Pokémon Monochrome Micro Theory - "Purgatory Theory"
So! With the @pkmn-monochrome blog reaching it's ASSUMED climax today, everyone's REALLY looking forward to how the story will end, or what CODY's fate will end up being. CHARIZARD has told CODY that she could skewer them, and asks the question on if the world would even allow CODY to die. Now, I've got my own thoughts, and I want to share them here as a sort of micro-theory.
This isn't something I do usually, so excuse me being a bit rambly or scrappy with the way it's formatted!!!
(I will be naming "Hacker" and "Trainer" Cody as "Cody" and "CODY" respectively. Just so you know which little critter i'm talking about!)
Here I want to predict an answer to one thing: Will, or CAN CODY even die? (I promise this is interesting!)
I will say immediately that I don't think it's even possible for CODY to die, at least not by being murdered or harmed. Why?
Well, Cody made the Pokémon Monochrome rom-hack which us, the players, get ahold of. The hack is altered and warped to the will of Cody during the development on the hack, to reflect their own thoughts, preferences and views. Thus the logic which the world follows should line up with Cody's own will.
The most obvious example of this is quite obvious: The three ghosts & CODY themselves are reflections of Cody's thoughts and mind, as implied and directly stated by several characters such as CHARIZARD.
Where am I getting with this? I think that Cody was against the idea of the permanence of death, and thus CODY will not be able to fully die until the cartridge rots, or their own code is altered or removed.
Now that might sound absolutely crazy, but hear me out! I will try to back up my idea.
Three of the most important characters in the storyline of Pokèmon Monochrome are the ghosts of PIKACHU, BLASTOISE and CHARIZARD. This shows that they returned to life after their passing or removal in the game. I see this as them being anomalies - things that aren't meant to be but are, simply because of Cody's own mindset regarding the topic of death. Even after the GHOSTS arguably die again, such as CHARIZARD, they are shown to return the moment the flute is played at their grave. No matter what, they can always come back, and continue to torment CODY.
So if the GHOSTs are able to come back from dying twice... Why can't CODY?
Now, CODY themselves! I think this one particularly striking, as CODY is practically stuck in a form of purgatory after Cody died - refusing to die at all costs. Note that the tower is a literal purgatory meant for the player character after they get a GAME OVER. Due to Cody's will, they were kept alive inside of the game in some way upon their passing, forming who we now know as CODY.
Aside from that, they also suffer from some injuries: Lacking wrists, with the inside of their cuffs being filled with a glitchy static... Correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall it being said that it was a form of in-game censorship to cover up the flesh and bone? I swear the author of Pokémon Monochrome stated it somewhere... and if memory serves me right, it's a massive detail! As it shows CODY doesn't show physical pain on major injuries, or at least it would go away rather quickly...
Exhibit C: Spark's Comments
Throughout the duration of the blog, Sparklingdemon (the author of Pokémon Monochrome) has shared some canon details about Cody and the world of Pokémon Monochrome, and a recent post regarding Cody has intrigued me, and is a big cornerstone in this whole theory.
Sparks stated that as Cody was developing the hack, they wanted to subvert the trope of a typical poképasta. For example, they stated that Cody wamted no Missingno, no dead Raticate, no self-aware protagonist, and... most importanty to the theory: No blood and gore.
If Cody's will is brought upon the world of Pokémon Monochrome, this means that CODY's body can recieve no further harm than it already did. Beit torn, bitten, shredded... they will always remain in tact.
Now, how does this all connect?
I firmly believe that, even if CODY were to theoretically "die" at CHARIZARD's hand. it wouldn't be long before they return due to Cody's thoughts against the very idea of death.
Because the world was molded strictly to Cody's will, their reincarnation (for the lack of a better term) will remain alive inside a purgatory of their own creation.
It doesn't matter how many times they die, it doesn't matter how many times they're mauled, CODY will remain stuck until the destruction or decay of their cartridge. Or you know, if the players started a New Game.
Or at least, that's what I reckon. Hey, at least they'll only have to endure it for less than 15-20 years instead of an eternity...!
All in all, I can't wait to see what happens today, I could ramble about connections and theories related to this series all day!! But I'll spare you the details. I sure hope we won't have to put this theory to the test.
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