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A fact that many are likely aware of at this point is how the various regions of thePokemongames are based on real-world locations. Until Generation Five with Black and White, however, these locations were solely based on various parts of Japan, with Sinnoh taking heavy inspiration from Hokkaido, and the native people living there.
On top of the heavy baggage from reality, Sinnoh also just so happens to have some of the most detailed and historied lore of the series, which is only compounded with Legends Arceus adding a whole new name to the region. So let’s dive in and try to catalogue it all.
Hisui And The Celestica People
In the time before the Sinnoh region, there was Hisui. There is no explanation for this name, though it can like all other regions simply be assumed to have been given to it by its original denizens without an explicitly deeper meaning. This, then, leads us to the rather important point that the current people of Sinnoh, and even those during the time of Legends Arceus, arenot the original inhabitants.
Never overly mentioned throughout the main story,the Celestica people were the first to dwell in Hisui. Aside from the Old Verses making this clear, Cogita herself also makes mention of her connection to the old people of Sinnoh, as does Volo. Both also share a much deeper understanding of Hisui’s history than both the Galaxy Team and the Diamond and Pearl clans. They evenshared a close bond with Pokemon, unlike the newest inhabitants.
However, at some point,the Celestica people vanished, leaving Hisui for lands unknown with only their distinctive ruins remaining. Of relevance to this arethe Sinjoh Ruins, located beyond Hisuibut bearing a striking resemblance in style, indicating that the Celestica people were more widespread than just Hisui.
Further to this, the Celestica people bear a heavy resemblance to the Ainu people, who dwell in both Japan and areas of Russia. This sharply parallels the Celestica people having lived in regions other than Hisui, and having been earlier inhabitants of the land.
The Ancient Hero And The Blessing Of Arceus
During the time of the Celestica people,an event similar in scale to the Space-Time Distortion of Legends Arceus occurred. Lightning struck across the land, enraging Pokemon and threatening the way of life in Hisui. To this end, one person rose to the occasion. They became known asthe Ancient Hero.
The identity of the Ancient Hero is never revealed, thoughplenty of parallels are drawn between them and the player characterin their actions. Indeed, the Ancient Hero is said to have journeyed across Hisui and quelled the rage of the ten Pokemon, making them his companions, and ultimately stopping the calamity that faced his time. In return,Arceus bestowed his companions the status of Nobles, their descendants keeping watch over Hisui.
Though not said in the game itself, many theorise that the Ancient Hero may be Alder from Black and White due to the similarly styled tapestries in the homes of Diamond and Pearl Clan members, and the shared themes of the past and future.
So ends the Ancient Hero’s deeds, his Pokemon remembered more keenly than he, but his legend eternal in how he framed the society of Hisui yet to come.
Migration Of New Peoples To Hisui
The Old Verses detail that almighty Sinnoh, mistaken as Dialga and Palkia by the Diamond and Pearl clans,shone their light upon Hisui and the Noble Pokemon, this light eventually faded, andthe Celestica people left Hisui in droves. Some would remain, as evidenced by Cogita and Volo, andthe existence of Celestic Town in modern Sinnoh, though the vast majority emigrated to further fields.
In time,the friendly relations between People and Pokemon faded, and the next inhabitants would become the Diamond and Pearl Clans, forced to rebuild that amicable relationship with Pokemon. For these clans,much of their early history was claimed from the ruins and tales of the Celestica People. Of course, much of it was misunderstood, whether willfully or unintentionally, leading to division and half-truths.
For a time, the Diamond and Pearl Clans were the dominant people of Hisui, practising their faith in the passage of time and expanses of land respectively,each claiming the correct view of Almighty Sinnoh, the name they came to know their god by. Then came the Galaxy Team, and the culture clash that came with it.
By the time of Legends Arceus' story,the Galaxy Team is still fresh to Hisui, with Jubilife their sole settlement, and a great fear of Pokemon still abundant.
Once again pulling heavily from Japan’s own history, the arrival of the Galaxy Team mirrors the arrival of Western people in Japan during the Sengoku period, a time of strife for the country, bringing much of their foreign technology with them.
The Space-Time Rift And A Child Out Of Time
Here is where you drop in, rather literally. A hidden fact during marketing,Legends Arceus is what you could call an isekai. The tale begins with Arceus dragging you from your own world and dropping you in Hisui with a gargantuan task - encounter all Pokemon.
Whether your character is simply from the future, or from another parallel Pokemon universe entirely is never explained, nor strictly necessary. You are a Magikarp out of water, learning of the world of Hisui alongside the Galaxy Team. Of course,you are rather ironically treated as an outsider by the newly-arrived Galaxy Teamdue to falling from the very Space-Time Rift that is causing issues across Hisui.
History is known to repeat itself and does so once again with your presence. Lightning strikes across the land, the blessed descendants of Noble Pokemon driven into a frenzy. For if you do not learn from your history, you are cursed to repeat it. And from the many people claiming dominion over land they never owned with legends detached from their own history, the land of Hisui becomes threatened once again.
Old Verse 5 within Legends Arceus writes about the Diamond and Pearl Clan claiming the history of Celestica as their own despite bearing no relation to it. History repeating itself could be seen as a punishment for this theft of culture.
You are tasked with healing Hisui, and heal it you do. You learn of the ancient Celestica People, of the Pokemon they held dear, and the true god which they cherished.You end the strife between the Clans, you restore the relations between people and Pokemon, andyou are graced with the presence of Arceus, the Almighty Sinnoh of Legend.
And you may never return home.
The Birth Of The Sinnoh Region
Following the end of Legends Arceus, we see peace prosper across the land.This is the first instance of such peace likely since the time of the Ancient hero, and one that lasts until the modern Sinnoh region.
As you may have already noted at this point, however,the Hisui region was never mentioned in the original games. It is Kamado, leader of the Galaxy Team, who states it would be appropriate for the region to benamed Sinnoh due to the god that so many praised overseeing the land. We can assume the name simply caught on or was a willful act to erase the rather complicated history of Hisui.
Yet as we have seen with failing to remember history, it isdoomed to repeat itself.
The Team Galactic Incident And The Distorted Side Of Reality
And so history does repeat once again. In perhaps the most obvious parallel in Legends Arceus,the Galaxy Team forms the historical origins of Team Galactic. Cyllene, who already bore a striking resemblance to Cyrus, promised to pass down the Galaxy Team’s name. She succeeded, in a twisted turn of events.
In the time of modern Sinnoh, Team Galactic is the newest threat to this storied land.They seek to bring back the gods of old, to reforge the world into a better one. This is led by Cyrus, who views emotion as a weakness, one that leads people to illogical decisions that create conflict.
Yetdue to the erasure of history, Dialga and Palkia are the greatest remnants of history he knows of, neither enough to create his new world. In Platinum, Giratina is also involved, a greater promise to Cyrus to bond with one also shunned by their parent. In this sense,the Distortion World becomes Cyrus' perfect home- free from others but the one who shares his own feelings.
And above it all, never to be seen, is Arceus.The True Almighty Sinnoh.
In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, you’re able to encounter Arceus atop Spear Pillar with Legends Arceus save data. This may imply that the character you play as here may well be the same as from Legends Arceus or a descendant of them.
