Worlds Within Worlds

A certain game developer company prides itself as being able to make "worlds within worlds". That is to say, it is able to take those who play the games made by the company to places that constitute their own self-contained worlds, even within a single world that may contain them all. It's a statement I'm taken with, and I feel that it can describe the situation for Pokémon and many of its related games as well. It may require a larger stretch of the imagination in order to see how the concept applies, but to a certain extent, it can be said to apply well.

The world of Pokémon is something that needs no explanation; it is where everything and anything related to Pokémon happens. It is a world that is not unlike the real world, and if anything, it may be considered to be a realization of some good principles related to worlds or even civilizations. There is evidence of things being interconnected, whether it's the people (as "imported" figures), environment (common habitats and features), or Pokémon (like regional forms), and that's something that makes a world even more of a world. And after close to two and a half decades of game development, I'd say that has been evident.

As for the "worlds within" part, the games have places that evidently can literally tick on their own. The places where Ranger and Mystery Dungeon take place appear to be self-contained (with the latter once having a reference to Mt. Coronet) and yet they still work for their purposes. Even in some games, seemingly apocalyptic events also appear to be confined to the places where they respectively occur. Though they may eventually be connected somehow to happenings in other places, it is as if the happenings occurred in isolation first. That would be almost indicative of a distinct world.

While it may be hard to consider that happenings in Pokémon occur in their own worlds since this world is all one, the way they allow themselves to occur may be otherworldly in nature, making it appear as if they are in their own worlds. The Pokémon games were likely not designed with "worlds within worlds" as a guiding statement, but they could be construed as such in a way, even if ultimately everything that happens are part of a single realm - that of the creatures, people, and everything else related. 

And if this all sounds like it might tie to a specific series of worldly games, I suppose it might not be far off.

One year ago: The New PvP Charged Move Mechanism

Two years ago: AFA ID in Memoriam

Three years ago: Cold as the Winds