My name...is Super Nerd Daniel.
I perform a much-needed job here in the city of YouTube...
...shoehorning Pokemon into my favorite fandoms, and crafting hypothetical teams for their characters.
Some are well-known, like Avatar and Overwatch;
others are a bit more obscure, lost in the fog like some vague, nearly-forgotten memory...
kinda like a little 26-episode anime from the late '90's: The Big O.
The Big O is one of my favorite shows from when I was younger.
It's oozing with style, it deals with some complex themes,
and it's got a great mix of film noir elements and monster-of-the-week style mecha anime fights.
It's basically Batman meets giant robots.
The Big O takes place in Paradigm City, a place where everyone mysteriously lost their memories after some sort of cataclysm 40 years ago;
some kind of mysterious event revolving around giant robots called, "megadeuses".
Most people in the city are content to live their lives in the present, even without a history to recall...
...unless, of course, they find out that they have some sort of memories buried deep inside.
If you're familiar with the "What If...?" series at all, then you know the drill:
it's time to pick 5 characters and give them 4 Pokemon apiece,
as I tell you what I think it'd be like if The Big O characters were Pokemon Trainers!
Oh, and because I *know* most of the people watching my channel haven't watched The Big O before...
[ SPOILER SIREN WAILING ]
BIG TIME HECKIN' SPOILERS AHEAD.
Let's start things off with one of the most consistent antagonists in The Big O, Jason Beck.
Designed as something of a satire of old-school anime character Lupin III,
Beck is a small-time criminal with BIG-TIME aspirations.
His first appearance is in Act:01 as someone the main character, Roger Smith, has to negotiate a deal with,
but after Beck and his goons try to pull a fast one, Roger humiliates him by taking the money back,
and thus, Beck spends pretty much the entire rest of the show trying to get back at Roger, and humiliate him even WORSE.
However, Beck's plans continuously degrade from sinister to borderline-comical, and he pretty much always gets his comeuppance in the end.
Think of Beck and his goons as more or less the Team Rocket of Big O, since they also went from dangerous criminals to absolute buffoons in a matter of episodes.
For Beck's Pokemon team, let's start off with Sableye, to represent Beck's perpetual greed, and his ultimate end-goal of just being super rich.
Next up, let's give him an Alolan Persian, which not only has an even HIGHER opinion of itself than Kantonian Persian -- if you can actually believe that --
but much like Beck himself, Alolan Persian's not afraid to fight dirty to try and get one over on Roger.
After that, we'll go with Porygon-Z,
because Beck has shown that he has memories of the knowledge of how to build and operate various megadeuses,
and constantly tries to make mechs that one-up Roger's megadeus, Big O,
but most of the time, they end up having some sort of weakness or defect that stifle that intended superiority.
And last but not least, this might seem like a bit of an odd choice, but I wanna give Beck a Mimikyu,
because, to a certain degree, I always got the feeling that, even as he was trying to one-up Roger, he also kinda wanted to BE Roger --
the nice outfits, the smooth demeanor, and even having an awesome giant robot --
but he could never emulate Roger's emotional self-control and constant professionalism,
as he's prone to fits of rage at even the slightest setback.
Not to mention, much like Mimikyu's Disguise,
most of Beck's megadeuses go down in one good hit.
Next up, let's talk about Roger's constant companion, and probably my favorite character in the entire show, R. Dorothy Wayneright.
Also introduced in Act:01 as the girl kidnapped by Beck,
it turns out that Dorothy is actually an android designed by a scientist named Timothy Wayneright,
who lost his real daughter, Dorothy, in the events from 40 years ago, and built R. Dorothy as a replacement using his daughter's memories.
After Beck murders Timothy in Act:02, Dorothy ends up staying at Roger's place,
helping his butler Norman with chores around the house, and occasionally accompanying Roger on his negotiation cases.
Of course, she's not above rattling Roger's cage or otherwise hitting him with an AMAZING sarcastic comeback.
ROGER: Do I have to make you get out...?
R. DOROTHY: You may try, but I'm doubtful that a mere human would have the strength.
All throughout The Big O, R. Dorothy constantly wrestles with the idea of whether she's her own person,
or merely a carbon-copy of the woman after which she was designed.
and it's through her that the show tends to explore a lot of its more existential themes,
like the struggle of finding one's own identity, or what it truly means to be human.
Now, my first pick for R. Dorothy's team is gonna be a little bit on the nose, but...
...I'm gonna go with female Indeedee,
considering that both forms of Indeedee were designed based on butlers and maids, and
R. Dorothy kinda takes on that role around Roger's mansion after the first two episodes.
Not to mention that I literally nicknamed my own competitive Indeedee "R. Dorothy" anyway.
Next up, let's go with Blaziken, not only for its Speed Boost Ability,
but also because it can leap a 30-story building in a single bound,
much like how R. Dorothy herself has often displayed superhuman feats of speed and agility.
After that, we're gonna go with a Meloetta, as a representation of R. Dorothy's propensity for music,
showing her skills in both singing and piano.
Although Roger would probably disagree on the latter, considering that most of Dorothy's piano playing only serves to keep him from sleeping in.
And last, but not least, I'm gonna give R. Dorothy a Magearna,
because, much like how Magearna syncs up its consciousness to humans in order to understand their emotions,
R. Dorothy's time and experiences with Roger ultimately allowed her to get more in touch with some measure of humanity,
and she was often shown to have the capacity for human emotions and sentimentality.
YOU, THE VIEWER: "But Daniel, isn't that kinda cheap to give R. Dorothy TWO Legendaries?"
...Well, I mean, YEAH, probably, but I *did* say she was one of my favorite characters from the show, so...
...you know...
...shut up.
And now it's time for one of the more fascinating characters in the show, the man known simply as Schwarzwald.
A former reporter for the Paradigm Press by the name of "Michael Seebach",
he grew increasingly frustrated that his employers constantly censored his work,
and his obsession with bringing the truth to the people of Paradigm City eventually lead to an attempt on his life
by people connected to the Paradigm Corporation --
an attack that left him scarred and deformed, nearly his entire body wrapped in bandages.
Schwarzwald first appears in Act:04, calling Roger nothing more than a corrupt dog on Paradigm's leash,
and eventually he even discovers his own "Big" megadeus to do combat with Roger and Big O -- Big Duo.
According to a 2003 interview with Big O's director, Kazuyoshi Katayama,
Schwarzwald was originally going to be a criminal that sadistically enjoyed his crimes,
kinda like the Joker to Roger's Batman, which makes sense,
given the show's obvious influence from Batman: The Animated Series,
but as the show got further into development, Schwarzwald became a more complex character,
and the end result is a man who seeks the truth, to know what MUST be known...no matter what he has to do to know it.
First up, I'm gonna give Schwarzwald a Houndoom, a Pokemon whose burns are said to hurt forever,
due to his penchant for trying to set people on fire.
Rather ironic, considering that the attempt on his life may very well have been someone trying to burn him alive.
Next up, let's go with Dusclops -- holding Eviolite, of course --
mostly as an aesthetic pick, given that Dusclops' mummy-like design fits perfectly with Schwarzwald's bandage-wrapped appearance.
Speaking of aesthetics, I'm also gonna give him a Banette, which not only fits the look, but
also works because it's a Pokemon driven by vengeance,
which lines up with Schwarzwald's desire to bring down the Paradigm Corporation.
Understandable, considering the whole...you know, "trying to KILL HIM" thing.
And last, but not least, let's go with a Rotom, a Pokemon with the ability to possess machinery.
Honestly, I feel like this is the best way to represent the fact that, despite presumably dying in Act:17,
an apparition of Schwarzwald appears in a later episode when another character, Alan Gabriel, attempts to pilot Big Duo,
deeming him an unworthy pilot for the megadeus, before Big Duo suffocates Alan in wires and KILLS HIM.
I guess you could say that Alan found out that...
...the truth hurts.
[ ♫ The Who - "Won't Get Fooled Again" ♫ ]
(aka, the "YEAH" song from CSI Miami)
And now, I think we need to talk about one of the most mysterious characters in the series, a woman simply going by the name of "Angel".
Her name comes from the two mysterious scars on her upper back that give the impression that she once had wings,
although Roger often describes her as more of a *fallen* angel than anything else.
Angel fits snugly into the role of the "femme fatale", a common trope in the film noir stories that Big O obviously takes influence from,
where an alluring woman will often use her charm to mislead or ensnare the protagonist, in order to achieve some sort of goal that they may not have been able to otherwise.
Originally an agent of The Union --
a group of foreigners from outside Paradigm City who seek lost memories and wish to exact revenge on the Paradigm Corporation --
Angel eventually becomes so close to Roger that she forsakes her duties to The Union, and becomes a trusted ally.
Of course, there's SO much more to Angel than meets the eye...even to herself.
To start of Angel's team, I'm gonna give her a Mawile, a Pokemon who lures in potential prey with its cute face, only to attack them with its giant jaws,
a fairly fitting reference to the femme fatale archetype that Angel falls under.
Next up, we're gonna go with a Kecleon, due to Angel camouflaging herself in many of Roger's early meetings with her, as part of her work with The Union,
even introducing herself under various aliases.
After that, I'm gonna go with an aesthetic pick and go with Staraptor, mainly because I wanted a Flying-type to represent the wings that Angel's scars imply she once had, and...
...also 'cause I just kinda *really* like Staraptor.
And finally, Beheeyem, a Pokemon whose psychic abilities allow it to alter and manipulate people's memories,
a fitting pick, considering that the last episode *really* heavily implies that Angel is actually the one in control of the entire world,
caused everyone's amnesia,
and has the power to completely wipe out the universe on a whim.
...What? I *said* there would be spoilers.
And last, but certainly not least -- the protagonist, the pilot of Big O, Paradigm City's top Negotiator...Roger Smith.
Influenced by characters like Batman, James Bond, and even Daisaku Kusama from Giant Robo,
Roger's line of work is being a "Negotiator" -- someone who finds resolutions for the various troubles of Paradigm City -- and he's damn good at his job.
He's resourceful, quick-witted, smooth, and a professional to the extreme,
operating under a strict set of rules both on and off the job.
Of course, there's situations where even being the city's top Negotiator won't get the job done,
and that's when he calls in Big O, his trusted megadeus, to combat the giant robots and monsters that threaten Paradigm City,
to make sure that the city without a past still has a future.
To start off Roger's team, let's give him an Inteleon,
a Pokemon who, like Roger himself, takes design influences from secret agent characters like James Bond.
Of course, the fact that Inteleon's design also revolves around shooting things is a bit of an issue,
considering that Roger flat-out says in Act:03 --
ROGER: It's not my style to carry a gun.
-- but he *has* also been shown to be adept at using a gun, if given no other choice.
Next up, and this might be a bit of an odd choice aesthetically, but...
...I'm gonna give Roger a Hatterene.
See, Roger's absolute professionalism goes hand-in-hand with an effort to suppress his emotions,
and he HATES it when he feels out of control of a situation,
especially if that lack of control is due to being overwhelmed by "irrational emotion",
and Hatterene's entire evolutionary family is filled with Pokemon that attack those who give off strong emotions,
so it's a good representation of Roger's desires to never let his emotions overwhelm him.
After that, I have *got* to give Roger a Golurk for the very obvious representation of Big O itself,
given that Golurk takes design cues from giant anime mechs,
not to mention it has the Ability "Iron Fist", which boosts the power of its punching moves,
a great reference to the "Sudden Impact" attack that Big O will often use to finish someone off.
And last, but certainly not least...
...I'm gonna go with a Ditto.
Again, getting into some ***spoilery*** territory here,
but a good chunk of the show revolves around Roger trying to resolve the mystery behind his own lost memories and his own forgotten past,
with the show implying at certain points that Roger himself could either be an android, or some sort of artificially-created human,
and I've always personally believed in the theory that Ditto was a failed clone of Mew.
Of course, Ditto also works for Roger because, by the show's end,
Roger comes to the conclusion that it ultimately doesn't matter who he was or where he came from,
because he's chosen to be Roger Smith, the Negotiator.
That's who he is, here and now, and for Roger...that's *more* than enough.
Not gonna lie, I kinda envy that sort of self-assurance.
...Ok, that, and how good Roger looks in a black suit.
So, how accurate do YOU think my picks were?
I know you guys LOVE to tell me what Pokemon *you* would've selected for a certain character, so
let me know in the comments below what Pokemon YOU think the characters of Big O would have on their teams.
Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next video, friendos.
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