The world ofPokemonis a vast and mysterious place. Every corner is filled with magical creatures, and every human settlement is dotted with rumors and local legends. Many of these locations have vastly different environments, enabling them to support a massive variety of Pokemon. Climates are so different between the various islands and nations of thePokemonworld, that a species brought to a different region may radically shift in abilities to adapt. The full scope of this world is not clear, and will probably never be fully defined, but it grows with every new entry.
At this point, the number of regions, islands, and other areas in thePokemonworld have grown to a staggering number. The settings of the mainline games are one thing, but there are plenty of other placesfound in thePokemonspin-offs. New titles tend not to take place in the same region as others unless they are remakes, so a new location is featured in almost every game. While these may not all introduce new Pokemon, they can still offer unique looks atPokemon’s universe.
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Regions Found in the Core Pokemon Series
Normally,Pokemongames have a rigid structure behind their regions. They all introduce a Pokemon League or equivalent challenge, a series of locations needed to progress that challenge, and a number of different environments found along the way to house different species of Pokemon.Legendary creatures are tucked awayin various corners of the map, and players will need to gain field moves or Ride Pokemon to open more places up for exploration. Many of these places are island nations, though they are large enough that islands with extra content near them are still referred to as such. The corePokemongames’ areas are:
Many of these places sport different cultures that ensure they will not be mistaken for one another. Kanto, the Sevii Islands, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh all take inspiration from different islands making up Japan, and are referred to by Professor Oak in generation 4 as part of one larger country.
Unova is based on New York, Kalos on Metropolitan France, Alola on Hawaii, and Galar on the United Kingdom. The Isle of Armor is based on the Isle of Man, and the Crown Tundra is based on Scotland.Pokemon ScarletandViolet’s region, while not yet named, will likely be inspired by Spain. There is also the matter of alternate timelines and dimensions, the latter of which are the nature of Ultra Space and Ultra Megalopolis. There have also been implications that some games take place in parallel timelines, but nothing has ever been confirmed for sure.
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Places Found In Pokemon Spin-Offs
While the main regions and their offshoots maintain the usualPokemonformula, there are plenty of games and spin-offs that don’t. The settings in those games include:
Several of these games make reference to other places or concepts found in the larger series, so it can be assumed that they take place in the same world. Not all of them are fleshed-out regions, and evenPokemon Ranger’s smaller localesare still bigger than some.
Pokemon Channellargely takes place in and around Mintale Town, which seems to have a fair number of climates within walking distance but is still very compact. Ryme City seems to be the same way. Ferrum and Aeos seem to be full-sized regions, but nothing outside their battle arenas are explored. Pasio is even explicitly artificial. Only Orre is a full-sized region, and since it’s largely a lifeless wasteland, key areas are the sole places explored.
Pokemon Island and the Lental region are both better realized, with the player riding through each place to find rare Pokemon in their natural habitat. Tumblecube Island, despite its art style, is another island primarily just inhabited by Pokemon. Hisui is similar, but that’s not from a lack of human interest; rather,Hisui is just Sinnohbefore human society spread throughout the region. That’s a marked difference from other regions and howPokemonusually approaches its story, though it wasn’t technically the first to take place in the past.
Areas That May or May Not Exist in the Pokemon World
Not all spin-offs are made equally canon, but they do still contain plenty of new locations. While some of these definitely lie outside thePokemonworld, others aren’t so clear. These locations include:
ThePokemonanimeis filled to the brim with new places and faces to fill its seasons, but only one season and one extended arc have taken place entirely within original locations. The Orange Archipelago likely served as the inspiration for the Sevii Islands, and actually have their own professor and a handful of gyms. The Decolore Islands are where theBlackandWhiteanime’s final arc occurs, and are likely an Orange Archipelago callback due to bridging the Unova and Kanto regions. The Orange Archipelago was still considered canon to the anime as of its tenth anniversary, and could feasibly exist in thePokemonworld.
The Ransei region’s canonicity is less feasible. The region is meant tofuse Koei Tecmo’sSamurai Warriorsfranchisewith aPokemontitle, and the resulting island is in the conspicuous shape of Arceus. Still, there is a chance that this region could have been the stage forPokemon Conquest’s events around the time ofPokemon Legends. Too fewPokemongames have deviated from the modern timeframe, so even this look at one outside the series' standard context is appreciated.
The TCG Islands and Carmonte Island are special cases, as while they could all exist inPokemon’s world, they don’t actually focus on Pokemon. They instead host competitions for thePokemontrading card game and thePokemontrading figure game, respectively, with no actual Pokemon in sight. That might place them in their own world, but a couple placements that aren’t in contention are theMystery DungeonandPokeParkgames. These explicitly take place in alternate realities where Pokemon are dominant, although someMystery Dungeongames do reference Pokemon trainers and human civilization. These worlds may run parallel to the normalPokemonworld, but they ultimately have their own stories to tell.
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