Talk:Pokémon world in relation to the real world

Talk:Pokémon world in relation to the real world

This talk page is for discussions about the contents of Pokémon world in relation to the real world.

Notice

Please resolve any existing content disputes here before making changes to the article.
Changes relating to the inclusion or removal of specific influences on Paldea should be discussed here first.

Archived discussions: 1

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• (Return to top)
• Gibraltar reference in Cabo Poco
• A Thorough Analysis of Kitakami.
• References to Portugal Erased Again
• Azalea Town - "good Samaritan"

Contents

Gibraltar reference in Cabo Poco

It has already been agreed upon that Gibraltar is a possible reference in the game here: [1], due to the geographic location and its distinctive shape. While I agree that Algeciras, Cabo de Gata etc. are valid references, it doesn't exclude Gibraltar, as it is in the southern tip of Iberia as well. As for the name of Cabo Poco, by the definition of a cape: a point or extension of land jutting out into water as a peninsula or as a projecting point, Gibraltar is one.

The name of the location, although it is Spanish, is not necessarily the main factor that makes it a reference. If names were the deciding element, Turffield could not reasonably be considered a reference to York.

Many locations in Paldea are composites of various places in Iberia; nothing is necessarily excluding a British territory from being in Paldea. For example, on the map of Kalos, The British territory of the Channel Islands is prominent as a location, although the location featured isn’t entirely based on the Channel islands.

It is also stated in game that Nemona is not from Paldea. It doesn't explicitly state Galar, but she's not exclusively Paldean. As for her house, it is known that Gibraltar's culture is not exclusively British. It is an amalgamation of Spanish, British and other cultures. So for Nemona, who is not a Paldean native having a Spanish/Paldean inspired painting in her house, further supports the location of her side of Cabo Poco as a Gibraltar.

I am not saying Cabo Poco is exclusively Gibraltar, I am saying that Gibraltar is a possible reference for the starting town and there is no reason to remove it. Pipcrew (talk) 03:23, 9 September 2025 (UTC)

We know that Paldea is a mix of many places, according to Wikidex, Cabo Poco can be Cadiz, but i prefer the idea that is cadiz, gibraltar and Tarifa, whatever, cabo poco dont give a single clue about its inspiration but i think is cadiz cuz is close to Arven lighthouse, based in Chipiona and inlet grotto based in La caleta coves and beaches in Cadiz Grizzlyring123 (talk) 04:10, 9 September 2025 (UTC)

I agree. I'd think Cabo Poco is a composite of Cadiz, Gibraltar, and Tarifa. It's not exclusively one real life place, similar to many other locations in Paldea as stated in Paldea's section itself. I don't think it's right to leave out Gibraltar just because it's not Spanish territory as was one of the contentions in one of the edit reversions. Paldea itself is based on Iberia and not just Spain. If inspiration is mainly just by name, as argued in one of the reversions, Porto Marinada would just be Porto, Portugal. As stated in the top of this article "This article contains fan speculation. There is no solid evidence for or against some parts of this article". A lot of this page is speculation already, but Cabo Poco drawing some inspiration from Gibraltar isn't an unreasonable stance considering the above reasons and the reasoning in the earlier thread. Pipcrew (talk) 07:17, 9 September 2025 (UTC).

Well, i think Gibraltar have sense, i dont know why the people is fighthing that Grizzlyring123 (talk) 22:19, 9 September 2025 (UTC)

I'm not sure either. There was already consensus on this years ago. I'll wait a bit to see if more people to chime in before I make the edit. Pipcrew (talk) 08:49, 10 September 2025 (UTC)

There was no consensus at the time, nor is there one now. Gibraltar is excluded because there’s no solid reference; if one emerges, I’ll be happy to include it.

I understand this section allows for a healthy dose of speculation, but claiming that the presence of a Great Ball is a reference to the UK/Gibraltar is far too much of a stretch. Arguing that Nemona might be a UK reference just because her origin is unknown makes little sense, since it’s never stated that she’s from Galar—and we don’t know the player’s origin either. Namornen (talk) 17:26, 18 September 2025 (UTC)

Paldea isn’t a mix of many places; it’s clearly modeled on Spain and Portugal. The references, including The Pokémon Company’s official collaborations,The World of Paldea Came to Shima Spain Village overwhelmingly point that way. There are no known solid references to Andorra, southern France (yes, France has a bit of territory in Iberia), or Gibraltar.” Namornen (talk) 17:26, 18 September 2025 (UTC)

Let’s be as analytical as possible: what do we know about Cabo Poco?

• It’s a small coastal town, surrounded by numerous hills.
• It sits at the absolute southern tip of the Paldea Peninsula, it is indeed the southernmost point in Paldea.
• All of its toponyms are linguistic nods to cooking measures, Spanish words, and cities in Andalusia: Cabo Poco — from Spanish cabo (“cape; handle”) and poco (“little”); Cucharico — from Spanish cucharita (“teaspoon,” the standard 5 mL cooking measure) and rico (“rich/tasty”); Pueblo Cahíz — from cahíz (an old Spanish dry measure of about 666 liters, ≈18.5 bushels) and Cádiz; Cuchalaga — from Spanish cuchara (“spoon”) and Málaga; Dosilla — from Spanish dosis (“dose”), -illa (a Spanish diminutive), and Sevilla (Seville).
• Cabo Poco surroundings (Cabo Poco path, Cabo Poco lighthouse, Inlet Grotto) are also based on different parts of the province of Cádiz.
• Nemona’s house features a painting of Ash-Greninja in the style of Joan Miró, a famous Spanish painter.
• Both the player’s house and Nemona’s house are inspired by Spanish Colonial Revival architecture villas.
• Nemona is also the character who most frequently uses Spanish words in the game, in many versions (English, Italian, German, French, etc), even her first word is in Spanish: "Buenas!".

All of the above lines up with Tarifa, why?: It’s a small coastal town at the literal southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula (called Punta de Tarifa, meaning Tarifa point), It is surrounded by hills, especially to the north, It’s in Cádiz, Andalusia, matching the Cádiz/Andalusian naming pattern and the rest of the many Spanish cultural references. As the image shows, Tarifa and Cabo Poco match perfectly.

Why not Gibraltar?: Gibraltar, while very southern, is not the southernmost tip of the Peninsula—Tarifa is. Gibraltar has a single dominant rock, whereas both Cabo Poco and Tarifa are characterized by multiple hills and rocks to the north. Claims that the item Great Ball references the UK/Gibraltar or that Nemona is from Galar are pretty far-fetched and not supported by the games, those readings feel like stretches rather than healthy evidence. In addition, we have zero known reference to British and Gibraltarian culture. Namornen (talk) 18:01, 18 September 2025 (UTC)

Hi, thanks for your input. Let's go through each of your contentions.

• I am not stating it's a mix of many places. I'm stating that Paldea is a mix of Iberia itself. And like many of the places in Paldea, as stated in the main page, Cabo Poco can have influences in multiple locations in Iberia. Yes, Paldea is mainly inspired by Spain and Portugal. I am not contesting that. My position is that Gibraltar, being part of southern Iberia, is not excluded as a possible reference for Cabo Poco. You are saying "There are no known solid references...". This comes directly against what is on the top of the page: "This article contains fan speculation. There is no solid evidence for or against some parts of this article." However, I’m not making a wild speculation; I’m outlining why Gibraltar is a plausible influence to Cabo Poco and I feel that it's valid considering the other entries in the page. That's why I'm not currently arguing in favor of France nor Andorra because I haven't seen their references.
• Yes, Gibraltar is small in terms of size and coastal. The Campo de Gibraltar is known to be hilly, going inland. Pokemon however does not reproduce a 1:1 match of their regions. Otherwise, for example, the school/Sagrada Familia wouldn't be in Mesagoza/Madrid.
• Although Gibraltar isn't in the southern tip, it's still quite close to the southern tip of Spain. It is also the most internationally recognizable location in the area. Again, Pokemon doesn't reproduce their regions 1:1.
• I am not contesting the name. I agree. However, Gibraltar in Spanish is still Gibraltar.
• Yes, Gibraltar is literally surrounded by Cádiz. The lighthouse in game closely resembles [[2]] based on color. Poco path lighthouse has red stripes, while Europa Point also has a red stripe. I am not denying Chipiona Lighthouse as a possible reference. Again, I think there's multiple influences.
• As I said before, Nemona is not a native to Paldea. And Gibraltarian culture is known to be an amalgamation of cultures. There's no reason why having the painting there discounts Gibraltar. The other painting with the Eevees clearly takes inspiration from van Gogh who is Dutch. The paintings as a whole are not exclusively Spanish in influence. Only the Greninja.
• I'm not contesting that, I agree. Again, Cabo Poco is a mixture of the things in the area rather than exclusively one city.
• Sure, but Nemona canonically is not from Paldea. Gibraltarian language/dialect (Llanito) is a mix of Spanish and English and there is a lot of code switching, so your point shouldn't exclude Gibraltar. Nemona code switches from both Spanish and English even if it's light.

Yes, but again, It seems that you are saying that Cabo Poco is exclusively Tarifa, when I am stating that it's a mix of the cities in the area. Again, Pokemon does not reproduce their regions 1:1 with real life. I am not excluding Tarifa.

Again, Gibraltar, although it isn't the southern most point, it's incredibly close to Tarifa. Practically right by it if zoomed out to see Iberia or even southern Iberia so it's inclusion is geographically plausible. Pokemon merges a lot of locations together, like other entries in other regions and even in Paldea. Again on the top of the page: "This article contains fan speculation. There is no solid evidence for or against some parts of this article." From the above, I am not arguing anything with no merit. The great ball reference can be speculated a subtle nod, considering that it's a tier 2 pokeball in the very beginning of the game or it can be a coincidence. I'm not saying it's definitive. Nemona herself is a reference to Gibraltarian culture by her code switching between Spanish and English.

Gibraltar is one of the most internationally famous places by the southernmost tip of Spain. It's referenced symbolically on the Spanish flag as the Pillars of Hercules for example. There is no reason why Gibraltar can't be included as a possible reference due to all of the above reasons. I am not insisting Cabo Poco is exclusively Gibraltar. I am saying Gibraltar is a reasonable possible inspiration.Pipcrew (talk) 10:54, 19 September 2025 (UTC)

I appreciate the constructive tone, and believe me—I get part of your point. I’d have zero problem adding Gibraltar; digging up references is something I contribute to a lot here and actually enjoy. That said, I see a few issues:

• We need to drop the Great Ball reference entirely. A Great Ball isn’t a UK/Gibraltar reference and never has been; honestly, that’s too much of a stretch even for this page. It’s common in many games for the early areas to have hidden Great Balls as an upgrade over the basic Poké Ball. Plus, there are two Great Balls in Cabo Poco—not just the one under the little hill by Nemona’s house, but also one under a palm tree near the player’s house. Cabo Poco's surrounding areas also hide multiple Great Balls.
• Nemona isn’t from Paldea (and neither are several other Paldea characters, including the player), but none of that points to Gibraltar. She isn’t said to be from Galar, and she doesn’t show any traits that are specifically Gibraltarian or British. There is no “switching between Spanish and English” unique to Nemona: in the English version, the base language is obviously English, and lots of NPCs across the game sprinkle in Spanish words and expressions. That’s not a Nemona thing; it’s regional, because Paldea is a broad nod to Spain. In every version other than the English one, Nemona doesn’t use English at all. So we should discard this—it’s simply incorrect.
• The only plausible Gibraltar link for Cabo Poco is the geographic similarity (far south of the peninsula, coastal, surrounded by hills). The problem is that it’s so vague it would open the door to including many other places with the same features—Algeciras, the city of Cádiz, La Línea de la Concepción, Cabo de Gata, and plenty more, all of them also very touristy and, in some cases, better known than Gibraltar.

Tarifa is the one place that matches every single Cabo Poco reference—literally all of them. It’s a small town, it’s coastal, it sits at the very southern tip of Iberia, it’s in Cádiz and Andalusia (lining up with all the Cádiz/Andalusia mentions), the architecture fits the cited Spanish colonial style, and the multiple nods to Spanish culture, etc. So it’s better to leave it at Tarifa for now, and if a more concrete reference turns up to Gibraltar, the city of Cádiz, La Línea de la Concepción, Cabo de Gata, etc., we can add it without any issue. The Cabo Poco notes are already very extensive and well documented right now.

PS: The Pillars of Hercules of the Spain's flag represent the Strait of Gibraltar (a sea passage between Europe and Africa, the separation between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic), not the city of Gibraltar specifically—they’re different things. Namornen (talk) 11:46, 19 September 2025 (UTC)

Thanks for your feedback. But I think I have stated enough for what is stated in the top of the page "This article contains fan speculation.There is no solid evidence for or against some parts of this article." or what a lot of the entries in this page require and it feels like the standard for Gibraltar and Paldea is being set much higher than for other entries on this page. I have never stated Cabo Poco must be Gibraltar. I have stated Cabo Poco may have Gibraltarian influence due to many of the things added up together that I've stated before.

• I don't mind cutting the great ball. It's very much a stretch and not definitive.
• I've never said she was explicitly from Galar. But the fact that she's not from Paldea and that she code switches is a valid nod to Gibraltarian. As I've mentioned before, Nemona's speech pattern definitely mirrors Gibraltarian code switching. Other languages nor the other NPCs do not discount the code switching in the English version. Her code switching is definitely intentional as a character trait and code switching is a Gibraltarian language trait. The English version of her dialogue matters and still represents how she speaks and her characterization.
• Sure Tarifa is in the very south, but it doesn't automatically say it's exclusively Tarifa. Again, Pokemon doesn't make their regions 1:1 copies of real life. As I've said before, places in the game are amalgamations of various locations. I am not saying Cabo Poco is inspired by somewhere far away. Gibraltar is incredibly close by and it stands to reason why Gibraltar is a possible reference. Everything else i've mentioned added up points to Gibraltar as a viable location, not just the location. Gibraltar is very much well known internationally when talking about the area. Not just as a tourist destination but in history, mythology, geography etc and is incredibly iconic. I'm not downplaying the other cities, but Gibraltar definitely is famous outside of Spain.
• Yes, I am not discounting Tarifa. I am saying Gibraltar should be included due to the various nods I've detailed yesterday. I've said before, many of the entries in this page has even less scrutiny than what we're going over. For example the page has Unova Route 4, a desert, being the site of the World Trade Center. And due to the note on top, Gibraltar is definitely viable for the page. Even though the notes are detailed, that doesn’t prevent us from mentioning other reasonable possibilities like Gibraltar. And I think Gibraltar is very reasonable due to everything I've said before. And Mezagoza has multiple locations in its entry. It's not unreasonable for other places as well.

As for the Pillars, yes both pillars do represent the strait as a whole, but each of them represents the Rock of Gibraltar in the European side and traditionally Jebel Musa in the African side.

Another example in the page: the Poco Path Lighthouse and Chipiona Lighthouse. Yes, it's similar in the fact that Chipiona is the tallest. However, due to its color and the shape of the lantern room on the top, as well as the weather vane on both the Europa Point and the Poco Path Lighthouse, the Europa Point Lighthouse should also be viable for that. Again, I am not discounting Chipiona, but including Europa Point as a viable inspiration.Pipcrew (talk) 12:14, 20 September 2025 (UTC)

• How could Nemona’s English–Spanish code-switching be a Gibraltar reference when countless NPCs across Paldea do the same? If it were unique to Nemona, maybe—but it isn’t; plenty of NPCs outside Cabo Poco code-switch in the English version.
• I’ll say it again: the only nod from Cabo Poco to Gibraltar is very vague, amounting merely to being far to the south of the peninsula, coastal, and surrounded by hills. That opens the door to plenty of other well-known and relevant places in southern Spain besides Gibraltar, I cited several of them earlier.
• Mesagoza is a bad comparison. Mesagoza shows direct, verifiable references to the architecture of all the cities cited in its notes. The only thing Cabo Poco shares with Gibraltar is a geographic resemblance—something many other far-southern Spanish towns and cities also have.
• Cabo Poco is currently documented in great detail and matches Tarifa in everything—I repeat, in everything. There’s no need to add another four, five, six or even more new locations that only vaguely line up geographically. Namornen (talk) 13:03, 20 September 2025 (UTC)

Our whole conversation has been reasoned and cordial. I was about to make a commit and mention Gibraltar as well as La Línea de la Concepción, Cádiz, and Algeciras as possible referemces (collectivelly, since they are quite similar). I’m quite disappointed that you chose to involve moderators instead of using the proper venue to ask for a compromise, which is Talk. Namornen (talk) 09:57, 22 September 2025 (UTC)

Pipcrew, given that the moderators are asking us to reach a compromise on this, something I’ve never opposed, I’m going to put forward a fair proposal, for everyone. If I didn’t want a compromise, why would I have written so many messages discussing this here on Talk? I’ve always been respectful with you. You could have written to me directly if you felt otherwise.

But anyway, getting to the point:

I’ve carefully reread the 2022 discussion, and someone suggested the Bay of Gibraltar as a general reference. This Bay of Gibraltar includes Algeciras, La Línea de la Concepción, and the city of Gibraltar. I still believe, based on the many references, that Tarifa is quite clearly the only place that matches with Cabo Poco. However, in the spirit of compromise, I’m willing to add the Bay of Gibraltar as another possible reference for Cabo Poco, mentioning Gibraltar, Algeciras, and La Línea de la Concepción. I would also include the city of Cádiz, given the multiple references to Cádiz and the fact that other users have supported its inclusion.

In short: keep Tarifa highlighted as it is now, but accept other places as possible and valid references, that means the Bay of Gibraltar, which is mostly Algeciras, La Línea de la Concepción and Gibraltar; as well as the city of Cádiz. This proposal is a compromise between what I think, what you think, and what other users have written.

Best regards. Namornen (talk) 12:36, 22 September 2025 (UTC)

---

On the subject of this page's protection. There has been a lot of back-and-forth on what sorts of connections and influences should be included in relation to Paldea and locations within that region. A broader discussion should be had here regarding what connections we can agree to include before further edits on this subject are made. This can be had as part of the above discussion, or split out into its own topic on this page. Thank you. Landfish7 16:54, 22 September 2025 (UTC)

Do you consider the proposal I outlined above to be fair? I'd welcome your feedback. Namornen (talk) 17:01, 22 September 2025 (UTC)

Hi, Namornen. Yes I am willing to compromise.

I find your general compromise for the Bay of Gibraltar to be fair, that way the other cities are included, and I am fine with Cádiz's inclusion. I don't mind having Tarifa as the main reference. I'd propose though, that the specific location section could be written as Tarifa/Bay of Gibraltar/Cádiz. That way, Tarifa is the main reference, while the other two is secondary. However, for accuracy, I propose that keeping the administrative divisions section, and country section mentioning Gibraltar, and Gibraltar or United Kingdom respectively as is since that reflects the status of the area more precisely.

As for the notes section, I'd like to propose keeping the key points for the Gibraltar reference together, since it is based on multiple factors. Specifically, the geographic and visual plausibility (the hill south of Nemona's house, the Lighthouse that looks similar to Europa Point and the location), Nemona's character (code switching mirroring Llanito, not being a Paldea native). Of course, it should be written in a speculative tone, in line with the nature of the page.

As for the lighthouse section, I propose that it's written as both Chipiona and Europa Point, considering the height of Chipiona, and the color and structure of Europa Point. However for Rota, I don't mind its inclusion, but its structure on top doesn't match Poco Path Lighthouse, considering that Rota has a 2 tier observation deck structure and it's lesser known than the other two.

As for the discussion on what should be included, because it's a speculation page, I think it should remain flexible while ensuring that there is some plausible connection.Pipcrew (talk) 02:02, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

On the Cabo Poco section:

While I believe secondary locations should appear only in Notes, not in the Locations list, I’m happy to compromise and include "Tarifa/Bay of Gibraltar/Cádiz", as suggested.

However, placing Gibraltar and the United Kingdom on the same footing as the Province of Cádiz and Spain gives them undue weight. The large majority of Cabo Poco references point to the Province of Cádiz and Andalusia; even the Bay of Gibraltar—despite its name—lies +80% within the province of Cádiz. Treating Gibraltar or even the UK as co-equal is not correct. In other regions, when references to another country are secondary, they are omitted from the administrative divisions section. There’s precedent for this: As you noted, Kalos includes overlaps with the United Kingdom without listing it in that section; Paldea is handled the same way, the possible Andorran influences are confined to Notes; the Galar region has also examples of this.

While I doubt that Nemona's occasional code-switching is intended as a Llanito nod, since NPCs outside Cabo Poco switch in the same way, I’m again willing to compromise by noting it as an explained possibility. If you’d like, we can also mention that Cabo Poco's hills may allude to the Rock of Gibraltar, Gibraltar's most recognizable landmark.

On the lighthouse section:

On close inspection, Europa Point's lantern differs markedly from the in-game one: it's a completely different style, and it's white, whereas the in-game lantern is red. By contrast, although Faro de Rota has a double gallery, each element is a much closer match; the railings match in color, and the lantern aligns in both shape and color. Even so, I'm happy to compromise by mentioning Europa Point. Beyond Chipiona, there are other nearby candidates that fit both the location and the red-banded pattern. In any case, I commit to including Europa Point. Namornen (talk) 03:30, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

Ok, I agree with your points and I am fine with going forward with that. We can also cut the great ball reference that's currently there, since it's farfetched. Thank you very much for your willingness to come to an agreement.Pipcrew (talk) 08:00, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

Great, I’ll proceed to prepare a version that incorporates everything we’ve agreed on. I’m sorry if I gave the impression that I wasn’t respecting your suggestions or was editing related items in the meantime; my intention was to find and eventually apply a middle ground once the Talk had concluded. Kind regards. Namornen (talk) 12:04, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

A Thorough Analysis of Kitakami.

Whilst working on a map for my own personal uses, I found something of interest that sent me down a rabbithole. I will begin with my conclusion that Kitakami is not a scrambled mash-up of northern Tohoku, but is instead the area around the city of Kitakami and the nearby Mt. Yakeishi, rotated 90 degrees clockwise, such that West becomes North.

Going through in order of my notes, with game locations on the left, real world locations on the right. If a place isn't in Iwate Prefecture, I will specify in parenthesis:

Mossui Town - Kitakami City

Mossui Town lines up with Kitakami City. This city sits at the confluence of the Kitakami and Waga Rivers. Kitakami City also features a summer festival that involves people using masks to dress up as Oni and dance. Also like its fictional counterpart, Kitakami City's economy mainly relies on agriculture. Also, Kitakami City has a museum which contains a number of painted oni masks and educates visitors about the local culture regarding the oni.

Kitakami Hall - Keishoji Temple / Esashi Fujiwara no Sato Heritage Park

There are a number of temples in the vicinity of the Kitakami area that likely collectively inspired Kitakami Hall, but geographically, the Keishoji temple matches the location of Kitakami Hall the most, as it is positioned further up the Waga River from the center of Kitakami City, nearer to the foothills of the mountains. The Esashi Fujiwara no Sato Heritage Park is aesthetically similar to Kitakami Hall, even if it isn't a geographical match, and is notable for preserving Heian period architecture.

Mossfell Confluence - Kitakami River / Waga River

The Mossfell Confluence reflects the real world confluence of the Kitakami and Waga Rivers. Similar to what is seen in-game just outside of the playable area, these rivers both feature weirs to control their flow.

Apple Hills - Esashi, Oshu, Iwate Prefecture

As the current article correctly points out, the center of apple agriculture in this region is the city of Oshu, more specifically the former city of Esashi. This specification is due to there being a specific brand of apple known as the Esashi apple.

Fellhorn Gorge - Kinshu Lake, Waga River Valley

The Waga River valley has a number of dams, creating reservoirs along its length. Kinshu Lake is one of these reservoirs, created by the Yuda Dam. It has a few islands, and is a popular tourist destination for views of autumn foliage reflected in the lake's waters. Yuda Dam itself might've inspired the waterfall that connects Fellhorn Gorge to Mossfell Confluence. Aesthetically, it might also draw upon the Genbikei Gorge south of Isawa Plain. Genbikei Gorge is a National Place of Scenic Beauty.

Wistful Fields(Wisteria Pond) - Isawa Plain / Esashi Fujiwara no Sato Heritage Park / Naganuma Futopia Park(Miyagi Prefecture)

The Isawa Plain is a fan-shaped stretch of relatively flat land that expands out from a valley between two mountains, and is where the city of Oshu sits. This plain is also where the Esashi Fujiwara no Sato Heritage Park is. Besides potentially inspiring the architecture of Kitakami Hall, this park is also popular in all seasons for its varying foliage, one attraction of which are wisteria blooms. Naganuma Futopia Park is in Miyagi Prefecture, south of Iwate. The park is situated on the shore of Lake Naganuma and is known for its Dutch windmill and its flowers.

Oni Mountain(Crystal Pool, Infernal Pass) - Mt. Yakeishi(Yakeishi Lake) / Mt. Kurikoma(Lake Showa)

I suspect that Oni Mountain is an amalgamation of Mt. Yakeishi and Mt. Kurikoma. Geographically, Mt. Yakeishi seems to bee the inspiration. Kitakami City sits near the base of Mt. Yakeishi. A number of waterfalls can be found in the foothills of this mountain, a few streams feed the rivers that surround it, and Yakeishi Lake sits near the summit of the mountain. Mt. Kurikoma is a volcano that has been active much more recently than Yakeishi, with more frequent seismic activity. Additionally, Lake Showa features highly acidic blue-green water. Both mountains feature onsen that could have inspired the Infernal Pass.

Kitakami Wilds - Suzukoya Forest / Goi River / Tensho Falls(All Akita Prefecture)

Suzukoya Forest is on the opposite side of the mountain from Kitakami City, reflecting the geographical positions of the Kitakami Wilds and Mossui Town. Like the Kitakami Wilds, a stream flows from Mt. Yakeishi and creates a waterfall as it flows away from the mountain, these being the Goi River and Tensho Falls.

Gracious Stones - Kabayama Ruins / Yubunezawa Stone Circle / Magi Shrine(Akita Prefecture)

The Kabayama ruins are a set of stone circles in Kitakami City that date back to the middle Jomon period. Aesthetically, they seem more similar to the Yubunezawa Stone Circle in Takizawa City, Iwate. Geographically, they're situated where Magi Shrine is, on the banks of the Naruse River.

Paradise Barrens - Naruse Dam Construction Project(Akita Prefecture)

Much like how the dust from ongoing construction might've inspired the choice to add a desert to Unova Route 4, I suspect something similar may have been in play here. The Naruse Dam is a trapezoidal dam that has been under construction since 1983, and was still under construction as of the development of Scarlet and Violet, appearing on satellite imagery as a dusty pit filled with stones. Upon completion, it will be the largest dam of its type in Japan. Most of the images I can find of this place resemble large dusty pits in the ground surrounded by walls of stone and rubble. The Paradise Barrens seems like a more naturalisting interpretation of this.

Timeless Woods - Magi Mahiru Prefectural Natural Park(Akita Prefecture)

A forested natural park that sits to the north of Mt. Yakeishi, and west of the Waga River Valley. All of Tohoku is home to the Asiatic Black Bear, so there's not really anything noteworthy about any other forests.

Chilling Waterhead - Rokando Cave

This one was difficult to place, as due to being volcanoes, Mt. Yakeishi and Mt. Kurikoma are not particularly conducive to the development of limestone caves. I did however find a real world parallel with Rokando Cave. While the location differs from that of Chilling Waterhead, being east of Kitakami City rather than west near the mountains, its appearance is much closer. Like Chilling Waterhead, Rokando Cave features a waterfall. This waterfall is the largest cave waterfall in Japan. It's reasonable to guess that they took this nearby landmark and combined it with Oni Mountain to add a sense of depth to the map.

---

I don't doubt that it drew inspiration from across wider Tohoku. After all, even I had to look outside of Mt. Yakeishi to find the what cave Chilling Waterhead might be referencing. However, I do think that there is an order to the land of Kitakami, and that it is meant to generally resemble the land around the real world Kitakami City. Kamidio (talk) 07:35, 13 October 2025 (UTC)

References to Portugal Erased Again

It has come to my attention that, once again, a certain user has been methodically erasing any references to Portugal from this page, as well as others related to Paldea. This pattern of behavior is quite similar to that of "another" user who has been banned multiple times in the past for sockpuppeting and edit warring, leading me to believe it’s the same person yet again.

The only location left intact is Porto Marinada, perhaps due to its undeniability, but every other location’s Portuguese inspiration has been completely removed or heavily questioned, reframed as a last-resort explanation. This user goes into long tangents trying to argue that some other real-world location from the opposite side of the peninsula is the true source, while deleting all references to clear, direct, and visual parallels.

Lisbon is gone, despite being almost a 1:1 match to certain areas of Mesagoza [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]—not to mention the recent leaks showing that Lisbon was, at one point in early development [8], one of the referenced inspirations for locations in Paldea.

Coimbra is gone, despite the interior of the Academy being heavily inspired by its library [9] (and possibly the exterior stairway as well [10]).

Redondo is gone, despite the obvious etymological reference in Cortondo in both English and Japanese, and both being situated in roughly the same area [11]. Here’s also a photo from my visit there, which makes the inspiration more than clear.

Alentejo is gone, despite having as much (if not more) merit as the landscape [12] of South Province (Area Two), as well as any references to the Crismina Dune that could link it geographically with Asado Desert.

Albufeira is gone, with the new description emphasizing every language’s reference to Spain while conveniently omitting the fact that fornada is a Portuguese word—and that in French, the town is called Alforneira. In addition, Alfornada Cavern has been wiped of any references to Benagil Cave, despite the same recent leak making it clear that the entire Alfornada plateau was meant to represent the Algarve [13], at least at one point.

The ones he couldn't even be bothered to come up with alternatives? Simply deleted, such as Segin Squad's Base.

The damage is so extensive that it would be a nightmare to track every single erased reference.

In short, the entire Paldea section has been wiped clean of relevant, verifiable parallels suggesting Portuguese inspiration and replaced with long and convoluted justifications to dilute the most obvious answer—somewhere other than Spain. The same was done to other pages that mention Paldea's parallels to the real world. The overall tone of these new edits is: “This is definitely this location in Spain, or this other location in Spain, or maybe this one—oh, and maybe there could be some Portugal in there too, unfortunately.” In reality, a single Portuguese location would be a far cleaner match. All of this seems to have been done by a user previously banned for the same type of vandalism.

It’s soul-crushing to have gone on a tour around the peninsula to find these references—researching, photographing, documenting—only for this person to create endless new accounts and erase that work at the first opportunity, with zero evidence for their claims. Make no mistake, these are not good faith edits by someone interested in pointing out possible inspirations, they are deliberate attempts to hide and obscure information that conflicts with this user's nationalistic view of Paldea as exclusively Spain-inspired (except for that pesky Porto Marinada he can't do anything about). This will be the last time I raise this issue, as it feels pointless to constantly argue the same points, present the same evidence, re-add the same information when the other party simply has an agenda to push, unlimited free time and, in his own words, "will never stop". I leave it in the hands of the admins, but my suggestion is simply to cut all this garbage by reverting his edits to the previous simpler, well-supported state. KryptonLion (talk) 05:40, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

Azalea Town - "good Samaritan"

In GSC, the Rocket hanging out in front of the Slowpoke Well mentions he's being safe, and ends with "Aren't I a good Samaritan?" In HGG, it's modified slightly to "Am I not a good Samaritan?" This is not just a reference to the famous Biblical parable, but also a specific reference to the region of Samaria, indicated by the game's capitalization. I wanted to add this, but it looks like the page is protected, so I'm mentioning it here. Korossyl (talk) 14:26, 26 March 2026 (UTC)