Arceus: The Anti-Antichrist?

[Outlier]

Most people who have been following Pokemon since the beginning will probably remember the complaints that the franchise has received for the prominent use of evolution in its games.

Dealing with special interest groups can be a real pain. Especially if those special interest groups are aiming for your head and have the power to influence many potential consumers out of buying your product.

So I ask you PC, do you believe that Arceus, the God of all Pokemon was created just to appease the religious people who had labeled Pokemon a blasphemous children's game?

 

[Nah]

Nah, I don't think it was created for that reason. There isn't really anyone who views Pokemon evolution as a blasphemous thing in Japan and eastern Asia (as far as I know). GameFreak and Nintendo don't really care that much about what America or any Western countries think about their games, so I find it unlikely. And Arceus most likely isn't based off of the Judeo-Christian god; it's more similar to deities from Eastern religions/mythologies like Pangu, Kunitokotachi, or Amenominakanushi.

I do wish those people would stfu about Pokemon and evolution though. Pokemon evolution is not the same as biological evolution. Not like it matters

 

[BadPokemon]

I'm a Christian, and I personally don't have a problem with it. The evolution thing in the games are totally different. Arceus was probably made to add to the pokemon lore.

 

[Oragtto]

Game Freak has used different ideas and concepts for each legendary and a few choice Pokemon. They used religion in two counts I can recall. Garitina with the inverse world or whatever its called is hel for Pokemon(If hell was like(If hell exist depending of rel) that I wouldn't really mind going there) and Arceus. I don't think Arceus was used to please anybody more than fans of the franchise :)

 

[Sopheria]

Most people who have been following Pokemon since the beginning will probably remember the complaints that the franchise has received for the prominent use of evolution in its games.

Dealing with special interest groups can be a real pain. Especially if those special interest groups are aiming for your head and have the power to influence many potential consumers out of buying your product.

So I ask you PC, do you believe that Arceus, the God of all Pokemon was created just to appease the religious people who had labeled Pokemon a blasphemous children's game?

I remember that quite clearly. It was literally the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Funny thing is, evolution in Pokemon is more like metamorphosis than evolution.

I don't think GameFreak added Arceus to appease those people, because I doubt they care much about appeasing them. I think they did it because for the first 4 generations they followed a trend of making legendary Pokemon more and more powerful, and it culminated with the Pokegod.

 

[Tek]

I was discussing Arceus' possible origins in another thread, seems relevant here:

On the subject of where Arceus' egg would have come from, I am reminded very much of the Vedanta Hindu view of existence. Vedanta states three things that are all held to be simultaneously true: 1- The world (objective, observable reality) is an illusion. 2- Brahman (subjective consciousness, feeling-awareness) alone is real. 3- Brahman is the world.

While paradoxical, I feel that this is an accurate description of the world. The observer and the observed arise together or not at all. And while they are different things, they are not separate things. Consider that the moon does not wait to cast it's reflection in the water, and without the moon, or without the water, there is no reflection.

So perhaps it is the case that Arceus' legend is a metaphor for this view of reality. This is also consistent with how well-versed the team at GF is in Eastern mythology.

Part of Arceus' legend involves it having 1000 arms, which is reminiscent of Krishna, a Hindu deity.

I actually think that making a Pokémon into a creator God would offend the type of person that is offended by the alleged 'poisoning of children's minds with all this evolution nonsense.' Arceus would fall into the category of a false idol or deceiver or some form of sacrilege.



I'm reminded of the two kids chasing each other around the Daycare in Pokémon B/W. One kid says the type of stuff you would expect, while the other kid says something along the lines of 'Do you chase me or do I chase you? Change your perspective, and the reality changes.' This is a very post-rational statement, and it indicates to me that the game's developers are aware that people at different stages of life will view the game and its messages differently, according to their worldview.

On the topic of worldviews, I'd like to mention that not all religious people are conformist and ethnocentric. Religion exists at all points along the developmental ladder, just like ethics or cognition.

 

[Flushed]

I guess I'm not too familiar with the arguments against Pokemon, but my first reaction to this was mainly questioning whether these opponents of the games actually paid attention to the details, and whether they'd even be aware of a single Pokemon such as Arceus. Or I could be mistaken, and these people do actually play, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

 

[Golden Warrior]

The arguments of Pokemon evolution being linked to real world Darwin evolution is very easily debunked (as a matter of fact many people have... multiple times.) But, I personally think that Arceus was just made to add to Pokemon lore and maybe make the Pokemon universe seem a little more mystic than having all Pokemon originate from a pink cat, which is what I'm pretty sure the original lore was.

Who can really say though?

 

[Tek]

I guess I'm not too familiar with the arguments against Pokemon, but my first reaction to this was mainly questioning whether these opponents of the games actually paid attention to the details, and whether they'd even be aware of a single Pokemon such as Arceus. Or I could be mistaken, and these people do actually play, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

I don't think the sort of person that takes offense at pokemon is likely to know the game thoroughly. And often, once someone has reached the conclusion that pokemon is somehow bad for kids, there seems to be a reluctance to change that initial conclusion regardless of any counter-evidence.

 

[Sydian]

If anything, I think it'd offend religious people even more now that this already satanic series has a god. lol

Arceus was probably made to add to the pokemon lore.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Considering Sinnoh is full of legends and lore (check out that library!), it makes sense that the god of Pokemon was introduced during this generation.