Did you know that piplup has a crown in its
design because its whole line is royal? or that there exist beavers without beaver tails,
and that’s bidoof? Or perhaps that arceus is a conglomeration of creator deities from
around the world… and a llama, and thats not a joke... these are the kinds of things
we dig into on this channel, and now that Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining pearl
just smashed into the market ---- And it has a load of gen 4 pokemon for some reason---
we’re going to celebrate by explaining the origins of EVERY Gen 4 Pokemon! Let’s get to it! Now I should say, this video very quickly
goes over the inspirations of the pokemon. But this channel is all about that. So we
have loads of videos that dive way deeper into specific pokemon lines that you should
check out too. I might spend a minute on a pokemon line here, while they also have a
10 or 15 minute video elsewhere on the channel, for example. So please! If you like what you
see, subscribe and check out my channel page…. Now then! We start with the starters. Because
how could you not? Turtwig is a lil turtle! Most similar to the
Asian Box turtle. Turtles do occasionally have plant life growing on their shells, do
to them being slow and such a nice flat surface that they cant reach to clean. Its a symbiotic
relationship, the plant gets a ride and the turtle gets… better camouflage? I guess?
Well in the case of the pokemon, the dex mentions they share energy with photosynthesis. Grotle too has a bit of a snapping turtle
face, but its body more closely resembles a generic dinosaur. Like Spike from the LAnd
Before Time. it seems to have the armor of a young Ankylosaurus, and the spike plates
of a Stegosaurus, except they are bushes, which themselves are an upgrade from a twig.
Also fun fact, its an Oak bush, we know this because in the Anime theres a Grotle that
has Acorns in its bush. And the upgrade of a bush is clearly a tree,
which we get with Torterra! A Tortse with Terrain on its back! Hence its new ground
typing. It seems to pull its broadened shell from the Proganochelys, and its spikes from
the Meiolania, two extinct turtles. And may in concept be inspired by the world turtle.
The idea that the entire world is on the back of several celestial elephants, who themselves
are on the back of a massive space-turtle. A turtle covered in terrain in a way. It comes
from many different cultures. The pokedex even mentions: “Ancient people imagined
that beneath the ground, a gigantic Torterra dwelled.” which similarly was referenced
in Detective Pikachu. Chimchar, Monferno and Infernape are Always
monkeying around. Have i used that joke before? im sure I have. Its so hard to keep track.
Anyways these simians are based off of sun wukong from the very popular myth: journey
to the west. they are fire type because infernape shares many similarities to Hanuman, which
is thought to be an inspiration for to sun wukong from the Hindu epic Ramayana, where
in Hanuman, who is a Canara, a race of monkey people, was granted immunity to fire, and
thus can use it safely. As for animals, Chimpchar appears tail-less,
and is thus most similar to a chimpanzee. And according to the pokedex: The gas made
in its belly burns from its rear end. Yeah its like a gas-powered stove. This ape is
burning tis own farts. It gains the fighting type when it evolves
into Monferno, likely a reference not only to sun wukong, who is CLEARLY the inspiration
to Infernapes whole design, but also to monkey style kung fu. Monfernos face seems to be
a cross of a Mandrill and a Golden snub-nosed monkey. Piplup is probably my favorite starter. Just
period. Full stop. And its line are all penguins. Piplup itself a sort of generic baby penguin.
Primplup a Crested Penguin, and Empoleon… what else but an emperor Penguin? Its in the
name. EMPoleon emperor, PRINplup, Prince…. Royalty is referenced in the whole line, the
pokedex does mention how prideful they are. Pip and Prinplup have these spots resembling
large buttons on the clothes of nobles. And the backflaps they have resemble the backs
of long tuxedos. People always connect penguins to tuxedos. Its such an easy connection to
make. But also, did you notice that the light blue patch above pip and prinplups beaks resembles
a little crown? Then as an Empoleon the beak itself becomes
a large crown, and one resembling a trident at that, the weapon of joice of Posideon,
the Greek god who rules over the seas. Its whit belly resembles fancy ruffles or doileys,
and its got a big collar. For it is the emperor. Perhaps even a direct reference to Emporer
Napoleon Bonepart. Emperor of France. Hence the name empoleon. And lastly, its new steel
type- rather than ice- is a reference to ice breaker ships, its middle is even shaped like
the ends of some of them. It slices through icebergs with ease with its blades of steel. Ah and we finally get a simple one. The Starly
line, Starly, Staravia and Staraptor. They are Starlings, like the White Cheeked Starling
and grey starling, both VERY common birds across asia. Benign STARlings, you can see
some star-shapes in their designs. Though unlike starlings, they have these stylish
tufts of feathers on their heads, which moreso resemble quail and the Northern Lapwing. And
finally Staraptor adds in raptor elements, birds of prey, like the Long-crested and Harpy
eagles. The red here likely referencing the sharp bloody nature of raptors, or just over-one-eye
emo haircuts that were popular at the time the games first came out. Ah bidoof…. Our golden god.
Its what you get when you cross a Doofus with a Mountain Beaver. Mountain beavers are basically
the beavers you already know, but they lack the iconic beaver tail that beavers are famous
for. But thats what Bibarel gets! And thats also why it gains the water type. Beavers
use those big tails to help them swim. Also, since beavers are known for “eating” wood,
BIBarrel has a bib design on its chest. Kricketot and Deedle deedle eeeet woop. They
seem to combine leaf beetles with crickets, who are famous for playing their music incredibly
loudly all night long! There may even be elements of th eViolin Beetle in Kricketune, or at
the very least an actual violin or Cello. As its plays its music similar to how a human
would play one of those, and also it has a pattern resembling on on its body. And I love
its bit Maestro Moustache. Kricketot similarly has a body resembling the strings of violins.
And according to the pokedex, “When its antennae hit each other, it sounds like the
music of a xylophone.” Shinx Luxio and Luxray! I see fans saying
they are lions all the time. And they do have some lion traits I suppose, moreso sphynxes,
mythological lion-people. But Their names, abilities, and the region they are first found
in, all tell us that they are Lynx. wildkitties of the cold north. They similarly have manes,
but also black tips on their ears, and according to both Greek and Norse Mythology, Lynx are
the keeper of secrets, and have supernatural eyesight. Able to see straight through solid
objects. Luxray does have X Ray in its name, and the pokedex says: “Luxray's ability
to see through objects comes in handy when it's scouting for danger.” so perfect. Lastly,
the little stars on the ends of their tails, which are also much longer than lynx tails
typically are, are probably a reference to the Lynx Constellation itself, which similarly
is depicted with a tail much longer than real lynx. Budew! Its a rosebud…. Also a baby pokemon,
which all have something babyesc about them. In this case it has a lil bib, and the lil
baby with hair pulled strait up hair style, more common in babies than adultsRoserade
itself carries two bouquets of roses, while its head is also a large white rose. Its mask,
cape, and demeanor all resemble the stereotypical attendee of a Masquerade ball. Fancy parties
where identities are hidden. This play play a roll in its poison typica too, as roses
aren't poisonous, but the Hellebore plant is, and while noticeably different if you
know to look out for it. At a glance they are often confused for roses. Then Gen 4 Fossil Pokemon! Solid Attack and
Solid Defence. Both are dinosaurs and also both have castle elements. Just look At bastiodon’s face, those dots
not only resemble the patterns on various ceratopsians, but also they are the windows
in a castle wall. And look up here, the tops of castle towers. Its a bastion. Bastiodon,
y’know. It most closely resembles a Chasmosaurus, crossed with a bulldozer with excavator teeth,
especially with its shiny color. This bone piece here resembles many depictions of cavemen
with nose-rings made of bone. Its prevo, Shieldon has a medieval shield for a face, and most
closely resembles a protoceratops. A much smaller, common ancestor to ceratopsians. Rampardos pulls from the offensive part of
a castle, the ramparts. Where archers and siege weapons would stand to attack, and similarly,
its a battering ram, whats used to attack castle gates. Ramming them open. Its fits
right in with the scientifically inaccurate but still popular idea, that pachysephalasauruses
would ram their heads together like this when battling. Due to its spikes it appears to
pull moreso from the Dracorex, while Cranidos with its big cranium and small body, likely
pulls from the Micropachycephalosaurus. Now we go into WAY more detail with these
4 pokemon in this video here, I highly recommend it. For now though, we’re moving onto Burmy
and Wormadam! … oh also mothim. They are pretty simple, they are based on Bagworms.
Worms that create small protective cases for themselves out of materials in their surroundings,
most commonly sticks, leaves, small rocks…. Micropastics…. Hence the 3 different types
of burmy and wormadam. This species has some pretty drastic sexual dimorphism. The females
will stay in a larvae like state, hence female burmy evolving into worMADAM. And the males
will metamorphosis into moths, hence motHIM. As a moth, they fly around and look for a
female to mate with. And as a female, wormadam has accessories
that resemble hair, and little lines resembling eyelashes. And as a male, Mothim is allowed
to leave the house…. When it does, it steals honey collected by combee. Which is a similar
behavior to some other moths. Also he’s got a big nose, which bagworm moths, known
as case moths, dont have. But moths in the Pyraloidea family do But speaking of combee, its pretty clear to
see that it’s a honeybee. But like the actual honeycomb itself sprouted wings. Only the
females are capable of evolving into Vespiquen, clearly a Queen Bee. its very thin waist and
regal dress pulls from the shape and design of Paper Wasp Nests: And her head resembles various noblewomens
headwear from the middle ages. Such as Escoffions, Cauls, and hooded crowns. Pachirisu is gen 4s pikachu clone! And its
quite simply, a cute squirrel with electric pouch cheeks. The spikes on its tail reflecting
the effect that static electricity has on hair. Making it go all up and all over. Buizel and Floatzel are both Mustelids, the
family of mammals that both weasels and otters are found. And like an otter, they are very
buoyant, and float, like a buoy, or a little floatie. They both have life-jacket-like pool-ring
floatation devices on them. And fins that help them swim better. Buizel itself is so
buoyant, that it can spin its two tails to fly, just like Tails from sonic the hedgehog,
whos also orange with two tails… it has to be a direct reference. The pokedex also
mentions they both use the double tails to corkscrew in the water and swim way fast.
Mechanically it makes no sense. Thats not how bodies work. Thats some cartoon logic
balonea in my pseudo realistic JRPG. Im so glad Pokemon #420 is Cherubi, for no
reason at all…. At all. Cherubi is a cherry, Japan is famous for their cherry trees and
cherry blossoms. Hence cherrim also having its sunshine form! Which also has the proper
number of petals! When the sun comes out it blooms, and There are actually quite a number
of Photonastic flowers, flowers that open and close based on if theres sunlight or not.
Strangely its overcast form doesnt quite resemble cherry blossoms at all, its more like a Fuchsia
flower, which ARE also famous across Japan. So at least theres that connection. I really think its cute though, its looks
so cozy in there, I love when its raining and I’m all wrapped up in a cozy blanket
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(jumpcut out) like a slug! …. That sleeps with you.. This is a transition into Shellos
and Gastrodon. Shellos and Gastrodon are Nudibranches! Sea
slugs! Of which there are a WIDE variety. And being soft-bodied, they are highly susceptible
to changes in their environment, which is likely what inspired there being 2 variants
of this pokemon, east and west, different seas, different ecosystem, different niches
to fill. The Pokedex mentions that:
“When it senses danger, it gushes a purple liquid.” which is an ability that Sea hares
have, another nudiebranch. And another order of nudibranch they pull
a lot from are the Opisthobranchia. Look at the way they carry themselves, head held high
just like the mon. And one last note, the Japanese name for Gastrodon
is Tritodon, which contains Torito, Spanish for “little bull” which is notable not
only because of its bull horns here. But also their third eyes. The Taurus constellation
is associated with the opening of the psycho-spiritual third eye in astrology. As Aldebaran, -the
biggest and brightest star in the constellation,- lies right between its eyes and horns. Ew. gosh I dont want to look at it. Ambipom
is ambidextrous, which is when you are not left or right handed, you are equally good
with both. The udders….. HANDS on the ends of its tail is inspired by the many species
of monkeys that have prehensile tails, meaning tails with enough strength and flexibility
they can essentially use them like a fifth limb. Grabbing branches and swinging from
vines. Some say its inspired by the Ahuizotl from Aztech mythology, its a dog with a hand
on its tail in more modern depictions, but its a bit loose, just like its brain-stem.
And its stupid flat face is probably from snub-nosed monkeys…. Look we gotta move
on, can we please? Thank you. Driflblim and Drifloon… Both of these pokemon
are based on floating objects, a balloon and a blimp or hot air balloon. And both of their
pokedex entries state that for the most part they are just wandering around, drifting from
place to place, wherever the winds take them. Driftloons will sometimes try to take children
along with them to the underworld, but more often than not, they get taken by the children
places, just drifting along. These aspects fit with the “Wandering Spirit” type of
ghost. Usually the soul of someone who has died unknowingly. Now they aimlessly wander
wherever it was that they died, or wherever their spirit happens to float to. Just like
these pokemon. And just like a lot of Jellyfish, drifting with the currents, the Tentaculata
jellyfish in particular is known for its ghost luminescence, and only having to long feather
tentacles… just like drifloon…. Also! Thanks to the popularity of the “IS”
horror franchise, Pennywise the clown is sort of synonymous with ghostly horror now, and
has made balloons another symbol of spooky ghost clowns. The Yellow X noses are likely simplifications
of the colored nose-cones on the front of many blimps. Hoo boy, Buneary and Lopunny. Got a whole
video abou why Lopunny is so…. (insert its cry) THAT, and why they are the only pokemon
to naturally learn the move frustration. They are lop-eared bunnies first and foremost.
Bunearly and curl them up to resemble ear muffs. Which can be made out of rabbit fur.
As a lopunny though, yeah thats a playboy bunny, which are still popular in Japan to
this day. Almost naked supermodels wearing nothing but a furr cuffed coat was a big trope
a few decades ago, which is also back when playboy bunnies were still a big thing in
the west. Rabbits as sex symbols has been common throughout most of recorded history,
so its no wonder this connection was made. More details in the other video. Mismagius is a witch. I mean clearly, raggedy
cloak, big pointy witches hat. Look at the Hex Maniac sprite from gen 3. They turned
into into a pokemon in the next games! Notably, there is a notable Yokai for Mismagius the
Nasu-Baba, a witch with purple skin. Banshees are worth mentioning here too, female sprits
who are often depicted with incredibly ragged cloaks. And often no lower body. They fly
around and scream, often a curse of death, or a warning of the death of a family member.
Her Pokedex entries do mention that “Its cries sound like incantations to torment the
foe. It appears where you least expect it.” “It appears as if from nowhere—muttering
incantations, placing curses, and giving people terrifying visions.” Honchkrow is the big head honcho that runs
the mafia of murkrows see! Its a crime boss, like al capone, in his big suit to hide weapons
in, an ‘is wide brimmed fedora. Its body is overall more Raven-like now, bigguh, stronguh.
But the white on it probably comes from hooded crows. They gots white ya see.and that strange
poof on its tail? That’s carried over from ‘is witch broom days as a murkrow, its an
ol timey besom broom. Capiche? Glameow is a housecat, and its so fabulous,
glamorous, it loves its beauty, a common personality type with cats, always cleaning themselves.
And this one even has pink eyeshadow. A lovely popped collar, its snooty, and its elongated
tail resembles springy cat toys. Now Purugly though oooph! Beauty is gone with
age. She resembles the trope of a large old woman still chasing after her youthful beauty.
Her spring tail now acts as a corset in an attempt to look fit and intimidating again.
And the eye shadow and ears resembling overdone put-up hair, and cheeks resembling overdone
contouring still wong make up for the fact that its old and wrinkly (the triangles and
whiskers) or that it has an ugly personality… like plenty of old grumpy cats. Chingling! Its very simple! Its a Suzu bell!
Which are found at Shinto Shrines, which can be big with a thick rope that you pull to
awaken the nearby kami before you pray to them. Or the bells can be small and on the
end of a Kagura suzu. An insprument used by shrine maidens. As a baby pokemon its baby
trait is that it cries constantly, its cries sound like bells. Stunky and Skunank very clearly are skunks,
likely hog-nosed skunks, which known for shooting foul smelling juice out of their butts, however
thats a bit too crude for pokemon so skuntank shoots it forward out of the tip of its tail…
like a tank. Its up and forward facing tail also resembles a mohawk and a pompadour, both
hair styles associated with punks and delinquients. They each have a bit of a cat face, as skunk
faces tend to be much more pointed, and this connection may be because baby skunks are
also called kittens. Or maybe the face looking cat like is just a side effect of them making
its face cheeks resemble butt cheeks…. But like really though, its cry has a fart sound
effect, the butt-face is intentional. Bronzor and Bronzong are a bronze mirror and
a bronze bell, they come from an old Japanese myth about a village where the priests wanted
to forge a bell for their temple and asked the villageers for bronze items to melt down.
One woman donated her mirror, but later regretted it. And that spiritual connection led to the
mirror being completely unable to melt. Which is referenced by Bronzongs Heatproof ability.
Bronzong resembles a Dotaku specifically, which rang in rituals to bring about good
harvests, which is referenced in Bronzongs pokedex entires. And similarly, while it may
be a coincidence, Bronzong’s face resembles some depictions of Tlaloc, The Aztec god of
rain and earthly fertility… so harvest basically. Bonsly! Whats so sly about it? Well its a
bonsai tree, but its a FAKE bonsai tree! In a little pot with legs. It even has a drainage
hole in its bottom like clay pots. As a baby pokemon, its baby traits are….. Its drainage
hole, and also it adjusts its own moisture level by leaking water from its eyes. They
resemble tears. Mime Jr! Its a baby mr mime! As such it does
mime tricks, even though it looks more like a clown with its court-jester fools cap, red
clown nose and little frills. Its also small like a gnome, who also wear hats like that.
One could even say it looks like two scoops of strawberry ice cream with a whipped cream
topping and some cherries on top. Its legs a pointy like a cone, Clowns actually have
an intertwined history with commercialized ice cream cones it turns out: Mime Jr is a baby pokemon, and as such it
acts like a little toddler, the pokedex says: “It mimics the expressions and motions of
those it sees to understand the feelings of others.” which is perfect, Toddlers learn
a lot by doing just that, mimicking their parents and older siblings. Its the same idea with Happiny, a baby chancey.
Its pokedex says: “It carefully carries a round, white rock that it thinks is an egg.”
“ It carries an egg-shaped rock in imitation of Chansey.” its like little girls playing
with baby dolls. The Chancey line is essentially “motherhood the pokemon.” and here we
see it gets an early start. It also has that vertical baby hairstyle, and its big pants
can resemble both a diaper, and an egg cup. Chatot! Its a parrot with a musical note head
and a metronome-stick tail. Its colors dont perfectly line up with any one parrot, it
appears that its a mix of the Blue and Yellow Macaw, and the Yellow Collared Lovebird, which
is indeed a small species of parrot. Chattots signature move is chatter, the whole gimmick
of which is that you can record yourself saying anything, and chattot will mimic it. An ability
parrots are famous for. SPIRITOMB! The forbidden pokemon! According
to the pokedex its: “A Pokémon that was formed by 108 spirits” “It was bound to
a fissure in an Odd Keystone as punishment for misdeeds 500 years ago.” the idea of
souls or spirits being bound to a particular item is found in cultures all over the world.
But the number of spirits here is important. It points us directly to the Water MArgin,
a piece of classic Chinese Literature. In it theres a stone monument that similarly
is sealing away 108 demons. Souls of sinners, but they repent of their sins and become the
108 stars of destiny. Spiritombs face seems to be resembling generic
spooky ghost face. Think like jack o lanterns. And the orbs spinning around and its ghostly-flame
like body could be references to will-o-wisps, souls of ghostly flame. But also bein orbs
specifically may point to Buddhist prayer beads, as the number 108 is also important
in a Buddhist tradition. They would perform a Japa with a set of 108 prayer beads in order
to “destroy ones sins” and/or reach nirvana. Another buddhist tradition involves ringing
a bell 108 times on new years to help in this endeavor. Gible!
Its the “land shark” pokemon, it evolves into Gabite and then Garchomp.
So Land sharks are a more recent fantasy creature. Be them sharks with legs are sharks that magically
swim through sand. Creatures like the Bulette from Dungeons and Dragons, or shark human
hybrids Street Sharks, TMNT or DC comics. The little…. Footballs that they have on
the sides of their heads can both reference the heads of hammer head sharks, as well as
the jet engines on fighter jets. Garchomps pokedex mentions that “When it folds up
its body and extends its wings, it looks like a jet plane. It flies at sonic speed.” Sharks
are known for swimming VERY quickly through the water, with tooth-like scales along their
body to reduce drag. Just like these pokemon. “Its body is covered in fine scales that
reduce drag” Another pokedex entry says “There is a long-held
belief that medicine made from its scales will heal even incurable illnesses.” which
is likely a reference to Shark Fin soup. And other pokedex entries mention that they live
in caves, like shiny things, and then hoard those things in its cave. This is where the
Dragon type really shines through, as this is a common trait that western dragons are
said to have, dragon hoards in their dragon lairs. It’s said to dig them up, which is
likely a reference to gen 4’s underground tunnel system with its digging minigames.
And lastly, it has a pretty clear connection with Sharpedo (also show carvahna), which
is a bit complicated so we have a full video about that linked right here. Check it out.
Meanwhile were moving ontooo. Munchlax! A baby pokemon that evolves into
snorlax. Its baby trait is that it’s always hungry. Babies do seem to eat a lot for their
size, and thats just because they are so busy growing and developing! Its even got a little
bib. Munch and snorlax are based loosely on bears. Or rather the idea of bears. They eat
and eat and eat and get REALLY fat so that they can snooze and hibernate all winter.
Bears DO have an association with honey, they devour it because its so sugar and calorie
rich, and as such Munchlax is found in honey-slathered trees. Also, it’s always looked like a burglar
to me. Like the kind with a had and mask covering half their face. It might be intentional,
as they can steal food. Riolu and Lucario! Part Jackal, Part African
Golden Wolf. especially when Shiny. Being such an upright standing Jackal makes the
connection to Anubis, a very popular Egyptian god, an easy one to make. Fun fact! Anubis’s
head is that of the golden wolf, which used to be called a jackal, hence the “anubis
is a jackal” connections, but more recent archeology and taxonomy says otherwise. But
either way. Anubis is a god of death, and looks at the hearts and souls of the deceased
to judge them. Which could be a source of inspiration to Lucario’s aura-seeing abilities.
These abilities are also a part of Riolu’s baby traits as a baby pokemon. According to
the pokedex: “It can discern the physical and emotional states of people, Pokémon,
and other natural things from the shape of their aura waves.” “It has the peculiar
power of being able to see emotions such as joy and rage in the form of waves.” Studies
have shown that babies are especially adept at picking up expressions and body language.
Sometimes even better than adults. Its instinctual. How cool. Notably, when Lucario senses aura
in this way, its…. Dreads? Float up like this. This along with its face stripes resembles
a metal buddhist warrior-monk tool known as a Khakkha. Said by some to resonate with spirits,
or are used as staves to cast spells with them, perhaps like Lucarios Aura sphere…
this use of them is Mostly found in fiction…. But either way when doing so the rings float
up, similarly to Lucario’s dreads. The metal rings on its shoulders could be
seen as the iron rings some martial artists wear on their arms as weights, and similarly,
in some media, have magic powers. And speaking of martial arts, Lucarios fighting
type and its connection with Egypt could refer to Egyptian Boxing, the earliest recorded
combat for sport. Hippopotas and Hippowdon are first a foremost,
Hippopotamus. But they hate water, instead, (anime pokedex) “It lives in dry places
and covers itself in sand to protect against germs.” similar to real hippos and sun protection
with muddy water. These mon have spouts all over their bodies that expel sand, sort of
like a sand blaster. Take a look at these sandblasters. Looks like their big nostrils. I love Hippopotas’ desert army camo. And
also worth mentioning is the mythical creature, the Behemoth, which is said to have the head
of a hippo. And sometimes is depicted as just a giant hippo. But not just any hippo… a
SAND hippo that lives deep in the desert. So perfect.
Skorupi and Drapion are scorpions. Perhaps even the Thelyphonida which technically isnt
a scorpion. But is similar enough. And strangely, while not water type, they are in the Water
3 Egg group, which could be a reference to many aquatic arthropods, like Lobsters, or
Eurypterids, scorpion ancestors which are more colloquially known as “sea scorpions.”
Drapions face is really off-putting, perhaps its category as the “”Ogre Scorpion Pokemon”
truely is fitting. Its pokedex entries to talk about its violent raw strength. Ogre
come in many colors, purple included. And I suppose these white things coming out of
Drapions mouth could both rofer to Large sticking-out ogre teeth, as well as the strang mantibles
on the sides of scorpion mouths. Maybe you’ve heard that even just touching
a poison dart frog is enough to kill you. Well with croagunk and toxicroak, now they
are the ones touching YOU! With their little poison finger! “Im gonna give you the finger!
Croaaak!” Now its a slight difference, most easily noticeable in the original sprites,
but female Croagunks have their white and black mid-section higher than the males. This
means this part of their design is likely inspired by the Sarashi, a long cotton cloth
that you would wrap around your body under your Kimono. Woman would wear them much higher
than men for breast support. In modern media, Sharashi are usually worn by characters for
one of two reasons, its either to show that they are a person honoring Japanese tradition,
OR they are tough, strong, perhaps even a delinquent. Which is likely the intent with
croagunk. Hence why its also doing the bosozoku squat, which is done by Japanese biger gangs,
who also still wear sharashi! To both honor tradition AND show they are tough! Now I do like how croagunk and toxicroak have
their croaking pouches in different spots, different frogs have them in different places.
Also also, the spikes that toxicroak stabs its enemies with are probably inspired by
the fighting technique used by the Hairy Frog. which, in an emergency situation, will break
its own toes, so that theres a snapped pointed bone that stabs through the skin… it then
uses that to defend itself…. What the heck nature. Carnivine is pretty straight forward. Its
a venus flytrap, those carnivorous plants. I do like its pokedex entries though, saying
things like “It attracts prey with its sweet-smelling saliva, then chomps down. It takes a whole
day to eat prey.” ...so basically… its a venus flytrap. Finneon is also quite simple, its a butterflyfish,
and its tail fins resemble and atual butterfly. It also is quite the shiny tropical fish,
like neon and cardinal tetras, which are some o fmy favorite fish. Lumineons side fins resemble
big butterfly wings now. And according to the pokedex, its bioluminescent and uses that
ability to attract prey, like many deep sea fish, such as the angler or hatchetfish. It
also walks along the seafloor like a tripod fish. Its kind of a hodgepodge of fish huh? Mantyke is also quite simple! Is a baby Manta
ray. Its baby-like trait is basically just that its friendly and trusting of everyone.
Inexperienced and innocent of the cruelties of the world….
Its back makes a little smiley face, a nice and cute one, like on a baby bath toy… Snover and Abomasnow, well the name gives
that one away, its based on the abominable snowman, a yeti, a folklore creature said
to live in the Himalayas. But also, they are generic pine or evergreen trees that are covered
in snow. Which is typical since they live in colder climates. In Japan, When it snows
a LOT and these trees get completely covered in snow, they are called 樹氷 juhyou (jew-hh-yo),
or “Snow monsters” so heres a snowy yeti, a classic monster. Weavile is a civet or weasel, which are also
found all over the world, even in colder climates. But its not just any weasel, its a kamaitachi,
a weasel yokai with huge sickle-like claws. With its speed it invisibly runs with the
wind and causes mysterious cuts on those our in the cold. Its an explanation for wind burn
and windcuts. It also now has a rather interesting head and neckpiece, which is why I bring up
civets. Theyve got this big dorsal crests that may have inspired the feather-like headdress
that Weavile has. Many attribute this headdress and its gem
and eye-liner being egyptian inspired, many egyptian dieties wear similar. And I can see
that, Civets and weasels are found in Egypt too. But they are also found in the americas.
Where there are similar jeweled feather headdresses worn by Chieftens and Aztec deities alike.
So I think rather than referencing any particular one, its moreso a broad signifier of power,
fitting as weasels are also all over the world. Magnezone! Well thats a UFO if I’ve ever
seen one. A classic flying saucer. “ZONE” is also one of those words often associated
with your typical pop-culture aliens. Little green men and all. Its also MORE fused than
Magneton, who is 3 magnemites stuck together. Now theyve completely fused due to even more
magnetizm. The third now BIG Magnemite has this big red eye in the middle. And its screw
became an antenna. It may have gone through a process of electromagnetic forming when
brought to an area with an especially powerful magnetic field, which is how you had to evolve
it originally. Long story short, electromagnetic forming is when you pulse high intensity magnetic
fields into an electrically conductive metal to make it compress into a new shape. Oh gross, Lickilicky. Well Lickitung vaguely
resembles an iguanadon with its thumbs. And folks used to think it had a big tongue because
dinosaur science was new. But its also based on the Akaname Yokai, which similarly has
a single claw on each foot, and a gargantuan tongue! And they share a similar behavior,
they lick dirty things clean. Then theres also the dea of the chameleon and lungless-salamander
tongue. Huge projectile tongues. But then, for Lickylicky specifically, it has a bib
and this curl of hair and its especially round, which immediate brings to mind classical depictions
of gluttony. Round dandy macaroni men, with their curls and frills and rounditude. Ew its Rhyperior, what a mix mash of ideas.
Its got the rhino with a drill for a horn traits from its prevos. But then adds on a
wrecking ball ankylosaurus tail. Its got artillery cannon arms, then its wearing the “protector”
item that it evolves with. Which I guess is like a bullet proof vest and ear-protection
that folks wear at shooting ranges….and at the same time it can also resemble a miners
hard hat and safety vest. Especially with its orange color. Either way its ugly. “””Uuum,
actually its supposed to be ugly! Because its a demolition worker guy!...”” ...wow
rude. At least Tangrowth, who I love, is cool. Its
a Tangela that’s grown up! It evolves when it levels up after you teach it ancient power,
which is likely a reference to how most of the world’s land was vine-filled rainforest
hundreds of millions of years ago. In those rainforests there were also loads of swamps,
and your typical “swamp monster” is a beast completely engulfed in algae and vines. Which is also similar to the Green Man, a
legendary being who represents spring and GROWTH, thats usually shown as a face completely
overtaken with plant growth. And often with little curls just like tangrowth!
And while blue isnt really a real vine color, red can be! I actually really like electivire…. So Other
than the tesla-coil horns, it seems to lose the Oni origins that Electabuzz had, and now
it appears to be an upright ape of sorts. Like a gorilla-gigantopithecus-sasquatch….
But with two electrical line tails, and a power socket pattern on its back. Perfect
for carrying an elekid on. And its eyes and this dot on its fore head resemble other countries
electrical sockets. Like Indias, (Type D) which IS home to a load of primates. Magmortar is creepy, and I dont want to look
at it. Like its prevo, its hot like magma, and is based on the Karura from Japanese mythology.
Fire-breathing bird people with ugly faces essentially. But now its arms are now mortars
and the ends of its lips are detached from its face! Which you could say is a stylistic
choice, a way to show off the detached jowels of the Karura while still being… itself…. ...uh, well due to Magmar’s bill, a lot
of folks like saying its part duck or booby, due to the… protrusions on its head. Magmortar
kind of loses that, and its overall rounder, more blobular. And its tail is fire now, I
guess you could say its tail detached like a lizards, and along with its rounder body
I guess that points us to the mythical salamander. The round fire lizards. That would also explain
the spikey frills on its back… this design is just a mess…. Why are its flames painted
on…. Togekiss is cute and pretty! It’s like if
a dove was also a fairy and an angel. Its pokedex entries talk about it sharing blessings
to those who inspire kindness and peace. And all 3 of those things can be associated with
peace. Heres another entry: “it will never appear where there is strife. Its sightings
have become rare recently.” ...dang. its main body is still very round and egg-like,
which it gets from its pre-evolutions. and its sex ratio being so dominatly male may
also point to angels, or maybe even the military, since it looks a bit like a stealth bomber. Speaking off, Yanmega is military green on
purpose, its an attack helicopter. Its compound eyes even resemble their windows now. The
connection is easy to make, as both dragonflies and helicopters are able to remain stationary
while flying. And because of its name and the fact that its bigger than most people,
it may pull specifically from the Meganeura, an ancient species of gigantic dragonflies.
And lastly, its known in the pokedex as the “Ogre Darner Pokemon” which refers to
darners, a specific species of dragonfly, as well as ogres, likely due to its size,
green color, and sharp sticking-out teeth. Leafeon and Glaceon! Two new Eeveelutions,
grass and ice type. Both still follow the overall theme that the eevees follow. That
they are generic mammals. Kinda like cats, kinda like dogs, kinda like foxes or rabbits
too. But as for specific design elements, Leafeon’s brown paws resemble dirt, like
its a buried plant. And rather than having leaves sticking out of it, they fade into
it, as they have mutated to become one and the same. Also leafeons hair on its head makes
it look like it has a hairstyle commonly associated with generic fantasy elves, or even smurfs
and trolls. Especially of the wood and “connected with nature” variety. And then Glaceon is wearing warm little kneesocks,
and has a tail that ends like a scarf. And its hat is a warm Ushanka or a scarf-hat.
All to keep warm. Even though its body itself is icy, the diamonds all over its design resemble
ice crystals. Gliscor! Or Gly-score. Whichever I say people
hate me. Its a scorpion-fly! Which isnt as terrible at it sounds, oh no, its much worse.
But it also may pull from the amikiti, a Yokai that flies around with its claw-hands. But
based on Gliscore’s ears, fangs and creepy bat wings, it may also have gargoyle vampire
bat origins. Especially given that its pokedex entries mention that it hangs upside down
in caves and on trees. Mammoswine is what happens when a wild boar
mixes with a wolly mammoth…. And then puts ski goggles on…. And yeah thats it. Uh…
well its shiny color is gross just like the frozen remains of mammoths! So thats neat! Porygon Z! Its a porygon, which is like an
origami bird man-made out of digital code, and then it gets upgraded, and then if you
trade it while holding a dubious disk it starts messing up and glitching out at a porygon
Z! A Z is just a messed up 2 after all. And we’ve got a whole sorta 2-part video about
this guy for more details, its a favorite of mine, check it out. Gallade! The evolution of a male kirlia with
a dawn stone. Contrary to what many people think, Gardevoir is not a female only pokemon,
it can be either. Its a feminine prince or princess, whereas the Gallade here is a guardian,
a gallant knight to the royals, or even is a prince himself, grown up during times of
war, and so is trained in military tactics and sword fighting.
His head resembles a Roman Gladiator or Corinthian slash Greek Hoplite helmet. Though its weapon
of choice seems to be a Tonfa… while also taking a fencing “en garde” stance. Kind
of an odd mix of things but at least they are all themed around gallant warriors. And
the whole line have bodytypes similar to Anesame ningyo, Japanese paper dolls. Which are specifically
dressed quite sophisticatedly, and are blank-faced so that the viewer can use their imagination
regarding their expressions and emotions, which ties into to the whole lines theme of
reading and sharing emotions. At its core, Probopass is a Moai, the famous
statue from Easter Island. Some of these statues had red topknots called Pukao, which were
made from volcanic rock, which we see atop Probopass as well. Looking at probopass from
the top down, you would see that it resembles a compass, each nose pointing in a cardinal
direction, the big red one pointing north. Using a nose as a compass not only insinuates
the expression “to follow ones nose.” but also in many species, fish and birds especially,
with a magnetoreception sense, meaning they can feel the earths magnetic field, the Ethmoid
bone plays a major role in that, holding and being surrounded by magnetoreceptor cells,
and this is the bone the separates the brain cavity from the nasal cavity. In fact, to
quote a scientific journal: “Magnetic material is biologically synthesised by fishes and
stored as a life-time deposit in various body parts… The distinction between the magnetic
materials of iron oxide minerals, which occurs within body tissue and biogenic magnetite
is difficult…. because it is difficult to locate a crystal in a thin section of tissue
and as magnetite is very hard sometimes microtomes dislodge the crystals out of the tissue during
cutting…” They got iron oxide in those cells, and sometimes it hard to tell whats
natural and whats stuck up in there as outside crystals. Just like the iron “crystals” used in
the Classic childrens toy, Wooly willy. Where you would use a magnetic wand to give the
man a moustache and beard. Very similar to the Iron crystals we see forming around Probopass’
nose! Dusknoir sort of fills the role as Pokemon’s
Grim Reaper. Its a creepy spirit that “is said to take lost spirits into its pliant
body and guide them home.” “At the bidding of transmissions from the spirit world, it
steals people and Pokémon away. No one knows whether it has a will of its own.” like
the grim reaper, it is merely a personification of death. No true will of its own, death is
natural and comes to all eventually….. Other potential inspirations include the Yamawaro,
said to be a cyclopsian Kappa that moved into the mountains. Kappa are known to steal and
eat souls. Theres also the Chōchin-obake, or “paper Lantern Ghosts,” which somewhat
resemble Ducklops’ head, and they too are known to surprise people and suck out their
souls. Though there are some other similar spirits
worth mentioning, like the Hindu Kabandha, who gained immortality, but was cursed with
this appearance, which also includes huge arms and hands... and now has to eat people.
Theres also the Brazillian Mapinguari, aka Juma, which similarly has a mouth on its gut,
one eye on its head, and huge finger claws. And it too eats people, makes em disappear.
I guess humanoid Torso mouths are a thing to be feared the world over, because monsters
with them are found in medieval europe and feudal China and Japan. And they were usually
cannibals that make people disappear… they all got nipple eyes just like dusclops! Frosslass is a female-only ghost, hence the
feminine Kimono and Obi it wears. And Like its counterpart evolution, glalie, it too
is wearing an icy mask. She’s entirely based on the Yuki Onna from Japanese folklore. Essentially
a snow-ghost woman who appears on blizzardy nights. She freezes those she finds with her
icy breath and leaves them as frost-coated corpses. Which is similar to how Frosslass:
“ freezes prey by blowing its -58 degree F breath. It is said to then secretly display
its prey.” Rotom seems pretty simple at first, its a
little electric ghost, a poltergiest of sorts, able to possess objects, though only electronic
ones. Like an electric lawn mower, a fan, an oven, a freezer, a phone, a washing machine,
a drone… and more.... Its main body is shaped like a lightbulb with little lightning bolts
coming out of it… or its just Pulsemans head. If you dont know, Pulseman is another
game designed by Pokemon Designer Ken Sugimori… Rotom has the personality of a gremlin though!
At least originally, wreaking havok and mischief with machines…. These days it seems to be
more helpful. The idea of an electric ghost isnt anything new, electronic “magic smoke”
and the Ball Lightning phenomenon come to mind. Uxie Mesprit and Azelf make up the Lake Guardians,
Sinnohs Legendary Trio. and each symbolize a different part of the triforce, -er no sorry,
of the human spirit. Knowledge, Emotion, and Willpower. Each also seem to prepresent the
Imperial Regalia of Japan, or the Three sacred treasures, which are the Yata No Kagami, a
sacred mirror that represents wisdom. The Yasakani no Magatama, which symbolizes kindness
and well-meaning, benevolent emotions. And the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, a sword that symbolizes
valor and bravery, willpower in a way. Also Azelf has a little elf or gnome hat,
Mesprit the sprite or spirit has the lucario dreads, which again may come from the Khakkha
which resonates with spirits. And Uxie may have a turban of sorts. Historically and stereotypically
speaking, The Japanese often associate turbans with wisdom due to Guru’s and the like,
especially Sikhs. Or it could resemble a Faluche, head-wear
worm by French university students before and during most of the 20th century. But not only that, a form of Chinese Turban,
known as the Futou, could play a role here, or even the Bokgeon, worn by many east-asian
scholars, and its very similar to Yugeon, which are used when studying Confuciusm , Confucius
IS widely considered one of the most influential teachers in human history. And woul you look
at that hat of his? Like a small Uxie head. Dialga and Palkia! The Legendary Pokemon of
Time and space! Each are designed to be distinct from one another, but when looked from at
the right angle, you have a difficult time discerning them. As time and space are quite
interlinked. Their roles are inspired by Izanami and Izanagi,
Shinto gods said to have created Japan with a spear, first by creating a pillar of heaven.
Which fits perfectly with the Sinnoh myth that states that they created the world from
Spear Pillar out….. Dialga specifically has an ancient body resembling
a generic dinosaur. Like a general Sauropod. Perhaps a brachiosaurus or an amargasaurus
with its neck-spikes. It has a diamond in its steel chest, perhaps
resembling that clocks and timepieces use many metal parts along with quarts crystals
to keep track of time. Also Dialga’s glowey bits look like clock hands and its metal butt-fan
could be be the top of a clock, 10-2 o’clock. And its two long spikes from its brow may
resemble both a crown, denoting its deity status, as well as a steel tuning fork, as
Tuning forks were used in the late 1800s to keep track of time. These clocks had to be
long and narrow, just like Dialga’s head. And just like N Tropy’s head. Another time
related character from before Pokemon Diamond’s time. All this metal and its steel typing may also
link with time metaphorically. As time, on its own as a concept, is rigid, and unyielding.
Traits steel is known for in a more literal sense. Then palkia, while of course similar to a
generic european dragon, especially with its wings, also as an ancient dinosaur look to
it to further show how old it is. It seems to either be a generic thick Theropod, or
something similar to a Plateosaurus. Which does link it up better with Dialga, as they
are closely related, it too is a Sauropodamorpha, though before they evolved to walk on four
legs. Its shoulder pauldrons looks like sea-urchin
skeletons with a pearl in the middle. And its forearms look like the top of a scallop
shell. These connections to sea life along with its water typing, relate to ancient ideas
of what space was. The ancient greeks believed earth was afloat in an endless ocean, and
the ancient egyptians had nun, (nuun) the oldest of the gods, father of Ra, and the
god of the waters of chaos, boundless turbulent infinite water that is the totality of outside
the ordered cosmos… basically they saw the void of space as an ocean. And metaphorically speaking, it is. Up until
more recent human advancement, the ocean was nearly endless water. Spanning vast, neigh
inconceivable distances. And similarly water has many states and forms, like the physical
universe, matter, always switching between states. Also Palkia is in heels, and I cant unsee
that. And we follow up that epicness with Heatran….
Its heatran! Its molten earth! Like the earths core! Hence its steel typing! The very center
of the earth is solid iron and nickel due to how much pressure its under, and all around
it is magma! As a legendary pokemon its role is kinda…
vaugue? Like its a lava dome pokemon, guardian of a lava dome? Likes its pokedex entries
are just about it being hot and living in caves around volcanoes. The heck is it. I
guess many cultures have volcano monsters, many of which are responsible for why volcanoes
are so hot and fiery, like Typhon from Green mythology, and Just to name a few others:
theres the Cherufe In Mapuche mythology, Ifrits - fire volcano demons in Islam, the Slavic
Firebird or phoenixes from all over the world are sometimes said to resurrect from a volcanic
eruption, theres of course fiery dragons that live in caves, often volcanoes…. And of
course theres our tried and true Salamander, which are also said to live in volcanic caves.
And are able to walk on rough walls, just like Heatran, with its lil lizard tail….
I guess. Though the tail being as short as it is, and it being a bumpy and crevassy as
it is, and it having this large round jaw and under belly… kinda makes me think of
a Lava toad. Remember young toads still have tails…. Though fire toads arent really a
thing outside of modern fantasy. Like there the Pyribbit, the Lava mander, the Spitting
Toad, Nitrotoads… and those are just video game examples, but they are all more modern
things. And maybe heatran isnt even a young toad… IDK. but like what the heck, its so
generic. I guess its fine for it not to be based on any one particular thing… but still.
… maybe because it walks on walls and can learn bug bite its like a beetle? I dont know…
generic Lava monster it is. If I ever do a deep dive video about it I’ll plop a link
in this videos description. Regigigas! Ruler of the Regis, all of the
regis are golems, living elementals of sorts from mainly Hebrew mythology. Afterall they
are said to have writing on their heads, and the regi’s all have a braille-like pattern
for eyes, and theres an ancient braille language in the game. To be a bit more specific, there
is the Golem of Praugue who scared people due to its size, so it wound up sealed away,
same as regigigas. And also same as the titans in greek mythology, said to be the original
ones, and humongous elemental giants... and then Zeus sealed them all away. Regigigas
being “the collosal” pokemon, and one of the biggest, it probably pulls from a colossus
more specifically. Collosi are basically giant living statues…. And lastly, the inspiration
for its role in the world is the Daidarabotchi, a gigantic yokai said to easily move mountains
and put the continents in place. Similarly Regigas’ first pokedex entry reads: “There
is an enduring legend that states this Pokémon towed continents with ropes.” Giratina, the third part of the creation trio.
One of the first pokemon created by Arceus, the creator deity of pokemon. Giratina as
an antimatter pokemon, creation chaos and distortion in the universe, and thus wound
up cast down and banished to its own world by arceus. Which gives it a similar origin
story to fallen angels, like Satan the devil. And in its origin form it does have 6 wings
and a long body, like many depictions of Seraphim, a kind of archangel. And its altered form has 6 legs, 6 spikes
on its wings and 6 neck gripper things… 666 being the symbolic number to Nero Ceaser
in the coded book of revelati- I mean--- the literal number representing satan in the very
literal book of Revelation. Giratina looks pretty demonic and evil-coded honestly. Spikey
red and black and all. Its long body and many legs and even these
neck...things, also makes it look a bit like a centipede does it not? Notably, there is
a mythical humongous dragon-eating centipede demon in Japanese mythology known as the similarly
colored, Mukade: But also its just Battra, a Godzilla Kaiju
I mean look at this: Loads of pokemon are mainly inspired by pokemon,
even all the way back in gen one, of course we have a whole video about that too. Also, As a trio, the creation trio are all
dragon type, and 1 other type, steel water or ghost, which together represent the 3 primary
states of matter, solid, liquid, and gas. Nice. Cresselia and Darkrai, ones a legendary, ones
a mythical, but together they are still the Lunar duo, and likewise have a whole duology
of videos about all their origins in detail. But in super-summary, Cresselia resembles
many eastern goddesses with her Hagoromo, especially Chang’e, Chinese goddess of the
moon. She’s also a swan, the Cygnus constellation, and also in alchemy the moon represents the
feminine powers, which include fertility, pation, resurrection, intuition, and magic
in general. Which is why supposedly pagan witches were typically woman. Many believed,
and many still do, that a womans menstrual cycle is linked with the lunar calendar, hence
blood rituals and such to please the Triple goddess from many neopagan religions. Cresselieas
head does resemble 3 crescent moons in one. And the triple goddess is primarily Hecate,
a greed goddess that when depicted, wards of evil spirits and protects and nightmares.
And similarly Garlic is the goddess’s main herb, and it keeps away Vampires. Speaking of vampires, Darkrai, with its blood
soaked fangs. Darkrai is a personification of nightmares in general. A ghostly boogeyman,
Phobetor, a greco-roman god who appears in peoples dreams as evil shadow-like humanoids.
A Mare that visits you in the night, causing a curse known as hexenzompf, or elflock….
Causing polish plait, a hair condition that gives you hair… just like darkrais…. Darkrai
looks like its straight out of bloodborne, because its straight out of the same place
and time that inspired it. Europe in the early 19th century. The time period of horror folklore,
the brothers grimm fairy tales, and many many dark deeds….. And Phione and Manaphy are sea angels! These
CUTE lil’ fishies! More specifically perhaps the Clione, hence the name. They also have elements of the Immortal Jellyfish,
I mean look at the Manaphy egg, it looks just like it!
The immortal Jellyfish is capable of essentially “resetting” its age by reverting back
to previous stages of life. One of these stages is called a polyp, and they hav ethe long
tendrils on the top of their bodies, perhaps like manaphy and phiones long hair like….
Things. Also, Immortal Jellyfish have two possible life cycles, either they can become
reproductive and “lay eggs” like a manaphy, or they can turn away and revert back into
a juvenile, perhaps like Phione. Shaymin has a cute hedgehog form, which is
literally a hedge - hedgehog, how creative, its like a little chia pet - as well as a
deviantart form, though they are officially known as the land and sky formes. It has a
gracidea flower on it, which comes from “thank you” in Spanish. Its a fictional flower,
though its somewhat similar to hydrangeas I suppose, which in the language of flowers,
also symbolizes gratitude. These flowers are capable of absorbing pollution
in the air to clean it, which is kind of what all plants do with carbon dioxide, but Shamin’s
flower does it to a magical magnitude. In its sky forme, its flower becomes a neckerchief
and its body now looks kinda like a small dog, which do often wear neckerchiefs. The
way it flies is reminiscent of magical reindeer and I suppose its ear...wing…. Things can
also resemble antlers when up, and the way its legs are positioned resembles ungulates
more so than dogs, though it does have lil toes. And lastly, Arceus, the alpha and the omega.
The Pokemon credited with creating all of Sinnoh, Ransei, the creation trio and lake
guardians, and possibly even the entire universe. Though doing so drained most of its power,
so it is no longer THAT almighty. Its strange alien-like appearance is likely
wholly on purpose, its other worldly, afterall its own myth mentions that there was nothing,
and then there was an egg, and from the egg came arceus and then the rest of the universe.
Which is similar to the “world egg” concept found in mythologies from all over the world,
where the universe came from an egg. (examples for on screen, Egyptian, Greek, Finnish, Polynesian,
Chinese, Zoroastrian, Vedic). As for Arceus’ body, the first two creatures that come to
mind are the mythical Qilin from China, a dragon unicorn of sorts that is said to protect
virtues, and appear with the imminent arrival of an illustrious ruler… as well as a Llama,
with its long neck, short tail, fluffy bits and upright ears.... Its especially Noteworthy
because of the Inca’s Golden Llama god, Urcuchillay, who watches over animals. Which
seems pretty perfect for the god of Pokemon. As for its role, its similar to Kuni No Tokotachi,
one of the original gods in Shinto belief, and the one who told izanami and izanagi,
who are palkia and dialga remember, to create the world from the heavenly pillar out using
a spear. There is also the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in buddhism, who is often white and gold,
and is said to have 1,000 arms. Noteworthy because according to Arceus’
pokedex: “It is described in mythology as the Pokémon that shaped the universe with
its 1,000 arms.” Avalokiteśvara is also credited with creating a Lake, and from said
lake came Tara, a Meditation deity of Liberation, the virtues of success, and compassion, among
other things. Elements of the human spirit. Which is perfect because again, Arceus created
the LAKE guardians who represent the human spirit. Also in Buddhism, but also Jainism and Hinduism,
there is the Wheel of Dharma, which is used in these religions to represent the buddha’s
teachings and moral code as a whole. And it can be said that the symbol around arceus
is inspired by it. But Arceus may pull from western religion
too, for instance heres the Cassiel / Kaphtziel A symbol from Jewish Christian and Islamic
mystic amulets around the 15th century, meaning “god is my cover.” and belonging to an
Angel of Saturn. Which is noteworthy because in Alchemy saturn is the planet of Lead, the
original metal. The beginning. The base metal that all else emanates from... But this is not the only symbol related to
arceus, there is also the symbol it creates other pokemon on top of of, representing it
and the creation trio. It may or may not pull from the shield of the Holy Trinity. But if it was, it wouldnt be out of line,
arceus’ symbol may even bull from the Kabbalah of Jewish mysticism, which explains how god
interacts with the universe. (specifically the middle) It was popular with medieval alchemists, as
it helped scientifically quantify god and the astra plane. And right here, is whats
known as the the path of saturn… oh hey saturn again… the planet with the RINGS
(arceus rings)... it connects Malkith and Yesod, and forms the Archeus, the lowest part
of the astral plane, basically the border between heaven and earth where batter begins
to transmute into spiritual energy…. Oh yeah and its called the archeus which is pretty
close to Arceus dont you think? I could go on and on about this, and THAT…. (link)
but I wont, I think that about covers it, Arceus is a conglomeration of creator dieties
and magic belief systems from around the world. Which is pretty fantastic. … So there you have it, the basics of the origins
of every gen 4 pokemon, explained. Obviously I glossed over some stuff, and likely missed
a bunch too because theres just so much! And thats what makes Pokemon so cool to me. Let
me know what you’d like to add down in the comments. Please consider supporting our content
on Patreon. And until next time, never stop using your gnoggin.
