And yeah, this is going to be long.





I, among many others have noticed the naming convention with the two legendaries. Zacian coming from cian and Zamazenta coming from magenta. I've seen people speculate that there will be a third legendary, that being a bird wielding a lance or spear. I like this idea too, but I'm more focused on the fact that Zacian, Zamazenta and Leon already make up the CYM colour chart. For those not in the know, the CYMK (cian, yellow, magenta, black) colour chart is the ink that printers use. It's a fun analogy so maybe this third legendary is a black bird instead of yellow? Who knows. Getting back on topic: Zacian, Zamazenta and Leon all have similar colour palettes! They all use yellow, red, blue and white accents. Leon's purple hair is also a mix of blue and red. Leon's Japanese name, "Dande", comes from dandelion, which is a yellow flower. This is also nicely related to how "Leon" means lion. This completes their CYM name origins: Zacian (cian), Zamazenta (magenta) and Leon (yellow). It's very interesting because his purple hair and yellow theme are complementary colours!



Leon's comparison to N will make sense later on in the theory but this matching of colours with the legendaries reminds me of him. It's just something I'd like to point out.

(Yeah, Leon and N do look alike with their hair and snapbacks/caps).





I like the Leon/N comparison a lot and here's why. We don't know if Leon is actual royalty, but N was considered the "king" of Team Plasma. We all know this wasn't true however, that title goes to Ghetsis because he was the true leader. I see similarities here not only in their colour palette choices that link them to their legendaries, but also their position of "kings" in their respective stories. Again, we don't know if Leon is actual royalty or not, he could be a descendant of a powerful king who once ruled Galar. If he isn't, this comparison to N is actually strengthened because N isn't even royalty himself, he isn't Ghetsis' biological son. Leon has a pretty goofy design and I would feel kind of bad for him if he went through all of that effort to make that costume and carry himself to the title of champion (effectively being the "king" of Galar because it's the highest status of pokemon trainer), only for him to find out he doesn't have royal blood.





So now I want to address the elephant in the room:



Is Leon the antagonist of Sword&Shield?

I, among many others have noticed the naming convention with the two legendaries. Zacian coming from cian and Zamazenta coming from magenta. I've seen people speculate that there will be a third legendary, that being a bird wielding a lance or spear. I like this idea too, but I'm more focused on the fact that Zacian, Zamazenta and Leon already make up the CYM colour chart. For those not in the know, the CYMK (cian, yellow, magenta, black) colour chart is the ink that printers use. It's a fun analogy so maybe this third legendary is a black bird instead of yellow? Who knows.Zacian, Zamazenta and Leon all have similar colour palettes! They all use yellow, red, blue and white accents. Leon's purple hair is also a mix of blue and red. Leon's Japanese name, "Dande", comes from dandelion, which is a yellow flower. This is also nicely related to how "Leon" means lion. This completes their CYM name origins: Zacian (cian), Zamazenta (magenta) and Leon (yellow). It's very interesting because his purple hair and yellow theme are complementary colours!Leon's comparison to N will make sense later on in the theory but this matching of colours with the legendaries reminds me of him. It's just something I'd like to point out.I like the Leon/N comparison a lot and here's why. We don't know if Leon is actual royalty, but N was considered the "king" of Team Plasma. We all know this wasn't true however, that title goes to Ghetsis because he was the true leader. I see similarities here not only in their colour palette choices that link them to their legendaries, but also their position of "kings" in their respective stories. Again, we don't know if Leon is actual royalty or not, he could be a descendant of a powerful king who once ruled Galar. If he isn't, this comparison to N is actually strengthened because N isn't even royalty himself, he isn't Ghetsis' biological son. Leon has a pretty goofy design and I would feel kind of bad for him if he went through all of that effort to make that costume and carry himself to the title of champion (effectively being the "king" of Galar because it's the highest status of pokemon trainer), only for him to find out he doesn't have royal blood.So now I want to address the elephant in the room:



Through my mingling with other excited fans I've come across people who either suspect he's actually the antagonist and the leader of the evil team or that he's just as genuine as he appears to be. (I'd like to specifically plug Dokomanari





(via the official website)



Through my mingling with other excited fans I've come across people who either suspect he's actually the antagonist and the leader of the evil team or that he's just as genuine as he appears to be. (I'd like to specifically plugbecause THEY ARE ON POINT they understand exactly where I am coming from! Here: Hop and Leon



I'd like to compare Leon to N again, as N was just the fake leader/"king" of Team Plasma and wasn't the one devising the plans. He's not really royalty. Maybe Leon is kinda the same? He's either dressing up like that as a play on his champion status or he's actually serious and believes he's actual royalty. Speaking of his outfit, it has some pretty strange design choices:





No, I'm not going to bully him about his booty shorts, leggings and snapback. I quite like them, actually. I'm talking about the logo on his shirt. It's so....specific? It's clearly meant to be Zacian's sword and Zamazenta's shield by the colouring. The only reason they don't look exact is because Leon probably hasn't actually seen the real things up close. It's kinda like how Ghetsis has the black and white halves on his logo to represent Zekrom and Reshiram. Leon shares a lot of similarities with N and Ghetsis, actually. Ghetsis is the true king of Team Plasma and his grunts are even knights in the first Black&White games! I'll be very disappointed if either the elite four or the grunts don't turn out to be knights.

I have no idea why Leon would be wearing the evil team logo on his fucking shirt in public like that unless the evil team don't reveal their full identity and goal until very late in the game - alongside Leon's reveal if he turns out to be the antagonist.



Being champion makes you the highest status of trainer, I've mentioned that. This effectively makes him a king overseeing his subjects (fans. he has a lot of those). The elite four could even be knights! Who knows?I'd like to compare Leon to N again, as N was just the fake leader/"king" of Team Plasma and wasn't the one devising the plans. He's not really royalty. Maybe Leon is kinda the same? He's either dressing up like that as a play on his champion statushe's actually serious and believes he's actual royalty. Speaking of his outfit, it has some pretty strange design choices:No, I'm not going to bully him about his booty shorts, leggings and snapback.I'm talking about the logo on his shirt. It's so....specific? It's clearly meant to be Zacian's sword and Zamazenta's shield by the colouring. The only reason they don't look exact is because Leon probably hasn't actually seen the real things up close. It's kinda like how Ghetsis has the black and white halves on his logo to represent Zekrom and Reshiram.



I'd like to present the reason I think the evil team may be after Zacian and Zamazenta. Their objects.

Zacian wields the perfect offence, a sword that can cut through anything. Zamazenta "wields" (kind of. his body IS the shield) the perfect defence, a shield that can block any attack. Their powers are balanced, it's the unstoppable force vs immovable object. (I talk about this in further detail later)

Either the legendaries are in possession of these objects, protecting them as they once belonged to the true king of Galar, or they are actually the objects, just as pokemon. (Zacian's sword doesn't really make much sense then....he's only wielding the sword. Maybe it's like his life force? If he loses the sword will he die?) Either way, this reminds me of Reshiram and Zekrom because of how they where transformed into objects once, when they split with Kyurem. All three dragons were once one entity prior to this.

I'm pretty much convinced that Zacian and Zamazenta have something to do with an ancient king from Galar. Perhaps they were his pokemon? His sword and shield as objects? If so, than that makes Leon's objective of finding these two very believable. He'll probably just try to steal the sword and shield though because that brings me to my next point:





Zacian and Zamazenta's powered-up forms! These are shown in the short animated teaser in the trailer.

Zacian's sword grows in size and becomes sharper, while Zamazenta creates his entire shield. I believe that in these forms the sword can actually cut through anything and the shield can block any attack. If this occurred in their normal forms then they'd be overpowered. THIS is the it's the unstoppable force vs immovable object. That description only applies to these powered up forms. ONLY the legendaries and the king of Galar should be able to do this to the objects. If the sword and shield were to be removed from Zacian and Zamazenta, the king would be able to power them up just like how the legendaries can. Perfect offence and perfect defence can be wielded by a single person. That's terrifying.



So, by gathering up EVERYTHING I have talked about, I present you with my three predictions:



Leon is the antagonist. He is a descendant of an ancient king of Galar, and wants the sword and shield his ancestors once owned. This is of course after he earns the position of champion, because he knows it pretty much makes him "royalty" anyways and allows him to gain the trust of the public. Because he is royalty, he is able to gain the trust of Zacian or Zamazenta, respectfully (in each version of the game, you must fight him with the cover legendary), but only wants them for their power which he can activate because he has royal blood. He is the leader of the evil team but pretends not to be associated with them as to not blow his cover.



Leon is not the main antagonist and is redeemed. He's not biologically related to an ancient king of Galar, whatsoever. Not a single drop of royal blood. He's contacted by the leader of the evil team once he gains the status of champion, being tricked into thinking he's a descendant of the king and thus has right to Zacian's sword and Zamazenta's shield. He's genuinely a good person and believes that by activating the sword and shield Galar can be protected from any threat. He works with the evil team only to get the objects, he pretends not to be associated with them but feels guilty about it because he's lying to Hop and Sonia. He successfully captures both legendaries and attempts to use their powers, only for it to not work at all and the true evil team leader swoops in and proclaims that he is, in fact, the true king. Cue Leon's mental breakdown and redemption as he helps you fix everything he fucked up. (I'm still wondering how this will work out in terms of game mechanics though, maybe you fight using the cover legendary but without their respective object bound to them? So yeah. Naked Zamazenta)



A mix of the two. He isn't a descendant of the king but still deceives everyone with his facade as champion. After being backstabbed by the true leader of the evil team and upsetting Hop and Sonia, he helps you defeat the evil team. Afterwards he turns over a new leaf, not only to protect Galar but to fix his relationship with his brother and childhood friend. This is my personal favourite because he feels a lot more 3-dimensional, it's the change of ideals that could make the story more believable.

















thanks for reading! phew! it feels good to get this off my chest, i've been thinking about this for a while. it is, of course, 100% subject to change when more information is revealed about the games but that's just how theorising works baby



I'd like to present the reason I think the evil team may be after Zacian and Zamazenta.Zacian wields the perfect offence, a sword that can cut through anything. Zamazenta "wields" (kind of. his body IS the shield) the perfect defence, a shield that can block any attack. Their powers are balanced,Either the legendaries are in possession of these objects, protecting them as they once belonged to the true king of Galar,they are actually the objects, just as pokemon. (Zacian's sword doesn't really make much sense then....he's only wielding the sword. Maybe it's like his life force? If he loses the sword will he die?) Either way, this reminds me of Reshiram and Zekrom because of how they where transformed into objects once, when they split with Kyurem. All three dragons were once one entity prior to this.I'm pretty much convinced that Zacian and Zamazenta have something to do with an ancient king from Galar. Perhaps they were his pokemon? His sword and shield as objects? If so, than that makes Leon's objective of finding these two very believable. He'll probably just try to steal the sword and shield though because that brings me to my next point:Zacian and Zamazenta's powered-up forms! These are shown in the short animated teaser in the trailer.Zacian's sword grows in size and becomes sharper, while Zamazenta creates his entire shield. I believe that in these forms the sword can actually cut through anything and the shield can block any attack. If this occurred in their normal forms then they'd be overpowered.is the it's the unstoppable force vs immovable object. That description only applies to these powered up forms. ONLY the legendaries and the king of Galar should be able to do this to the objects. If the sword and shield were to be removed from Zacian and Zamazenta, the king would be able to power them up just like how the legendaries can. Perfect offence and perfect defence can be wielded by a single person. That's terrifying.So, by gathering upI have talked about, I present you with my three predictions:He is a descendant of an ancient king of Galar, and wants the sword and shield his ancestors once owned. This is of course after he earns the position of champion, because he knows it pretty much makes him "royalty" anyways and allows him to gain the trust of the public. Because he is royalty, he is able to gain the trust of ZacianZamazenta, respectfully (in each version of the game, you must fight him with the cover legendary), but only wants them for their power which he can activate because he has royal blood. He is the leader of the evil team but pretends not to be associated with them as to not blow his cover.He's not biologically related to an ancient king of Galar, whatsoever. Not a single drop of royal blood. He's contacted by the leader of the evil team once he gains the status of champion, being tricked into thinking he's a descendant of the king and thus has right to Zacian's sword and Zamazenta's shield. He's genuinely a good person and believes that by activating the sword and shield Galar can be protected from any threat. He works with the evil team only to get the objects, he pretends not to be associated with them but feels guilty about it because he's lying to Hop and Sonia. He successfully captures both legendaries and attempts to use their powers, only for it to not work at all and the true evil team leader swoops in and proclaims that he is, in fact, the true king. Cue Leon's mental breakdown and redemption as he helps you fix everything he fucked up.He isn't a descendant of the king but still deceives everyone with his facade as champion. After being backstabbed by the true leader of the evil team and upsetting Hop and Sonia, he helps you defeat the evil team. Afterwards he turns over a new leaf, not only to protect Galar but to fix his relationship with his brother and childhood friend. This is my personal favourite because he feels a lot more 3-dimensional, it's the change of ideals that could make the story more believable.

Even though we don't know a lot about the game, I've noticed a lot of details particularly in the character designs that have lead me to this speculation. And congrats on gamefreak's part, it's really made me think.People have the right to be suspicious of him, he looks goofy as heck but alsoHe was revealed pretty early and has apparently never lost an official pokemon battle (official meaning between trainers, not wild pokemon). And yeah, Black&White were pretty easy and I'm sure a lot of people have never lost a trainer battle in those games (like myself, mwahaha), but that statement is still fishy. He haslost a battle?That doesn't mean he's an antagonist though. But what does make me think that?