Designers of the next main series Pokémon game should look to the fan-made Mezo Region for inspiration. DeviantArt creator Lugi-Oh has been spent around a decade drawing a Mesoamerican Pokémon region to life, with a detailed map and over 100 original and regional variant designs posted on their page. Though they have only been on Deviant Art for the better part of a year, the Mezo Region has already gained enough texture and lore through Lugi-Oh's designs that it should become an official Pokémon region.
If the Mezo Region were to become the setting of the next game, it would resemble Pokémon Sword and Shield's Galar region in that it runs from north to south. However, the similarities end there. Lugi-Oh's map shows that the creator plotted the cities in a unique, non-linear manner to provide a Pokémon adventure entrenched in the cultures of South America. Players appear to start in the southern area of the map in what seems to be the equivalent of Latin America. Players then move northward through the Mezo Canal - the region's equivalent of the Panama Canal - to the northern area based on Mesoamerica before eventually returning to the Latin American section.
This circuitous route through the Mezo Region lends plenty of opportunities for an actual Pokémon game to bring new, ambitious changes to the series like Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Unique passages like the Sierra Mezona in the north and Mezo Sur in the south would allow for Pokémon to venture deeper into desert and tropical environments than ever before. Lugi-Oh's map would also grant plenty of space for players to explore both the lore of Pokémon and the cultures of South America.
Mezo Region Would Bring Latin American Traditions To Pokémon
One of the ways Lugi-Oh has incorporated Latin American and Mesoamerican culture into the Mezo Region is by designing Pokémon after holidays and celebrations. In one of Lugi-Oh's Twitter posts, they revealed two evolution lines - Habañata and Calatrina - based off of Mexican Piñatas and the Day of the Dead, respectively. Both Pokémon not only get to represent pieces of Mexican culture but can also be linked into larger, in-game sections based around the Mesoamerican events Lugi-Oh took inspiration from. Additionally, these cultural references allow for type combinations that don't exist in the Pokémon series yet. Habañata's Grass and Fire dual typing and Calatrina's Ghost and Rock dual typing would be the first seen in the Pokémon series and would fit perfectly for Piñata and Day of Dead Pokémon.
Lugi-Oh's Mezo Region goes beyond culture by also catering to fans' biggest wishes. Namely, Lugi-Oh has added Pokémon that fans have been craving to see. Between their Dragon-type Eevee evolution and new final evolution stages for forgotten Pokémon lines like Slugma and Quagsire, Lugi-Oh's designs would breathe life into the Pokémon series if made official.
Sources: Deviant Art/Lugi-Oh, Twitter/MezoRegion