Holon
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Holon (Japanese: ホロン Holon) is a TCG-exclusive location within Mirage Forest featured in the TCG set EX Delta Species. It is a known habitat of and the apparent origin of the unusual δ Delta Species Pokémon, also introduced in the TCG.
Geography
From above, the village looks like a giant Poké Ball, with a ring of trees serving as the main border and a canal that runs through the diameter into two circles that surround the village center. A river can be seen running past the city, presumably acting as the source of the canal. A cobbled walkway circles the land in between the circular canals and border, bridging the waterways. There is also a larger walkway with grand balustrades that leads to the village center. The village consists of nine buildings, which are round or rectangular with sloped red roofs, and many have a farm or orchard attached. The centermost building is the largest and includes an observatory dome on its roof. At the very center of the village is the Holon Research Tower, a triangular tower four stories tall with a domed roof holding a large metal dish facing upwards above it. Three small structures with small metal domes on their roofs surround the tower in a triangle formation. Lightning can be seen arcing between the tower’s dish and these domes when active. When viewed from above, the tower and surrounding structures form the symbol used on Metal Energy cards.
History
Holon was constructed by researchers to study the power spot, a location in Mirage Forest filled with a mysterious power said to heal people. Over time the research village and power spot came to be called Holon.[1] The research tower at the center of Holon generated a strong magnetic field, which brought out the dormant power of Pokémon causing the Pokémon living around Holon to change type,[2] with fully evolved Pokémon sometimes also gaining a secondary Metal type. The researchers named these Pokémon δ Delta Species. While studying these Pokémon, the researchers discovered another type of Pokémon capable of transforming into Energy, which they named Holon’s Pokémon. Through studying these Delta and Holon’s Pokémon, they were able to create three varieties of a new energy called Holon or synthetic Energy: FF, GL, and WP.[1]
Related locations
Though officially referring only to the research village, the term Holon is often used by fans to refer collectively to the locations featured in the TCG sets from EX Delta Species to EX Dragon Frontiers.
Mirage Forest
Mirage Forest (Japanese: まぼろしの森 Mirage Forest) is the setting of EX Legend Maker. It is generally depicted as a dense forest with flora reminiscent of the Jurassic period. It is home to Fossil Pokémon and the Mythical Pokémon Mew. The forest’s ground is rock-studded in places, and features a number of clearings. It contains an area of dead, leafless trees, and hilly areas of bare rock. It is seemingly located next to the sea, with a beach and pink coral seen on multiple cards. The Sealeo line also features a snowy ice sheet in their cards, which may be located in or around Mirage Forest. Additionally, one card features a smoking volcano within the forest.
The Japanese equivalent set Mirage Forest showed little evidence of human habitation, with the only artificial constructs being a cave shrine, some diamond shaped stone carvings, and a short section of railway. The complementary Mirage's Mew Constructed Starter Deck added a number of cards that feature man-made structures, including a settlement.
In Japan, this set was released before the introduction of Delta Species, and as such features no Delta Pokémon. This can be interpreted as showing areas of the forest unaffected by the Holon Research Tower, or as depicting the forest prior to the construction of Holon.
Landmarks
- City/town: A human settlement, presumably in or around the forest. The settlement is modern, with stone brick buildings and fully paved streets, as well as glass windows, metal streetlights, and electrical lighting.
- Cursed Stone: Depicted as a cave entrance, the Japanese name 呪われたほこら Cursed Shrine indicates that this is the entrance to a shrine.
- Full Flame: A small Poké Ball shaped ring of flames in the center of a clearing. The Japanese name 消えない炎 Lasting Flame suggests that these flames are inextinguishable.
- Power Tree: A giant tree in the center of a clearing. The English name of this card suggests a connection to the power spot, but no such similarity appears in the original Japanese (Japanese: 不思議な大樹 Strange Large Tree).
- Giant Stump: The cut stump of an even larger tree.
- Strange Cave: A cave filled with stalactites and stalagmites, lit by a mysterious soft yellow light.
- Power spot: As revealed in EX Delta Species, deep in the forest is a place known as the power spot which is filled with a mysterious power. It was said that when people traveled there, energy welled throughout their body and they were healed.[1] Holon was constructed on top of the power spot in order to study its effects.
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Sand dunes -
Ice sheet -
Volcano -
Shrine -
Diamond carvings -
Railway -
Settlement -
Fieldworker -
Power Tree -
Giant Stump -
Strange Cave -
Full Flame
Holon
Holon (Japanese: ホロン Holon) is the setting of EX Delta Species. It is a research village mostly inhabited by scientists, researchers, and farmers. Wild Pokémon appear in the city's canals and forests. Despite being located in Mirage Forest, the surrounding forest lacks the unusual foliage found in EX Legend Maker, instead depicted as a generic deciduous forest. Holon contains the Holon Research Tower and an abandoned building in the Holon architectural style called the Holon Ruins.
Interior architecture can be seen on multiple cards, sometimes depicted as a normal stone interior, but equally as often depicted as oddly organic looking, containing uneven walls and pillars, as well as a large amount of glowing circular machinery. Based on the surroundings visible in some cards, this odd interior may be located inside the centermost building.
δ Delta Species Pokémon here will almost always become dual Metal-type at their final evolutionary stage and uniquely may never change their base type at all. Those that do change base type will always change to Fire or Lightning type, or rarely to pure Metal type.
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Researcher -
Farmer -
Centralmost building -
Canals -
Tower -
Tower base structures -
Ruins -
Snow -
River -
Sunset -
Interior forest
Holon Lake
Holon Lake (Japanese: ホロンの湖 Holon's Lake) is the setting of EX Holon Phantoms, described as “the unknown lands beyond the labs of Holon.”[3] It is depicted as a large lake surrounded by forest with an intersecting mountain range of jagged blue rock. The furthest end of the mountain range fades into a number of scattered stone spikes, while closer to the lake is a marshland and an area of long grasses. As with Holon, the surrounding forest is typically depicted as a deciduous forest, though some cards include flora similar to those found in the Mirage Forest set.
Nearly all Pokémon found here are Delta Species or Holon’s Pokémon.
Landmarks
- Stone domes: A number of cards depict odd stone domes covered in geometric carvings. The domes each contain a tree and have a number of circular openings which the branches grow through. The card Holon Adventurer shows an explorer amongst the structures.
- Holon Lake structure: A structure poking out of the lake composed of three stone pillars in a triangle formation around a central stone sphere. While active, the central sphere glows bright blue.
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Stone spikes -
Ferns -
Holon Lake structure active -
Holon Lake structure inactive -
Holon Lake structure seen from shoreline -
Stone dome full -
Stone dome showing openings and others in background -
Adventurer finding stone dome
Islands
The location featured in EX Crystal Guardians is described as “remote” and on “distant shores.”[4] Similarly, the location featured in EX Dragon Frontiers is described as “beyond the horizon.”[5] The proximity of the locations to Holon is unclear, though the presence of δ Delta Species Pokémon suggests they may be close by.
Unnamed island
An unnamed island acts as the setting of EX Crystal Guardians. The island is tropical and volcanic, featuring rocky coastlines and sand beaches lined with palm trees, and is the largest island in an archipelago. The coastline contains a number of rocky arches and isolated stacks, and one card depicts what appears to be an area of algae-covered rocks. The surrounding ocean is shown to have mangroves growing near the shore and a coral reef in deeper waters. The inland areas are composed of dense forest and rocky mountains, and multiple cards depict what is either a series of above ground caves or the opening to a subterranean cave system. The forest is jungle-like, containing similar foliage to Mirage Forest, as well as a number of tall, thin coniferous trees.
Most notably, all parts of the island are covered by glowing crystals. These crystals vary in color, with pink and pale blue crystals the most abundant, and are prevalent in rocky areas and underground. The island suffers from windstorms and features a large number of volcanoes, some of which are visibly smoking. The only known human presence is a castaway sailor, and there are no artificial structures visible on the island.
δ Delta Species Pokémon are least prevalent here, with roughly a quarter of evolutionary families containing a δ Delta Species Pokémon. Unusually, δ Delta Species Pokémon here typically don’t change their base type until their final Evolution; as a result, only a sixth of individual species are δ Delta Species Pokémon.
Landmarks
- Holon Circle: A circular crater containing three tall pink-purple crystals in a triangle formation.
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Archipelago -
Arches -
Stacks -
Algae rocks -
Mangroves -
Coral -
Cave -
Underground -
Windstorm -
Volcanoes -
Castaway -
Holon Circle -
Crystal pool
Dragon Frontiers
The Dragon Frontiers (Japanese: さいはての the Furthest Ends) are a set of islands which act as the setting of EX Dragon Frontiers. The setting is referred to as “the islands where powerful Dragon Pokémon rule”[5] in the English release, though card art and the Japanese equivalent set’s packaging clarify that there are only two islands: one a rocky island in the ocean, the other a mountainous island floating in the sky, surrounded by a ring of clouds. None of the included cards seem to feature locations on top of the floating island, with nearly all either visibly close to the water, below the clouds, or directly showing the island in the background.
The lower island has little plant life and few beaches, instead featuring rocky coastline. Further inland is a valley of staggered red cliffs and pillar rock formations reminiscent of Sedona, Arizona sparsely covered in small shrub-like trees. Between this arid area and the ocean is a small grassy area containing a forest of pine trees. More rarely seen is a swamp on the bank of an area of inland water, such as a lake, river, or inlet. The island shows little evidence of human habitation, with the only known human inhabitant an old hermit. The only artificial structures are diamond carvings similar to those seen in Mirage Forest, a piece of unnaturally square cut stone half submerged in the sea, and a stone circle.
Nearly all Pokémon in the Dragon Frontiers are δ Delta Species, with all fully evolved Pokémon being δ Delta Species. Additionally, none of those fully evolved δ Delta Species gain the secondary Metal type.
Landmarks
- Holon Legacy: A small stone circle composed of three tall standing stones in a triangle formation around a short central stone. The structure is clearly not a natural rock formation, and the Japanese title ホロンの聖跡 Holon's Holy Site describes it as a holy site, with the specific term used implying a sense of age. This card features the only depiction of a beach in the entire set, though another card also shows palm fronds in the background.
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Two islands -
Floating island close -
Floating island afar -
Mesa rock formations -
Mesa cliffs -
Mesa trees -
Mesa/Forest adjacency -
Swamp -
Inlet -
Hermit -
Diamond carvings -
Square cut stone -
Holon Legacy -
Palm trees
Holon structures
Each of the TCG sets featuring Delta Species include a Stadium card whose name begins with Holon and which depicts a structure with 3 nodes around a central point, appearing from above like the symbol used on Metal Energy cards. It is unclear what these structures mean, though considering that Holon Research Tower is built on the power spot and is apparently the cause of the local δ Delta Species, it is possible that the symbol represents the location of power spots, with the others existing in the other locations acting as the source of the local Delta Species.
On the other hand, use of the word Holon on the cards Holon Circle, Holon Legacy, and Ampharos δ seems to suggest that all locations and their Delta Species do hold some relation to Holon. Additionally, Holon Circle may not actually belong in this category, in which case the pattern of these structures appearing in all locations with Delta Species would not hold. Holon Circle’s structure lacks a clear central point and the card’s Japanese title ホロンサークル Holon Circle doesn’t perfectly follow the naming scheme, as the other structure cards use the possessive ホロンの Holon's in their titles instead.
Delta Species distribution
The below chart estimates the distribution patterns of δ Delta Species across the four locations they are found by counting the prevalence of different varieties of δ Delta Species. This is based on the equivalent Japanese set and its relevant Half Decks. This table groups together evolutionary families, though if a set contains multiple cards of the same species, they are treated as separate families.
| Holon | % | Holon Lake | % | Unnamed island | % | Dragon Frontiers | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evolutionary Families | 40 | 24 | 39 | 42 | ||||||
| Normal (No Variant) | 18 | 45% | 0 | 0% | 29 | 74% | 0 | 0% | ||
| Holon's Pokémon | 2 | 5% | 1 | 4% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | ||
| Delta Species |
Total Delta Species | 20 | 50% | 23 | 96% | 10 | 26% | 42 | 100% | |
| Dual Metal | 20 | 100% | 9 | 39% | 4 | 40% | 0 | 0% | ||
| Base Change |
Total Base Change | 11 | 55% | 23 | 100% | 10 | 100% | 42 | 100% | |
| Final Stage Only | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 8 | 80% | 2 | 5% | ||
Holon, the unnamed island, and the Dragon Frontiers are all outliers in some category. Holon features δ Delta Species Pokémon which only gain a dual Metal-type without changing base type. The unnamed island primarily features δ Delta Species Pokémon which only change base type and become δ Delta Species at their final Evolution. Lastly, the Dragon Frontiers features no dual Metal-types at all, with all δ Delta Species Pokémon only changing their base types. Additionally, though not represented on this table, all Pokémon in Holon that change base type will be changed to Fire or Lightning type.
Holon Lake, on the other hand, contains a number of Pokémon that which do not follow the previously established patterns:
- Meowth δ: Is a dual Metal-type despite not being fully evolved.
- Magikarp δ/Gyarados δ: Starts as a Metal-type and evolves into a Lightning/Metal dual-type, rather than the expected progression of Lightning gaining a Metal dual-type.
- Anorith δ/Armaldo δ: Starts as Metal-type and evolves into a Fighting/Metal dual-type similarly to Magikarp, though Armaldo’s usual type is Fighting, causing it to return to its typical type.
While it may appear that all Holon Pokémon gain an additional Metal-type, this table excludes Promotional cards. The cards Rayquaza δ and Mewtwo δ each only have one type and feature Holon in their card art.
Pokémon ☆ and non-Legendary/Mythical single stage Pokémon are never δ Delta Species in Holon and the unnamed island, and are always δ Delta Species or Holon’s Pokémon in Holon Lake and the Dragon Frontiers. These Pokémon are also never dual Metal-type, though their base type can still be changed to Metal.
Trivia
- Notably, the depiction of Faraway Island in The Mew from Here! and In the Palms of our Hands! shares many similarities with Mirage Forest and surrounding areas, such as Jurassic-esque foliage, wild fossil pokemon, glowing crystals, and the presence of Mew.
- The set symbol for EX Delta Species is based on the Holon Research Tower.
- Perhaps as a homage to the Generation II games, Holon Lake is also home to a Shining Gyarados, similar to the Red Gyarados that appeared at the Lake of Rage.
- The appearance and lore of Mirage Forest and the Dragon Frontiers share some similarities with the movie Jurassic Park, most clearly seen in the card Holon Fossil.
- Of the Holon’s Pokémon shown, the Magnemite and Voltorb lines are described in Pokédex entries as being attracted to and absorbing magnetism and electricity.[6][7][8][9] Castform is described as having its cellular structure influenced by changes in climate, resulting in it changing type.[10] These traits may explain why these particular Pokémon are strongly affected by the magnetic field.
Other
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Holon or Pokémon that belong to the city. Holon’s Pokémon can double as Special Energy cards when attached to other Pokémon in play.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ホロン Holon | From holon, a philosophical concept of something that is simultaneously a whole and a part |
| English, German, French, Italian |
Holon | Same as Japanese name |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 「ホロンの研究塔」の世界観と新要素 | pokemon-card.com, archived November 27, 2005 on Internet Archive
- ↑ ポケモンカードゲーム 拡張パック ホロンの研究塔 cm (2005) Commercial for Holon Research Tower expansion
- ↑ EX Holon Phantoms blurb: “What mysteries await the bold Trainer who ventures into the unknown lands beyond the labs of Holon?”
- ↑ EX Crystal Guardians blurb: “A remote island... mysterious crystals... and incredible Pokémon just waiting for you to discover them! EX Crystal Guardians takes you to distant shores [...]”
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 EX Dragon Frontiers blurb: “Beyond the Horizon Lie the Dragon Frontiers. Journey further than any Trainer has ever been when you explore the islands where powerful Dragon Pokémon rule!”
- ↑ Magnemite Ruby Pokédex Entry: “Magnemite attaches itself to power lines to feed on electricity. If your house has a power outage, check your circuit breakers. You may find a large number of this Pokémon clinging to the breaker box.”
- ↑ Electrode Ruby Pokédex Entry: “Electrode eats electricity in the atmosphere. On days when lightning strikes, you can see this Pokémon exploding all over the place from eating too much electricity.”
- ↑ Magnemite Gold Pokédex Entry: “It is attracted by electromagnetic waves. It may approach trainers if they are using their Pokégear”
- ↑ Electrode Gold Pokédex Entry: “One of Electrode's characteristics is its attraction to electricity. It is a problematical Pokémon that congregates mostly at electrical power plants to feed on electricity that has just been generated.”
- ↑ Castform Emerald Pokédex Entry: “It alters its form depending on the weather. Changes in the climate such as the temperature and humidity appear to affect its cellular structure.”
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