IT’S often easy to tell the origins of most Pokémon, but sometimes the cutest ‘mons have the scariest sources.
Pokémon’s home, Japan, is known for its rich mythology and legends which are full of terrifying ghosts and demons.
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The designers of Pokémon weren’t scared to shy away from these beasts, and many of them have spooky backstories.
Here are five Pokémon and the scary monsters they are based on.
Mawile
Many people call Mawile their favourite Pokémon, but behind its sweet face is a terrifying story.
The two-mouthed woman is a popular Japanese legend of a woman who grows a horrifying mouth peering through her hair.
There are several stories that could be the origin of the tale, though they usually involve a husband who is so cheap he won’t feed his wife.
The wife then grows the second mouth in the back of her head, and her hair then greedily shovels food into it.
This connection is made clearer in the Mega form where the second mouth looks more like wild, flowing hair.
Shuppet and Banette
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Banette is a Ghost-type, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that there is a spooky story behind it.
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The Pokédex describes pins being stuck in Banette which is obviously related to the voodoo doll.
However, Banette’s origins are more closely linked to the Japanese idea of items transforming when they reach 99-years old.
One of the ideas of Japanese mythology is that once an object reaches one hundred years old, it will suddenly come to life.
Banette could be a mix of both. A one hundred year old voodoo doll coming to life in order to seek revenge.
Espeon
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Espeon may be one of the cutest Pokémon in the game, but it has a dark history.
The design of its tail points to the story of the split-tail cat, one of Japan’s most popular monsters.
Split tail cat’s eyes can change depending on the time of day, which could be linked to how Espeon can only evolve in the daytime.
It is also known to speak to humans, and to control and manipulate people and animals into doing their bidding.
This all points to Espeon’s Psychic-typing, as it uses its powers to enter human’s minds.
Lotad and Lombre
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You might know that Lotad and Lombre are based on the Kappa, a Japanese turtle-like monster known for its love of cucumbers, but it is a lot more sinister.
Kappa are seen as a menace. They are known to drag humans underwater, drown them, then eat their livers and souls.
However, there is one way that you can defeat a Kappa, if you bow towards one, they will return the favour, spilling the water from their lilypad.
The Kappa will then have to sit still until the rain replenishes it, hinted at by Lotad’s ability Rain Dish which restores its health in rain.
By the time it evolves into Ludicolo though all sinister backstory is gone. Ludicolo is just a cross between a duck and a pineapple who loves to salsa.
Whiscash
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It is obvious that Whiscash is based on a catfish, but where does its Ground-typing come from?
Whiscash is actually based on a Japanese monster, a gigantic catfish that burrows tunnels underground.
This giant catfish is so large it could hold dozens of humans on its back, and has been blamed for causing Japan’s many earthquakes.
The myth arose as fishermen noticed that catfish became unusually active just before an earthquake was about to happen.
It has since been discovered that catfish can predict earthquakes with astonishing accuracy as they can sense the tremors long before humans.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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