DJ Ken (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kenfrompokemon) wrote2033-05-19 07:42 pm
kenfrompokemon) wrote2033-05-19 07:42 pm
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Who's Ken from Pokemon? Well, Ken is...
1) ...a deleted character from Pokemon Gold/Silver
"Mom's out shopping, so if you were hoping to ask for some spending money, that's too bad!" -Ken, Pokemon G/S Spaceworld 1997 demo
The 1997 demo version of Gold and Silver, which was shown off in an event called Spaceworld, had a lot of differences to the final version. The player's hometown was named Silent Hill, Totodile and Cyndaquil didn't exist yet, Silver lived next door to the player, and the player had an older brother named Ken. (Though the demo actually dummied Ken and his dialogue out completely in the version shown off in the event, Ken was found when the demo was leaked online.)
It's unknown what kind of a role Ken would've played in the game, but in the few scenes he had in the files, he was friendly and supportive, and seemed to have a good sibling relationship with Gold. He helped Gold set up the map card in his Pokegear, wished him luck on his journey, and told him about Bill, who was apparently an old friend of his. However, he was also a little bit selfish, getting distracted from his promise to Gold by visiting Silver's older sister, whom he seemed to have a crush on.
2) ...a charismatic DJ from the Nihon Region.
"KEN is a fabulous DJ. His voice is seriously so cool." -NPC in JOPM Radio Tower, GS '97 Reforged
GS 97 Reforged is a romhack based on the Spaceworld demo, mixed with the final version of Gold/Silver and some of Crystal. It rebuilds the worldmap of the demo and wrote a new story, trying to interpret what the demo might've been building towards. Some details are changed from the demo, like Silver now having a younger sister instead of an older one, and Ken no longer having a romance subplot. Instead, Ken gets a new job as a radio DJ in Westport City, gaining instant success in the span of time it takes for Gold to get from Gym 1 to Gym 2. (Later on the Radio Tower gets taken over by Team Rocket, as usual, and Ken's one of the hostages Gold has to save.)
Ken's the DJ in Ken's Pokemon Talk, co-hosted by Mary, taking over the job Professor Oak had in the regular game. He's apparently the most popular DJ around, with a cool voice. His radio show also announces when Pokemon swarms are appearing, which increases the appearance rate of Shiny Pokemon.
3) ...a bug-catching ace trainer beloved by Shiny Pokemon.
"Maybe you get a higher score for a differently-colored Pokemon." -Cooltrainer Nick after the Bug-catching Contest, Pokemon Gold/Silver
In Pokemon Gold and Silver, there's a trainer named Cooltrainer Nick, whose name in japanese is Ken, and who shares an overworld sprite with the Ken from the demo. Because of that, I consider him something like Ken's canon counterpart, or the final scraps of his presence left in the full game.
Cooltrainer Nick usually stays in Union Cave, but goes to take part in the Bug-catching Contests often. According to his battle dialogue, he appreciates stylishness, and considers the protagonist to have dazzling, colorful style, and thinks they'll keep getting better in the future. In his dialogue in the Bug-catching contest, Nick states he's training his Pokemon in speed.
But most notable is the fact Nick will almost always win the Bug-catching Contest if he participates in it. And when he wins (or at least, when the player doesn't win) he talks about Shiny Pokemon getting higher scores, implying he might've caught one.
4) ...all of the above?
"And good luck out there!" -Ken, Pokemon GS Reforged
So how am I going to play Ken with all of these different versions of him? Well, I'm basing him on the GS Reforged version as the main canon, taking bits and pieces from the other versions to complete him. So, Ken comes from Silent Town in the Nihon Region, where he lived with his little brother Gold and their mother. He got a job as a radio DJ in Westport City, Nihon's equivalent of Goldenrod City, and became immediately popular. He's got a cool voice and a lot of fans. He supports his little brother in his journey to take on the Gym Challenge. He got taken hostage by Team Rocket when they took over Radio Tower, and was saved by Gold.
Ken isn't much of a Pokemon trainer, but he likes catching Pokemon for contests, releasing them afterwards. Shiny Pokemon adore him and are more likely to appear when he's around, or when his show is on the radio. He's got some experience in tinkering with machines like the Pokegear. He's somewhat fashionable and likes colorful, dazzling styles. He's got some interest in romance, but gets goofy when he has a crush. He's friends with Bill.
And most of all, he's unlucky enough to get deleted from the game he was supposed to be in. Thus, he got stuck in Ultern a while ago and has just been waiting, hoping to meet his family, or at least anybody from the same world as him. He's lucky enough that Ultern seems to have a lot of the same Pokemon as back home, but why do so many of them have different names? Why does nobody know Westport City, the Nihon Region, or the JOPM radio station?
And now you know Ken from Pokemon!
1) ...a deleted character from Pokemon Gold/Silver
"Mom's out shopping, so if you were hoping to ask for some spending money, that's too bad!" -Ken, Pokemon G/S Spaceworld 1997 demo
The 1997 demo version of Gold and Silver, which was shown off in an event called Spaceworld, had a lot of differences to the final version. The player's hometown was named Silent Hill, Totodile and Cyndaquil didn't exist yet, Silver lived next door to the player, and the player had an older brother named Ken. (Though the demo actually dummied Ken and his dialogue out completely in the version shown off in the event, Ken was found when the demo was leaked online.)
It's unknown what kind of a role Ken would've played in the game, but in the few scenes he had in the files, he was friendly and supportive, and seemed to have a good sibling relationship with Gold. He helped Gold set up the map card in his Pokegear, wished him luck on his journey, and told him about Bill, who was apparently an old friend of his. However, he was also a little bit selfish, getting distracted from his promise to Gold by visiting Silver's older sister, whom he seemed to have a crush on.
2) ...a charismatic DJ from the Nihon Region.
"KEN is a fabulous DJ. His voice is seriously so cool." -NPC in JOPM Radio Tower, GS '97 Reforged
GS 97 Reforged is a romhack based on the Spaceworld demo, mixed with the final version of Gold/Silver and some of Crystal. It rebuilds the worldmap of the demo and wrote a new story, trying to interpret what the demo might've been building towards. Some details are changed from the demo, like Silver now having a younger sister instead of an older one, and Ken no longer having a romance subplot. Instead, Ken gets a new job as a radio DJ in Westport City, gaining instant success in the span of time it takes for Gold to get from Gym 1 to Gym 2. (Later on the Radio Tower gets taken over by Team Rocket, as usual, and Ken's one of the hostages Gold has to save.)
Ken's the DJ in Ken's Pokemon Talk, co-hosted by Mary, taking over the job Professor Oak had in the regular game. He's apparently the most popular DJ around, with a cool voice. His radio show also announces when Pokemon swarms are appearing, which increases the appearance rate of Shiny Pokemon.
3) ...a bug-catching ace trainer beloved by Shiny Pokemon.
"Maybe you get a higher score for a differently-colored Pokemon." -Cooltrainer Nick after the Bug-catching Contest, Pokemon Gold/Silver
In Pokemon Gold and Silver, there's a trainer named Cooltrainer Nick, whose name in japanese is Ken, and who shares an overworld sprite with the Ken from the demo. Because of that, I consider him something like Ken's canon counterpart, or the final scraps of his presence left in the full game.
Cooltrainer Nick usually stays in Union Cave, but goes to take part in the Bug-catching Contests often. According to his battle dialogue, he appreciates stylishness, and considers the protagonist to have dazzling, colorful style, and thinks they'll keep getting better in the future. In his dialogue in the Bug-catching contest, Nick states he's training his Pokemon in speed.
But most notable is the fact Nick will almost always win the Bug-catching Contest if he participates in it. And when he wins (or at least, when the player doesn't win) he talks about Shiny Pokemon getting higher scores, implying he might've caught one.
4) ...all of the above?
"And good luck out there!" -Ken, Pokemon GS Reforged
So how am I going to play Ken with all of these different versions of him? Well, I'm basing him on the GS Reforged version as the main canon, taking bits and pieces from the other versions to complete him. So, Ken comes from Silent Town in the Nihon Region, where he lived with his little brother Gold and their mother. He got a job as a radio DJ in Westport City, Nihon's equivalent of Goldenrod City, and became immediately popular. He's got a cool voice and a lot of fans. He supports his little brother in his journey to take on the Gym Challenge. He got taken hostage by Team Rocket when they took over Radio Tower, and was saved by Gold.
Ken isn't much of a Pokemon trainer, but he likes catching Pokemon for contests, releasing them afterwards. Shiny Pokemon adore him and are more likely to appear when he's around, or when his show is on the radio. He's got some experience in tinkering with machines like the Pokegear. He's somewhat fashionable and likes colorful, dazzling styles. He's got some interest in romance, but gets goofy when he has a crush. He's friends with Bill.
And most of all, he's unlucky enough to get deleted from the game he was supposed to be in. Thus, he got stuck in Ultern a while ago and has just been waiting, hoping to meet his family, or at least anybody from the same world as him. He's lucky enough that Ultern seems to have a lot of the same Pokemon as back home, but why do so many of them have different names? Why does nobody know Westport City, the Nihon Region, or the JOPM radio station?
And now you know Ken from Pokemon!