Avid watchers of the Pokémon anime might have noticed that in some parts of the scenery, particularly where the written word would be involved, there is instead a series of glyphs that only vaguely resemble those of real written languages. (One such example can be found in one of the episodes I've reviewed.) Glyphs are important to any written language as the symbols by which when they're strung together, they communicate certain meanings. Yet the glyphs in the Pokémon anime are quite different in that they hardly if at all have this function. Examining them may provide insights for Pokémon and beyond.
Many of the glyphs are short in sequence and boxy. A real language that expresses things in often short and boxy glyph sequences is Japanese, the language of the region of the world (Japan) from which Pokémon hails. Therefore, it may be reasoned that the glyphs are in a way "Japanese in proxy" though the glyphs may or may not be intended to communicate any Japanese expression in particular. It also makes sense given that the first four regions were based on Japanese landmasses, and despite this not being the case for later regions (example being Unova, the setting of the episode above, for which the region is based on New York), the consistency is maintained to give the sense of a coherent world.
The concession is that there are certain glyphs utilized in Pokémon that resemble real glyphs, which would be the forms of Unown, which do resemble uppercase letters of the Roman alphabet and can actually be used as such in some cases to communicate certain messages. At the same time, the glyphs are also regarded as being foreign (Unown = unknown), at least relative to the short and boxy glyphs as above. This would illustrate the concurrence - and yet foreignness - of the Roman alphabet along with Japanese glyphs in real life.
Alternatively, it may not have to be any of the above. It may simply be that the boxy glyphs are simply "artistic license" and they're not there to represent any language in particular. Instead, they would be to represent any language that Pokémon can be communicated in, as Pokémon is now a global phenomenon and unrestricted to Japan. Add back the Roman alphabet as represented by the Unown forms, which are recognizable virtually everywhere around the world, and this seems to be a realistic reason that makes sense for everyone who enjoys Pokémon.
The glyphs in the Pokémon anime are still quite intriguing for their resemblance (or not so much) to actual written language, especially that of the origins of Pokémon. It has to be granted that even in the world of Pokémon, there has to be something representative of written language, so these glyphs become the answer to that quandary. The language that it expresses may be anyone's guess, but it doesn't take a guess that it has to pertain to expressing the goings-on within that world.
One year ago: Playing Pokémon All Day
Two years ago: Getting Lucky with Friends
Three years ago: A Place for VGC
Four years ago: Blue and Yellow Philosophy
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