Pocket Gods: Desacralization and Religion in Pokémon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21532033Keywords:
Pokémon, religion, mythology, video games, digital cultureAbstract
This article examines the manifestations of diverse belief systems in Pokémon from a dual perspective, focusing both on the desacralization of religious and legendary motifs through their integration into fictional and gameplay structures, and on their reformulation within the framework of contemporary transmedia culture. Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach that combines iconography, semiotics, religious studies, and the cultural analysis of video games, it explores the cosmogonies and designs of a range of Legendary, Mythical, and regional Pokémon. The study demonstrates that the franchise reworks traditions drawn from multiple religious systems and mythologies—from Shinto and Hinduism to Judeo-Christian and Norse traditions—transforming them into narrative, aesthetic, and ludic resources. Rather than disappearing, the sacred is recast here as an interactive and collectible experience, revealing how digital culture does not eliminate religion but instead reconfigures it and sets it into circulation through new symbolic forms.
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