Missed Opportunities in the Galar Region

[Spider-Phoenix]

Unova starters could return as well.

And the Kalos starters. Specially the Kalos starters.

 

[Xaby]

There is one other thing that Galar missed: It's the only region without its own snack. All the other regions have them, and some have two.

Kanto - Rare Candy and Pewter Crunchies
Johto - Rage Candy Bar (and possibly Berry Juice)
Hoenn - Lava Cookie
Sinnoh - Old Gateau
Unova - Casteliacone
Kalos - Shalour Sable and Lumiose Galette
Alola - Big Malasada



To be fair, Looker seems to be more based on Inspector Zenigata from Lupin III more so than anything. The character is so iconic in Japanese culture that derivative characters from Zenigata are an archetype in their own right: the bumbling man from Interpol with a trenchcoat, fairly messy black hair, a high opinion of himself, and travels the world in pursuit of one target at a time.

Looker's region has been made deliberately obscure since he can speak numerous languages, isn't tied to any one particular region, seems to have knowledge from experience of many places, and doesn't have the appearance of any ethnicity in particular. (Zenigata himself is from Japan.)

Still, it's pretty disappointing that Holmes being an iconic British character is missing from the game (a Galarian Gumshoos, for example).

The thing is the lore almost feels like its based on the UK, but still not quiet there. Geography aside, if somebody told me that Galar is based on another European country, say, Germany, it wouldn't come of as too far of a stretch.

 

[Luthor]

Making a more interesting pokedex. In COT 40% of the pokemon are found in the normal Galar pokedex. When I received my pokedex in COT I registered 136 pokemon already of the 210.

Also a lot of pokemon obtainable in game aren't even in the dex. So there's a lot of Pokemon available to add in.

 

[Divine Retribution]

Looker's region has been made deliberately obscure since he can speak numerous languages, isn't tied to any one particular region, seems to have knowledge from experience of many places, and doesn't have the appearance of any ethnicity in particular. (Zenigata himself is from Japan.)

Ethnic appearances don't seem to be inherently tied to any locality in Pokemon anyways, for probably obvious reasons (namely that that's a can of worms that an inclusive series like Pokemon predominantly marketed towards children doesn't need to open). As far as I'm aware, while racial differences in appearance seem to exist in the Pokemon world, they are never acknowledged. It's probably a way of providing people from all backgrounds in real life with representation and characters similar to them to empathize with while at the same time not broaching a potentially divisive subject.

 

[WishIhadaManafi5]

Also a lot of pokemon obtainable in game aren't even in the dex. So there's a lot of Pokemon available to add in.

Most likely in future games though, given the rerelease of Sword and Shield with the DLC included.

 

[Spider-Phoenix]

Seems like the missing mons will be added by the new game and then SwSh gets an update that include them to allow compatibility between it and the new entry

 

[Xaby]

Seems like the missing mons will be added by the new game and then SwSh gets an update that include them to allow compatibility between it and the new entry

Well, if there is indeed a new game, I hope that Gamefreak will be able to get its act together before producing it.

Don't get me wrong, Sword and Shield was a fun romp, but by all intents and purposes, it is mediocre. The story was pretty short (the anime seems to be condensing it into three to four episodes at this point), and Gen 8 and Gen 1 are fighting for the second place for the most game breaking bugs (Lumiose City save breaking bug taking first place, of course).

I don't want them to take the SnS game and put in a Sinnoh skin on it. I am able to forgive Gamefreak for their first foray into 3d games, but if they ruin the remake of Diamond and Pearl, all-encompassing hatred would be putting it lightly. As much as I'm looking forward for the DPPt remake, I'm more than willing to wait for Generation 9 for it.

 

[RileyXY1]

Seems like the missing mons will be added by the new game and then SwSh gets an update that include them to allow compatibility between it and the new entry

I don't think that they would patch in the old mons at all.

 

[Ophie]

Still, it's pretty disappointing that Holmes being an iconic British character is missing from the game (a Galarian Gumshoos, for example).

The thing is the lore almost feels like its based on the UK, but still not quiet there. Geography aside, if somebody told me that Galar is based on another European country, say, Germany, it wouldn't come of as too far of a stretch.

Au contraire, I think they did do their research. My impression is that they deliberately avoided the stereotypical depictions of the UK and instead based the Generation VIII Pokémon on what they learned, rather than what they already knew.

Just as there are no Pokémon or characters based on Sherlock or any of the other characters, there are none based on the Lewis Carroll characters, the closest there is to Shakespeare is Ballonlea Stadium doubling as a performance stage (Ballonlea is where Stratford-upon-Avon would be), there are no beefeaters, and there are no bagpipe players in kilts.

Instead, we have Pokémon based on Viking cats, Red European squirrels, Asian elephants (referencing the British Empire's colonization of India and subsequent importation of elephants back to the Isles), The Shard, runestones, seven-star ladybirds, cotton plants (located in the wild roughly where British cotton plantations used to be), cormorants, bleached coral, hamsters (while native to Syria, hamsters were used for public racing in the UK when horse races were momentarily banned), forest witches, the Crystal Palace dinosaurs, etc. Though not all of them are unique to the UK, the UK is the only part of the world with all of them.

Except for Professor Magnolia resembling Queen Elizabeth, though, they seem to have avoided basing human characters on specific people. However, the clothing for Youngsters and Lasses are based on British school uniforms (note the thick jackets and dark colors--continental Europe is not quite as cold as the British Isles, so their school uniforms tend to be lighter in both senses of the word); the Policemen dress much like the patrols from Scotland Yard; Marnie, Piers, the Team Yell people have clothing and hairstyles based on Britpunk, and while they're a group of Pokémon, the Maximizers are based in Hulbury, the analogue to Liverpool--where the Beatles got started.

All in all, it looks like their aim is to make a love letter to the real-world places that Pokémon regions are based on. You could see that in the prior generation with Alola, in which there ARE stereotypical hula dancers, but they're found mainly in touristy areas. Special attention is paid instead to the concept of invasive species (the Rattata line, the Yungoos line, the Meowth line, and the Ultra Beasts), which is a major problem in Hawaii that is relatively little-known by the general public. Less obvious (and less problematic) things include Konikoni City, which corresponds to a part of Hawaii with a high Chinese-American population; Hokulani Observatory, where Keck Observatory would be; Bruxish being based on Hawaii's signature reef triggerfish; and Oricorio being based on an extinct species of honeysuckle that had demonstrated divergent evoluton between islands.

 

[KillerDraco]

I don't think that they would patch in the old mons at all.

That's a peculiar way to think when we have explicit evidence the opposite is probably true. Even if you don't buy the current DLC, the old 'mons they bring with them are patched in so you can still join people's raids of said mons and transfer old 'mons through Home. There's no reason to suggest they'd stop doing this.

 

[RileyXY1]

That's a peculiar way to think when we have explicit evidence the opposite is probably true. Even if you don't buy the current DLC, the old 'mons they bring with them are patched in so you can still join people's raids of said mons and transfer old 'mons through Home. There's no reason to suggest they'd stop doing this.

I was talking about the new games.

 

[KillerDraco]

I was talking about the new games.

No reason to think that as well given the work is already done so the assets can be reused. It's one thing when you're starting a whole new generation and rebuilding from scratch, but within the same generation on the same hardware, it's not unreasonable to think the work they've done on one game won't continue to be used in another where you can at least trade/transfer unobtainable Pokemon.

 

[Xaby]

Au contraire, I think they did do their research. My impression is that they deliberately avoided the stereotypical depictions of the UK and instead based the Generation VIII Pokémon on what they learned, rather than what they already knew.

Just as there are no Pokémon or characters based on Sherlock or any of the other characters, there are none based on the Lewis Carroll characters, the closest there is to Shakespeare is Ballonlea Stadium doubling as a performance stage (Ballonlea is where Stratford-upon-Avon would be), there are no beefeaters, and there are no bagpipe players in kilts.

Instead, we have Pokémon based on Viking cats, Red European squirrels, Asian elephants (referencing the British Empire's colonization of India and subsequent importation of elephants back to the Isles), The Shard, runestones, seven-star ladybirds, cotton plants (located in the wild roughly where British cotton plantations used to be), cormorants, bleached coral, hamsters (while native to Syria, hamsters were used for public racing in the UK when horse races were momentarily banned), forest witches, the Crystal Palace dinosaurs, etc. Though not all of them are unique to the UK, the UK is the only part of the world with all of them.

Except for Professor Magnolia resembling Queen Elizabeth, though, they seem to have avoided basing human characters on specific people. However, the clothing for Youngsters and Lasses are based on British school uniforms (note the thick jackets and dark colors--continental Europe is not quite as cold as the British Isles, so their school uniforms tend to be lighter in both senses of the word); the Policemen dress much like the patrols from Scotland Yard; Marnie, Piers, the Team Yell people have clothing and hairstyles based on Britpunk, and while they're a group of Pokémon, the Maximizers are based in Hulbury, the analogue to Liverpool--where the Beatles got started.

All in all, it looks like their aim is to make a love letter to the real-world places that Pokémon regions are based on. You could see that in the prior generation with Alola, in which there ARE stereotypical hula dancers, but they're found mainly in touristy areas. Special attention is paid instead to the concept of invasive species (the Rattata line, the Yungoos line, the Meowth line, and the Ultra Beasts), which is a major problem in Hawaii that is relatively little-known by the general public. Less obvious (and less problematic) things include Konikoni City, which corresponds to a part of Hawaii with a high Chinese-American population; Hokulani Observatory, where Keck Observatory would be; Bruxish being based on Hawaii's signature reef triggerfish; and Oricorio being based on an extinct species of honeysuckle that had demonstrated divergent evoluton between islands.

Well you're opinion has merit but I do beg to differ. When you compare it to Kalos, for example, there's no doubt in my mind that it is set in France. And even Unnova, which is a hodpodge of aspects and culture as expected as the melting pot that is New York, you still know that it is based on that city and that state.

If the statement that they did indeed go for lesser known aspects of the United Kingdom as inspiration for their design choices is true, then that is a commendable effort. However, tropes and yes, even clichés exist for a reason. While it is not a good idea to rely heavily on them, such familiarity is required in order to establish identity or at least relatability. Again kudos to them for trying to integrate new ideas, but I think there's a lot about British "popular" culture that can be used as well, and that using one to the neglect of the other is detrimental as a whole.

 

[Ophie]

Well you're opinion has merit but I do beg to differ. When you compare it to Kalos, for example, there's no doubt in my mind that it is set in France. And even Unnova, which is a hodpodge of aspects and culture as expected as the melting pot that is New York, you still know that it is based on that city and that state.

If the statement that they did indeed go for lesser known aspects of the United Kingdom as inspiration for their design choices is true, then that is a commendable effort. However, tropes and yes, even clichés exist for a reason. While it is not a good idea to rely heavily on them, such familiarity is required in order to establish identity or at least relatability. Again kudos to them for trying to integrate new ideas, but I think there's a lot about British "popular" culture that can be used as well, and that using one to the neglect of the other is detrimental as a whole.

I think it really depends on the creators--as I mentioned, it looks like what they want is to please and delight people who live in or come from the real-world location the region is based on. If people there are fine with neutral-to-positive stereotypical depictions of their homeland, that's likely what they'll go for. If they dislike those stereotypical depictions, then I'd say it's more respectful to avoid them.

When I played through it, it definitely felt like the UK to me even though I've never been there. The usage of red in signs, the visual design of the in-game Galar map, and the urban architecture (particpularly Postwick, Wedgehurst, Motostoke, Spikemuth, and Wyndon) are uniquely British, not to mention the landmarks around Galar that resemble Stonehenge, the London Eye, the Palace of Westminster, and Elizabeth Tower (frequently mistaken as "Big Ben," which is the bell, not the tower), which anyone playing this game should recognize. These don't come across as "German" or any other country to me. Actual people from the UK who have voiced their thoughts here talk about the interior design of the train stations, the color scheme for the train tickets, how the vending machines look, and some other details that I never noticed myself.

Come to think of it, it sounds like you recognize the UK based on media from the Victorian era--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Lewis Carroll lived during that period (albeit one later than the other), so their stories would naturally have a Victorian setting. (Japanese media seems to be obsessed with this setting and the works of these authors, though to be fair, American media is too.) Rather, Galar is based on the UK in the modern day, with most concepts and references based on something that still exists there to this day. You don't feel that quite as much with Unova or Kalos because the NYC-NJ region of the United States is most recognizable in its current state while northern French architecture has changed little since then, with the same buildings still there from 150 years ago and still inhabited. By contrast, the UK has changed dramatically in appearance and culture since then. All of the popular media cultural references--the Beatles, Charlie Chaplin, James Bond--come from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Though I guess the two thoughts there can be tied together: Some parts of the world have people who are proud of their history and would love a fantasy counterpart that looks like it came from the past, while others are full of people who would rather outside depictions focus on what they are now. For instance, based on word from people from Texas I've known, if they made a Pokémon region themed on the Lone Star State, Texans would LOVE it to be full of Wild West tropes even though modern-day Texas barely resembles it anymore. On the other hand, from what I've heard from people in India, they tend not to like fantasy counterpart settings based on India in the past; they're much more appreciative when they're based on modern India instead, particularly if the focus is on urban areas like Kolkata or Mumbai. As a result, if Game Freak ever bases a Pokémon region on either of these two, I'd bet that the Texas one would have a Wild West setting while the India one would be more based on present-day India (regardless of which sections they pick--there's no way you could encapsulate all of India into one Pokémon game).

 

[RileyXY1]

No reason to think that as well given the work is already done so the assets can be reused. It's one thing when you're starting a whole new generation and rebuilding from scratch, but within the same generation on the same hardware, it's not unreasonable to think the work they've done on one game won't continue to be used in another where you can at least trade/transfer unobtainable Pokemon.

Unless the next games are also set in Galar, they will have an entirely new set of Pokemon to use.

 

[KillerDraco]

Unless the next games are also set in Galar, they will have an entirely new set of Pokemon to use.

Let me spell it out for you.

Let's Say Game A comes out. It's a remake, Let's Go game, or something entirely new like Colosseum/XD Gale of Darkness. Which one it is being completely irrelevant to the conversation at hand.

Game A has its own Dex. However, because the assets for the Pokemon in Sw/Sh have already been completed for optimized for the Nintendo Switch, there's a good chance they're going to put the data for those assets into Game A, so that they can be traded/transferred after the postgame. There's sufficient precedent for this that it can be considered a safe assessment.

Sw/Sh is also likely to get a patch so that the assets for Game A's dex is also available in Sw/Sh. We've seen this happen with IoA and CT, where even if you don't buy the DLC, you're still able to transfer/trade the returning Pokemon.

 

[RileyXY1]

Let me spell it out for you.

Let's Say Game A comes out. It's a remake, Let's Go game, or something entirely new like Colosseum/XD Gale of Darkness. Which one it is being completely irrelevant to the conversation at hand.

Game A has its own Dex. However, because the assets for the Pokemon in Sw/Sh have already been completed for optimized for the Nintendo Switch, there's a good chance they're going to put the data for those assets into Game A, so that they can be traded/transferred after the postgame. There's sufficient precedent for this that it can be considered a safe assessment.

Sw/Sh is also likely to get a patch so that the assets for Game A's dex is also available in Sw/Sh. We've seen this happen with IoA and CT, where even if you don't buy the DLC, you're still able to transfer/trade the returning Pokemon.

That would make VGC less incentivized to move onto the newest game and just have them use Sword and Shield instead.

 

[KillerDraco]

That would make VGC less incentivized to move onto the newest game and just have them use Sword and Shield instead.

I don't know how to explain to you that VGC isn't actually a consideration when they're making new games within a generation, given a very small percentage of the playerbase is actively involved in it compared to the number of players buying the games.

 

[RileyXY1]

I don't know how to explain to you that VGC isn't actually a consideration when they're making new games within a generation, given a very small percentage of the playerbase is actively involved in it compared to the number of players buying the games.

It also defeats the entire purpose of Dexit. I think that Home will be the only place where you can have every single Pokemon together in a single application.

 

[Xaby]

I think it really depends on the creators--as I mentioned, it looks like what they want is to please and delight people who live in or come from the real-world location the region is based on. If people there are fine with neutral-to-positive stereotypical depictions of their homeland, that's likely what they'll go for. If they dislike those stereotypical depictions, then I'd say it's more respectful to avoid them.

When I played through it, it definitely felt like the UK to me even though I've never been there. The usage of red in signs, the visual design of the in-game Galar map, and the urban architecture (particpularly Postwick, Wedgehurst, Motostoke, Spikemuth, and Wyndon) are uniquely British, not to mention the landmarks around Galar that resemble Stonehenge, the London Eye, the Palace of Westminster, and Elizabeth Tower (frequently mistaken as "Big Ben," which is the bell, not the tower), which anyone playing this game should recognize. These don't come across as "German" or any other country to me. Actual people from the UK who have voiced their thoughts here talk about the interior design of the train stations, the color scheme for the train tickets, how the vending machines look, and some other details that I never noticed myself.

Come to think of it, it sounds like you recognize the UK based on media from the Victorian era--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Lewis Carroll lived during that period (albeit one later than the other), so their stories would naturally have a Victorian setting. (Japanese media seems to be obsessed with this setting and the works of these authors, though to be fair, American media is too.) Rather, Galar is based on the UK in the modern day, with most concepts and references based on something that still exists there to this day. You don't feel that quite as much with Unova or Kalos because the NYC-NJ region of the United States is most recognizable in its current state while northern French architecture has changed little since then, with the same buildings still there from 150 years ago and still inhabited. By contrast, the UK has changed dramatically in appearance and culture since then. All of the popular media cultural references--the Beatles, Charlie Chaplin, James Bond--come from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Though I guess the two thoughts there can be tied together: Some parts of the world have people who are proud of their history and would love a fantasy counterpart that looks like it came from the past, while others are full of people who would rather outside depictions focus on what they are now. For instance, based on word from people from Texas I've known, if they made a Pokémon region themed on the Lone Star State, Texans would LOVE it to be full of Wild West tropes even though modern-day Texas barely resembles it anymore. On the other hand, from what I've heard from people in India, they tend not to like fantasy counterpart settings based on India in the past; they're much more appreciative when they're based on modern India instead, particularly if the focus is on urban areas like Kolkata or Mumbai. As a result, if Game Freak ever bases a Pokémon region on either of these two, I'd bet that the Texas one would have a Wild West setting while the India one would be more based on present-day India (regardless of which sections they pick--there's no way you could encapsulate all of India into one Pokémon game).

Perhaps the sticking to Holmes is just a personal preference, as I'm a big fan of the character and of Looker, but as the post is about missed opportunities then I do feel that it is a missed opportunity, regardless of what reason it was cut out.

Again, while I applaud the effort for diversity, I believe it does not do itself any favors if cohesiveness and identity are sacrficed for its sake.