Gotta Sew Them All-A Case Study of Pokemon Legends: Arceus Trainer Costumes and Historical Plausibility

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the release of Pokemon Red and Pokemon Green in 2021, Pokemon Legends: Arceus was announced. A new take on the highly successful franchise, Arceus sees the player transported to a mysterious past set in the frontiers of the Hisui region. As in other games, players have Poke Ball to capture wild Pokemon, but in this game the creatures can inflict damage if they become frightened or aggressive. The technology and costuming are vaguely steam powered, hinting at a Victorian or Meiji (1868-1912) time period. Indeed, it is revealed that the setting for the game is Hokkaido around 1869, during the colonization of the northern island. In early 2022, Twitter was abuzz with news that the series would be headlined by Ainu characters. This article takes a practical look at the design of the costumes, reading them as historically plausible versions of the more standard 1990s/2000s Pokemon hero. It will offer a case study that looks at one of the many possible approaches to designing and creating a cosplay costume. It will also take into consideration other Pokemon trainer costumes, such as those featured in Pokemon GO (2016), and tie-in commercial patterns.