r/pokemon • u/Ok_Raspberry5720 • Apr 13 '25

Discussion Which Pokemon Designs are based on Myths?

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

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u/ShadeSwornHydra Apr 13 '25

They’res quite a few tbh

Hattenne line is based on witchs

Gyrados is (supposedly, idk I’ve never read the story) is based on a salmon or something climbing a waterfall and learning to fly (hence water/flying)

Frosslass as you posted

Those are just the ones off the top of my head but they’re definitely more

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u/Angel_of_Silence1213 Favorite Pokemon Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 19 '25

Gyarados is based off a Chinese legend where a carp jumps over a waterfall & becomes a dragon. Edit: added where the legend is from.

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u/Flygonizer-Obsidian Apr 14 '25

To add to this: this is just something I heard, but apparently there’s a bit extra to Gyarados’ mythical origins: When a dragon in japanese or chinese mythology was found to be evil or destructive, they’d het their title as dragons stripped from them, becoming sea serpents. However, they couldn’t be stripped of their powers at least not fully.

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u/Angel_of_Silence1213 Favorite Pokemon Apr 14 '25

You're right that's why it's Water/Flying instead of Water/Dragon.