In what way
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Real-world territories that will never be Pokemon regions
- Thread starter QuentinQuonce
- Start date
I wrote a big thing but I lost it :( but also it might be better to just give a summary instead:
You could compare it to the thanksgiving myth: The colonization of hokkaido that prohibited the ainu people's culture and religions, took over their land and refused to aknowledge them as indigenous japanese adapted into a game that poses the colonialists as just advancing technology and taking over "unused land" (a euphemism used even back in the day), and the locals as squabbling groups who were incorrect about their religion until You come along.
Well sticking nationally to my home country, any state not represented on this map:
The way the Pearl clan and the Diamond clan are portrayed is so bad that I seen people who actually study Ainu culture be rather frustrated with the game
in short, japanese references in LA are portrayed in loving detail and a lot of research was poured into them
the Ainu stand-ins are about as true to life as the "indians" where in Peter Pan
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Well sticking nationally to my home country, any state not represented on this map:
Its not our fault u guys have 1000 states and they're all slighly mishaped squares ok
On that note, specifically Nevada and Atlantic City will never show up(gambling).Well sticking nationally to my home country, any state not represented on this map:
If they do Alaska it would very likely be paired with the Northwestern territories of Canada, especially Yukon (kind of notable bit of history occurred between the borders there).
As for early Ice-types:
- Going with joke: Well, being its a cold region, they could make the Ice-type super strong that you have no chance of catching them early, and even if you do they'll be so high level they won't listen to you.
- Subversion of joke: HA! You fool, just as half of an Australian region Pokemon would be mono- or part Poison-types, half of an Alaskan/Yukon Pokemon would be mono/part Ice-type! They've been waiting for this EXACT moment to strike like a blinding, blistering blizzard! No one would see it coming...
- Jokes aside: Yes, a lot of regions so far were made to not have Ice-types early on (with exceptions), but GF's reluctance more seems to stem from not knowing where else to place an Ice-type if it isn't a cold environment. With the Wild Area allowing capture of Ice-types early on in addition to Raids not caring about what Type they offer you, I think it shows at this point it's only the location which GF cares about. So if we ever had a cold snowy region, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the early route mons are Ice-types (either new ones or old ones, like Snom could easily take the place of "early region bug"; maybe give them a chance to make a Ice/Flying 3/2-stage bird; also how about Ice-type regional variant of one of the gen early Normals (thinking either Bidoof or Bunnelby)).
But the true question is can GF get away from their "mighty glacier" thinking of Ice-types.
Being unfamiliar with the Ainu, I would like to know more about how the Clans aren't correct portrayals of the Ainu and ideas how they could have made them more representative of them. Because, while I'm not sure how familiar Japanese people are with the Ainu, I'm very sure most people outside of Japan don't know much about them (heck, I suppose that's true for any native group, even American natives have a much more complex history that isn't shown in media).
Eh, we have Orre representing that general territory.
Well, the easiest way to know about the Ainu is basically to "go watch Golden Kamuy"
which seems lazy but:
a) It's basically your best bet unless you know japanese (or know people who do research on Japan's cultures
b) Golden Kamuy is very well researched (for a manga anyway)
it is also what makes Gamefreak's presentation of the Ainu so damn inexcusable, Golden Kamuy is not just well regarded it's also a hit manga and Gamefreak could at the very least tried to base some of the Pearl/Diamond clans on the Ainu outfits (or rituals or cuisine or pretty much anything) the manga touches upon
here's a quick visual of how accurate the representation of each work is:
Note that even Golden Kamuy is still cartoony; Legends Arceus is frankly bizarre
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You know I keep forgetting the Pearl Clan is supposed to be set up in the Alabaster Icelands. One of these characters is properly dressed for the cold climate, the other is the one that's in the Pokemon game who looks like she's ready to hit the beach (she even has floaties around her arms and one leg).
However, something I just learned looking up info on the Pearl Clan (reminding myself what area there were in was called), according to the Old Verses both the Pearl and Diamond Clans are not native to Hisui. There was a previous civilization there, called the "Celestica", who just vanished before the Clans arrived and took the name for themselves. Infact the author of the Old Verses (Cogita?) doesn't paint the Clans in a positive light.
Am Canadian. I think if the country were to ever get a region it would be probably just the populated parts of Ontario and Quebec. The St. Lawrence/Great Lakes areas could be cool to explore and for the designated "cold" area there's the northern parts around Hudson Bay.
Russia and Israel were almost added to Epcot's World Showcase in the 80s or 90s.
Obviously now, the two countries will not be included there or in a Pokemon game. Which is a shame due to the interesting settings.
I have always thought Ethiopia or the Balkans would make for a cool region. Or Poland. I want a Winged Hussars Pokemon!
Obviously now, the two countries will not be included there or in a Pokemon game. Which is a shame due to the interesting settings.
I have always thought Ethiopia or the Balkans would make for a cool region. Or Poland. I want a Winged Hussars Pokemon!
Man I’d love to see the south Slavic countries become a proper region someday because of my own biases. There’s a lot of really neat potential with the locals, and the old pagan myths to make a dex out of. Heck I even tried making a dex of my own just for the fun of it, though it’s mostly just ideas, types, abilities, but no art though just descriptions
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I know some people said that Asian regions other than Japan would be unlikely, but I feel like India has a decently good chance, at least when compared to countries like Vietnam and China. Japan and India currently have good relationships in politics ( for better or worse ) but India and Japan have had a lot of cultural diffusion, Buddhism has had a very strong influence Japanese culture, as well as Hinduism: Lot of the Shinto gods were heavily inspired by Hindu Gods.
If you were look at the Forces of Nature, while Sugimori has stated that they were inspired by Japanese Gods such as Fuijin and Raijin, those god themselves were inspired by Hindu gods, meaning the Forces of Natures are indirectly inspired by Hindu Gods. Tornadus is Vata, Thundurus is Indra with traits of Krishna with the blue skin, Landorus is Shridevi albeit male, while Enamorus has traits of Shridevi, Laskhmi, Saraswati, Manasa and the aformentioned Lord Krishna, notably; Lord Krishna is often depicted with a cobra on his shoulders, similar to how Enamorus has her tail coiled around her neck like a snake.
If you were look at the Forces of Nature, while Sugimori has stated that they were inspired by Japanese Gods such as Fuijin and Raijin, those god themselves were inspired by Hindu gods, meaning the Forces of Natures are indirectly inspired by Hindu Gods. Tornadus is Vata, Thundurus is Indra with traits of Krishna with the blue skin, Landorus is Shridevi albeit male, while Enamorus has traits of Shridevi, Laskhmi, Saraswati, Manasa and the aformentioned Lord Krishna, notably; Lord Krishna is often depicted with a cobra on his shoulders, similar to how Enamorus has her tail coiled around her neck like a snake.
Not to mention their Incarnate Forms look like djinn/genies.
Obviously;
A Pokemon Region NEEDS to have something within their Culture or their history or mythology that COULD be used to inspire a Pokemon. . .
Any Area of the world that DOESN'T have any such Mythological Creatures they could base Pokemon off of; WILL OBVIOUSLY never be made into a Pokemon Region!!
A Pokemon Region NEEDS to have something within their Culture or their history or mythology that COULD be used to inspire a Pokemon. . .
Any Area of the world that DOESN'T have any such Mythological Creatures they could base Pokemon off of; WILL OBVIOUSLY never be made into a Pokemon Region!!
Pretty much every culture has mythology that you could use to to base Pokemon designs on if you're creative enough. I guess I should also point out that we had a region based on the New York metropolitan area that references precisely none of the native mythology from that area.
Well. . . They can't Do Antarctica; Because THERE'S NO COUNTRY THAT LIVES ON THAT FROZEN CONTINENT!! NO COUNTRY; NO MYTHOLOGY, NO CULTURE, ETC.
Yes, it would be quite difficult to do a continent that has no permanent population...
Though if they want to do a polar region they do have countries like Canada (+ US State Alaska), Greenland/Iceland, Norway/Sweden/Finland, and also New Zealand.
Patagonia would be a very interesting option for a polar region, with its incredibly diverse geography.
For those wondering: Patagonia is the Southern tip of South America, a part of Argentina & Chile (which means the region would more than likely be based on Argentina & Chile, just like Paldea is the Iberian Peninsula which is both Spain & Portugal). Speaking of which, would that be too similar to Paldea's culture? Paldea takes just as much from South American culture as it does the Iberian Peninsula.
Well, possibly, but we've also had four different regions based on localities in Japan, and two in America, so I think having two loosely Hispanic regions wouldn't be much of a stretch. Argentina and Chile do have their own distinct culture from Spain and Portugal, even if the influences are heavy. Mostly it's the geographic diversity of the region that appeals to me though; Pokemon has a tendency to shove climate zones into places where they don't really belong (like nearly every region having a warm desert even if one isn't present in the real-world region it's based on). Patagonia is one place where you really don't need to do that, because you have such an incredible range of climate zones in one area in the real world.
I admit I don't really know much about the culture of southern Chile and Argentina, though. From a cultural standpoint, the one area I'd like to see made into a game (I'm actually involved in a fan project with a few friends of mine to do exactly that, although we've been stuck in the concept phase for a while now haha) is the Yucatán peninsula region of Mexico. Specifically, the states of Chiapas, Campeche, Tabasco, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo. There's a ton of very interesting history and culture there that would make for an excellent basis for a Pokemon game, in my opinion.
But what if you are part of a team of scientists who are studying mysterious trapped in the ice for ages?
As a site for strange phenomenon, Antarctica >>>>> Bermuda Triangle.
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I personally believe a Russia region (or regions, this country is humongous after all) can happen in the future. To anyone who believe otherwise because of politics, here's my evidence for the opposite: Sinnoh.
Okay, so my only hard proof is based on the contents of a Bulbapedia page, but while the mainland of Sinnoh is indeed based on Hokkaido, some locations, namely the Pokémon League and the Battle Zone subregion, are based on the islands of Kunashir and Sakhalin.
Kunashir is part of the Kuril Islands, an archipelago under Russian administration since 1945, near the end of WWII, but also claimed by Japan, which considers them part of its "Northern Territories".
Sakhalin meanwhile is, long story short, a Russian territory (currently a federal subject) that was claimed by Japan.
(Note the shape of the bottom of the island.)
Kunashir is part of the Kuril Islands, an archipelago under Russian administration since 1945, near the end of WWII, but also claimed by Japan, which considers them part of its "Northern Territories".
Sakhalin meanwhile is, long story short, a Russian territory (currently a federal subject) that was claimed by Japan.
Being really pedantic, that's less GF doing Russia and more going "what, this? No, this isn't Russia. This is ours."
(which of course they would do since GF is a Japanese company)