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starrysmiling · 3 months ago

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old men analysis time!

okay pokemon unbound tumblr, let's talk about the old men.

for context, recently i've observed some discussion about professor log making the rounds and after some intense discussion with @avielex, we'd like to clear up some misunderstandings about log which we don't believe are true. i will narrate the majority of this post, but the ideas here have been put forward and agreed on equally by both avi and i.

furthermore, as a basis, we have tried very hard to only view the player as they are depicted in the game, without our personal player characters' influences (as well as without our personal biases for jax and ace respectively).

as for this analysis, apart from debunking the myths about log, i also want to lead into arthur and how he's portrayed as a parallel to log, and showcase the differing relationships between log with ace and player, and arthur with jax. so without further ado...

re: log 'forcing' the player

first and foremost, a common opinion i see of log's role in the story is that he forces the player into running his errands, and turns them into an ideal champion as part of his rivalry with arthur. while i do not doubt that he asks the player to do multiple things for him, and i also do not doubt log's rivalry with arthur playing a part in his spurring the player towards being champion, i do not believe that this behaviour constitutes forcing — or grooming, which is a word i've seen being thrown around as well. let's take a look at log's lines when he asks the player to run the first errand for him:

Prof. Log Ah, yes, [Player]. You seem rather capable... would you be willing to help an old man out with a little something? Yes, this is a splendid idea, your father was well known for helping others, after all. It's only fitting that his [son/daughter] would follow in his footsteps. As for the task, in Bellin Town, at the Poke Mart, I have a package waiting for me. I would go get it myself, but I'm a bit too busy with my own research, and so are all my assistant researchers... Don't worry, I already informed the clerk that someone would pick it up in my stead. Since you have your own Pokemon with you, it shouldn't be too difficult.

this is a pretty standard request for help. an old man, who clearly requires a walking aid, wants a teenager/young adult (assuming that player is at least 17 years old, as confirmed in the flashback in the shadow base revisit) to go down a mountain and retrieve a package that he is not physically fit to collect himself. (and also, he doesn't have the time to do so.)

while there is no option for player to refuse the request (or in fact any of his requests), we should also note that player does not appear to be unwilling to complete this errand! further along in the story, it's noted by jax that player has a certain look on their face when faced with something they don't want to do, and this doesn't appear here — but you know when it does appear? when player tries to leave frozen heights without visiting their mother, and log says the following:

Prof. Log [Player]! What are you doing? I told you to check in with your mother! ...Don't look at me like that. Didn't your mother ever teach you to listen to your elders? Go see her!

the only thing you might point out in the first dialogue sequence is that he brings up aros. while this could be rather insensitive, i believe this is because aros is likely a strong role model to the player, and someone who many people look up to. however, i don't believe that this is considered forcing rather than a crude persuasion technique, as 'forcing' would imply that the player is unwilling. (also, note that this is the only time log brings up aros in regards to errands.)

the next errand he gives is filling out the pokedex. since this is something player can do passively while doing other things on their trainer journey, i don't think there's much forcing in this one. while this can be considered pushing some responsibility on player, it's also not critical to the tasks at hand, and every mainline pokemon game professor asks the player to fill one out anyway. as for giving one to ace... well, it is sorta true that ace doesn't get along with log, so player is log's best bet. (more on this later!) i'd have to agree that this one is a little forcing, but it's also important to note that player doesn't object to it either.

and now let's get onto the third errand: going to see arthur in dresco town. by now, player has seen the lab in the shadow base (and gotten conked in the head for it), saw a legendary pokemon being captured with log's master balls, and the profeessor has told them that this could be Big Trouble. at this point, refusing the professor would be less reasonable, no? do you help an old man who needs a walking aid relay some critical, possibly world-ending news to someone who lives two towns over when you've seen the evidence with your own eyes? to me, if player has any ounce of empathy, it would not be surprising for them to accept this errand without hesitation!

those are the three errands that prof log asks the player to run at the beginning of the game. it is clear that player does not repeatedly try to refuse log's errands, and that log does not force (or groom) player into running the errands — and nor does he repeatedly bring up aros in order to persuade player. i will get back to the main plot as the "fourth" errand in a bit. in the meantime...

the quote-unquote ideal champion

as for the "turning player into an ideal champion" part, i believe the only thing that alludes to this is jax's dialogue at the league (before battling him, and the dialogue for winning against him):

Jax This whole time, Grampa Arthur has been training me as his replacement - by having me fight against threats to the region. I'm sure that's why Prof. Log had you run these errands too... He and Grampa always did have a bit of a rivalry, ha ha! But now that a worthy challenger has appeared, someone I respect, this is going to be a fun battle!

Jax Wow, [Player]... Looks like Prof. Log picked a worthy challenger after all! ...but no, seriously, congrats! You're now the new Champion of Borrius!

you can imply here that jax believes that like how arthur was training him to be his successor, log was training player. it's important to understand that characters don't always have the information you have, and may misunderstand the situation accordingly. log certainly does note that player has grown much throughout their journey and has achieved much in the timespan of the plot, most notably in tarmigan town, and again at the entrance to victory road. the dialogue for the latter is as follows:

Prof. Log [Player]! Arthur just relayed the good news to me! Thank goodness you're still in one piece! And of course, thank you! You, Jax, Ace... you all gave everything you had to save Borrius. Of course, I've been told not all has been resolved with this "Aklove", but that's something you can worry about later, I suppose. For now, you just worry about that empty seat, meant for the Champion!

this comes after ace and arthur have both told the player that they should aim for the champion title, so it's possible that he heard off one of them that player was going to challenge the league. (arthur's dialogue is a bit easier to miss since you'd have to talk to him before you beat the league, but he says the following:)

Arthur Now that everything is at peace once more, why don't you take on the Pokemon League? I'm sure someone with your skill could easily become the Champion.

in all, this reads more like genuine support rather than forcing the player into becoming champion. considering that player has already been urged to go for the champion title, log's support here, which is only gotten once the player reaches victory road (and thus already is intending to go to the league), does not seem to be persuasive at all.

i personally think that if log was giving training to player (and even ace, too) through his errands as jax says, it would be so that they can grow into respectable, kind people who will help others when they come across people who require it — arguably, the sort of person that aros was. none of the errands the professor sends player on are geared towards training pokemon, unless you count filling out the pokedex.

log's actually quite nice, y'see...

okay. now that we've got that under control, let's look at the other big opinion about log: he's a crusty old man — crusty meaning easily irritated in this case. we have a very good window into this behaviour through ace, who is clearly at odds with log almost every time they meet. however... i don't think log is being rude to ace with malicious intent; if at all, log is kind and caring, but the way he expresses that care is not shown in a straightforward manner. additionally, it's important to consider the amount of information each character knows about the other and how much they understand each other before jumping to conclusions.

let's review ace's history and goals first. ace has just moved to borrius a week before the plot begins, and log is ace and melony's legal guardian. ace's goal is to find his parents, who have not been seen in ages. this is all shown through this conversation between ace and log in the beginning of the game:

Prof. Log I was planning on giving Ace a Pokemon of his own someday, but now I don't have to! Ho ho ho! Ace Someday? I've been here a whole week, and you made it sound like I was gonna get one any day now! Prof. Log Well, of course I was always going to give you one, Ace! There are plenty of errands I'm too old to run myself, after all! It's just that... well... you seem to be insistent on going off on your own, to look for your parents. I keep telling you, no one has seen them in years! Even if they are somehow still in Borrius, finding them is much too big a task for you alone. I was waiting for you to accept that fact before giving you your own Pokemon, but you refuse to listen to me! Ace I'm more than capable of doing it on my own, old man. You may be my "legal guardian" or whatever in Borrius, but you sure don't know anything about me!

ace is brash, headstrong, and will do anything to achieve his goals; if you've played through the entire game, that should be quite apparent as a major trait of his character. he is clearly pissed off that log won't support him doing what he wants, and i understand that log sounds condescending and rude to ace on a first glance...

...however, consider this: you're an old man who has just gotten two 18-year-olds under your wing. one of them keeps running off alone to god-knows-where without a pokemon to protect himself from danger, without listening to advice and going off alone, or even the foresight to see that his task of finding his parents would be like finding a needle in a haystack. log is saying all of this because he is trying to keep ace safe. the reason for their conflict is because ace and log's values and perspectives aren't aligned: ace thinks log is being overbearing and not respecting his goals in that his answers are so close and log is stopping him from getting them; log thinks ace he needs to calm down and think before rushing headfirst into danger. the most important line in this dialogue is this one:

Prof. Log I was waiting for you to accept that fact before giving you your own Pokemon, but you refuse to listen to me!

clearly, the professor is willing to support ace! but he wants ace to understand his viewpoint and be able to take responsibility for himself before he can fully trust ace by giving him a pokemon. he even says that the task of finding marlon and ivory isn't something that ace can do alone, which again supports the implication that he is willing to help him achieve his goal. am i saying that this is the right way to talk to kids who won't listen to you? no! the way he says these things can definitely be inconsiderate, but you have to remember that he believes ace is going into danger and he's the one responsible for ace if he gets hurt.

(also, you might think hey, but log is forcing ace to run errands, too! well, presumably log is also giving ace and melony a roof over their heads and taking care of them in some way, and log clearly isn't at his physical prime. if he wants to feed all of them and can't walk properly then of course he'd get ace and melony to help him out. unless you're a very ungrateful sorta-grandchild, or you've got better places to be like ace, you'd probably hear your poor grandpa-standin out lest he kick you out into the snowy forest.)

also, earlier, we noted these lines by log, too:

Prof. Log [Player]! What are you doing? I told you to check in with your mother! ...Don't look at me like that. Didn't your mother ever teach you to listen to your elders? Go see her!

log's an old man. he's a bit old-fashioned. you wouldn't really blame him for believing that respecting your elders is important, yeah? that's what he thinks ace isn't doing. and ace really isn't respecting his elder, actually, but ace is just like that as a character. that's what gives him charm.

...which brings me back to the main plot as supplementary evidence that log is actually just looking out for the younger ones in town. it's very important to note that he tries to discourage arthur from involving the player in his arguably very dangerous plan to stop the shadows. the following dialogue happens after arthur tells jax to stop the shadows:

Prof. Log Well, [Player], I think it's time for you to head home. You've completed your errand, and I'm sure your mother misses you. But still, I'm surprised that you managed to get here so easily... I'll have to brag to your mother about what a reliable errand [boy/girl] you've become! Ho ho ho! Arthur Now, wait just a moment, Euler. I know Jax is capable, but I believe this young [man/lady] may be just as useful. [Player] has had prior experience with these "Shadows", and Jax very well might benefit from the extra assistance [Player] could lend. Prof. Log Assistance? Arthur, [Player] only became a Trainer very recently... Is that... is that Dresco Town's Gym Badge? To think that you'd make this much progress so quickly...

and even after arthur insists that player joins in the plan (and then again after they come back from cinder volcano with jax), log tries to reassure the player's mom so that she doesn't worry about her child going off to fight an enemy about 10 times their size:

Prof. Log Alright, [Player], you may follow after Jax. I'll... tell your mother you finished my errand, and you've left home to take the Gym Leader challenge. Yes, I think that will do it.

Prof. Log I'll head back to Frozen Heights, [Player]. I'll explain to your mother that I've seen you off, and you're on your way to the next Gym Badge. No sense in letting her worry, after all.

you might note that he's more polite to player than he is with ace. that's probably because player doesn't disagree with the things he says, doesn't have ace's attitude, and isn't running off on their own straight into danger — they're even coordinating with arthur (who log obviously trusts) to make a plan before they go!

anyway, to conclude this section: i don't think ace ever really comes to understand log's intentions and respect him by the end of the game, but i hope this at least proves that log is truly just kind and wants to look out for the young ones, and his conflict with ace is not out of malice but out of worry.

and as for the other old man...

the main plot here is certainly a good place to swerve to focus on arthur as a contrast, who i believe is actually the one who is less kind of the two old men. seeing the way he treats jax and player is a stark contrast to the way log treats ace, in a weird uno-reverse sort of way.

overall, arthur is portrayed as a wise historian who was the previous champion of borrius, and acts as the leader of the group against the shadows and light of ruin. one thing that immediately stands out to me when i go through the script is that... you can barely point out any flaws. he's knowledgeable and wise, people trust him, and as a leader he knows exactly what needs to happen and how to proceed through with his plan. he never truly comes into conflict with anyone like log does, and as a supporting character, he doesn't get any true character growth like jax does. the lack of content where he does something outside his assigned narrative role leads to this section being more theory than proper analysis, and some of his influence is better seen through jax's struggles instead of through himself.

nonetheless, arthur clearly knows his place in-universe, as he takes control of the conversation and the plan quite quickly after the apparent goal of the shadows becomes clear. notice that everything major that happens in this scene is because of an order from arthur:

Arthur Not yet, Jax. First things first, I need you to fly to Frozen Heights and bring Prof. Log here.

Prof. Log What do you think should be done about this, Arthur? Arthur Jax will fly out to intercept these "Shadows". So far, he's shown himself to be a quite capable Trainer... And as you know, Euler, I've been training him as my successor, so I believe he's our best hope. He'll confront these "Shadows" and stop them before they reach Moltres. Prof. Log Of course. That seems like a very reasonable plan, Arthur.

arthur is the one who insists that player be included in the plan, despite log's concerns. i could even argue that arthur is the one forcing player to join in the story, and not log:

Arthur Now, wait just a moment, Euler. I know Jax is capable, but I believe this young [man/lady] may be just as useful. [Player] has had prior experience with these "Shadows", and Jax very well might benefit from the extra assistance [Player] could lend. Prof. Log Assistance? Arthur, [Player] only became a Trainer very recently...

arthur never even asks for player's (or jax's!) input into this whole plan — they're just kinda standing there the whole time. the way he talks about them — jax will do this, player will do that — implies that he sees player and jax more in terms of their potential, their skills and experiences that could assist in his plan, and deploys them like a commander deploying troops. hell, note that he calls player (and by extension jax) useful, like they're tools. chess pieces. in stark contrast, log's first thoughts when player is dragged into the plan are to act on a protective instinct to prevent player from jumping into what he perceives is a very dangerous task and to think about what to tell their mom, who is being kept in the dark and will likely worry about her child.

in other words: arthur is like a chessmaster, and player, jax, the shadows, the light of ruin... are all pieces in his big game of mind-chess. and he has the confidence and experience (as former champion, most likely) to back himself up.

(making a side-note here to say that arthur's guidance, his confidence, his legacy... all are huge contributing factors to jax's growth. as we know, jax is trained to become arthur's successor, and early-game jax shares an (over)confidence in his being able to thwart the shadows. when he's defeated, he realises he's yet to reach arthur's level and expectations, and through arthur being a near-perfect role model and player literally showing up out of nowhere and being better than him, it absolutely destroys his self-confidence and drives him to be more reckless in a bid to prove himself. it doesn't work. it's player's influence again in the distortion world and then the champion battle which starts to turn his mindset around.)

this objective side of arthur brings a shade of doubt to arthur's kindness to player when he's sending them out to cinder volcano, or even his faith in jax (specifically jax, since he's the one who fails, but player would also be included here) when player meets him in dehara city. it's interesting to think that instead of telling player to mind their own limits, he's telling them that they could be a liability if they get hurt:

Arthur Don't force yourself, [Player]. If you feel you are too injured to continue, then you must fall back. Jax will help, if it comes to that. Good luck, youngster.

it's also interesting to ponder where arthur's trust in jax comes from — is it in jax himself, as his grandson and successor? or is it in the training and experiences that he's given jax?

Arthur Oh? You say Jax wasn't with Zeph? That gives me hope... he must still be out there...

Arthur If they have taken Jax... no, I'll try to stay optimistic. Jax is a resourceful boy... But lately, he seems to be contacting me less and less... and with less pep, every time.

...but arthur never actually seems to show much worry towards any other individual, so it's hard to determine just how much of each he holds.

from this it's possible to theorise out of this that arthur rarely takes emotions into account, especially when brewing his plans. it's likely that this is from his experience as champion and having to act in a leadership position, though again, it's unclear what the duties of the champion of borrius are. his dialogue after player beats the post-game suggests that he isn't so aware of how deeply his influence runs in jax's image of himself, and doubts the way he's been training jax:

Arthur He... well, actually, he came to see me just before. He told me about how the pressure of trying to live up to my legacy was messing with his head... All the more so after the setbacks against the Shadows ad the Light of Ruin. I admit, perhaps I was asking too much of him... So I told him that he should improve himself, for his own sake, not mine.

...but because this also represents a change in arthur's view of jax, it's hard to determine whether he was so considerate about jax's feelings before. nevertheless, his support of jax is a wonderful backbone for the growth he does offscreen before he returns as a title defense challenger for the player.

and when you compare him to log, you can clearly see who the kinder one is by thinking about where their priorities are when faced with issues. it's quite neat to consider that the very kind-presenting arthur is much less considerate of his own grandson than log, who seems to just throw metaphorical hands with ace (who he's known for a week) every other time he shows up!

once again, as a disclaimer: arthur just doesn't talk as much as the main characters and doesn't get into conflicts the same way as log, so please take this above section with a grain of salt, as it's mostly theory and speculation.

so! in conclusion! hopefully that leaves you a little more informed about the old men and why they act the way they do. i'm not the world's #1 fan of log nor arthur by any means, but i do believe that it's important to truly understand the character before making untrue claims about them. (and you're still free to dislike them, in whichever case, but now you can hate them accurately!)

#pokemon unbound #arthur unbound #log unbound #character analysis #hopefully this is clear enough it's like 4000 words of pure brain juice #the important thing is to be able to back up your claims with evidence and think critically about the characters #even if you hate them! in which case it is even more important to hate accurately :D #thanks avi for having a very nice discussion with me about the old men it was very productive and fun #shoutout to mage for moral support and helping provide evidence as well!#alright i've rambled enough. en out

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