Jojo left his home on Route 4, Unova, for the Nimbasa City badge

[trenchkamen]

This is one of the stupidest things I've wasted my time putting together. Took a lot longer than I anticipated. I regret nothing.

In case you didn't guess, I've been playing Pokemon White and enjoying it immensely.

Let’s start with the basics for those not familiar with the United States. New York City and Phoenix are far apart. Really far apart. They are on opposite sides of the continent, and are in different climate zones.

In Unova (or Isshu-chihou, Einall, whatever you prefer), Route 4 is just north of Castelia City (Hiun City). Masuda Junichi has stated that the Unova Region is based on the United States, and, specifically, that Castelia City is based on New York City. Well, okay, I extrapolate a little. Masuda only said that the region was based on NY. He never said anything about the United States. And while I can see other parts of Unova being inspired by the New York area, based on climate and culture, there is no freaking desert anywhere near New York City. Nothing even close.

Eh, close enough.

The only desert area in the United States is the Sonoran Desert. I live here. When I stepped onto Route 4, I thought, half-jokingly, “Oh, so this is the Phoenix part of the game”. But there is more to that, a deeper resemblance than the mere desert climate.

I didn’t do jack shit for research for this article, so don’t take it too seriously. It’s based entirely on my personal experience.

1) It’s a desert. That’s a pretty big part of it.

2) Blowing sand. Phoenix is extremely prone to dust storms, not only because it’s the desert, but because of all the construction.

So I was half-expecting the Pokemon centers in the surrounding areas to be handing out information on the dangers of Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis), a fungal infection endemic in the desert areas. Dogs are especially susceptible, since the fungus spores collect in the dust, and dogs dig/sniff the ground. When there are dust storms, the fungus spores are whipped up with the dust, and animals (including humans) inhale it.

Unless your Pokemon is too much of a Special Snowflake to ride around in a Pokeball, they’re probably shielded when you’re traveling. It’s not like you’re bringing them out to battle in the middle of a sandstorm or anything.

Lawn’s coming in nice this year.

Oh wait. You are, because you’re a douchebag. This is exactly what Team Plasma is angry about.

Wow, this looks like a totally awesome place to live. And you’d think that there would be zero interest in developing such a totally awesome place. Well. There is another parallel.

3) Everything is under construction.

Part of my commute home. From my lab. Where I do scientific things like determine that every street in Phoenix is under construction.

It is a scientific FACT that if you drive at least 5 miles in the Phoenix area, there is a 100% chance you will hit road construction. I’m a scientist, and I said it, so it’s now a fact.

Phoenix is a booming city. I was part of that, when my family moved in 2001. Well, in the past few years, construction has abated with the economy going to hell, but there is still a huge amount of expansion going on. Infrastructure, houses, businesses, gentrification of hip downdown areas by adding in lofts. Property values are low (because IT’S A DESERT, also because there is room for urban sprawl, and oh boy does it sprawl).

You can get a full-sized house a few blocks away for about a tenth of the price.

4) The Desert Resort.

I am of two minds for the significance of the resort. The desert, as a whole, is a hotbed of resorts. You can’t go two miles in Scottsdale without passing some upscale yuppie resort for snowbirds. It’s a huge part of the economy. Also, golfing, Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction, other events that bring in resort clientele. You know what I mean.

This just screams "prime vacation locale" to me.

And then there’s the “Desert” between Phoenix and Los Angeles. Most of these resorts are around the Palm Springs area, about two hours east of LA. I drive to LA a lot, so I pass by these constantly. And it makes sense, given ample space, good climate, and the fact that like 80% of the population in that area is retired.

But I’m not sure if the California Desert is known, on any level that would ever, for any reason, reach Masuda, for being a “resort destination”. I know of this because I’m local, and I drive I-10 between LA and Phoenix several times a year. You can’t miss it. So I speak from a bias position.

But there's plenty of room for graveyards in Arizona.

I’ll be honest. The only reason I have to assume that anybody else associates the “Desert” with spas and resorts is there was one episode of Arrested Development where Lucille and Lindsay go to a spa in the Desert, and the surroundings shown in the clip lead me to believe it has to be the Palm Springs area. Not the “Desert” as it extends into Arizona. I don’t think Lucille Bluth is a big fan of Arizona.

A hunch. Or maybe she was trying to discourage Michael from leaving the family, but everybody else in the room seemed to find her statement hysterical. Anyway. The Bluths, being affluent socialites from Orange County, probably live very close to all the resorts they could ever want to visit. So, why else would they go all the way to the Desert, unless the resorts there are known for luxury?

Keep those Mai Tais coming!

Oh, wait, except Desert Resort in Unova is the dead opposite of luxurious. It’s more sandstorms, more trainers, and more dirt. Except the Pokemon you can find there are pretty cool. Well, and I guess it's coll that you don’t even have to wear sunscreen. The dust clouds block out most of the light.

5) Let’s check out some of them Pokemon.

There’s Maractus, who looks like a saguaro/prickly pear hybrid. And might I add that saguaro are native to the Sonoran Desert? It’s iconic of this part of the country. You’ll see saguaro silloettes and symbols all over anything that needs to look “southwestern”, even though saguaro are only found in a very specific part of the southwest. And that is the Sonoran Desert.

Does Masuda Junichi-sensei know this? Hell if I know. But regardless of the author’s intentions, that’s another strong parallel with the Phoenix/Sonoran Desert area. Would saguaro seem cool enough to stick anywhere in any desert, anyway? Probably. I forget how cool they seem to the rest of the world, Japan included, until I am reminded by a bunch of foreign (usually Asian) exchange students gathering around one of campus saguaro to take pictures.

Besides, this isn’t the first cactus Pokemon. Cacnea and Cacturne are from Hoenn, and they have a vaguely saguaro-ish shape, with the two iconic arms. Hoenn is also based on Kyuushuu, and I don’t know of any deserts anywhere in Kyuushuu, though there is a similar route in third generation with blowing sand and desert crap.

So I guess that can blow a hole in this two ways: 1) saguaro show up in all deserts to most peoples’ imaginations, and 2) Pokemon worlds aren’t that closely based off their ‘inspirations’ anyway.

Or I could say this. Fuck the author’s intentions or lack thereof. Route 4 is still a damn close parallel to the Phoenix area, within a world intended to be based off the United States. (Wait, didn’t I just say “fuck the author’s intentions”? Screw it. Moving on.)

Sigilyph looks like something that would appear on the mural painted outside my middle school. That is the first thing I thought when I encountered it—this thing flew off a third grade social studies art project. All the middle schools in my town were named after local Native American tribes, and in the name of Diversity they tend to have ‘ethnic’* murals. If you went to public elementary or middle school in Arizona, you know exactly what I am talking about. Amazing how okay honkeys are with showing ‘reverence’ for a culture once it’s been completely obliterated.

Also, Sigilyph guards over an ‘ancient city’. Even within the context of the game, Sigilyph is a relic of a past age, a past empire that stood where the Desert Resort now is. It isn’t said anywhere that the city fell because of overthrow and genocide by interlopers from across the globe, but it’s part of the area’s past nonetheless.

*’Ethnic’ being, in the mind of the white majority, anything not Northern European.

6) It connects to Nimbasa City, a “city of entertainment”. I think this is Los Angeles.

Hello, I-10.

When I think of traveling through the desert, it usually means I’m going to wind up in Los Angeles. I drive out to visit friends. So maybe I’m biased in this analysis, insofar as the idea ‘I’m going to LA’ was already in the back of my mind. Especially after I crossed under the two-lane east-west freeway jammed with trucks.

Rah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Roma-ro-ma-ma.

Musical theater? Sounds like West Hollywood. Amusement parks? Sounds like Anaheim. Entertainment? Sounds like the popular conception of the Los Angeles area, home to celebrities and movies. Party hard!

I’m also convinced Elesa is based on Lady Gaga. I’m going based on nothing more than her straight-cut blonde hair and fashionista status. Is Lady Gaga a fashionista? Fuck, I don’t know. But that’s what I thought when I saw her sprite. And I bet I’m not the only one. Also, she’s fierce, feminist, and advocates people going their own way. Lady Gaga lives in Los Angeles, right? I’m pretty sure she does. I remember hearing that once.

Why does Lady Gaga even make me think of Los Angeles? Honestly, it’s probably because most times I go out there I wind up singing Gaga songs at the karaoke place off Sawtelle with my friends. But Gaga herself plays up the LA-fashion-materialistic aesthetic. And there's a deeply disaffected hipster part of me that loves doing stuff to be ironic. I don't know why.

Places I stole pictures

• Google Maps
  
• Bulbapedia
  
• Serebii
  
• TV Househusband Tumblr
  

Comments

[mamoswine.livejournal.com]

Whether Route 4 is or not, there's still a Pokemon region confirmed to be based on Phoenix anyway!!!

but seriously, this was fun to read hehehe. :D

[trenchkamen.livejournal.com]

I missed all the Game Cube gen games, but somebody told me about that a while ago.

I was just pulling stuff out of my ass for this one.

[batpig.livejournal.com]

This was pretty much amazing. NOW DO ONE FOR EVERY CITY.

[trenchkamen.livejournal.com]

The only other cities I've lived in are small towns in the middle of nowhere in Texas. I haven't see anything that lame in the game so far. But if I come across a town with a meth lab, that has to be Pampa.