Medieval Motifs in the Pokémon Franchise: A Survey

The purpose of this study is to examine the incorporation of medieval motifs into pop culture through a case-study focusing on one of the most successful videogame franchises in history: Pokémon. This study considers the ways in which these motifs may have been developed from the perspective of medieval history and popular medievalism. Each successive generation of the videogame franchise has incorporated more elements drawn from the European Middle Ages, from its architecture, knights, tournaments, berserkers, and runestones. These elements are a source of lively discussion among the game’s online fanbase, stimulating interest in the historical period while showing a mutual exchange between history and its rewritings. Studying the way medieval motifs impact the creation of pop-culture products and the way these affect the perception of history is an important yet critically neglected endeavor, which this article seeks to redress.