Webspidrman
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What people seem to be reacting to so strongly on this thread, and in general involving any discussion between the Christian devil and Giratina, is the idea that Giratina is malevolent or evil. If you ask me, the origin story of the Pokémon Multiverse incorporates many aspects from creation stories from around the world. I don't think it was a coincidence that he is the "Renegade Pokémon" or that he was "banished" by Arceus to the Reverse/Distortion World for its violence. And his association with the number 6 is odd as well. (Remember that whether the "Devil's Number" is 666 or 616 is unimportant, it's just what most people believe that matters as far as design is concerned.) So evidence seems to suggest that Giratina's design recieved some influence from the Christian idea of the devil.
However, these aspects almost certainly only were incorporated to add to the internationality of the Pokémon franchise. Note that Arceus's description of creating the universe with "a thousand arms" hearkens back to Avalokiteśvara from Buddhist belief, and the story itself is similar to that of Chinese mythology among others. Arceus's vary appearance seems to be based upon that of the Qilin of Chinese mythology. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, are thought to be based upon the Arabic Anka, the Native American Thunderbird, and the Russian Firebird and Western Phoenix, respectively, while Ho-Oh resembles the Huma bird (Eastern Phoenix) of Sufi tales with the power to resurrect itself and others and the immortal Fenghuang of Chinese myth. the Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza are thought to be based upon the Behemoth, Leviathan, and Ziz, the unconquerable beasts of the land, sea, and air according to Jewish doctrine, as well as the Chinese dragon in Rayquaza's case.
What i am trying to say is, the designers of the Pokémon recognize that their fanbase belongs to a variety of different religions, including Buddhism, Shinto, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and others, and so they have deliberately attempted to connect to their audience with references to the various religions and mythologies of the world without picking favorites with any one of them. The same goes for Giratina. Even if the designers deliberately incorporated aspects of the Christian creation story in Giratina's design, they also wanted it to be a unique creature and not just a parody of the devil. It's similarities with the devil are an attempt to connect with Christian audiences, but the similarities are just as important as the differences. For example, while Satan is generally viewed as the embodiment of pure evil, Giratina, despite having had an ancient feud with Arceus, is depicted as a misunderstood and at times heroic figure, who honorably fulfills its duty as guardian of the Reverse World and correcting imbalances there in the animé, and appearing to stop Cyrus in the games. Furthermore, he is a necessary balance to Dialga and Palkia, and was created by Arceus with the intention to be so. So even if it draws some influence from the Christian creation story, it is a unique character that is purposely not presented as a Pokémon devil. In other words, it's the kind of creature that a devout Christian can hug and not feel bad about. :angel:
The best similarity that can be made between the Christian devil and Giratina is they are both "renegades" who are rebellious and refuse to obey authority just because, but what they choose to do with themselves and their intentions are drastically different. (Actually, showing up in the real world, which Giratina seems to do often enough in the games, appearing in cemeteries and Turnback Cave, is already being a renegade, since he was "banished" by Arceus to the Distortion World, and therefore shouldn't leave to go to the real world.) Being a renegade is neither good nor bad, it is what one chooses to do as a renegade that determines character. Giratina's and Ash's closeness is telling of this: both of them are renegades in a way, Giratina by displeasing Arceus, and Ash by his unorthodox methods of raising Pokémon. (Let's face it: not every non-evil person in the Pokémon world consider Pokémon to be equals to humans, as Paul obviously demonstrates. Nowadays Ash has even gone as far as to ask Pokémon to join him rather than simply catching them and forcing them to like everyone else.)
To conclude, while Giratina being a renegade is an obvious reference to the Christian creation story, calling him the "Pokémon devil" is very much an oversimplification. He is a unique character that draws inspiration from multiple influences, including dualism, the concept of antimatter, and the fallen angel of Christianity.
However, these aspects almost certainly only were incorporated to add to the internationality of the Pokémon franchise. Note that Arceus's description of creating the universe with "a thousand arms" hearkens back to Avalokiteśvara from Buddhist belief, and the story itself is similar to that of Chinese mythology among others. Arceus's vary appearance seems to be based upon that of the Qilin of Chinese mythology. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, are thought to be based upon the Arabic Anka, the Native American Thunderbird, and the Russian Firebird and Western Phoenix, respectively, while Ho-Oh resembles the Huma bird (Eastern Phoenix) of Sufi tales with the power to resurrect itself and others and the immortal Fenghuang of Chinese myth. the Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza are thought to be based upon the Behemoth, Leviathan, and Ziz, the unconquerable beasts of the land, sea, and air according to Jewish doctrine, as well as the Chinese dragon in Rayquaza's case.
What i am trying to say is, the designers of the Pokémon recognize that their fanbase belongs to a variety of different religions, including Buddhism, Shinto, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and others, and so they have deliberately attempted to connect to their audience with references to the various religions and mythologies of the world without picking favorites with any one of them. The same goes for Giratina. Even if the designers deliberately incorporated aspects of the Christian creation story in Giratina's design, they also wanted it to be a unique creature and not just a parody of the devil. It's similarities with the devil are an attempt to connect with Christian audiences, but the similarities are just as important as the differences. For example, while Satan is generally viewed as the embodiment of pure evil, Giratina, despite having had an ancient feud with Arceus, is depicted as a misunderstood and at times heroic figure, who honorably fulfills its duty as guardian of the Reverse World and correcting imbalances there in the animé, and appearing to stop Cyrus in the games. Furthermore, he is a necessary balance to Dialga and Palkia, and was created by Arceus with the intention to be so. So even if it draws some influence from the Christian creation story, it is a unique character that is purposely not presented as a Pokémon devil. In other words, it's the kind of creature that a devout Christian can hug and not feel bad about. :angel:
The best similarity that can be made between the Christian devil and Giratina is they are both "renegades" who are rebellious and refuse to obey authority just because, but what they choose to do with themselves and their intentions are drastically different. (Actually, showing up in the real world, which Giratina seems to do often enough in the games, appearing in cemeteries and Turnback Cave, is already being a renegade, since he was "banished" by Arceus to the Distortion World, and therefore shouldn't leave to go to the real world.) Being a renegade is neither good nor bad, it is what one chooses to do as a renegade that determines character. Giratina's and Ash's closeness is telling of this: both of them are renegades in a way, Giratina by displeasing Arceus, and Ash by his unorthodox methods of raising Pokémon. (Let's face it: not every non-evil person in the Pokémon world consider Pokémon to be equals to humans, as Paul obviously demonstrates. Nowadays Ash has even gone as far as to ask Pokémon to join him rather than simply catching them and forcing them to like everyone else.)
To conclude, while Giratina being a renegade is an obvious reference to the Christian creation story, calling him the "Pokémon devil" is very much an oversimplification. He is a unique character that draws inspiration from multiple influences, including dualism, the concept of antimatter, and the fallen angel of Christianity.