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Professor Sada and Professor Turo are the overarching protagonists of the 2022 video games Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, respectively.
They were Pokémon Professors who researched Paldea's Terastal phenomenon and the head of the Zero Lab deep within the Great Crater of Paldea. After becoming obsessed with Pokémon from the Past/Future, they've created a time machine to capture Pokémon from the past/future, including the player's Koraidon/Miraidon. However, the capture of a more aggressive Koraidon/Miraidon led to their death, though their legacy was carried about through their meticulously programmed AI counterparts. Sada and Turo are the parents of Arven.
Personality[]
Sada/Turo had an immense fascination with history of the past/future and its Pokémon, so much so that they devoted their entire lives work to developing a time machine to make contact with the ancient past/distant future. Their fascination began when they read the Scarlet/Violet book in their childhood.
Sada/Turo was a highly skilled inventor, with their time machine and robotic counterpart being prime examples. Sada/Turo was described as very workaholic, they would spend days at the laboratory working non-stop and paid little attention to their husband/wife and son.
Over time Sada/Turo's ambitions devolved into an unhealthy obsession that led to their husband/wife divorcing them and Arven becoming increasingly frustrated at his mother/father's continued absence for years. They had a strong desire to protect the time machine they created, taking great measures to keep it safe by installing numerous security systems to the point that their AI counterpart believed that it was all they cared about. During the battle at the core of the time machine the Paradise Protection Protocol made the AI android behave like the real Sada/Turo's mindset at the time, where they repeatedly ranted that Paradox Pokémon are superior and anyone who disagreed with their goals was a threat who needed to be eliminated.
Though Sada/Turo's intentions weren't outwardly malicious, they exhibited extreme callousness as a byproduct of their obsession with Paradox Pokemon, pointedly dismissing the ecological impacts for Area Zero, or the inevitable disaster that would occur should they escape Area Zero, which at least one indeed had. They believed that such losses were necessary sacrifices to the creation of a paradise of the past/future in the present.
The AI replica of Sada/Turo showed what the professors were like before their obsessions took a turn for the worst as they were programmed to think the same way the real professor did, however the AI's capability of understanding human emotion was limited to an extent; it could not comprehend the professor's reasonings behind following their dreams despite the risks involved and only saw their actions as illogical, was entirely incapable of understanding sarcasm, and did not think of keeping in contact with Arven after the true professor's death which only made Arven resent their mother/father that much worse.
The AI was fully aware of its nature as a fake replica and understood the own limitations of its programming, all of its actions were based around calculated logic rather than heartfelt emotion. Still, the AI did respect its creator despite disagreeing with their beliefs, and to some extent it was jealous of the humans able to adventure around the world.
The AI's decision to sacrifice itself to the Ancient past/Distant future was done to permanently shut down the time machine but it also admitted that it was partially so it could experience the freedom of living with free will no longer confined to the Zero Laboratory.
The AI also remarked that Sada/Turo truly loved their son, another evidence of their love for Arven is the photo of Arven as a toddler and Mabosstiff as a Maschiff together that they had in their lab.
During the player's encounter with a time-displaced Sada/Turo who had not yet been consumed by their obsession at the Crystal Pool, the professor was shown to be kind people who had genuine passion for their work and missed their son Arven, they felt guilt for having to leave him alone for so long to focus on their work.
Biography[]
Research into Area Zero[]
Sada/Turo in their childhood found the Scarlet/Violet book, a book that anecdotes the expeditions of a famous researcher named Heath, who 200 years prior to the events of the game ventured into the Great Crater of Paldea to discover its mysteries. In the book Heath described unknown creatures that looked like existing Pokémon but also unnatural and impossible to explain by science, almost as if they came from a different time period.
The Scarlet/Violet Book was largely dismissed as more fiction than scientific research, nonetheless it remained a popular piece of literature within Paldea. Sada/Turo were fascinated by the stories written on the book and the concept of Pokémon from the distant past/future, it became their dreams and life goal to discover these Pokémon and prove the stories written in the book were more than mere fiction. At some point in her/his life they met Turo/Sada who they married and worked together with as scientists researching the Great Crater of Paldea much like Heath did in the past.
Professor Sada/Turo was part of the team that explored the Great Crater of Paldea, setting up the Zero Lab in Area Zero. There, she/he discovered and named the Terastal phenomenon.
At some point, Sada/Turo found herself/himself in an unfamiliar place where she/he met a child who gave her/him the idea to create an AI copy of herself/himself, the Winged King/Iron Serpent's real name and traded one of her/his copies of the Scarlet/Violet Book for a white volume, which would really help with her/his research.
At that time, the professor was able to develop a prototype for the Tera Orb, earning them corporate backing for their projects and allowing them to set up a second laboratory in a lighthouse near Cabo Poco. Furthermore, they were able to harness more of the unstable energy, despite concern from funders, and moved the majority of research deeper into the Zero Lab.
At some point during Sada/Turo's research they stumbled upon a cavern even deeper than the presumed bottom of the crater where they encountered what seemed to be a Pokémon trapped in a crystal structure as a form of hibernation. She/he was unable to awaken the unknown Pokémon but were able to determine that it was the source of Tera Crystals. Sada/Turo dubbed this Pokémon as "Terapagos".
Sada/Turo eventually succeeded in developing a time machine that would allow them to reach out to catch Pokémon from the ancient past/distant future, by transporting Poké Balls to different points in the past/future to catch them and bring them into the present.
The first Pokémon that Professor Sada/Professor Turo succeeded in transporting to the present was a Koraidon/Miraidon, an ancient ancestor/futuristic descendant of Cyclizar. to the present for study. The Koraidon/Miraidon was incredibly docile, being so friendly with the professor that it only took a normal Pokéball to capture instead of a Master Ball like every other Paradox Pokémon.
However, Sada/Turo began to become obsessed with their research, continuing the influx of Paradox Pokémon into the modern day in her/his pursuit of a paradise for their family. Shortly after son: Arven was born, their spouse: (Turo in Scarlet, Sada in Violet) walked out on Sada/Turo, they were left without help, driving them deeper into their work and ironically causing them to begin neglecting the very people they worked for. Arven ended up growing up in the lighthouse laboratory on Poco Path on his own, never seeing or connecting with his parents due to the latter's newfound devotion to the Tera Project. This estrangement was intensified by the professor's search for a more suitable assistant, leading to them to creating an artificial intelligence copy of themselves using the Zero Lab's authentic crystals to double productivity, as humanity does not possess the knowledge to develop such a sophisticated AI in the time period the game takes place in.
Together, they were able to transport a second, Koraidon/Miraidon to the present, in hopes that the two Pokémon could survive and thrive in their new surroundings. But the other Koraidon/Miraidon was far more aggressive, taking very little time to become territorial over the foreign era and bullying the friendlier one.
Their AI clones corrupted by the Paradise Protection Protocol.
Sada/Turo was determined to maintain their dream of the Paradox Pokémon and present Pokémon existing in harmony. Unfortunately, their research was cut short when they attempted to stop a territorial battle between the two Koraidon/Miraidon, taking a fatal blow from the aggressive one in order to protect the life of the more friendly one.
This battle led to the destruction of Research Station No. 4, and the professor eventually passed away, leaving the identical AI to manage the remnants of their work in her/his place.
Post-Mortem[]
The AI's sentience could not find the logic behind Sada's/Turo's dream because of the disastrous ecological consequences that bringing so many hostile intrusive species into Paldea's ecosystem would cause harm as without the original Sada's/Turo's supervision, the time machine continued operating, bringing ancient/futuristic Paradox Pokémon to the present, who risked overthrowing the current Pokémon populace of Paldea.
AI Sada/AI Turo attempted to keep the Paradox Pokémon trapped within Area Zero, this however proved to only be a short-term solution as Paradox Pokémon would inevitably escape from Area Zero.
This came to pass when a Great Tusk/Iron Threads managed to escape from Area Zero and caused havoc within Asado Desert, becoming one of the five Titan Pokémon after it found a Herba Mystica den which it began consuming.
AI Sada/AI Turo could not leave the Zero Lab due to being reliant on the Zero Lab's authentic crystals to double productivity and turning off the Time Machine required the copy of the Scarlet/Violet book that Sada/Turo owned in their childhood, so AI Sada/AI Turo started reaching out to the original professor's associates via phone and video calls in hopes of finding someone who could bring the book to the laboratory and assist in shutting down the Tera Project once and for all.
During this time, AI Sada/AI Turo kept the real Sada's/Turo's death a secret so as to not raise any concern of the imminent danger the Time Machine posed, instead it took to impersonating the original professor when communicating with others without raising any suspicion that it was an android.
The passive Koraidon/Miraidon was left in the care of Arven, much to the latter's dismay as he saw Koraidon/Miraidon as a reminder of his parents' neglect. At some point the two Koraidon/Miraidon were caught in another territorial battle where the passive one was gravely injured and was forced to flee from Area Zero.
The player character found the injured Koraidon/Miraidon on a shore and fed it a sandwich, Arven soon met the player and suggested the player keep Koraidon/Miraidon happy to get someone else to take care of it.
The AI first contacted the player when they entered the Naranja Academy for the first time, and asked the player to take care of the Koraidon/Miraidon that was once under their possession. Throughout the game, the AI frequently contacts the player as the respective legendary gradually regains the powers it once lost by eating Herba Mystica. Once Koraidon/Miraidon's power was fully restored, the AI asked the player and Arven to travel to their laboratory in the Great Crater of Paldea and bring them the copy of the Scarlet/Violet book owned by the real professor which was now in Arven's possession. The player and Arven opted to invite their acquaintances Nemona and Penny to the trip to Area Zero so they'd have a better chance of succeeding if they traveled as a larger group.
The Way Home[]
As the player, Nemona, Arven, and Penny traversed the area to reach the laboratory, they discovered the history of the two Koraidon/Miraidon and the machine in notebooks left behind in each research station. The four also began to suspect something was wrong with the professor as they repeatedly remarked the professor's talking sounded rather robotic and cold in nature whenever they received another call. Arven also began to open up to his new friends over his troubled relation with Sada/Turo and the truth over why he knew about Koraidon/Miraidon.
At the Zero Lab, AI Sada/AI Turo revealed their nature to the player and of the fate that befell their creator. While Sada/Turo wished to let Pokémon of the Ancient Past/Distant Future to keep entering the present through the time machine, AI Sada/AI Turo could not find the logic behind letting the Paldea region's ecosystem be ruined by these time-displaced Pokémon and asked for the player's help in shutting down the time machine. AI Sada/AI Turo however explained that even though they're advanced enough to replicate human thought, it is ultimately still a computer program bound to obey their programming, as such when the player attempts to shut it down the time machine's protocols will overwrite AI Sada's/AI Turo's sentience and force them to defend the time machine. Accepting the risks, the player proceeded to battle AI Sada/AI Turo and the Paradox Pokémon they wielded.
After AI Sada/AI Turo was defeated it regained control of itself, Arven, Penny, and Nemona arrived at the core of the time machine. Arven immediately recognized that AI Sada/AI Turo as an impostor, to which AI Sada/AI Turo admitted that the Original Sada/Turo had long since died and apologized for not revealing the truth sooner.
Suddenly the security system initiated the Paradise Protection Protocol, which forcibly took control of AI Sada/AI Turo again, this time corrupting them with Tera Power and activated the Poké Ball Lock System, which blocks any Poké Ball without the professor's ID. Before being fully taken over by the Paradise Protection Protocol, AI Sada/Turo begged the four students to flee fearing the situation was too much for them to handle, and expressed disappointment in the real professor that keeping the time machine running was all they cared about.
The Paradise Protection Protocol sent the Guardian of Paradise Koraidon/Miraidon to attack the students, Poké Ball Lock System prevented the group from using their own Pokémon to defend themselves, but they realized that the player's partner Koraidon/Miraidon, which they originally got from the professor, was unaffected so it could battle the Guardian of Paradise. Over the course of the battle the corrupted AI Sada/Turo repeatedly ranted about "their" dreams of creating a paradise for Paradox Pokémon and the superiority of Paradox Pokémon, this being a reflection of the real professor's mindset and sheer extension of their obsession with the Tera Project.
Once the Paradise Protection Protocol was defeated, AI Sada/AI Turo regained control of themselves and concluded that the time machine cannot be shut down as long as they remain present to reboot the system. As such, AI Sada/AI Turo chose to sacrifice themselves by transporting to the ancient past/distant future that its creators had wanted to see, bidding farewell to the player, Arven, and their friends. Before disappearing, AI Sada/AI Turo assured Arven that, despite their neglect, the original Sara/Turo genuinely loved their son. The AI disappeared into the ancient past/distant future, taking with it the very same Scarlet/Violet book that started the real professor's goals, and permanently shutting down the time machine once and for all.
Indigo Disk[]
If the Player travels to Kitakami after the second expedition to Area Zero and takes Terapagos to the Crystal Pool, the real Professor Sada/Turo will appear before them from a cloud of mist, with Koraidon/Miraidon being happy to see her/him again.
She/he theorized that she/he somehow wound up there through space and time, possibly even from an alternate timeline.
Talking with Sada/Turo reveals that she/he is still in the process of trying to create the time machine and hasn't seen her/his son Arven for quite some time. Noticing the player's copy of Briar's Book, Sada/Turo became fascinated by the information it contains regarding the Area Zero Underdepths and offered to trade it for her/his copy of the Scarlet/Violet Book, which the player agreed to, before the mist disappears and transported Sada/Turo back to where she/he came from.
This meeting causes a Bootstrap Temporal Paradox where the Professor's time-displaced encounter with the Player, seeing Koraidon/Miraidon, and acquisition of Briar's Book proved instrumental in their success at creating the time machine and leaving behind notes concerning Terapagos' existence, which in turn set in motion the events that led to the player venturing into Area Zero to stop the time machine and eventually discover Terapagos so that Briar could write her book in the alternate timeline.
In Pokémon Scarlet, it unknown if Turo is still alive, and Pokémon Violet, it is unknown if Sada is still alive.
Quotes[]
| “ | Hello, <player>. Thank you for coming. (Second Koraidon/Miraidon roars) No. Back to your ball. (Second Koraidon/Miraidon returns to the Master Ball) That one is far less tractable and far more aggressive than the one you've traveled with. Your Koraidon/Miraidon fled Area Zero because it lost to the other one in a territorial struggle. I'm afraid there is something for which I must apologize. I am not the true Professor Sada/Turo. I am an artificial intelligence the professor created, imbued with her/his memories and knowledge. In short, I am an AI-powered robot. The real professor passed away during the incident that destroyed Research Station No. 4. The Pokémon was not to be blamed. It was the original professor who failed to accurately judge its full power. I believe the professor wanted nothing more than for the Koraidon/Miraidon to survive and thrive. That is why she/he threw herself in front of your Koraidon/Miraidon in an attempt to protect it. |
„ |
| ~ AI Sada/AI Turo introducing themselves to the player. |
| “ | An AI is an artificial intelligence created by a human being. A computer draws on the original professor's knowledge and memories to calculate all of my thoughts and actions. The results of those calculations are expressed by this mechanical body, built to resemble the professor in every way. Humanity does not, in fact, possess the knowledge to develop such a sophisticated AI at present. But the crystals that make up the Zero Lab have made such a thing possible here. They are also why I cannot leave this place. | „ |
| ~ AI Sada/AI Turo telling the player how they are created. |
| “ | Computer Voice: ID confirmed: Professor Sada/Pofessor Turo. Access granted. Initiating emergency shutdown...Please wait... Please wait... Access denied. Shutdown command overridden. Reinitializing... It's up to you now, <Player's Name>. Computer Voice: AI Sada/AI Turo switching to sleep mode. Activating offensive protocols... |
„ |
| ~ AI Sada/AI Turo telling the player it's up to them now to stop the time machine. |
| “ | Please, defeat me... | „ |
| ~ AI Sada/AI Turo begging the player to defeat them in battle before being controlled by the time machine's defense system. |
| “ | Whａ—?! Wɑs kəəｐing the time maɔhıne runnıng truly all thə profəssor cɑred about?! I’ⅿ s₀rry, chıldrən... This ıs t₀o much f₀r you... Y₀u ⅿust ruｎ! | „ |
| ~ AI Sada and AI Turo being corrupted by Terastal energy from the Paradise Protection Protocol. |
| “ | Farewell, my free adventurers! I bid you adieu! | „ |
| ~ AI Sada and AI Turo to the player, Nemona, Arven, Penny, and Koraidon/Miraidon before being transported into the ancient past/distant future to permanently shut down the time machine and the Paradise Protection Protocol once and for all. |
Trivia[]
- Sada and Turo are the first and only core series human characters designed by James Turner.
- Sada and Turo serve as a dark reflection of the game's main theme of "finding one's treasure", where their dreams of creating a paradise where Paradox Pokémon can thrive turned into a toxic obsession that drove away the people they cared about, made them spend years in isolation, and ultimately led to their deaths when they were killed by the same Paradox Pokémon they were so obsessed with, then the remnants of their work turned into a dangerous threat that put all of Paldea at risk long after their death.
- Sada and Turo are the first core series Pokémon professors to serve as the main antagonistic role in their games despite having an AI in their place. However, they don't fill all of the roles like how the professors of the other regions had done in the previous games. Director Clavell is the "old mentor" who welcomes the player to the world of Pokémon and Jacq takes the role of developing and analyzing the Pokédex.
- After Volo, they are also the second set of antagonists in the core series to have no ties to any evil team or organization.
- As mentioned above, Professor Sada and Turo both differ from the previous Pokémon Professors from the core series in many ways:
- Neither of them have names derived from flora like Clavell and the other Pokémon Professors.
- Sada's name comes from "Pasado", the Spanish word for "Past", and Turo's name comes from "Futuro", the Spanish word for "Future".
- Both have been confirmed deceased before the game's events, thus they are the only professors the player never actually meets in real life until the secret ending of The Indigo Disk.
- They are also the first Trainers in the core series to be battled post-mortem, via an AI; as well as the only non-human antagonists in the core series not to be Pokémon.
- Neither of them have names derived from flora like Clavell and the other Pokémon Professors.
- Sada and Turo the second antagonists after Maxie and Archie where each is the main antagonist of a pairing version of a given Pokémon game, both largely having the same roles in the version they are featured in.
- Sada and Turo are some of very few characters not from ancient history to be confirmed to have died, as death is typically avoided by having a character's fate be left ambiguous when they would face fatal situations. Cyrus and Lysandre are examples of this trend.
- It is often theorized that alluded to in Sada or Turo's journal talking about "that man/woman" leaving shortly after "the boy" was born, meaning "that Man" in Pokémon Scarlet, is Turo who is Sada's husband, while" that woman" in Pokémon Violet, is Sada, who is Turo's wife.
- Sada is the second female villain to be a mother, the first being Lusamine who is the mother of Gladion and Lillie.
- Turo is the third male villain to be a father, the first two being Giovanni, who is the father of Silver, and Ghetsis, who is the adoptive father of N.
- Unlike previous Trainer battles in which the opponent battles the player with more than six Pokémon, the player also uses a seventh Pokémon against AI Sada and AI Turo, their Koraidon/Miraidon.
