Christopher Salguero, Period 7, 10/27/23

     For many years, video game developers have been using their games as a form to tell stories, many of which get inspiration from mythology. One video game franchise that does this is Pokémon, many aspects of these beloved games can be related or are even fully taken from mythology. This series of games in particular also goes above and beyond by creating its own mythology and story of how the world came to be.

The world of Pokémon is a large and very populated one with over one thousand different species of Pokémon and counting.  Many of these Pokémon are inspired by mythology and mythological creatures. Some examples of these Pokémon include Gyrados, Ninetails, and Trevenant. Gyrados and Magikarp were inspired by the Japanese waterfall legend in which koi fish who are able to swim upstream turn into powerful dragons, Magikarp goes from a practically useless Pokémon to one strong enough to fight alongside you. Ninetails is inspired by a Japanese mythical creature known as the kitsune, they share many attributes such as their many tails and immense wisdom as they live for many years. The last example, Trevenant, is inspired by haunted trees and forest spirits. Within the world of Pokémon, he is known for protecting the forest and harming those who attempt to harm their homes. 

      These however are just “regular” Pokémon, there are other Pokémon known as legendary who can be compared to gods in mythology. These “legendary” Pokémon tend to have control over specific parts of the world or have god-like abilities that put them in a different league from regular Pokémon. Unlike other Pokémon, legendaries are unique and there is commonly only one of each legendary pokemon in the world with few exceptions. Two examples of this are Kyogre and Groudon, one controlling the seas and the other controlling the land. Both of these Pokémon are opposites and rule over separate parts of the world, but much like many gods in myths we’ve learned about, they fight as they are not content with the power they currently hold and just want more. One of these legendaries is known as the god of the Pokémon world, Arceus, who created the world and every Pokémon in it.

Within the mythology of many cultures there is typically a creation story of how the world came to be. The creation myth of the Pokémon universe begins with a small egg containing the first ever Pokémon, Arceus. Once emerged from his egg, Arceus begins to shape the world starting by creating three Pokémon to rule time, space, and antimatter. These three Pokémon go by the names of Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. These three are known as the “creation trio” and they are responsible for maintaining the balance in the world. Giratina follows a kind of fallen angel trope in which he strays away from god and rules a realm of chaos known as the distortion realm. There is also a trio of lake guardians that Arceus creates in order to provide knowledge, emotion, and willpower within the world; their names were Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. Despite creating so many legendary pokemon, one of the most important of Arceus’ creations is Mew. Mew is known as the ancestor to all Pokémon and it is believed that Mew contains the genetic information of all Pokémon. This can be related to Adam and Eve and how they are believed to be the ancestors of all human life. 

In conclusion, video games as a whole play a huge role in teaching the younger youth about mythology and serve as a modern way of storytelling. Pokémon does a wonderful job at adding aspects from many different culture’s mythology and even creating its own mythology based on them. Despite the fact that this is done within many video games, I personally believe that Pokémon does it best.