>>40678918Gens 1, 2, and 3: Nothing. I suppose you could argue that all the gen 3 starters represent tropical animals (with Hoenn of course being a tropical region), though in my mind that's less of a "theme" and more of a simple design consideration.
Gen 4 - Myths and legends (The World Turtle, Sun Wukong, and Poseidon), fitting for the generation with such a huge focus on them.
Gen 5 - Japan, China, and the West. Samurrot is a Japanese samurai, Emboar is another reference to the Chinese story "Journey to the West", and Serperior is based on European royalty, specifically Louis XIV. Pretty fitting for the first gen to be set outside of Japan. I believe this one's actually been officially confirmed too.
Gen 6 - Typical Fantasy RPG classes. Chesnaught is the Fighter/Warrior/Paladin, or the strength archetype. Delphox is the Wizard/Mage/Cleric, or the intelligence archetype. Greninja is the Thief/Rogue, or the dexterity/agility archetype. Fitting for the first gen to be set in Europe, with castles and all.
Gen 7 - I don't really have anything. I've heard both "circus performers" and that it's a continuation of 6's RPG theme, but both are pretty weak in my opinion. The circus is just such an odd theme to go off of and doesn't really tie into the region at all like the others, and the RPG theming, if true, is much less pronounced than in 6 and feels more like a stretch to me. At the same time though, it feels weird that they'd completely drop the concept of themeing the starters as a set given they'd pretty clearly done it for 3 gens in a row, and now for gen 8 too.
>Gen 8As new as they are, this one is pretty easy to figure out. Intelleon's a spy, Rillaboom is a (presumably rock) musician, and Cinderace is (probably) a footballer. They're just representations of stereotypically English things. James Bond and M16, the Beatles, and football. And this of course obviously ties into the England-based region.
