One of my favourite elements of pokemon is it's storytelling, which it accomplishes environmentally. Each region seems to be themed around a certain idea that's present in both the main plot, the background lore, and even the way the region's constructed. That's why, given that Galar is based around England, My head's spinning with the possibilities regarding what the themes of this generation will be: England's history is extremely vast, and many different eras mean many different things to many different people.
What I believe this generation's themes to be:
Coexistence of eternal oppposites: Given the motif of a sword and shield, an unstoppable force and an immovable object, obviously opposites yet complimentary, the legendaries hearken back somewhat to GEN V and their clash (and fusion) of truth and ideals. A bit of the weapons nerd in me spots something interesting about the legendaries: Zacian's sword is an arming sword, which must be used alongside a shield of some sort. Shields do not make great standalone weapons, so they must be paired with a sword. This could manifest as the player needing to bridge two characters with contradictory ideologies (maybe hop and another rival) in order to bring down a greater threat (whether that be the villanous team leader, Leo, or some other threat entirely). I believe this to be the most likely story point.
Cyclicality, destiny: Given Britain's ties to Arthurian lore and both germanic and celtic paganism (the themes of all three are very similar), It would make sense that references to these mythological cycles would figure heavily into the plot. A lot of these stories dealt heavily with how, deep down, heroes are just people, with their own flaws which fate often uses to empower then destroy them. Fate is a fickle, treacherous thing: it brings fortune and then punishes you for said fortune. This idea of cyclical fate could be used in a deconstructive manner: subverting much of the standard pokemon journey and displaying sides of the world and the characters that would otherwise go unseen. Given just how powerful the player character becomes at the end of their journey, there would be something truly profound about making at least one victory ring hollow. Given how sun and moon often deconstructed the ecosystems of the pokemon world and their relationship with their trainers, it would be very fascinating and profound to see the interactions between humans in a greater (and darker) light. This is medially likely
Ubi Sunt: a latin phrase meaning "where are they?", this is common to anglo-saxon mythology, medieval poetry, and the entire simarrilion. Described as a sensation of profound nostalgia regarding the past and its glory. An astute observation about life's impermenance, it meant special things to the anglo-saxons, as they lived amongst the ruins of the people they conquered, whom they then came to idolize and emulate. They developed the realization that they too would be lost to the mists of time, and that their civilization would someday disappear. It colored much of their poetry and fiction, and it's influences can be felt later in time amongst other works, famously Tolkien's Legendarium. I've actually made a little poem regarding this: "Where is the Pokemon? Where is the Trainer? Where goes the wandering road? Where the clashes at the gyms, the revelry at the frontiers; how that time has passed away, under cover of darkness, as if it had never been." In the story, I'd like to belive this could tie into a theme of cyclicality, how human nature (and pokemon nature)never changes, and about how one must always move forward no matter what. It's actually rather unlikely of the three because it lacks two essentials, one universal and one franchise-specifc: for ubi sunt to work, one needs ancient ruins, and for the theme to be compatible with pokemon, nintendo would need to portray earlier generations in a somewhat negative light. This means that they would basically need to call out genwunners and poke fun at the series' own recent obsession with it's origins. Given that we didn't see any ancient ruins, it's obvious that if this theme exists it'd done very subtly. The only first-generation pokemon we've seen so far is Leon's Charizard, and it's not featured in gameplay, so that gives a bit of precedent.
Otherworld: connected to celtic mythology, this is brought up because of the game's vocal theme: Dynamax, A new world. The otherworld, or Tír na nÓg, was the realm of the gods in celtic lore, where fae lived as well, where animals were red and white. It is not heaven, but a realm that can only be reached in mortality, through magic or through ancient burial mounds where one's ancestors would guide them. Dynamax's lyrics could allude to a pokemon version of the otherworld where the legendaries originate from, and where the journey ultimately goes. It's got very sparse evidence, and is thus the least likely.
What do you think could be sword and shield's themes as a region? and how likely do you rate my theories on the matter?
What I believe this generation's themes to be:
Coexistence of eternal oppposites: Given the motif of a sword and shield, an unstoppable force and an immovable object, obviously opposites yet complimentary, the legendaries hearken back somewhat to GEN V and their clash (and fusion) of truth and ideals. A bit of the weapons nerd in me spots something interesting about the legendaries: Zacian's sword is an arming sword, which must be used alongside a shield of some sort. Shields do not make great standalone weapons, so they must be paired with a sword. This could manifest as the player needing to bridge two characters with contradictory ideologies (maybe hop and another rival) in order to bring down a greater threat (whether that be the villanous team leader, Leo, or some other threat entirely). I believe this to be the most likely story point.
Cyclicality, destiny: Given Britain's ties to Arthurian lore and both germanic and celtic paganism (the themes of all three are very similar), It would make sense that references to these mythological cycles would figure heavily into the plot. A lot of these stories dealt heavily with how, deep down, heroes are just people, with their own flaws which fate often uses to empower then destroy them. Fate is a fickle, treacherous thing: it brings fortune and then punishes you for said fortune. This idea of cyclical fate could be used in a deconstructive manner: subverting much of the standard pokemon journey and displaying sides of the world and the characters that would otherwise go unseen. Given just how powerful the player character becomes at the end of their journey, there would be something truly profound about making at least one victory ring hollow. Given how sun and moon often deconstructed the ecosystems of the pokemon world and their relationship with their trainers, it would be very fascinating and profound to see the interactions between humans in a greater (and darker) light. This is medially likely
Ubi Sunt: a latin phrase meaning "where are they?", this is common to anglo-saxon mythology, medieval poetry, and the entire simarrilion. Described as a sensation of profound nostalgia regarding the past and its glory. An astute observation about life's impermenance, it meant special things to the anglo-saxons, as they lived amongst the ruins of the people they conquered, whom they then came to idolize and emulate. They developed the realization that they too would be lost to the mists of time, and that their civilization would someday disappear. It colored much of their poetry and fiction, and it's influences can be felt later in time amongst other works, famously Tolkien's Legendarium. I've actually made a little poem regarding this: "Where is the Pokemon? Where is the Trainer? Where goes the wandering road? Where the clashes at the gyms, the revelry at the frontiers; how that time has passed away, under cover of darkness, as if it had never been." In the story, I'd like to belive this could tie into a theme of cyclicality, how human nature (and pokemon nature)never changes, and about how one must always move forward no matter what. It's actually rather unlikely of the three because it lacks two essentials, one universal and one franchise-specifc: for ubi sunt to work, one needs ancient ruins, and for the theme to be compatible with pokemon, nintendo would need to portray earlier generations in a somewhat negative light. This means that they would basically need to call out genwunners and poke fun at the series' own recent obsession with it's origins. Given that we didn't see any ancient ruins, it's obvious that if this theme exists it'd done very subtly. The only first-generation pokemon we've seen so far is Leon's Charizard, and it's not featured in gameplay, so that gives a bit of precedent.
Otherworld: connected to celtic mythology, this is brought up because of the game's vocal theme: Dynamax, A new world. The otherworld, or Tír na nÓg, was the realm of the gods in celtic lore, where fae lived as well, where animals were red and white. It is not heaven, but a realm that can only be reached in mortality, through magic or through ancient burial mounds where one's ancestors would guide them. Dynamax's lyrics could allude to a pokemon version of the otherworld where the legendaries originate from, and where the journey ultimately goes. It's got very sparse evidence, and is thus the least likely.
What do you think could be sword and shield's themes as a region? and how likely do you rate my theories on the matter?
