Twitch Plays Pokémon

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Fandom
Name: Twitch Plays Pokémon
Abbreviation(s): TPP
Creator: An anonymous Australian programmer/GameFreak/the internet at large
Date(s): 12 February 2014 - present
Medium: Online collective game
Country of Origin: Global
External Links:
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Twitch Plays Pokémon is an online game and social experiment in which an emulation of the Pokémon console games is streamed on Twitch and collectively controlled by the viewers of the stream via commands entered into the chat. It began with a stream of Pokémon Red on February 12, 2014 which was completed 16 days later. Twitch went on to play subsequent games in the Pokémon series, including Crystal and Emerald, and events/replays have also been held to celebrate the anniversary of the original stream.

The initial Twitch Plays Pokémon Red stream was incredibly popular, winning a Guinness World Record for the "Most users to input a command to play a live streamed videogame"[1], as well as a Game Award for Best Fan Creation.[2] During its initial playthrough, the game also spawned an intense fan following with detailed lore and headcanons around the chaotic actions of the player character and the Pokémon that formed their eventual team. This subsequently gave rise to a great many fanworks as well as fan wikis and even a religion.

Subsequent games, such as Crystal, also had their own fandoms with lore and headcanons, although none quite reached the feverish heights of the initial game.

Key Terms/Concepts

Red worships the Helix Fossil
  • Anarchy: The original mode of play for Twitch Plays Pokémon, in which every single command in the chat would be interpreted by the game separately. This was the sole method of controlling the game until six days into the stream, when the streamer implemented Democracy mode after the chat had spent more than 24 hours stuck on a Team Rocket puzzle. This decision was controversial and starkly divided fans. Favouring Anarchy became something akin to a political affiliation as well as part of the in-game lore, in which Anarchy is the "true" mode of gameplay represented by Lord Helix.
  • Democracy: An alternative mode of gameplay for the stream initially implemented on February 18, 2014. Unlike Anarchy, in which all commands inputted have equal chance of being selected, Democracy tallies up the commands inputted over a period of 30 seconds and then selects the majority option. During Generation 1, Democracy required a supermajority to switch to, while switching back to Anarchy only required a majority; however, in Generation 2 it was implemented by default every hour. Democracy, or Domecracy, became associated with the Dome Fossil in in-game lore and was viewed by many as an aberration.
  • Dome Fossil: The fossil not selected by Red, who is considered to be the antithesis of the Helix Fossil/Lord Helix and aligned with Democracy. Pokémon viewed negatively by fans, such as Flareon, are thought to be agents of the Dome Fossil.
  • Helix Fossil: (Also known as "The spiral") The fossil selected by Red, which he subsequently spent a considerable amount of time accessing in his bag, causing fans to decide that it must be a holy or spiritual object that Red looks to for guidance. It was later revived and became Lord Helix. On top of spawning a religion (Helixism) and being central to game lore, the Helix Fossil was a widespread meme, with phrases like "Consult the Helix Fossil" and "All hail the Helix Fossil" being incorporated into merch designs and fanworks.
  • The Hivemind: The name given to the Twitch chat. Also called "the voices", or "the mob".
  • Ledges: Ledges are jokingly considered to be Red's nemesis (and the nemesis of subsequent TPP characters, but particularly Red) as he spent a disproportionate amount of game time stuck behind them, unable to go back up after jumping over one. Trees presented a similar obstacle.
  • start9: A command that many players used as a form of protest during TPP Red, as it would cause the Start menu to be opened 9 times. After the decision to implement Democracy, players spammed start9 in protest, an event known as The Start9 Riots. start9 is also considered a kind of catchphrase for Red and he is sometimes depicted saying it in fanart.
  • The streamer: The name given to the anonymous Australian who created and ran the Twitch Plays Pokémon stream up until 2017, when they stepped down due to hostility from other collaborators.

Game Lore

Twitch Plays Pokémon Red

Twitch Plays Pokémon Red had the most elaborate fan lore surrounding the method of gameplay, the actions of the player character, and the Pokémon who were caught (and in many cases, subsequently released) and who eventually went on to defeat the Elite Four at the Indigo Plateau.

The term "The Hivemind" came to be used to refer to the Twitch chat with its constant bombardment of conflicting commands. In TPP lore, it was known as "the voices",[3] as players imagined Red (the player character) constantly hearing a stream of voices in his head, telling him to do different things and driving him mad. Some headcanons held that these voices came from the "old gods", who are represented by the three fossils: Helix, Dome and Amber. Many pieces of fanart visually depicted the experience of Red hearing the voices. Red was freed of the voices after his defeat of Blue at the end of the game, after which the voices transferred to AJ, the player character of Twitch Plays Pokémon Crystal.

Many in-jokes and headcanons (which subsequently developed into lore) revolved around the erratic actions that were performed by the player character as a result of these conflicting commands, such as getting stuck for hours on a ledge, walking in circles, and constantly opening the game menu. After the Helix Fossil was obtained in-game, Red would often open it in his bag, an action that was interpreted by the chat as taking out the fossil and staring at it; lore developed that the Helix was a spiritual object of great power that guided the player. After the Helix fossil was revived as Omanyte (and later Omastar), it became known as Lord Helix, an old god and the ultimate force for good (at least for many players) in in-game lore. The lore surrounding Lord Helix, the Helix and Dome fossils, and fans' conflicting views about different modes of gameplay (Anarchy versus Democracy) spawned a religion, Helixism.

The Pokémon captured (and released) by the player character were also incorporated into the lore, and given fan names based on the keysmash of characters that resulted from the chat collectively nicknaming them (see Pokémon for more).

Twitch Plays Pokémon Crystal

The fan lore of TPP Crystal continued from and built on the lore from the original TPP Red in many ways. Following Red's defeat of Blue at the Indigo Plateau, the voices were considered to have left Red and settled in a new host, AJ (AJDNNW). Many fans, however, were unhappy with the lack of distinctive lore for TPP Crystal, wanting the game to have its own lore. A popular phrase from TPP Crystal is "No gods, no kings, only 'mon" (or "No gods or kings, only 'mon") which symbolised the departure from the "god"-driven lore of TPP Red. AJ's party, instead of being gods or royalty, were simply ordinary Pokémon on a journey.

Democracy mode was used more frequently in Gen 2, causing a headcanon to arise that AJ possessed more mental strength than Red due to his ability to resist the voices. In fanon, he is depicted as actively fighting against them rather than being a completely passive agent of their power. Some of his successful deposits into the PC were seen as representing him overcoming the voices. However, unlike Red, he is not viewed as the leader of his party, as Lazor Gator is commonly depicted in this role.

Notably, AJ defeated Red at Mount Crystal with just five Pokémon in his team. Prior to the decisive showdown, many stream players had requested that Red's team in the final battle be modified to resemble the team from TPP Red, but it was only when the battle began that fans discovered this had indeed been carried out.

TPP Emerald: A by ChthonicKhonri

Twitch Plays Pokémon Emerald

A, the protagonist of Twitch Plays Pokémon Emerald, was the first female stream protagonist. She was selected as the player character after three soft resets, which some fans interpreted as her having "murdered" her previous selves. However, this was later revised to characterise the lost protagonists as alternative identities for A or different sides of her personality. Other early lore included a headcanon that A had summoned the voices and used them to make herself more powerful, although a more conventional headcanon is that she messes around with the voices for fun, embracing the anarchy and madness.

Zexy, A's Torchic, is also characterised as accepting the voices, unlike Pokémon from previous generations who were characterised as being against them.

Notable Figures

Human

  • Red: The player character in Twitch Plays Pokémon Red. The original host of the voices, Red is thought to appear to other characters around him in the game as bizarre and chaotic, carrying out random actions with no apparent logic. However, his depiction in fanon is of a calm, mostly silent character, influenced by the fan depictions of Red in the original games. Some fans headcanon that Red came to value silence even more after he was freed from the voices.
AJ sets out on his journey with Lasergator/Lazor Gator. Art by Sixala.
  • AJ (AJDNNW): The next host of the voices after Red. AJ popularly tends to be characterised as young, energetic, strong-willed and caring; he is considered to have actively fought against the voices, unlike Red. Some examples of his perceived strength include the time that he traversed Mount Silver without using Flash, with just five injured Pokémon in his party. Due to his repeated calls to Youngster Joey, they are often characterised as being close friends.
  • Youngster Joey: Joey appeared in TPP Crystal and is characterised as having a strong friendship with AJ, who frequently called him on the phone. Some fans ship the two of them together. One headcanon theorises that Ace, the Raticate on AJ's team until the fight with Red, was Joey's Rattata who was sent to aid AJ, having evolved beforehand or along the way.
  • A: The protagonist of Twitch Plays Pokémon Emerald. The full name given to her by fans is Camila A. Slash. She was preceded by three other protagonists: /' (or Slash), Camila and T. These have been characterised by some fans as victims of A's pre-game crimes, or as her alternate personalities. In terms of personality she is variously depicted as a ruthless killer or as a fun-loving, adventurous person who embraces the anarchy and chaos of the voices. Some fanworks incorporate commands into her speech, giving her unique speech patterns.
  • Bill: Considered to be the main antagonist in TPP lore due to the fact that he is the creator of the PC, which caused so many tragic Pokémon "deaths". While the Dome Fossil was originally the antagonist in TPP Red, Bill took over as the popular antagonist from Generation 2 onwards, with Gen 1 lore being revised to incorporate him as an Agent of the Dome (aided by the fact that he wears a Kabuto costume at one point). An alternative interpretation maintains that he has no connection to the Dome except for possibly manipulating Red into believing it was behind events like Bloody Sunday. Some fans headcanon that, following their battle, Red and AJ reconciled their differences and teamed up to stop Bill, who escaped using a time machine.

Pokémon

Twitch Plays Pokémon Red

Artwork depicting the "Chosen Six" from Red's team, and their various roles in TPP lore. Artist unknown.
  • ABBBBBBK(,, known as Abby, a Charmeleon who was Red's starter Pokémon. She helped the player win a number of battles before being accidentally released during an attempt to deposit Flareon in the PC, which led many fans to brand Flareon as a "false prophet".
  • JLVWNNOOOO, or Jay Leno, was a Rattata and the second Pokémon caught by Red. Despite his lack of battling power, he was viewed with affection by many fans. He was released during the events "caused" by Flareon, along with Abby.
  • Flareon, also known as The False Prophet (and later as The Martyr), an Eevee gifted to Red who later evolved into Flareon. Flareon was controversial as a character for a number of reasons: many players planned to evolve her into a Vaporeon to add a water type to the team, but instead a Fire Stone was purchased and she evolved into Flareon. During the subsequent chaos in the chat, Abby was released along with Jay Leno, while Bird Jesus was deposited into the PC along with the Helix Fossil. This caused players to theorise that Flareon was an agent of the Dome Fossil.
  • aaabaaajss, better known as Bird Jesus, a Pigeot and the longest-running member of Red's party. Caught as a Pidgey, he was the first successful catch with a Pokéball. He was the strongest Pokémon in the party for much of the playthrough, and a member of the eventual team that beat the Elite Four. Following a battle in which he miraculously defeated a trainer's Bulbasaur while on 19 HP and paralysed, he gained the nickname "Bird Jesus". In game lore and Helixism, he is often characterised as a prophet of Lord Helix or a messiah.
  • AIIIIIIRRR, known as Air Jordan or simply Air, a Lapras who was the first member of the party to learn Surf. In much of original TPP lore, Air was considered to be male, but in Generation 2 when genders were assigned to Pokémon for the first time, Air was transferred to the game and was female. However, the Lapras owned by Red in Pokémon Crystal was male due to technical limitations.[4] Despite being underlevelled, Air was a fan favourite character, characterised as a prince who, along with King Fonz, joined Lord Helix on his journey out of a sense of duty.
  • AAAAAAAAAA, known as The Fonz or King Fonz, a Nidoking who became a mainstay of the party after the events of Bloody Sunday. He was nicknamed The Fonz due to his name reminding players of the signature "Ayyyy" catchphrase of Fonzie (or The Fonz) in Happy Days. As a Nidoking, The Fonz was evolved with a moonstone, which is considered in game lore to be one of the "lesser gods" that Red consulted, which merged with him to make him The Moon King.
  • AATTVVV, known as ATV or All-Terrain Venomoth. In fanart, ATV is often depicted as an all-terrain vehicle with wheels. He was mostly an afterthought to the party until he defeated Lance's Dragonite during the Elite Four battle, earning him the nickname "Dragonslayer", and the motto, "Dragonskin is still terrain".
  • AA-j, known by many other names including Battery Bird, is a Zapdos obtained in the Power Plant and the strongest Pokémon by stats that has been owned in the history of Twitch Plays Pokémon. Because the Party was full at the time of AA-j's capture, they were sent to the PC. The subsequent attempt to withdraw AA-j from the PC led to Bloody Sunday, during which a total of 12 Pokémon "died" (were released). Unlike Flareon, however, AA-j's reputation with fans remained intact despite this, likely due to their strength in battle. They are considered by some to have been a former agent of the Dome Fossil, causing them to be nicknamed "Fallen Angel". Other nicknames include "Battery Jesus", "John the Zaptist", and "Bird Jesus 2: Electric Boogaloo".
  • Lord Helix, an Omastar and benevolent god in the lore of the game, who was revived from the Helix Fossil. Lord Helix is popularly considered to be the God of Anarchy (the "true" mode of gameplay), while the Dome Fossil is the God of Democracy. He formed part of the "Chosen Six", Red's final team that defeated the Elite Four, and his church (the Church of Helix, or Helixism) is headcanoned to have spread across Kanto and Johto following the defeat of the Elite Four.

Fanworks

Twitch Plays Pokémon Red

Fanart

  • A fan edit of Man on a Ledge (2012) humorously depicts Red's "fear" of (and battle against) ledges

  • "TwitchPlaysPokemon in a nutshell" by theartofbadwords

  • A shield representing those who "maintain anarchy", bearing the image of Pigeot. By JohnMarkParker

  • A shield representing those who "fight for democracy", bearing the image of Flareon. By JohnMarkParker

  • Poster representing the Start9 protests (Artist unknown)

  • A movie-style poster for Bloody Sunday (Artist unknown)

  • Artwork commemorating All-Terrain Venomoth's defeat of Dragonite (Artist unknown)

Fan Songs

Twitch Plays Pokémon Silver

Websites & Communities

Communities

Websites

References

  1. ^ Most users to input a command to play a live streamed videogame, Guinness World Records. Accessed August 31, 2021.
  2. ^ 2014 The Game Awards Winners List, GameRant, published December 5, 2014 (Accessed August 31, 2021).
  3. ^ The Voices, Helixpedia. Accessed August 31, 2021.
  4. ^ Air: Trivia, Helixpedia. Accessed August 31, 2021.


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