Masterge77
Robot Mienshao
- 1,083
- Posts
- 17
- Years
- Sinnoh Region
- Seen Dec 13, 2022
Personally, I like a mix of both, but with a balance between the two. Pokemon has always been embedded in fantasy since the beginning, but when it adds more realism is where I feel the franchise can truly shine, because it makes the world more believable like it's a real place, with events that can be relatable. When it does mainly fantasy, I like it best when it's not overdone and it takes away my suspension of disbelief, although it does add to the mythology of the Pokemon world while realism adds more to the characters and situations that make it more relatable.
Something I have noticed is that odd-numbered generations tend to rely more on real-world elements like Gen 1 and 5 with a bit of the fantasy elements mixed in, while the even-numbered generations tend to dwelve into fantasy a lot more. The two most recent generations are prime examples: Gen 5 had most of the fantasy elements take back-seat in favor of a more realistic situation with antagonists who weren't blatantly evil but had a point in that they believed that humanity should learn how to solve it's own problems rather than relying on Pokemon for everything which nobody had taken too much notice to, as well as characters being put into more realistic situations like how Bianca's father is concerned about her safety, or the way Ghetsis treats his son as a tool rather than a human being. The fantasy elements in Gen 5 tie in with the legendaries of Reshiram and Zekrom representing more complex ideas rather than simply being elemental kaiju or reality-warping gods, but essentially beings of two different classes of order. There's no real "right" or "wrong" side and having the player piece together their own conclusions as to what they think is right in a deconstructive fashion.
Gen 6, on the other hand, threw the realism away in favor of some strange epic involving ancient super-weapons, immortal giants and the concept of an "infinite energy" produced by sacrificing living creatures reminiscent of the creation of a Philosopher's Stone in the anime series Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, as well as the concept of a "super form" for Pokemon in the form of Mega Evolutions along with more cheesy concepts that relied more on the bonds between Pokemon and their trainers, almost completely abandoning the complex and deconstructive realism Gen 5 had like they couldn't top it or something.
On another topic related to the use of more fantasy elements over realism in Gen 6, one thing about X/Y that's bothered me for a while is that it seems like the legendaries are just thrown in at the last minute and have barely any build-up to their appearance, being only BARELY mentioned once or twice before the final showdown with Lysandre. Previous generations starting with Gen 3 built up to the legendaries appearance, but in Gen 6 they are just thrown in, especially since the Ultimate Weapon can do the exact same things the legendaries can, so why would it be needed at all. If anything, it's possible they forgot about the legendaries until the last minute and shoehorned them in, or executive meddling had a part in that they didn't want there to be legendaries to call back to the first two generations, but were told to put them in anyways with the same properties as the weapon. Your guess is as good as mine as to why this is, but it's just something I have taken notice to that does relate to the use of fantasy elements.
I mean, I love the fantasy elements, but I personally like a balance between reality and fantasy to make an interesting story that people will enjoy.
Something I have noticed is that odd-numbered generations tend to rely more on real-world elements like Gen 1 and 5 with a bit of the fantasy elements mixed in, while the even-numbered generations tend to dwelve into fantasy a lot more. The two most recent generations are prime examples: Gen 5 had most of the fantasy elements take back-seat in favor of a more realistic situation with antagonists who weren't blatantly evil but had a point in that they believed that humanity should learn how to solve it's own problems rather than relying on Pokemon for everything which nobody had taken too much notice to, as well as characters being put into more realistic situations like how Bianca's father is concerned about her safety, or the way Ghetsis treats his son as a tool rather than a human being. The fantasy elements in Gen 5 tie in with the legendaries of Reshiram and Zekrom representing more complex ideas rather than simply being elemental kaiju or reality-warping gods, but essentially beings of two different classes of order. There's no real "right" or "wrong" side and having the player piece together their own conclusions as to what they think is right in a deconstructive fashion.
Gen 6, on the other hand, threw the realism away in favor of some strange epic involving ancient super-weapons, immortal giants and the concept of an "infinite energy" produced by sacrificing living creatures reminiscent of the creation of a Philosopher's Stone in the anime series Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, as well as the concept of a "super form" for Pokemon in the form of Mega Evolutions along with more cheesy concepts that relied more on the bonds between Pokemon and their trainers, almost completely abandoning the complex and deconstructive realism Gen 5 had like they couldn't top it or something.
On another topic related to the use of more fantasy elements over realism in Gen 6, one thing about X/Y that's bothered me for a while is that it seems like the legendaries are just thrown in at the last minute and have barely any build-up to their appearance, being only BARELY mentioned once or twice before the final showdown with Lysandre. Previous generations starting with Gen 3 built up to the legendaries appearance, but in Gen 6 they are just thrown in, especially since the Ultimate Weapon can do the exact same things the legendaries can, so why would it be needed at all. If anything, it's possible they forgot about the legendaries until the last minute and shoehorned them in, or executive meddling had a part in that they didn't want there to be legendaries to call back to the first two generations, but were told to put them in anyways with the same properties as the weapon. Your guess is as good as mine as to why this is, but it's just something I have taken notice to that does relate to the use of fantasy elements.
I mean, I love the fantasy elements, but I personally like a balance between reality and fantasy to make an interesting story that people will enjoy.
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