Pokémon Body and Soul

Pokémon Body and Soul is a Pokémon game for the Switch and PS5.
It's set in the region of Kaioh, based on Italy.
Its main inspiration is Ken il Guerriero, a massively popular anime in Italy (mostly obscure in the USA where it's known as Fist of the North Star), causing the tone to be much darker. The iconic (at least in Italy) "ATATATATATATATATATATATATA" appears as a special gimmick called Martial Resonance, which allows the trainer to merge with a Pokémon and attack directly, allowing to make various combos.
Cover legendaries are Samushido (Mystic-Fighting) for Body, and Hitlodanima (Mystic-Ghost), members of the Mystic Tyrants. The third legendary of their trio, Spiryutojo (Mystic-Dragon) is plot-relevant too.
It has a DLC called "La Terra di Shura", in which you explore an island called Shura (corresponding to Sicilia, Italy) and fight against users of the Diamond Fist of Diancie. In this DLC, you go after an intelligent Diancie named Gemmy (a counterpart of Kaioh from Ken il Guerriero) who is a slaver and ruler of a tribe of Pokémon called the Asura. Said Pokémon is intelligent and evil because it once belonged to Yudashi the Traitor and was corrupted by his evil aura.
A spinoff called Pokémon Legends: Judas is gonna come out, having you play as the ancient hero Ieyasu and showing how Yudashi the Great Traitor caused Ieyasu's death and was mutated into the evil mythical Pokémon known as Judas. 
== Changes ==
* There are no trade evolutions. Pokémon which once evolved by trading now evolve by using their evolutionary item (or the Link Stone) as if they were evolutionary stones. 
* Ground and Rock are conflated to a single Earth type. Flying has been renamed Wind. The Bug type has been conflated into Grass and renamed Nature. Fairy is renamed Mystic and some Psychic moves and Pokémon associated with space are conflated into it. Normal type is renamed Neutral and any Pokémon possessing it as a non-pure type loses it.
*Shadow moves from Pokémon XD have been brought back, as ordinary Dark-type moves. 
* Breeding mechanics changed: 
** Nidorina, Nidoqueen, Unown, Cosmog, Cosmoem, Solgaleo, Lunala, Type Null, Silvally, Kubfu, Urshifu, Meltan and Melmetal can breed. 
** Breeding a Latios with a Latias (though not with a Ditto) does not work like ordinary breeding, instead it nets you Latium, a completely different third legendary with higher stats. 
** The same goes for breeding a Cresselia (which is changed to always female) with a Darkrai (which is changed to always male), which nets you Hoshiklyps (a Mystic-Ghost type). 
* Solgaleo and Lunala are officially pseudo-legendaries. Any formerly legendary Pokémon which evolves is no longer a legendary and as such can breed. 
* Ho-Oh and Lugia's Kaiohnian Forms are pseudo-legendaries evolving from the Ice-Flying Pokémon Freezwing (which evolves into Glaciala, and then into the Ice-Ghost Ho-Oh or the Ice-Dragon Lugia depending on the version).
* Kaiohnian forms for fossil Pokémon, representing their original forms surviving their extinction in the rest of the world, now exist. 
*Due to the inspiration from Fist of the North Star/Ken Il Guerriero, the plot is darker. 
**Pokémon battling is treated like an actual blood sport in Kaioh and Pokémon fight to the death, which translates to Nuzlocke being an actual difficulty setting in this game and is canon for the plot, rather than a self-imposed challenge (permadeath is an option you can activate or deactivate when starting a new playthrough). 
*PS5 users can trade online. 
*There are 3 save files instead of one (because the game encourages you to start a new playthrough and play Nuzlocke). 
*While playing Nuzlocke you can get special items and Pokémon you can't find in normal playthroughs and a much higher chance to get shinies (which, except for legendaries, are the only exception to the "only capture the first Pokémon you meet" rule in Nuzlocke). In Nuzlocke, you can even get version exclusives for the versions you don't have and even mythicals without the event items (you can get the event-only items necessary to spawn the mythicals even in normal playthroughs if you're in Nuzlocke). 
*Self-trade is added: you can deposit Pokémon in an online box and then, using the other version with the same console, can retrieve them and they count as traded. 
*Shiny Pokémon are boosted to have higher base stats than normal (for a Shiny, 50 points, distributed among base stats, are added to the BST). Some Pokémon like Carbink only evolve if Shiny (into Diancie, in case of Carbink). 
* The type chart has been revised:
** Ghost is supereffective against Fairy and resistant to it. 
** Dark is supereffective against Electric.
** Steel is weak to Fire, Water and Electric, and hit neutrally by Earth and Fighting.
** Steel resists Dark, but not Ghost.
** Ice is hit neutrally by Fighting, and resists Water and Earth. 
** Normal is weak to Fighting, Psychic and Dark and hits everyone neutrally (except Ghost). 
**Psychic is supereffective against Normal and Fairy and resists Fairy 
** Nature resists Mystic
*Some AI opponents, especially Shinji, Odino and Raoul, play like a competitive player, frequently switching and using tactics such as Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin that no opponent in story mode usually uses. 
*Some Pokémon got retyped 
**All Normal-Flying birds now become pure Wind
**Any Bug type becomes Nature. Any Bug-Flying Pokémon that is not explicitly Wind-themed becomes pure Nature
**Minior becomes Earth-Mystic
**Lugia becomes Water-Wind
**Palkia becomes Mystic-Dragon
**Giratina Altered Form becomes Dark-Dragon (Origin Form retains its Ghost-Dragon type)
**Chingling becomes Mystic, while Chimecho becomes Mystic-Ghost
**Zacian's Sword form becomes Mystic-Fighting (and Behemoth Blade becomes a Mystic-type move)
**Zamazenta becomes Dark, and its shield form Dark-Steel
**Charizard becomes Fire-Dragon
**Serperior becomes Nature-Dragon
**Emboar becomes Fire-Earth
**Samurott becomes Water-Fighting
== Gameplay ==
The game plays similar to Pokémon Legends Arceus.
The gimmick of this game is Martial Resonance: certain Pokémon species can merge with the trainer, allowing the trainer themselves to come down to battle and attack the enemy.
== Backstory ==
In the past, warriors from Unova, Alola, Galar and Zovyat (a region based on Russia), including Lt. Surge, had helped a group of heroes called the Partigiani to defeat the totalitarian regime of the Fa Shan Cult, led by a powerful king known as the Duce who had forged a pact with the legendary Pokémon Darudoblepas in order to recreate the ancient Draco Empire. The Duce had used Darudoblepas to turn Kaioh into a barren wasteland. Even after so many years, Kaioh is almost uninhabitable and water and food are scarce. 
The Ursaluna Maggiore and Ursaluna Minore dojos, originally two Pokémon gyms led by gym leader Odino and Ryuzo, have grown in importance and have become the main forces opposing the New Fa Shan Cult led by the self-proclaimed Secondo Duce Raoul.
Ursaluna Minore is powerful and its forces are led by Team Sole Invitto, which wants to conquer Kaioh for itself and the Monarca del Sud is an equally bloody tyrant. Meanwhile Ursaluna Maggiore has been destroyed and its only survivors are the protagonist and Tokichiro. Raoul was also from Orsa Maggiore, but betrayed it. 
== Characters ==
Protagonist (Kentaro/Giulia): The protagonist. A member of the Ursaluna Maggiore dojo, they are the younger brother of Raoul and Tokichiro. They cannot talk due to having sacrificed their voice as a Vow of Mastery, the pact with the version legendary that makes them destined to be the future master of the Ursaluna Maggiore dojo. Due to their Vow of Mastery, they can use Martial Resonance. They and the love interest are based on Kenshiro and Julia from Ken Il Guerriero. 
Main Love Interest (Giulia/Kentaro, opposite gender as you): A member of the Ursaluna Minore dojo. They're based on Julia from Ken Il Guerriero, but take a lot of elements from Rei and Mamiya too, being actual fighters and your main sidekick in battles. They at first believe the protagonist has kidnapped their sister Mikoto, but this turns out to be false and instead it was Raoul that did so. They sacrificed half of their life to the opposite version legendary, and are destined to use the legendary against Raoul in exchange of dying young. They're the younger brother of the former Fa Shan member Ryuichi, who is now an Elite Four loyal to Raoul, and also of Giunio of the Cinque Carri. 
Shinji: The rival. An orphan from Hanamura village who has joined the Ursaluna Minore dojo and is convinced that Ursaluna Minore is stronger than Ursaluna Maggiore. At first he leads a small gang and rules as a minor Gym Leader (not an official one, he's not associated with Fa Shan) in the city of Minamijujisei. Then, after you beat him, he joins Team Sole Invitto and rises through its ranks to become its most powerful admin, the Principe del Sole. He uses the starter strong against yours. Shinji is based on Shin from Ken Il Guerriero, but unlike Shin, he serves Souther's counterpart and becomes an important part of his army, plus he's got part of Shu's characterization in that he redeems himself and then dies against the Monarca del Sud. 
Professor Tokichiro: A wandering doctor and the Pokémon Professor of Kaioh, who is actually the protagonist and Raoul's long-lost brother. He was a Partigiano who fought against the Fa Shan Cult. He's inspired by Toki from Ken Il Guerriero.
Mikoto: Younger sister of the love interest. Unlike Ryuichi, she was innocent and was attacked by Raoul's men led by Jiro. She's based on Airi from Ken il Guerriero. 
 
Yui: A young girl the protagonist rescues from an attack of the New Fa Shan Cult, who later travels with them. She's an expert in tech and provides the hero with a motorcycle. She's based on Lin and Bart from Ken Il Guerriero. She has a Lillipup she calls Pell.
Maestro Ryuzo: Supreme Master of Ursaluna Maggiore dojo. He's not a character who appears in the plot, just in flashbacks. He's based on Ryuken from Ken Il Guerriero. 
Il Monarca del Sud/Maestro Odino: Supreme Master of the Ursaluna Minore dojo and also leader of Team Sole Invitto. Based on Souther from Ken Il Guerriero ("Monarca del Sud" translates to "Southern Lord"). As the leader of Team Sole Invitto, he kidnaps people, including children, to build a great pyramid for his deceased master Gerlando, who he was forced to kill. 
Raoul Il Duce: Champion of the Pokémon League of Kaioh and leader of the New Fa Shan Cult, known as Il Secondo Duce (Italian for "the Second Dictator"). Originally the protagonist's brother who had a pact with the version legendary: what he had sacrificed as part of his Vow of Mastery was his ability to be loved or have children (he still can't have them, despite the legendary having rejected him: the legendary can betray you even after you make a Vow of Mastery). He has taken over the capital of Kaioh, the ancient city of Rashou, and built his Nuovo Palazzo del Duce. He admires the past Duce and wants to rebuild the ancient Draco Empire. After beating him in a Pokémon battle, he turns into a legendary Pokémon-human hybrid called Il Duce Corrotto ("the Tainted Dictator"), which he is ultimately condemned to be forever turned into and that you can capture in the postgame. He refers to his Gym Leaders as "Lords of the Draco Empire". He's based on Raoul/Raoh from Ken il Guerriero. 
Ryuichi: A survivor, also known as "The Lone Star Sirius", from the ancient Fa Shan Cult, and the older brother of Giulia/Kentaro (whichever is your love interest). He's not only the Sirius General who is the strongest of Raoul's Empire (and as such complicit in violence and murder), but also the most powerful of the Elite Four serving Raoul and a master of Dragon types. He does not actually serve Raoul, instead, he's loyal to the previous Duce, Benkei, and only follows Raoul because he sees him as being close to the spirit of Benkei. He's inspired by Ryuga from Ken il Guerriero. 
Mitsuki, Hikaru and Stella: Three Elite Four members, also known as the Moon Priestess, Sun Priestess and Star Priestess of the Fa Shan Cult, under the command of Raoul but, like Ryuichi, the actual leadership of the Fa Shan cult and not associated with the empire, refusing to take part in Raoul's violent crimes (in fact, they built the cult to protect humanity and hate how both Duci of said cult turned out evil). As they're only priestesses and can't access Martial Resonance (and most of the cult is loyal to Raoul), the priestesses only refuse to fight Raoul because they'd die if they did, however they're secretly keeping him from discovering the true secrets of the Fa Shan cult and mysteriously leaking information to the protagonists (occasionally helping them in their mission). Mitsuki specializes in Mystic-types, Hikaru specializes in Fire-types and Stella specializes in Steel-types. Mitsuki is based on Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon, Hikaru is based on Bloom from Winx and Stella is based on Hatsune Miku (due to a lack of women in Ken il Guerriero).
Gorudo: A gang leader who attacked Futaba village. Later on he's turned into a human-Pokémon chimera similar to Il Duce Corrotto and is the final boss of the post-game (he was mutated by Raoul, however he escaped Raoul's lab). He's similar to Zeed and Bolge from Ken Il Guerriero.
Kiba: The first Lord of the Draco Empire (Gym Leader), more specifically the Lord of Tetsuyama. Kiba is specialized in Steel-type Pokémon. Inspired by King of Kiba from Ken Il Guerriero.
Jiro: The second Lord of the Draco Empire, lord of Kuraigahara. He specializes in Dark-type Pokémon. He's also the protagonist's former adoptive brother and a failed Ursaluna Maggiore practitioner. Inspired by Jagi. 
Ammiano: Third Lord of the Draco Empire, lord of Obakemura. He specializes in Psychic-type Pokémon. Inspired by Amiba.
Suguru: Fourth Lord of the Draco Empire, lord of Keimusho. He specializes in Steel-type Pokémon. Inspired by Wiggle the Warden. 
Yudai: An admin of Team Sole Invitto, known for his beauty, who often kidnaps women. Mikoto was once captured by him. Inspired by Yuda.
Ugo: One of the Team Sole Invitto's Cinque Carri, known as Ugo del Vento, a master of Wind-type Pokémon. Based on Huey.
Scipione: One of Team Sole Invitto's Cinque Carri, known as Scipione del Fuoco, a master of Fire-type Pokémon. Based on Shuren.
Fudo: One of Team Sole Invitto's Cinque Carri, known as Fudo della Terra, a master of Earth-type Pokémon. Based on Fudo.
Rialto: Strategist and de facto leader of Team Sole Invitto's Cinque Carri, known as Rialto dell'Oceano, a master of Water-type Pokémon. Based on Rihaku. 
Tomi: Rialto's daughter.
Giunio: Also known as Giunio delle Nuvole, one of the Cinque Carri who however works independently. He replaces Raoul as the new Champion after Raoul is beaten and killed. 
== Plot == 
In a flashback in Hanamura village, the protagonist (you still can't choose their gender because they're covered in a hood) is attacked by Shinji and collapses on the sand. Shinji claims that "Ursaluna Minore is better than Ursaluna Maggiore and will rule the world!". 
They're found by their older brother professor Tokichiro and healed. They awaken in Kodama, having lost all of their Pokémon but not died. It's then you choose their gender, and Tokichiro gives you your starter, chosen between Nature-type Leaphia, Fire-type Fokken and Water-type Vipeidon). Soon, the protagonist leaves Tokichiro to go look for Shinji. Soon after leaving Kodama, they reach the village of Futaba, that is attacked by Gorudo's gang. It's then that they save Yui's life from the punks, and leave Gorudo almost dead (though Gorudo manages to escape, and after you finish the game, he becomes the post-final boss as cyborg Gorudo). 
Then, they reach Shirogane and beat the some of Shinji's gang, including a warrior known as Il Cuore (the Heart). in order to protect innocent villagers nearby, and later on, after you reach Minamijujisei, a city where Shinji rules as Gym Leader. You have your first fight with Shinji, who survives and escapes.
TBA
== Pokédex ==
Legendary Pokémon
Mystic Tyrants: 
* Samushido (Mystic-Fighting)
* Hitlodanima (Mystic-Ghost)
* Spiryutojo (Mystic-Dragon)
* Raoul/Il Duce Corrotto (Poison-Dragon)
World Lords Trio:
* Iuppitrex (Electric-Wind)
* Neptremor (Water-Fighting)
* Hadyss (Ghost-Steel)
Dante Trio:
* Cerberno (Dark-Ghost)
* Purgilio (Normal-Ghost)
* Beangelo (Mystic-Ghost)
* Darudoblepas (Earth-Poison)
Mythical Pokémon
* Karrarmarte (Earth-Fighting) 
* Lovenere (Mystic-Water)
* Vulkabbro (Fire-Steel)
* UB Errante/ Zoroastl (Psychic-Dark)
* Judas (Dark-Psychic)
== Trivia ==
* Kaioh is named after a character in Ken Il Guerriero. 
* This is the first game where your Pokémon fight against a human opponent directly, and you can even capture a human (a human who has mutated into a half-Pokémon chimera, but which still retains a human consciousness and hates you). 
** Since Il Duce Corrotto is Raoul and he hates you, his happiness is fixed at zero even if you capture him in the postgame. You can't nickname said Pokémon because its nickname is always fixed as Raoul.
*This is the first Pokémon where humans can attack each other (through Martial Resonance). 
* No character is named after a plant. Instead, most characters have Italian names that are taken from a character in Ken Il Guerriero.
*The name Fa Shan Cult is taken from "fascism", but their black kimono are modeled after samurai, not WW2 soldiers. 
* Orsa Minore and Orsa Maggiore are the two constellations known as Nanto and Hokuto respectively. Since bears don't exist in the Pokémon world, they're changed to Ursaluna Maggiore and Minore.
* Despite Kaioh being based on Italy, there's no pizza or pasta, instead sushi and onigiri are featured prominently. 
* Sandstorm by Darude, remixed, is the main theme of the overworld. A legendary Pokémon, Darudoblepas, is named after Darude. 
* Zoroastl is based on Zorotl, a cartoon alien mascot of Eiffel 65. 
* Hadyss' Steel type is a reference to the fact that gold and precious metals were seen as sacred to Hades (Hades' alternate name Pluto means "rich"), while Neptremor's Fighting type is because Poseidon was also called Ennosigaeus (he who shakes the ground) and was also associated with quakes other than with the sea.
* You can hear the Italian opening of Ken il Guerriero in this game. It's also used as the opening of its anime adaptation, "Pokémon X Ken Il Guerriero - I Guerrieri di Kaioh". 
* Raoul and the event legendary Judas are the first Pokémon to be borne of mutated humans.
Category:Pokémon Games
Category:Nintendo Switch Games
Category:PlayStation 5 Games
Category:Fist of the North Star