This 'Pokémon Sun and Moon' fan theory about Red and Blue is exploding on Tumblr

A recent trailer for Pokémon Sun and Moon revealed the final evolutions for the game's starter Pokémon, but it also revealed the new, older versions of Red — the protagonist of the original Pokémon Red and Blue games — and Blue, his rival.

It became a jumping off point for a fan theory — or maybe it's just pure fantasy — about Red and Blue being really, really gay for each other.

Pokémon Sun and Moon fans have a theory about why Red and Blue are back.

Really, the fantasy writes itself: Two long-time rivals, trying to one-up each other for years, are suddenly thrust together in the romantic, Hawaii-like Alola region where Sun and Moon takes place? Steamy.

There's more to it than just shoving two random characters together and making kissy noises, though. 

Usually, queerness in games is something that's relegated to side characters, hidden under layers of subtext and optional audio logs, or — more often than not — entirely nonexistent.

As such, it's often the responsibility of the player to imbue games with the gay characters they wish to see, co-opting existing straight characters or teasing out the smallest hints of queerness into full-blown relationships that thrive in the online communities of places like Tumblr.

It also seems that Pokémon Sun and Moon is situated perfectly to be a canvas for this kind of wish fulfillment. The whole conceit of Sun and Moon's Alola region is that it's this microcosm of a world in which familiar old-school Pokémon, like Exeggutor, suddenly have different characteristics and abilities.

If Vulpix can suddenly be an ice-type Pokémon and Exeggutor becomes a ridiculously long-necked palm tree, it's not too hard to imagine other characters, like Red and Blue, taking on a special dynamic too.

But, you know, fantasies can also just be hot.