- [Narrator] For 25 years, Pokemon has captured the imaginations of people around the world. The games, the anime, the trading cards, and some truly out-there merchandise has seen Pokemon become the highest-grossing
media franchise of all time with a total revenue of
more than $105 billion. Boasting almost 1,000 species
of catchable critters, while the design of many Pokemon is fantasy-inspired, certain aspects of their origins can be found in very real animals. From carnivorous plants to the real-world Pikachu, here are the most awesome Pokemon you may just be able
to catch in real life. (bright music) As the very first Pokemon
Ash caught in the wild, Caterpie holds a special place in every aficionado's heart, as well as in the heart
of the Pokemon's creator, Satoshi Tajiri. In fact, the whole concept
of Pokemon trainers traveling the world and
collecting little monsters is inspired by Tajiri's childhood love for insect collection. Perhaps not the most
sought-after Pokemon out there, Caterpie becomes more impressive when compared to his
real-life counterpart, the eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar. You really can't miss the
similarities between these two, from their distinct green bodies to those unique, bright orange antennas. The eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar can be found in eastern North America and, like Caterpie, evolves, or, more accurately,
metamorphosizes into a butterfly. Those distinct antennae
on the swallowtail's head are known as an osmeterium, a fleshy orange organ that
emits a foul-smelling substance made up of chemicals called terpenes to ward off potential predators
when feeling threatened. And, interestingly enough, releasing an intense odor from
its antennae during battle is one of Caterpie's specialties. While both the Pokemon and
its real-world counterpart appear to possess large googly eyes, the eastern swallowtail's real eyes are actually the size of a pinpoint, and are located closer to the mouth, while those big things we see are actually something
known as false eye spots. These are a type of deceptive marking that can help protect the
caterpillar from predators, who, interpreting the markings as the caterpillar's real eyes, assume the creature is
actually something more deadly, like a snake. Another first-generation veteran, Poliwag, is a unique-looking Pokemon with a certain design choice much more significant
than it initially seems. It may be pretty obvious that Poliwag is based
on some kind of tadpole, even the name itself is
reminiscent of polliwog, which is another name
for the earliest stage in the life of an amphibian. But it's that swirl on Poliwag's stomach which, paired with those
great big puppy-dog eyes, not only makes it one of the
cutest Pokemon out there, but also the most intriguing. Turns out, that cute little swirl has a surprisingly gross backstory and when you find out what
it actually represents, you'll never be able to
look at this little guy the same again. Poliwag is in fact based on the real-life glass-frog tadpole, which gets its name from
its transparent body through which you can
see its internal organs. So Poliwag's swirl is actually meant to be the tadpole's neatly coiled intestines. Thought to be a form of camouflage, the see-through nature
of the glass-frog tadpole is pretty gross, and gives that hypnotic Pokemon a whole new level of weird. Even the weakest, most unassuming Pokemon can have an interesting
origin story to tell. Luvdisc, for example, is often overlooked, as most Pokehunters aren't too keen on adding it to their team due to its low-level stats and the fact that it never evolves. Even so, being pink and heart-shaped with prominent pursed lips, this water type has an
undeniable connection with a very real species of fish known as the kissing gourami. In the Pokemon universe, it's said that finding a Luvdisc will bless a couple with eternal love, but its real-life counterpart
is slightly less lovey-dovey. Unlike their Pokey counterparts, these fishy fiends don't kiss
each other to show affection, but actually do it as
a means of aggression. Not ones for any kind of romance, these big lips are not soft and pillowy like you might expect, but are actually covered with tiny teeth. In fact, kissing gourami
often bump off other fish by scraping mucus off their
bodies with these teeth and eating it, sealing their fate with a kiss of death that exposes the victim's
skin to infection. Yeah, that's sure to kill
any kind of romantic mood. From sea to sky now, it looks as though love
was still in the air during the creation of this next Pokemon, who makes a perfect pair
with a real-life lovebird. Chatot is an avian Pokemon with a head resembling
a musical eighth note and a tail that looks like a metronome, but it's the flying-type's
brightly colored plumage that connects it to a real-life bird. Its multicolored appearance including green, black,
and yellow feathers and a pink hooked beak is undeniably similar to that of the yellow-collared lovebird that can be found in
Eastern African countries such as Tanzania and Kenya. These beautiful birds are
a part of the parrot family and, like Chatot, have the ability to mimic speech. - Pretty bird. (bird speaking) Picky-picky. (bird speaking) Picky bird. (bird speaking) - [Narrator] Like Pokemon, lovebirds are used for human companionship and are popular pets, though it's recommended to
keep these lovers in pairs, hence their name. From deep love to the deep ocean now, the sea floor is home to a plethora of weird and wonderful looking creatures that are perfect for Pokemon inspiration. This deep-sea phantom is
the long-nosed chimaera. Also known as ghost sharks, these eerie entities can be found in deep, temperate, and tropical waters worldwide and are distant deep-sea cousins to the likes of sharks and stingrays. It might surprise you to find out that this spooky spectacle
was the inspiration for one of the cuter types of
Pokemon out there, Gorebyss. Long-nosed chimaeras
live at abyssal depths of more than 3,000 feet, and, like Gorebyss, can withstand the extremely
high-pressure levels found in those oceanic depths. The main resemblances in
appearances in this case are the wide-eyed expression complete with fins and
an extra-long snout. But don't be fooled by those
innocent-looking cutesy eyes, as the chimaera's conical nose is actually filled with
sensory nerve endings that are used to hunt down prey before crushing them with 3 rows of teeth. I guess that's one way to catch 'em all. Some sea creatures are so fantastical that Pokemon creators just had
to bring them onto dry land. Worshiped as the master of time, Dialga was introduced into the series in the Diamond and Pearl editions and is one of few
dragon-steel type Pokemon in the series. While it's fair to assume this legendary Pokemon's
design was partially influenced by mythical creatures and dinosaurs, it actually has some similarities with a real-life dragon that
can be found in our world. The Glaucus Atlanticus, also known as the blue sea dragon, is a species of small, blue sea slug that can be found throughout
the world's oceans, though most often in tropical waters. The physical similarities
between the two are undeniable, down to the spiked points on their bodies, long tails and, of course, the striking blue,
white, and gray coloring. Unlike Dialga, however, the blue sea dragon relies on
the winds and ocean currents to carry them along, and only grow to a measly
1.2 inches in length compared with Dialga's colossal 17 feet. Perhaps even more similar-looking
to the blue sea dragon is Kyogre, a legendary water-type Pokemon with the capacity for primal reversion. Introduced in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, primal reversion is a process
that reverts a Pokemon back into its ancient, original form, where it regains the true,
ultimate power it once had. After undergoing primal reversion, Kyogre not only exhibits the blue sea dragon's aquatic coloring but also shares circular markings along with a more similar, elongated tail. Anyone else really want one of these little water-dwelling
guys all of a sudden? Let me know in the comments, and while you're there, make a splash by hitting those
like and subscribe buttons, so you can make sure that, when it comes to my videos, you can always catch 'em all. Now, if you're all dried off, let's move further
inland to visit a Pokemon that could easily fit into our real world. Covered in brown fur and with a stature that towers
above many other Pokemon, Ursaring clearly resembles
the bears of our world. Though while its coloration hints at the infamous grizzly bear, certain other features
actually more closely resemble the sun bear and the moon bear, which are both found in Asia. Most bears have the ability to raise themselves up on their hindlegs, but, amazingly, the moon bear has been known to walk over a quarter of a mile on two legs, just like Ursaring can. Both Ursaring and moon bears are also described as excellent climbers and share a range of features
which aid this activity, a powerful upper body, long arms, and long, hooked front claws. Ursaring's peculiar shoulder frills, meanwhile, are pretty unique, though are likely to have been inspired by the moon bear's extremely fluffy neck and shoulder region. Ursaring's tan-colored
ring pattern, meanwhile, closely resembles that of the sun bear, though moon bears are also known to sport an impressive crest of their own. To many superfans, the thought of encountering
a real-life Pokemon would be nothing short
of a dream come true. And resemblances don't get much closer than this real-world
equivalent of Drowzee, known as the Asian tapir. Found throughout the
tropical lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia, the Asian tapir, like Drowzee, sports a two-toned body
resembling that of a pig, that it uses to help camouflage itself in moonlit forests. Both also have a distinctive
long snout which is prehensile, meaning that it can be
used to pick things up and can also be used as a snorkel when navigating through water. Despite their physical similarities, tapirs do not eat people's dreams as Drowzee does. Instead, that odd characteristic is based on the Japanese myth of the baku. Baku are supernatural beings with similarly trunk-like noses that, according to Japanese folklore, were created from the
spare pieces left over when the gods finished
creating all the other animals. Like Drowzee, Baku are
said to possess the ability to put people to sleep as well as feed upon their dreams, often through their nose. I only hope for Drowzee's sake that he hibernates during flu season. From snorkel-noses to shells now, Torterra is an enormous grass-type titan, and it doesn't take a genius to realize it's based on some kind of turtle. But while many turtles
and tortoises can be seen sporting a layer of green
plant-life on their shells, Torterra's fantastical design was likely inspired by a large
species of freshwater turtle known as the Mary River Turtle. This distinctive creature is, as the name suggests, endemic to the Mary River
in Queensland, Australia, and has evolved some pretty
special abilities in its time, including being able to breathe underwater through gill-like organs
within its private parts, enabling it to remain
submerged for up to 72 hours. What really sets this
living chia pet apart is the wad of green hair
they're often spotted with, which is actually spots of algae that naturally grow all
over its head and shell. It might not be quite as impressive as Torterra's shell's personal tree, but I'd still say the Mary River Turtle
has a certain swagger, even if it does look somewhat
like an aging rockstar. This next Pokemon isn't the prettiest, but its real-world
counterpart is so peculiar, you'd think it'd belong more
in the video game universe than our own. Stunfisk is a flat, fish-like Pokemon that camouflages itself in
muddy waters by the seashore, and whenever prey touches it, Stunfisk zaps them with an electric shock. In the waters of our world, meanwhile, there dwells a type of saltwater fish known as a stargazer that has, bizarrely, evolved to keep its eyes and mouth directly on top of its head. This nightmarish sea-dweller
uses its topside eyes, not to stargaze, but to get a good view of prey while it buries itself under the sand and awaits the chance to ambush with powerful, sharp-tooth-lined jaws, and venomous spikes along its back. Even stranger, just like Stunfisk, certain species of stargazers possess the ability to
create electrical currents from a specialized organ
located behind the eyes that's used to deliver some
pretty nasty electric shocks to anyone that gets too close. Not only that, but the stargazer fish has
another shocking ability, in that it's able to expel
it's worm-shaped tongue to attract passing prey toward a venomous, electrical demise. Silent but deadly, this fish is seriously terrifying, but, as you'll see in our
next real-world Pokemon, it's not the only one setting traps that even put pokeballs to shame. Typically, most plants can't do a lot to help being at the mercy
of the animal kingdom, but not the inspiration for
one fly-catching Pokemon who found its own way
to bite back, literally. Victreebel is based on pitcher plants, a flora family that capture their prey with their long conical-shaped maws, known as pitfall traps. The rim around both the
pitcher plant and Victreebel are brightly colored, and lined with a sweet,
yet intoxicating nectar, which serves to attract doomed insects, as well as the occasional small mammal. While feeding on the nectar, the pitcher plant's prey
struggles to keep a grip, and inevitably falls
down into a deep chamber with a pool of flesh-dissolving enzymes waiting at the bottom, surrounded by walls that are
too waxy to crawl up out of. With no way out, the prey is slowly, horrifically digested, whether still alive,
drowned, or otherwise. While it might seem strange
for a plant to be carnivorous, it actually comes down
to a matter of evolution. Most carnivorous plants, including the infamous Venus flytrap, evolved their taste for meat due to living in soils lacking nitrogen, which is a key ingredient
plants need to make proteins. When digested, their prey provides this
much-needed resource, making pitcher plants and
their Poke-equivalents a particularly unnerving example of adapting to the environment. Moving onto another Pokemon whose origins are rooted
in plant life now, according to the Pokedex, Vileplume's petals are the
largest in the world of Pokemon. The same can be said for the real-world Rafflesia Arnoldii, more commonly known by the charming name of the stinking corpse lily, which can grow to a whopping
40 inches in diameter. Despite visual similarities between this enormous plant
and its Pokemon counterpart, namely their large,
colorful, textured petals, there are some subtle
differences between these two. Vileplume is a grass-poison type which uses its highly toxic pollen to paralyze its prey, but the corpse lily is by
no means a toxic flower. It merely smells like it is. The real-world flower's foul stench reportedly smells like rotting meat, which serves to attract
nearby pollinators. Vileplume's toxic attributes
are actually more akin to toxins found in the nectar
of Rhododendron flowers, which can cause full-body paralysis when ingested in large amounts. All in all, though, it's probably best to avoid
eating unfamiliar flowers, whether they smell like
rotten flesh or not. From ugly odors to even
uglier oddities now, there are some animals
out there that, arguably, look even stranger than any known Pokemon. This is the red-lipped batfish, found around the Galapagos Islands, which looks a little like
someone's angry aunt. Despite being a fish, this critter isn't all
that great a swimmer, and instead walks along the sea bottom on his leg-like fins. While not noted as the
official inspiration for any Pokemon out there, its oddly-angular head
and front-ended limbs certainly bear a passing
resemblance to Dreepy. This dragon-ghost Pokemon
may not live underwater, but its amphibian-like characteristics still make it a pretty close match to the red-lipped batfish. And while the red-lipped batfish fails at what most fish do best, so too does Dreepy compared with many of its Pokemon peers. According to official Pokemon lore, when it comes to combat, Dreepy is such a weak species that even children can
defeat it with ease. - [Woman] He needs some milk. - [Narrator] Staying on the
topic of real-world animals that look even stranger than fiction, meet the axolotl, the real-world doppelganger for Wooper. Axolotls are increasingly-common pets in many parts of the world, but they aren't exactly your
standard aquarium dwellers. Part of the salamander family, wild axolotls live exclusively in the swampy remnants of Mexico's Lake Xochimilco and are most certainly among the oddest-looking
creatures on earth, making them a natural choice
for Pokemon inspiration. These alien-looking creatures have some very unusual traits, most notably their branching gills, and the fact that they
never physically mature, and remain visually almost
identical to their baby forms for their whole lives. That is, unless they find themselves in some bizarrely specific circumstances. In 1863, those
circumstances were uncovered when a French zoologist named Auguste Dumeril received a shipment of axolotls sent from Mexico. Upon opening the box, to his surprise, he found that the shipment
contained not axolotls, but what looked to be adult salamanders. The shipment was confirmed to have initially contained axolotls, and after years of studies to resolve this peculiar incident, it was discovered that axolotls can undergo
a process of metamorphosis when they ingest iodine. Iodine is usually only
encountered by axolotls when they cannibalize
another of their own species, which can trigger a metamorphosis into a bigger, stronger form of axolotl, in one of the strangest
glow-ups in the animal kingdom. Wooper, however, doesn't appear to share
these strange traits, beyond the branching gills on its head, which is probably for the best. After all, kids playing the game might be a little disturbed to find out that they can level up and evolve their cute little Poke-friend by feeding it its fellow brethren. Instead, we can take comfort
in the fact that Wooper, particularly the rare, shiny pink version, is just an adorable, simplified homage to this strange real-world creature. For the average Pokemon trainer, it's inevitable to encounter
one, ten or a hundred Magikarp while on the prowl for
more desirable Pokemon. Often described as the
world's weakest Pokemon thanks to its useless splash ability, this water-type's real-world twin is the highly sought
after yelloweye rockfish. One of the longest-living fish species, the yelloweye rockfish has been known to live to
the ripe old age of 150 and can be found all along
the East Pacific Ocean in deeper, rocky bottomed areas. Like Magikarp, the yelloweye rockfish sports fluorescent orange
scales and spikey fins, not to mention those big dead-looking eyes that stare straight into your soul. Magikarp's design and abilities are also inspired by Asian carps, which are, like the Pokemon, easily frightened by
disturbances in the water and can occasionally be seen jumping up to 10 feet in
the air when startled. Despite their scaredy-cat nature, carp have had royal
connections throughout history and many Japanese emperors
kept ornamental carp in their palace ponds. In fact, the popular Koi carp were specifically bred in the 1800s to produce the most
decorative fish possible for the royal gardens, becoming synonymous with
prestige across Japan in the process. Aside from Magikarp's golden
crown-shaped dorsal fin, however, it's not exactly
the king of Pokemon, at least not until it evolves. Indeed, it's hard to believe that a Pokemon as lowly as Magikarp could evolve into one
of the most powerful, the 21-foot long Gyarados, shown here in all its
red shiny version glory. But could this majestic dragon ever have a real-world counterpart? Well, this image, which appears to showcase
a real-life shiny Gyarados swimming ominously
alongside a fisherman's boat in Wisconsin, seems to suggest so, and made quite the splash when
it appeared online in 2016. Unfortunately, though, the original poster soon revealed that they'd shared the picture with Facebook friends as a joke after editing its colors, saying that what can be seen
in the image is, in fact, a giant sturgeon fish that
was spotted in Lake Winnebago. Despite the edited red coloring, the pictured animal itself, along with its mammoth size
and primitive characteristics can indeed be found in the real world. Sturgeons are among the
largest species of fish and can grow up to a staggering
18 feet and 4,000 pounds. While they certainly share Gyarados' intimidating size and strength, the Pokemon's serpentine body
and natural blue coloration more closely resembles the oarfish, the longest known bony fish alive, measuring in at as long as 36 feet. These rarely-seen giants are known to dwell as deep as 3,300 feet below the world's tropical
and subtropical oceans, and past encounters with these creatures likely contributed to historic
myths of sea serpents, which, indirectly, may have helped inspire the sea serpent-dragon-like
design of Gyarados. Moving from one of the most powerful to the most iconic and sought-after
Pokemon of all time now, Pikachu is instantly recognizable even to the uninitiated. However, not many people know that Pikachu's name roughly, and hilariously, translates to sparkle
mouse noise in Japanese. To break it down, we have pikapika, that's an onomatopoeia for sparkle, and chuchu which is the
Japanese representation of the sound of a mouse squeaking. The name may also pay homage to the word peekaboo, or even the animal pika, a rabbit-like creature with vaguely similar
proportions to Pikachu. Who knew that cute, iconic Pokemon's name was so sophisticated? While there aren't any
mice or pikas in our world that really look like Pikachu, there is another cute critter that does. Check it out. No, that's not photoshopped, it's a rare type of common brushtail possum, a nocturnal marsupial found
in Australia and New Zealand. This little cutie was found lying on the side of the road near Melbourne in 2018 and is believed to have possibly fallen
off her mother's back before being rescued. The possum, aptly nicknamed Pikachu by the shelter it was
residing in at the time, found internet fame at just 5 months old thanks to her unique golden fur and to long pointed ears that made her look just like everyone's
favorite Pokemon character. Most brushtail possums are gray in color, but little possum
Pikachu's bright yellow fur is the result of a genetic mutation causing a lack of melanin, the same pigment responsible for dark eyes, hair, and skin
in humans and animals alike. Although her brightly-colored fur makes this real-world Pikachu adorable, it also means that she'd
be way more visible to predators in the wild. And sadly, cuteness doesn't count for much to a hungry passing snake
in the Australian outback. If you ask me, I'd say we keep this real
world Pokemon safe and happy by giving her the leading role in the next Detective Pikachu movie. Do you know any real-life animals that are dead ringers for Pokemon? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for watching. (upbeat music)
