What Should be the Inspiration for Pokémon Generation 9?

As we slowly come to the end of Pokémon generation 8 we look to the future and one of the main interests is the basis of the next home region in the main series of games. With a more worldwide approach to this now everything is a possibility. While the first 4 generations are based on regions of Japan we have had regions based on America (generations 5 & 7) as well as France being the basis for generation 6 and the UK for generation 8 it shows that anywhere now is a possibility. I do think a few places stand out of frontrunners more then other real world inspirations which I will discuss. Personally for me seeing the UK made into a Pokémon region was really cool and something I've wanted forever so now that is done I don't have a main preference but some of these I'd prefer more than others.

I think a region based off of Egypt has a lot of potential. At least to me you have a lot of inspiration to pull from with various mythos of Egyptian history. I think it would be nice to see a region as well which a desert dominates it like you could have it be the centre portion of the map and have the Pokédex dominated by Ground types much like how Hoenn had an abundance of Water types. I just think seeing Pokémon based on creatures of myth like the Griffin and Sphinx would be cool to see what inspiration could be drawn from these. While not for the setting as nothing really springs to mind for me but in line with using mythological creatures as the base for Pokémon a region based on Greece would be a good shout.

Looking at recent regions it makes sense that sooner rather then later Pokémon will return to using America as an inspiration. When they do I can easily see California being the inspiration for this. Between being able to use the Silicon Valley as a showcase of the tech brands dotted all around the Pokémon (and a great place for an electric type gym) as well as being able to use Hollywood as an inspiration in general I think it’s a likely stopping pad at some point. It’s something I’ve thought is possible since the Pokéstar Studio of Black & White 2 to see an American version to represent Hollywood plus I imagine having an in world representation of the Hollywood sign is a no brainier, I went around Wyndon city multiple times looking at the Pokémon world representations of real world London landmarks so it seems to be an idea they are keen on doing.

Keeping with North America I personal favourite idea for me would be a region based off of Mexico. This would mainly be to see how many more Luchadore inspired Pokémon we could get. Hawlucha is a good start but I want more wrestler based Pokémon to go with him and Incineroar. I also think they could have fun basing Pokémon off of the day of the dead.

Going back to mythology playing a role in deciding regions I do feel like Norse mythology contains a large amount of creatures and ideas that can inspire a Scandinavian region. Much like previous suggestions the Norse mythology combined with the history of the Vikings provides a really good basis to a region. Could you imagine a evil team of Vikings it would be something different. Even if these regions aren't used the mythology surrounding them gives a ton of inspiration for Pokémon which is something I hope happens. 

One final idea I have is that of a region based in Italy. Much like France I think it's a region that can be defined by iconic landmarks ready to be implemented in the world. Much like how Lumiose Gym is based on the Eiffel Tower I'd love to see landmarks such as the Leaning tower of Pisa and Colosseum in Rome (which would make a great Fighting type gym base). I'd love for the evil team to want to establish the Roman Empire with their leaders main Pokémon is based off a Horse and Chariot. This would also be a good region to introduce an evolution to Falinks to give that Pokémon some more use. 

All in all it is really hard to predict what the next region for Pokémon will be. When I started doing this post I didn't realise how many inspirations could be drawn and some I haven't discussed here as well which I wasn't able to think through fully (such as regions based on Australia or Brazil). If anything looking into this is shows how many more options Pokémon have for regions so I think it will be a good while before the ideas and inspirations start running on empty.  

Finally, if you are interested in this sort of speculation I recommend looking at the attached playlist below from Mr Buddy in which he goes into detail on his ideas for potential regions in what the map could look like to potential new Pokémon which I recommend checking out. I find these videos very interesting and also reflect a lot of the thoughts I haven't gone into detail here when it comes to the specifics of potential regions. 

http://y2u.be/AUiOH6Bnim8