4th Gen The Church in Hearthome..

[Volkner's Apprentice]

Doesn't it seem...really unnecessary? I mean at first I'm like, "oh how lovely! A cathedral! Well I bet there's something spiritual inside or maybe a nice preacher who gives me something" but it's just like, nine characters saying "joy, happiness, Pokemon!'

Not..that that isn't nice and all, its just..it could have had a neat purpose. XD

 

[Queen]

Never heard of this church, does this only appear in Platinum?

 

[Cynic Kaka]

My friend said that Nintendo put it there for a future event, where you fight all the legendaries, from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, all at the same time, and they're all level 100, and you can't catch them.

I didn't believe him. *Obviously.*

The church is a waste of pixels :D

 

[iPochama]

I think its relevant to the anime or something. @ _ @
But it is pretty, and you have to give hearthome a little bit of culture, and it also has a bit of foreshadowing, if you look at the stained glass.

 

[Alakazam17]

Yeah, I've went in there a few times, but there is nothing of consequence going on in there. One of the few uniquely-looking buildings with nothing to do in them. XD

The only other such place that comes to mind is the little hotel in Celadon City. Nothing to do in there but get yelled at for thinking it was a Pokemon Centre-which I didn't. XD

 

[Volkner's Apprentice]

I think its relevant to the anime or something. @ _ @
But it is pretty, and you have to give hearthome a little bit of culture, and it also has a bit of foreshadowing, if you look at the stained glass.

It is quite nice ^^ and yes! I noticed the Coronet Mountain in the glass, still though, it could have been like a cool scene.

 

[Haza]

I always thought it would be related to Arceus somehow but I guess not. Its in all three games BTW. Its really just pointless.

 

[Silhouette]

I thought something special happened when you went there Easter or Christmas day. But alas, it's still just a boring, pointless building.

 

[Volkner's Apprentice]

I thought something special happened when you went there Easter or Christmas day. But alas, it's still just a boring, pointless building.

^This kind of thing definitely needs to happen. If they made Pokemon more fun with daily/weekly/holiday events (BRING BACK THE BUG CATCHING CONTESTS) and maybe like Animal Crossing/Zelda where you had trade sequences and gift exchanges, it'd make for something to do when you're not battling.

Alas, the poor cathedral shall remain meaningless.

 

[randomspot555]

It's not a church (though it is based off of a real-life church from the town Hearthome is based off of). It's the Foreign Building, or Foreign Culture Building in the Japanese release. The Town Map says it's there to highlight what an attraction Hearthome is to tourists/outsiders. There are tons of visitors in Hearthome, either from other Sinnoh Towns or from other regions. A person from Hoenn is actually in the FCB.

As for the point, it's the same point as half of the NPC's: They talk about the Pokemon world and the importance of bonding with Pokemon.

 

[Haza]

It's not a church (though it is based off of a real-life church from the town Hearthome is based off of). It's the Foreign Building, or Foreign Culture Building in the Japanese release. The Town Map says it's there to highlight what an attraction Hearthome is to tourists/outsiders. There are tons of visitors in Hearthome, either from other Sinnoh Towns or from other regions. A person from Hoenn is actually in the FCB.

As for the point, it's the same point as half of the NPC's: They talk about the Pokemon world and the importance of bonding with Pokemon.

U can say that but it looks an awful lot like one with stained glass and old look and all. And in the US translation I think its meant to be.

 

[randomspot555]

U can say that but it looks an awful lot like one with stained glass and old look and all. And in the US translation I think its meant to be.

Looks don't mean anything. It's obvious it's based off of one, just like Ho-Oh's temple is based off of a real-life Buddhist temple.

It's equally obvious that it isn't a church, considering the complete lack of any reference to religion, let alone Christianity (which is what a church is, a place of worship for Christians).

 

[Penumbra]

It's not a church (though it is based off of a real-life church from the town Hearthome is based off of). It's the Foreign Building, or Foreign Culture Building in the Japanese release. The Town Map says it's there to highlight what an attraction Hearthome is to tourists/outsiders. There are tons of visitors in Hearthome, either from other Sinnoh Towns or from other regions. A person from Hoenn is actually in the FCB.

As for the point, it's the same point as half of the NPC's: They talk about the Pokemon world and the importance of bonding with Pokemon.​

Thank you. someone who points out worth in the church. It's kind of rude how you're just
bashing the church, claiming it's pointless. If it was pointless, it wouldn't be in the game.

Pokemon is supposed to reflect real-life, therefore the church. Arceus is their God, and therefore, the people must have some sort of worship house. The church was and is my favourite building in the three games. It's so down-to-earth and the feel is so rustic. The people do mention the
importance between bonds of the player and pokemon. Just slashing it away because no one gives you anything is quite a greedy response to the thought and effort they put into the building. Also, look at the stained-glass windows. There's a great shining light atop Mt.Coronet. Can anyone spell something from the message this window conveys? It serves an ever greater purpose in Platinum, as Cynthia reveals the cave scratch paintings in Celestic town could also represent Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, as opposed to limiting it to Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. The light sphere in the middle will obviously represent Arceus, and thus, the connection between the church and Sinnoh and the whole pokemon world's backstory is linked.

And you people say it has no meaning. Pfft.
​

 

[Haza]

Looks don't mean anything. It's obvious it's based off of one, just like Ho-Oh's temple is based off of a real-life Buddhist temple.

It's equally obvious that it isn't a church, considering the complete lack of any reference to religion, let alone Christianity (which is what a church is, a place of worship for Christians).

Well of course they wouldn't come right out and say that, the Christians already think Pokemon is the devil! Lol

 

[Volkner's Apprentice]

And you people say it has no meaning. Pfft.

Since that would take up so much space, I'll just quote this. XD

It's a video game, not a religion, I wasn't posting this saying "wow, why would they put a dumb church in here?"

I was saying the building itself could have had a point; no one even gives you an item inside, but a lot of NPC houses in the town do just that. You could get a Pokémon inside or Team Galactic could ruin the peacefulness and attempt to burn down the beautiful building, but nothing happens. XD That's all I mean.

Of course the God-like Pokémon concepts are interesting, though, and I already agreed of the foreshadowing it presents with Mt. Coronet in the stained glass.

 

[randomspot555]

Well of course they wouldn't come right out and say that, the Christians already think Pokemon is the devil! Lol

lolz! I can't make an actual argument so I'll just say something k00l!

Anyway, I'm not going to continue posting that it isn't a church. I know it's cool to make Pokemon into your own personal fan fic. It's a building called the Foreign Culture Building, based off of a real-life church (like many buildings in Pokemon are based off of real life buildings). But it isn't a church, it's not about religion, blah blah blah blah.

 

[Volkner's Apprentice]

lolz! I can't make an actual argument so I'll just say something k00l!

Anyway, I'm not going to continue posting that it isn't a church. I know it's cool to make Pokemon into your own personal fan fic. It's a building called the Foreign Culture Building, based off of a real-life church (like many buildings in Pokemon are based off of real life buildings). But it isn't a church, it's not about religion, blah blah blah blah.

Actually, you're right. XD I just zoomed in on my town map and checked the info for that corner of Hearthome.

"There is a building here that is symbolic of the city's status as a place where different cultures meet."

They don't make that clear at all though, if that's the actual building they're referring too. There should be like, Kanto/Johto/Hoenn meetings going on inside-make it a convention! XD I like the big fun gatherings in the games, that's why I'm psyched to get to the Battle Frontier.

 

[randomspot555]

Actually, you're right. XD I just zoomed in on my town map and checked the info for that corner of Hearthome.

"There is a building here that is symbolic of the city's status as a place where different cultures meet."

Well, there's the Poffin place or the Poke Mart, or the Foreign Culture Building. Take a wild guess at which one it's talking about.

 

[syphilis]

i'm still convinced that you can play the organ inside after defeating the three naga-ettes and go to the basement.

 

[§]

I doubt the "church" (notice the quotes) has any real meaning. As someone mentioned before, it shows Mt. Coronet in the stained glass.

EDIT: I will tie this into my last few paragraphs. Mt. Coronet (Spear Piller --> Hall of Origin) is where Dialga, Palkia and Arceus are all found, which is the underlying foundation of this religion.

Someone also mentioned how Pokemon resembles real life, and real-life people believe in a God, in this case Arceus. Neither in the Anime or in the games did we ever find out if there was a religion, we are supposed to assume that everyone believes in Arceus. There is no underlying religion based on Pokemon (not even fictional), but we are supposed to assume that the church is meant as a place of worship (for tourists and localers), since Pokemon is leaning towards a religion.

We can also assume the exact opposite, that Arceus is God, meaning it created everything, as in the Big Bang theory. God and Devil are pure opposites, so there must be some kind of Devil, which we cannot relate Darkrai to since it would not follow the pattern (unless Shaymin is neutral).

The "church" in Hearthome has no real meaning, but to let us assume that there is an underlying religion behind Pokemon, and that people (NPC's) are here to worship Arceus, or some other Pokemon.