Pokémon and Mythology
Over the past 23 years, creators at Nintendo have been making more than 800 unique Pokémon. Designing these creatures, creators turned to many sources for inspiration. Some Pokémon are based on real-life animals and objects, while others are actually based on ancient myths, legends, and folklore. Here are 6 Pokémon and the unique stories behind them:
Snorunt, Glalie, and Froslass
Snorunt is an ice-type Pokémon first introduced in Generation III. It can evolve into either Glalie or Froslass, although only female Snorunt can be evolved into the latter form. It has a tiny egg-shaped body, covered with a yellow cone-shaped cloak. Its blue eyes and grin gives the expression of shivering. Snorunt inhabits cold, snowy regions. It has been said that households visited by Snorunt will be blessed with good fortune.
This Pokémon is based on two spirits in Japanese mythology: Yukinko and Zashiki warashi. Yukinko, also known as “the snow child,” is a spirit that appears during the first snowfall to remind people the arrival of winter. Zashiki warashi, or “guest room child,” is a household spirit that has the appearance of a five or six-year-old child. They are mischievous by nature, and they love performing pranks such as making loud footsteps or turning over the pillows at night. There are legends about how Zashiki warashi will bring fortune to families they visited, especially to impoverished families because they were spirits that were once children from poor families.
One evolved form of Snorunt is Glalie, which looks like a floating head. Glalie shares similarities with Nukekubi from Japanese mythology and Hitoban from Chinese mythology. Both Nukekubi and Hitoban are demons whose heads are separated from their bodies and float about.
Froslass, like her counterpart Glalie, also has no feet and floats in the air. She wears a white dress with a red band around her waist, resembling a kimono. Froslass is based on the Japanese spirit Yuki Onba, the mother of Yukinko. The word “yuki” means snow in Japanese, and “onba” refers to a nursing mother with her new-born baby. According to Japanese folktales, Yuki Onba appears on snowy nights as a tall, beautiful woman with long black hair and inhumanly pale skin. Travelers sometimes encounter Yuki Onba holding her child in the middle of the night. She will approach the travelers, crying and begging them to hold her baby. If they accept, they will immediately be frozen and turned into an ice sculpture. Yuki Onba’s story is commonly told in snowy and mountainous regions in Japan as a warning for travelers.
Espeon & Umbreon
Two of Eevee’s evolution forms, Espeon and Umbreon, comes from Japanese and Chinese folklores.
Espeon is inspired by Nekomata, the two-tailed cat spirits in Japanese folklore. It is believed that Nekomata come from ordinary domestic cats that have lived a long life, have a large body and long tail. When these cats transform from cats to spirits, their tails will split into two identical ones. Sometimes they can switch between their original forms and human forms. Nekomata are powerful and violent spirits that can control the dead relatives of those who have offended them. However, some nekomata are kind and loyal to their owners.
Umbreon is inspired by the moon rabbit from Chinese folklore. Chinese people from the Han Dynasty interpreted the markings of the moon as a rabbit, and named him “Jade Hare.” The moon rabbit is pounding the elixir of life under a cassia tree. He lives on the moon along with Chang’e, the moon goddess, and can be seen clearly on Mid-Autumn Festival every year.
Farfetch’d
One of my favourite Pokémon is Farfetch’d, the light brown duck that carries a large spring onion with its wings. It uses the spring onion as a weapon, and sometimes emergency food source. The japanese name for Farfetch’d is called “Kamonegi“. “Kamo” sounds like wild duck in Japanese, and “negi” means green onion. Kamonegi is also the abbreviation of a Japanese phrase, which translates to “a duck comes bearing green onions”. Perhaps this is a hint at Farfetch’d being eaten since it carries the two primary ingredients needed for a duck stew-- green onion and itself.
