Pokémon is set to return at the end of January 2022 with Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Not only is this the first mainline entry since Pokémon Sword and Shield, but it also returns to an old region for the first time since Gold and Silver. There have been remakes, such as the recent Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, but this is set to be a true prequel and fans are excited to finally return to Sinnoh.
Sinnoh (known as Hisui in the upcoming game) was the colder region from Generation IV and fans really all of its mysterious elements. While legendaries had taken on deific qualities in previous generations, this generation really amped it up. There is plenty of legends and history in the Sinnoh region for fans to find.
10 Sinnoh Is Based On The Japanese Island Of Hokkaido
Much like other regions, Sinnoh is based on a real place in Japan. Specifically, it’s based on the country’s very northern region of Hokkaido. This region is known for its mysteries and history, much like Sinnoh is. The three mystical lakes in Sinnoh even match up with the location of lakes in Hokkaido.
Sinnoh is the final region based on a Japanese region as after this, they would use foreign locations. It’s a pretty good send-off though. The mountain range of Coronet corresponds to the real-life Ezo mountain range, as do the location of major cities. Routes don’t exactly correspond to those in reality, though.
9 Sinnoh Includes Parts Of Russia
Despite the fact that the region is based on Hokkaido, the region doesn’t only contain the actual island. In fact, it isn’t entirely Japanese either. For the first time in the mainline games, a foreign nation (Russia) appears as a base. It’s not the first time it’s happened in the franchise as a whole, as spin-off games like Pokémon Colosseum had a region based on Arizona.
The Russian island of Sakhalin also appears as part of “Sinnoh.” This island was once claimed by Japan in the past, but it is currently controlled by Russia. The island is home to the Battle Zone, understandably a location for battles. The island of Kunashir also appears as a Sinnohan Island, which both nations jointly own.
8 Sinnoh’s Lakes Form A Triangle
One of the things that make Sinnoh so beloved is its mythology. Iconography is all over the region, and one such common glyph is the triangle. The triangle represents the three dueling legendaries Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, but it also represents the three lake guardians, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf.
The lakes where the guardians reside actually form a triangle, and in the center of that triangle is Mount Coronet, where the legendaries can be found at the Spear Pillar. Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf even appear in this triangle formation when you summon Dialga or Palkia. Players might not have noticed all the triangle imagery associated with the trinity of legendaries, but it’s very common.
7 Sinnoh Has No Dragon Experts
The gym leaders of Sinnoh are beloved characters, and the champion of the Elite 4, Cynthia, remains one of Pokémon’s most popular. Her popularity even rivals that of other Pokémon champions, like Dragon-Type expert, Lance. Speaking of Lance, a Dragon-Type trainer, there aren’t any gym leaders or elite four members of this type in Sinnoh, which is a first for Pokémon regions.
There aren’t any Normal or Dark-type specialists in Sinnoh either, but there are usually Dragon-Type experts. Perhaps the reason why has to do with a quirk of the original games. The original Diamond and Pearl didn’t have trainer teams that adhered very tightly to their supposed types. Cynthia was known for her Garchomp, but her variety team is the closest the game has to a dragon expert.
6 Sinnoh Has The Most Magnetic Fields
Sinnoh introduced a unique environment called Special Magnetic Fields and there are plenty of metallic or electric Pokémon that have bizarre biology. These Pokémon have unique evolution methods: they have to level up in a Special Magnetic Field and nowhere else.
The Pokémon which evolve this way are Magneton, Nosepass, and Charjabug. Fittingly, as the debut of these special zones, Sinnoh has the most of them with three in total: Mount Coronet, Spear Pillar, and the Hall of Origin. Sword and Shield‘s region of Galar doesn’t have a Special Magnetic Field, making fans wonder if the feature will return.
5 Pokémon Centers Aren’t Safe In Sinnoh
Pokémon Centers are the safe-havens in the Pokémon world. They’re a relaxing sight for a trainer on the road, allowing them to heal their Pokémon. In the most recent games, they’ve even been given shops for extra utility. But in the Sinnoh-series game, Pokémon Platinum, that wasn’t always the case.
Pokémon Platinum was the first mainline game that had enemy trainers in the Pokémon Centers and you could actually get into fights in the Center. Sometimes those battles would even be double battles and these were definitely not the safe haven they were supposed to be.
4 Sinnoh Had Side-Facing Caves
With the advent of the Nintendo DS came new technology and advancements for the Pokémon series. One of those new advancements was the ability to add more depth and 3D elements to the games. So for the first time in the series, Pokémon had side-facing cave entrances.
This seems kind of silly to think about now, given that the new game seems to be taking an open-world approach, but for so long, the Pokémon series didn’t even have side-facing caves. It took four mainline generations it took to get that way and it would take another three for players to see diagonal walking.
3 Sinnoh Had A Unique Location ID System
The Generation IV games had a unique system for determining location. Fans will recall that the series usually records the location where a Pokémon is caught. Generation IV introduced the Location Index Number for distinguishing locations in a similar way between games and the programming quirk was used for interacting between games.
The chief utility for this number was to indicate towns outside of the game of origin. As such, the relevant numbers are actually locations outside of the game where it takes place. Curiously, Sinnoh itself is the exception. All the Sinnoh locations have this number in the games that feature Sinnoh, which is useless because of how the number works.
2 Sinnoh’s Original Games Were The Most Compatible
Speaking of communicating between games, Sinnoh was the apex of Pokémon cross-pollination. While it is theoretically possible to take Pokémon from the Game Boy Advance versions all the way to later titles, Sinnoh made it easier. Pokémon Diamond & Pearl connects to the most games of any Pokémon game, with 19 other games.
Of course, the compatible games include the other Generation IV games, but also the games of III and V, and the Pokémon Ranger spin-off titles. Even the Wii spin-off Pokémon games, Pokémon Battle Revolution and My Pokémon Ranch, were compatible. Fans of Sinnoh were spoiled for ways to move their Pokémon around back then.
1 Sinnoh Has The Most Shiny Pokémon In The Anime
Shiny Pokémon are the rarest variety in the game. These Pokémon have alternate palettes that make them look different, although not always drastically, from their regular forms. But they are tough to find and even after their rarity was decreased, it still takes a long time. But according to the Pokémon anime, Sinnoh is bursting with shinies.
Alternately colored Pokémon are not uncommon in the anime and everyone remembers the episode with the pink Butterfree. Seven Pokémon have appeared with their shiny colors in Sinnoh’s anime: Dustox, Metagross, Ditto, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, and Ariados. Ash and his friends were truly lucky to see this many while they were there, but despite that, Ash still only has one shiny Pokémon.
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