redwoodalchan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
redwoodalchan) wrote2013-11-03 09:18 pm
redwoodalchan) wrote2013-11-03 09:18 pm
Rant about Pokemon worlds
Am I the only one who's a bit frustrated by the tendency of some fans to treat the regions in the Pokemon games like they're exactly the same as the place they're based on? I mean, they're fairly obviously not--Unova, to cite an example I'd be most familiar with, may be based on New York City, but it clearly isn't New York City. If it were actually New York City it would have a stage theatre district, not a big-budget film studio. It would have a subway which everybody used, a park containing its central reservoir which everyone knew about, and a natural history museum that showed exhibits about dinosaurs and space rather than dragons. It wouldn't have tons of woods that anyone could get lost in between developed points--every inch of it would be developed with some areas clearly set aside to allow for greenery. It would have specific streets dedicated to Chinese culture, Italian culture, Jewish culture, and the list goes on. And near as we can tell, Unova has none of these things at all.
Similarly, if Sinnoh were actually Hokkaido it would mostly be a national park, which would be home to raccoon-dogs instead of Houndour. It would also have a train line that could take you to the other regions, but no such train line exists. If Hoenn were truly Kyushu it wouldn't have a community of people who live entirely in trees, or on the water. If Johto were really Chubu region (I believe that's what it's based on), it would have lead and zinc mines that made rural women living downstream sick. And so on. Even if you accept that certain facets of the culture of these places aren't shown because they're not relevant to the gameplay, the mere fact that there are pokemon living there, and that the cities have names unlike any seen in the real world (if, indeed, they're based on real-life places), makes it pretty clear that these aren't places that exist in the real world.
I mean, I get that the Pokemon regions are based on those of the real world, and I can even buy that their cultures would be similar to those of the real-world places. But some fans seem to want to argue that they're exactly the same, down to the last details of ethnicity and history, and I just don't get that at all.
Similarly, if Sinnoh were actually Hokkaido it would mostly be a national park, which would be home to raccoon-dogs instead of Houndour. It would also have a train line that could take you to the other regions, but no such train line exists. If Hoenn were truly Kyushu it wouldn't have a community of people who live entirely in trees, or on the water. If Johto were really Chubu region (I believe that's what it's based on), it would have lead and zinc mines that made rural women living downstream sick. And so on. Even if you accept that certain facets of the culture of these places aren't shown because they're not relevant to the gameplay, the mere fact that there are pokemon living there, and that the cities have names unlike any seen in the real world (if, indeed, they're based on real-life places), makes it pretty clear that these aren't places that exist in the real world.
I mean, I get that the Pokemon regions are based on those of the real world, and I can even buy that their cultures would be similar to those of the real-world places. But some fans seem to want to argue that they're exactly the same, down to the last details of ethnicity and history, and I just don't get that at all.