Giratina

Giratina|ギラティナ||IPAc-en|ˌ|ɡ|ɪr|ə|ˈ|t|iː|n|ə GHIRR|TEE. is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Giratina first appeared in the video games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, but gained prominence in the sister game, Pokémon Platinum, in which it is the mascot and a major part of the storyline, and would later appear as an antagonist in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. 
Giratina is a Legendary Pokémon, a special classification of Pokémon noted for their rarity and power; specifically, it is one of the "Pokémon of Myth" involved in the creation of the Sinnoh region in which Pokémon Diamond and Pearl take place. In the video games, the player can fight and capture Giratina to use it in battle against other Pokémon. Giratina has also appeared in other Pokémon media, including animated adaptations, merchandise and print media. Giratina has been well-received by critics and fans, drawing attention for its in-universe similarities to devils and similar theological figures, as well as the difficulty of its boss battle in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
==Concept and creation==
Giratina is a species of fictional creatures called Pokémon created for the Pokémon media franchise. Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Japanese franchise began in 1996 with the video games Pokémon Red and Green for the Game Boy, which were later released in North America as Pokémon Red and Blue in 1998. In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon. Each Pokémon have one or two elemental types, which define its advantages and disadvantages when battling other Pokémon. A major goal in each game is to complete the Pokédex, a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading with other Trainers to obtain individuals from all Pokémon species.
Introduced in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Giratina is one of the legendary Pokémon trio of Sinnoh, alongside Dialga and Palkia. It is a Pokémon with characteristics of ghosts and dragons, as demonstrated by its visual design as well as its Ghost and Dragon elemental typing. Giratina has two forms, the ground-bound "Altered Forme" ("Another Forme"|アナザーフォルム) and the floating, serpentine "Origin Forme"|オリジンフォルム, between which it can shift depending on its location and held item. Giratina combines various aspects of real-world folklore; its backstory mirrors that of Lucifer, as a Pokémon banished by the God-like Arceus to the Distortion World for its violence, while its design resembles the Ōmukade, a centipede yokai in Japanese folklore known for eating dragons.MELQUIADES, Felipe Sampaio do Nascimento. Ressignifying Brazilian folklore characters in the visual universe of Pokémon (2021). 122 f. Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (Graduação em Sistemas e Mídias Digitais) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2024 from https://repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/68046
The designers of Pokémon Platinum designed Giratina's Origin Forme to be the "opposite" of Dialga and Palkia, as well as to make its existence "more fun, more interesting, cooler". They paid "meticulous attention" to the Origin Forme's details; the designer "redrew Giratina’s image again and again" in order to make it "significantly different" and change its shape. The designers eventually decided to feature the Origin Forme on the cover of Platinum. Designer Junichi Masuda envisioned concepts of "reversed world", "matter and anti-matter", and "E = mc2" in designing it. Its location, the Distortion World, was designed by Takeshi Kawachimaru around Giratina, with the concept as "how Giratina fits in the world". When designing its theme, Masuda "thought of the front/back, life/death" to make it cover "bipolar, opposite ideas".
==Appearances==
===In the video games===
In the video games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and their remakes Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Giratina can be found as an optional postgame encounter after the player defeats the Elite Four. In the enhanced version of Diamond and Pearl titled Pokémon Platinum, Giratina plays an increased role in the game's plot, this time fought in the Distortion World in its Origin Forme as part of the main storyline. Giratina's backstory specifies that it was banished by the Mythical Pokémon Arceus to the Distortion World for its violent nature; during the game's storyline, it captures and drags main antagonist Cyrus into the Distortion World to prevent him from ruining the fabric of space-time. It also appears in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver as part of a special event. In Pokémon Legends Arceus, Giratina appears as a storyline boss under the command of the game's antagonist, Volo. In the game, Giratina has teamed up with Volo to cause a rift in the space-time continuum in order to force the Mythical Pokémon Arceus out of hiding. The subsequent boss battle forces the player to defeat Volo's full team of six Pokémon, followed by Giratina in both of its forms in sequence. Giratina is also obtainable alongside other past Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon and Pokémon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra|Pokémon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra.
Outside of the main titles, Giratina appears in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, Pokémon Rumble, and Pokémon GO. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and Ultimate, it appears in its Altered Forme as a Poké Ball or Master Ball summon, using Dragon Breath upon being released. It also appears as a collectible "Spirit" in the latter.
===In other media===
Giratina is featured prominently in the film Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior as one of main protagonists. Giratina also appears in the film Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life and Pokémon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages. Giratina also appears in the manga based on the three films, as well as the Pokémon Adventures manga.
==Reception and cultural impact==
Giratina has been well-received by critics and fans, citing it as one of the more memorable Pokémon of the Sinnoh Region for its sinister design and backstory. Kenneth Shepard ranked Giratina as one of the best Ghost-type Pokémon, labeling it a "fallen angel" allegory and describing it as both "malicious" and "tragic". Shepard drew attention to Giratina's role in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, citing its battle and defeat as "an all-time Pokémon moment". Emma Singer labeled Giratina as "the most demonic of all Pokémon", claiming it to be more "appreciated" than the other members of its trio and likening it to Satan in contrast to the God-like role of Arceus. Likewise, IGN writer Dale Bashir also likened it to the "devil" of the Pokémon world, noting that its popularity led to the introduction of its "frightening" Origin Forme in Pokémon Platinum, starting a trend in the series of Legendary Pokémon with multiple forms. Witney Seibold described Giratina as a "truly terrifying creation", calling it "nightmarish" and claiming that its presence and the use of its Distortion World in the film Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior elevated the film above its peers.
IGN also labeled Giratina as "the Pokémon version of the Grim Reaper", highlighting its "unholy awesomeness", describing it as "satanic", and drawing attention to the frightening nature of the scene in Pokémon Platinum whre it emerges in shadow form to drag antagonist Cyrus into the Distortion World. Justin Pietrodarchi drew attention to the fact that despite its frequent comparisons to devils, Giratina has played both heroic and villainous roles in the main Pokémon games. Analyzing its story throughout the series, Pietrodarchi concluded that it had to be "the devil to Arceus' angel" in order to properly shape the Pokémon world. Polygon writers Kevin Slackie and Moises Taveras ranked Giratina among the top 150 best Pokemon for similar reasons, drawing further comparisons to Satan in its backstory. Giratina has also been compared to Hades, with its reign over the Distortion World being analogous to Hades' reign over the underworld.Bejarano, C. N. (2016). Japanese heritage in "Pokémon". In Japan and the "West": Cultural heritage as a meeting point. (pp. 773-782). Aconcagua Libros. Retrieved October 4, 2024 from https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/libro/654205.pdf#page=773
GamesRadar editor Carolyn Gudmundson called Giratina "fearsome" and the most "terrifying" member of its trio, while PALGN's "Toastfarmer" called it "strange" and joked about the prospect of capturing it in a Poké Ball. 1UP.com's Justin Haywald described Giratina's new form and its home of the Distortion World as Platinums "biggest draws". Christian Roethling unfavorably compared the post-game sidequest to capture the Legendary Pokémon Zygarde in Pokémon X and Y|Pokémon X and Y to the plot buildup and importance of discovering Giratina in the Distortion World in Pokémon Platinum, claiming it to be indicative of larger problems with the former games' lack of content.Roethling, C. (2024, Feb 28). Pokémon X and Y: It’s evolving, just backwards | the brock press. University Wire Retrieved October 4, 2024 from https://www.proquest.com/wire-feeds/pokémon-x-y-s-evolving-just-backwards-xa0-brock/docview/2932587174/se-2
Giratina and Volo's boss battle in Pokémon Legends: Arceus has been noted for its high level of difficulty. James Bassett ranked the battle as the most difficult of the franchise, pointing out that the requirement to effectively defeat Giratina twice caused the fight to be the "longest" in the core series, as well as the "most difficult" given that the player was not given any checkpoints. Viktor Coble of Comic Book Resources ranked the Volo and Giratina battle as the second most difficult battle in the entire series, describing it as a "punishing gauntlet".
Giratina was featured in a Pokémon Platinum-themed deck of playing cards as the Joker. As a bonus for pre-ordering Platinum, select customers would receive a 2.75" sculpted figurine of Giratina's Origin Forme. This was a part of a promotion called "Search for Giratina", which also encompassed a number of other promotional items. In Europe, Nintendo made available a limited edition DS Lite featuring Giratina's Origin Forme through their "Stars Catalogue" which could be purchased with coins that are earned by buying Nintendo games and registering them. In 2022, an "alternate art" Giratina card from the Pokémon Trading Card Game, illustrated by Shinji Kanda, was noted for achieving prices upwards of $230 USD on the secondary market; Theo Dwyer of BleedingCool noted the card to be "transcendent" and "show-stopping" as well as "the best Alternate Art of [that] year so far."
Category:Antimatter
Category:Cultural depictions of the Devil
Category:Demons in anime and manga
Category:Dragon characters in video games
Category:Nintendo antagonists
Category:Pokémon species introduced in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
Category:Ghost characters in video games
Category:Video game bosses
Category:Video game characters introduced in 2006
Category:Video game mascots