10 Jaw-Dropping Video Game Fan Theories That Make Everything Better

Did you hear the one about Pokémon living together and fighting space aliens?

Pokemon Star Fox
Nintendo

You'd think after spending thousands of hours across some of the greatest games of all time, we'd have seen everything the developers had to offer.

But what if some narrative elements, characters and worlds actually had incredible hidden messages and themes that connected them all together? There are some games - like the brutal mistress of Dark Souls - that thrive on such a thing, leading you through their labyrinthine worlds with barely a sniff of purpose or narrative.

Instead, we'll be focussing on incredibly successful games that nearly everyone has played or at least heard of, as those are the ones where we can assume the story being told was the most straightforward. For the most part, these titles have always been taken at face value, but the great thing about delving into fan theories is it opens up entire new perspectives on how our favourites are put together.

Adding an entire new element to the way you view something like Nintendo's loveable characters, or the cyber-enhanced world of Assassin's Creed, there's far more to these titles that meets the eye. In many cases, these potential alternate realities could easily be true, as they end up being far more enticing than the original premise anyway.

11. The World Of Pokémon Is Ravaged By War

Starting out with one of the most discussed Pokemon theories (of which there are many) and the actually extremely freaky realisation that the entire world you're walking around in has been the subject of a population-destroying war.

It might seem a bit strange that the joyously animated creatures and locales of Pokemon could have been privy to such an event, but you need only take stock of a few things before it starts making sense:

First up there's the fact that your character's father is never addressed whatsoever, instead your rival Gary (or whatever rude word you gave him) is an orphan who also never gets a background story either. In addition you'll notice when exploring Kanto that there are a huge amount of gyms and hospitals throughout such a very small area, with a distinct lack of males - aside from gym leaders or military personnel.

Why could this be? Well the best bit comes in conversation you'll have with gym leader Lt. Surge, where he exclaims that "electric Pokemon saved during the war!" In referencing some past event that seems to have completely devastated the vast majority of the male population, it appears to have left you without a father, as well as orphaning entire cities of children who take to the fields to catch Pokemon for something to do.

It's also worth pointing out that another popular theory going around is that Professor Oak actually created both yourself and Gary himself, adopting the latter and giving you away to a surrogate mother, knowing that some day you would resume your duties as a Pokemon catcher.

Only one childhood-destroying theory at a time though, right?

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Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.