What possible Galar region lore would you like?

[Anacybele]

So, we don't know much about the new region yet, but we can always speculate and come up with ideas!

I just came up with this one while talking with Dragoncat: the Galar region was part of that war spoken of in Kalos and their knights rode gallant Rapidash and Mudsdale steeds. So they'd be in the Galar regional Pokedex. At least I hope. Horses fit the medievalish theme we seem to have going on. Would've worked for Kalos too, and in fact, medieval France is more well known for cavalry than England. England's best soldiers were their longbowmen. At least from what I've learned. But too late for that now. I can only hope Ponyta is in the regional dex for Galar. The only regional Pokedexes it's been in are Kanto and Sinnoh anyway. Maybe Kalos knights imported steeds though, who knows? Also, Galar is based on the entire UK, not just England, and the UK includes Scotland which I believe had pretty good cavalry in medieval times (only their melee infantry were better, apparently). Of course, nobody has to follow any real life patterns for real. And I mean, we did get a French royalty-based starter in a New York based region, after all. xP

Anywy, if the rumored armored evolutions are real, Rapidash and Mudsdale would be my first choices for it because knights on horseback! They wore armor. At the same time though, Mudsdale is based on a Clydesdale which are more often work horses, so if only one got the armored evolution, it should be Rapidash.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Anacybele

[Acacia Sgt]

The world of Pokémon being what it is, doesn't have to be horse based Pokémon for steeds. For how it was one of their defining features, I wouldn't be surprised if Kalosian knights simply used Gogoats. If they go with the whole horse thing, I'd rather it to be a new type of Pokémon, rather than reusing Ponyta or Mudsdale. Even having Gogoat in the regional dex would make more sense. To make it consistant with Kalos.

[vanguard333]

I have several lore ideas. Here's just a few:

• The region is actually a family of 3 regions with distinct cultures, and they do not get along; largely stemming from societal issues that began with one region invading the other two, and continue to this day. 
• There is a loch with a legend of an ancient legendary Pokémon that supposedly lives in it, but no one has any proof that this mysterious Pokémon even exists. 
• There's an island just off the Northeast Coast. There is a legend that the tides that hit the rocky shores of the island keep imprisoned an ancient, horrifying Pokémon that was feared far and wide as The Bringer of Plague. It's only known weakness was an aversion to fresh water.
• There is a mountain that was once home to two warring dragon Pokémon: a red dragon and a white dragon. The white dragon ended up having to flee to the English section of Galar.

 

35 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

I just came up with this one while talking with Dragoncat: the Galar region was part of that war spoken of in Kalos and their knights rode gallant Rapidash and Mudsdale steeds. So they'd be in the Galar regional Pokedex. At least I hope. Horses fit the medievalish theme we seem to have going on. Would've worked for Kalos too, and in fact, medieval France is more well known for cavalry than England. England's best soldiers were their longbowmen. At least from what I've learned. But too late for that now. I can only hope Ponyta is in the regional dex for Galar. The only regional Pokedexes it's been in are Kanto and Sinnoh anyway. Maybe Kalos knights imported steeds though, who knows? Also, Galar is based on the entire UK, not just England, and the UK includes Scotland which I believe had pretty good cavalry in medieval times (only their melee infantry were better, apparently). Of course, nobody has to follow any real life patterns for real. And I mean, we did get a French royalty-based starter in a New York based region, after all. xP

Some historical notes you may find useful (or at least will clear up some things):

England's best soldiers were indeed longbowmen. They got the idea from the Welsh, copied it, and passed a law saying every Englishman had to practice archery at least once a week. This began the gradual rise of professional soldiers in the English army. 

You're correct about France being more well known for their cavalry than England. In fact, English knights were known to dismount before going into battle; a tactic they got from the Scots after the War of Scottish Independence. 

Scotland did have good cavalry to an extent, but not much of it due to its lack of wealth compared to other parts of Medieval Europe. It mainly excelled at an anti-cavalry tactic known as the Schiltron: the predecessor of the pike block. Basically, a bunch of peasants with long two-handed spears that could charge as a group, with the front row often consisting of armoured knights to be better defended against longbowmen. 

It was France that brought the idea of knights to Britain, not the other way around. It was introduced to England by the Norman Conquest, and it spread from there. 

Edited March 16, 2019 by vanguard333

[Anacybele]

4 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

England's best soldiers were indeed longbowmen. They got the idea from the Welsh, copied it, and passed a law saying every Englishman had to practice archery at least once a week. This began the gradual rise of professional soldiers in the English army. 

I figured they originally came from the Welsh, I recall now that the Age of Empires II campaigns mentioned that the longbowmen were "Welsh." All I know of this stuff came from that game, admittedly, lol. But it's pretty accurate, it looks like! Did the game also get it right that the Scots' best soldier was the woad raider? :P

I am aware of that other stuff, yes.

5 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

It was France that brought the idea of knights to Britain, not the other way around. It was introduced to England by the Norman Conquest, and it spread from there. 

I didn't mean steeds were imported from Galar to Kalos, I meant that Kalos just got them from somewhere, probably Kanto, and then maybe introduced them to Galar in the same way France did for England. Sorry for not being clear there.

7 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

The region is actually a family of 3 regions with distinct cultures, and they do not get along; largely stemming from societal issues that began with one region invading the other two, and continue to this day. 

This works! The UK IS made of up technically four countries in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

7 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

There is a loch with a legend of an ancient legendary Pokémon that supposedly lives in it, but no one has any proof that this mysterious Pokémon even exists. 

OMG, why didn't I think of a legendary based off of the lochness monster? This makes too much sense!

8 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

There's an island just off the Northeast Coast. There is a legend that the tides that hit the rocky shores of the island keep imprisoned an ancient, horrifying Pokémon that was feared far and wide as The Bringer of Plague. It's only known weakness was an aversion to fresh water.

That sounds pretty dark. Just have to make sure it isn't too dark for Pokémon. xP

8 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

There is a mountain that was once home to two warring dragon Pokémon: a red dragon and a white dragon. The white dragon ended up having to flee to the English section of Galar.

I don't know if I can agree on this one since we already have a white dragon in the form of Reshiram. Seems a bit too similar.

[vanguard333]

16 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Did the game also get it right that the Scots' best soldier was the woad raider? :P

No. Woad was a war paint used only by the Ancient Picts. Medieval Scots didn't wear it. Similarly, the only account I know of involving Scots using an axe is that Robert the Bruce preferred using an axe over a lance when fighting on horseback. 

 

18 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

I didn't mean steeds were imported from Galar to Kalos, I meant that Kalos just got them from somewhere, probably Kanto, and then maybe introduced them to Galar in the same way France did for England. Sorry for not being clear there.

Okay. Thanks for the clarification.

 

18 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

This works! The UK IS made of up technically four countries in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

That's where I got the idea. I figured three since, while North Ireland is part of the UK, it is not part of the island of Great Britain. 

 

20 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

OMG, why didn't I think of a legendary based off of the lochness monster? This makes too much sense!

To be fair; it would perhaps be a bit on-the-nose, though no more on the nose than a gym in Kalos being the Eiffel Tower...

 

21 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

That sounds pretty dark. Just have to make sure it isn't too dark for Pokémon. xP

Yeah. To be honest, I wanted to add another legendary based on Scottish Folklore, and the one thing that I found that would work as a legendary Pokémon was a creature of Orkney Folklore called the Nuckelavee.

The way that it's described would probably be too dark for a Pokémon game (frankly, this creature's scarier than anything Lovecraft wrote in my opinion): it looks like the upper half of a man were attached to a horse at the part where a rider would normally sit, but with elongated arms, a massive head on the human part, a horse head that won't stop spewing poisonous gas from its gaping open mouth, a single fiery red eye on that horse head, black blood coursing through yellow veins, and its sinews and powerful muscles being plainly visible due to lack of skin. 

I'm sure Game Freak would probably remove some of that stuff if they wanted the creature in the game. 

 

30 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

I don't know if I can agree on this one since we already have a white dragon in the form of Reshiram. Seems a bit too similar.

True. I got this idea from Welsh Folklore that ties into Arthurian Legend. There are multiple versions of the story, but basically; Merlin's involved, and there's a hill called Dinas Emrys on which two dragons fought: a red dragon that represented the Britons, and a White Dragon that represented the invading Saxons. 

You're right about Reshiram being similar. Never mind then. 

 

I'm not sure if this counts as a lore idea, but I want something in the game to be based on the Highland Games. It could be a minigame involving your Pokémon, it could be a festival of some kind, it could be a gym; just something. 

[Anacybele]

2 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

No. Woad was a war paint used only by the Ancient Picts. Medieval Scots didn't wear it. Similarly, the only account I know of involving Scots using an axe is that Robert the Bruce preferred using an axe over a lance when fighting on horseback. 

Huh, I guess the AoEII devs had to make up something there. Would kinda make sense, as the game has a lot of different civilizations and each one got its own unique military unit. Perhaps not all of them had real life ideas to draw from.

3 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

That's where I got the idea. I figured three since, while North Ireland is part of the UK, it is not part of the island of Great Britain. 

Really? That stuff was always confusing to me anyway though. I was never sure what exactly was the UK and what was Great Britain. :/

4 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

Yeah. To be honest, I wanted to add another legendary based on Scottish Folklore, and the one thing that I found that would work as a legendary Pokémon was a creature of Orkney Folklore called the Nuckelavee.

The way that it's described would probably be too dark for a Pokémon game (frankly, this creature's scarier than anything Lovecraft wrote in my opinion): it looks like the upper half of a man were attached to a horse at the part where a rider would normally sit, but with elongated arms, a massive head on the human part, a horse head that won't stop spewing poisonous gas from its gaping open mouth, a single fiery red eye on that horse head, black blood coursing through yellow veins, and its sinews and powerful muscles being plainly visible due to lack of skin. 

I'm sure Game Freak would probably remove some of that stuff if they wanted the creature in the game. 

I see. That does sound scary. o.o

5 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

True. I got this idea from Welsh Folklore that ties into Arthurian Legend. There are multiple versions of the story, but basically; Merlin's involved, and there's a hill called Dinas Emrys on which two dragons fought: a red dragon that represented the Britons, and a White Dragon that represented the invading Saxons. 

You're right about Reshiram being similar. Never mind then. 

I see. Would be neat if we didn't already have Reshiram though, and who knows, maybe GameFreak could find a way to put a unique spin on it that would make it different enough.

[vanguard333]

4 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

I see. That does sound scary. o.o

Agreed. To be fair though, if you read the Pokedex description of almost any Ghost-type Pokémon, one can see that GameFreak isn't above putting some really scary stuff in Pokémon. 

[Acacia Sgt]

I still stand on the Gogoats. Anyway, if there's one thing I'd like to see is perhaps references to the War of the Roses. If not on the backstory, then by pulling a Basculin. As in, a Grass type Pokémon whose design includes a rose, or roses, which comes in white and red colored variants; and are hostile to each other.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Acacia Sgt

[Anacybele]

2 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

Agreed. To be fair though, if you read the Pokedex description of almost any Ghost-type Pokémon, one can see that GameFreak isn't above putting some really scary stuff in Pokémon. 

I'm well aware. lol I mean, we've had actual ghost people in Pokémon games too!

[Interdimensional Observer]

I recall the Suikoden franchise in its mythos stated something like the world was created when the first two True Runes- the Sword and Shield Runes- clashed in battle. Perhaps the same could apply to this region.

Also, speaking of swords and Pokemon, I recall this myth mentioned at the Canalave Library in DPP:

Spoiler

Veilstone's Myth (Japanese: トバリの しんわ Tobari's Myth) is about a young swordsman regretting his actions after an encounter with a Pokémon.

A young man, callow and foolish in innocence, came to own a sword.

With it, he smote Pokémon, which gave sustenance, with carefree abandon.

Those not taken as food, he discarded, with no afterthought.

The following year, no Pokémon appeared. Larders grew bare.

The young man, seeking the missing Pokémon, journeyed afar.

Long did he search. And far and wide, too, until one he did find.

Asked he, "Why do you hide?" To which the Pokémon replied...

"If you bear your sword to bring harm upon us, with claws and fangs, we will exact a toll."

"From your kind we will take our toll, for it must be done."

"Done it must be to guard ourselves and for it, I apologize."

To the skies, the young man shouted his dismay.

"In having found the sword, I have lost so much."

"Gorged with power, I grew blind to Pokémon being alive."

"I will never fall savage again. This sword I denounce and forsake."

"I plead for forgiveness, for I was but a fool."

So saying, the young man hurled the sword to the ground, snapping it.

Seeing this, the Pokémon disappeared to a place beyond seeing...

 

 

And to think on my very limited knowledge of British mythos, a minor legendary or other Pokemon based on Titania the fairy queen would be nice. And maybe a Silky- a fairy woman who protects a household and does all the chores for the owners. Cu Chulainn would be good as well, from what I hear, he was some sort of grotesque Hulk-like monster in battle.

[Lau]

- That the London based area once burned down due to a great fire, obviously being a reference to the Great Fire of London.

That's the only one I can think of right now that hasn't been said yet.

[vanguard333]

8 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

And to think on my very limited knowledge of British mythos, a minor legendary or other Pokemon based on Titania the fairy queen would be nice. And maybe a Silky- a fairy woman who protects a household and does all the chores for the owners. Cu Chulainn would be good as well, from what I hear, he was some sort of grotesque Hulk-like monster in battle.

The Faerie Queen (I spell it like that because, if I say fairy, then everyone thinks I'm talking about the tiny butterfly-winged creature created by the Victorian English, when I'm talking about the original, true fairies: the Fae of Celtic Mythology) is prevalent in Celtic Folklore in Scotland and Wales, so that could work. The name Titania though comes purely from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

As for Cu Chulainn, he's a creature of Irish Mythology, not British.

Silkies could be interesting. So would Brownies: a tiny Scottish creature that lived in households and helped maintain them in exchange for small amounts of food (and I do mean small: "You eat a bean, and you're done" very much applies). Perhaps female brownies could evolve into silkies?

Something along the lines of a kelpie (if we throw away the shapeshifting and the eating people) could be very interesting: perhaps it could be an Alolan variation of Rapidash? Similarly, a Pokémon based on an Afanc (a Welsh Folklore version of an alligator) could be very interesting. 

 

One thing that was at the core of Celtic Mythology was the concept of Otherworld: a world that is separate from, but also connected to our own. The barrier between them waxes and wanes biannually. On one day in the Spring, and especially on the Night of Samhain on October's end (that's right; Halloween originates from Scottish Mythology!), the barrier between them is so thin that creatures of either world can wander into the other one by complete accident. Perhaps they could include a folkloric Otherworld in Sword and Shield. Although, given that Gen 4 and Gen 7 already dealt with alternate dimension stuff, I'm not sure if people would really want to experience that again. 

[Interdimensional Observer]

20 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

As for Cu Chulainn, he's a creature of Irish Mythology, not British.

Silkies could be interesting. So would Brownies: a tiny Scottish creature that lived in households and helped maintain them in exchange for small amounts of food (and I do mean small: "You eat a bean, and you're done" very much applies). Perhaps female brownies could evolve into silkies?

Something along the lines of a kelpie (if we throw away the shapeshifting and the eating people) could be very interesting: perhaps it could be an Alolan variation of Rapidash? Similarly, a Pokémon based on an Afanc (a Welsh Folklore version of an alligator) could be very interesting. 

 

My apologies on the Chulainn mistake.

Most of knowledge of British mythos comes from Compendium snippets from Shin Megami Tensei.

And on that note, maybe a Spriggan, it's entry:

"A type of ugly faerie from Cornwall, in southwest England.
They can be seen around ancient ruins, protecting the treasures buried within. Normally they are tiny, but in a fight they transform into huge giants. According to local legends, spriggans are actually the ghosts of giants slain long ago."

Apparently it might also be made of stone. A Rock-Ghost?

Also, Cait Siths seem feasible:

 

"A cat fairy of the highlands of Scotland, said to have their own kingdom inside hollow trees and deserted houses.
They are about the size of dogs and covered in black fur, except for their white chests. Their green eyes shine with intelligence, and they can understand human speech. They normally live in the kingdom, but there are times when they live amongst people as normal black cats. They are relatively gentle fairies, but when a person torments a cat, the offending human is dragged off to Cait Sith's Kingdom."

[vanguard333]

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

My apologies on the Chulainn mistake.

Most of knowledge of British mythos comes from Compendium snippets from Shin Megami Tensei.

And on that note, maybe a Spriggan, it's entry:

"A type of ugly faerie from Cornwall, in southwest England.
They can be seen around ancient ruins, protecting the treasures buried within. Normally they are tiny, but in a fight they transform into huge giants. According to local legends, spriggans are actually the ghosts of giants slain long ago."

Apparently it might also be made of stone. A Rock-Ghost?

Also, Cait Siths seem feasible:

 

"A cat fairy of the highlands of Scotland, said to have their own kingdom inside hollow trees and deserted houses.
They are about the size of dogs and covered in black fur, except for their white chests. Their green eyes shine with intelligence, and they can understand human speech. They normally live in the kingdom, but there are times when they live amongst people as normal black cats. They are relatively gentle fairies, but when a person torments a cat, the offending human is dragged off to Cait Sith's Kingdom."

It's okay. I've been researching Celtic Folklore for some time, and I still have only scratched the surface. 

Spriggan's sound interesting. It sounds like they would have a mechanic somewhat similar to Wishi Washi. Plus, rock and ghost would be an interesting type combination. It would have a number of weaknesses but also a lot of strengths. 

A Cat Sith would be interesting for a Pokémon. Another that would be interesting and also comes from Scotland would be the Cu Sith: a dark-green hound the size of a young boar. When on the hunt, it lets out three barks that can be heard from miles away, and the prey must get to safety before the third yell, or the prey will be paralysed by fear. 

There's also a creature from Wales that could be interesting: a Puca/Pwca. It is a mischievous creature and a natural shapeshifter capable of achieving various animal forms including horses, goats, cats, dogs, ravens and hares, though its fur (or feathers in the case of being a raven) is always the same dark colour regardless of which animal form it's in. It can be benevolent or malevolent, but it is always a bit of a trickster. A Pokémon based on this could perhaps have multiple forms based on its shapeshifting: a Dark/Flying raven form, a Dark/Grass goat form, a Dark/Normal rabbit form, etc. 

[ZeManaphy]

We were discussing on Bulbagarden, how about the legendary Pokemon be based on King Arthur and Sir Gallhad? And if they are doing a Britain, there has to be a Harry Potter reference. 

[henrymidfields]

It's more modern history would be how the region grew into a superpower that spanned the entire globe, like how the British Empire was. And this could be reflected on the variety of Pokemon found:

• Whatever tropical Pokemon they could get comes from Poke!Malaysia, sub-Sahara Poke!Africa, and some of the British Carribean Islands. They can be found in a Crystal Palace (or Kew Gardens) inspired Safari Park.
• Kangaskahn would be from Poke!Australia, and introduced in a Crystal Palace (or Kew Gardens) inspired Safari Park.
• Some past-generation Pokemon that would be found in Gen 1-4 are introduced by Galar advisors to Meiji Poke-Japan.
• Torkoal and its evolution were the first Pokemon to power steam used for the turbines and mills across Galar in the late 17th and early 18th Centuries. They were also good indicators of where coal could be found to power the steam engines. They would be used for the iron-making furnaces in the 19th Century, while the steam engine around the same time would be powered by actual coal, and then oil/electricity afterwards.
• Stray Voltorbs and Electrodes were initially introduced when the first mass-produced Pokeballs came into the market around the 1920s. They were employed by both the Royal Galarian (or Saxceltian?) Air Force and the Luftwaffe from Nazi Teutonia (Poke!Germany) to bomb each other out during the Second World War. Nowadays, however, the stray population of Voltorbs and Electrodes of today are the results of the negative legacy between the Poke!Irish freedom fighters/terrorists (depending on how you look at the Troubles) vs the Galarians during the mid-to-late 20th Century. Smuggled from the RGAF after WW2, they were used in various terrorist and assassination plots, although some escaped from the scene to go native. What was particularly nasty about them were the fact that they looked like Pokeballs, which lead to many tragic injuries and death on the unsuspecting civilians.

Edited May 21, 2019 by henrymidfields