I played a new game and that means I'm back on my analysis bullshit. And by new game I mean Legends ZA which came out last year I know but dudes I was busy ok, Master degree dissertation and graduation and job hunting (in this economy) is no joke ok.
SO eh, I like Naveen. Allow me to explain partly why despite the fact fandom seem to have a polarised opinion on him. I think part of that might be unflattering projection but I digress.
One thing I really appreciate about Naveen in Pokémon Legends ZA is that the game seems to understand something that a lot of people don't... Sometimes teenagers get really attached to online creators because those creators are filling a need that isn't being met anywhere else.
And honestly... Naveen is kind of painfully realistic because of it.
Because look at his relationship with Canari for a second.The thing that stands out to me is that he doesn't actually seem interested in meeting her.
Like... at all.
A lot of stories would probably have gone down the route of making him obsessed with getting noticed by his favourite streamer or becoming her friend or proving he's special somehow.
But that's not really what Naveen wants. Validation is what he wants.
What he wants is to prove he's a real fan.
And if you've ever spent five minutes in fandom spaces you immediately recognise what's going on there.
Because the desire isn't actually proximity... It's belonging. He wants to know the lore. He wants to know the references. He wants the credentials. He wants to be able to stand in a room full of other fans and have nobody question whether he belongs there.
And that's such a teenager thing. Pokemon since ScVi DLC seems to have nailed teenagers, at least mostly, and like... I'm here for it.
But anyway, because fandom isn't always about the creator as a person and Naveen is mature enough to know Canar i herself isn't what he is seeking.
And when you look at Naveen's life... that starts making a lot of sense.
This is a kid whose grandmother disapproved of his sewing to the point that she literally threw away his sewing kit.
A kid whose dream of becoming a fashion designer was treated as something that needed to be shut down rather than encouraged.
A kid who eventually ran away from home and joined Team MZ because they gave him a place where he could actually keep doing the thing he loved.
I kind of want to ask...
Where else was he supposed to get validation and unjudgemental supportit? TeamMZ are still relatively new to him, he is guarded because he has been betrayed before by the guardians in his life so he wasn't going to open up to them right away. The distance that the screen provides allows him to seek validation in Canari without fearing hurt or rejection from a "real" person.
Canari is not Naveen's crush or anything like that, in his mind she's barely real. She is a representation of belonging and emotional fulfilment without the stress or fear that comes with being let down in real life. Canari will stream at the same time every day, she is constant and unchanging in that regard, she won't let him down or reject him or judge him the way his grandmother did.
Because that's the thing.
Teenagers don't usually become emotionally invested in things for no reason.
They gravitate toward places that make them feel understood.
Places that make them feel welcome.
Places where somebody says "hey, what you care about actually matters."
For Naveen, that seems to have been Canari and her community.
And honestly... I find that incredibly sympathetic.
People keep bringing up the fact that he watches Canari's streams during Team MZ meetings and, to be clear, I don't think the game is saying that's healthy. I don't think they want us to assume Naveen should stay like this the rest of his life.
Skipping your responsibilities because your favourite streamer went live is... probably not ideal. The game knows that. The audience knows that. Naveen himself probably knows that.
But there's a huge difference between saying "this kid is maybe a little too invested" and saying "this kid is pathetic."
And I think Pokémon Legends Z-A understands that distinction surprisingly well.
The game pokes fun at him occasionally...
But it never really treats him like some kind of creepy loser for having fandom interests, it definitely frames Canari's more adult fans as being creepier than Naveen. And even then those fans are still used to teach the moral that because Canari doesn't love her Eelektross because its strong but because she loves it unconditionally and thus they should love their partner Pokémon unconditionally too shows they have a degree of respect for these people who find comfort in fan spaces.
The joke is usually that he's enthusiastic. That he's a little too committed.That he's the kind of kid who absolutely knows every piece of Canari trivia ever recorded.
Not that he's fundamentally weird for finding comfort in an online community.
and sure he gets annoyed at Urbain/Taunie constantly getting Canari's name wrong. But like... if we had a favourite singer and your friends kept saying their name wrong you'd also get annoyed. That's not simping that's human nature.
And honestly... I appreciate that a lot.
Because I think a lot of people who grew up online recognise exactly what's happening here. You find a creator you like. You start watching every stream. You learn all the in-jokes. You start following the community. You start caring way too much about proving you're a "real fan" because teenagers long for a sense of belonging even when they pretend they don't.
And then one day you realise this silly little internet thing has become one of the places where you feel most at home.
The tragedy isn't that Naveen likes a streamer. The tragedy is that he seems to need that sense of belonging so badly in the first place.
So when I look at him, I don't really see a joke character.I see a lonely teenager who found a community that made him feel valued...And then held onto it a little tighter than he probably should have.
And honestly? I think that's one of the most human things about him.
And I think that's why his arc works for me.
Because the solution isn't that Naveen learns Canari was secretly overrated all along or that online communities are bad.
The solution is that he gradually finds people in the real world who can offer him some of the same things he was looking for online.
Through the player and the rest of Team MZ, he starts building relationships with people who actually appreciate his talents, support his interests, and genuinely want him around. For maybe the first time in a long time, he has a community that isn't separated from him by a screen.
And I think that's important because the game never frames Canari or her community as the enemy. They helped him through a difficult period of his life. They gave him somewhere to belong when he desperately needed it.
But as Naveen becomes closer to Team MZ, it feels like he no longer needs to cling quite so tightly to that world. He can still be a fan. He can still enjoy Canari's streams. He can still participate in that community.
The difference is that it stops being his only source of belonging.
And honestly... I think that's a much kinder message than "touch grass" narratives usually manage.
Sometimes people need online communities. Like damn I've made so many friends through Tumblr, friends who I only know because we all didn't like a white haired video game waifu (you all know who you are) or friends who I've met because we have the same silly Batman opinions.
Online community in moderation is good.The goal isn't to take them away.
The goal is to make sure people have enough love and support elsewhere that they don't have to rely on them for absolutely everything.
