally abusive but also physically abusive with Kieran. She might hit him when she's angry and nobody watches. It's not really proven, but Carmine does have this moment after her grandfather scolds her where she says "It's not like I hit him or anything" which can be interpreted as "It's not like I hit him *this time* " With mental abusers, it's not about you, it's about the way the things you do make *them* look, and with Carmine being self-centered, she could have been upset about the way he acted with our character in front of the shrine. She's upset because it makes *her* look bad. Of course that's stupid, Kieran's actions don't change the way we see her. She makes herself look bad. But once again speaking from experience, these people are not rational. They think the world revolves around them (and Carmine definitly thinks that too). But basically, even if there's no actual proof, I wouldn't be surprised if, between Kieran running away after the shrine battle and Carmine bringing him back to look for the Loyal Three, she got mad and hit Kieran for making her "look bad" in front of us, and then brought him back. This would only make the anger Kieran has been forced to repress this whole time to grow even stronger. And I don't think I mentioned this, but obviously her lying to Kieran about meeting Ogerpon is part of her overcontrolling behavior to keep him close to her. If he makes friends with people outside of her, like if he befriends Ogerpon, he might break free from her control and leave her. Though she doesn't realize that her behavior is already making people want to get away from her. In fact, she's awful to us at first, but as soon as she realizes Kieran became friends with us, she tries to be nicer to us, probably in order to insert herself into the group and stay close to Kieran. Sure she might be worried that Ogerpon is dangerous and doesn't want him to get hurt, but she also knows it's important to him. Our character and her could have accompanied Kieran to protect him just in case. She's the one who claims to be a super strong trainer after all. Instead she lies to him, even though it's obvious to us that it's only going to hurt him more in the long run. When I'm saying her behavior is harmful, this is yet another example. So basically, Carmine's mental and possible physical abuse is to blame for Kieran not being able to do things for himself, having low self esteem, and having repressed anger slowly building up inside of him until the Indigo Disk where he can't hold all of that anger inside anymore. What Kieran does in the Indigo Disk is wrong, but it's understandable why he does it. He's a victim. The mentality of "If you're not strong enough, you're a loser" that he pushes on himself and others (as we can see in his introduction in the Indigo Disk) is what we taught him by stealing his dream away from him and being stronger than him. It also shows his lack of self esteem. He thinks that he old him that couldn't win fights is a loser. It's our fault (and Carmine's) that he feels this way. But this anger is just a mask, and in reality, he is still that "loser" (even if he's not actually a loser obviously). That mask even breaks a bit while we explore Area Zero. As I said, all the anger he had inside of him for years has been released, and we can feel that anger in his scream at the beginning of the Champion fight. But the second scream in Area Zero however, is different. We just saved his life, and he starts to realize that he wasn't as alone as he thought. But now he's overwhelmed with the guilt of what he's done. And when we call out to him, he screams again, but this scream is different. This one is even more powerful, as it doesn't express his anger, his frustration, his doubts and his pain... it sets them free, making this huge weight leave his shoulders and he is able to see clearly again, not blinded by anger anymore. This pain will never truly go away, like in the epilogue when we catch Pecharunt and after that, Arven asks if we caught it and Kieran answers something "Haha, they sure did". I can feel the awkwardness in his voice even without voice acting. He may have moved on, have been able to not let his pain dictate his life and not hold a grudge, but he still remembers his feelings from when we caught Ogerpon, which is a similar situation to us being able to catch Pecharunt now. Kieran is a victim of mental abuse, and if it wasn't obvious, I relate to him A LOT. I also had to repress my anger the way he did, but hopefully I was able to get away before I exploded like Kieran did. He's my favorite character in the entirety of fiction. I do have problems with Carmine though, and not just because I absolutely despise her. During the Indigo Disk, Kieran's behavior should have made her realize her wrongs. But instead, she keeps brushing it off as teen angst. I mean she could do that to lie to herself at first only to admit it's partially her fault at first, but no she doesn't do that. And while she avoids Kieran for most of the Indigo Disk, in Area Zero she starts yelling at him again. And the very end, Kieran and Briar both apologize for what they did. It's the perfect moment for Carmine to apologize to and start being a better person. But no. She doesn't apologize. She never does. We can find them at Blueberry Academy after the epilogue, and Carmine does say she should give Kieran more space. This is improvement, but improvement that should have happened during the story, not after in an optional dialogue that's very easy to miss. It's crazy how much Carmine fits Pecharunt and should have it as a partner. She's toxic and wants to control people just like it. Also there should have been a route where we decide to tell Kieran the truth and Carmine is the one to change her look and take over the BB League. Lying to Kieran breaks my immersion because I would never do that. Also it pains me so much to do so. I think it's bad game design on Game Freak's part to force us to lie. Okay I'm finally done. I'm sorry this was very long, but as I said Kieran is my favorite character EVER so obviously I have a lot to say about him.
I agree that the way Carmine treats him has contributed to his lack of self esteem. I didn’t really want to talk about it because the game does not really explore that at all. I think the lack of their parents in their lives has also shaped those kids into who they are. Maybe the anime or manga could clear up some of these questions. And imo Pokemon games have never given us any real choice so that’s whatever.
That "it's not like I hit him" line caught my attention and I took at "this time" too. Before that I thought maybe they were just 2 siblings having slightly worse relations than normal, and that Carmine was just sorta mean. After that, no its clear it's abuse and it starts making a lot of what the other ppl in the town make a lot more sense and be a lot worse. They all seem to blame Kieran for how hes treated, like hes to blame for his sisters actions, and they're the ones being hurt by his trying to get help.... like they seem to think that Carmine is a handfull and too aggressive but Kieran is a liability that they don't really want around. It's worth noting also that Kieran doesn't like ogerpon in spite of being the shunned villain, but because of it. Says a lot about how he views the people around him and how they treat him specifically but just ppl in general.
in the indigo disk she seems so oblivious to what even made him upset in the first place also, not to mention when she literally THANKS you after taking his champion title…
Honestly I hopefully wish this is the direction for gen 10 Improve the open world A good story Improve competitive more with nerfs , buffs , and new tools Give us harder fights And hopefully more double battles in base game
I honestly dont see the "arc" kieran goes trough in the dlc, you arrive as some rando in kitakami become friends with kieran and do the whole school thing together wich was actualy realy cute meanwhile you mostly pretend carmine isnt there. But then you go to the festival together and dont tell kieran about ogerpon just bc carmine told you not to??? He obviously doesnt like that your keeping secrets from him but mc doesnt care at all bc why would they? The next day the ehole mask thing is explained to mc and carmine and carmine once again asks us to lie to kieran wich we do again for some reason even tho its obvious at this point that he knows, at the end he isnt angy bc "hE feLt eNtItLeD" to ogerpon idk where people got that from, he just wanted a CHANCE to get to know the one pokémon he has looked up to since he was young, and knew that if you catch her, he probably wont ever see her again. But you defeat him ofc with that never changing blank smile on your face and then leave with your trophy to put in your box and never think about again. Finaly when its time for you to go home carmine tells you that kieran is literaly so depressed he wont leave his room but you dont care bc wgy would you, he doesnt give you an item for talking to him so you leave. Theres more obviously but im too lazy to write a full essay rn the point is that people crushed a 10 year olds dream and then got angry at him for showing any kind of negative emotions and not just magicaly feelimg better
At first I hated Kieran (I don't know why, and I regret it), but as time went by I started to like him,and currently I hate the protagonists of Scarlet and Violet, they ruined the poor guy's life, Kieran deserves love and I'm finally giving that love to this character that I hated for no reason
Kieran honestly reads as a misunderstood, unjustly demonised, and neglected autistic person to me, as an autistic person himself. He believes that he can only get friends through stregnth, and who can blame him? If you were bullied for being weak and your first ever friend lied to you, you'd assume that everyone walks all over you because you're weak. Because you'd already hate yourself so much that the wider context wouldn't mean anything to you. I know, because it's happened to me. The way Drayton tries to 'help' Kieran is honestly harmful. People have tried to 'help' me in that way before, and let me tell you, it just sends you further down the spiral.
Yeah, she was. Luckily, as with most fantasy worlds, a near death experience caused by a crazy macguffin beast tends to speed up character development.
i think it’s kind of selfish of the main character to catch ogerpon, i know it got attached to us but idk i felt so bad i forced myself to lose the battle just to see i *have* to win
It's selfish of Kieran to disregard Ogerpon's agency, just to fulfill his own desires. Kieran had a toxic parasocial relationship with Ogerpon, and felt that he deserved her, despite Ogerpon not even knowing who he was. If you bring out Ogerpon against Kieran in the Indigo Disk, which is the first time he meets her after the Teal Mask, he says "You've got some nerve... Bringing out the ogre NOW of all times?!". Kieran refers to her by the same name the villagers of Kitakami used to villainize her. He was making an effort during the Teal Mask to call her by "Ogerpon", but when she doesn't reciprocate and doesn't choose him, he gives up on her and calls her a name that was used to treat her as some kind of monster. There's nothing selfish about the fact that Ogerpon likes us more than Kieran. If someone has a super huge crush on you, and you don't really care about them, you don't owe them anything. You shouldn't feel bad about deciding to date someone else, or feel pressured into reciprocating that love and making them happy, because that'd just lead to a toxic relationship where you're unhappy.
Hey thanks for the love on this video. I hope I was able to explain why this character is so great to Pokémon fans who had no idea about him. Please stick around for more videos on stories I find really cool.
Honestly I see Kieran as a representation of how us being the Main Character can actually end up hurting people in Pokemon. Since we get everything and leave everyone else in the dusty, and effortlessly at that depending on how you play the game. Other people have dreams and aspirations that they’ve worked tirelessly to achieve sometimes over years and years and here we come so random newbie accomplishing everything they worked for and/or wanted within less than a year. Kieran dreamed for become Ogrepon’s trainer, having friends, being strong, and having people rely on him but he was constantly being held back and then we appear out of nowhere and achieve all of that with ease we even do so on his turf (Blue Berry Academy)
Yeah, I think this is a great way to view his story. He’s a self aware NPC
@@tokay055 I wouldn't say self aware, but I would say he's more realistic. If you saw someone like the protagonist irl people would probably be jealous and angry that things come so easy to them while the rest of us struggle
@@hyperdreamer9483something i found realistic about kieran was his attitude towards the student when he was picking on them
he didn’t just bully them for something meaningless, he literally projected his insecurities on the student, and refused to let them explain themself or speak, just how no one cared to let Kieran explain why he liked the ogre. kieran assumed the kid was slacking, and the people who surrounded keiran when he was younger assumed he was weird or crazy.
i just wrote a whole damn paragraph about a pokémon character is this a bad thing
Worse, he could be seen as a representation of the main character when the player doesn't have as much agency as s/he deserves. :/
Well put
Unironically, I feel like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are very underrated in terms of writing.
Both the base game and the DLC have some really good writing, making us easily connect with the main characters. Kieran in particular is one I'm a big fan of, because he basically represents what a videogame character would do if he realizes about the special powers of a protagonist, and that they're going to take away what they pursued all life.
Huh... Never seen anyone complaining about the game's writing... Only about the issues, so they'd never aknowledge the good stuff.
@@sergioricardosantosdoamara5452negative news gets the viewa
No way, I'm much of a very big fan of Kieran too. Believe me, everyone I know is a fan of him and his championship. It's understandable that Drayton was rude to him by calling him "Ex-Champion", though.
@@michaelshea4099he is my favourite alongside penny from main game. I do think some overreact a bit with what Drayton said as tbf from all at blueberrys point of view he's the bully and no longer untouchable so they would take the opportunity to knock him whilst already down especially Drayton who lost his champion status because of him. Mochi mayhem I really liked as it did show kieran was able to learn from his mistakes and still keep the positive character developments like confidence and being able to make decisions for himself. Game freak did characters this gen very well like penny had the redemption arc too from leading a rebellious team
@@simpsons703I definitly agree with this, Kieran, my favorite characther also alongside penny, was perfect.
Penny represents my favorite pokemons, the eeveelutions.
Kieran represents me on irl.
And i also hate Drayton for being rude to him. Lmao.
dude, I've been playing pokemon since gen 1. I am autistic, and I've enjoyed a few characters in that time. but no character has been as relatable and lovable to me than Kieran. I've dealt with the feelings he has, and occasionally I still struggle with this. I have never been moved to tears the way I have during this DLC story. it made me feel like I finally have a character in my favorite franchise I can actually 100% relate to. it absolutely broke my heart when I was forced to lie to him and didnt have more options on what to say or do. I know how I would have comforted him, but the games story doesnt allow it. its such a breathe of fresh air to hear someone analyzing Kieran and understanding him, recognizing that he is a TEENAGER and that while his response is not ok, his feelings where valid. I will always feel that if Kieran was included from the start, things wouldnt have gotten so crazy. during the time between Teal Mask and Indigo Disk, I found myself daily thinking about kieran and crying because I was genuinely worried about what they were going to to with the character I love so much. needless to say I was overjoyed at the conclusion and during the area zero part of the story, it felt very emersive despite no voice acting, becuase when Kieran poured his heart out I started crying, so whe he started crying, it felt like there was some real connection going on between our fictional and real worlds. I know some people just dont care for him at all, but I love this little guy so much and months after Mochi Mayhem, I can say I don't think this will ever go anywhere. I am so confident in that fact that I've even commissioned a plushie to be made of him.
thank you for this video, its rare to see someone approach this character fairly.
Thanks dude. I absolutely adore this character’s story, too. I made this video, so more people would hopefully understand why it’s so compelling. Thanks for watching !
I completely relate, my own story is so similar to yours it felt jarring to read your comment, like I could've written it... Kieran is a wonderful, well developed character and I'm glad you, me and others like us have someone to truly feel like we connect with 💜
@@tokay055yes.
when i saw him my tismdar echoed across the entire universe very glad we can agree on this
At this point I’m playing bingo with your comments
Honestly, the video nails Kierans character perfectly. His whole arc from beginning to end was one the best the franchise has seen. Something about his whole character between being shy and not standing up for themselves initially , wanting to prove themselves to be someone people can rely on, feeling betrayed and outraged, finally breaking his shell and opening up, and letting go hits a special way for me as I connect with that a lot. The whole S/V cast already stood out to me as characters in the franchise i actually felt something for, like points i genuinely teared up (the last time a pokemon game did this for me was when i played mystery dungeon explorers of time 15 years ago) , but Kierans whole story blows it all out of the water and I loved every moment of it, to the point that i immediately started a new save just to go through it all again after the Mochi event. I can hold it together, but man does the Indigo Disk ending start making feel a little teary eyed. The story and characters in this game is a treasure (of area zero) that i want to preserve as long as i can. It made it all the more heartbreaking when I realized they weren't gonna announce anymore S/V dlc and we wouldn't get more of these amazing characters, thank goodness the announcement of Legends Z was there to soften the blow when i needed it most. PLEASE Pokemon, use them in other media they're to good to just end it here.
I love how there’s a unique dialogue for Kieran in the Club Room if you battle him and lose. The fact he seems visibly shaken with excitement never fails to put a smile on my face when he finally got a win over me.
And I even gave him Mimikyu, a Pokemon that goes through a similar journey that he does. He wanted to be like someone else, but realize they have value in just being themselves.
I'm really glad there are some people out there who understands how much of a good character Kieran is.
Unlike other rivals from previous Pokemon games, Kieran is one rival who gets quite a unique and tragic story on how he turns from a shy trainer to a strong champion.
I'm amazed that he's the only character who managed to catch a legendary Pokemon with a master ball and I found his character development on becoming a better person who's less shy really unique.
It's just a shame that there are other people out there who don't understand how great of a character Kieran really is since others still think he's just a little kid who should be put in his place.
I never had a deep interest in the Pokemon games until my husband told me about Kieran because he thought I might like him. And boy, did I!
I connected with Kieran immediately and especially by the time we got to him at Blueberry I truly understood why. As someone with bipolar disorder, a narcissistic personality disorder, and manic behaviors, Kieran is a perfect representation of how I felt in recent years dealing with some family stuff and my part in how all of it came crashing down thanks to my behaviors. His journey was a huge comfort for me, all wrapped up in a perfect little package.
In a way, Kieran gives me hope to keep going and find who I really am, and push through and learn from my bad habits to not hurt others again. I really commend the creators of the game for how they wrote and presented Kieran, he'll always have a place in my heart, and he was a very worthy introduction to the video game side of the franchise for me
I love that one theory I saw online saying Kieran is bullied in Blueberry Academy and hence why he's so obsessed with being strong. We've not the reason why he started the villan arc, we were merely the trigger for it.
I like his whole arc, as it's the only time gamefreak showed a rival who actually cares about losing. I was terrified they would do a Hop sitution again and make Kieran abandon his dreams to be on copium for losing to us, but thank god they teased he was going to become even stronger in the dlc.
What only sucked for me is how he just accepted he wasn't the main character the moment he saw his master ball broke. Like a 180 suddenly even though he just crushed his dreams, twice. I don't want him to be toxic forever but just not the typical "rival is your fanboy for losing" so quickly.
This. I know they needed to wrap the narrative up quickly after the climax, but Kieran's character growth was just a bit too sudden. I think a handful of poignant dialogue lines demonstrating he was starting to waffle on his views before the finale and a couple after he finally does let go of his ideology would have been adequate. He just needed a tink more fleshing out.
Not just the Academy.
At home too
Teal Mask story gave us a front row seat to some lovely mental and emotional abuse from his sister.
Who basically had no consequences
@@tristanalain9239 omg thank god I'm not the only one who didn't like how they did Carmine! I can see that they were trying to do an "Overprotective Tsundere Sister" but... tbh with how Kieran reacts to most dilouge with her, it just reads more as she hits him :/
Another thing that you didn’t mention about Kieran that I think is worth mentioning is his autistic coding and social status. Not only is he heavily implied to be autistic through so, so many autistic traits, he’s also a poor kid in a rich people school. Lacey and Drayton are gym leaders descendants, crispins parents own a restaurant business. Kieran is an immigrant from rural kitakami, who also said he used to be insecure (implying he was bullied for) his accent. Combined with autistic people feeling more insecure in general, as they feel that they don’t belong a lot of the time, he’s probably eager to prove himself as he most likely only got into BB from a scholarship given his humble background in relation to the prestigious school he goes to.
Furthermore on the autism front, his actions in area zero make a lot of sense when you take into account Drayton most likely bullied him during a mental breakdown. As an autistic person who has experienced that, it’s utter hell. Tough love does not work on people with depression. I know from experience. Hence why Drayton’s scolding for all its good intent, is what made Kieran want to get terapagos.if Drayton or the player uplifted him, and briar did not use his mental state against him to terrastilise terapagos, things would be different. It is only through the player uplifting him that he sees worth in himself.
I'd like to make another video discussing both him and Carmine. I'll totally bring these things up.
@@tokay055 I made a video discussing him as well and I’m planning to make videos on all of the DLC cast. Good to see I’m not the only one! I plan to bring these up on my eventual videos on Carmine, Drayton, Lacey, and another video on Kieran, and I’ve already made a TH-cam short discussing this point
Looking forward to your video!
@@Kieranpokemonsisliterallyme Game Freak popped off. Likewise looking forward to yours.
@@tokay055 thanks :3
@@tokay055 I made the video on Drayton, hope you enjoy XD
Turn on subtitles if you’d like. I’ll try to include them in all my videos.
Awesome video, i feel its gonna be hard to top what they done to Kieran as a character
Thank you, Henry! I agree but I’m sure they will do their best
I'm always glad to see someone else who gets it. I've been shocked to see how much vitriol there's been toward the character, though I suppose that's an issue of a lot of people not looking at characters as part of a narrative work as much as considering them people they meet in their own adventure, so the reaction becomes "why would I want to hang out with someone with these many obvious character flaws?" rather than "oh wow this character is really interesting because they have a rich arc based around being confronted by those flaws and eventually growing as a person."
Scarlet and Violet's story themes being centered on the individual journeys of personal growth and how important it is to find friends who support each other on those journeys, to finally no longer feel so alone is beautiful from start to finish. From Nemona, Arven, and Penny's stories of finding those connections through the player and, eventually, each other, to Team Star who already found those bonds through their own adversity, and finally being so fully realized in Kieran's story is honestly the single best writing work I've seen in a Pokemon game.
I wonder if we'll see him return. Seems like it's implied
Would be so cool bro
@@tokay055Yeah i hope we see him again, he is so cool, i dont want to leave him man.
In a future game? Probably. This is a small town kid, and he already has understanding of competitive double battling. He’s going places, for sure.
15:05 he was never self-centred. He was the opposite, and it was just as hurtful to himself. He hated himself, and everything like himself. Every time he saw weakness, he got angry with it, because it reminded him of what he was like. It's not self-centred, it's an all-encompassing self-hatred. that's why when the player gives him purpose by complimenting him, meaning returns to his life. Because he only ever wanted us as his friend. He only became stronger because he thought we were taking advantage of him, and if he got stronger, we would be his friend.
it doesn't change the fact he was still self centered though. you can hate yourself while also projecting your insecurities onto others and hurt them as a result
@@afro025 no, but you misunderstand that he's not arrogant or self-centred. He's just extremely angry with himself and everything like himself. It's different. I've lived with that kind of feeling. He doesn't put people down to make himself feel better, he just lashes out at people because he gets almost traumatised at the very mention of anything like himself. It's hard to explain unless you've had that kind of experience. It's a very common experience in autistic people like myself, idk if you are, but basically a lot of people misunderstand this, but Kieran does not hate the player at any point in the DLC. All of his anger is at himself. He sees the player as a source of inspiration, and he wants to be their friend. However, due to always having been being bullied, and having his first ever friend betray and lie to him, he's now, understandably, sadly, of the belief that the player takes advantage of him and hates him because he's weak and because of that, he has to fundamentally change himself if he's ever going to have friends.
@@Prauwlet213 okay but being "self centered" doesn't mean you put others down to make yourself feel better, that's not what the word means at all 💀 it simply means to be "preoccupied with oneself and one's affairs", or in other words, concerned with your own wants and needs over others. this is exactly what kieran was, it's the reason why he chose to fight the player over who gets to catch ogerpon, and it's because of this self centered pursuit to become stronger that results in things getting out of hand in area zero. kieran isn't naturally a self centered person, but it's because of his insecurities and self hatred that results in him becoming one
being self centered and hating yourself aren't mutually exclusive things, both can be true at the same time. and yes, i know exactly how kieran feels, i can intimately relate to his struggle. it's the reason he's one of my favorite pokemon characters
@@Prauwlet213 This is a pretty cool interpretation, but, no offense intended, I think you may be projecting your own experience onto the character too much. Kieran suffers from cognitive distortions which lead to his self-loathing. It’s easy to see how he’s projecting how he feels onto others and how that’s how he copes.
One theme in the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is being honest about how you feel. Carmine had to be honest about how she felt about tourists in her home, and Kieran had to be honest about how he felt like he was worthless.
They both had to confront how they feel. It’s an amazing story.
@@afro025 sorry 3:
Imagine waking up, saying good morning, then immediately getting yelled at for no reason😭
This DLC was a nice surpise. I hadnt touched Pokemon Scarlet in a way and it was quite the story. It was fun and seeing Kieran crash out was awesome. I slightly feel bad for Kieran and everyone else. Im a champion at the level of the Primera and yet people keep fighting me thinking they even have a chance. We are literally Cynthia to the Kitigami and Blueberry academy 😂 I wish I could have told everyone, btw Im a champion level threat, Ive beaten 8 gyms twice over and gone through the trenches of Area Zero fighting stuff you couldnt imagine for training.
A good point you brought up I never realized how Ogerpon probably had an attachment to us because we were outsiders like she was to the village so it makes sense she was naturally attracted to us and that we werent a villager she was used to being scorned by. Unfortunately Kieran had the misfortune of being born to the villagers and Ogerpon never would have allowed herself to get close to him.
I definitely think that Kieran is a great character thanks for making this video.
Kieran's arc always made me emotional and I didn't even wanted to lie to him
darmn, how dare you make me actually want to play these games? great video
No, for real, I just ordered Pokemon Scarlet because I need to experience this arc first hand. And I swore these games off when they were first released due to their technical issues! Good writing wins every time...
@@ClearSummerSkies the game is amazing if you can look past the bad performance
@@ClearSummerSkies
I saw the memes when this game first released, at the time i didn't had a switch and never played any pokémon games besides Fire Red and Yellow, and I thought: "Damn, i won't ever buy a pokémon game."
But today... This game became the reason I bought a Switch in first place, just finished the game and the DLCs, and i couldn't be more satisfied.
I'm glad I played this whole game without getting many spoilers, if the next gen still release on Switch, I will surely get it on the release.
SV has two of my favorite characters/rivals in the entire franchise. Nemona: a girl restricted by the weight of her own genius, a prodigy who could never fully express her passion finally finds someone she can be completely free and go all out against in the player. Kieran: a quiet, kind boy who sees all his struggles and dreams accomplished and taken away by someone else who is everything he wants to be, his desire to change and be better turning into an all consuming pursuit of strength as he works to shed his pathetic self image that only he sees.
headcanon: after the epilogue Kieran discovered vocaloid and became a uatu
what i hated most about this story with kieran is how actually mean and disrespectful we the mc and the sis and practically everyone else was to kieran, drayton was clearly mean to kieran when he lost "ex champion" like talking about shooting a man whilst they are down. and mc never said basically ANYTHING encouraging until the end there. the side character had better character than the mc. kieran wasnt an asshole he was just betrayed and so few people realise that, probably cause they were never bullied in their lives. i understand why he became like this, its understandable.
Yo Kieran’s battle theme was awesome in the BB League
I have never been interested in a game story this much, even in the beginning of orgepon arc. Its kinda normal to me with such story encountering villain and beating them, they did it in every generation. However, there was something changed when I was forced to lie him and the fact that he actually knew it. I and his sister behaved like we're in adulthood and excluded him from getting known whatsoever happening. It's irritating me since Carmine always neglected his feeling and assumed he's in rebellious phase. But that is it, till I met him again in part 2. THATS WAY IMPRESSIVE, the way they changed his appearance, his characteristics, way more than I expected. I felt his obsession towards me, I even actually thought that he really hated me after losing orgepon's favor, I did underestimate the plot planner, that's not the end yet, the fact that he has other feeling than resentment surprised me a lot. His action at the cafeteria meeting proved a lot. They really apply a love-hate relationship for this story wtf. Anyway, just wanna say how much I love him as a character, he will always be my favorite husbando since now.
Kieran really is the Getou Suguru to our Satoru Gojo.
But in all Honestly Kieran’s Arc is great. he has A backstory,Motivation,Drive and a Clear end…And his story is only continuing. Frankly i was quite surprised by just how Raw His Arc was. No prettying things up,Just Strainght and Blunt Jealousy and This Twisted sense of Purpose.
I loved it.
This was phenomenal! Sorry for pushing it off for so long, sheesh 2 weeks; time management is not my forte. Really sold me on Kieran as a character tbh and now I wanna play SV for myself I might go pick it up- asfhafahda
Well, you have watched now, and I am very grateful. I think the characters are what I treasured most about the experience of SV. And Kieran is the peak of it. I hope you can enjoy it as much as I did when I played.
Hopefully you enjoy it, if youre willing to look past its still lingering performance issues S/V is one the best games in the franchise. How good is up to you to interpret
@@tokay055AGREED.
lmao its quazi here laptop edition, love the vid! I already told you how you changed Kieran in my mind from decent to amazing. Great job Tokay! Also I started horizions lol, its uh not very good. But this vid is great! 😁
NO RIVAL HAS EVER MADE ME THIS GUILTY BEFORE😢😢
This is the only time, in pokemon atleast, that the illusion of choice has actually bothered me. I didn't like having to lie to Kieran, and then being the reason for his villain arc. It makes sense for the story sure, but I just hate that they make it be the fault of your choice when it wasn't really your choice. I would have rather it just be a scripted line that way the story could have happened without having to be the one to lie, bully, and eventually absolutely crush the dream and aspirations of the poor kid.
if you didnt lie then there no tension between player and kieran, wont be much of a story
we getting out the e-hood with this one
During the champ mach, he acually had me on the backfoot. First time i have ever been pushed in ages from a single battle.
great video!!
Kieran one of my all time fav rivals and it makes me sad how aloy of the fanbase writes him off as a entitled cry baby
ONION BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!! 🥰
Edit: I can see why Terapagos goes to the player, actually. Upon birth, many animals imprint on the first thing they see. The player was the first thing Terapagos sees upon being pulled free.
good job man
I love the appreciation for Kieran's character, but I feel like you've forgot or maybe didn't notice one big point that affects the way he acts : Carmine's mental abuse.
People keep telling me that she isn't abusive, but believe someone who was a victim of mental abuse, Carmine is undeniably abusive.
She keeps trying to control his actions, and when he tries to stand up for himself, she yells at him and threatens him with lines like "if you know what's good for you".
Carmine has her own depth and insecurities, even if they're not as obvious, like she's afraid of being left out by the people she loves, and it doesn't help that the inhabitants of Mossui Town don't like her, though it's kinda justified since she's attention-seeking and has anger issues.
She has her reason for seeking attention, being scared being left out as I said, but that doesn't make it acceptable. And another thing that's definitly not acceptable is the way she tries to control people to make sure they don't leave her.
The person she does this the most to is Kieran, hence the overcontrolling and mentally abusive behavior, because even if she's awful to him, she cares for him and she's the one she doesn't want to lose the most.
I'm saying this from experience, mentally abusive people often don't realize that what they're doing is harmful, but it's very harmful.
Kieran says that he can't do things by himself and depends on Carmine, which fits, as Carmine does everything for him in order to keep him close to her, but it prevents Kieran to learn to do things by himself.
I'm the same, my mentally abusive mom did everything for me, and now I don't know how to do some basic tasks myself.
Another impact Carmine's abuse has on Kieran is the low self-esteem. A lot of Kieran's dialogue shows that he doesn't see/doubts his own self worth.
And how could he think differently when everytime he tries to speak his mind, Carmine tells him to shut up ?
It leads him to think that his opinion and the way he feels are irrelevant, since Carmine has probably been doing this for years.
Even when we're talking about the way he acts after the battle in front of the shrine, she brushes it off as just "teen angst", which would make him feel like his feelings aren't valid.
But his feelings aren't just teen angst. He's hurt and angry, and that's absolutely valid. Sadly Carmine doesn't understand what she's doing to him and thinks it's no big deal.
It's also similar to my own experience. My mom doesn't have anger issues, but when I tried to be myself and do the things I like, she kept telling me I'm weird and I should change and act "normal".
This made me feel not confident in myself and what I like, feeling like I'm wrong for being the way I am and liking the things I like. And nowadays I have low self esteem, just like Kieran does.
And finally, the repressed anger. The way Carmine treats him makes him feel angry, but he can't express that anger since he can't do anything against her abuse.
Even if he tells her, she'll either angrily tell him to shut up, threaten him with one of her "If you know what's good for you", or brush it off as "just teen angst".
This inability to express his anger properly means that this anger is building up inside of him, and our character showing up, and becoming his best friend only to lie to him and steal his dream in front of his eyes is only making him gather even more anger.
And there's a point where that anger can't be contained anymore, like a balloon you slowly fill with water until it can't contain the water and explodes.
And as you probably guessed, the moment he explodes is between the Teal Mask and the Indigo Disk.
And another thing that might make this anger build up inside of him is that Carmine might not just be mentally abusive but also physically abusive with Kieran. She might hit him when she's angry and nobody watches.
It's not really proven, but Carmine does have this moment after her grandfather scolds her where she says "It's not like I hit him or anything" which can be interpreted as "It's not like I hit him *this time* "
With mental abusers, it's not about you, it's about the way the things you do make *them* look, and with Carmine being self-centered, she could have been upset about the way he acted with our character in front of the shrine.
She's upset because it makes *her* look bad. Of course that's stupid, Kieran's actions don't change the way we see her. She makes herself look bad.
But once again speaking from experience, these people are not rational. They think the world revolves around them (and Carmine definitly thinks that too).
But basically, even if there's no actual proof, I wouldn't be surprised if, between Kieran running away after the shrine battle and Carmine bringing him back to look for the Loyal Three, she got mad and hit Kieran for making her "look bad" in front of us, and then brought him back.
This would only make the anger Kieran has been forced to repress this whole time to grow even stronger.
And I don't think I mentioned this, but obviously her lying to Kieran about meeting Ogerpon is part of her overcontrolling behavior to keep him close to her.
If he makes friends with people outside of her, like if he befriends Ogerpon, he might break free from her control and leave her. Though she doesn't realize that her behavior is already making people want to get away from her.
In fact, she's awful to us at first, but as soon as she realizes Kieran became friends with us, she tries to be nicer to us, probably in order to insert herself into the group and stay close to Kieran.
Sure she might be worried that Ogerpon is dangerous and doesn't want him to get hurt, but she also knows it's important to him. Our character and her could have accompanied Kieran to protect him just in case. She's the one who claims to be a super strong trainer after all.
Instead she lies to him, even though it's obvious to us that it's only going to hurt him more in the long run. When I'm saying her behavior is harmful, this is yet another example.
So basically, Carmine's mental and possible physical abuse is to blame for Kieran not being able to do things for himself, having low self esteem, and having repressed anger slowly building up inside of him until the Indigo Disk where he can't hold all of that anger inside anymore.
What Kieran does in the Indigo Disk is wrong, but it's understandable why he does it. He's a victim. The mentality of "If you're not strong enough, you're a loser" that he pushes on himself and others (as we can see in his introduction in the Indigo Disk) is what we taught him by stealing his dream away from him and being stronger than him.
It also shows his lack of self esteem. He thinks that he old him that couldn't win fights is a loser. It's our fault (and Carmine's) that he feels this way. But this anger is just a mask, and in reality, he is still that "loser" (even if he's not actually a loser obviously). That mask even breaks a bit while we explore Area Zero.
As I said, all the anger he had inside of him for years has been released, and we can feel that anger in his scream at the beginning of the Champion fight.
But the second scream in Area Zero however, is different. We just saved his life, and he starts to realize that he wasn't as alone as he thought. But now he's overwhelmed with the guilt of what he's done.
And when we call out to him, he screams again, but this scream is different. This one is even more powerful, as it doesn't express his anger, his frustration, his doubts and his pain... it sets them free, making this huge weight leave his shoulders and he is able to see clearly again, not blinded by anger anymore.
This pain will never truly go away, like in the epilogue when we catch Pecharunt and after that, Arven asks if we caught it and Kieran answers something "Haha, they sure did". I can feel the awkwardness in his voice even without voice acting.
He may have moved on, have been able to not let his pain dictate his life and not hold a grudge, but he still remembers his feelings from when we caught Ogerpon, which is a similar situation to us being able to catch Pecharunt now.
Kieran is a victim of mental abuse, and if it wasn't obvious, I relate to him A LOT. I also had to repress my anger the way he did, but hopefully I was able to get away before I exploded like Kieran did. He's my favorite character in the entirety of fiction.
I do have problems with Carmine though, and not just because I absolutely despise her. During the Indigo Disk, Kieran's behavior should have made her realize her wrongs.
But instead, she keeps brushing it off as teen angst. I mean she could do that to lie to herself at first only to admit it's partially her fault at first, but no she doesn't do that.
And while she avoids Kieran for most of the Indigo Disk, in Area Zero she starts yelling at him again. And the very end, Kieran and Briar both apologize for what they did. It's the perfect moment for Carmine to apologize to and start being a better person. But no. She doesn't apologize. She never does.
We can find them at Blueberry Academy after the epilogue, and Carmine does say she should give Kieran more space. This is improvement, but improvement that should have happened during the story, not after in an optional dialogue that's very easy to miss.
It's crazy how much Carmine fits Pecharunt and should have it as a partner. She's toxic and wants to control people just like it.
Also there should have been a route where we decide to tell Kieran the truth and Carmine is the one to change her look and take over the BB League.
Lying to Kieran breaks my immersion because I would never do that. Also it pains me so much to do so. I think it's bad game design on Game Freak's part to force us to lie.
Okay I'm finally done. I'm sorry this was very long, but as I said Kieran is my favorite character EVER so obviously I have a lot to say about him.
I agree that the way Carmine treats him has contributed to his lack of self esteem. I didn’t really want to talk about it because the game does not really explore that at all. I think the lack of their parents in their lives has also shaped those kids into who they are. Maybe the anime or manga could clear up some of these questions. And imo Pokemon games have never given us any real choice so that’s whatever.
@@tokay055 Yeah I know that the games never gave us real choices. But clearly this needs to change.
That "it's not like I hit him" line caught my attention and I took at "this time" too. Before that I thought maybe they were just 2 siblings having slightly worse relations than normal, and that Carmine was just sorta mean. After that, no its clear it's abuse and it starts making a lot of what the other ppl in the town make a lot more sense and be a lot worse. They all seem to blame Kieran for how hes treated, like hes to blame for his sisters actions, and they're the ones being hurt by his trying to get help.... like they seem to think that Carmine is a handfull and too aggressive but Kieran is a liability that they don't really want around.
It's worth noting also that Kieran doesn't like ogerpon in spite of being the shunned villain, but because of it. Says a lot about how he views the people around him and how they treat him specifically but just ppl in general.
in the indigo disk she seems so oblivious to what even made him upset in the first place
also, not to mention when she literally THANKS you after taking his champion title…
@@kieranpleaseforgiveme Oh hey, it's you. Heya ^^ And yeah they really messed up with her character.
I love this vid, thank you
Honestly I hopefully wish this is the direction for gen 10
Improve the open world
A good story
Improve competitive more with nerfs , buffs , and new tools
Give us harder fights
And hopefully more double battles in base game
Bro deserves more subs
I honestly dont see the "arc" kieran goes trough in the dlc, you arrive as some rando in kitakami become friends with kieran and do the whole school thing together wich was actualy realy cute meanwhile you mostly pretend carmine isnt there. But then you go to the festival together and dont tell kieran about ogerpon just bc carmine told you not to??? He obviously doesnt like that your keeping secrets from him but mc doesnt care at all bc why would they? The next day the ehole mask thing is explained to mc and carmine and carmine once again asks us to lie to kieran wich we do again for some reason even tho its obvious at this point that he knows, at the end he isnt angy bc "hE feLt eNtItLeD" to ogerpon idk where people got that from, he just wanted a CHANCE to get to know the one pokémon he has looked up to since he was young, and knew that if you catch her, he probably wont ever see her again. But you defeat him ofc with that never changing blank smile on your face and then leave with your trophy to put in your box and never think about again. Finaly when its time for you to go home carmine tells you that kieran is literaly so depressed he wont leave his room but you dont care bc wgy would you, he doesnt give you an item for talking to him so you leave. Theres more obviously but im too lazy to write a full essay rn the point is that people crushed a 10 year olds dream and then got angry at him for showing any kind of negative emotions and not just magicaly feelimg better
Did you...even play the DLC? Because it's the grandfather who asks you to lie to Kieran, not Carmine.
Nice video :D
I have 5 words and no explanation Kieran is the best ever!
W video
At first I hated Kieran (I don't know why, and I regret it), but as time went by I started to like him,and currently I hate the protagonists of Scarlet and Violet, they ruined the poor guy's life, Kieran deserves love and I'm finally giving that love to this character that I hated for no reason
I love the new thumbnail:)
Thanks! I was gonna go with this one initially, but worried it would have less general appeal.
@@tokay055 well you thought wrong lol. i *told* you to use this thumbnail 🗿
@@afro025 Guh
@@tokay055 uh oh the thumbnail changed again, teal mask kieran's sad face is gone :'0
Personality reminds me of corona from soul eater
Kieran honestly reads as a misunderstood, unjustly demonised, and neglected autistic person to me, as an autistic person himself. He believes that he can only get friends through stregnth, and who can blame him? If you were bullied for being weak and your first ever friend lied to you, you'd assume that everyone walks all over you because you're weak. Because you'd already hate yourself so much that the wider context wouldn't mean anything to you. I know, because it's happened to me. The way Drayton tries to 'help' Kieran is honestly harmful. People have tried to 'help' me in that way before, and let me tell you, it just sends you further down the spiral.
am I the only one who thinks Carmine is kinda toxic? not only to her brother but to everyone
You're not the only one. I think so too
Yeah, she was. Luckily, as with most fantasy worlds, a near death experience caused by a crazy macguffin beast tends to speed up character development.
she is toxic
So kireran wants power. Absolute power. Sounds familiar.
me who just watched The Chosen One Remastered before seeing this comment, I feel a disturbance in the force
I wonder if he ever will appear in Pokemon Horizons
He could possibly get the same treatment as arven did tho:/
@@Nyahoja906 If they go to blueberry, I’m sure he’ll appear
@tokay055 yeah i hope we at least see him one time
Roy about to steal Ogerpon because Liko has Terapagos.
@@shermanpaul4654 yeah lol
i think it’s kind of selfish of the main character to catch ogerpon, i know it got attached to us but idk i felt so bad i forced myself to lose the battle just to see i *have* to win
It's selfish of Kieran to disregard Ogerpon's agency, just to fulfill his own desires. Kieran had a toxic parasocial relationship with Ogerpon, and felt that he deserved her, despite Ogerpon not even knowing who he was. If you bring out Ogerpon against Kieran in the Indigo Disk, which is the first time he meets her after the Teal Mask, he says "You've got some nerve... Bringing out the ogre NOW of all times?!". Kieran refers to her by the same name the villagers of Kitakami used to villainize her. He was making an effort during the Teal Mask to call her by "Ogerpon", but when she doesn't reciprocate and doesn't choose him, he gives up on her and calls her a name that was used to treat her as some kind of monster.
There's nothing selfish about the fact that Ogerpon likes us more than Kieran. If someone has a super huge crush on you, and you don't really care about them, you don't owe them anything. You shouldn't feel bad about deciding to date someone else, or feel pressured into reciprocating that love and making them happy, because that'd just lead to a toxic relationship where you're unhappy.
Ok everyone talks about Kieran so the first lines aren’t that valid but this analysis is cool
The only bad thing about him is dlc. He is literally the best thing in SV but no I cant even meet him 😢
What do you mean?
I didnt buy the dlc. I just think its a waste of money especially for pokemon
dawg if it's "literally the best thing in SV" then it isn't a waste of money lol
@@venus4211 given the performance i would say the whole game is a waste of money even if i love it to death
@@questionmarkquestionmarkquesif you love it then it isn’t a waste of money for you LOL
I completely dislike the main character in scavio, our character. He is such a brat 🤣