So anyone who has even vague knowledge of world mythology/religion knows that the creator of the world/universe isn't necessarily all-powerful or even runs anything
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Western folks have the idea that "god" can only be one thing, so naturally everyone here's like "ZOMG ARCEUS=OLD MAN WITH WHITE BEARD SITTING IN CLOUDS". But if Arceus had god-like power, it would only be one of many gods.
As you said, the Creator does not need to be omnipotent. The Creator's job can be to Create, and that's all. That is all we know about Arceus, so it's easy to say there could be other gods.
There are endless other tasks which are controlled by other forces, be them future pokémon "gods", or just laws of the universe. I haven't heard anything about destruction yet - I hope they don't use this, though ^^; to have an opposition to Arceus would be very ... boring and overused. It would have been better if they gave Arceus the power to also destroy, ala Shiva.
Well, Giratina is called "renegade", so it seems to be a morally neutral version of an opposing force. Maybe Loki when he was a good guy or something. Even though it's really closer to the neutral underworld gods, but most of them weren't renegades. I suppose Hades might have been but he was more of a brat, and there was the one that Inanna had to face but they (can't remember the name right now) were also more of a brat...
Yeah, I think the general opinion of Arceus seems to come from a western perspective of "OMG ONE GOD AND ONE GOD ONLY". Of course, anyone who does any sort of exploring or reading can find out about the polytheistic beliefs in other places, and I'm sure that's filtered into Pokemon. Not everyone will ever get that, but that's just the way it is :\
...You know, I think I need sleep when I start imagining the various more godly Legendaries as the Olympians. >_>;
Ooh, that should make for an interesting discussion.
Also I'm wondering why people use "Western" to describe it when the "west" is where Greece, Italy, Ireland, and Norway are, not to mention all the various and varied beliefs of the northern and southern American continents.
I actually thought of that when I was commenting, but couldn't really think of a better term at the time. I guess the best way would probably just be to specify which belief system is being talked about when?
I don't think Arceus can/should be topped because I think 493 Pokemon is too many. The 4th gen was drastically uninspired, IMO, and I shudder to imagine 5th gen.
An example: even if Arceus is a god, it is the most ridiculous looking god in existence. It's a llama with a hula hoop.
A llama with a hula hoop AND A THOUSAND ARMS that we just never see
Every gen is pretty much equally uninspired. Even the first one. If, say, Growlithe had come out today, people would be saying how horribly unoriginal it was.
Truth. First gen was really ridiculous. A dog. A fox with extra tails. A different fox with a mane. A pile of sludge. A rock with arms. A cat with a coin on its head. A butterfly. A seal named... wait for it... Seel. And a ball that looks like an everyday object and explodes when provoked. (How does something like that possibly have an evolutionary niche?!)
In defense of the first gen, aren't walking Christmas trees and bells with psychic powers just as ridiculous? (Though Seel is without a doubt the worst of all the Pokemon, ever.)
My concern is a little more practical: Arceus significantly (20% across the board!) raises the bar for legendary stats, which would seem to hint at the beginning of an ever-more-ridiculous arms race in future versions. Further worrying: how many legendaries did we get this time around? Uxie, Mespirit, Azelf, Dialga, Palkia, Heatran, Regigigas, Giratina, Cresselia, Phione/Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus. That's pretty much every legendary gimmick ever used so far: a trio, something that roams around the world at random, a unique legendary for either version, an event legendary with a cool unique area that we'll never see because it's just given to us in trades, and a super-powerful super-secret legendary with an interesting gimmick that defies most of the rules whose existence Nintendo never really acknowledges.
This doesn't fill me with confidence that they'll tone it down the next time around.
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Although that's also a distinct possibility considering how much Westwood gets stoned the dex lies.
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But if Arceus had god-like power, it would only be one of many gods.
As you said, the Creator does not need to be omnipotent. The Creator's job can be to Create, and that's all. That is all we know about Arceus, so it's easy to say there could be other gods.
There are endless other tasks which are controlled by other forces, be them future pokémon "gods", or just laws of the universe. I haven't heard anything about destruction yet - I hope they don't use this, though ^^; to have an opposition to Arceus would be very ... boring and overused.
It would have been better if they gave Arceus the power to also destroy, ala Shiva.
But here's to a Loki Pokémon.
(A Loki Pokey?)
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Well, Giratina is called "renegade", so it seems to be a morally neutral version of an opposing force. Maybe Loki when he was a good guy or something. Even though it's really closer to the neutral underworld gods, but most of them weren't renegades. I suppose Hades might have been but he was more of a brat, and there was the one that Inanna had to face but they (can't remember the name right now) were also more of a brat...
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...You know, I think I need sleep when I start imagining the various more godly Legendaries as the Olympians. >_>;
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Also I'm wondering why people use "Western" to describe it when the "west" is where Greece, Italy, Ireland, and Norway are, not to mention all the various and varied beliefs of the northern and southern American continents.
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I actually thought of that when I was commenting, but couldn't really think of a better term at the time. I guess the best way would probably just be to specify which belief system is being talked about when?
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An example: even if Arceus is a god, it is the most ridiculous looking god in existence. It's a llama with a hula hoop.
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Every gen is pretty much equally uninspired. Even the first one. If, say, Growlithe had come out today, people would be saying how horribly unoriginal it was.
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This doesn't fill me with confidence that they'll tone it down the next time around.
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