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quixot1sm · 7 days ago

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Origins of legendary Pokemon: gen V

I am once again covering the real-life inspirations of legendary and mythical Pokemon, this time covering those introduced in generation V (plus Enamorus). For previous entries see Gen IV, III, II, and I. For previous series I did like this see all fish Pokemon, all non-fish aquatics, and all starters.

The Swords of Justice all all based on different ungulates (hoofed mammals) and the three musketeers from the novel of the same name. Cobalion is based on Athos, the oldest of the musketeers who acted as the leader of the group. Its steel typing references Athos's title "Count de la Fère" where "Fère" is a pun on "fer", french for "iron". Physically, its upright, twisting horns look like those of antelopes like the greater kudu and common eland or the markhor, a wild goat. The ruff on its neck also looks like a cravat, a bit of old-school fashion. Terakkion is based on Porthos, the larges and strongest of the musketeers. Its rock typing comes from Porthos's title "du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds" where "pierre" means "stone". Physically it is based on a bull. Virizion is based on Aramis, the greatest swordsman of the musketeers, as well as the most feminine and romantic. Its grass yping comes from Aramis's real name René d'Herblay, which contains "herb". Its head also resembles a tricorne hat. Physically it resembles a gazelle.

(Image: a greater Kudu. It is a deer-like animal with two long, spiraling horns that point up into the air. It is brown but with stripes on its face, along the back, and down the sides. End ID)

(Image: a black bull. It has two horns that emerge from the sides of its head and curl around to face front. End ID)

(Image: a gazelle. It is a brown, deer-like animal with a shorter face, long neck, and two straight horns pointing into the air. End ID)

Keldeo is based on d'Atragnan, the fourth member of the musketeers who joins them during the course of the novel. Like d'Atragnan, it is the youngest member of the group, a fourth addition to a trio, and doesn't follow the naming scheme of the others. It's feather-like tail is based on d'Atragnan's feathered cap. Physically, Keldeo is based on a unicorn and it draws from the Scottish legend of the kelpie and the Chinese legend of the qilin. Like the kelpie, Keldeo is a legendary, horse-like creature that is associated with water. Kelpies were generally depicted as hostile to humans and Keldeo was orphaned by humans during a battle. The qilin is a creature describes as a horse-like dragon or dragon-like horse that was often depicted with a backwards-curving horn and the ability to walk over water.

(Image: art of a kelpie by Linley Barba. It looks like a black horse with wet, almost seaweed-like hair. End ID)

Like I did with the Regis, I'm including Enamorus with the other members of its group even though it debuted in a later generation. The Forces of Nature have a number of inspirations. In their human-like Incarnate forms, they resemble pop culture depictions of genies while their Therian forms they are based on the Four Symbols, a quartet of animals from Chinese mythology who represented different cardinal directions. Enamorous is Xuánwǔ, the black tortoise of the north, who was often depicted with a snake wrapped around its shell. Thundurus is Qīnglóng, the azure dragon of the east. Tornadus is Zhūquè, the vermillion bird of the south. Landorus is Báihǔ, the white tiger of the west. The four also represent the Anemoi, Greek gods of the four winds who were often associated with the seasons. Thundurus is Notus, the south wind who brings summer storms. Tornadus is the north wind Boreas, who brings winter. Enamorus is the west wind Zehyros, who is associated with flowers and spring and works for the love god Eros. That leaves Landorus as the east wind Eurus, who brings dry air and is associated with crops. Ken Sugimori also stated that the group are associated with Japanese gods, with Tornadus being the wind god Fujin, Thundurus being the thunder god Raijin and Landorus being a land god he didn't name but is probably Inari, god of harvests. This statement came out before Enamorous debuted, but it could be associated with the fertility god Ugajin. The original three are also assocaited with wind storms, thunderstorms, and sandstorms. Enamorus doesn't correspond to a storm, but they do say that love is in the air. The reveal glass being what is used to change forms implies inspiration from the Chinese myths of Yaoguai, animals and plants who spent thousands of years cultivating power to become gods. Their original forms can still be revealed with a demon-detecting mirror.

(image: an artistic depiction of the Four Symbols by RootOfAllLight on Wikipedia. They are the four animals drawn in dark blue on white, each enclosed in a circle and centered around a dot. End ID)

The Tao Trio are based on Yin and Yang, opposing yet interconnected forces that form the universe in Taoism. Reshiram represents Yang, which is associated with the color white and femininity while Zekrom represents Yin, which is associated with the color black and masculinity. Commentary from the developers indicates that Zekrom was designed to look more masculine and Reshiram was designed to look more feminine. Zekrom is also designed to look mechanical while Reshiram looks biological. Like Yin and Yang, the two dragons oppose each other but are still two parts of the greater whole that is the original dragon from which the two split. They also may draw from other mythological dualities. In Zoroastrianism there are two equally powerful deities that oppose each other, with Ahura Mazda representing light and truth (and therefor Reshiram) and Ahriman representing lies and darkness (and therefore Zekrom). Alchemy has the concept of two dragons, one black and one white, that oppose and yet complete each other. They are commonly depicted as a white, fluffy dragon with two wings and a black, scaly dragon with four limbs. Use of the elements that dragons represented was beleived to lead to the creation of a philosopher's stone, which may have inspired the stones the grasons are sealed in. The two stones may also draw from the Jewish concept of the Urim and Thummim, who were often depicted as black and white stones. Kyurem is the broken form of the original dragon that Zekrom and Reshiram split from and therefore represents Wuji, the absence of Yin and Yang. In some forms of Taoism, Wuji was the original state of the universe from which Yin and Yang sprung. It seeks to reunite with Reshiran and Zekrom to return to its original state, which, in the Taoist metaphor, would mean returning the universe to Wuji.

(Left image: the symbol of Yin and Yang: a circle divided into two segments, one whit and one black. A dot of the other color is in each color's half. Right image: art of the two dragons in alchemic mythology. They are depicted as two serpents, one white and with bird wings and one black with four legs, each biting the other's tail. End ID)

Victini is the Mew clone of gen V and it is themes around fire and victory. Physically, it represents the symbol of V for victory, with its hears making a V shape and it doing the V sign with one hand in its official art. It may also be based on Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory and triumph. Its fire typing also draws from the idea of the eternal flame, which symbolizes perseverance and victory. Victini is found in Liberty Garden, which is off the coast of Castelia City, which is based on New York City. This makes Liberty Garden the counterpart to Liberty Island, the home of the Statue of Liberty. Victini's fire typing likely represents the torch that the statue holds. Finally, Victini's rabbit-eared appearance comes from usagi-ringo, a technique of skinning apple slices to make them look like rabbit ears. This could be a shout-out to NYC's nickname of the Big Apple.

(Image: apple slices cut in usagi-ringo style. The skin of each slice has been cut so that a wedge is missing and the tips of the remaining skin rise into the air to look like rabbit ears. End ID)

Meloetta is also sort of a Mew clone. It has the small size and psychic typing down, as well as the 600 BST, but its stats are not all 100s like the other Mew clones. It is based on the nine Muses, a group of Greek Goddesses who acted as patrons for the arts and sciences. Accounts differ on which Muse patronized which art. Meloetta's Aria form represents song and would be associated with Euterpe and Polyhymnia while the Pirouette form's focus on dance would associate it with Polyhymnia and Terpsichore. Meloetta's hair looks like sheet music and its hands look like music notes. Aria form is based on a singer and has a structure that look's like a microphone headset. Pirouette form is based on a ballerina or flamenco dancer and appears to be wearing a tutu.

(Image: an artistic depiction of the nine Muses showing them as women dressed in robes carrying different objects related to their crafts. Sourced from worldhistory.org. End ID)

Genesect is based on giant, prehistoric bugs from the Carboniferous period. Its dex entries put it as being from 300 million years ago, which would be the tail end of the Carboniferous. Bugs could get much larger in the Carboniferous due to extremely high levels of oxygen in the atmosphere. Bugs don't actively breathe the way tetrapods do, they rely on oxygen entering the body through tiny holes in the exoskeleton called spiracles. The larger the spiracles, the more oxygen the bug can get, but the weaker the exoskeleton becomes. In the Carboniferous, oxygen levels were high enough to have giant bugs without needing to make their spiracles so big they would compromise the body's integrity. Ironically, despite being based on the largest bugs in geologic history, there are many modern bug Pokemon that are larger than Genesect. Genesect being a resurrected extinct species is likely a reference to Jurassic Park. The cyborg elements are shout outs to science-fiction stories where animals are weaponized.

Image: a photo of two men standing next to a life-sized model of Arthropleura, an over 8-feet long millipede from the Carboniferous period. end ID)

#awesome

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