Let’s take a closer look at the newest chapter of the Pokémon franchise!
This morning, fans from around the world watched eagerly as we were introduced to the next generation of Pokémon games: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. I was one of many and was immediately struck by the Spanish influences of this region. While we’ve seen barely a fraction of it so far, I can definitely say this region is heavily inspired by Spain and its culture, so I’ll be breaking down the trailer and what I managed to spot in terms of those influences so far.
Outside the Gameplay
Even before we get into the gameplay aspects of the trailer, there’s several pieces of scenery in the room we see the security guard exploring that really scream Spain. The first is the pin board we see a quick shot of as the security guard looks around the room. While it can be a bit hard to make out, there’s three major things of note on this pin board. The first, and probably most notable in confirming this is a region based on Spain, is the map of the Iberian Peninsula in the center of the board. The Iberian Peninsula is home to Spain and Portugal, so that narrows down our suspects pretty largely. Additionally, you can spot on the top left and right corners the Roman Aqueducts and Arc de Triumph de Barcelona, both of which are very notable sets of landmarks in Spain. While Roman Aqueducts can be found all over Europe, the Aqueduct of Segovia is probably the single most well known and best preserved example of the Aqueducts in the world.
Additionally, we get a pretty clear shot of this clock, and while this may look unassuming to many, to me it screamed Spanish mosaics and ceramics. Spain is well known for their distinctive mosaic style that they integrate both into their architecture and ceramic plates, with the most famous examples coming from Barcelona. While I’ve never seen a clock like this myself, they definitely do exist, and are a clever inclusion to the background of the trailer.
Additionally, in between the gameplay and the reveal of the starters, we get a few more shots of the background, with one such shot including this bowl of food. This shot of food actually has several layers to it, as it references three different major aspects of Spanish culture. The first is the bread in the forefront, which is a reference to the traditional Spanish appetizers: Tapas. While the lighting makes it hard to see, the traditional bread with olives, cheese, and/or meat, is a hallmark of the mid-day snack that many enjoy to tide them over between lunch and dinner. Additionally, the grapes and oranges in the background are all references. Grapes are the most notable, as they’re the national fruit of Spain, but oranges are also significant because of their presence in southern Spain. When I studied abroad in Sevilla, we had orange trees all over the places, and from what I could tell on my travels, this is not uncommon in much of Andalusia due to its more tropical climate when compared to northern Spain. It’s also worth noting that eagle eye fans have already noticed a potential reference to these games in Pokémon Sword and Shield as shown through a wallpaper with alternating orange and purple fruits.
Another thing that caught my eye was these crests. While they aren’t overtly referencing anything that I can discern, they remind me a lot of the Spanish coat of arms. One of these in particular seems to feature what appears to be a lion of some sort, which is also on the Spanish coat of arms. Coats of arms and crests like these are very popular in Spain as decorations, so once again, another fairly blatant reference and a neat detail to include.
The final major influence is a minor detail in the logos and names themselves. Many were confused as to why the games were called “Scarlet” and “Violet”, but the logos immediately reminded of the flag of the Second Spanish Republic. This government lasted between the years of 1931 to 1939 until it was overthrown by Franco, and its flag (pictured above) contains yellow, violet, and scarlet colors. While the modern flag lacks the violet, all three of colors can be seen present in the logo for the games, and it’s a very clever nod to Spain’s history. Scarlet’s logo in particular uses a font called “Ortem” which is an Art Nouveau caps face. While the style isn’t directly linked to Spain and the font is actually French in origin, the Art Nouveau movement does have a prominent theme in much of Spain’s architecture, as we’ll discuss further down the line. I also noticed that the logos have textures in them, almost like stars and scales, making me wonder if that’s a reference to the legendaries or something else. I can’t say for sure at this time, but it’ll be interesting to see what the legendaries of this region end up looking like.
The Actual Gameplay
Now let’s dive into the actual game portion of the analysis since obviously that’s where the meat of the sandwich is. This opening shot already tells a lot in terms of the architecture we can expect from the game. At first glance, this reminds me a lot of Modernisme, or Catalan modernism. It’s that classic blend of Gothic and Art Nouveau that really brings it home. Plus the giant church in the back of the right really does scream La Sagrada Familia to me.
La Sagrada Familia’s influences only become more prominent when we get a close up of this building. Whether this is the same one as in the previous picture, I can’t be sure, but this is most definitely inspired by La Sagrada Familia. The architecture is far too similar to deny it. This wouldn’t be the first time either we saw a location in Pokémon based on the famous church from Barcelona, with the Space-Time Towers from The Rise of Darkrai also bearing the same inspiration, so it’s really neat to see the theme return once again for these games. This is not the only example of Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí, having his work referenced in this trailer earlier, as we’ll detail more below. Given how prominent and famous of an architecture Gaudí was, I am hopeful we’ll see even more examples of his work, or at least locations/buildings inspired by them in the game itself due to how distinctive and beautiful they are.
Next up are the windmills, which may not seem like the most significant item on this list, but still very much ring out as Spanish influence. Windmills are a very prominent detail in the Spanish tale, Don Quixote, wherein the man himself tries to fight them because he believes them to be giants, leading to the theory that we might see a windmill Pokémon in this coming generation. To this day they’re still largely seen in central Spain as well as the municipality of Consuegra, which is very well known for their windmills. While windmills in general could be pegged to just about anywhere that has them, they’re definitely an important piece of Spanish culture as well and worth noting because of that.
This next section is what first confirmed for me while watching that this was assuredly a Spain-inspired region. I won’t beat around the bush here, this is just straight up Park Güell in Barcelona. While it appears they’re not done adding renders and textures to the background (which makes sense this is likely a dev build), the textures we do see in the background are very reminiscent of the mosaic styling of Park Güell in Barcelona. I’ll include some pictures below of when I visited Park Güell myself for comparison, but it’s extremely similar and is something you can spot in some of the other locations showcased in the trailer.
Park Güell also isn’t the only place where you see the mosaic ceramics. In the southern region of Spain, Andalusia, this sort of ceramic mosaic styling is very common due to the Arab influences in the region. Given this fact, I’m very hopeful that we’ll see some Muslim or Arab inspired Pokémon or locations in this new region. I can’t say for sure what we’ll see, but it’d be super nice to see those influences take shape.
If you take a look inside the protagonist’s house, you’ll notice several small details in the decour that further our Spanish influences. Firstly, similar to our mosaic clock from earlier, there is what appears to be a ceramic plate on the wall, and also a painting of a flamenco dancer on the wall. Most interestingly though is the mosaic tiles towards the ceiling of the room. This not only is another example of the mosaic stylings that is very typical of Spain, but additionally we’ve got another example of Spanish architecture in the form of the exposed beams on the ceiling. Known as vigas, these exposed beams are a trademark of colonial Spanish architecture and can be seen in older homes in Spain as well as anywhere the Spanish colonized. Pueblos are probably the most well known example of houses that include vigas outside of Spain.
Additionally, taking a closer look at the outside of the protagonist’s house, you can see that it overall clearly resembles a Spanish villa. While not ever villa has this style, the most well-known ones are dead ringers for the exterior of the protagonist’s house. Additionally, the two shots we get of other locations seem to once again also resemble Spanish colonial architecture. All in all, when it comes to designing the locations, it’s clear that the design teams have done their homework. Even in an early access dev build with unfinished textures and lag, the attention to detail and level of care they put into the game so far really hits home.
We’d also be remiss if we didn’t discuss these outfits. For all the memes and mockery they’ve gotten online about how ridiculous they look (and rightly so because they do), myself and many others were quick to notice that they appear to resemble that of a Catholic school uniform. Private and Catholic schools are fairly common throughout Spain, as once again Catholicism has a large influence on the Iberian Peninsula as a whole, so these types of outfits aren’t uncommon for young children in the country. The only weird part about this theory is that typically these uniforms require female students to wear pants, whereas notably our female protagonist here has on shorts, and both characters are wearing hats, something that is normally not permitted in these uniforms. It’s possible these adaptations were made to look more suited to field trekking, but all in all, it’s a pretty interesting possible inspiration for these outfits.
The Starters
An analysis of the Spanish influences in these games so far wouldn’t be complete without taking a look at the starters. All of these designs are extremely clever and the more I look at them, the more interesting they become due to the myriad of possible inspirations. For this section, I’ll be going over what myself and others have spotted as possible inspirations for these Pokémon, how some of them connect to Spanish culture, and what I theorize their evolutionary paths may look like based on these themes.
Sprigatito
Kicking things off is the grass type starter, Sprigatito. This Pokémon has what I consider the most clever name of the three, as it’s a play on the major elements of its base level design. “Sprig” is a term for a little stem, typically plucked from a bush, and “Gatito” is the Spanish term for “little cat” or “kitten”, with “Gato” meaning cat and the suffix “-ito” meaning little. A similar example from recent media would be the use of “hombrecito” in Encanto when referring to Antonio. Because “hombre” means man, in that instance, they’re calling him “little man”. At a base level though, Sprigatito’s name is a perfect description for what it is, a little grass cat.
However, Sprigatito’s design seems to have some other underlying influences to it. The sprouts on its cheeks seem to resemble Fleur-de-lis. While the Fleur-de-lis is typically seen as a French symbol, it is a very prominent icon in the Catholic Church. Thus, it’s potential inclusion in Sprigatito’s design makes some sense given how influential the Catholic Church is in Spain. Additionally, the dark mark on Sprigatito seems to resemble a mask of some sort. This has led people to believe that this, couple with the Fleur-de-lis, might cause Sprigatito to evolve into a Puss in Boots or Zorro inspired design. A sword wielding cat would be very interesting, since Zorro it itself is a Spanish character and while Puss in Boots isn’t a Spanish fairy tale (it originates from Italy), the modern popular take on the tale from Shrek does speak Spanish.
My personal theory is that Sprigatito will likely evolve into a lion or Iberian lynx. The lion might seem like a strange choice, but a lion does appear on the Spanish coat of arms, as it’s meant to symbolize the Kingdom of León in the northwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula, thus making it a distinct possibility. I feel like the Iberian lynx might be a bit more likely though, as it is extinct in Portugal and less than 100 specimens are still alive in Spain, making it fit quite well with the supposed “extinct animals” theme that grass-type starters supposedly have. Sprigatito already has some lynx-like features in terms of its face and body shape, but this also wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had a lynx Pokémon turn into a lion either.
Depending on what evolutionary path it goes, I foreso a steel or fighting type secondary typing if it pursues the sword-fighter route. The fighting type is pretty self explanatory, as many sword-esque wielding Pokémon like Sirfetch’d and Gallade are fighting type, but I think steel type is also a possibility given swords are made of steel and the city of Toledo, Spain, is quite well-known for their steel. If it pursues the lynx path, I think psychic-type is likely given that myths all around the world credit lynxes with psychic abilities. Luxray actually somewhat references this with its ability to see through obstacles, but given it lacks the psychic type, I’d like to see an actual proper psychic lynx Pokémon in the future.
Fuecoco
Next up is our spicy fire starter, Fuecoco. This little guy’s name is a wholly Spanish pun, mixing the words “fuego” meaning fire and “cocodrilo” meaning crocodile. It’s pretty self-explanatory. It’s meant to be a fire crocodile. Its body shape seems to resemble that of a chili pepper, something that’s deeply integrated in Spain’s culture thanks to their colonization of South America, specifically Mexico. However, its color seems to resemble that of an apple, which is a bit strange to me given that apples aren’t exactly common in Spanish folklore to my knowledge. At least, not ones that look like this. There is the custard apple that originates from South America, but it looks vastly different and would be more befitting of a grass-type in terms of coloration. The apple coloration could be a reference to sprouted coconuts, which are called “manzanas de coco” or apples of coconuts in Spanish. Given Fuecoco’s face does somewhat resemble the interior of a coconut, and it has the Spanish word for coconut in its name, it’s possible this is a potential inspiration.
In terms of evolution, Fuecoco has me a bit stumped. Crocodiles aren’t exactly common in Spain, with the only folklore story I can think of involving them being the Catholic Crocodile of Sevilla, wherein a crocodile is given to a princess as part of a dowry, and people are so scared of it they keep it in the local basilica courtyard. Supposedly the crocodile fed off the oranges that fell from the trees in the courtyard and the birds that would sometimes frequent the area, and at one point was baptized to be a Catholic. When the crocodile died, it was given a grand funeral and paraded around the city before being taxidermied and hung in the Basilica, where it resides to this day (I would know I’ve seen it). So unless we intend to see a mock/priest-like crocodile final evolution, I doubt this will lend any sort of inspirations to Fuecoco’s evolutionary line. With that in mind, while a crocodile evolution is a possibility, perhaps going with a more pepper-ish themed that could be interesting, I think there might be some other evolutionary paths that are more likely.
While the theory of the Chinese zodiac theme for the fire starters has become a bit of a stretch since Fennekin’s debut in Pokémon XY, there is a way for Fuecoco to somewhat fit the metric with its evolutions. To possibly fit the snake zodiac, I could see Fuecoco becoming something akin to a Basilisk. While not inherently native to Spain, these beasts are very common throughout European bestiaries and are well-known among more modern generations thanks to their appearance in the Harry Potter franchise. St. Isidore of Seville defined the basilisk as the king of snakes because of its killing glare and poisonous breath, meaning that it’s possible we’ll get another Fire/Poison type if it goes this route.
Additionally, it’s also possible that Fuecoco could become a dragon. While this would be a second entry into the dragon zodiac alongside Charmander’s line, there’s definitely a lot more possibilities to work with here. For one, Fuecoco could potentially be a reference to the Spanish dragon, Cucafera . Not only do these two have extremely similar names, the Cucafera has many different interpretations including that of a female dragon that lives in the Iberian Peninsula and a female Alligator humanoid in Brazilian folklore. It also bears a striking resemblance to coconuts, which would be a connection to the “coco” part of Fuecoco’s name. This is not the only instance of dragons in Spanish folklore, with the Cuélebre being a prime example that originates from Asturian folklore. They are said to have impenetrable scales, bat wings, and possess immortality. It’s also said to almost never move, matching Fuecoco’s supposed more laid-back nature. It’s said one of the only ways to kill as Cuélebre is to feed it a red-hot stone, a possible connection to Fuecoco’s fire-typing. Quetzalcoatl is also a possibility, as while this winged serpent doesn’t originate from Spain, it’s a very prominent part of South American mythology. Quetzalcoatl already somewhat serves as an inspiration for Rayquaza, but since that serpent lacks feathers, it’d be interesting to see a true winged serpent take on a Pokémon like Fuecoco. Finally, when discussing dragons, it’d be remiss to not discuss St. George the Dragonslayer. While the story of St. George doesn’t originate from Spain, the tale is so popular and wildly known that the man finds himself on coat of arms and flags all over Europe. He’s also the patron saint of a bunch of cities and countries, notably including Barcelona, and is featured in a ton of iconography in Spanish culture. While I’m not sure exactly what sort of inspiration this could serve for Fuecoco’s design, as the dragon in this story lives in a lake and therefore would really be more properly associated with water, it’s possible that it may serve some form of inspiration for Fuecoco down the line.
Quaxly
Lastly, let’s take a look at the water starter, Quaxly. This Pokémon has the least straight forward name when it comes to puns, seeming to be a play on “quack” and “Don Quiote”, the latter being a piece of foundational literature originating from Spain that we briefly mentioned earlier with the windmills. This little duck appears to be inspired by several different birds including blue footed boobies (as evidenced by its blue feet), as well as a young crested duck or swan.
Many seem to believe that Quaxly is based on a sailor, with its head piece being reminiscent of Donald Duck’s sailor’s hat, and its tidy tendencies paralleling the grueling cleaning tasks that sailors are almost constantly doing. Additionally, many believe that its pose is similar to that of a dancer, an activity that sailors are known to do to keep up their strength and muscles due to the limited space on the ship for working out. The marking on its hat seems to resemble that of a wave, somewhat furthering that theory. Should the sailor motif prove to be true, some theorists believe that Quaxly may end up evolving into a sword-wielding pirate of some kind, following the theme that every water starter is modeled after a weapon of some kind, with this instance being a sword.
For me personally though, I believe Quaxly is potentially based on a matador. The bull-fighters are very prominent, and controversial, parts of Spanish culture. Quaxly’s hat resembles a Montera, which while not exclusively worn by matadors, is most well known to be worn by them. Additionally, the way it holds its wing somewhat reminds me of a matador’s cape, and I believe it’s possible we could see a cape-wielding duck in the future that could potentially have a rivalry with another Pokémon, perhaps a regional Tauros of some sort. This evolutionary line could also arguably fit into the weapons category, as bull fighters are known to wield swords as well.
Additionally, it’s also possible they go with some sort of Don Quixote inspired design, in which case it’s possible Quaxly’s evolutions could wield a sword or lance, but I worry that the latter might tread a little too close to Sirfetch’d.
All in all, we’re really excited to learn more about these games as the year goes on, and see what other Spanish inspirations could come out of this game. See anything we missed? Be sure to comment down below your theories and more as to what you think is to come in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet!
