Feature: Pokémon Origin Stories - The Inspiration Behind Your Favourite Pocket Monsters

19. Misdreavus

The floating head Ghost Pokémon is based on the Yokai Rokurokubi, specifically Nukekubi (which means ‘removable neck’), the story of a floating head that appears at night and signifies the soul leaving the body. These floating heads roamed the streets in evening looking for blood, often sucking it like vampires. They were even known to chase after men at nights, scratching and clawing at doors if they fled inside.

In Pokémon Silver Misdreavus is described like this:

It loves to bite and yank people's hair from behind without warning, just to see their shocked reactions.

20. Dunsparce

With his stubby body, snake like features and two small wings, Dunsparce is based on the land snake Tsuchinoko — they’re even described as the ‘Land Snake’ Pokémon.

Tsuchinoko (meaning dirt child) are described as small, girthy beings who are similar in appearance to snakes while also having a venomous bite. Some are described as being able to jump into the air twice, and are known for being able to speak, lying and a taste for alcohol.

Dunsparce’s wings could reference Tsuchinoko’s ability to jump up into the air, with the Pokémon Sword Pokédex entry reading:

This Pokémon's tiny wings have some scientists saying that Dunsparce used to fly through the sky in ancient times.

21. Nosepass

Almost entirely a metal nose, this Pokémon’s name is a reference to a compass but the design is based on that of the Easter Island or Rapa Nui statues called Moai. Easter Island is found in Polynesia, and around 900 of the Moai statues were found after Dutch explorer Jakob Roggeveen was the first European to land on the island on Easter Sunday 1722.

While Nosepass resembles the way most people think of the statues, its evolution, Probopass, takes this further. While many associate the statues with just the heads due to them being buried under metres of earth, when restored they stand tall with bodies underneath each of the heads. Red hats for the statues called Pukao have also been found and placed on them again, along with the discovery that the eye shaped holes in the original heads were meant to hold coral to give them the look of actual white eyes. In this way, while Probopass looks like a strange departure from Nosepass, it actually represents a better representation of the original Moai statues.

Not to mention it has a moustache made of iron filings magnetically stuck to its face, which is just wonderful.

22. Celesteela

Many of the Ultra Beasts have wild designs that allowed the designers to draw inspiration from many areas, with Kartana being an origami Katana, while the giant mouth monster Guzzlord is supposedly based on the works of H.P Lovecraft according to GameFreak staffer James Turner.

Celesteela, with its vaguely woman-like appearance and bamboo arms, seems to reference a specific story in Japanese folklore, ‘The Tale Of The Bamboo Cutter’. The story says that one day whilst cutting down bamboo a man finds a baby hidden within a shoot; he then takes her home where she grows into a woman of incredible beauty. Constantly besieged by suitors, she sets the men impossible tasks that they could never hope to achieve to win her affections. After eventually receiving the attention of the Emperor, she reveals that she is from the Moon and has to return there before she ascends and leaves Earth forever.

Celesteela resembles bamboo shoots with its arms, but the shape of the entire creature resembles that of a spaceship, and it’s described as the ‘Launch Pokémon’. In the Pokémon anime, Celesteela was also discovered buried and thought to be “The Celestial Starship” talked about in fairy tales (this story is also referenced in an item in Animal Crossing: New Horizons which has a baby appear from a bamboo shoot lamp when interacted with).

23. Frosslass

With a dual Ice/Ghost typing, and the fact that only a female Snorunt can evolve into Frosslass, this Pokémon is seemingly based on the idea of a female ice spirit. Its Japanese name is Yukimenoko, combining the word for snow with a word for girl; the ice spirit is called Yuki-Onna.

With a pale complexion and a white kimono, the spirit would often blend in with snowy weather and float leaving no footprints. The amount of stories about Yuki-Onna mean that they are ambiguously described, ranging from a vampire-like creature to an ethereal spirit that wondered into villages and demanded to be splashed with hot water. In one story the ice spirit appears holding onto a child protecting it from the cold, and would ask strangers to hold the child as well. When they did, the child would become heavier and they were unable to let go, eventually trapped and frozen to death in the cold. In Pokémon Moon, Frosslass’s Pokédex entry reads:

The soul of a woman lost on a snowy mountain possessed an icicle, becoming this Pokémon. The food it most relishes is the souls of men.

24. Pikachu

Everyone’s favourite electric mouse and the face of the Pokémon company, no Pokémon reaches the cultural significance of Pikachu. While it could be easily considered as simply a cute rodent with electric powers, Pikachu and its evolution Raichu come from the legendary thunder beast Raiju, a Yokai said to be lightning in animal form. While they can take many forms, they often had claws and took the form of wolves, though some stories described them as smaller animals like dogs, weasels or even tanuki; giving way to the classic electric mouse we all know and love.

The legendary Raiju were said to live in the sky and ride bolts of lightning, attacking at random. Pikachu and Raichu learn moves like Electro Ball where they embody lightning itself, and there’s even multiple references to Pikachu flying with balloons in Pokémon Snap and in Pokémon The Trading Card Game which could relate to the idea of Raiju as a god of the skies.

Over the years Pikachu has grown slightly leaner in its various iterations, meaning nowadays it looks decidedly smaller than its original artwork designed by Ken Sugimori. In a nice touch of fan service, Piakchu’s Gigantamax form in Pokémon Sword & Shield harkens back to this original design as Pikachu gains a slightly tubbier design. When asked about the design change over the years, Ken Sugimori said in an interview with Yomiuri Magazine:

We were also influenced by the introduction of the [anime]. Since the animation had them doing a variety of movements, including human-like gestures, we changed the shape of Pikachu's body to make acting easier. While Pikachu was originally very short and stout, we gradually gave it a more defined neck and elongated its spine.

25. Meowth

Another classic Pokémon, Meowth is one of the few Pokémon who can speak fluently in the anime and in the games is now capable of many different forms and evolutions. The original Meowth is based upon Maneki Neko, the famous Yokai who appear as the Lucky Cat statue that is said to bring money and luck to its owners. These statues have a coin around the cat’s neck, which on Meowth is attached to its forehead.

Meanwhile its signature move, Pay Day, actually earns the trainer money as well as attacking in battle. Its Galarian form gains the Steel typing and a new evolution called Perrserker, described as the ‘Viking Pokémon’. Perrserker’s name comes from berserker, Nordic warriors said to wear bear skins and go into a trance-like fury in battle which gave way to the English word 'berserk'.

Finally, Meowth has a Gigantamax form as well in Pokémon Sword & Shield, in which it grows an elongated torso and towers over opponents. This is seemingly based on popular internet meme ‘long cat’ which shows a cat being picked up and its body appearing hilariously long.