Pokemon community heartbroken over Crown Tundra’s “tragic” side story

Brent Koepp
peony looking upset in pokemon the crown tundra dlc

A viral post had the Pokemon Sword & Shield community feeling sad for The Crown Tundra’s new character, Peony, after it was revealed that the Trainer actually has an incredibly tragic story. 

Pokemon Sword & Shield’s second DLC, The Crown Tundra, released on October 22. The major expansion brought a whole host of past gen Legendaries to the Nintendo Switch RPG, and debuted the Dynamax Adventures mode.

The add-on also introduced new characters to the series such as former Galar champion, Peony. However, players were left feeling sad when they discovered the character’s complicated origins. The protagonist’s downcast story will leave you with the sniffles. 

peony laying on the floor in pokemon the crown tundra dlc
The new Pokemon character can’t seem to catch a break.

Peony’s tragic Pokemon backstory

A post online went viral after a user highlighted how dispiriting they felt Peony’s Crown Tundra story was. The user explained that they felt bad for the character, since the father spent weeks planning a trip to bond with his kid, only for his daughter Peonia to ditch him. 

However, it turns out the character actually has a pretty tragic backstory as well. Replying to the thread, another person pointed out the protagonist’s complicated origins of being the brother of Chairman Rose. “Apparently, he was always compared to his older brother, Rose. Never feeling good enough, he ran away from home,” the Redditor explained.

The player then detailed how Peony actually turned his life around, only to disappear again after being overshadowed by his sibling. “He eventually won the Pokemon League, but his time as Champion was cut short. Shortly after Rose became Chairman, Peony just kinda… disappeared from the league,” they said.

The sad backstory is actually detailed on the character’s Galar League card, which players get after beating The Crown Tundra. As if that wasn’t sad enough, several Redditors pointed out that the Master Ball Peony gives you was likely a gift from Rose.

“Peony was compared to his brilliant older brother since he was born. He eventually ran away from home, only to eventually become champion. But shortly afterward, Rose became League Chairman. This caused Peony to vanish entirely from the League,” the card’s bio reads. 

peony's league card
Players can learn about Peony’s sad backstory on his League Card.

Fans interested in the character’s backstory can even get a hidden cutscene featuring Chairman Rose’s assistant, Oleana. The hilarious moment further verifies the protagonist’s origins.

While Game Freak mostly plays up Peony’s story with his daughter for comedic purposes, many fans have been left feeling bad for the father. Especially after discovering his difficult past with Galar’s infamous villain. 

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About The Author

Brent is a former writer at Dexerto based in the United States, who covered topics such as Pokemon, Gaming, and online Entertainment.