Religion in Pokémon Up until Generation IV, religion within the Pokémon games was a topic hardly ever talked about. The Pokémon franchise has always been walking on thin ice and organised religion has always kept a keen watch over the series, never missing an opportunity to skew ideas. True be told, Pokémon is an eastern game adapted into a western culture and is riddled with images and elements that may be sensitive to a western audience; some even believe that Pokémon contains some sort of hidden ideological message. So demonstrating religion in a Pokémon game is risky business. That being said, there still are hints of religion sprinkled in here and there that serve as a reminder that some people of the Pokémon world share some sort of faith or belief in something beyond the physical world. Earlier on the series, these took the form of shrines or structures that have been built as a place of worship or an appeasement to the gods. In Generation IV, religious themes take the spotlight in the games and it is here where we learn the origins of Pokémon ideologies and traditions, and the creation narratives known and believed by humans of the Pokémon world. However before going on, a distinction must be made between religion and ideals in the Pokémon world. Both are bound together by belief systems; however, religion is an institution of laws and stories that are believed to be true based on faith, whereas the ideals of the Pokémon world are the general attitudes and values of people in the Pokémon world which I will discuss separately due to its broadness and intrigue. For example there is a generic belief that humans and Pokémon share a symbiotic connection, however, this is not a religious belief. Instead, I will explore modes and methods of worship in the Pokémon world and the entity of said worship. In a strict sense, there have been no names given to any religion seen in the Pokémon world, a situation dissimilar to the real world which has a habit of sectionalising and institutionalising beliefs by name. Christianity has plenty of different branches which are broken apart by belief and pinpointed by name and church. This allows for easy identification of beliefs, values, and teachings but also hearkens a notion of separation. Catholicism and Protestantism, for example, have easily separate teachings—a separation which is hardened by the allocation of names to each separating them ideologically. Pokémon does not seem to have retained this approach of belief. In the contemporary Pokémon world, different people have varying opinions and beliefs in regarding where they come from and why they are here, but most people share a common belief that there is a spiritual connection between humans and nature which are considered separate entities in their eyes. Humans are seen as separate beings from nature and Pokémon but they share an intricate link binding them both together. Pokémon and nature are one side of the scale while humans are on the other side; both sides balance each one out. However, if anything is done to upset this balance, the entire spiritual system can be offset. Most people tend to follow this belief, however Atheism (or the Pokémon equivalent) in the Pokémon world isn’t unheard of. A lot of people remain agnostic or prefer not to talk about the Pokémon world on such a deep level. As far as churches go, the Pokémon world has a surprising number of equivalents. Pokémon burial sites are considered sacred in a strange sort of way. Entire building are built to house the dead bodies of Pokémon, deeming it a place to contain their spirits. Many people visit these burial sites daily to pay their respects to the fallen. The passing of a Pokémon deeply impacts even those who aren’t emotionally connected to that individual Pokemon, however it is evident that these sites aren’t just a place to house dead Pokémon and are more or less a place of spiritual significance. The humans that mourn are in deep lament; these places are vital from humans to connect spiritually with Pokémon. Celestial Tower in Unova has a bell atop the highest point of the tower that can be heard from all corners of the region. The bell is considered to purify the spirit. These structures are a place for humans to worship and lament the spirits of Pokémon that have passed from this world, making them a place of spiritual significance. Burial sites aren’t the only place of worship in the Pokémon world; Hearthome City in Sinnoh houses the Foreign Building, which is shaped like a real world western cathedral complete with stain glass windows and pews. But there is something different about this place of worship; the building seems more centralised on one specific belief system. Most people worshiping there talk of a spiritual balance between nature and people. They note love and compassion as ineffable forces. And for the first time do we encounter the Pokémon equivalent of religious imagery. The stain glass window that dominates the room depicts a mountain with some kind of explosion originating from its peak and a ring encircling around it. It is not hard to determine that this is most likely Mt. Coronet given its historical and mythological significance throughout the region as the mountain that is “the origin of Sinnoh.” The mountain’s peak, as the tale goes, is the resting place for Arceus, the “Original One”, after it created the universe and everything in it. The common creation narrative goes as following: In the beginning, there was only a churning turmoil of chaos. At the heart of chaos, where all things became one, appeared an Egg. Having tumbled from the vortex, the Egg gave rise to the Original One. From itself, two beings the Original One did make. Time started to spin. Space began to expand. From itself again, three living things the Original One did make. The two beings wished, and from them, matter came to be. The three living things wished, and from them, spirit came to be. The world created, the Original One took to unyielding sleep… So there is definitely a connection between the teachings of the Foreign Building and Sinnoh’s creation myth. So most of the worshippers hold the belief that the mythology of Sinnoh is true and the universe was created by a Pokémon, the Alpha Pokémon. Both Cynthia and an enigmatic Sinnoh mythologist, attempt to find truth where there is only myth. They both believe that myths are based on some sort of truth that was lost in the collective conscience. When discussing the cave paintings in the Celestic Town caves, Cynthia states: “A long time ago, I wonder what sort of person painted this? Dialga’s Roar of Time… Palkia’s Spacial Rend…To the people back then, those Pokémon really must have appeared to rule over time and space. Seeing them must have shaken the people to their very core. This painting represents those feelings of awe, wonder, and everything else. It passed that memory to countless people, eventually becoming a myth…” Cynthia in researching these stories finds herself beginning to believe them as evidence begins to stack up. She also reveals that people of the yesteryear hailed these Pokémon as gods; these Pokémon were worshiped, but this isn’t the first instance of Pokémon worship in the Pokémon world. Humans of the past have worshipped Pokémon since they have existed together, hailing different Pokémon throughout history as gods, while worshiping others as harbingers of good tidings or some sort of spiritual enlightener. Markings in braille etched in the wall of the Sealed Chamber in Hoenn point to the worship of Regigigas and its three creations, while an old shrine in Ilex Forest of Johto is said to ward away evil spirits residing in the forest and points toward the worship of Celebi who guards the forest. In both instances we can see that humans have conceptualised certain Pokémon as god-like beings and are able to bring about unworldly forces. Whether or not this is true, it is the rarity of the Pokémon that decides human’s tendency to worship them. Most Pokémon that humans worship (except for a few cases) do not hold any sort of supernatural power; it is their scarcity of appearing before humans that deems it legendary status. These Pokémon are talked about, and portrayed in paintings, books, or just in the collective conscience as stories. As the Pokémon becomes less and less sighted, their status as legends enhances to the point of worship. A lore is created and tales, whether fable or fact, are wove together. While just being regular Pokémon, they are looks upon by humans as gods. Just like in real life, there are plenty of myths and stories in the Pokémon world that explain how and why we are here. We can say with almost absolute certainty that the world was created by Arceus, the “Original One”, who was born out of the chaos and nothingness and gave life to the universe. However, this was never about the creation of the Pokémon universe alone, this was about the beliefs and religion of people within the Pokémon world. Some people worship specific Pokémon, while others worshiped the universal scale holding nature and humans in balance. Whatever the case, religion in the Pokémon world is certainly not lacking and you’ll find that most people in the Pokémon world believe in one thing or another. Despite what the Pokémon franchise would have you believe, the Pokémon world is not empty of religious content.

How Do Poké Balls Work? Poké Balls are the most common technology used in the Pokémon world and pretty much the most vital item to a questing Pokémon Trainer. They are small (about the same size as a baseball), spherical objects that are used as storage devices for Trainers to hold their Pokémon in. If a Pokémon Trainer wishes to acquire a wild Pokemon, they throw an empty Poké Ball at it in an attempt to “capture” the Pokemon. If the Pokemon is successfully caught then the Poké Ball will become filled; occupied by that Pokémon and that Pokémon alone until the Trainer severs the Pokémon's tie with that Poké Ball. Poké Balls are a strange and mysterious object of which there is no parallel in real life and it seems quite perplexing that a Pokémon as big as Wailord or Onix is able to be held in such a small space. The mechnics of it is long and confusing and has never been fully explained; however, one may be able to piece the puzzle together to fully explain the mysteries behind how the Poké Ball actually functions and what technology is behind it all. A lot of answers can be found by looking into the history of the Poké Ball. The invention of the modern Poké Ball is a fairly recent one. Opelucid’s Gym Leader Drayden claims that the standard Poké Ball didn’t exist during his childhood, and Pokemon were easily able to disobey and escape their Trainer. Given Drayden’s age, the era of the Poké Ball could have only began 50-60 years ago. So the modern Poké Ball is fairly young; there is still research going on right now to draw out the full potential of the Poké Ball. During the events of Generation I, Silph Company was still doing research into the conception of a perfect Poké Ball with the ability to catch a Pokemon with 100% capture precision. Master Balls, as they are dubbed, are incredibly rare and sought after; even to the point where Team Rocket attempted a hostile takeover of Silph Co. headquarters to find the blueprints for the fabled device. In addition to this, the gardens of Parfum Palace in Kalos listed the statues of the giant Poké Ball as a recent addition to the collection. So if the modern Poké Ball is so young, where did it originate from? What come before it? People have used Pokémon since the dawn of time. Trainers still owned Pokemon regardless of whether they were tethered to a Poké Ball. These Pokémon were used similarly to what they are used for today. There have been historical documents as well as folklore of Pokémon being used for battle in wars and one another. There have even been historic records of humans and Pokémon fighting. So humans had always held an ownership of Pokemon that long transcended the Poké Ball. It wasn’t until the discovery of Apricorns as capture devices when the concept of capturing Pokemon come to life. Apricorn are the Pokémon equivalent to the real world acorn. Roughly the size of Poke Balls, apricorns are an edible fruit that grow on certain trees. They have a hard outer layer and a delicious center that can be blended and made into a juice that is popular among Pokémon. Around 400-700 years ago, people discovered the insides of an apricorn could be hollowed out leaving a hard shell that could be fitted with a special device that allowed Trainers to carry their Pokémon wherever they went. There also seemed to be variations of abilities and capture rates of each ball depending on the type of apricorn used; Poké Balls crafted from Yellow Apricorns have a better capture strength for Pokémon that evolve while being exposed to a Moon Stone, Poké Balls crafted from Pink Apricorns have a better capture strength for Pokémon of the opposite gender, and so on. From there these devices grew in popularity and became the inspiration for the shape and size of the standard Poké Ball which are now mass-produced and sold all around the world. Poké Balls made from apricorns quickly phased out but it is not a forgotten art; Poké Ball specialists such as the infamous Kurt still craft Poké Balls from apricorns, though it is a rare skill to have and Poké Balls made from apricorns are considered rare antiquities as opposed to the mass-produced and mass-marketed Poké Ball. The standard Poké Ball remains the most well-known technology in existence; the design of the ball is an unequivocal universal icon and symbol to identify places and objects used for Pokémon training and battling. To this day, the standard red and white coloured Poké Ball remains the most common ball of use. However there are different balls on the market, each with their own colour scheme and patterns to denote their variants of effect and capture strength. From its use back 400-700 odd years ago, the Poké Ball mechanics remain relatively the same. Once an uncaptured Pokémon makes contact with a ball, and given that the Poké Ball’s seal is able to hold itself during the initial capture, the Poké Ball tethers itself to the Pokémon. Once the Poké Ball becomes linked with the Pokémon, the ball somewhat registers itself to that Pokémon and the Pokémon is unable to be captured again while it is linked to that Poké Ball. Note that it is the Poké Ball that is tethered to the Pokémon and not vice versa: a Pokémon Trainer is able to break the link between Poké Ball and Pokémon, however the Poké Ball becomes useless afterwards and is unable to capture another Pokémon. This is also true during the initial capturing of a Pokemon; if the Pokémon breaks loose before the Poké Ball links itself with the Pokémon, the ball becomes unusable and the Trainer must try again with a new ball. The method and technology behind it seems relatively unchanged too, at least on a physical level. The Poké Ball, once establishing a physical link with its target, converts the Pokemon into energy and pulls it inside the ball itself. What kind of energy it transfers it to is unknown; but what is known is that the Poké Ball does not hold the Pokémon physically. The Pokémon is neither shrunken nor crammed in; rather it is kept in a perpetual state of potential energy inside the device until the ball is opened and this energy is released. The device within the Poké Ball seems to contain this energy in one place. What it is like in this state is unknown; however the Pokemon retains some level of sentience and conscience and is able to resist the seal of the Poké Ball. Pokémon who have a strong will are able to struggle against the tight seal of the ball and release themselves. If the Pokémon fails to break the seal of the ball in time, the Poké Ball locks itself (for lack of a better word) and the Pokémon will become permanently tethered to the ball. Another thing that has been established is that Pokémon inside their Poké Ball are not uncomfortable. It is not known what a Pokémon experiences while in their Poké Ball; however it is known that the Poké Ball “replicate[s] a “Pokémon-friendly” environment that is “designed for comfort”. The Super Smash Bros. Melee Poké Ball description points out that “once they’re inside a Poké Ball, [Pokémon] enjoy their new home, since Poké Balls contain an environment specially designed for Pokémon comfort.” In addition to this, a Poké Ball is designed to be appealing to its Pokémon. Sinnoh’s Elite Four Lucian discusses a paper on the relationship between Pokémon and Poké Ball stating: One article addresses the question why Pokémon would go into a Poké Ball. According to this article, this behavior is based on instinct. A weakened Pokémon will curl up tight in an effort to heal itself. The Poké Ball was invented to take advantage of that protective instinct. So Poké Balls not only detain but encourage the Pokémon through instinct to keep themselves inside their Poké Ball. However in saying this, not all Pokémon like to be kept inside their Poké Ball with one obvious example from the anime (which is not considered part of the game’s cannon but still serves as an excellent example) being Ash’s Pikachu and subsequently Red’s Pikachu in Pokémon Yellow. Amity Square in Hearthome City is specifically designed with this in mind; allowing captured Pokémon a chance to stretch their legs and walk with their Trainer. Although these Pokémon enjoy the freedom outside their Poké Ball, it is important to note that these Pokémon do in fact have Poké Ball that they are linked to. Most Trainers carry it around with them, while some leave them at home or keep them somewhere that is not on their person, suggesting that Pokémon and their Poké Ball are not bounded by geographical distance; however, the Trainer does have to be within a certain proximity for the ball to retrieve the Pokémon. The Poké Ball in all sense seems to be a somewhat magical device, able to store even the largest Pokémon in a small capsule. But this is just the norm in the Pokémon world, and it is mostly just scientific advancement and development that allowed the advent of such a mysterious technology to arise. The making of the device has plenty of history; but the standard Poké Ball is now just a consumable item, and its mundane nature committed it to be cultural icon in the Pokémon world–a symbol for Pokémon battle and trade. Indeed, the Poké Ball has engraved itself into culture and the technology is secretive and enigmatic, but it certainly isn’t the magical device that everyone makes it out to be.