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The Galar region (Japanese: ガラル地方 Galar region) is a region of the Pokémon world, and the eighth core series region to be introduced. It is the setting of Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Etymology and design concept
Etymology
Galar may have been derived from gallant, gala (a special occasion), or Galahad. It may also come from an anagram of San-Graal, the French name of the Holy Grail. Another possible etymology may be galar, Irish and Scottish Gaelic for "disease," in reference to either Dynamax and Eternatus or one of Britain's nicknames, Blighty.
Design concept
- Main article: Pokémon world in relation to the real world → Galar
Galar is based on the United Kingdom. According to Shigeru Ohmori, the UK is chosen as a basis for Galar to tie into Pokémon Sword and Shield's theme of "strength", and the idea of aiming to be the greatest or the strongest.[1]
The main part of Galar focuses heavily on the island of Great Britain, especially England and (to a lesser extent) Wales. However, the orientation of the landmass is rotated 180° compared to real-world Great Britain: for example, northern Galar is based on southern England. The parts of Galar introduced in the Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass are based on other parts of the UK: the Isle of Armor is based on the Isle of Man, a self-governing crown dependency of the United Kingdom, and the Crown Tundra is based on Scotland.[2]
History
Dated history
The following events are dated in relation to the events of Pokémon Sword and Shield:
- 20,000 years prior: A meteorite containing Eternatus fell in Galar.
- c. 3,000 years prior: A black storm called the Darkest Day occurred across Galar and was stopped by two youths and the legendary heroes, causing the boys to be crowned as the kings of the region.
- 50 years prior: Mustard defeated Opal and went on to become Galar's Champion.
- 32 years prior: Mustard loses his position as Galar's Champion. After retiring from the Pokémon League and traveling the world, Mustard returned to Galar, bought an island, named it the "Isle of Armor", and founded the Master Dojo.
Contemporary history
Sword and Shield
Victor/Gloria and their best friend, Hop, receive their first partner Pokémon from Leon, the undefeated Champion and Hop's brother. Shortly thereafter, they meet a mysterious Pokémon in the Slumbering Weald. As they begin their journey, they receive Pokédexes from Sonia, Dynamax Bands from Professor Magnolia, and endorsements from Leon to enter the Gym Challenge. They travel across Galar, challenging Gyms to earn the eight Badges they need to enter the Champion Cup. Over the course of their journey, they encounter a group called Team Yell, whose members support Marnie in the Gym Challenge. They also encounter another group called Macro Cosmos, a conglomerate led by Rose, who has endorsed his ward Bede in the Gym Challenge. During the Champion Cup in Wyndon Stadium, Rose interrupts the Championship Match by reawakening Eternatus, bringing about the Darkest Day in an attempt to provide energy for Galar for 1,000 years. To stop Rose's plan, Victor/Gloria and Hop search for the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield in the Slumbering Weald, and with those items in hand, they head to the Energy Plant in Hammerlocke to face Rose. Victor/Gloria battles and defeats Rose, then joins Leon and Hop to face Eternatus; in the course of the battle, the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield summon Zacian and Zamazenta (respectively) to their aid. After defeating Eternatus, Victor/Gloria manages to catch it. They then return to Wyndon to defeat Leon in the Championship Match, becoming the new Champion of Galar.
After becoming Champion, Hop and Victor/Gloria travel back to the Slumbering Weald to return the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield. While there, they encounter an odd pair of brothers, Sordward and Shielbert, who proclaim themselves descendants of the original kings of Galar and steal the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield. The brothers seek to undermine Zacian and Zamazenta's reputation as saviors of Galar by turning them instead into threats. As an experiment to further their plan, they release Dynamax particles across Galar, sending multiple Dynamax Pokémon out of control across multiple stadiums. Victor/Gloria, Hop, and then-former Gym Leader Piers set out to stop the rampaging Pokémon, while Sonia tracks the brothers. The group finds them at the Hammerlocke Energy Plant, where they attempt to use Dynamax particles to send ZamazentaSw/ZacianSh into an uncontrollable fury. ZamazentaSw/ZacianSh resists, instead attacking ShielbertSw/SordwardSh. With the help of Hop and ZacianSw/ZamazentaSh, Victor/Gloria successfully calms ZamazentaSw/ZacianSh. ZamazentaSw/ZacianSh then flees, pursued by Hop, while ZacianSw/ZamazentaSh allows Victor/Gloria to catch them by defeating them in battle. Victor/Gloria and their new Pokémon return to find Hop in the Slumbering Weald. There, Hop successfully calms and catches Zamazenta/Zacian, and challenges Victor/Gloria to one final battle.
The Isle of Armor
In The Isle of Armor, Victor/Gloria travels to the Isle of Armor off the coast of Galar and becomes an apprentice in the local Master Dojo, a battle facility run by former Champion Mustard. They also develop a new rivalry with a Gym Leader-in-training and fellow apprentice named KlaraSw/AverySh. Victor/Gloria enrolls and takes part in a series of trials, first chasing a trio of fast Galarian Slowpoke, searching for Max Mushrooms, and having a final showdown with Klara/Avery. In doing so, Victor/Gloria proves to be Mustard's best student since Leon, as claimed by Mustard himself. As a reward for completing Mustard's trials, they are given a Kubfu as a companion to raise, with the goal of raising it into a great Urshifu. After developing a strong bond with Kubfu, Victor/Gloria heads to the Tower of Darkness or the Tower of Waters, and completes a rite of passage to ultimately earn the right to evolve Kubfu into Urshifu. After Victor/Gloria become Champion of Galar, they are tasked by Mustard to find Max Honey for Urshifu to achieve Gigantamax transformation, and work alongside Hop to find it. Once Urshifu has achieved the ability to Gigantamax, Victor/Gloria have a final showdown with Mustard, who now holds nothing back, and prevails. Mustard congratulates them, and tells them to be ready for what's to come.
The Crown Tundra
In The Crown Tundra, Victor/Gloria travels to the Crown Tundra in southern Galar, where they meet Peony, an enthusiastic former Steel-type Gym Leader and Champion as well as the younger brother of Rose, and take his daughter Peonia's place in his explorations of solving the legends lurking around the Tundra, since Peonia refuses to do so. As such, Peony assigns Victor/Gloria as the leader of his "expedition team" and tasks them with searching for various Legendary Pokémon who are known to reside in the Crown Tundra. One of these Pokémon is the King of Bountiful Harvests, a known figurehead in the Crown Tundra and its small town of Freezington, but one whose stories are now only known to a few. Victor/Gloria eventually meets this Pokémon after restoring its statue, who reveals its name to be Calyrex, while it uses Peony as a means to communicate with them. It reveals that it had lost its power over the years as less and less people believed in it, and it eventually lost the ability to bring bountiful harvests. Calyrex tasks Victor/Gloria with creating the Reins of Unity (which Peony successfully creates) and planting either an Iceroot Carrot or Shaderoot Carrot in hopes of reclaiming its long lost steed, who is later revealed to be Glastrier/Spectrier. They eventually lure the steed into the Crown Shrine, and Calyrex takes its Reins of Unity and bonds with Glastrier or Spectrier once more, achieving its full power again. Now having regained its power, Calyrex allows Victor/Gloria to challenge it to a battle to catch it, and they succeed in doing so. Calyrex thanks the player and looks forward to the journeys they will share.
In the midst of doing so, Victor/Gloria explores the entirety of the Crown Tundra, discovering several ruins that uncover the legendary giants, including two newly discovered ones in Regieleki and Regidrago. They also discover a tree where Galarian forms of the legendary birds come, and chases them all around Galar, one in the Crown Tundra itself, one in the Isle of Armor, and one in Galar's own Wild Area.
In doing all this, Victor/Gloria eventually reports these back to Peony, and eventually they go all the way to the Max Lair and rejoin Peonia, in which they all partake in Dynamax Adventures. In the midst of these, it is revealed a strange Pokémon appeared in the Max Lair and multiple Ultra Beasts came as well: eventually, Victor/Gloria discover that it was in fact Necrozma, and reports it to Peony, which is then noticed by the scientist running the Max Lair.
After having explored the Crown Tundra, Victor/Gloria receives a call from Leon, who formally invites them to the Galarian Star Tournament in Wyndon, which involves two-on-two Multi Battles, and Victor/Gloria partners with either Hop or Marnie in a series of battles against all of Galar's Gym Leaders and emerges victorious.
Geography
The Galar region is an expansive region, including varied environments such as idyllic countrysides, contemporary cities, and snow-covered mountains. Galar comprises a long mainland area as well as an outlying island area, the Isle of Armor, east of the mainland.
The extreme south of the Galarian mainland includes the Crown Tundra. This area is isolated from the rest of the mainland by a tall mountain range, which extends north along both mainland coasts. However, the Galarian train system allows for travel through these mountains.
Just north of the southern mountains, in the broad valley between its coastal spurs, lie the dense Slumbering Weald and nearby village of Postwick. This valley also marks the beginning of a long stretch of plains dotted with hills, ending just north of Hammerlocke, that cover the majority of mainland Galar. These plains are home to two of the three main cities in Galar: Hammerlocke and Motostoke. Various arid, rocky environments sit at the northern edges of the plains, including the cliffs outside Stow-on-Side on Route 6 and the ruins south of Circhester on Route 8. In northwest Galar, surrounding Ballonlea, is the Glimwood Tangle, a thick, gloomy forest. East of this forest lies a broad tundra that includes the city of Circhester and a range of snowy and jagged mountains that separates the metropolis of Wyndon from the rest of Galar.
The Isle of Armor sits in the sea to the east, closest to the mainland town of Spikemuth. Much of the isle consists of lush forests, caves, rolling hills and tree-filled valleys that rise from its long beaches. Despite being an island, it is connected to mainland Galar's train system with dedicated Flying Taxis.
In the animated series, it was revealed Galar is far enough away from Kanto (and presumably Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh) to require airplanes for travel between them. Dialogue in the games reveals that Galar is within swimming distance of Kalos.
Demographics
The Galar region has a total population of 727, including all towns, cities, and other areas. Upon its introduction in Generation VIII, it became the fifth largest region by population.
Notable locations
Galar has 12 cities and towns. Like in Unova, Kalos, and Alola, Galarian route numbers start from 1, likely due to the geographical isolation of these regions from both the original four regions and each other. There are 10 routes in total, all on the Galarian mainland, divided into four groups:
- Route 1 & Route 2 in southern Galar, around Wedgehurst and surrounding locations;
- Route 3, Route 4, & Route 5 in central Galar, forming a loop between Motostoke and the nearby towns;
- Route 6, Route 7, Route 8, & Route 9 in central Galar, around Hammerlocke and the nearby towns; and
- Route 10 in northern Galar, connecting to the southern gates of Wyndon.
Unlike in most other regions, it is impossible to travel through Galar using just these routes. Instead, a train system connects different cities and towns, and thus connects the different sets of routes.
The Galar region also has an extensive area called the Wild Area which adjoins several towns and cities in the region.
Settlements
| Map | Name | Population | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Postwick | 5 | A farming town since days of old, where people and their Pokémon live in close harmony. |
|
Wedgehurst | 31 | Our quiet borough is home to the esteemed Pokémon Research Lab. |
|
Motostoke | 120 | An industrial city studded with steam-powered marvels of modern engineering. |
|
Turffield | 36 | A town nestled within the nurturing bowl of our many terraced farming fields. |
|
Hulbury | 54 | A bustling seaport that many visit to see its lively market stalls and famed restaurant. |
|
Hammerlocke | 102 | A city of great history, living and thriving within castle walls that date back to the Middle Ages. |
|
Stow-on-Side | 44 | A vibrant town that has grown up around an ancient mural tucked away in the mountains. |
|
Ballonlea | 31 | A charming town where the people make their homes among the trunks of the towering trees. |
|
Circhester | 97 | Buildings from an age long gone still stand about the steaming hot spring that covers the town. |
|
Spikemuth | 29 | This rocking town has a punk vibe and streets crammed with shops lined up cheek by jowl. |
|
Wyndon | 157 | This booming metropolis was designed and developed by our very own Chairman Rose. |
|
Freezington | 9 | None |
Landmarks
- Wild Area
- Slumbering Weald
- Galar Mine
- Galar Mine No. 2
- Motostoke Outskirts
- Glimwood Tangle
- Route 9 Tunnel
- Crown Tundra
- Slippery Slope
- Max Lair
- Freezington
- Frostpoint Field
- Giant's Bed
- Rock Peak Ruins
- Iron Ruins
- Old Cemetery
- Snowslide Slope
- Iceberg Ruins
- Tunnel to the Top
- Path to the Peak
- Crown Shrine
- Giant's Foot
- Roaring-Sea Caves
- Frigid Sea
- Three-Point Pass
- Split-Decision Ruins
- Ballimere Lake
- Lakeside Cave
- Dyna Tree Hill
Animated series-exclusive
| Picture | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Ancient castle | An ancient castle located near Hammerlocke that serves as one of Diana's hideouts. |
|
Karna's Poké Ball factory | A factory run by Karna that produces custom Poké Balls. |
Appearance
In-game
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This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: DLC map stitch lacks location markers outside of IoA and the rough texture/clouds/waves that the game adds 'post-production' to the map |
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| Galar as seen in Pokémon Sword with the Expansion Pass (Version 1.3.0+) |
Galar as seen in Pokémon Shield (Version 1.1.1 or earlier) |
| |
| Victor's sync move mindscape from Pokémon Masters EX | |
- Between Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, the two version-exclusive Gyms show up in different colors on the map. After the release of The Isle of Armor, an extra set of train tracks and a train station were added to the main part of the Galar map. After the release of The Crown Tundra, an additional set of train tracks was added. These train tracks appear even if the player has not purchased the Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass.
Galar League
- Main article: Galar League
The Galar League is the regional Pokémon League of the Galar region. Trainers who have received a letter of endorsement may compete in the Gym Challenge. After obtaining the eight Badges of the region, a Trainer may participate in the annual Champion Cup at Wyndon Stadium.
Gym Leaders
| Galar League | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generation VIII | Region: Galar | |||||
| Gym Leader Japanese |
Location Japanese |
Type | Badge | |||
 Milo ヤロー Yarrow |
Turffield ターフタウン Turf Town |
 Grass |
 Grass Badge | |||
 Nessa ルリナ Rurina |
Hulbury バウタウン Bow Town |
 Water |
 Water Badge | |||
 Kabu カブ Kabu |
Motostoke エンジンシティ Engine City |
 Fire |
 Fire Badge | |||
 Bea サイトウ SaitōSw |
 Allister オニオン OnionSh |
Stow-on-Side ラテラルタウン Lateral Town |
 Fighting |
 Ghost |
 Fighting Badge |
 Ghost Badge |
 Opal ポプラ Poplar |
 Bede ビート Beet |
Ballonlea アラベスクタウン Arabesque Town |
 Fairy |
 Fairy Badge
| ||
 Gordie マクワ MakuwaSw |
 Melony メロン MelonSh |
Circhester キルクスタウン Circus Town |
 Rock |
 Ice |
 Rock Badge |
 Ice Badge |
 Piers ネズ Nezu |
 Marnie マリィ Mary |
Spikemuth スパイクタウン Spike Town |
 Dark |
 Dark Badge
| ||
 Raihan キバナ Kibana |
Hammerlocke ナックルシティ Knuckle City |
 Dragon |
 Dragon Badge | |||
Champion Cup
| Galar League | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Generation VIII | |||
| Member Japanese |
Type | ||
| Semifinals | |||
 Marnie マリィ Mary |
Dark | ||
 Hop ホップ Hop |
 Various | ||
| Interruption | |||
Bede ビート Beet |
Fairy | ||
| Finals | |||
Nessa ルリナ Rurina |
Water | ||
Bea サイトウ SaitōSw |
Allister オニオン OnionSh |
Fighting |
Ghost |
Raihan キバナ Kibana |
Dragon | ||
| Championship Match | |||
 Champion Leon ダンデ Dande |
 Various | ||
Trivia
- Galar is the only core series region to:
- Not have a Pokémon academy.
- Not have an Elite Four.
- A similar role is fulfilled by the Champion Cup.
- Contain a single landmass with a map that does not fit on the screen. Previous regions with multiple maps either contained or were archipelagos.
- Introduce four fossils, the most of any region so far.
- Despite this, the region does not beat the record for most Fossil Pokémon introduced (five in Kanto) due to the Galarian Fossil Pokémon being unable to evolve.
- Have two Gym Leaders resign from their posts over the course of a single game's plot.
- Galar is the first region to:
- Contain no settlements that end in "City" or "Town" in their English names.
- Have a Dark-type Gym.
- Not have a Victory Road.
- To introduce Fossil Pokémon that are not Rock-type, incapable of breeding, and do not have genders.
- Introduce no Mythical Pokémon at the time of its release.
- Not have a series of Pokémon the Series solely dedicated to Ash Ketchum fully exploring the region in a journey.
- In keeping with the sports theme of the region's Gyms, the names of the cities and towns in Galar are derived from sports terminology.
- Galar has the second fewest numbered routes of any core series region, with a total of ten. Paldea has none at all.
- Galar is tied with Unova as the region that has the most Gym Leaders, with a total of 14.
- In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Galar is often depicted with a cloudy, gray sky, similar to the common weather of the country it's based on, the United Kingdom.
- The adjectival form of Galar is "Galarian", as seen in the term "Galarian form".
See also
In other languages
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| German, Spanish, French, Italian Indonesian |
Galar | From its Japanese and English name |
| Korean | 가라르 Galar | Transcription of its Japanese name |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 伽勒爾 / 伽勒尔 Jiālè'ěr | Transcription of its Japanese name |
| Chinese (Cantonese) | 伽勒爾 Gālahkyíh | Mandarin-based transcription of its Japanese name |
| Hebrew | גאלאר Ge'alar | Transcription of its English name |
| Hindi | गलार Galar | Transcription of its English name |
| Russian | Галар Galar | Transcription of its English name |
| Thai | กาลาร์ Galar | Transcription of its Japanese name |
References
| Galar | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This article is part of Project Locations, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every location in the Pokémon world. |
