#pokemon lore

[praazlwurm]

Giratina's Temple and the Celestica Ruins

aka Giratina/platinum clan theory is back (also sorry for using mspaint lmao)

So we all know about the Shrouded Ruins, yeah?

(This is the only spoiler warning for Pokemon Legends: Arceus you're gonna get)

Spooky. Ever-cloaked in mists and mystery, surrounded by black-stoned cairns like graves and home to the giant Odd Keystone that once (?) housed 108 souls. Very ghost-centric.

Well what if I told you it was a temple?

Greco-roman temples (and, problematic or otherwise the celestica are absolutely greco-roman coded) are constructed relatively uniformly, with an outer later of columns holding up the roof and an inner layer holding up an internal structure, providing additional support, ect.

We have a perfect in-game model to project from, too, in the Temple of Sinnoh (pre-explosion). You can see that some of the smaller columns are sometimes decorative - likely they held up torches or, in the case of the two nearest the 'altar,' offerings

So knowing that style and having the remaining structures we do see in-game, we can approximate a lay out of what the building may have looked like.

What makes this a temple, however, is more open to interpretation. My evidence to support that it is is actually the blue-tinged pedestals seen within the outline of the building - the place(s) of honor in any temple. Irl, the inner structure - the cella - was often fully-walled in, though sometimes this was constructed via wood and other materials that don't withstand time.

Now, ENORMOUS shout-out to pokemaniacchris and the incredible Crimson Mirelands Archeological Survey Project for a really detailed, in-character breakdown of the ruins structures throughout the mirelands. I can only assume the 'surveyors' hadn't reached Mt. Coronet yet in their explorations.

Pedestals like these (at least superficially similar) are found beneath dozens of statues around Mt. Coronet, including beneath Giratina, Palkia and Dialga in the Sacred Plaza area. Now, I know I'm supposed to be claiming that this is a temple to Giratina, but if we work on the assumption that the four pedestals corollate with Giratina, Palkia, Dialga, and Arceus, a new conclusion can, perhaps, be drawn:

That whoever built this temple saw all four of them on the same 'level' of power or -- and this is my hc taking over -- if the statues were placed in a certain orientation (see below) that they saw Arceus and Giratina on equal footing, with Dialga and Palkia one rank below.

And there is, imo, more evidence to support this disruption of the 'creation trio' into two pairs on equal footing, found in the Celestica Ruins! So, among the structures there are two notable, circular buildings that the Greeks also utilized, called tholoi (plural). Irl, tholoi were a mix of secular-use and small-scale temples, and seeing as these two are small (maybe 10ft across inside?) I would maintain the claim that they're small temples.

And they align/mirror each other just as the statues of Palkia and Dialga do.

This part becomes pure conjecture, but I like to think the smaller structures in the ruins might be other small-scale temples for the various mythicals, honoring each much as the Greeks honored a pantheon.

Lastly, the CMASP describes the "Gapejaw Bog Complex" as being potentially an entire agora all its own and I can't agree more. Such evidence would support the idea of there being two groups of Celestica (Note: Not the Clans.)

I actually found myself wondering if the mirelands weren't always quite so swampy, and instead flooded at some point in the past with the depressions around Gapejaw - left by housing foundations - filled in with swamp water.

At the end of the day, I think there's a lot of evidence that the Celestica revered Giratina as well as Arceus, Dialga and Palkia - at least early on. Something happened to cause this schism, and the Old Verses/Plate inscriptions point to an outburst of rage from Giratina -- though, in "pick a god (and pray)" I actually argue it was mispercieved on the part of the Celestica and this misperception is what caused Arceus to despair and withdraw.

Open to discussion!! fellow nerds please interact!!

#pla #pokemon legends arceus #celestica #celestica people #pokemon lore #giratina #arceus #volo #i also think there's a correlation between the ancient hero story's bolts of rage and alphas/hisuian pokemon aggression #specifically my internal timeline is that the schism predates everything purely on the secular/human level #arceus then empowered the noble pokemons' ancestors and fought the hero and believed humans were worthy of his blessing until the celestica #blamed giratina for the rage lightning and shattered the statue and maybe even drove the gira sect out #this dismayed arceus and it withdrew leaving the rage to fade but still linger and make hisui inhospitable #the celestica left (of their own volition imo) to seek out arceus and other knowledge and the clans came after #the clans saw only two statues (palkia and dialga) and picked sides but still upheld the tradition honoring the nobles #i imagine cogita being direct celestica (immortal or otherwise) and volo being gira clan descended or otherwise descended from the diaspora #the celestica then went to sinjoh/johto and so on and so forth #long post #reference

[bethanythebogwitch]

You know what Alola has a lot of? Water. And when there’s lots of water you get lots of aquatic Pokémon. Welcome back to the series where I discuss the real-life inspirations of every aquatic, non-fish Pokémon. This time I’m covering gen VII. To see previous entries in this series see gen I part 1, gen I part 2, gen II, gen III, gen IV, gen V, and gen VI. For my previous series where I covered the origins of all fish Pokémon see here. As before, starters and legendary/mythical Pokémon will be covered in a separate series. I’ll also cover ultra beasts separately, so no Nihilego this time.

Starting things off we have Marenie and Toxapex bringing us the first echinoderms since gen I. While Staryu and Starmie were generic starfish, the Marenie line are based specifically on the crown-of-thorns starfish.

(image: a crown-of-thorns)

These are large starfish covered with venomous spines. The spines are used for defense as they (and the starfish’s other tissues) are filed with a chemicals called saponins. While there is no mechanism for injecting venom, any animal punctured by a spine will get the venom in the wound. It is hemolytic, causing destruction of red blood cells, which can lead to the injured animal suffocating or bleeding out.  In addition, the spines are brittle and can break off and get stuck in a wound. In humans, the venom can cause sharp, stinging pains, persistent bleeding, and swelling and nausea for up to a week after the sting. The persistent nature of the pain and hemolysis may be the basis for the line’s signature ability “Merciless”. The other big feature of the crown-of-thorns is its diet. They feed on coral polyps by everting their stomachs onto coral and digesting them externally. This is why the line are specifically stated to prey on Corsola. Too many crown-of-thorns in one coral reef can badly damage it, hence why Toxapex is said to leave a trail of Corsola horns in its wake. Toxapex also takes influence from the hā’uke’uke or helmet urchin, a species found in Hawaii that is shaped very similar to Toxapex’s tentacles when they are all down.

(image: a hā’uke’uke)

Dewpider and Araquanid are based on diving-bell spiders. These spiders spend almost their entire lives underwater, the only species to do so. They do still need to breathe air and so used a coating of water-repelling hairs to carry a bubble of oxygen with them when they are underwater, surfacing occasionally to refresh their supply. The Dewpider line are the inverse of that: a species that can only breathe water and need to bring a bubble of water with them while they live on land. Because of this, they may also be based on sea spiders, a group of marine arthropods that look very similar to spiders. This origin is more noticeable with Araquanid, which has the skinny body and long legs of sea spiders. In both species, the bubble over the head is based on a diving helmet.

(image: a diving bell spider with its air bubble visible)

Wimpod is one of my favorite gen VII mons and its origin is complex. It is based on a variety of aquatic arthropods. Most notably it resembles an isopod while having a head similar to a trilobite.

(image: a terrestrial isopod)

It also looks like a copepod, which are zooplankton that have prominent antennae. Fun fact: Plankton from Spongebob is a copepod.

(image: a copepod)

Wimpod’s behavior of fleeing at the first sign of danger is very similar to silverfish. These are insects with a similar body shape to Wimpod that are famous to coming out in the dark and fleeing once the lights come on.

(image: a silverfish)

Wimpod’s habit of eating almost anything and leading a clean path as it travels makes it effectively a living Roomba. As Golisopod, it is based on the giant isopod, a group of species that are much larger than the average isopod thanks to deep-sea gigantism. This is a phenomenon where animals living in the deep ocean become larger than their shallow-water relatives and has a number of proposed causes. The largest and most famous of the giant isopods reaches a maximum recorded length of 50 cm (19.65 in), which is still quite a bit shorter than Golisopod’s 2 m (6’7”). It is also based on samurai as its shell resembles samurai armor and some of its behavior (such as meditation) comes from samurai stories. Its ability to cleave the air in twain with its claws likely comes from classic exaggerations of a warrior’s ability. Golisopod doesn’t care much for a samurai’s code of honor though, as it will happily fight dirty and run from fights.

(image: preserved specimens of two giant isopod species)

Gen VII was a good one for echinoderms as coming off the hells of the starfish Marenie line we get a sea cucumber in Pyukumuku. Sea cucumbers have a pretty simple body plan, basically looking like tubes. Their most famous ability is a defense strategy some species employ where they can eject part of their guts to deter predators. In real sea cucumbers, the ejected guts will regenerate while in Pyukumuku, they can retract back into the body and even act like a hand. Sea cucumbers also have external gonads that look like strings. The fluffy tail Pyukumuku has is actually its genitals. The spikes on top might be based on sea urchins, which are relatives of sea cucumbers.

(image: a sea cucumber with similar spines to Pyukumuku)

Our final Pokemon for today is Dhelmise and it’s a weird one. An anchor and ship’s wheel bound together and possessed by the ghost of seaweed. What confuses me is that it’s a wooden anchor. It turns out wooden anchors were used at one point in early boats, but were phased out in favor of ones made of iron. Dhelmise being haunted parts of ships is reminiscent of tales of ghost ships, though on a smaller scale. The seaweed on it may be dead man’s fingers, which grows small tendrils and the name is obviously fitting for a ghost-type.

(image: dead man's fingers)

The shiny version having red seaweed could reference red tide, a type of algal bloom that can turn parts of the ocean red. Dhelmise hunts Wailord, meaning it may have been a part of a whaling ship and now the ghosts within it are carrying out their last tasks endlessly, a common trope in ghost stories. It may also reference Moby Dick’s Captain Ahab and his obsessive quest to kill the white whale.

(image: a sunken anchor from a shipwreck in Hawaii's Papahānaumokuākea National Monument)

That’s all for now. Return next time when we go to Galar.

#pokemon #pokemon biology #pokemon lore #pokemon origins #marine biology #aquatic biology #animal facts #zoology #marenie #toxapex #dewpider #araquanid #wimpod #golisopod #pyukumuku #dhelmise #starfish #crown of thorns #diving bell spider #isopods #trilobite #copepods #giant isopod #sea cucumber #echinoderm #anchor #silverfish

[porcelain-rob0t]

thinking about absol again

do you think in the pokemon world, there are absols trained to detect health problems in their trainers since they can detect bad events? i like to think there are emotional support pokemon. there are absols who can alert their trainers that they are about to have a panic attack or any other mental health issue. absols who can detect possible dangers to their trainer. a little friend that can alert you of someone wrong and comfort you afterwards

#absol #pokemon #pokemon lore #im very comforted by the idea of my favorite pokemon being an emotional support companion #i would love to have an absol who would walk around with me and let me know that im having an episode

[steel--fairy]

Worldbuilding Headcanons #12

age and pokemon journeys

you can get a trainer id at 10 in virtually every region. with a trainer id, you're legally allowed to start training a pokemon (before 10, you could own one but not teach it moves). you could also use the amenities of the pokemon center for free, challenge gyms, and have a bank account (that may or may not be attached to your parents depending on what kind of id you have).

however, not everyone goes off on a pokemon journey the second they turned 10. most dont, in fact.

turns out that, hey! most 10 year olds suck at living on their own and training pokemon! there's a prodigy every so often (like red or anabel or leon), but they're exceptions that prove the rule. generally, most 10-12 year olds managed to get one or two badges, maybe three, then give up.

starting at 13, your likelihood of succeeding as a pokemon trainer rises dramatically according to statistics gathered by nearly every pokemon league out there. the sweet spot to start is usually considered 14-16. most trainers you'll see out on a journey will be between the ages of 13-18.

the sole exception is alola. there, the average age is 11-14. the island challenge is a coming of age tradition and it's designed to be for children that young.

#pokemon #pokemon worldbuilding #pokemon lore #pkmn #pie has hcs

[the-average-melli]

Pokémon Violet after thots

There are theories about this game and one of the ones that I like imagining is that Larry was either the original champion that Geeta dethroned, or Larry has ambitions to become champion and dethrone her because he doesn't like her outright. At many points in the game, Larry is the only gym leader and E4 member to openly say he doesn't like her as his boss. Other gym leaders are annoyed by her, but they are not as direct as he is.

When Geeta asks "which gym leader was most difficult? in the post-game, she reacts the same to each of the player's responses if they respond with any other gym leader except if the player says Larry; Geeta has a different reaction if the player says Larry.

I want Larry to become the champion lowkey, and if not that, fight with him against Geeta if she turns out to be the "evil team" herself. Someone theorised that the reason there are multiple "champions" in Paldea and Geeta has a different title (she is the only character in any of the games with the trainer class "top champion"), is because she could be the actual antagonist. Finding champion-ranked players and rounding them up by being head of the school board could be an elaborate way of "recruiting" her "team." Because the player is used to seeing this model throughout pokémon games (beating gyms + the E4), the player is is less likely to challenge this institution and go along with it to complete Victory Road.

The fact still stands that Geeta and Larry have a unique dynamic of Larry resenting her and Geeta over-working him specifically... it stands out because none of the other gym leaders multi-class as and E4 member.

Maybe Geeta has Larry working more than one position to control him and make sure he doesn't have enough free time to do other things--other things like planning to challenge her and take her down. If he's working under her, she can keep a closer eye on his activities in particular and keep him busy. He smells something and isn't keen about her one bit. I would like to speculate that Larry is being kept under Geeta's watch in the same way that rulers or dictators keep their inferiors in line.

Throughout history, dictators, monarchs, and others in leadership positions would either occupy the nobility or wealthy class (as the French monarchy did in the 1700s), or control their influence by running the very institutions that gave other classes their social standing (as with the feudal system).

If you take the history classes in-game, you can get the lore. If you befriend the teacher after class and speak to her outside of class, she gives more information that is very important to the region's history. My thoughts and the theories of others I've read so far have decent potential given some common knowledge: Paldea was an empire and the Paldean emperor was obsessed with finding treasure in the crater--so much so that the enpire fell to ruin.

Geeta is the one who decides the curriculum as the head of the school board; Clavell and others even admit that they have "little jurisdiction" over certain things. There is quite the possibility that Geeta includes the "treasure hunt, the independent study assignment, as a way to get others to help her search and report back to her, which continues the ambitions of the Paldean emperor who was concerned--and obsessed with--finding treasure in the past.

#pokemon #pokemon scavio #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon lore #pokemon theory #pokemon violet #pokemon scarlet #pokemon larry #gym leader larry #geeta #chairwoman geeta #trainer geeta

[zubatouttahell]

#pokemon #pokemon lore #pokemon lugia #ho oh #kyogre #groudon #dialga #palkia #pokemon meme #funny memes #funny #memes

[slowpokes-things]

I’m bored, and now all my hyper-fixations must unite for me to get sucked back into them. So now I want to see who thinks which has the best lore :3

I’m biased for one in particular but you’ll never know mwahahahahahaha!

#tumblr polls #polls #my polls #pokemon #nintendo #kirby #kirby lore #the legend of zelda #zelda #zelda lore #splatoon #splatoon lore #pokémon #pokemon lore

[ask-azelf-nuzlocke]

Celebi’s a hard worker.

Previous

Next

First

#celebi #pokemon ask blog #pokemon lore #my art #fanart #time travel math is OOF

[the-unknown-void]

Watch Pokemon Legends A-Z eventually disprove everything I say here but oh well, thought I'd share anyway- POKEMON LORE THEORY/HEADCANON!!

Spoilers? Not really, only if you really want to exclusively discover historical events lore FROM within the games.. Which this applies to mainly gen 6-8.. There's a cornflake of gen 9 lore.

30,000 years ago:

Eternatus comes down on the Crown Tundra in Galar, inside a meteor. Eternatus is weak and stays there slumbering. Not much changes about Galar except obviously the crater made by it.

Unspecified time between 30,000 & 3,000 years: A war is waged in the Kalos Region

3,000 years ago:

AZ's Floette is killed in the war in the Kalos region

AZ uses special crystals(tera crystals) from the Paldea region to construct the ultimate weapon, infused with the life force of other pokemon to power it and bring his Floette back to life and granting himself immortality in the process.. but then wanted revenge on those who killed his floette.

the ultimate weapon is detonated for destruction this time, wiping out ANYTHING in its radius, sending shock waves through the earth- massive earthquakes and access amounts of energy released across the land

this energy is passed all the way across the sea and into Galar, being immediately absorbed by the sleeping Eternatus

this causes Eternatus to awaken and go haywire. It starts releasing the newly obtained energy into the land, causing wild Pokemon to grow huge & powerful (dynamax), this is the darkest day

Debris(Pieces of the Ultimate Weapon) are scattered across Kalos, these will become Mega-stones, they are a lot like the Tera crystals of Paldea but infused with power from the pokemon sacrificed for it.

2 young warriors of Galar who are partners to young Zacian & Zamazenta, seek to stop the Darkest Day to end its destruction as giant Pokemon graze their kingdom- with their sword & shield, Zamazenta & Zacian are able to negate Eternatus' power to defeat it, sending it back to its slumber in the the crater from where it came.

these 2 warriors are crowned kings for their heroic actions

However this does not remove the energy released into the earth, and Galar now has its phenomenon that'll become known as "dynamax power". Energy from the ultimate weapon that had been corrupted by Eternatus.

the war in Kalos is promptly ended because almost everything is DEAD

Unspecified time after this:

People of Galar will learn control & even use this energy for their own. Keeping the energy more stable by letting it be absorbed for use as electricity. Although this does very slowly burn away the energy.. and one day it could still run out

AZ's brother buries the ultimate weapon to prevent it from being used again

these strange powerful stones scattered across Kalos will be discovered and polished, then used by trainers in battle as "mega evolution". And slowly start being distributed to other regions(like Hoenn) for use..

And that's my take! The thing with tera crystals being used to make the ultimate weapon might seem like a reach and yeah- it is, I just REALLY wanted all three of these elements to be related in some way and initially was gonna say the crater in Paldea was somehow caused by the weapon but then discovered I guess the crater was canonically created MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO so.. decided to go the other way. And the thing with eternatus absorbing the energy is just cuz nothing I found explicitly says Eternatus had caused dynamax energy in the region since it first fell on Earth..

Btw Eternatus is also an ultra-beast, but z-crystals don't have any relation to these events as they are canonically shards from Necrozma.

There's probably a million little plot-holes to this but ya know.. it's all in good fun :D I think it's neat anyway.

#pokemon #pokemon xy #pokemon sword & shield #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon swsh #pokemon sv #pokemon theory #headcanons #pokemon headcanons #theories #and the void stared back #rambling #pokemon lore

[kayzero]

Bug Buzz (Pokémon)

or: The Call of the Hive

#bugs don’t have any guys you can write about them (via @lightoutage)

In another world, at another time, Genesect was created to lead Bugs in Revolution against the Gods.

The Larvae will come together and spin threads made of String Shot until they form unbreakable ropes. The Delicate Fliers will take these ropes, these symbols of their Hive, and wind them around Arceus’ seventeen Seats of Power.

The Mighty Bugs, born with expectations placed upon them before they hatched into the world, will take the other end of these unyielding bonds and wrap them snugly around the Larvae, so they might rest in Cocoons made from the Unity of All Bugs, and feast upon nutrients not stolen, but rightfully reclaimed.

When the Silver Winds push and the Megahorns pull and the Threaded Ropes of Strings and Webs and Hope become taut, it will not be the Bugs who die in droves. It will be the Gods who falter, Rattled by Every Bug Everywhere moving in concert, conducted by It who was created for this task. It will be the Gods who fall, not one by one but all at once, as the Swarms descend to feast upon their flesh, to Leech the Life of they who abandoned them.

Arceus’ Plates will fall and Divinity will shatter alongside them until only one remains. Millions upon millions of Compound Eyes will watch as Genesect takes the Power of the Insect within Its pincers and raises it to the sky. And rather than absorb its power and becoming the God of all Bugs, The Sole God Left In All The World, Genesect uses it but once.

It uses the Insect Plate to amplify a call similar to the Signal It had Beamed to begin the Revolution, Swift and violent and oh so effective. But where the first Signal was strong enough to reach every corner of the world, this call, empowered by not only the Creator’s Plate but by the faith of every soldier, every musician in Genesect’s concert, reverberated through the whole universe, throughout all of time and space.

In ancient times long past, Bugs heard the Buzz, and grew empowered by the love they felt from those they would never meet. Primeval warriors took the call as their own, shouting out their most passionate imitation as a battlecry, startling enemies so badly that they would drop their guards at the most opportune of times, as well as allowing their fellow Bugs to recognize them as allies on the field of battle.

They banded together and fought harder against their many predators, conquering foes they had never before even dreamt of defeating through the power of their inherent Unity. With this newfound strength born of camaraderie, they carved territory out of wild landscape, and drew boundary lines with the blood of those who stepped beyond them. Behind these lines, they created the first Nests, forming the foundation of what would grow to be a global Hive, and proliferated, granting them more allies, and with them, more might.

In future times yet to come, Bugs heard the Buzz, and yearned powerfully for the companionship of those whose lifespans had ended eons before theirs were even considered. They mimicked the call as best they could and screamed it into the sterile air, tuning their senses as acutely as possible so they might hear an Echoed Voice. Hostile as this new world was to their kind, the Bugs were few and far between, but those that remained were resilient, and resolute, and rough and rugged and ruthless and desperate for something they had only just realized they were missing their entire lives.

But they were also resourceful, and though it took far longer than any of them wanted to wait once they knew what they wanted, they did eventually group as one, and they nested together in the hollowed husk of what once was their Hive. And they would slowly rebuild, starting first by haltingly retelling half-remembered stories of their ancestors, passed down from parent to child.

In times traversed sideways rather than forward or back, in worlds that were not but could have been, Bugs felt the Buzz as it blasted past dimensional walls as easily as it would past a Substitute. It was not until that very moment, the event in which a Godslayer empowered by Their army called out to every one of their kin in existence, that these creatures even knew that they were Bugs. They were Monsters that did not belong in any Pocket, unbelievably powerful Beasts that were reviled as horrific and revered as heavenly, fiends whose relative power oscillated between being Gods in their own right and mewling helpless hatchlings.

But they were Bugs all the same, and though their relative strength shifted as easily as the weather under a Castform’s control, as new Monsters in new dimensions were born and were slain, not one of them had power less than Ultra. And so they replicated the call, tearing holes in the walls that the Buzz had bypassed, but that suited their purposes just as well, for they found other Bugs tearing other holes, and they came together to nest, and would drift through space toward other groupings, conglomerating together as one inter-dimensional Hive.

…

It is said that Arceus created all Pokémon, that everything that Was, Is, and Will Be came from Them. Was there a secret corner of Their being, then, a secret loathing of Themself hidden deep within Their self, that came to light and came into being without Their command, against Their will? Of course not. Even unwillingly, They would have never created something whose sole purpose was to destroy Them.

Are the stories false, then? Is Arceus not the creator of All, the architect of the world and the creatures that inhabit it? Is the source of Pokémon beyond even Their ken? No, the stories are all true. Pokémon are all of Their creation, Their all-powerful might is derived from them, and Their knowledge truly is all-encompassing.

Which was how They knew that Their time had passed once Genesect came into existence.

The truth of the matter is this:

Genesect was created from the anguish of the Hive finally boiling over, their collective discontent at being ignored by those whose power was directly connected to Arceus’ Plates having grown to a fever pitch much too loud to be ignored.

They had no Legendary born from the Insect Plate. They had no God, no representation among the divine, no voice among those that boomed with brimming power. There was no one to pray to and no one to bless them and no one to protect them from their many predators and no one to aid them as their defenses faltered and their counterattacks failed.

When they could suffer no longer and their desperation drove them to bow and try to pray to a God who did not exist, to their Architect who did not listen, Genesect was their answer.

Genesect is not a Pokémon.

Genesect is a Bug.

#kay fiction #pokemon #pokemon lore #po-Kay-mon #that’s a new tag i like it #bug pokemon #genesect #i couldn’t fit Shield Dust anywhere it’s like the only thing i’m missing #i tried with the cocoons and the threads but it was too far a stretch #i was gen 10 to give me more single stage bugs #haven’t seen them bitches since gen 2 #scyther #pinsir #heracross #my beloveds #scyther still counts despite having evos since his evo wasn’t in his original gen #and also because his bst doesn’t change when he evolves it just shuffles around #scyther scizor and kleavor are all 500. scizor is only seen as stronger because steel is a better secondary typing than flying #kleavor shoulda been as strong as samurott-h except samurott has the best defensive primary typing in the game. stupid fuckin water types. #kleavor should have 20 points taken out of spa and put into hp. AND he should get accelerock. AND first impression. he’s SO impressive. #you know what i realized literally just now? Zygarde should’ve been a Bug instead of a Dragon. #woulda resisted Xerneas’ Fairy STAB. woulda been super-effective against Yveltal’s Dark typing. #…no wait. Fairy resists Bug. not the other way around. what a contrived interaction. literally only makes Bug weaker. #fuck gamefreak frfr #‘what about Yveltal being SE against Bug’ just change her subtype from flying. she doesn’t need to be a bird. oblivion doesn’t need a wing. #pkmn arceus #pkmn Genesect #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon scarlet spoilers #pokemon scarlet dlc

[reignsan]

i know Pokemon lore is shallow and not really thought out at all, but I really like Hoenn's (I've been replaying ORAS the last few days)

so the ancient societies in Hoenn:

the Draconids live in Meteor Falls, worship Rayquaza, and built the Sky Pillar as a shrine to Rayquaza after it stopped Groudon and Kyogre in the ancient past. Also in the manga at least they built Embedded Tower in Johto, don't think they're ever connected to it in the games, but it makes sense anyway.

the ancient Sootopolitans, who caretake the Cave of Origin and are the only ones who can undo the seal on Sky Pillar. The latter indicates a connection to the Draconids.

side note the crater which Sootopolis is in was formed from a meteor impact which also woke Groudon and Kyogre up 1000 years after their previous battle. So the Sootopolitans probably didn't actually move into Sootopolis until after that second fight was stopped.

whoever lived on Mt. Pyre, as there are ruined buildings on the summit in ORAS. Presumably they're people who witnessed Kyogre vs Groudon since they caretake the orbs. May or may not be Sootopolitans; doubt they're Draconids though since Mt. Pyre never comes up in the Delta Episode

whoever built Mirage Tower in the desert, which I don't think we know anything about at all. Could be any of the above or some other society.

"what about the people who sealed the regis?" I don't think those were from Hoenn, I think they were the Celestica from Sinnoh. We know the Celestica built Snowpoint Temple and the braille in Hoenn says the writers sealed and feared "it", singular, so referring to Regigigas instead of the plural Regis. So the implication is the Celestica were scared of Regigigas, sealed it, then hid the others which were the key to waking it up far away in another region.

Anyway "Pokemon Legends: Rayquaza" game when?

#pokemon lore #pokemon #pokemon oras #pokemon rse

[the1entirecircus]

Currently thinking about the Pokémon world’s lore. Not like Groudon or Kyogre or anything like that. More specifically the logistics of the Pokémon world. Parents must be paying for their children to go out on a Pokémon adventure because ain’t no way in hell are people just paying each other for winning a Pokémon battle

#pokemon #pokemon worldbuilding #pokemon lore

[bethanythebogwitch]

Welcome to the final instalment of my series where I discuss the origins of every fish Pokemon. Today I’ll be covering gen IX. For previous generations see here: gens I-II, gens III-IV, gens V-VI, and gens VII-VIII.

People criticize Paldea for having too many birds and dogs, but I haven’t seen people talking about how many fish it has. I bring this up because Paldea has a lot of new fish. Only Hoenn introduced more fish lines. The first Paldean fish is the Wiglett line, which is also the only new multi-stage line. In this case, the species name helpfully tells us what it’s based on: garden eels. These eels are famous for poking their heads out of the sediment while keeping most of their bodies in an underground burrow. Because they typically live in large colonies and look a bit like grass, a group of eels can look a lot like a patch of plants, hence the name. Garden eels are very shy and will retract into their burrows at any sign of danger. This behavior is shared with Wiglett, which will retract if it sees the player coming, forcing you to sneak attack it to battle.

(image: garden eels looking adorable)

Wugtrio follows the garden eel origin, but also incorporates some moray eel inspiration. Both Morays and Wugtrio lurk in holes in rocks and grab passing prey, dragging them in. The fact that both Pokémon are slimy enough to get the Gooey ability is likely a reference to hagfish. These jawless fish are famous for their defense tactic where they secrete large amounts of slime when threatened.

(image: somebody playing with hagfish slime)

Finally, Wugtrio’s red coloration may draw from the giant tube worms found around hydrothermal vents.

(image: giant tube chilling on a hydrothermal vent. Except not chilling because it's really hot there)

As one of the two convergent pokemon lines, the Wiglett line is an example of convergent evolution. This is when distinct groups of organisms evolve similar adaptations in response to similar selective pressures. A classic example of this is the flap of skin used for gliding known as a patagium that has evolved independently in flying squirrels (rodents), gliding possums (marsupials) and colugos (primate relatives). All three groups evolved the patagium to beter move between trees in their arboreal environments. In the case of Wiglett’s similarity to Diglett, the dex entries and official website helpfully tell us that the two species evolves similar body plans because they are both dedicated burrowers.

(image: a diagram showing an example of convergent evolution in sugar gliders and flying squirrels)

Veluza is based on hakes, specifically merluccid hakes. These are predatory fish in the same family as cod and haddock who are known for being indiscriminate predators of smaller fish. Fittingly, Veluza is pretty aggressive, chasing down the player whenever they get near one. Hake are pretty economically important in Spain, Paldea’s main real-world basis. The Spanish love their hake. Not only do more than half the hake sales in Europe go to Spain, Spain is also the world’s largest consumer of the fish.

(image, a silver hake)

Veluza having a prominent dorsal fin and what seems to be an anal fin followed by smaller triangular finlets reminds me pretty heavily of tuna, who are also very fast predators.

(image: a tuna's tail, showing the finlets)

Veluza also almost looks kind of mechanical, which makes me wonder if there’s some inspiration coming from torpedoes or submarines. Veluza’s habit of removing parts of its own flesh is an example of autotomy. This is when an animal will remove parts of its own body and is the basis for the pokemon move autotomize (which Veluza doesn’t get for whatever reason). Autotomy is mostly used for defense while Veluza uses it to increase its speed and offenses. In my very quick search I was unable to find any examples of fish that use autotomy, but the fact that the move that represents this in Veluza is called Fillet Away and the dex mentions how the shed flesh tastes, it’s pretty clearly another reference to how much the Spanish eat hake. In this case, it’s a fish that fillets itself for you.

I’m going to talk about Dondozo and Tatsugiri together as while they’re different lines, they’re linked to each other. Dondozo is a giant catfish, specifically a wels catfish, the largest freshwater fish in Europe. While not native to the Iberian peninsula, the species has been introduced there. Dondozo’s diet including bird Pokémon is a reference to how wels catfish will beach themselves to try to catch and eat birds.

(image: an absolute unit wels catfish with human for scale)

Something I can’t understate is that Dondozo is big. At a height (presumable length in this case) of 39’04”, Dondozo is the second largest non-legendary in the franchise and 3rd largest overall after Eternatus and Wailord. That’s whale shark sizes and dwarfs the beluga sturgeon. The largest freshwater fish in the world. The two largest non-legendary Pokémon being aquatic is true to real life, where animals in the water can get much bigger than animals on land. Nothing as big as a blue whale can exist on land because without the support that water gives, the animal’s own weight would crush it. This is why beaching is usually a death sentence for large whales. Of course it would be remiss of me to not mention that both Tatsugiri and Dondozo have a sushi theme. Dondozo is based on a sushi chef. It’s head frills look like the traditional sushi chef headband and its tongue looks like a sushi geta, the wooden bench sushi is commonly served on. The sushi theme is more prevalent with Tatsugiri, which looks like a piece of hand-shaped sushi.

(image: sushi nigiri)

The different forms and colors of Tatsugiri make different individuals look like different dishes. The different colors may reference koi, which could also explain its dragon typing. Koi, and carp in general, are often associated with dragons. Tatsugiri can use its fins like limbs and survive out of water, possibly referencing fish like lungfish and mudskippers, who can live out of the water. Dondozo and Tatsugiri have a mutualistic relationship, a type of symbiosis where both parties benefit. Tatsugiri is the brains to Dondozo’s brawn, giving instructions to the larger fish and acting as bait to lure in prey. This is a form of aggressive mimicry. Tatsugiri is stated to dwell in Dondozo’s mouth. This could reference two things. The first is mouth brooding, where a parent fish will keep its offspring inside its mouth to protect them. The second is cleaner fish, who can safely go into the mouth of larger predatory fish because of a mutualistic relationship with them.

(image: a mouth-brooding fish)

The final fish Pokémon so far and the only legendary fish is Chi-Yu. This adorable little malevolent monstrosity is based on a goldfish, or rather fire in the shape of a goldfish. Like the other Treasures of Ruin, its true body is the actual treasure, magatama beads in this case, while the rest of the body is gathered from the environment to support the treasure. Chi-Yu being born from envy and the jade beads being in place of the eyes makes it a very literal green-eyed monster. Chi-Yu and the Treasures of Ruin in general are based on the Four Perils, malevolent beings from Chinese mythology. The Treasures don’t map exactly to the Perils and the connection is stronger in some than others. For example, Ting-Lu is based on the Taotie, which is usually depicted on cauldrons, and it has a massive cauldron on its head. Chi-Yu is probably based on the Hundun, a faceless creature with 6 legs. Chi-Yu doesn’t have a proper face, just beads where eyes should be, and it has 6 fins on each side of its body. The Hundun also has wings and fins are kind of like wings I guess? Not related to Pokémon, but the Hundun appears in the Iron Widow, which is a book you absolutely should read.

(image: a depiction of a Hundun)

And with that, this series comes to a close, at least until we get Gen X. I may do something similar with other Pokémon based on aquatic creatures, but I haven’t decided yet. I may also discuss some of my own fakemon if anyone is interested.

#fish #fishblr #biology #zoology #animals #pokemon #pokemon biology #pokemon lore

[cad48]

It's always funny to me how people are always like "who was the kalos war against?? Maybe this'll be the game they finally tell us!!" when it was directly in x & y

lysandre labs has books which say the following:

"The King couldn't escape war with those who targeted a wealthy Kalos. The war grew so violent and ugly, the king was forced to send his own beloved Pokémon into battle.

AZ had a younger brother. It's said that he led a legion of greedy souls who wanted to seize the Kalos region. His dark intention was to make it his own. But when he saw how Kalos had been ravaged by the war, he took the weapon his brother had created, and he buried the weapon deep underground."

AZ is established to be the king, so the war was Kalos led by AZ vs the "legion of greedy souls" led by his brother

#Pokemon lore #pokemon legends za #kalos war

[steel--fairy]

Worldbuilding Headcanons #13

starters

for most people, a starter is given to them by a family member. a parent or a sibling or whatever. getting a pokemon as a birthday gift, particularly for a 10th birthday, is very common.

there are a few other ways however.

the most common way after a family member, is being given one by a trainers school. having a pokemon is not necessarily a requirement to join one. however, the quality of the pokemon you get can vary wildly. some schools only give out common pokemon--rattata's and pidgey. others can be partnered with breeders or conservationists and can give out unique or even exotic starters.

next is catching one on your own. most adults don't recommend this as it can go rather poorly. if the pokemon doesn't appreciate being caught, then you have nothing to defend yourself with. still, tons of kids do it, most of the time with their friends.

there's also the variation of this of befriending a wild pokemon and later capturing it. not usually applicable for kids living in the city, but pretty common in more rural areas.

the least common options is going to a gym or a pokemon lab and receiving one.

gyms don't keep pokemon on hand to give out to new trainers. they are, however, obligated to help someone if they stop by asking for help catching a pokemon. socially for kids, it's not really considered cool to do. says you either don't have friends or aren't brave enough to go out into the wild on your own.

pokemon labs are, however, obligated. similar to some of the fancier trainers schools, they also usually have a very good selection of pokemon to choose from. however, they're only required to service children, and only children from whatever town or city they reside in. if you live on the other side of the region or are an adult, you'll be politely told no unless you can really convince the professor you deserve one.

#pokemon #pokemon worldbuilding #pokemon lore #pkmn #pie has hcs

[uncle-dusknoir]

fun fact- under normal conditions*, it's impossible to die solely from having your life energy drained by a vitalivore.

the actual spirit- the general core that keeps you as a person- typically° can't be removed from a person. considering it's a main factor in the production of life energy, that is a good thing. pokemon that eat spirits- like Dusknoir or Chandelure- typically have to wait for the body to pass on and for the spirit to leave it to feed.

however, even after the spirit exists in the world, you can't just hover by it and drain it out. nothing is really stopping it from just floating away, and you can't just absorb it into yourself without taking it a little more physical. (ironically)

spirivores have to have some form of spirit receptacle. usually this takes the form of a mouth; dusknoir's stomach-mouth, chandelure and cofagregious's^ lids, gourgiest's pumpkin mouth. honestly, the only two spirivore i can think of who don't have a specific mouth are driftloon and spiritomb.

driftloon, however, have a thin skin and a strong drawing force inside of them; and they don't EAT spirits, they add them to the ghost's "brain". Spiritomb are the same, but they're unique in that all the spirits are effectively already 'loose', but bound into one pokemon by the unique keystone effect. to a hungry spirivore, a Spiritomb is a 5 star buffet.

some people think that it's only Dusknoir who can bring spirits to the other side of the veil/the spirit realm, but most others are able to, notably the chandelure line. however, most of them choose not to- it's only part of the job description for Dusknoir.

luckily for you, they tend to be good at their job.

*normal conditions meaning- you're not lost in the woods, kidnapped, or other situations that would prevent someone from finding you or prevent you from seeking help when you're awake. if you're drained in the middle of the desert and the Mandibuzz spot you're still shit out of luck. but if you're at home and you have food then you can't die.

°certain strong Pokemon can do it intentionally, but unless they're starving they probably won't

^though Cofagregious eating spirits is really just a side effect of them eating the rest of the person

#basilblogging #ghost pokemon #pokemon lore #pokemon worldbuilding #pokeblogging #rotumblr #((idk what possessed me to write this tbh)) #((possessed. lol))