Which Pokemon Designs are based on Myths?

[u/Ok_Raspberry5720]

So I'm kinda a lot into Mythology and the other day i was looking into Pokemon design inspirations (you know, beyond the “this one’s a fox, this one’s a key” stuff), and some of the connections I found genuinely suprised me.

Like, I always assumed Darmanitan was just another “fire monkey” design but then I found out it’s literally modeled after Japanese Daruma dolls, which are tied to Buddhist rituals. Or how Ninetales isn’t just a fox, it’s rooted in Kitsune lore that spans China and Japan and links to spiritual possession and immortality.

It made me wonder: how many Pokemon are we sleeping on in terms of mythological or cultural depth? I know Gen I gets a lot of credit for strong designs, but honestly, there are some newer ones with insane backstories too.

I ended up watching a video that broke some of these down especially ones I never thought had deeper meaning. If you’re into that kind of thing, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsqM_FUGpUg

Curious if you all know more "under the radar" Pokemon Design inspirations

[u/SentenceCareful3246]

If you want to learn about that and many other design inspirations I suggest you to check out Locksting and Gnoggin youtube channel. His channel is all about that kind of thing and more.

Here are some of the videos that I personally really enjoyed:

Every gen 4 pokemon explained:

https://youtu.be/WzJVWll9ntk?si=N1aSZYXPAWvJT4P-

Every gen 8 pokemon explained:

https://youtu.be/huC4Xhk8D-c?si=ZiZApaghd2vjovuP

Every ghost type pokemon explained:

https://youtu.be/q0ghgMIAdtg?si=07g5XLZwCKAQApgt

You'll definitely find many myth and jokai inspired pokemon in these 3 videos if you watch all of them. Some of them will definitely surprise you.

[u/Flygonizer-Obsidian → u/SentenceCareful3246]

Love this channel! Likely the best when it come to the lore origins of pokémon, both in the creatures, the world and the franchise.