How Pokémon X And Pokémon Y Were Inspired By France

 

 GameKyo reports a new Pokémon that was recently revealed during a Japan Expo exclusive video presentation, where Pokémon X and Pokémon Y director Junichi Masuda talked a bit about the upcoming game. Masuda also shared the ideas behind the French motif of the sixth generation’s main region, Kalos.

The new sword-like Pokémon is named Monorparle in French, and Hitotsuki in Japanese, according to the director. Around the 3:52 mark of the video, we get a look  at the Steel and Ghost type Pokémon that is said to be an ancient soul that presents itself in the form of a sword.

 

In the presentation video,  Masuda talked about their reasons for going with France as an inspiration for the Kalos region of Pokémon X and Y, which is evident in the shape of the region looking similar to the country itself. From the start, the team decided that the theme of the sixth generation would be “Beauty,” which is also the meaning of “Kalos” in Ancient Greek, Masuda revealed.

While brainstorming which part of the world would best correspond their ideas, they wanted it to be a country that boasts some of the most tourists; a fashionable country with a sophisticated culinary taste and linguistics. This ended up making France a perfect fit for what they had in mind for Kalos.

In 2011, Masuda travelled to France along with some crew members to collect material for Pokémon X and Y. One of the game’s largest cities, Lumiose City, was inspired by the city of Paris, featuring a large tower similar to the Eiffel tower. However, they didn’t limit themselves to Paris, as they were also inspired by other cities such as Lyon and Reims, and we’ll be seeing similar areas in the Kalos region.

 

Not only is the region inspired by the larger cities that France is known for, but also the smaller areas that often go unnoticed by many outsiders. For example, on the far-west part of the map, there’s an area with various standing stones, which Masuda added after getting the idea from visiting the Neolithic menhir collections located in Carnac of north-western France.

Pokémon X and Pokémon Y will be released worldwide on October 12th.

Source: via Siliconera