Brief Theories of the Orre Region
1. The Desert and the Ancient Orrean Civilization
The desert was created by a flood that destroyed the ancient civilization but the people of Agate Village remnants of the ancient people that have been kept safe by the high placement of the village on the mountain.Â
The Orre Colosseum, the pillars in the Colos title screen, and Agate Villageâs Relic and Tablet are all major evidence of this lost civilization once existing in a time long past.Â
The Agate Relic and Tablet themselves also suggest that there might have been a Shadow Pokemon incident in the ancient past as well. (Thus might be why there was a flood in the first place if Ho-oh and Lugia had anything to say about that. Also establishing some poetic irony in XD with Shadow Lugia if thatâs the case)
2. Early Modern Orrean Settlers and Cipher
The first settlers of Orre did so via Western Express-esque means as we could see that derailed train in the Outskirt Stand that has been decomissioned for a long amount of time. No rail road tracks could be seen in any part of either game but the train is there so there must have been some reason why.
It was a mining corporation that first settled in Orre centuries after the fall of the ancient civilization. That corporation was lead by a rich man who found precious minerals beneath Pyrite Town and established the Under to create his network of different mining fronts. It can be assumed that rich man was Greevil and the corporation as a whole became Cipher. Evice was likely a close friend of Greevil who was entrusted by him to monitor the progression of Orre while Greevil would be off establishing trade routes for Pokemon importation from the other regions like Kanto and Hoenn. In short, Cipher was the driving force of progression for Modern Orre since the beginning, likely building and enhancing every town for the greater good of their goal for complete control over a region they had built themselves.
Michaelâs father was a former inventor for Cipher. The aesthetics of the HQ Labâs interior looks like an abode that would house Cipher aligned personnel. The major evidence to this claim however is that there is no reason why Cipher couldnât have made another Snag Machine in the five years between Colosseum and XD unless they lost the technology to do so. Snag Machines were Cipherâs technology, but only Michaelâs father knew how to make them. I believe Michaelâs dad defected from Cipher once Wes had won against Evice and destroyed Cipherâs hold of Orre at the Realgam Tower.
Thus the only other time we  ever see another functional Snag Machine after Wesâs victory in Colosseum is five years later in a project established by Mikeâs father to make amends for the part he played in ruining so many people and Pokemonâs lives. The Purify Chamber and the Snag Machine was his answer to another Shadow Pokemon incident if it should happen again as he predicted, and it did. Â
A shame he couldnât live long enough to see his legacy redeem him in the end, but in a way he was there in spirit with his son until the very end cutscene where you see him leave the Snag Machine behind on a table after purifying every Shadow Pokemon in existence. A very sweet and heartfelt ending if you think about it. It is implied that Michael had suffered when he lost his father at his young age, but the whole adventure he went through was an adventure in growing up out of the past into a brighter and hopeful tomorrow. Letting the memory of his father rest in peace along with his Snag Machine and now obsolete Purify Chamber that were once his Dadâs lifeâs work.
4. Ruiâs Ancestral Vision
Rui is likely a descendant of the ancient Orrean race hailing from Agate Village like her grandparents. That would explain why she has the power to see the shadowy aura of Shadow Pokemon in the first place I believe.Â
A rare genetic mutation originating back to the very first Shadow incident that I theorize to be in the ancient Orrean era might be the cause of her power. Itâs not out of the question that whatever element that can turn Pokemonâs heartâs virtual shut can also affect humans in varying theoretical ways. Maybe not quite the same way as virtual closing oneâs heart, but in theory humans are just Pokemon with no special powers or means of defending themselves whatsoever. A Shadow Human or something like it would not be impossible to imagine, but hard to make manifest. A power hungry evil human can easily be classified as a âShadow Humanâ. The natural corruption in the heart of a human would be far harder to corrupt than the heart of a pure innocent Pokemon. To corrupt whatâs already corrupted would be impossible.
But to bring out behavior in a human similar to Dark Shards in Pokemon Ranger or the venom of a Nihilego would be very much within the power of whatever it was that corrupted Ancient Orre before the purification Ho-oh and Lugia brought in the form of the flood that shaped Orreâs desert.
So it is likely one of her ancestors became afflicted during the very first incident in Ancient Orre, thus creating the gene for Rui to see the Shadowy Auras centuries later.Â
Wes is a mysterious protagonist. Literally nothing can be said about who he is or what his goal was. Perhaps he was to be a bounty hunter after he escaped with the Snag Machine or a rogue criminal taking whatever he can and never giving anything back.Â
But my theory is that when he realized that the Pokemon he has been stealing for so long were being turned into Shadow Pokemon; he became angry and decided he was to steal back all the Pokemon he had helped supply Cipher with. Dialogue from Team Snagem grunts suggest Wes was the best Snagger in their ranks, so this implies that Wes has unknowingly supplied Cipher with more specimens to experiment with than he can count. So his entire adventure might have been a redemption run and Rui was there to help him do it.
But if you are a truly obsessed fan, you would know that Genius Sonority has originally planned Wes to be the final boss of Pokemon XD to fight Michael with his newly reformed Cipher under his control.
This implies that all along it might have been a quest for power or some way to get revenge on the world. Either way we will never know because that never happened. For all intents and purposes, Wes was on a redemption run that was blessed by Ho-oh himself  at the victory in the Realgam Colosseum and later, Ho-oh even allowed Wes to catch him after purifying every Shadow Pokemon and climbing up Mt. Battleâs special 100-Battle challenge.
There are a lot of theories you can make through observation in these games. Some theories can come out of concepts and designs that never made it into either game. Some theories for lore can be more interesting and gritty than others, but that is why I am so fascinated by these games that break truly break the mold in forms of gameplay and plot.
And I hope to see these games relevant again one day.
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