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So the other night I was scouring the depths of BulbaPedia for any mention of any other “Spanish-speaking” Region other than Paldea, maybe even something that could stand in for South America, too…! Maybe there was some flavor text from a side-game that I missed, or a PokéDex entry.
Sadly, I wasn’t so lucky, but as I was about to give up, I found out about the TCG’s “Puzzle Continent”, which is, apparently, based off of Argentina, Chile, and Peru, as well as Costa Rica and Mexico. The only thing is, is that the Region has no name aside from the “Puzzle Continent”, so I took up the challenge of giving it a name! The Certa Region!
Certa comes from the Spanish word for “riddle” which is acertijo. I was debating other spellings such as “Certe” or a very flashy “Certae” but after receiving some feedback, I settled on Certa.
Certa also has the benefit of being a punny name! “Are you from Certa?” “For certain!”
Now the TCG gives us very little information, there is only one settlement card, the rest are all Pokémon in nature, or in ruins. But I’m running with it nonetheless, it gives me plenty of room to stretch my creative muscles, and I’ve been having fun!
Since the origins of the “Puzzle Continent” are so mysterious, I’m incorporating that into my little “Certa Region” project! You know how, in real life, there are all sorts of crazy rumors about the Bermuda Triangle? I really want that to be a phenomenon that Certa experiences as well.
Now, for a little bit more information about Certa:
◆ The Region as a whole combines the spectacle of Kalos and Galar with the folklore aspect of Johto and Sinnoh. The rapidly industrializing sub-Regions are akin to the former, while the rest are akin to the latter.
◇ Over 40 years ago, Certa was actually 5 separate Regions, but they decided to join together as one as it would boost inter-Region commerce, tourism, and it would be overall beneficiary to all Regions. (Sort of based on the IRL Mercosur).
◆ The Pokémon League in Certa is actually extremely new, being only 20 years old. Beforehand, they had something similar to Alola’s Trials. Each sub-Region had their own before becoming part of Certa. They tried something at a large scale for a while, but decided that a Pokémon League Challenge encompassing all of Certa would be best.
◇ The Region’s mythology revolves around the three legendary birds. Many temples and ruins have been discovered depicting the three. Ho-Oh is also present in the Region’s mythology, being depicted in enormous geoglyphs. Certa has it’s own legendary Pokémon, but they seem to have faded with time…
◆ A large problem that the coastal sub-Regions face is Pokémon from different regions. Boasting large commercial port cities, Certa has always had this issue, but its been worsened due to the coastal sub-Regions’ industrialization. These Pokémon keep driving out native Pokémon. In order to combat this, many National Parks have been established, with the goal of protecting both native Pokémon and foreign Pokémon.
◇ The language of the Region is the Certan dialect of Paldean (AKA South American Spanish), but all sub-Regions have their own languages as well. Many people in the non-industrialized sub-Regions speak these languages, but the speakers number less and less in the industrialized sub-Regions. In order to preserve them, these languages have begun to be taught in schools. (Based on the still spoken indigenous languages, most notably Guaraní, Quechua, Aymara, etc.)
The sub-Regions and their real-world counterparts:
Riare (Argentina)
Llana (Perú)
Holula (Chile)
Korima (Mexico)
Dolata (Costa Rica)
Oh and, fun fact, the TCG came with a map of the “Puzzle Continent”, so I’ll be working off of it in the future! Here it is:
I'll have to try and translate it in the future!
Sadly, I wasn’t so lucky, but as I was about to give up, I found out about the TCG’s “Puzzle Continent”, which is, apparently, based off of Argentina, Chile, and Peru, as well as Costa Rica and Mexico. The only thing is, is that the Region has no name aside from the “Puzzle Continent”, so I took up the challenge of giving it a name! The Certa Region!
Certa comes from the Spanish word for “riddle” which is acertijo. I was debating other spellings such as “Certe” or a very flashy “Certae” but after receiving some feedback, I settled on Certa.
Certa also has the benefit of being a punny name! “Are you from Certa?” “For certain!”
Now the TCG gives us very little information, there is only one settlement card, the rest are all Pokémon in nature, or in ruins. But I’m running with it nonetheless, it gives me plenty of room to stretch my creative muscles, and I’ve been having fun!
Since the origins of the “Puzzle Continent” are so mysterious, I’m incorporating that into my little “Certa Region” project! You know how, in real life, there are all sorts of crazy rumors about the Bermuda Triangle? I really want that to be a phenomenon that Certa experiences as well.
Now, for a little bit more information about Certa:
◆ The Region as a whole combines the spectacle of Kalos and Galar with the folklore aspect of Johto and Sinnoh. The rapidly industrializing sub-Regions are akin to the former, while the rest are akin to the latter.
◇ Over 40 years ago, Certa was actually 5 separate Regions, but they decided to join together as one as it would boost inter-Region commerce, tourism, and it would be overall beneficiary to all Regions. (Sort of based on the IRL Mercosur).
◆ The Pokémon League in Certa is actually extremely new, being only 20 years old. Beforehand, they had something similar to Alola’s Trials. Each sub-Region had their own before becoming part of Certa. They tried something at a large scale for a while, but decided that a Pokémon League Challenge encompassing all of Certa would be best.
◇ The Region’s mythology revolves around the three legendary birds. Many temples and ruins have been discovered depicting the three. Ho-Oh is also present in the Region’s mythology, being depicted in enormous geoglyphs. Certa has it’s own legendary Pokémon, but they seem to have faded with time…
◆ A large problem that the coastal sub-Regions face is Pokémon from different regions. Boasting large commercial port cities, Certa has always had this issue, but its been worsened due to the coastal sub-Regions’ industrialization. These Pokémon keep driving out native Pokémon. In order to combat this, many National Parks have been established, with the goal of protecting both native Pokémon and foreign Pokémon.
◇ The language of the Region is the Certan dialect of Paldean (AKA South American Spanish), but all sub-Regions have their own languages as well. Many people in the non-industrialized sub-Regions speak these languages, but the speakers number less and less in the industrialized sub-Regions. In order to preserve them, these languages have begun to be taught in schools. (Based on the still spoken indigenous languages, most notably Guaraní, Quechua, Aymara, etc.)
The sub-Regions and their real-world counterparts:
Riare (Argentina)
Llana (Perú)
Holula (Chile)
Korima (Mexico)
Dolata (Costa Rica)
Oh and, fun fact, the TCG came with a map of the “Puzzle Continent”, so I’ll be working off of it in the future! Here it is:
I'll have to try and translate it in the future!
