You’re assuming only 1 degree of freedom (ENSO amplitude) when in reality, the structure, developmental pathways, etc, are equally if not more important to the spatiotemporal relationship.
The “PDO” only does what it’s told. The tail doesn’t wag the dog.
But it’s stupid that they’re separate things, dental health isn’t magically separate from the rest of the body’s health, they’re really closely linked.
I do not like it. Just like poking a stick into a hornets nest IMO. I know China is using weather modification at the drop of a hat, and it will almost certainly F things up.
Niña cycles grow westward with time, so the (lagged) response from PDO reaches maturity when the niña expression is west-based.
So yes, it’s ultimately ENSO/tropically-forced. The PDO itself has essentially zero influence on the 500mb pattern.