What is Every Region’s Theme? | Pokémon Regions Explained
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 เม.ย. 2024
- This is an explanation of ervery mainline Pokémon region’s narrative themes.
Most of the pictures were sourced from Wikipedia, Bulbapedia and Google Earth
Music used:
Welcome to the world of Pokémon (FRLG)
Pallet town (LGPE)
New Bark Town (HGSS)
Littleroot Town (ORAS)
Twinleaf Town (BDSP)
Nuvema Town (BW)
Vaniville Town (XY)
My Home (SM)
Postwick (SwSh)
Cabo Poco - Outdoors (SV)
Mossui Town (TealMask)
Ending Theme (Yellow)
I think the alola region has an overarching theme of 'invasion'. there's a strong presence of hawaiian culture, but so many of these outside influences are bleeding into it. like modernism, team skull's delinquency, the aether foundation's tech, western ranches, eastern architecture, regional variants. even with the ultra beasts being designed with the theme of invasive species in mind. gamefreak could have used these themes as a parody of sort on how tourism has impacted hawaii.
I was about to comment this.
I feel like the invasion theme could come out again in an Australia themed region, as invasive species are serious business in Australia and Biosecurity is one of their main focus. So yeah, even a leaf stuck on the shoe you are bringing in is a no no.
Hell they got rid of trials in favor of Pokémon battles, which sucks because trials were AWESOME!
“Diversity is not our strength” - Alola
Yeah to me it's always been about the pluses and minuses of 'invasion', considering you yourself are a kantonian coming to move to Alola, and lillie gladion and lusamine are likely not from here either, it shows how introducing new things to places isn't always a bad thing but more often than not it can destroy traditions and culture and such (like how Lusamine's family moving there wasn't inherently bad, but ultimately the aether paradise was very very harmful to Alola, how lusamine harnessed the power of nihilego, an invasive species, and destroyed her OWN traditions, as in her family) . and you can see how Hau and Hala honor traditions of Alola like the whole island guardian stuff whereas guzma finds the traditions of Alola to be stifling and forms team skull because he couldn't live up to the expectations of these cultural norms. and you yourself come here and you explore the culture and you're recruited in the end to help send ultra beasts back safely where they belong and show an example of someone being respectful of these cultures and traditions, while you also become champion in the end and help kukui establish the first kantonian gym, showing an example of positive changes to an ecosystem. and of course there are so many pokemon in the region that really show the differences between invasive species and native species etc, more than any other region before or after. you can really see that Alola is an ecosystem and that nature and the traditions surrounding it are important to uphold, while they still offer sympathy to those invasive species when it comes to the ultra beasts, which, rather than just defeating them in battle, you relocate, because they are just as lost and not meant to survive in this ecosystem, and can cause harm to it if they aren't controlled ... god I love Alola so much
Cool video!
I'd argue that Alola's secondary theme isnt "space & aliens", but rather "life & adaptability".
Ultra Beasts are life forms from other universes, Alolan forms are Pokémon that adapted to new environments, Oricorio's forms are also a variation on adaptation... Plus, I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that the developers wanted the region to be "full of life", with its lush environments, routes that were more organic than the previously grid-based routes, the colorful and tropical Pokémon, etc.
the main character and their mum also moved from Kanto and had to adapt to a new life there, to add to that theme ! There's also Lily's story about adapting, Alola trying to adapt to the rest of the region's, etc...
I think the main alola's theme is 'Family' too. Every character knows each other and even you are the only one that is unknown because of coming from another region, they always treat you like one more of the family. Is similar how Hawaii culture is, or Lilo and Stitch's theme too.
Mega evolution also fits with Kalos’s secondary theme of coexistence because of how the lore behind it emphasizes how the pokemon & trainer need a strong bond in order to make it work
I read that Sinnoh's theme was ultimateness and the concept of the absolute: Diamonds are generally believed to be the rarest and hardest-to-break gemstones, and Pearls are said to be among the most valuable, The main legendaries, depending on the legendary and the game, are fought at either the highest point in the region, the lowest, or the most far-removed, Arceus is said to be the absolute creator of everything and the Team Galactic aims to bring about the absolute end to everything, aditionally Hisui has another theme: The development of trust and how it can cause civilization to move forward.
Alola is the role of family, and its influence on identity and one's potential.
Galar is legacy, right, but also the worth and price of pursuing fame and/or recognition
Paldea aside for the concept of treasures is the impact of the past and the potential of the future; moving forward from conflict and trauma through reflection, reinvention, and finding new meaning for oneself
while you did acknowledge it, I'd argue Kitakami's themes are more like a challenging of Johto's, recognising while traditions can be important, history isn't always accurate, usually being told in a biased manner by the winners and how prejudice can warp the truth, like how everyone felt about Ogerpon and then how we later felt about Pecharunt and the Loyal Three until that video revealed they simply wanted to please the old couple.
Solid video! I think you hit the nail on the head on most of these… aside from Alola.
I think the theme you gave it is a bit too messy and redundant with other reasons. Instead, the theme I’d say actually represents the region is: Family. Specifically the role of family, and its influence on identity and one's potential. There’s the whole deal with the Aether family, Guzma's deal with his family, Team Skull acting like one big family, characters close to you using various familial terms, and a bunch of extra lines from major and non-major characters about family.
Thought the same. Alola's theme is definitely family. You see it also in the anime, with Ash going to school and having Kukui has his true father figure (especially at the ending). In the games not only the story of Lillie, but also the general very tight community of Polynesian island, the way the characters are connected and they all know each other since kids, it's about the family you have, the family you choose and the community being your family.
Also like how everyone helps each other out in Hawai'i, you help people out and they help you in return in Alola. Plus one of the main plot points was Lillie finding people who cared about her after leaving her abusive mother
Came here to post the same, Alola’s theme is obviously family
I find the theme you landed on for Kanto to be too wide a scope but we’re onto something earlier. Nature vs technology is more accurate to what the Kanto’s theme represents. The monsters and humans coexisting despite the pollution, mutation, and technological advancements of the ever changing world are reflected in the designs of the monsters and the world you explore.
For Kanto, I think there's also a theme of loving Pokemon as opposed to using them as tools. Both Blue and Giovanni share the trait of seeing Pokemon's power as a means to an end, and at the end of the game, Oak praises the player for truly respecting Pokemon and criticizes Blue for his mindset. Mewtwo's backstory also ties into this: He was created by those who wished to use him as a weapon, thus he saw himself as a weapon only good for destruction, until a truly caring trainer (and Mew) was able to change his mindset.
I agree with Kalos being the most beautiful region is terms of aesthetics. You used the exact word: picturesque.
The Galar game theme is so interesting considering its where the show also finished its story making ash champion and moving on to a new story/protagonist
Not Sure What is The Theme For galar. But galar is About Pokémon Turning into Giants & Kings & Knights ETC. Just Wish After This, We Get A Gen 8 Legends Treatment. To Give Us A Proper Theme For galar.
That’s Why Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮 Needs To Happen. The Focus is On eternatus 🐉💀, The Game Mascot For Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮. Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮 is Set in galar, But galar From The Distant Past, it is Set in The 19th Century, Where The Humans & Pokémon Living in galar Haven’t 100% Coexist Yet. And eternatus 🐉💀 is Causing A Phenomenon Known As dynamax & gigantamax in Which Pokémon Turn Big & Go Rampage. Your Job is To Stop Those Gigantic Pokémons & Stop & Capture eternatus 🐉💀 & Save The Region. And You Can Now Use eternamax eternatus 🐉💀 in This Game 🎮. Just Wishes That This Came True. But There’s Going To Be Gym Leaders Here Too. So This Makes galar The First Region To Have Gym Leaders At The 19th Century, & Most Of The Gym Leaders Are Ancestors Of The Current Gym Leaders in galar. And The Main Antagonist is The Ancestor Of chairman rose, So This is A Trait Shared With The Descendant chairman rose. So chairman rose Turns Bad Runs From His Ancestor.
Treasure is a metaphor for self discovery
I recall hearing that a big motif in Scarlet and Violet is Passion vs Obsession.
We see many characters who clearly love certain things in the story, and that love pushes other people away from their lives whether they realize it or not.
Nemona: She says she loves battling so much she became very good to the point she became Champion. Unfortunately for her, there isn't anyone who shares this battle drive and her constant insisting in battle has lead to other students to stay away from her because they have no chance of winning, so why try.
Sada/Turo: Do i really need to get into detail with these two. Their obsession lead them to the basically ignoring their son that grew to resent them. If that's not bad enough, their obsession lead them to their own demise and even then, set up countermeasures to prevent anyone from stopping their research, even after death.
Kieran: He starts off as a shy kid, but it's constantly said in the DLC that he enjoyed Pokemon battling more than anything. But, after The Teal Mask story, his love for battling shifted to an obsessive push to himself with his only goal being to defeat the player. After he loses again, his obsession reaches a breaking point where he thinks a Legendary Pokemon is the only way to defeat you, which in turn his actions lead to nearly ending everyone in the Area Zero Depths.
There's other characters I can get into but I think these are the best examples to make the point.
I could argue that Alolas theme is perception what is perceived as such ultra beasts are known to be a threat but in actuality they are normal in the worlds they come from even ultra wormholes understanding that they are keyhole into other worlds we thought team skull was evil but it was actually Aether foundation
To me Alola has always been about Hawaii's problem with tourism and invasive species and the traditions that lie in its roots that must be honored for its survival. Lol not exactly a one word theme but it's basically in everything...
You play as a kid from Kanto who explores the region's culture and traditions while still bringing your own home there as well. A lot of the native Alolans refer to you as something familial (Hau calls your mom auntie, prof Kukui calls you and everyone else on earth cousin), and in turn of course you take on the island challenge and meet all of the island guardians and learn more about their history and pokemon. You show that inviting new species/people is not always a bad thing, so long as you are respectful, and you take the time and care to learn about the culture. The pokemon reflect this as well; the animals the starters are based off of aren't native to Hawaii themselves, and I'm pretty sure every regional variant is from Kanto, yet they have still adapted to the region, just like yourself.
Meanwhile, Lusamine is pretty obviously not from Alola... and she is basically an invasive species herself LOL. The aether paradise is clearly fairly harmful to Alola; there are very few boats in the game despite it being an archipelago yet most of them belong to Aether paradise, and that could be harmful to water pokemon; the aether paradise itself is literally a whole separate island...; and not to mention Lusamine is directly responsible for freezing pokemon and keeping them in containers, regardless of her personal motivations (which I am sympathetic to but like... jeez) . She & by extension aether paradise as a whole are examples of invasive species that can overwrite the traditions of the land, the ecosystem that was carefully built, essentially what has been happening to Hawaii itself for so long because at this point people go there for a culture they know nothing about outside of flanderizations made by tourist companies trying to sell an idyllic island getaway lol. This even happens in her personal life; while researching nihilego, an invasive species, her husband is taken from her, and in spite of everything else in her life, she dedicates all of her time to finding nihilego again, and ends up harming her own family. Aka she allows this invasive species to destroy her own traditions, as in her family.
The ultra beasts themselves show a different side of the situation... they are literally meant to be invasive, but rather than killing them off or whatever, you safely relocate them back in their dimensions (unless ur keeping it lol that's how pokemon games work), because they are both harmful and not fit for the ecosystem as is. Overall so many pokemon in Alola reflect how much of a complex ecosystem there is, more than any other pokemon game, with stuff like Mareanie eating Corsola, regional variants coming from different places and adapting to the ecosystem through evolution (just like the player character, by the way...) or how the island guardians keep their islands safe from attacks.
and then you have Hau (and Hala) who honors the traditions of Alola very well, even if he isn't planning on being the Kahuna at this time. I feel like a lot of people miss how good of a character Hau is not just because they skip all of the dialogue but also because they don't see the parallels between him and Guzma. Guzma grew up with a family that was implied to be abusive, and struggled with the societal norms of Alola's island challenge. He never had any way to resolve these issues, and ended up creating team skull because there are lots of kids who felt like they couldn't live up to the expectations of the people around them, finding the tradition to be stifling. Hau's father once had an argument with Hala because he didn't want to become the Kahuna, and ended up running off, leaving Hau all alone in Hala's care. Hala ended up realizing his mistakes after seeing how emotional Hau would get after yelling at him, and now he worries if he's being too soft on him. Now, after growing up with a guardian that supports him and doesn't push him into a role that he doesn't want, he is able to feel comfortable in his own skin and not feel pressured into expectations, like Guzma was. They even have a whole conversation with Hau saying that Guzma can be anything he wants to be, and that he wants to make everyone know that you don't need to do everything that's expected of you to succeed in life. Overall, this shows how tradition actually affects the people who uphold or try to uphold it. Sometimes these societal expectations can be impossible to live up to, and in Alola, where everyone is considered family, the disappointment is even more apparent. But Hau shows that you can go a more unconventional route without doing what is expected of you and still be great.
I really feel like Alola has some of the strongest and most complex + well executed themes in the series. Everyone talks about BW, and I love those games too, but saying that there's a grey area to EVERYTHING can sometimes just be wrong. and also I've tried and tried but I don't get what truth vs ideals really truly means
I’d argue that the theme of Alola draws heavily from the concept of family and interpersonal relationships
@hiddenpowerpodcast you guys should bring this dude on the show! Very insightful and the idea for the episode was solid. 👏🏼
I've heard it said that Unova's theme is actually extremism and compromise, as well as diversity.
I’d say a better way of phrasing a theme for Alola is about invasive species and how to deal with them.
I would say a theme of Galar is recreation, you see that in the way the gyms are set up, the evil team, and the starters
Not Sure What is The Theme For galar. But galar is About Pokémon Turning into Giants & Kings & Knights ETC. Just Wish After This, We Get A Gen 8 Legends Treatment. To Give Us A Proper Theme For galar.
That’s Why Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮 Needs To Happen. The Focus is On eternatus 🐉💀, The Game Mascot For Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮. Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮 is Set in galar, But galar From The Distant Past, it is Set in The 19th Century, Where The Humans & Pokémon Living in galar Haven’t 100% Coexist Yet. And eternatus 🐉💀 is Causing A Phenomenon Known As dynamax & gigantamax in Which Pokémon Turn Big & Go Rampage. Your Job is To Stop Those Gigantic Pokémons & Stop & Capture eternatus 🐉💀 & Save The Region. And You Can Now Use eternamax eternatus 🐉💀 in This Game 🎮. Just Wishes That This Came True. But There’s Going To Be Gym Leaders Here Too. So This Makes galar The First Region To Have Gym Leaders At The 19th Century, & Most Of The Gym Leaders Are Ancestors Of The Current Gym Leaders in galar. And The Main Antagonist is The Ancestor Of chairman rose, So This is A Trait Shared With The Descendant chairman rose. So chairman rose Turns Bad Runs From His Ancestor.
Tech
History
Nature
Myth
Truth vs ideals
Life and death
Invasive species/celestial bodies
Sports, energy crisis
Culture,exploration,self discovery
Not Sure What is The Theme For galar. But galar is About Pokémon Turning into Giants & Kings & Knights ETC. Just Wish After This, We Get A Gen 8 Legends Treatment. To Give Us A Proper Theme For galar.
That’s Why Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮 Needs To Happen. The Focus is On eternatus 🐉💀, The Game Mascot For Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮. Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮 is Set in galar, But galar From The Distant Past, it is Set in The 19th Century, Where The Humans & Pokémon Living in galar Haven’t 100% Coexist Yet. And eternatus 🐉💀 is Causing A Phenomenon Known As dynamax & gigantamax in Which Pokémon Turn Big & Go Rampage. Your Job is To Stop Those Gigantic Pokémons & Stop & Capture eternatus 🐉💀 & Save The Region. And You Can Now Use eternamax eternatus 🐉💀 in This Game 🎮. Just Wishes That This Came True. But There’s Going To Be Gym Leaders Here Too. So This Makes galar The First Region To Have Gym Leaders At The 19th Century, & Most Of The Gym Leaders Are Ancestors Of The Current Gym Leaders in galar. And The Main Antagonist is The Ancestor Of chairman rose, So This is A Trait Shared With The Descendant chairman rose. So chairman rose Turns Bad Runs From His Ancestor.
The Japanese regions are the best for being big to see where you are, and small for the needed gameplay. Attractive sex dimorphism is iconic in those regions too.
Video went harder than a Shuckle!!!
Interesting takes, never really thought about the legacy aspect in Galar. I really enjoyed the views in this video.
One thing I noticed is the volume or recording sounds changing throughout the video. Not a huge issue and I'm sure this was recorded over time, but something to keep in mind. Great video!
Not Sure What is The Theme For galar. But galar is About Pokémon Turning into Giants & Kings & Knights ETC. Just Wish After This, We Get A Gen 8 Legends Treatment. To Give Us A Proper Theme For galar.
That’s Why Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮 Needs To Happen. The Focus is On eternatus 🐉💀, The Game Mascot For Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮. Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮 is Set in galar, But galar From The Distant Past, it is Set in The 19th Century, Where The Humans & Pokémon Living in galar Haven’t 100% Coexist Yet. And eternatus 🐉💀 is Causing A Phenomenon Known As dynamax & gigantamax in Which Pokémon Turn Big & Go Rampage. Your Job is To Stop Those Gigantic Pokémons & Stop & Capture eternatus 🐉💀 & Save The Region. And You Can Now Use eternamax eternatus 🐉💀 in This Game 🎮. Just Wishes That This Came True. But There’s Going To Be Gym Leaders Here Too. So This Makes galar The First Region To Have Gym Leaders At The 19th Century, & Most Of The Gym Leaders Are Ancestors Of The Current Gym Leaders in galar. And The Main Antagonist is The Ancestor Of chairman rose, So This is A Trait Shared With The Descendant chairman rose. So chairman rose Turns Bad Runs From His Ancestor.
What's funny is the largest cities in Kanto and Johto are based on the modern and traditional capitals of Japan, respectively. Saffron City is based on Tokyo and Goldenrod City is based on Kyoto.
I might be wrong but I think it's Ecruteak City that is based on Kyoto, while Goldenrod is based on Osaka?
I personally believe that science is the theme of Kanto, what with all the Pokémon directly or indirectly born due to human influence.
Great video. Kinda makes sense about the kanto part because That's always going to be the first step.
Alola’s theme is very clearly: family *insert fast and furious meme here*
we passing 6th grade language arts with this one
I think it's odd that Gen 4 introduced the Pokemon of Space and Time, and a few Generations later, we get a region themed around Space (Alola) and one themed around Time (Paldea) yet Dialga and Palkia have no involvement in that.
Great video. Quite peak if i do say so myself
What region and themes does CVN TY REGIROCK WITH A HANDBAG hails from and explores?
10:37 I just wanted to watch a cool pokemon video 🙄
Subbed
Not Sure What is The Theme For galar. But galar is About Pokémon Turning into Giants & Kings & Knights ETC. Just Wish After This, We Get A Gen 8 Legends Treatment. To Give Us A Proper Theme For galar.
That’s Why Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮 Needs To Happen. The Focus is On eternatus 🐉💀, The Game Mascot For Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮. Pokémon Legends: Eternatus 🎮 is Set in galar, But galar From The Distant Past, it is Set in The 19th Century, Where The Humans & Pokémon Living in galar Haven’t 100% Coexist Yet. And eternatus 🐉💀 is Causing A Phenomenon Known As dynamax & gigantamax in Which Pokémon Turn Big & Go Rampage. Your Job is To Stop Those Gigantic Pokémons & Stop & Capture eternatus 🐉💀 & Save The Region. And You Can Now Use eternamax eternatus 🐉💀 in This Game 🎮. Just Wishes That This Came True. But There’s Going To Be Gym Leaders Here Too. So This Makes galar The First Region To Have Gym Leaders At The 19th Century, & Most Of The Gym Leaders Are Ancestors Of The Current Gym Leaders in galar. And The Main Antagonist is The Ancestor Of chairman rose, So This is A Trait Shared With The Descendant chairman rose. So chairman rose Turns Bad Runs From His Ancestor.
mf mentions colonialism cause of spain and portugal but dosen't mention that with kalos or gaalr, you know, the representation of france and britain the 2 biggest coloniam empires of all time, the british empire being the biggest empire in history controlling more landmass than even the mongolian empire
Yeah, I know that. I only brought it up with paldea cause I think plays a part in the region’s theme of exploration. The british empire doesn’t really have much to do with galar’s theme of legacy for example. Also, although the british are known for their colonies, as far as I can tell, spain is more strongly associated with concepts of “discovery”/exploration probably because of columbus’ spanish ships, conquistadors etc. It’s more so about a connection we make between iberia and searching for treasure rather than iberia and colonialism I suppose.
i would talk a bit slower
Thank you being so kind all mighty all knowing God help me and these people to better understand you
your voice is too monotone, might as well use Text-to-Speech
I noticed it too, but I found it authentic and honest. I don't like when TH-camrs (especially the American ones) are too expressive. It sounds fake and forced. That annoys me. I just want to tell them: "wow! Calm down! Speak normally".
"Bloody colonialism" says the guy speaking English. Humm i wonder where all the navites in north America are 🤔🤔 (beaides from a couple reserves).
This was an awesome video worth a sub love the thought put into each region thus was great