Poké-History Unpacked: Why Arceus's 'Wild West' Adventure Sparks More Than Just Battles
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Pok mon has always been a jet-setting series, with its head in the clouds and its feet planted firmly in the real world. The first four generations of Pok mon games took us on a whirlwind tour of Japan. Red and Blue were set in a fictionalised version of Greater Tokyo, with dense cities and urban sp
Right then, mate, gather 'round. I’ve been tinkering with the digital tea leaves this morning, sifting through the latest whispers, and bloody hell, the more you dig into the Pokémon Legends series, the wilder it gets. We're on the cusp of `Pokémon Legends: Z-A` dropping – another trip to the fantastical version of Paris – but before we dive headfirst into the new, I reckon it's worth a proper look back at its predecessor, `Pokémon Legends: Arceus`. Because that game, my friends, was a proper head-scratcher, in the best possible way.
Pokémon, as a series, has always been a bit of a global tourist, hasn't it? From its early days jet-setting across fictionalized Japan (Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh – remember those?), to gallivanting around mirror-world New York, Paris, Hawaii, and even a delightfully weird UK where they prefer Poké-battles to footy. It’s a brilliant conceit, really, giving us roly-poly sheep Pokémon in the UK and sentient trash bags in New York's outskirts. Fair dinkum, the designers have a blast with it. But `Arceus`? Oh, `Arceus` didn't just transport us through *space*; it quite literally blew a hole through the fabric of reality and plopped us down in a digital time machine.
`Pokémon Legends: Arceus` takes us to 'Hisui', which, if your history lessons were a bit blurry (mine certainly were until I started digging), is a wonderfully crafted reimagining of Hokkaido, Japan, circa the late 1800s. And for the most part, mate, it’s a total charm offensive. Poké Balls are hand-carved, fizzing with tiny fireworks. Battle menus evoke traditional calligraphic brushwork. The skyboxes look like they jumped straight out of a beautiful woodblock print. Even the new 'strong' and 'agile' attack styles get a satisfying clap of `hyōshigi` sticks. And the regional Pokémon designs? Chef's kiss! Hisuian Decidueye looks like a wandering Ronin, eyes peeking from under its umbrella hat – genuinely cool stuff. Samurott's rocking a samurai helmet, and Growlithe’s now a Shinto temple lion. Loads of love and effort poured into getting that historical vibe just right, despite the occasional muddy graphic.
But here’s where my curious, slightly irreverent wizardly senses started tingling. You see, the problem with time travel, even in games, is that when you go digging in the past, you sometimes unearth memories that are a bit... painful. And these memories, mate, often need to be handled with serious care. `Pokémon Legends: Arceus` lands us right in the middle of the colonization of Hokkaido, a time when the Japanese government was, shall we say, *busily* bringing the northern island under its thumb. The game wears these historical inspirations on its sleeve, big time. The central hub is a bustling frontier town, expanding as you complete quests. The building where you get your missions? A dead ringer for the Hokkaido Development Office in Sapporo, the heart of the real-life colonization efforts from 1888 onwards. We even see settlers arriving on the beach, ready to start new lives on freshly annexed land.
And then there are the game's primary supporting cast, the Diamond and Pearl clans. Anyone even passingly familiar with this period of Japanese history might raise an eyebrow, because these clans are clearly, deliberately based on the Ainu – the Indigenous inhabitants of Hokkaido. Now, the `Arceus` version of these clans is pretty fantastic: powerful stewards of nature, elite trainers, wardens of Hisui's Noble Pokémon. It’s genuinely positive representation, putting Ainu culture and tradition in the spotlight, and often portraying them as strong, resilient people, which is brilliant.
However, the real-life annexation of Hokkaido was, to be blunt, a tumultuous period, characterised by colonial expansionism and slow, bureaucratic cruelty. The actual Ainu were rarely willing participants. Instead, they were often its casualties. Their traditional hunting and gathering ways, which required vast, unspoiled land, were systematically taken from them and converted into intensive farmland by the `Kaitakushi` – the real-life 'development commission' that the Galaxy Expedition Team so closely mirrors. The land was treated as `terra nullius` – 'empty land' – waiting to be claimed, despite being very much inhabited. And it wasn't just land; it was a campaign of cultural assimilation. Their language, religion, dress, and even fishing practices were outlawed. Families were separated, forced marriages occurred, and many starved. Even today, the Ainu face discrimination, with only about 300 people speaking the Ainu language.
So, while it's fantastic to see Ainu culture put in a positive light in `Arceus` – and, as historian Dr. John Hennessey points out, this trend of strong Ainu representation in popular media like the manga `Golden Kamuy` is a truly praiseworthy thing – you can't help but wonder if the game perhaps gave history a bit *too* much of a digital airbrush, eh? The Galaxy Expedition Team isn't painted as entirely benevolent, mind you. At first, they're pretty hostile, even exiling you when things go sideways. But by the time the credits roll, everyone's apologised, everything's reconciled, and that's about as deep as the critique goes. For a game that recruits the player as an agent of a colonial mission, tasked with 'taming the wilds,' it's a thorny path to tread, even if the intentions are good.
I mean, Pokémon has always had these subtle, darker seams running beneath its family-friendly mantle. Think about it: Primeape 'has been known to become so angry that it dies.' Rowlet 'pelts them with vicious kicks.' Mimikyu's true form allegedly makes people 'die from the shock.' These macabre morsels add texture, don't they? So, a bright, colourful exploration of a grisly time period definitely keeps pace with that tradition of jarring juxtaposition. But choosing this particular real-world historical setting, which displaced thousands and uprooted countless lives? I did wonder if that was a road too far.
Now, before anyone gets their Poké Balls in a twist, I'm not here to wag my digital finger and tell another culture how to reckon with their bleaker past. My own backyard (the UK, if you're asking) has enough historical skeletons to fill a bloody cemetery. But as Dr. Hennessey wisely observed, while self-criticism is vital, sometimes external perspectives can highlight blind spots. There are ongoing conversations in Japan about Ainu rights and cultural revival, and making more people aware of these issues globally is super important. Because, as he put it, if these conversations only happen in Japan, 'then we miss out on them. We need to know about Ainu and Japanese history too!' And if we're too afraid to talk about these things, then we're more likely to perpetuate negative cultural stereotypes, which is the last thing anyone wants.
Perhaps it's sensible that `Pokémon Legends: Z-A` is returning to the more modern setting of 'Lumiose City.' But if Game Freak decides to do the time warp again for a third Legends game, I genuinely hope they do. Perhaps they'll get it right, perhaps they'll miss the mark again. In either case, they'll give us another invaluable opportunity to learn about history through that same wonderfully colourful, distorted lens. And for a curious gamer like me, that's what makes these journeys so much more than just catching 'em all.
Original article: Eurogamer