Those pokemon whose core design elements are distinctly japanese and/or generally not immediately recognizable to western audiences.
starting with chingling being a shinto temple bell
>>26186109
and evolving into a glass "furin" windchime specifically associated with summer time
Snorunt is a yukinko "snow child", a youkai associated with the yuki onna "snow woman," wearing a traditional "mino" straw coat.
>>26186174
Glaile is a reference to the namahage masks worn in traditions of northern Japanese island region, Hokkaido. The Namahage are similar to red and blue oni but wear mino and brandish meat cleavers. They are part of a tradition in which they are said to roam the snowy landscape dragging off the lazy men and misbehaving children in the coldest days of winter. Key to the traditional costumes of the namahage are large expressively fierce masks.
>>26186217
and froslass is the aforementioned yuki-onna. a sometimes naked but always beautiful woman with pale white skin seen in snow storms in the mountains. sometimes a ghost of the deceased, sometimes just a natural apparition, she leads men to a frigid death.
>>26186229
>always beautiful
certainly doesn't look like it famalam
Darumaka and darmanitan are based on the Japanese Daruma dolls modeled after the bodhidharma, founder of Zen Buddhism. The dolls are used as a mnemonic device and a kind of good luck charm in which a doll with empty white eyes is bought, a goal is set and a single eye's pupil colored in, and the final eye left blank until the goal is completed.
Whiscash is based on folk lore of giant catfish responsible for causing earthquakes. The lore became parts of popular fiction and pop art of the time. Pictured is a monster catfish resolute in becoming a monk. He is surrounded by carpenters who praise him for bring earthquakes and thus good business for them. He resists their tempation thru the spirits of the victims of earthquakes looming over him.
sentret is based on a tanuki, one of many of japanese lore's line up of magical animals. Famous in lore for their mischeviousness and powers of illusion. also known for their ability to enlarge their scrotom at will. sentret's design opts to substitute its tail for the distinct visual element of the ball sack.
I'm waiting for Jynx and the kami trio.
Also, because someone had to say itREDANDBLUEONI
>>26186306
and evolves into a ferret, possibly a reference to the kamaitachi, ferrets with scythes for arms. folk lore credits them as the cause of the seemingly mysterious slashes left along the ankles when walking through tall grass. Sneasle may also be a reference to the kamaitachi as japanese makes no distinction between weasles and ferrets in common names.
>>26186308
Jynx is a little weird. On the one hand it seems like a clear play on the yukionna, but it might also be a reference to zwartepiet of dutch christmas and sinterklauss tradition. There is a long complicated history to the relationship between the japanese and dutch.
>>26186308
red and blue skinned oni are popular variations on the general oni lore. typically they are monstrously strong disaster causing ogres but one popular story invovles a red oni who wants to befriend children but is too scary. a blue oni proposes a plan to help, terrorizes the children himself and lets the red oni play the hero to earn their trust, driving the blue oni away. the story ends with the red oni befriending the children but lamenting that he can never thank his friend.
sawk and throw play on the more general visual elements of this idea but not so much the story
>>26186418
I saw someone said it was based on some Nordic myth about a woman who went out into the snow and died and her skin turned black, hence the ice typing and viking dress. I can't find the myth they're talking about, though.
>>26186306
What do you mean?
Interesting stuff.
Hope you have more.
How about castform being a teru teru bozu or shiftry and tengu?
>>26186472
All of this is good stuff, but still, now I'm wondering if you're too much of an autist and/or newfag to get the Red&Blue Oni meme
>>26186341
Sneasel is definitely a kamaitachi, as they're associated with cold wind. Sneasel is Ice type and learns Icy Wind by level up.
>>26186418
I thought Jynx was a reference to the Yama-uba, with the golden hair, red clothes and all.
>>26186262
Why the hell wasn't it
Zen Mode > one-eyed Darumaka > Darmanitan
Zen Mode sucks.
>>26186308
Fujin is a god of strong winds, which he produces from a bag he carries. Raijin is a god of thunder which he makes by banging on the ring of drums on him. The two are said to do battle and when they do that is what causes great storms. Obvious inspiration for torneros and bolteros.
>>26186306
>also known for their ability to enlarge their scrotom at will
>>26186520
That would actually make a lot of sense with the unwanted kissing thing and red dress as a kind of friendlier version of cannibalism and bloodstained robes. I never put those two in particular together. Good catch.
>>26186562
because mischief
>>26186603
and for scaring geese off your lawn so they don't poop everywhere
>>26186612
and for getting swole
>>26186623
and for saving the world from aforementioned giant earthquake causing catfish
>>26186637
and terrorizing humans
>>26186647
and fishing
>>26186669
and more mischief
>>26186684
and yet more mischief
anyway... Umibozu. old folklore likely explaining giant ocean swells. given the large rounded head forms of the monsters they are named "bozu" in reference to a monk's shaved head. they are giant monsters said to overturn boats at sea. Likely the reasoning behind Jellicent's distintly round and oversized head and ghost typing.
Tsuchi-no-ko or bachihebi aren't really folk lore as much as they are urban legends. there's no real story associated with them, just that they are bizarre snakes with wide mid sections. Some accounts claim they can jump great distances and heights. Others still claim they can speak, tell only lies, can bite their own tail to roll like a hoop snake, or have an insatiable taste for alcohol. The altnerative name, BachiHebi is literally hornet Snake. This accounts for Dunsparce's stripes and tiny bug wings.
When do we get a shirime Pokemon?
deepest lore
Growlithe and Arcanine are somewhere in the family of shisa from okinawa, komainu, and shishi lions of china. Household guardians placed at entrances to ward off the bad and maintain the good. Depicted with large manes, pronounced fangs, and wreathed in flame
Shintism is an animist and shamanist religion attributing a spirit to all things, even the inanimate. Part of that belief includes the idea that man made objects obtain a kind of life of their own when used and loved or appreciated by humans. This accounts for sentimental connections to things of personal importance. When such things need to be thrown out, it follows that their own developed spirit must go somewhere, in which case they become living objects and find their way back out into the world. Two popular such objects are paper umbrellas and paper lanterns.
Dusclops is a chouchin-obake, "ghost lantern."
futakuchi-onna, lit. "two mouth woman" is a common youkai story in which a normal woman becomes cursed or haunted by a sentient mouth on the back of her head. Often associated with women who eat very little, either by disposition or due to circumstance, the mouth demands to be fed even while they do no eat. In some cases her hair will become alive and prehensile as well and autonomosly feed the second mouth.
>>26186506
>>26186699
These paintings are amusing and pretty cool! Thanks anon.
I salutate your interesting thread in the dark times of /vp/.
>>26186789
Plus Dunsparce's JP name (Nokocchi) is an anagram of sorts tsuchinoko (ノコッチ vs ツチノコ).
Magby line and Golduck take after kappa and garuda/karura
Duskull line are chochin-obake
Exeggcute line is based on tsurubeotoshi, jimenju and groups of nukekubi called maikubi
Surskit and Masquerain has this "eyecandy" pun.
>water strider and lollipop are both referred to as amenbo
>Surskit's JP name is the JP word for candy, slightly altered to also read as "rain ball" (amedama/ametama)
>Masquerain is known as the Medama Pokemon, or the EyeBall Pokemon.
>>26186699
>>26186684
>>26186669
>>26186647
>>26186637
>>26186623
>>26186612
>>26186603
>>26186306
these old tanuki pictures never fail to make me laugh
>>26187182
Scrotums are no laughing matter, Anon
>>26186306
>sentret's design opts to substitute its tail for the distinct visual element of the ball sack.
...Fuck, I actually never put together that it was supposed to be a tanuki. Thanks for that OP, now I'll always see its tail as a giant scrotum.
>>26186623
you owe me my sides dipshit
sweet corn that was hilarious
The Bronzor line is based off of artifacts buried by the Yayoi
Bronze mirrors were buried with the dead, and dotaku were buried to be "recharged" with natural energy.
>>26186684
>He put a god damn face on it
My sides cannot handle this.
>>26188410
Japanese folklore is full of shit like that
>>26187147
And a ching-chong nip-nong to you too, young lady.
Put some effort into explaining the references you know.
>>26186217
It's definitely got some hockey goalie mask mixed in there too, which is a cool modernization of the core yokai concept.
>>26188544
I've spoonfed you enough as it is, thank you.
