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Pokémon Sword and Shield - Relation to The United Kingdom

PrinceOfFacade

Ghost-Type Master
Pokémon Black & White's Unova Region was very easy for me to figure out, given I'm a born and raised American who's been throughout New York. However, I've never set foot in the United Kingdom.

One of the coolest things about Pokémon is connecting the regions to their real-life counterparts, and discovering the many influences those places had on the games. I don't know much about the UK other than black pudding, Monty Python, and Beachy Head (which I'd love to visit). However, I know there are quite a few British users here on the forums, including Joe himself. I thought it would be super dope if UK natives and other users shared their findings on the connections between the United Kingdom and the Galar Region.

So far, the one thing I know for certain is that the first town is partially based on Scotland. Feel free to correct me.
 

Divine Retribution

Conquistador de pan
One thing that I appreciate is how heavily rock n' roll music and themes are featured in these games. The UK is pretty well known as the place where rock music was first pioneered, and home to some of the best and most innovative rock bands to ever be seen. It's nice that they've represented that scene in Sword/Shield, and not just represented it, but represented it fairly accurately (or as accurately as you can in the context of a Pokemon game) instead of the silly caricatures we've gotten in the forms of Guitarist and Punk Kid trainer classes and the like in other games.
 

Auraninja

Eh, ragazzo!
I just wonder how much of the UK is represented. There's obviously some British influence. There seems to be a pinch of Scottish influence (bagpipe music for example).

But is there any influence of Wales or Northern Ireland?
 

Ophie

Salingerian Phony
Well, there's Yamper, who's based on a dog breed closely associated with Wales. Here are some others I can think of:

Scorbunny - Rabbits and hares are abundant in the UK; rabbit hunting was once a pastime there
Corviknight - Based on the knights of old, as well as ravens, which shows up in a lot of British historical illustrations
Wooloo - Sheep are absurdly abundant, especially in Scotland
Gossifleur line - Cotton was a major industry in England, and it still is
Drednaw - Snapping turtles are native to the UK (among other places)
Rolycoly - Coal mines were the backbone of British development during the Industrial Age
Alcremy - Most likely based on the fruit fool
Sirfetch'd - Based on a jouster
Galarian Weezing - Takes many elements from 19th-century factory design
Cramorant - Cormorants are numerous among the British Isles; they also do cormorant fishing there, which is where Gulp Missile comes from
Galarian Ponyta - The unicorn is Scotland's national animal
Polteageist - Tea is a major part of British food and drink culture
Duraludon - Based on a building--its name I've forgotten

Espurr line - Based on the Scottish Fold cat
Pidove line - Pigeons are very common and used for message delivery
Vanillite line - The first ice cream cone machine was patented by a man from Manchester
Cottonee line - See Gossifleur line above
Karrablast line - Most likely added in as a foil to Sirfetch'd
Bergmite line - Particularly Scotland and Wales, the land is far north enough that they get the occasional iceberg floating by
Lapras - Heavily inspired by the Loch Ness Monster
Charmander line - May be the closest fit to the Welsh Dragon the Pokémon roster has

Cinderace - Associatioon football (AKA soccer) has its own league specific to the UK
Intelleon - Influenced strongly by James Bond
Blipbug line - Based on the Seven Star Ladybird--Blipbug is the larva, Dottler is the pupa, Orbeetle is the imago (adult)
Rookidee - Based on the Great Tit
Skowvet line - Based on the Eurasian Red Squirrel
Nickit line - Foxes were once common in the UK, and fox hunting was a well-known hobby
Dubwool - Based on the Jacob Sheep, a British breed
Galarian Corsola and Cursola - Based on coral bleaching, caused by pollution from factories
Grimmsnarl - Based on grotesques, common building ornaments during the Neo-Gothic era of architecture
Hatenna line - Based on forest witches
Cufant line - May be a reference to the large population in England of people descended from India
Toxel line - Punk rock is more popular in the UK than anywhere else
Galarian Yamask and Runerigus - Based on runestones, found in Scotland and Wales
Galarian Mr. Mime - Vaguely resembles some types of beefeater
Mr. Rime - Appearance is based on Charlie Chaplin's "Tramp" character
Stonjourner - Based on Stonehenge and other similar ancient stone structures
Dracozolt, Arctozolt, Dracovish, Arctovish - Based on early paleontology, during which people assembled bones without knowing wha they're doing

Bunnelby line - See Scorbunny above
Budew line - Roses are a signature plant of the British Isles and factor heavily into heraldry and iconography of powerful families
Pelipper - Pelicans are often found on the coastlines
Vulpix line - See Nickit line above
Snover line - There are large forests in the UK that get heavy snowfall in the winter
Klink line - Represents the heavy industrialization in the area
Drifblim - Western Europe was a major innovator in hot air balloons
Spritzee line - Like other countries in the area, the British Isles were afflicted by the Black Plague, and plague doctors were present
Elgyem line - Greys are a popular type of alien in British alien abduction anecdotes
Litwick line - Probably just a general European-inspired Pokémon line
Dhelmise - Likely added in for the British Isles' history of nautical exploration and naval warfare

In addition, we have curry as a major game mechanic, and the cities match up with real-world cities in the UK. I'll get into those later.
 

AgentKallus

It's not a game Kate.
As a Brit Galar has a lot of what I'd want from a region based on Britain, though there are some glaring omissions.

Dynamax is based on fairy tales and myths that feature giants. Such as the story of Goram and Vincent and jack and the bean stalk (Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman or Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum! I smell the blood of an Galarian-mon.)

Wingull - Seagulls (like pigeons) are present across the UK.
Budew line -War of the roses.
Drifblim line - Reminds me of the Bristol balloon fiesta, but that probably wasn't the intent.
Escavalier - Jousting
Noibat - There are bats in the UK
Mudsdale - A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse! (Though King Richard likely never said this, Shakespeare just wanted to make the Tudors look good)
Trevenant line - The UK has more that it's fair share of supposedly haunted forests.
Aegislash line - Swords are prevalent across British history being used by Romans, Celts, Picts, Saxons, Vikings, Knights, Pirates, and Redcoats to name a few.
Hippopotas line- Hippos lived in the UK in prehistory.
Rhyhorn line - As did Rhinos.
Mamoswine line - And Mammoths.
G-Zigzagoon line - though Kiss are from the US, They're still based on punk rock and Meles Meles (The European Badger)



Runerigus - Many Viking runestones are found in England and Scotland
Cofagrigus - European Egypomania
Perrserker - Viking Raids, though viking helmets weren't horned.
Passimian - Rugby is the national sport of Wales (IIRC)


Duraludon - Based on a building--its name I've forgotten
Don't know about Duraludon itself but it's leaked Gigantamax form looks like the Shard

Nickit line - Foxes were once common in the UK, and fox hunting was a well-known hobby
They're still quite common, both in rural and urban areas. And they also seem to have some bonfire night inspiration, with the unevolved one having a bonfire shaped tail and the evolved one's faces resembling Guy Fawkes, the Spanish pyrotechnician who was caught trying to blow up parliament. And sadly fox hunting still continues to this day despite being banned.

Wooloo - Sheep are absurdly abundant, especially in Scotland

There are more sheep than people in Scotland, but the sheep is much more iconicly Welsh than Scottish.

There's a lot more that came to mind but I'm already repeating what others in this thread have already said so I'll stop for now.
 
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Wilderness

Well-Known Member
Well, there's Yamper, who's based on a dog breed closely associated with Wales. Here are some others I can think of:
Duraludon - Based on a building--its name I've forgotten

I would say the Gigantamax form looks a lot like the god-awful tower, The Shard. Thing is just as an eyesore as the rest of the majority of our beautiful London.
 

PrinceOfFacade

Ghost-Type Master
One thing that I appreciate is how heavily rock n' roll music and themes are featured in these games. The UK is pretty well known as the place where rock music was first pioneered, and home to some of the best and most innovative rock bands to ever be seen. It's nice that they've represented that scene in Sword/Shield, and not just represented it, but represented it fairly accurately (or as accurately as you can in the context of a Pokemon game) instead of the silly caricatures we've gotten in the forms of Guitarist and Punk Kid trainer classes and the like in other games.

Rock music was actually pioneered in the U.S. by African American artists in the early 1950s, when it was then known as Rhythm & Blues, or "race records" (the name was changed to Rock & Roll by famed disc jockey Alan Freed to appeal to a white audience), but Rock has indeed been heavily influenced by British artists. The British Invasion played massive role in the formation of modern Rock.
 
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DannyDark

Well-Known Member
Yeah I think the best thing has been the starters all reflecting an aspect of our culture, which hasn't been done for a region before.

Scorbunny reflecting the Premier League/all our tiers of football.. considered to be the best in the world by many.
Grookey reflects our massive musical history, with many cities having given birth to massive bands; Liverpool gave us the Beatles, Manchester gave us Oasis and London gave us Queen, to name a few.
Sobble then ties into James Bond and our greater love of all things spy and espionage.
 

Wilderness

Well-Known Member
To be fair, people said that about the Eiffel Tower when it was new too.

Hey, at least the Eiffel Tower looks complete! The Shard's "incomplete design" just makes it look tacky. I suppose when all you see in London are yellow cranes, it fits in with the "in progress" look the rest of the city has haha...

Something about us Brits that seem to lean towards this. We have a block of flats (apartments) here in Basildon called Brooke House, which is being kept BECAUSE it's ugly. Something to do with preservation of brutalist architecture - even if it really is just a dangerous drug den!
 

Eldegoss

Pollinate me.
Some British things I have enjoyed seeing include:
  • Bagpipes present in the soundtrack
  • Rock and roll tracks since the genre was heavily pioneered by Britain
  • Having Polteagheist represent our stereotype for being tea lovers
  • I have seen what looks like a mini recreation/something inspired by Stonehenge
  • Football references through the gym stadiums, gym challenger outfits, etc.
  • Card collectibles are extremely popular with children, so the trainer league cards and how it seems people give them to you in-game reminds me of that
There is definitely more, but I feel sleepy so that's all I can think of for now haha
 

Reinhardt

You! Me! Rivals! Yes?
Drednaw - Snapping turtles are native to the UK (among other places)
A bit of a correction, I looked into it, and there are no snapping turtle species native to the UK. The only turtles we have (other than vagrant sea turtles) are the red-eared terrapin and European pond turtle, both of which were introduced to the UK from other places.
Though I can see very faint traces of red-eared terrapin in Chewtle's design
 

Italianbaptist

Informed Casual
I’ve said it multiple times but I doubt it will actually happen for copyright reasons; I’d love to see some sort of Tolkien referencing in these British games.

Even if it’s not in there officially, I intend to insert it in myself through my player character name and Pokémon nicknames. At the end of the day, the series is an RPG with fantasy elements and Tolkien reinvigorated the fantasy genre. Also, I’ve been studying his philosophy on storytelling as I seek to become an English teacher and I really appreciate what he’s put out there.
 

Ophie

Salingerian Phony
I’ve said it multiple times but I doubt it will actually happen for copyright reasons; I’d love to see some sort of Tolkien referencing in these British games.

Even if it’s not in there officially, I intend to insert it in myself through my player character name and Pokémon nicknames. At the end of the day, the series is an RPG with fantasy elements and Tolkien reinvigorated the fantasy genre. Also, I’ve been studying his philosophy on storytelling as I seek to become an English teacher and I really appreciate what he’s put out there.

Obstagoon is a Pokémon inspired by KISS, so it's not out of the question. It just has to be different enough that the copyright attorneys don't go after them for plagiarization. (And in previous generations, we had Sableye taking design elements from Gollum/Smeagol and Trevanent having some things in common with Ents.)

Technically, Pokémon is an urban fantasy, meaning it takes place in a setting similar to the present day but with fantasy elements. That being said, anything could potentially be an inspiration for something in Pokémon, whether it be a Pokémon, a character, a location, a game mechanic, an item, etc. (An interview with James Turner did point out that the original look for Galar was going to be closer to standard medieval fantasy, which Turner pointed out is an incorrect depiction of what the UK looks like. He gave them pointers on British architecture, signage, and other setting-related things so it looks closer to how the UK actually presently looks like.)
 

Italianbaptist

Informed Casual
Obstagoon is a Pokémon inspired by KISS, so it's not out of the question. It just has to be different enough that the copyright attorneys don't go after them for plagiarization. (And in previous generations, we had Sableye taking design elements from Gollum/Smeagol and Trevanent having some things in common with Ents.)

Technically, Pokémon is an urban fantasy, meaning it takes place in a setting similar to the present day but with fantasy elements. That being said, anything could potentially be an inspiration for something in Pokémon, whether it be a Pokémon, a character, a location, a game mechanic, an item, etc. (An interview with James Turner did point out that the original look for Galar was going to be closer to standard medieval fantasy, which Turner pointed out is an incorrect depiction of what the UK looks like. He gave them pointers on British architecture, signage, and other setting-related things so it looks closer to how the UK actually presently looks like.)

It's definitely a different type of fantasy, urban fantasy as you stated. But after looking up the difference between fantasy and sci-fi (again, for my English teaching knowledge), I really came to see Pokemon as fantasy nonetheless. They don't go out of their way to explain things like how the Pokeballs and PC Storage System work, they just do, and that's okay. Seeing it from this angle actually caused me to breath a sigh of relief since everybody wants to be Cinemasins and poke all the holes nowadays :p

I appreciate Turner stepping in and helping the team drop some stereotypes, too, but now I'm with Orphalesion in wanting to know what a "traditional fantasy" Pokemon world would look like. Like if they fleshed out the beginning of the Lucario movie or something :)
 
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