Do you know of other Pokémon with inspirations or concepts from legends, cryptids, or mythological or extinct creatures?
by Moon_rex
32 Comments
KnightOfThirteen
Are… owls cryptids now?
DangerousPatient2788
Aggron is inspired by Pulgasari of Korean myth
starchimp224
I haven’t done the math fully but I want to estimate that at least 25-50% of all Pokémon are based off of yōkai in some way
Dependent_Praline_93
Vulpix and Ninetails are based off the Kitsune the Nine Tails Fox Japanese yokai! Lotad line is based off the Kappa another Japanese Yokai.
There are a lot more but those were the two off the top of my head.
Glazeddapper
a good chunk of pokemon are based on yokai, which are spirits from japanese folklore.
just to name a few examples: froslass is the yuki-onna (already in the post), dunsparce and its evolution are tsuchinoko, the whole ludicolo line are kappas, mawile is the futakuchi-onna, magikarp and gyrados are the story of the wani, shiftry is a tengu, etc.
T_Ranger68104
The Charmander line is based off a legend of salamanders having fire based powers
green_link
almost all are. a lot are based on japanese yokai which basically covers legends, cryptids, mythological creatures, ghosts, spirits, supernatural entities, demons, folklore creatures, basically anything supernatural. lockstin in youtube goes into a lot of depth about his theories on what pokemon are based on and brings evidence to the table to back his theories up.
an example Whiscash. Wiscash is directly based on Namazu a giant mythological catfish that causes massive earthquakes and tsunamis. hence it’s type is water and ground. but also it’s japanese name Namazun directly references Namazu
another Legend of Momotarō, which the story of The Teal Mask DLC for scarlet and violet takes direct inspiration from. the Legend of Momotarō, or the peach boy, is about a boy born from a giant peach, named Momotarō, who goes on an adventure to Oni island to defeat a group of wicked Oni (demon\Ogre) . along his journey befriends a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant by sharing kibi-dango (millet dumplings).
sound familiar? Pecharunt is Momotarō. Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti are the dog, the monkey, and the pheasant. Pecharunt shares it’s Binding Mochi to ‘befriend’ the 3. and they attack Ogerpon the Ogre, on Ogre Mountain. and the local legend of the area/village basically tells the same story as Momotarō about a bad Ogre terrorizing the village, a dog, monkey and bird pokemon chasing the oni away
ZigzagoonBros
● Dratini and Dragonair are inspired by the Korean imugi, gigantic aquatic serpents that can transform into a full-fledged dragons with the help of a magical pearl that fell from heaven (Yeouiju). Dragonite being based on a European dragon is a probably a twist on this concept as you’d normally expect an ascended Imugi to only grow limbs and keep its serpentine body, as is often the case with eastern dragons.
● Entei and Growlithe/Arcanine (especially their Hisuian forms) are based on the Komainu, mythical lion-dogs whose stone statues are used to guard the entrace to a shrine and bring good luck.
Iamzerocreative
Whats sableyes inspiration?
CycloneToya
There are so so many! Sneasel is a Kamaitachi, Espeon and Meowstic are nekomata, meowth is the maneki-neko. Arcanine is a fu dog (shisa) here’s one I have never seen anyone acknowledge, Sawsbuck is a Bianselu, the bianselu is a deer that changes its coat colour with the seasons, its slightly different as green and pink = spring, yellow and green = summer, gold and reddish-brown = autumn and white and gold = winter.
What the hell are those Sableye tings, they look cool as hell
Letter-Local
Why is nobody talking about Sableye’s inspiration literally raising their hands when aimed with a shotgun?.
Halkyos
I wonder what the inspiration for Exeggcute was.
Pirate_Lantern
Magikarp and Gyarados are based on the legend of a carp that swims up a waterfall and jumps through the Dragon Gate and turns into a dragon.
czcreeperboy
Isn’t Golurk based on Jewish Golems?
rowletlover
Decidueye mentioned
PMC-I3181OS387l5
Oh… that rabbit hole is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay deeper than you think XD
GWindborn
I’ve loved alien and cryptids since I was a kid and have always enjoyed the Hopkinsville Goblin story! As a result, I love Sableye! I have a shiny lucky 3-star a friend traded me in Go named Hopkins for this very reason.
Hawaiian night marchers (natively known as huakaʻi pō) are creatures of Hawaiian mythology, they are the ghosts of tribal warriors. They are said to appear as shadow like apparitions and march at night holding torches and often beating drums and blowing horns. It’s said if you were to encounter them during one of these marches without displaying proper respect, you will die a terrible death.
I am *positive* marshadow is based on these guys, there’s literally no way he’s not. Despite like no one talking about it online for some reason (at least not that I’ve seen)
Freakin Kelly-Hopkinsville Goblins are my favorite cryptid (a bunch of great horned owls that got spooked by a meteor shower and drunks with guns, gotta be aliens!), and Sableye is one of my favorite Pokémon, I mean lookit the little guys!
The Alolan Exeggutor, as far as I remember, was based on the Hawaiian myth of a dragon that can turn into coconut trees to disguise itself.
Legitlyblue
Guys, does anyone know what Seel was based off of?
SubMGK
You cannot convince me that the rowley line isnt based off of Green Arrow lol
Staticde
The fact that Decidueye is based on an extinct species of owl explains why Hisuian Decidueye is ghost type
Nick543b
First of MOST pokemon are based on these sorts of things.
Secondly basically none of them are based on JUST that thing. Most have 3+ inspirations.
acelana
Mawile is based on a myth of a woman whose husband didn’t let her eat enough so she grew so hungry she grew a second mouth. Moral of the story let your wife eat a bowl of rice
bluewizard20112020
Nintales is based on the nine tailed fox or kitsune from Korean mythology
32 Comments
Are… owls cryptids now?
Aggron is inspired by Pulgasari of Korean myth
I haven’t done the math fully but I want to estimate that at least 25-50% of all Pokémon are based off of yōkai in some way
Vulpix and Ninetails are based off the Kitsune the Nine Tails Fox Japanese yokai! Lotad line is based off the Kappa another Japanese Yokai.
There are a lot more but those were the two off the top of my head.
a good chunk of pokemon are based on yokai, which are spirits from japanese folklore.
just to name a few examples: froslass is the yuki-onna (already in the post), dunsparce and its evolution are tsuchinoko, the whole ludicolo line are kappas, mawile is the futakuchi-onna, magikarp and gyrados are the story of the wani, shiftry is a tengu, etc.
The Charmander line is based off a legend of salamanders having fire based powers
almost all are. a lot are based on japanese yokai which basically covers legends, cryptids, mythological creatures, ghosts, spirits, supernatural entities, demons, folklore creatures, basically anything supernatural. lockstin in youtube goes into a lot of depth about his theories on what pokemon are based on and brings evidence to the table to back his theories up.
an example Whiscash. Wiscash is directly based on Namazu a giant mythological catfish that causes massive earthquakes and tsunamis. hence it’s type is water and ground. but also it’s japanese name Namazun directly references Namazu
another Legend of Momotarō, which the story of The Teal Mask DLC for scarlet and violet takes direct inspiration from. the Legend of Momotarō, or the peach boy, is about a boy born from a giant peach, named Momotarō, who goes on an adventure to Oni island to defeat a group of wicked Oni (demon\Ogre) . along his journey befriends a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant by sharing kibi-dango (millet dumplings).
sound familiar? Pecharunt is Momotarō. Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti are the dog, the monkey, and the pheasant. Pecharunt shares it’s Binding Mochi to ‘befriend’ the 3. and they attack Ogerpon the Ogre, on Ogre Mountain. and the local legend of the area/village basically tells the same story as Momotarō about a bad Ogre terrorizing the village, a dog, monkey and bird pokemon chasing the oni away
● Dratini and Dragonair are inspired by the Korean imugi, gigantic aquatic serpents that can transform into a full-fledged dragons with the help of a magical pearl that fell from heaven (Yeouiju). Dragonite being based on a European dragon is a probably a twist on this concept as you’d normally expect an ascended Imugi to only grow limbs and keep its serpentine body, as is often the case with eastern dragons.
● Entei and Growlithe/Arcanine (especially their Hisuian forms) are based on the Komainu, mythical lion-dogs whose stone statues are used to guard the entrace to a shrine and bring good luck.
Whats sableyes inspiration?
There are so so many! Sneasel is a Kamaitachi, Espeon and Meowstic are nekomata, meowth is the maneki-neko. Arcanine is a fu dog (shisa) here’s one I have never seen anyone acknowledge, Sawsbuck is a Bianselu, the bianselu is a deer that changes its coat colour with the seasons, its slightly different as green and pink = spring, yellow and green = summer, gold and reddish-brown = autumn and white and gold = winter.
Cant believe you forgot the most iconic one
https://preview.redd.it/6t0j88c0jvag1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=4696fc6887b9edd45034cb61a6ea693a721124dc
We need a Bigfoot Pokemon stat
What the hell are those Sableye tings, they look cool as hell
Why is nobody talking about Sableye’s inspiration literally raising their hands when aimed with a shotgun?.
I wonder what the inspiration for Exeggcute was.
Magikarp and Gyarados are based on the legend of a carp that swims up a waterfall and jumps through the Dragon Gate and turns into a dragon.
Isn’t Golurk based on Jewish Golems?
Decidueye mentioned
Oh… that rabbit hole is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay deeper than you think XD
I’ve loved alien and cryptids since I was a kid and have always enjoyed the Hopkinsville Goblin story! As a result, I love Sableye! I have a shiny lucky 3-star a friend traded me in Go named Hopkins for this very reason.
https://preview.redd.it/u48vqvsx2xag1.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e89b17b27bb172d9e3fd0752a5d0bfb9d846ce1
Lopunny is based off my search history
Hawaiian night marchers (natively known as huakaʻi pō) are creatures of Hawaiian mythology, they are the ghosts of tribal warriors. They are said to appear as shadow like apparitions and march at night holding torches and often beating drums and blowing horns. It’s said if you were to encounter them during one of these marches without displaying proper respect, you will die a terrible death.
I am *positive* marshadow is based on these guys, there’s literally no way he’s not. Despite like no one talking about it online for some reason (at least not that I’ve seen)
https://preview.redd.it/vj02kpmxyxag1.png?width=488&format=png&auto=webp&s=c274b6a6940eac08c8ff44deeb90b92b9ef12142
Freakin Kelly-Hopkinsville Goblins are my favorite cryptid (a bunch of great horned owls that got spooked by a meteor shower and drunks with guns, gotta be aliens!), and Sableye is one of my favorite Pokémon, I mean lookit the little guys!
Hell yeah Hopkinsville Goblin mentioned
https://preview.redd.it/2kz9th51hzag1.jpeg?width=864&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=016e555fe8acb498b9100ba855af9446921f528b
Decidueye is based on an owl?!? 😱
The Alolan Exeggutor, as far as I remember, was based on the Hawaiian myth of a dragon that can turn into coconut trees to disguise itself.
Guys, does anyone know what Seel was based off of?
You cannot convince me that the rowley line isnt based off of Green Arrow lol
The fact that Decidueye is based on an extinct species of owl explains why Hisuian Decidueye is ghost type
First of MOST pokemon are based on these sorts of things.
Secondly basically none of them are based on JUST that thing. Most have 3+ inspirations.
Mawile is based on a myth of a woman whose husband didn’t let her eat enough so she grew so hungry she grew a second mouth. Moral of the story let your wife eat a bowl of rice
Nintales is based on the nine tailed fox or kitsune from Korean mythology