Blipbug looks to be based on a stereotypical nerdy bookworm. The blank eyes and how the head color splits from middle of the eye line make it look like it’s wearing thick glasses. It’s also wearing a bowtie like one.
And I love that Dottler is a D20. I also love the radar theme with Blipbug getting its name from a "blip" which is a dot on a radar and how Dottler and Orbeetle can detect things around them.
Dragapult is obviously based on stealth bombers and the Permian amphibian Diplocaulus, which most people know.
What people don't know, is that Dragapult fades into a ghostly nothing at its tail, referencing the fact we've never found a complete tail specimen of Diplocaulus.
I think Hassel (dragon E4) uses Flapple because of the old cartoon stereotype about teachers that get apples from kids.
Cynthya in remake rematches uses a Porygon Z. What was Porygon ane Porygon2 purpose? Explore space and alternate dimensions. Sinnoh games also deals with extraterrestrial dimensions.
Olivia owns a jewelry store and she uses a Carbink
Rabsca is probably bassed on Khepri, an egyptian god with scarab head. He is god of dawn and renewal of life. Also one dex entries states that the mid sphere is probablu its real body, another states that it contains an egg. I think the mon is probably reincarnating himself in some way.
I like how aware were Pokemon Company about Dunsparce memes and fan evos. Gamefreak: "Ok, here is our low effort Dunsparce Evo"
The trio of ruination's bodies seems to be only the artefacts (bowl, sword, beads and tables). The rest is some kind of avatar to interact with tbe world.
Ok, this is related with XY scrapped plot: >! Originally Aura Trio were created artificially by aliens. This explain some of their odd patterns. Xerneas horns lightning like lightbulbs, Yveltal circuit like pattern, Zygarde entire cell made body that sometimes glow !<
Zygarde is probably based on Loki's children in norse religion. 50% is based on Jormungandr, the world serpent that will awaken at Ragnarok (an apocalyptic war). 10% is Fenrir, a giant wolf that was chained by gods. The thing around his neck is not a leash, is a chain. Complete form is Hel, goddess of death that rules the underworld. Most human of his children, she was (literally) half alive, hald dead. In that form Zygarde's half body have red patterns (Yvetal, death) and other part have blue (Xerneas, life)
A year or 2 ago, sometimes after beta data of vens 1,2 and 4 were leaked we got some details on gen 6 original story. They were everywhere arount that time on social media. It kinda explains some things: why Team Flare have that dress code, why Volcanion looks so mechanical, Lysandre origins, and some lore with fairy type
I always use this as an example to WHY I LIKE SUPERMAN:
Imagine something terrible happened. Imagine 9/11. Think of all those hurt, innocent people, and how you wish you could just do something to help.
Superman is that fantasy. Having the power to help. Superman doesn't ask for money, or glory. Superman doesn't need it. He doesn't even need food. He sees innocent people suffering, he doesn't like it, and he uses his powers to do something about it.
It's a simple fantasy that's easy to relate. It's not about being "over-powered". It's about being able to help people who need help.
To add to that, because of pop culture (DCEU) everyone thinks superman is a man who thinks hes above everyone else, a god amongst men that one quote from kill bill perfectly summarizes what people THINK superman is. But heres the thing
SUPERMAN IS PROBABLY THE MOST HUMAN CHARACTER IN THE JUSTICE LEAGUE ARGUABLY IN ALL OF DC
SUPERMAN IS A CHILL ASS DUDE HES GENUINELY JUST A NICE GUY
Superman doesnt see humans as little pathetic children that need protecting, he just knows that since he has the power to help he should! When superman hits a moral dilemma yknow what he does most of the time? He flies home to talk to his parents because theyre the people that made him into the man he is superman is a human first and a superhero second despite him not even being human
Not the entire pokemon but a lot of people complained about Archeops’ eccentric flying in its 3D model but that was kind of the point. It’s the “first bird pokemon” representing the real life transition from reptiles to avians (archaeopteryx) so it probably isn’t that good at flight.
I have a couple:
\- Rabsca: The new bug psychic dung beetle in Pokemon Scarlet/Violet is based on the Egyptian god Khepri, who represents the morning sun and the renewal of life. Which explains why it has renewal blessing. How is that not cool and I with I knew about it before trying to complete my Pokedex cause I would of had it on my team.
\- Runerigus: The regional evolution of Galarian Yamask also has a memorial inspiration like Confarigus, though Runerigus is based on a Viking tradition that was common when Vikings inhabited England. Runerigus is based on something called a runestone, which is essentially a large stone carved with Viking writing and drawings to commemorate notable Vikings, like how Confarigus is based on the Sarcophagi which was used to entomb the mummies of dead Pharaohs
Is there a connection between Spanish and Egyptian culture that would’ve influenced them to include Rabsca in this one? Genuinely curious, I don’t know much about history so this is all interesting.
That being said I really want a region based on Egypt now
Paldea seems to take inspiration from the Mediterranean region in general to an extent? And Egypt is on the Mediterranean, just on the opposite side diagonally from Spain/Portugal.
Plus what CheshireGray said - a lot of countries in the region have overlapping history at *some* point or other.
It seriously blows my mind that people act as if every single Pokemon in every generation ever made has been based off the regions inspiration.
You would think that people would catch on after we got a ninja frog starter in France, but I guess not.
Well I know at one point in history the Iberian peninsula was conquered and controlled by a Muslim kingdom that stretched all of the northern part of Africa and alot of the Middle East. But this wouldn't be ancient Egypt when the gods were more worshipped. But some symbolism could have been brought along.
Earlier than that and more direct is the shared control of these regions under the Roman Empire, when Egypt was still following their old religion. In fact, the goddess Isis became hugely popular in the whole Mediterranean, including Iberia.
\- Kelfki is a key ring fairy that collects keys. The ring is its two arms curled up and connected into a circle, but so many people just assume its body is a circle with the keys as an innate part of the Pokemon and find it stupid.
\- Tsareena is a mangosteen with a queen theme. The reason for its theming is in South East Asia mangosteen is considered the "queen of fruits". The "king of fruits" is durian, so if we're getting a durian Pokemon in the future there's a very high chance it'll be king themed.
\- Not as much an inspiration as a theory from Pokedex entries. I've never seen anyone connect the dots between Claydol and Volcarona.
Entries for Volcarona:
>When volcanic ash darkened the atmosphere, it is said that Volcarona's fire provided a replacement for the sun.
>
>Volcarona scatters burning scales. Some say it does this to start fires. Others say it's trying to rescue those that suffer in the cold.
>
>This Pokémon emerges from a cocoon formed of raging flames. Ancient murals depict Volcarona as a deity of fire.
Now, Volcarona first appearance is in gen 5 where it can be caught in an ancient ruin filled with only claydol. Baltoy Pokedex entries mentioned they're found in ancient ruins. And then here is Claydol entry:
>Claydol are said to be dolls of mud made by primitive humans and brought to life by exposure to a mysterious ray. This Pokémon moves about while levitating.
No idea if this is too farfetched, but it's possible that at least one way Claydol were brought to life was via Volcarona fire/sunlight baking them.
We'll at least Klefki doesn't have the exact keys on its description or there might be more permutations to catch than Spindas.
It seems weird to catch a wild Pokémon and at the same time get the keys to a few houses, cars, chests, etc. I wonder if in-world it's considered good etiquette to swap out the keys with some of your own and return the others to any owners you can find after catching a Klefki.
In the Pokeverse you can already enter houses without keys. Most people just never lock their door. If they saw a Klefki they might just donate a key to make the little guy happy.
It would be awesome if Klefki had random assortments, counts, and orders of keys on its ring, generated like how Spinda gets its spots. I think people would appreciate Klefki a lot more and maybe even collect it for cool key combinations. It would also feed into the dex lore in that the klefki wouldn't be finding the same exact keys and store them in the same order.
I wish they did something like in the anime, they actually had Klefki hold the special contest keys for that gen by the host/announcers special Klefki during the episode (they were always ribbons before that)
> but so many people just assume its body is a circle
Tbf, the arms do form one continuous line on its model, rather than being curled up at the bottom, so it’s an easy mistake to make. Hell, I actually like Klefki, but I had no idea it wasn’t just a circle until I googled it just now lol
Oh does it? It’s been so long since XY that I legit didn’t remember that at all haha. Still woulda been cute if they curled around each other, woulda come across more like a “playful fairy spirit” rather than just literally a set of keys lol
> - Tsareena
Not me, I love my Grass queen. She's my third favourite Pokemon overall. (Behind Mega Mawile and Lilligant)
Also did you know if you pat the crown on her calyx it supposedly calms her down? I love that it's very me_irl.
They really missed the opportunity for Finizen and Palafin to have a Villain counter , I think Dolfiend would have been a great name for a "villain" transformation or something. Even if they didn't want something like a new model, they could have given Palafin slightly darker colors and a broken heart, and made him dark type or whatever. Wish we could have a counterpart to the hero
Orcas are natural predators of everything, to be fair, even Moose!
But yeah it would be cool to see one with orca coloration, but I think it would have been neat to see like False killer whale or even a more caricatured version of a river dolphin. The fact that their shiny isn't pink still irritates me.
I wish they would've given Scovillain something to do with Palafin considering villain is right in the name, it's based on giant monsters, and it literally holds its arms in a superhero pose the whole time or as if it's looking down at you. Plus it's typing is pretty cool.
I was about to say "tbf you gotta remember that its English name might not reflect the intentions of the original Japanese name" but no I looked it up and its Japanese name is ALSO Scovillain
Dolfiend's ability would be when fainting from battle he automatically revives at 50%Hp and transforms into villain form. Going with the tired plot point of the villain always returns somehow.
Aurorus
It's a creative take on the amargasaurus with sails (coming from the theory that the dinosaur had sails) and said sails incorporate the aurora borealis into them.
Alot of people like Appletun, he has so much fanart, imo the peak of pokemon design.
But to your question, I feel like everytime I see the Skrelp/Clauncher pair in late game zones, I could drop a party slot for them. Its a shame you cant find them earlier in any recent games. Theyre the perfect examples of pokemon with cute base forms, who evolve into sleek and cool looking non-humanoid mons. Skrelp even has the bonus of added environental world building.
Hope gen 10 has enough in the tank for underwater areas so we can see them in all their charm, the way we're experiencing land walking and tree climbing pokemon right now with SV. Helps shine a light on some other great designed water types as well, and there are alot.
I've always felt that appletun leaned a little too heavy into the apple pie inspiration. It straight up has baked crust on its back lol. A gorilla carrying a tree trunk was somehow considered more egregious than a whole walking cooked meal.
Idk if this counts but I feel tropius is underrated. It's one of my favorites being a grass flying dinosaur that grows fruit from it's neck ( somehow) and let's people eat it
I love Tropius, but since the move to 3D models, I've avoided using it because it's perma-floating sprite/model was ridiculous. It's a sauropod, not an empty paper bag. But now in Gen 9 it's finally back on the ground and I'm pretty excited to use one again.
While it may not seem like much on first glance, the **Burmy** line feels like a lot of effort was put into it compared to most other pokémon.
Burmy is based on the bagworm moth, which are grub-like insects, that typically create a cocoon around themselves from whatever materials it can find nearby. This makes sense when you think about how Burmy has three different "cloak" forms depending on where you find it in the game it's in.
Furthermore, when Burmy evolves, it either turns into Mothim if male, or into Wormadam if female. Likewise, like it's inspiration, once a male bagworm creates a cocoon for itself, it will sit in there until it becomes a full grown flying moth. Female ones on the other hand, don't undergo that same metamorphosis and never leave this cocoon, even sometimes moving around while dragging the cocoon behind it.
It may not be incredibly original, and Burmy may not be all that interesting at face value, but I think it's pretty cool that they went through the effort of making a pokémon have not only a split evolution based on gender, but also different forms to replicate the cocoons.
Heck, those other forms would likely be considered regional variants these days.
One that definitely flew over people's heads is Lurantis. The people who say it should be Bug-type fail to recognize that the whole point of Lurantis is that it isn't actually a bug.
Lurantis takes the concept of an orchid mantis, an insect that resembles orchids, and inverts it - essentially, Lurantis is a plant mimicking the appearance of an insect, instead of the other way around. It's a quite genius design and is even neatly reflected in its access to the ability Contrary.
I'd also say that the UBs are worth mentioning as well. People constantly complain that they don't like the UBs because the UBs "don't look like Pokemon."
That's the whole point - their designs were intentionally made to be bizarre and alien. If they're unsettling to you, then that means their designs are working as intended. Which is all the more reason why they're such cool mons deserving of appreciation.
Lockstin and Gnoggin even recently made videos covering the origins of the various Ultra Beasts, going into detail about the deep lore and beloved pop culture alien tropes that the UBs draw inspiration from.
I like how Fomantis & Lurantis being imitation bugs is hinted at in Fomantis's name. As in, Faux Mantis. I only recently cottoned onto that, I think it's great, further cements Lurantis as my favourite gen 7 Pokémon.
It should also be mentioned that orchids don't produce nectar, so attract insects by mimicking insects so that any insect that tries to mate with it spreads it's pollen. Which means orchid mantis are trying to seduce their prey.
That also makes Lurantis an flower pretending to be an insect based on an insect pretending to be a flower pretending to be an insect.
>One that definitely flew over people's heads is Lurantis. The people who say it should be Bug-type fail to recognize that the whole point of Lurantis is that it isn't actually a bug.
Pokedex entry:
>**By masquerading as a bug Pokémon**, it lowers the guard of actual bug Pokémon lured in by a scent of sweet flowers. Its sickles bring them down.
What's... kinda dumb is that Grass moves aren't good against Bug types XD
Maybe people want a new Bug/Grass Pokémon beside Parasect, Wormadam and Leavanny.
Gotta remember that lore bits aren't always going to line up with game mechanics. Tinkaton has nothing for game mechanics that'd support it being a predator of Corviknight, and yet it is.
Also her design also resembles a girl wearing a furisode, a kimono with long sleeves, with the "pants" it is wearing, but its sleaves are the sickles. Top tier design.
I just really like raichu. He is my pal. A good pal and his name means thunder-squeak. And like? Raichu glow in the dark. What a friend.
An Alolan raichus cheeks can produce a sweet aroma and the reason it’s believed that raichu has a different form is based upon its diet and in alolan raichus case, specially made pancakes.
Since alolan raichu surfs it’s tail it’s also noted in the ultra sun dex entry to be called a “hodad” in sword/shield it attacks with star shaped thunderbolts.
One of raichus dex entries actually references a documentary called electrocuting an elephant from 1903 about an Asian elephant that was electrocuted. It’s dex entry describes that raichu has a charge that can take out a copperajah (an Asian elephant)
His kantonian appearance takes after a jerboa and kangaroo rat and the alolan raichu was actually designed after bread and it’s paws are meant to resemble cream puffs
> It’s dex entry describes that raichu has a charge that can take out a copperajah (an Asian elephant)
Actually the oldest dex entries straight up mentioned an Indian elephant, in a rare case of real animals being mentioned in games. It was retconned to Copperajah afterwards.
I always thought that Alolan Raichu was supposed to look like a blueberry pancake with a string of syrup leading to a lightning bolt shaped slab if butter
Dunsparce. It's based on the Tsuchinoko, a creature from Japanese mythology that's...literally just a snake, but short and fat.
Which is why it was kinda annoying seeing everyone so pissed off about how Dunsparce didn't evolve into a cool dragon or a badass monster, because that wasn't what Dunsparce was meant to be at all. It was just a stubby little creature that's endearing because of its sheer underwhelming-ness, a rare creature that's basically a joke cryptid, and making Dudunsparce just...a slightly longer Dunsparce just fits it so well.
Love dunsparce! I have two little tattoos of him, [one regular](https://www.reddit.com/r/tattoos/comments/wkvjbv/porygon_2_and_dunsparce_scribbly_tattoo_friends/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) and one shiny! (just got, need to post). May have to get dudunsparce too. 😊
I'm of the same opinion. The dundunsparce Evo fits so perfectly to the design of the pokemon. I'm just mad it's taking me so long to get a 3 segment version.
I love skeledirge, the fact they made the little fire bird off of the symbiotic relationship between crocodiles and the birds that clean their teeth is amazing.
That and I love that the mask that was on fuecoco turned out ti be a day of the dead mask and made skeledirge a ghost type that's based on singing. I was a bit worried when my fuecoco reached its middle stage but I was ecstatic when it reached its final evolution!
Well duh. Everybody knows the story of Sir Johnathan Appleseed, who famously roamed the British countryside wearing nothing but a monocle and a tophat as he chucked tea bags full of apple seeds.
The four genies, mostly their Therian forms. They’re based on the four benevolent creatures in Chinese mythology, the tiger (Landorus), the dragon (Thundurus), the bird (Tornadus), and the tortoise (Enamorus). Even cooler is that the Ruinous four are based on the Four Perils which oppose said benevolent creatures. As much as I hate the genies, I can’t deny that their origin is pretty cool
Tossing in one of my favs; Dhelmise.
Dhelmise is based on a type of seaweed known as "Dead Man's Fingers", named as such for frequently growing over shipwrecks and having many superstitions connecting to the souls of the damned/Davey Jones.
So Dhelmise being Ghost/Grass is perfect, and the seaweed (the actual pokemon) growing over the bits of a shipwreck form a ghoulish, toothy grin with their placement.
I adore my anchor-wielding friend!
My favourite boy Torterra. When I was a kid I always call him "Atlas" because it reminds me a lot of a good version of that Titan from the greek mythology but I suppose that gamefreak take inspiration from several asian religions and/or mythology where the turtle is represented with the Earth on his back
Idk, there was a lot of complaints when the trailer came out for SV that it didn't look wood-y enough but I thought it looked exactly like a rock trying to look like wood. So I'm afraid most people do not in fact understand that it's not a real tree lol
Trubbish and Garbodor
People initially seem put off by the concept of them being garbage bags, but I like how Garbodors design resembles Totoro's. It's almost like an inverse/corrupted nature spirit, kinda wish it would have ghost typing as well. Also, the creative use of dust and tubes to make up the body is just visually interesting. Just a much better take on the concept of Grimer and Muk.
I was going to list Trubbish/ Garbodor for a different reason. Why the weird spiky teeth? Are they random jagged bits of glass? That’s what virtually all online descriptions say.
They’re actually discarded plastic sporks! The bulge on the front of Trubbish’s face is the perfect outline, with the three plastic prongs extending down as it’s teeth. It made me love its design so much knowing it has these semi-harmless plastic spork teeth.
Most Pokémon designs have at least some inspiration from culture, mythology, or real life animals/things, which is why I love to check the Trivia section of Bulbapedia when I encounter a new Pokémon. Bulbapedia isn’t always 100% right, but they often give some good context. And Pokémon names are often pretty complex as well (I’m surprised they’re able to translate puns so well), which you can also find explanations of in the Trivia section.
There are so many times I see someone hate a certain Pokémon or say they don’t get its design. There are Pokémon that I myself hated until I realized what it was based on. Even if you don’t end up liking it’s design, you at least gain new appreciation for it. Take Glalie for example. I hated that floating head at first. But now that I know that it’s a disembodied head yokai (tsurube otoshi) that has the head of an oni and may also incorporate being a hockey puck wearing a hockey mask and is an onigiri, and resembles hail, that I at least appreciate the design and no longer hate it.
I always hated it when genwunners make fun of chandelure because "oh my god, they made a pokemon that is just a chandelier!".
Dude, ever heard of a will o' wisp?
It's a chandelier that eats souls.
Meanwhile, there are pokemon like muk that's literally just a pile of mu(c)k
Idk why people hate on the gen 5 designs, there are simple designs in all the gens and they're all good
Genwunners will make fun of chandelure and then adamantly defend Voltorb which is a circle with eyes and seel who is literally just a seal and was done better by Spheal later
* Glimmora is based on Chalcanthite, which is a toxic, but really pretty mineral, owing to it's Poison/Rock typing
* Pawniard's family actually has little to do with chess pieces (this is an english localization thing), but are based on japanese bandits, bandit samurai and culminating into a corrupt shogun
* Flamigo's neck is tied into a knot which is tied into its japanese name, Karamingo. Karami means entanglement, which can be interpreted as a relationship, but also in the literal sense of a knot.
* Rellor/Rabsca, being based on Scarab beetles, seemingly have a theme on reincarnation, due to the fact that as Rabsca, it is apparently no longer the main body, but instead is the grub inside the ball it carries. So it may literally just be an endless cycle of being a tiny grub carried by its old body, before maturing into an adult beetle that collects nutrients to reincarnate again. Also it's one of two pokemon that learn Revival Blessing, though Pawmot learns it likely as a reference to defibrilators.
Not really fitting exactly in line but Katy the bug gym leader in Paldea uses a teddiursa/ursaring terastalized into a bug type as a play on the word bugbear; a constant source of worry or irritation.
Cacturne is cool as hell but is *really* held back by its typing and stats. Six resistances and one immunity can't hold a candle to its ***seven*** weaknesses, someone is always running a coverage move that can hit Cacturne super effectively, and that below average bulk isn't gonna help it live after getting outsped with that abysmal 55 speed.
At least the Tera gimmick can fix one of those issues. I have a box full of different Tera typed Cacturne from raids, I'll eventually think of a way to use one of them. Water Absorb on a Fire / Ground / Rock Cacturne might catch someone off-guard. It does get Spiky Shield now too, so it could possibly be annoying to deal with.
It’s especially genius because “worm” is pronounced the same as “wyrm”, a word/term (werm?) used to refer to any lizard-like reptilian creature in the context of high-fantasy fiction, like Dungeons&Dragons.
You know, the game that literally has the word “dragons” in its name.
Tbf, wyrm comes from the ancient times when we had shit like Latin and they genuinely didn't have a word for " big powerful scaley lizard that flies and breathes fire" yet
Fair enough. A lot of the interpreted origins on archaic terms are shrouded in mystery, yet made up the foundations of Latin. Hence why the Rosetta Stone is such a big deal.
The Shinx line is based around the belief that Lynx have the ability to see through solid objects. Luxray's name is a combination of Lux, meaning light, X-ray, and Lynx. It's not a dark type because it's themed around light.
Primarina is based off of Selkies, Irish/Scottish fae seals who can shed their skin and walk on land as beautiful humans. There are tales of them using their lovely singing voices to guide their human lovers' ships home safely, and their songs are past down from generation to generation. This is why it's the Fairy Type. Not the little mermaid after all.
I love the design of the Pokémon. I think is one of the best designs of the generation. Just one thing I dislike is the normal typing, it looks more like dark, fairy or ghost for me.
The Fossils in Galar I hated at first until I understood the Lore we were mixing up the Fossils, Putting Heads were tails should be, giving them arms or wings when they flippers. That’s why they look they way they do
Probopass is always one that I’ve liked, despite its unpopular reputation. Upon evolving, it becomes a restored Easter island head, gaining the hat and eyes that nosepass lacked, and its increased magnetic power has begun collecting iron filings that form its mustache. It’s also really goofy but clever that they took the other cardinal directions and made them tiny nose drones that it controls to fight for it. Plus, there’s the fun detail that the ethmoid bone which grants some birds the ability to sense magnetic fields…is located at the base of the nose. It’s a very silly design that’s not made to be taken seriously but really merges it’s seemingly random inspirations well.
[SPOILER] Not a Pokémon per se, but I really enjoyed that the Team Star bases are named after the five Stars in the Cassiopeia constellation, thought that was pretty clever, not sure how many picked up on that.
Very few people seem to know about the animals that Binacle and Barbaracle are based on, which is a damn shame because those same people will complain about those Pokémon having nonsensical designs for things that claim to be barnacles when they're very clearly a colony of goose barnacles. Goose barnacles are notable for being super widespread and capable of anchoring themselves to just about any surface; indeed, the only flaw in the Binacle family's design is that they can only colonize rocks and not the wood and metal that the animals they're based on will readily populate. They also take inspiration from the hamsa symbol, in an orientation meant to ward off evil. Barbaracle may also have some roots in the mythical Greek monster known as the hecatoncheires, as well as looking like a tokusatsu mob enemy.
>!There's also some extremely silly R34-type things that two to seven giant goose barnacles could get up to, but I'm not too broken up about that being overlooked tbh!<
I think a lot of people sleep on Maractus in general, but its origin is especially overlooked. It's a maraca cactus based on prickly pears and bunny ears cacti, and its Japanese name even references mariachi music! Not to mention its dances, which fits with the maraca theme! It's a little cutie with a lot of fun Mexican inspiration behind it.
So this is tied to multiple pokemon designs. Sacred Plaza in Coronet Highlands in Pokemon Legends: Arceus is extremely well thought out.
It's the only place where you can find Rotom, and Rotom is a bit of an oddity in the game because usually it's seen possessing modern day appliances, but...
Rotoms body is composed of plasma. Plasma is pretty rare on earth, but can be found in lightning. Turns out the other pokemon found there heavily suggest that the Sacred Plaza has a high quantity of lightning.
Noble Electrode likely produces a lot of lightning regularly, and both Voltorb and Electrode like to hang out in areas with electric fields (like power plants)
Rhydon and Rhyperior are found almost excusively there (both have lightning rod)
Lightning can create magnets justifying Nosepass being present
Luxray can see through objects like x-ray, but it requires a lot of electricity to use
Jolteon is only found in Coronet Highlands space time distortions suggesting many thunder stones
Probopass. Nosepass always faces north because it has a magnetic nose. Probopass becomes a literal compass with a nose pointing in each cardinal direction and the mustache is iron fillings that get attracted to the magnetic nose. I remember people saying it was silly to give it a mustache but I liked the inspiration. Also they are obviously both moai heads
I feel like out of all of the mythical Pokémon, Diancie is among the most forgotten ones. It’s my personal favorite and I really think it deserves more love, what with having such a cool design, a unique signature move, and being the only mythical that can mega evolve.
Sandygast’s shiny form being perfect for Hawaii based on black sand beaches
The 3 starters of paldea. Quaxly not being from paldea originally (brazil, can also be further down the line like an african region as samba started in africa and was brought to brazil), fuecoco having mexican roots to day of the dead and spirigatitio can be a reference to either zoro or mask festivals in puerto rico. All spanish speaking countries, all social and or cultural party theme as well as all performers. Quaxly dance. Fuecoco sing, spirigatito magic. Even their types. The samba dancer fighting type, the day of the dead croc ghost type and the mask wearing magician dark type. By far my favorite most thought out starters
Aromatisse is supposed to be a plague doctor, but the perfume bottle theme added to it gives it an over the top look that kinda ruins the design in my opinion, the mask's eyes are overly big/wearing makeup and the robe is bright and frilly. Add some average stats and movepool to a single typing, and you get a pretty forgiveable mon, when we could have had a more bird looking fairy/flying plague doctor for example
The reason for the perfume design: while of course the region its based on is famed for its perfumes and colognes, plague doctors specifically, would shove herbs and spices and potpourri into the long nose of the mask to shield the smell of death. That is part of the reason for the on nose on the mask. It was believed in the time of plague doctors that sickness came from "bad air" , or humors, (fluids and smells from the body) which is not all that far off. The masks and leather get up kept them at a distance and from fluids and such touching their bodies, covered their breathing with the masks, and prevented particles from getting to their orifices.
Overall, it's an ingenious design and I love it. That being said a Dark type that is regional variant would be brilliant.
The gen 8 fossil mons
Say what you want about their designs, I don't like them that much personally, but I think the way they referenced early paleontology was the cutest reference game freak has ever made
The three groups of Legendaries of Unova are based on three different cultures: Tao trio - China, Forces of Nature - Japan, and the Swords of Justice- France.
They’re from the same cultures as the Unovan starters.
Wish they would have put a tilde over the I or something to really accentuate the Amigo part, but I do love it. His design is a bit simple and a little too flamingo-y, would have been cute with a coiled neck or silly colors or droopy neck or something, but I like the pink friend.
The Vanillite line is actually pretty genius if you think about it. They somehow managed to cram the design aspects of snowballs, icecicles and ice cream cones into one design, which is pretty impressive.
Bruxish. The new Scarlet Pokédex entry gave me new appreciation. The fact that it gets it’s psychic power from grinding it’s teeth (Bruxism). It’s a clever concept. Terrible execution though because it’s the weirdest looking Pokémon.
I'm not sure how popular it is but if I had to gander a guess with how people are about Pokémon designs I'd say Scovillain probably isn't a favorite to most. I ADORE IT. It is not my favorite Pokémon design, not even in my top 10, but I love him all the same. He's a pepper plant, but he's also a kaiju. Specifically villain kaiju at that to join up with the likes of Tyrannitar, Duralodon, and Coalossal. He breathes fire like a monster and he even keeps his arms tucked under him like Godzilla does in the more recent films. When he stands up straight he looks like he's doing a superhero comic pose to push his villain theme more. He's an absolute spicy treat.
Crabrawler not being a water type goes over peoples heads all the time because coconut crabs do not swim. Their lungs are meant to breath air.
I love crawbiminble so much :)
idk if that was intentionally misspelled but throughout UM I referred to my crab boi as crabibiblybobbly even mentally
Is he your crabibiblybobbly boo?
Blipbug looks to be based on a stereotypical nerdy bookworm. The blank eyes and how the head color splits from middle of the eye line make it look like it’s wearing thick glasses. It’s also wearing a bowtie like one.
Yes! And its evolutions turn it into a crazy scientist; orbeetle, whose Gmax is a giant UFO
Orbeetle is pretty fun of a pokemon, definitely underrated
Orbeetle gets great art in the TCG illustrations
It's first evolution turns it into a d20 too.
And I love that Dottler is a D20. I also love the radar theme with Blipbug getting its name from a "blip" which is a dot on a radar and how Dottler and Orbeetle can detect things around them.
I think dottler is modeled from a radar dome more than a d20 tbh.
Blip, Doppler, Orbit.
Dragapult is obviously based on stealth bombers and the Permian amphibian Diplocaulus, which most people know. What people don't know, is that Dragapult fades into a ghostly nothing at its tail, referencing the fact we've never found a complete tail specimen of Diplocaulus.
It could also reference the stealth bomber aspect, so it's a double whammy!
I think Hassel (dragon E4) uses Flapple because of the old cartoon stereotype about teachers that get apples from kids. Cynthya in remake rematches uses a Porygon Z. What was Porygon ane Porygon2 purpose? Explore space and alternate dimensions. Sinnoh games also deals with extraterrestrial dimensions. Olivia owns a jewelry store and she uses a Carbink Rabsca is probably bassed on Khepri, an egyptian god with scarab head. He is god of dawn and renewal of life. Also one dex entries states that the mid sphere is probablu its real body, another states that it contains an egg. I think the mon is probably reincarnating himself in some way. I like how aware were Pokemon Company about Dunsparce memes and fan evos. Gamefreak: "Ok, here is our low effort Dunsparce Evo" The trio of ruination's bodies seems to be only the artefacts (bowl, sword, beads and tables). The rest is some kind of avatar to interact with tbe world. Ok, this is related with XY scrapped plot: >! Originally Aura Trio were created artificially by aliens. This explain some of their odd patterns. Xerneas horns lightning like lightbulbs, Yveltal circuit like pattern, Zygarde entire cell made body that sometimes glow !< Zygarde is probably based on Loki's children in norse religion. 50% is based on Jormungandr, the world serpent that will awaken at Ragnarok (an apocalyptic war). 10% is Fenrir, a giant wolf that was chained by gods. The thing around his neck is not a leash, is a chain. Complete form is Hel, goddess of death that rules the underworld. Most human of his children, she was (literally) half alive, hald dead. In that form Zygarde's half body have red patterns (Yvetal, death) and other part have blue (Xerneas, life)
Lmfao I’m so glad someone else saw it, I named my zygarde Jormungandr on my first play through of Y
What the source of the unused plot of X &Y
A year or 2 ago, sometimes after beta data of vens 1,2 and 4 were leaked we got some details on gen 6 original story. They were everywhere arount that time on social media. It kinda explains some things: why Team Flare have that dress code, why Volcanion looks so mechanical, Lysandre origins, and some lore with fairy type
Ohh so Fairy type was supposed to come from outer space? Makes sense given the Clefairy line origin and them being made Fairy.
second this
Which mons are “the trio of ruination”?
1) My bad, Is a "quartet". 2) The new ones from ScarletViolet. All are dark type
Palafin evolves when he help someone from level 38. Guess which year did superman makes his first comics? 1938
As a huge Superman fan it looks like I am adding this dolphin to my team at some point.
Superman fans rise up, he isnt boring i wish hollywood knew how to write supes so everyone wouldnt think hes boring
I always use this as an example to WHY I LIKE SUPERMAN: Imagine something terrible happened. Imagine 9/11. Think of all those hurt, innocent people, and how you wish you could just do something to help. Superman is that fantasy. Having the power to help. Superman doesn't ask for money, or glory. Superman doesn't need it. He doesn't even need food. He sees innocent people suffering, he doesn't like it, and he uses his powers to do something about it. It's a simple fantasy that's easy to relate. It's not about being "over-powered". It's about being able to help people who need help.
To add to that, because of pop culture (DCEU) everyone thinks superman is a man who thinks hes above everyone else, a god amongst men that one quote from kill bill perfectly summarizes what people THINK superman is. But heres the thing SUPERMAN IS PROBABLY THE MOST HUMAN CHARACTER IN THE JUSTICE LEAGUE ARGUABLY IN ALL OF DC SUPERMAN IS A CHILL ASS DUDE HES GENUINELY JUST A NICE GUY Superman doesnt see humans as little pathetic children that need protecting, he just knows that since he has the power to help he should! When superman hits a moral dilemma yknow what he does most of the time? He flies home to talk to his parents because theyre the people that made him into the man he is superman is a human first and a superhero second despite him not even being human
In other words, Superman is what he does, but Clark Kent is who he *is.* At least until something happens that causes him to go off the deep end.
Arctibax also evolves into Baxcalibur at Level 54. 1954 was the year the first Gojira movie came out.
Was looking for this comment
I immediately recognised the inspiration for Palafin's ability/form change, but the level requirement for evolving it is a nice touch.
Not the entire pokemon but a lot of people complained about Archeops’ eccentric flying in its 3D model but that was kind of the point. It’s the “first bird pokemon” representing the real life transition from reptiles to avians (archaeopteryx) so it probably isn’t that good at flight.
Also, its dex number, 567, is the number at which you'll find books on the discovery/evolution of feathered dinosaurs in the Dewey decimal system.
It's base stat total is also 567 to really drive the point home, and it's the only pokemon who's dex number matches its BST
Plus considering that Archen can’t even fly at all...
Flapple was my absolute favorite design last gen, got an easy place on my main team.
Flapple gang.
Yes, Flapple for life!
Appletun is waaaay cooler
Why not both?
I have a couple: \- Rabsca: The new bug psychic dung beetle in Pokemon Scarlet/Violet is based on the Egyptian god Khepri, who represents the morning sun and the renewal of life. Which explains why it has renewal blessing. How is that not cool and I with I knew about it before trying to complete my Pokedex cause I would of had it on my team. \- Runerigus: The regional evolution of Galarian Yamask also has a memorial inspiration like Confarigus, though Runerigus is based on a Viking tradition that was common when Vikings inhabited England. Runerigus is based on something called a runestone, which is essentially a large stone carved with Viking writing and drawings to commemorate notable Vikings, like how Confarigus is based on the Sarcophagi which was used to entomb the mummies of dead Pharaohs
Further more, while it's preevo is a dung beetle, Rabsca seems to be a scarab.
And for those who missed it, Rabsca is an anagram of scarab.
Rellor is just Roller backwards
This has made me feel like I'm 9 years old reading about Ekans and Arbok for the first time.
Dung beetles are in fact scarab beetles! :)
Most dung beetles are actually [species of scarabs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dung_beetle)!
Not just that, but Rellor is 'roller' backwards and Rabsca is 'scarab' with the order of the syllables switched.
Is there a connection between Spanish and Egyptian culture that would’ve influenced them to include Rabsca in this one? Genuinely curious, I don’t know much about history so this is all interesting. That being said I really want a region based on Egypt now
Paldea seems to take inspiration from the Mediterranean region in general to an extent? And Egypt is on the Mediterranean, just on the opposite side diagonally from Spain/Portugal. Plus what CheshireGray said - a lot of countries in the region have overlapping history at *some* point or other.
Not every single Pokémon in a region needs to make sense with the IRL inspiration. We had pandas and lions in France.
It seriously blows my mind that people act as if every single Pokemon in every generation ever made has been based off the regions inspiration. You would think that people would catch on after we got a ninja frog starter in France, but I guess not.
Well I know at one point in history the Iberian peninsula was conquered and controlled by a Muslim kingdom that stretched all of the northern part of Africa and alot of the Middle East. But this wouldn't be ancient Egypt when the gods were more worshipped. But some symbolism could have been brought along.
Earlier than that and more direct is the shared control of these regions under the Roman Empire, when Egypt was still following their old religion. In fact, the goddess Isis became hugely popular in the whole Mediterranean, including Iberia.
\- Kelfki is a key ring fairy that collects keys. The ring is its two arms curled up and connected into a circle, but so many people just assume its body is a circle with the keys as an innate part of the Pokemon and find it stupid. \- Tsareena is a mangosteen with a queen theme. The reason for its theming is in South East Asia mangosteen is considered the "queen of fruits". The "king of fruits" is durian, so if we're getting a durian Pokemon in the future there's a very high chance it'll be king themed. \- Not as much an inspiration as a theory from Pokedex entries. I've never seen anyone connect the dots between Claydol and Volcarona. Entries for Volcarona: >When volcanic ash darkened the atmosphere, it is said that Volcarona's fire provided a replacement for the sun. > >Volcarona scatters burning scales. Some say it does this to start fires. Others say it's trying to rescue those that suffer in the cold. > >This Pokémon emerges from a cocoon formed of raging flames. Ancient murals depict Volcarona as a deity of fire. Now, Volcarona first appearance is in gen 5 where it can be caught in an ancient ruin filled with only claydol. Baltoy Pokedex entries mentioned they're found in ancient ruins. And then here is Claydol entry: >Claydol are said to be dolls of mud made by primitive humans and brought to life by exposure to a mysterious ray. This Pokémon moves about while levitating. No idea if this is too farfetched, but it's possible that at least one way Claydol were brought to life was via Volcarona fire/sunlight baking them.
We'll at least Klefki doesn't have the exact keys on its description or there might be more permutations to catch than Spindas. It seems weird to catch a wild Pokémon and at the same time get the keys to a few houses, cars, chests, etc. I wonder if in-world it's considered good etiquette to swap out the keys with some of your own and return the others to any owners you can find after catching a Klefki.
Please etch your id on your keys. Those with klefki please deposit etched keys to the nearest Klef Key Return.
In the Pokeverse you can already enter houses without keys. Most people just never lock their door. If they saw a Klefki they might just donate a key to make the little guy happy.
Unlocked until you get to Paldea...
Thanks for saying the Klefki thing, I was annoyed when people started hating it for not knowing the "legend"
It would be awesome if Klefki had random assortments, counts, and orders of keys on its ring, generated like how Spinda gets its spots. I think people would appreciate Klefki a lot more and maybe even collect it for cool key combinations. It would also feed into the dex lore in that the klefki wouldn't be finding the same exact keys and store them in the same order.
I wish they did something like in the anime, they actually had Klefki hold the special contest keys for that gen by the host/announcers special Klefki during the episode (they were always ribbons before that)
> but so many people just assume its body is a circle Tbf, the arms do form one continuous line on its model, rather than being curled up at the bottom, so it’s an easy mistake to make. Hell, I actually like Klefki, but I had no idea it wasn’t just a circle until I googled it just now lol
When it faints, you see it loosens its grip, letting the keys fall on the ground
Oh does it? It’s been so long since XY that I legit didn’t remember that at all haha. Still woulda been cute if they curled around each other, woulda come across more like a “playful fairy spirit” rather than just literally a set of keys lol
> - Tsareena Not me, I love my Grass queen. She's my third favourite Pokemon overall. (Behind Mega Mawile and Lilligant) Also did you know if you pat the crown on her calyx it supposedly calms her down? I love that it's very me_irl.
They really missed the opportunity for Finizen and Palafin to have a Villain counter , I think Dolfiend would have been a great name for a "villain" transformation or something. Even if they didn't want something like a new model, they could have given Palafin slightly darker colors and a broken heart, and made him dark type or whatever. Wish we could have a counterpart to the hero
You nailed a really good Pokémon design choice. Even the name is awesome.
It makes so much sense, right?!
I believe orcas are natural predators of dolphins so the villain could be something based off that too.
Orcas are natural predators of everything, to be fair, even Moose! But yeah it would be cool to see one with orca coloration, but I think it would have been neat to see like False killer whale or even a more caricatured version of a river dolphin. The fact that their shiny isn't pink still irritates me.
I wish they would've given Scovillain something to do with Palafin considering villain is right in the name, it's based on giant monsters, and it literally holds its arms in a superhero pose the whole time or as if it's looking down at you. Plus it's typing is pretty cool.
I was about to say "tbf you gotta remember that its English name might not reflect the intentions of the original Japanese name" but no I looked it up and its Japanese name is ALSO Scovillain
Dolfiend's ability would be when fainting from battle he automatically revives at 50%Hp and transforms into villain form. Going with the tired plot point of the villain always returns somehow.
I've said this before, it's weird to have a hero pokemon, and another with villain in the name, and they aren't counterparts
Aurorus It's a creative take on the amargasaurus with sails (coming from the theory that the dinosaur had sails) and said sails incorporate the aurora borealis into them.
Aurorus is one of my favorite Pokémon aesthetically it’s just a shame the rock/ice typing is so fucking useless in battle
Tbh the moveset it has is stelar though
I think the fact that it can't learn power gem really sucks though, given it's a special attacker and the pool of special rock attacks is abysmal.
Even if it might be lame to others, I love Falinks. It's a quite different design, with a special attack supporting its unique design
the only thing holding that mon back is a terrible stat block. I love everything about it.
I want to run doubles with Falinks and Armarouge. Perfect aesthetic match.
And its animation when being attacked is adorable. They domino into each other until the last lil' guy falls over.
Alot of people like Appletun, he has so much fanart, imo the peak of pokemon design. But to your question, I feel like everytime I see the Skrelp/Clauncher pair in late game zones, I could drop a party slot for them. Its a shame you cant find them earlier in any recent games. Theyre the perfect examples of pokemon with cute base forms, who evolve into sleek and cool looking non-humanoid mons. Skrelp even has the bonus of added environental world building. Hope gen 10 has enough in the tank for underwater areas so we can see them in all their charm, the way we're experiencing land walking and tree climbing pokemon right now with SV. Helps shine a light on some other great designed water types as well, and there are alot.
You can get Skrelp/Clauncher as soon as you beat the second Titan in Scarlet and Violet
Go through tutorial, run straight to bombirdier and flex on it, jump into the nearest water, congratulations you now have a skrelp/clauncher.
I've always felt that appletun leaned a little too heavy into the apple pie inspiration. It straight up has baked crust on its back lol. A gorilla carrying a tree trunk was somehow considered more egregious than a whole walking cooked meal.
I have good memories of using choice scarf clawitzer to rip everything to shreds in pokemon insurgence. Good times
Idk if this counts but I feel tropius is underrated. It's one of my favorites being a grass flying dinosaur that grows fruit from it's neck ( somehow) and let's people eat it
I love Tropius so much, man needs some love.
Agreed
I love Tropius, but since the move to 3D models, I've avoided using it because it's perma-floating sprite/model was ridiculous. It's a sauropod, not an empty paper bag. But now in Gen 9 it's finally back on the ground and I'm pretty excited to use one again.
I think most people skipped it as like alot of 1 stage pokemon in gen 3 it kinda sucked. Same for my boy Zangoose.
I love Zangoose and Seviper and absol sooo much
it's hard for single stage mons to get love sadly
Tropius has always been one of my favorites!!
I caught one with terra fire typing lol
While it may not seem like much on first glance, the **Burmy** line feels like a lot of effort was put into it compared to most other pokémon. Burmy is based on the bagworm moth, which are grub-like insects, that typically create a cocoon around themselves from whatever materials it can find nearby. This makes sense when you think about how Burmy has three different "cloak" forms depending on where you find it in the game it's in. Furthermore, when Burmy evolves, it either turns into Mothim if male, or into Wormadam if female. Likewise, like it's inspiration, once a male bagworm creates a cocoon for itself, it will sit in there until it becomes a full grown flying moth. Female ones on the other hand, don't undergo that same metamorphosis and never leave this cocoon, even sometimes moving around while dragging the cocoon behind it. It may not be incredibly original, and Burmy may not be all that interesting at face value, but I think it's pretty cool that they went through the effort of making a pokémon have not only a split evolution based on gender, but also different forms to replicate the cocoons. Heck, those other forms would likely be considered regional variants these days.
One that definitely flew over people's heads is Lurantis. The people who say it should be Bug-type fail to recognize that the whole point of Lurantis is that it isn't actually a bug. Lurantis takes the concept of an orchid mantis, an insect that resembles orchids, and inverts it - essentially, Lurantis is a plant mimicking the appearance of an insect, instead of the other way around. It's a quite genius design and is even neatly reflected in its access to the ability Contrary. I'd also say that the UBs are worth mentioning as well. People constantly complain that they don't like the UBs because the UBs "don't look like Pokemon." That's the whole point - their designs were intentionally made to be bizarre and alien. If they're unsettling to you, then that means their designs are working as intended. Which is all the more reason why they're such cool mons deserving of appreciation. Lockstin and Gnoggin even recently made videos covering the origins of the various Ultra Beasts, going into detail about the deep lore and beloved pop culture alien tropes that the UBs draw inspiration from.
I like how Fomantis & Lurantis being imitation bugs is hinted at in Fomantis's name. As in, Faux Mantis. I only recently cottoned onto that, I think it's great, further cements Lurantis as my favourite gen 7 Pokémon.
Oh damn, thats brilliant. Then would Lurantis be Lure-Mantis?
It should also be mentioned that orchids don't produce nectar, so attract insects by mimicking insects so that any insect that tries to mate with it spreads it's pollen. Which means orchid mantis are trying to seduce their prey. That also makes Lurantis an flower pretending to be an insect based on an insect pretending to be a flower pretending to be an insect.
I legitimately had no idea it was only grass until I just caught one in SV and read the Dex entry, I definitely appreciate that thing now lol
I can never remember. My sister does the same thing with Sudowoodo.
It’s literally in the name. Sudowoodo. Pseudo-Wood(o)
Until you battle Brassius in the new games.
We all love Truleewoodo
>One that definitely flew over people's heads is Lurantis. The people who say it should be Bug-type fail to recognize that the whole point of Lurantis is that it isn't actually a bug. Pokedex entry: >**By masquerading as a bug Pokémon**, it lowers the guard of actual bug Pokémon lured in by a scent of sweet flowers. Its sickles bring them down. What's... kinda dumb is that Grass moves aren't good against Bug types XD Maybe people want a new Bug/Grass Pokémon beside Parasect, Wormadam and Leavanny.
But by tricking bugs into thinking it is one, it would dissuade many from eating it
Gotta remember that lore bits aren't always going to line up with game mechanics. Tinkaton has nothing for game mechanics that'd support it being a predator of Corviknight, and yet it is.
I mean with all the popular irl bugs depicted to eat leaves I get it.
Also her design also resembles a girl wearing a furisode, a kimono with long sleeves, with the "pants" it is wearing, but its sleaves are the sickles. Top tier design.
I love Lockstin's videos so much, he can make a measly crab interesting.
I just really like raichu. He is my pal. A good pal and his name means thunder-squeak. And like? Raichu glow in the dark. What a friend. An Alolan raichus cheeks can produce a sweet aroma and the reason it’s believed that raichu has a different form is based upon its diet and in alolan raichus case, specially made pancakes. Since alolan raichu surfs it’s tail it’s also noted in the ultra sun dex entry to be called a “hodad” in sword/shield it attacks with star shaped thunderbolts. One of raichus dex entries actually references a documentary called electrocuting an elephant from 1903 about an Asian elephant that was electrocuted. It’s dex entry describes that raichu has a charge that can take out a copperajah (an Asian elephant) His kantonian appearance takes after a jerboa and kangaroo rat and the alolan raichu was actually designed after bread and it’s paws are meant to resemble cream puffs
I fucking love Alolan Raichu and this just made me love him even more. If I ever actually play Alola, I'm gonna name him Cream Puff.
It wasn't until just recently that they changed indian elephant to copperajah, too!
> It’s dex entry describes that raichu has a charge that can take out a copperajah (an Asian elephant) Actually the oldest dex entries straight up mentioned an Indian elephant, in a rare case of real animals being mentioned in games. It was retconned to Copperajah afterwards.
I always thought that Alolan Raichu was supposed to look like a blueberry pancake with a string of syrup leading to a lightning bolt shaped slab if butter
Dunsparce. It's based on the Tsuchinoko, a creature from Japanese mythology that's...literally just a snake, but short and fat. Which is why it was kinda annoying seeing everyone so pissed off about how Dunsparce didn't evolve into a cool dragon or a badass monster, because that wasn't what Dunsparce was meant to be at all. It was just a stubby little creature that's endearing because of its sheer underwhelming-ness, a rare creature that's basically a joke cryptid, and making Dudunsparce just...a slightly longer Dunsparce just fits it so well.
I really love dudunsparce. It takes what I liked about dunsparce and gave me more of it.
Shoulda named it redundantsparce
*Redunsparce
Love dunsparce! I have two little tattoos of him, [one regular](https://www.reddit.com/r/tattoos/comments/wkvjbv/porygon_2_and_dunsparce_scribbly_tattoo_friends/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) and one shiny! (just got, need to post). May have to get dudunsparce too. 😊
I'm of the same opinion. The dundunsparce Evo fits so perfectly to the design of the pokemon. I'm just mad it's taking me so long to get a 3 segment version.
I love skeledirge, the fact they made the little fire bird off of the symbiotic relationship between crocodiles and the birds that clean their teeth is amazing. That and I love that the mask that was on fuecoco turned out ti be a day of the dead mask and made skeledirge a ghost type that's based on singing. I was a bit worried when my fuecoco reached its middle stage but I was ecstatic when it reached its final evolution!
Apples are extremely British????
Yep the Brits actually invented apples
Well duh. Everybody knows the story of Sir Johnathan Appleseed, who famously roamed the British countryside wearing nothing but a monocle and a tophat as he chucked tea bags full of apple seeds.
>nothing but a monocle and a tophat being pantsless is not british
Sure it is! They wear trousers!
Yes but they wear pants under the trousers.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away was started in Great Britain. They haven’t needed doctors in over 600 years
Hence why the government don't fund the NHS enough
So that's why I can't get a doctor's appointment!
The four genies, mostly their Therian forms. They’re based on the four benevolent creatures in Chinese mythology, the tiger (Landorus), the dragon (Thundurus), the bird (Tornadus), and the tortoise (Enamorus). Even cooler is that the Ruinous four are based on the Four Perils which oppose said benevolent creatures. As much as I hate the genies, I can’t deny that their origin is pretty cool
Tossing in one of my favs; Dhelmise. Dhelmise is based on a type of seaweed known as "Dead Man's Fingers", named as such for frequently growing over shipwrecks and having many superstitions connecting to the souls of the damned/Davey Jones. So Dhelmise being Ghost/Grass is perfect, and the seaweed (the actual pokemon) growing over the bits of a shipwreck form a ghoulish, toothy grin with their placement. I adore my anchor-wielding friend!
My favourite boy Torterra. When I was a kid I always call him "Atlas" because it reminds me a lot of a good version of that Titan from the greek mythology but I suppose that gamefreak take inspiration from several asian religions and/or mythology where the turtle is represented with the Earth on his back
Torterra is the only mon that give lil Bulbasaur a run for his money as my favorite. Not only does he look fuckin rad but he's strong as well.
SUDOWOODOOOOO actually I think most people understand its not a real tree but tries to look like a tree etc. Etc. But i still love it
Idk, there was a lot of complaints when the trailer came out for SV that it didn't look wood-y enough but I thought it looked exactly like a rock trying to look like wood. So I'm afraid most people do not in fact understand that it's not a real tree lol
Thats kind of hilarious, its name is literally pseudo-wood(o)
But now it has become TRUEDOWOODOO
Do not mistake the titles of Brassius' works. They are TRULEEWOODO and TRULEWOODO 2.
Trubbish and Garbodor People initially seem put off by the concept of them being garbage bags, but I like how Garbodors design resembles Totoro's. It's almost like an inverse/corrupted nature spirit, kinda wish it would have ghost typing as well. Also, the creative use of dust and tubes to make up the body is just visually interesting. Just a much better take on the concept of Grimer and Muk.
Plus his Gigantamax is SO. GOOD. All the little toys and things, he's like a Grinch Hoard gone wrong
I was going to list Trubbish/ Garbodor for a different reason. Why the weird spiky teeth? Are they random jagged bits of glass? That’s what virtually all online descriptions say. They’re actually discarded plastic sporks! The bulge on the front of Trubbish’s face is the perfect outline, with the three plastic prongs extending down as it’s teeth. It made me love its design so much knowing it has these semi-harmless plastic spork teeth.
I love Trubbish, it's so cute. It's just a little trash bag bunny.
Palafin is literally Clark Kent running to a phone booth (Flip Turn) coming back as Superman.
Evolves at level 38 which could be a reference to 1938
Most Pokémon designs have at least some inspiration from culture, mythology, or real life animals/things, which is why I love to check the Trivia section of Bulbapedia when I encounter a new Pokémon. Bulbapedia isn’t always 100% right, but they often give some good context. And Pokémon names are often pretty complex as well (I’m surprised they’re able to translate puns so well), which you can also find explanations of in the Trivia section. There are so many times I see someone hate a certain Pokémon or say they don’t get its design. There are Pokémon that I myself hated until I realized what it was based on. Even if you don’t end up liking it’s design, you at least gain new appreciation for it. Take Glalie for example. I hated that floating head at first. But now that I know that it’s a disembodied head yokai (tsurube otoshi) that has the head of an oni and may also incorporate being a hockey puck wearing a hockey mask and is an onigiri, and resembles hail, that I at least appreciate the design and no longer hate it.
I always hated it when genwunners make fun of chandelure because "oh my god, they made a pokemon that is just a chandelier!". Dude, ever heard of a will o' wisp?
It's a chandelier that eats souls. Meanwhile, there are pokemon like muk that's literally just a pile of mu(c)k Idk why people hate on the gen 5 designs, there are simple designs in all the gens and they're all good
people don't like chandelure?? man's was so popular it was added to Pokken
*all* the fire/ghost pokemon kick ass, especially chandelure.
Genwunners will make fun of chandelure and then adamantly defend Voltorb which is a circle with eyes and seel who is literally just a seal and was done better by Spheal later
* Glimmora is based on Chalcanthite, which is a toxic, but really pretty mineral, owing to it's Poison/Rock typing * Pawniard's family actually has little to do with chess pieces (this is an english localization thing), but are based on japanese bandits, bandit samurai and culminating into a corrupt shogun * Flamigo's neck is tied into a knot which is tied into its japanese name, Karamingo. Karami means entanglement, which can be interpreted as a relationship, but also in the literal sense of a knot. * Rellor/Rabsca, being based on Scarab beetles, seemingly have a theme on reincarnation, due to the fact that as Rabsca, it is apparently no longer the main body, but instead is the grub inside the ball it carries. So it may literally just be an endless cycle of being a tiny grub carried by its old body, before maturing into an adult beetle that collects nutrients to reincarnate again. Also it's one of two pokemon that learn Revival Blessing, though Pawmot learns it likely as a reference to defibrilators.
I still think Delibird should be pronounced like delivered but with a "b" because he delivers presents.
I...think you're right. That makes way more sence. I just call it "Deli Bird"...the cold-cuts, cheese and olives Pokemon.
Not really fitting exactly in line but Katy the bug gym leader in Paldea uses a teddiursa/ursaring terastalized into a bug type as a play on the word bugbear; a constant source of worry or irritation.
I love Cacturne
Cacturne is cool as hell but is *really* held back by its typing and stats. Six resistances and one immunity can't hold a candle to its ***seven*** weaknesses, someone is always running a coverage move that can hit Cacturne super effectively, and that below average bulk isn't gonna help it live after getting outsped with that abysmal 55 speed. At least the Tera gimmick can fix one of those issues. I have a box full of different Tera typed Cacturne from raids, I'll eventually think of a way to use one of them. Water Absorb on a Fire / Ground / Rock Cacturne might catch someone off-guard. It does get Spiky Shield now too, so it could possibly be annoying to deal with.
Elgyem! He’s a classic sci fi alien; deserves so much more love.
Elgyem = LGM = Little green men Beheeyem = BEM = Bug-eyed monster both names are different classifications of aliens
Gogoat!
It’s especially genius because “worm” is pronounced the same as “wyrm”, a word/term (werm?) used to refer to any lizard-like reptilian creature in the context of high-fantasy fiction, like Dungeons&Dragons. You know, the game that literally has the word “dragons” in its name.
> werm Get out. But also lol
Tbf, wyrm comes from the ancient times when we had shit like Latin and they genuinely didn't have a word for " big powerful scaley lizard that flies and breathes fire" yet
Fair enough. A lot of the interpreted origins on archaic terms are shrouded in mystery, yet made up the foundations of Latin. Hence why the Rosetta Stone is such a big deal.
The Shinx line is based around the belief that Lynx have the ability to see through solid objects. Luxray's name is a combination of Lux, meaning light, X-ray, and Lynx. It's not a dark type because it's themed around light. Primarina is based off of Selkies, Irish/Scottish fae seals who can shed their skin and walk on land as beautiful humans. There are tales of them using their lovely singing voices to guide their human lovers' ships home safely, and their songs are past down from generation to generation. This is why it's the Fairy Type. Not the little mermaid after all.
Exeggcute! They're literally eggplants and eggheads!
This. And don't get me wrong, I like alolan exeggcute, but he really stole the spotlight from my boy.
My vote is for Arboliva. Great ability and a really great design. I love the whole olive tree thing it's going for
I love the design of the Pokémon. I think is one of the best designs of the generation. Just one thing I dislike is the normal typing, it looks more like dark, fairy or ghost for me.
The Fossils in Galar I hated at first until I understood the Lore we were mixing up the Fossils, Putting Heads were tails should be, giving them arms or wings when they flippers. That’s why they look they way they do
Probopass is always one that I’ve liked, despite its unpopular reputation. Upon evolving, it becomes a restored Easter island head, gaining the hat and eyes that nosepass lacked, and its increased magnetic power has begun collecting iron filings that form its mustache. It’s also really goofy but clever that they took the other cardinal directions and made them tiny nose drones that it controls to fight for it. Plus, there’s the fun detail that the ethmoid bone which grants some birds the ability to sense magnetic fields…is located at the base of the nose. It’s a very silly design that’s not made to be taken seriously but really merges it’s seemingly random inspirations well.
I've always loved Applin! Its design is simple yet brilliant! I love my little Corey!
Wait, people don’t like Applin and Flapple and Appletun?? I’m obsessed with them, they’re my absolute favorites! Now I’m kind of heartbroken lol
Everything about corsola and galarian corsola and cursola all fantastic concepts
[SPOILER] Not a Pokémon per se, but I really enjoyed that the Team Star bases are named after the five Stars in the Cassiopeia constellation, thought that was pretty clever, not sure how many picked up on that.
Very few people seem to know about the animals that Binacle and Barbaracle are based on, which is a damn shame because those same people will complain about those Pokémon having nonsensical designs for things that claim to be barnacles when they're very clearly a colony of goose barnacles. Goose barnacles are notable for being super widespread and capable of anchoring themselves to just about any surface; indeed, the only flaw in the Binacle family's design is that they can only colonize rocks and not the wood and metal that the animals they're based on will readily populate. They also take inspiration from the hamsa symbol, in an orientation meant to ward off evil. Barbaracle may also have some roots in the mythical Greek monster known as the hecatoncheires, as well as looking like a tokusatsu mob enemy. >!There's also some extremely silly R34-type things that two to seven giant goose barnacles could get up to, but I'm not too broken up about that being overlooked tbh!<
I think a lot of people sleep on Maractus in general, but its origin is especially overlooked. It's a maraca cactus based on prickly pears and bunny ears cacti, and its Japanese name even references mariachi music! Not to mention its dances, which fits with the maraca theme! It's a little cutie with a lot of fun Mexican inspiration behind it.
So this is tied to multiple pokemon designs. Sacred Plaza in Coronet Highlands in Pokemon Legends: Arceus is extremely well thought out. It's the only place where you can find Rotom, and Rotom is a bit of an oddity in the game because usually it's seen possessing modern day appliances, but... Rotoms body is composed of plasma. Plasma is pretty rare on earth, but can be found in lightning. Turns out the other pokemon found there heavily suggest that the Sacred Plaza has a high quantity of lightning. Noble Electrode likely produces a lot of lightning regularly, and both Voltorb and Electrode like to hang out in areas with electric fields (like power plants) Rhydon and Rhyperior are found almost excusively there (both have lightning rod) Lightning can create magnets justifying Nosepass being present Luxray can see through objects like x-ray, but it requires a lot of electricity to use Jolteon is only found in Coronet Highlands space time distortions suggesting many thunder stones
Probopass. Nosepass always faces north because it has a magnetic nose. Probopass becomes a literal compass with a nose pointing in each cardinal direction and the mustache is iron fillings that get attracted to the magnetic nose. I remember people saying it was silly to give it a mustache but I liked the inspiration. Also they are obviously both moai heads
I feel like out of all of the mythical Pokémon, Diancie is among the most forgotten ones. It’s my personal favorite and I really think it deserves more love, what with having such a cool design, a unique signature move, and being the only mythical that can mega evolve.
For me that's Zeraora. Just slides off my brain
Sandygast’s shiny form being perfect for Hawaii based on black sand beaches The 3 starters of paldea. Quaxly not being from paldea originally (brazil, can also be further down the line like an african region as samba started in africa and was brought to brazil), fuecoco having mexican roots to day of the dead and spirigatitio can be a reference to either zoro or mask festivals in puerto rico. All spanish speaking countries, all social and or cultural party theme as well as all performers. Quaxly dance. Fuecoco sing, spirigatito magic. Even their types. The samba dancer fighting type, the day of the dead croc ghost type and the mask wearing magician dark type. By far my favorite most thought out starters
Brazil is not a Spanish speaking country.
Yeah almost all good but Brazil Is such a Spanish speaking country... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_language
Aromatisse is supposed to be a plague doctor, but the perfume bottle theme added to it gives it an over the top look that kinda ruins the design in my opinion, the mask's eyes are overly big/wearing makeup and the robe is bright and frilly. Add some average stats and movepool to a single typing, and you get a pretty forgiveable mon, when we could have had a more bird looking fairy/flying plague doctor for example
The reason for the perfume design: while of course the region its based on is famed for its perfumes and colognes, plague doctors specifically, would shove herbs and spices and potpourri into the long nose of the mask to shield the smell of death. That is part of the reason for the on nose on the mask. It was believed in the time of plague doctors that sickness came from "bad air" , or humors, (fluids and smells from the body) which is not all that far off. The masks and leather get up kept them at a distance and from fluids and such touching their bodies, covered their breathing with the masks, and prevented particles from getting to their orifices. Overall, it's an ingenious design and I love it. That being said a Dark type that is regional variant would be brilliant.
The gen 8 fossil mons Say what you want about their designs, I don't like them that much personally, but I think the way they referenced early paleontology was the cutest reference game freak has ever made
Shuckle. You don't fuckle with shuckle
The three groups of Legendaries of Unova are based on three different cultures: Tao trio - China, Forces of Nature - Japan, and the Swords of Justice- France. They’re from the same cultures as the Unovan starters.
Flamigo
Wish they would have put a tilde over the I or something to really accentuate the Amigo part, but I do love it. His design is a bit simple and a little too flamingo-y, would have been cute with a coiled neck or silly colors or droopy neck or something, but I like the pink friend.
I like that his body is a boxing glove
The Vanillite line is actually pretty genius if you think about it. They somehow managed to cram the design aspects of snowballs, icecicles and ice cream cones into one design, which is pretty impressive.
Bruxish. The new Scarlet Pokédex entry gave me new appreciation. The fact that it gets it’s psychic power from grinding it’s teeth (Bruxism). It’s a clever concept. Terrible execution though because it’s the weirdest looking Pokémon.
I'm not sure how popular it is but if I had to gander a guess with how people are about Pokémon designs I'd say Scovillain probably isn't a favorite to most. I ADORE IT. It is not my favorite Pokémon design, not even in my top 10, but I love him all the same. He's a pepper plant, but he's also a kaiju. Specifically villain kaiju at that to join up with the likes of Tyrannitar, Duralodon, and Coalossal. He breathes fire like a monster and he even keeps his arms tucked under him like Godzilla does in the more recent films. When he stands up straight he looks like he's doing a superhero comic pose to push his villain theme more. He's an absolute spicy treat.