The Unova region is perhaps the most inter-contrasting region within the known Pokémon World. Human presence and development is obvious within Unova and a clear history is visible throughout numerous cities and towns. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the region is how it came to exist. Through the actions of war. As mentioned in the previous article Unova was the stage for a war that eventually united the people to form the region known today. However, at an unknown time in the history another war broke out, people were in conflict again over a dispute within the existence of Unova. The civil war caused mass damage to the region and ignited a forest fire threatening the native Pokémon.

In order to save the Pokémon, three legendary Pokémon appeared. Each of the three were said to have used their individual traits to rescue the Pokémon and protect them from the raging inferno; endurance, strength and agility, Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion respectively. Before vanishing into myth the trio were told to have ended the civil war and unite Unova once again. During these events Keldeo was also said to have assisted in the rescue efforts after intense training from the other three Pokémon.

In contemporary history Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion all appear after the New Team Plasma announce their plans for the Unova region and begin to freeze it using the power of Kyurem, and as such this is likely the reasoning behind their re-arrival. The backstory and intentions of the musketeers and/or Keldeo is a little bland and hopefully BW2 will shed some light on the subject. It can’t be argued that the three musketeers and Keldeo appear during times of conflict and as such their appearance could be due to a prediction on their behalf. As such all the theories compiled will imply that the musketeers have appeared in vain of prevention.

The new Team Plasma have intentions of manipulating Kyurem to gain control over Unova and reverting it back to the unstable region it once was. This would undoubtedly cause mass conflict between the people of the land and result in a situation similar to that of the musketeers’ initial appearance. It would make complete sense for the four Pokémon to want to protect as they did in the past. Since a large amount of time has passed since the initial civil war each of the four Pokémon will have had a significant increase in their abilities, which may explain the existence of Resolution Forme Keldeo. Years of further training has granted Keldeo the ability to learn Secret Sword from the trio and results in the Pokémon taking a new stronger appearance.

The second idea also suggests that the actions and plans of Team Plasma causes the appearance of the four Pokémon. By fusing Kyurem and either Reshiram or Zekrom (read the theories in Part 1) Team Plasma are reviving an entity that caused conflict thousands of years ago in the region, albeit through the manipulation of human beings. Unova would return to its state of unease and unrest with significantly worse possible outcomes. As such – similar to the original story of The Three Musketeers in our world – Keldeo,  Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion may be serving the “king”*, or the original dragon. Preventing the inevitable destruction that would occur if Team Plasma successfully reformed the beast and manipulated it to their will.

In BW Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion show hostility and aggression toward the player. However, in BW2 the three willingly present themselves to the player. This would suggest that the Pokémon are offering themselves in order to train and strengthen Keldeo. By gathering the four at the Oath Woods Keldeo is taught Secret Sword and is able to switch to its Resolution form. These events will have provided Keldeo with a significant boost making it strong enough to fight off and foil the plans of Team Plasma, preventing turmoil returning to Unova.

There’s currently no clear reason as to why the trio present themselves so willingly to the player, or why exactly Keldeo learning Secret Sword is important enough to have received its own location in BW2. After the English release of the games there will be some clarification on the subject, but it’s likely that a lot will be left up to the imagination of the players.

*There’s deep fan speculation behind what or who the “king” is, I’ll likely be covering this and the Abyssal Ruins in a later article.