Character Digression: Pokemon Culture Part 2

We’re back with another Pokemon Digression in lieu of a specific character discussion. Why? Because we can (and I never got around to a full character discussion). This week we’ll be discussing some newer Pokemon (going as far as Generation II) and seeing where this goes.

Please note that some generation one Pokemon will possibly be mentioned here, but that’s only if they play a significant role in Generation Two… as I will explain. One thing to note is the tone of the game (Gold, Silver and Crystal) is incredibly different from the tone and themes of the first game. The first games were centered around genetic experimentation and evolving technology. This is mostly indicated by the existence of Mewtwo being a clone of Mew and theories suggesting the origins of Ditto. Generation II games went to focus even more on Japanese folklore and legends. We get introduced to a slew of new legendary Pokemon. We have more traditional Japanese style buildings and art styles evident in areas like Ecruteak City or Azalea Town. With that knowledge in mind, let’s start with three big ones: Entei, Suicine, and Raikou. 

All generations of Pokemon have a trio of legendary Pokemon and most of the time, they’ve been different typoes, with the first two generations having fire, lightning, and ice or water. In generation one, we had Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres (which I will touch on at a later point). But unlike the legendary birds of generation one, the legendary “beasts” of generation two have a lot more to do with Japanese culture. We’ll do those one at a time. 

Entei is the easiest to start with as its design is largely based off that of a lion. Specifically the Chinese Lions of Foo you might be familiar with as statues (though sometimes incorrectly referred to as Foo Dogs). These are generally placed outside temples and act as guardians for said temples. This is directly referenced in the third Pokemon movie in which Entei acts as a literal guardian to the young girl in the film (no, I forgot her name). Entei also seems to reference the historical figure Aterui, Chief of the Emishi, who later became known as Aka-gashira (Red-Head) which was a reference to him being a demon. This distinction is drawn because of flavor text indicating that whenever Entei roars, it means a volcano is erupting and a new Entei is being born. The Aka-gashira were called as such for being demons with fiery hair that looked like an erupting volcano from their head. 

Raikou is even easier as it is just based on various lightning gods throughout the world, but most specifically would be the raiju, which is a thunder demon from Japanese Folklore. It is said that these demons could take the form of tigers, monkeys, and blue wolves wrapped in lightning. Clearly Raikou is based on the aforementioned tiger form while Generation III’s Manectric is based on the wolf form. It’s actual design is a mix of both Sabertoothed Tigers and modern day Bengal and Siberian Tigers. Aside from that, there isn’t much left on Raikou in terms of references in its design. 

This leaves Suicune, which has a lot to discuss, but it’s also a more prominent figure in the games and anime and references a few different concepts. The first of which is a Qilin (Kirin) which is an East-Asian legendary creature similar to the west’s unicorn. It’s a powerful and peaceful creature said to walk on water and has combined physical characteristics of Chinese dragons, unicorns, deer, big cats, and other beasts. While kind of vague, the fact that Qilin is depicted as an herbivorous creature matches with Suicune, the only one of the three legendary beasts to not have fang-like teeth. And Suicune has been depicted walking on water on multiple occasions. But so has Jesus, so what else does Suicune have? 

Notice that Suicune has spots, which is a trait shared with leopards (which are found in Asia and happen to be featured in myths that show it as widely respected as a sacred animal like the Qilin). This is likely referential to the Shinto God of the North Wind, Fujin, who wears leopard skin. And given that Suicune is known as the “Aurora Pokemon” with a multitude of ice attacks, and North Wind is generally associated with ice and cold. There are also many wind and rain gods and goddesses that Suicune could be taking after, but we’ve already spent a lot of time with these dogs. Let’s discuss some other Pokemon here. 

Let’s start with Sneasel, a dark/ice type that doesn’t appear until later in the game. Sneasel’s design seems to have been based on Kamaitachi, weasel demons with sickles on their front legs. According to lore within the game, Sneasel is known for unusually cruel behavior and is involved in some superstitions. This is similar to superstitious views of weasels in Japan and black cats of Western superstitions as both are known for being “evil” and associated with misfortune in their respective cultures. 

The Japanese name for seahorses is “Tatsu-no-Otoshigo” which translates to “dragon’s child.” We’re not talking about Daenerys from Game of Thrones, because according to the legends of Ryujin and East Asian Dragons, they bear power over the seas of the world, live on the floors of deep bodies of water, and are also known for their weather like ascensions into the heavens. In generation one, we were introduced to our first seahorse Pokemon, Horsea and its evolved form, Seadra. In generation II, we were introduced to Kingdra, which directly references this legend because upon evolving into Kingdra, this Pokemon takes on the second type of “dragon”. In fact it even shares its “Pokemon Species” name with several other notable dragons as the “Dragon Species” Pokemon.

Heracross is one of the most powerful non-legendary Pokemon in the game, capable of dealing out massive amounts of damage with little effort despite being slower and having a x4 weakness to flying type attacks. That said, Heracross is actually based on an actual beetle found in Japan known as the Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle. Much like Heracross, they are known for their insane level of strength and their use in insect fighting, hence why Heracross is also a fighting type Pokemon.

 To wrap it up today’s post we’ll talk about another well-known Pokemon from the anime, Wobbuffet. Wobbuffet has become a comic relief character as a part of Team Rocket, which isn’t a surprise given its general appearance. Surprisingly, Wobbuffet is actually based on a Japanese comedian, Senpei Hayashiya. It even borrows Senpei’s famous motion of bringing a hand up to his head (similar to a salute) when he states his catchphrase, “So nansu okusan,” meaning (that’s the way it is ma’am). 

It is also thought that Wobbuffet’s design is like that of a karma punching bag. The reason for this is because of its obvious shape, but also because Wobbuffet cannot attack first and can only damage after being damaged since all of its only damaging moves are Counter and Mirror Coat (countering moves). This emphasizes the earlier concept of being based off a comedian as an additional joke since the end of a joke is a punchline and Wobbuffet is, literally, a Pokemon punching bag.

That’s all for this installment. I hope you got some educational facts out of this. We’ll be back soon with more random content and we’ll probably have another Pokemon centric post not too long from now. See ya next time.