#441 – Nickels
Happy 11th Anniversary of Yonkoma Nuzlocke!
The grand return of Diantha the Kirlia and Oskar the Poliwag. Don’t tell me you don’t remember them. Absolute superstars of Yonkoma Nuzlocke, the story just ain’t the same without them.
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Fine, pages #140 and #200. Seriously though, I do enjoy bringing back some minor characters when I can.
Speaking of, say hi again to Copycat! I really like how the reveal-shot of her true identity is just another disguise. After all, even I don’t know what she actually looks like! Naturally, showing her recentmost fake identity should help you connect the dots, so it was the best way to do it regardless. Said identity being Mitsuki, the most prominent police officer helping out Mayumi with interrogating Lilith. But then she suddenly disappears at one point, she’s not even seen fighting the Rockets around the city like other cops – didn’t you find it strange? You also could’ve noticed Lilith’s eye color turned slightly darker after she left her prison cell, while Mayumi’s eyes got a bit brighter while she fought Team Rocket, though that one was admittedly super obscure and mostly for myself. Of course I did set a little mind-trap for you by showing the freed Lilith being unmistakably Lilith and nobody else… on this non-canon page, haha!
But of course the greatest hint lied elsewhere. Go back to page #333 and read the scroll-over text, where I joke about somehow turning Mitsuki’s name into a plot twist foreshadowing. Joke, you say? Mayumi’s costume is, if you remember, based on a cartoon “Nightfall Cops” in which the main characters had Japanese names involving night-related words and numbers. Mayumi’s costume is based on a character called Yumeichi, as Chris of Team Rocket reminds us on page #340 (which is even titled Yumeichi), where “yume” is Japanese for “night” and “ichi” means “one”. Well, Copycat didn’t even bother inventing a different name for her cop identity. “Mitsu” can mean “three” in Japanese, while “tsuki” means “moon”.
There’s also the tiny detail, again on page #340, where Chris mentions the actress who played Yumeichi on Nightfall Cops was one Manomo Mesumune. Now, why would I bother mentioning that if not for the fact that the same syllables rearranged can read “Monomane Musume“, ie. “Mimic Girl”. I don’t need to tell you whose Japanese name that is!
An early idea for this chapter included Gary and Kae heading to Copycat’s house, hoping for Rocket disguises that would allow them to sneak into Silph Co. They would then meet Copycat’s parents, distraught that their daughter has gone missing, the implication being that she ended as a Rocket captive. I quickly scrapped the idea upon realizing that neither Misty nor Copycat would team up without letting her parents know and none of you would really believe that Plot Twist the Character was really just casually captured off-screen. For the record, while Misty’s plan always involved disguising herself as Lilith with Copycat’s help, it was the Rockets’ invasion on Pewter that forced the two to improvise a scheme during which “Misty” would be be captured, thus involving Copycat more than initially expected.
All of that aside, the reveal wouldn’t have nearly as much oomph if it wasn’t used well by the characters themselves. We have yet to see the extent of Misty’s plan, but Doug using his realization to send a bunch of grunts right into the clutches of Henry and Co. is surely gonna pay off. My boy’s been the lame coward for so long, but after Erika, Koga and now this, he’s growing into a real mystery-solving protagonist and as a plot-twisting author, I couldn’t be happier.
And hey, this page puts the ending of page #420 into a whole new perspective, doesn’t it. Not to mention the entirety of Bill’s behavior on page #439.
For some reason I really love Anzu unknowingly calling Misty a “blue bimbo” and yes, the chest-joke, while the most… anime-esque joke in all of Yonkoma Nuzlocke, stays true to Copycat’s weird character (remember?) and allows for some funny interactions. Lilith-Misty pinching Rocket-Anzu while Rocket-Doug awkwardly meets with Ariana… That’s just fun.
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Always love a reveal that the protagonists have been playing 4d chess the whole time
Funny enough, both Kiyo and Copycat live in Saffron and were introduced as cameos in Chapter VII. One could even argue the same for Mayumi, as her costume was made by Copycat (thus originates from Saffron) and the original character it’s based on (Yumeichi) was revealed and named in Chapter VII. This three-parter kinda ended up as a pay-off to multiple little elements from that particular point in the story, ones you never knew even needed a pay-off.
Here’s hoping Bill and Mayumisty have a solid gambit planned. This is only a taste of whatever they’re cooking.
Happy 11th anni! I remember finding the comic through sj all those years ago, and I’m glad to have stuck around all this time. I’m glad to see that you’re doing alright (missed the last update because I was sick). Here’s to many more plot twists to come!
If there’s anything you can be certain about here, it’s that more plot twists are always on the way! Thanks for reading all this time!