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Little things you like about Pokémon

Not sure if this goes here, but there's a Pokémon based on Pretty Cure. Specifically Oricorio, off Happiness Charge.

See, that season gave the 4 Cures various dances that damaged multiple enemies I call them MAP attacks and look like this:


Anyway, the pink Cure has FLAMENCO and hip-hop dances, the blue Cure has HULA and ballet dances, the yellow Cure has CHEERLEADING and samba dances, and the purple Cure has JAPANESE DANCING and navel dance... Dances.

See? Oricorio takes one of each. Also the season is from 2014 so aired during SM's planning phase.

Japan agrees with me on this. It's pretty cute, pun intended.
 
ZettaiRyouiki said:
Not sure if this goes here, but there's a Pokémon based on Pretty Cure. Specifically Oricorio, off Happiness Charge.

See, that season gave the 4 Cures various dances that damaged multiple enemies I call them MAP attacks and look like this:


Anyway, the pink Cure has FLAMENCO and hip-hop dances, the blue Cure has HULA and ballet dances, the yellow Cure has CHEERLEADING and samba dances, and the purple Cure has JAPANESE DANCING and navel dance... Dances.

See? Oricorio takes one of each. Also the season is from 2014 so aired during SM's planning phase.

Japan agrees with me on this. It's pretty cute, pun intended.
Click to expand...

Maybe someone should add that to Bulbapedia's Trivia section about Oricorio.
 
I will say that it could just be coincidental, if you're having a bird based on different honeycreepers having special beaks for certain nectars and also decide to base that bird on different dances you're probably going to have a hula (because hawaii) and you're probably goign to have a japanese fan dancer (because japanese video game). And after that flamenco is fairly reasonable, since its a well known dance with distinct visual flair. Likewise Hula was tied to Pink, which isn't one of the cure colors for that season.

Cheerleading is probably the most brow raising connection since that's probably not something i'd typically consider "dance", though the yellow connection feels like something i've seen often (in the same way flamenco with red and fire).



That said Pokemon's definitely taken pop culture inspiration before (like...half of gen 1 is this....) and the timing does line up so it's definitely not impossible that someone on staff saw it and went "hey, dance style based attacks would be cool"
 
R_N said:
Cheerleading is probably the most brow raising connection since that's probably not something i'd typically consider "dance", though the yellow connection feels like something i've seen often (in the same way flamenco with red and fire).
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It's obviously a Cheer Captain Julia reference. (Funny thing is that Reborn had Julia way before S/M was even conceived, with a later update making Oricorio her signature.)

Pokemon definitely gets inspiration from pop culture, even past Gen 1. You would think a drum set playing gorilla from the UK would be unique to Pokemon, and yet...
 
R_N said:
That said Pokemon's definitely taken pop culture inspiration before (like...half of gen 1 is this....) and the timing does line up so it's definitely not impossible that someone on staff saw it and went "hey, dance style based attacks would be cool"
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I'm probably just an uncultured plebian (meaning that I don't really care to keep up with pop culture), but what Gen 1 references are there to other media?
 
CPU said:
I'm probably just an uncultured plebian (meaning that I don't really care to keep up with pop culture), but what Gen 1 references are there to other media?
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"half" is definitely an exaggeration on my part, but...
Kadabra is based on Uri Geller
Hitmonlee & Hitmonchan are based (however loosely) on specific popular Japanese boxers
Jynx is very likely based on ganguro
While Aerodactyl isn't really Jurassic Park (I think the novel had some but the movie didnt), the old amber is almost certainly meant as a direct reference to it since it popularized the concept
Several of the "generic kaiju" monsters are definitely taking inspiration from godzilla and especially ultraman monsters, to the point where the prototype sound files for various roars call back to them directly by name & sound. Peopl've pointed the comparisons between Nidoking & Baragon before, but Electabuzz is pretty close to another ultraman monster, as is Staryu/Starmie iirc.


And then there's things like idioms/puns (Farfetch'd) and japanese mythis/iconography (Magikarp, Ninetails, Arcanine) if you want to count those. Similarly broad but they've said bug catching's popularity in Japan was a general inspiration, and likely why we have a stag beetle from day 1.

In the proto assets we also have the "Shinjuku Jack" trainer which was likely meant as a virtua fighter reference and the scrapped pokemon "Woo" was likely meant as a refence to uh...ultraman monster Wu, Omega is a dead wringer for superdeformed mechagodzilla

e: And hey since I already mentioned a trainer may as well mention Stand By Me on the tv in your house.
 
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R_N said:
Electabuzz is pretty close to another ultraman monster, as is Staryu/Starmie iirc.
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Staryu & Starmie aren't based on an Ultraman kaiju, but Ultraman himself; believe it or not. The 'kiyah!' sound they use in the anime is similar to the sounds Ultraman tends to make, and their core light is based on Ultraman's colour timer (the light on his chest that starts flashing when he's low on energy). As Ultraman is an alien, this is likely also the basis for many dex entries alluding to Staryu having some kind of extraterrestial connection and looking to the stars.
 
R_N said:
"half" is definitely an exaggeration on my part, but...
Kadabra is based on Uri Geller
Hitmonlee & Hitmonchan are based (however loosely) on specific popular Japanese boxers
Jynx is very likely based on ganguro
While Aerodactyl isn't really Jurassic Park (I think the novel had some but the movie didnt), the old amber is almost certainly meant as a direct reference to it since it popularized the concept
Several of the "generic kaiju" monsters are definitely taking inspiration from godzilla and especially ultraman monsters, to the point where the prototype sound files for various roars call back to them directly by name & sound. Peopl've pointed the comparisons between Nidoking & Baragon before, but Electabuzz is pretty close to another ultraman monster, as is Staryu/Starmie iirc.


And then there's things like idioms/puns (Farfetch'd) and japanese mythis/iconography (Magikarp, Ninetails, Arcanine) if you want to count those. Similarly broad but they've said bug catching's popularity in Japan was a general inspiration, and likely why we have a stag beetle from day 1.

In the proto assets we also have the "Shinjuku Jack" trainer which was likely meant as a virtua fighter reference and the scrapped pokemon "Woo" was likely meant as a refence to uh...ultraman monster Wu, Omega is a dead wringer for superdeformed mechagodzilla

e: And hey since I already mentioned a trainer may as well mention Stand By Me on the tv in your house.
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If you're going to bring up the Uri Geller connection with Kadabra, might as well bring up the Abra/Edward Cayce (apparently known for self-induced trances, similar to how Abra sleeps for most of the day) and Alakazam/Harry Houdini (not seeing the connection in Pokémon characterization for this one though), since all three are named after these stage magicians. Geller's similarity is probably more intentional than the other two, though, and they kinda messed up by choosing a living person for that inspiration.

I personally wouldn't call idioms/yokai (this extends to other culture-specific myths but we get the most of those from Japan for obvious reason) to be POP-culture references, but maybe there's a surge in popularity for some of them that coincides with their Pokémon counterparts. :mehowth:

I see your point, though I was honestly expecting more direct references to other media. Kaiju is definitely a general inspiration for Gen 1, far more than other Gens, so those are good references. I wonder if the various bits of backlash Game Freak got from Jynx/Kadabra/others(?) made them tone down more obvious cultural references in later Gens.
 
CPU said:
I see your point, though I was honestly expecting more direct references to other media. Kaiju is definitely a general inspiration for Gen 1, far more than other Gens, so those are good references. I wonder if the various bits of backlash Game Freak got from Jynx/Kadabra/others(?) made them tone down more obvious cultural references in later Gens.
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Wouldn't surprise me. We know Gligar was almost even more blatantly based on a facehugger from the proto assets and gamefreak's commented themselves they thought about doing a sheep based on dolly but thought it would be too controversial.
I also know that James Turner said Naganadel was inspired by the Alien too, though obviously that's more on the subtle side.




Though gen 4 did have a playboy bunny complete with wolf whistle so sometimes things can get blatant regardless
 
It's awesome how Eevee has had different cries since Generation 5.

Generation 5 has its original cry used since Generation 1.
Generation 6 used an updated cry which was also applied to many Gen 1-5 Pokémon. This cry is still being used in Pokémon GO today so it's not really defunct.

In Generation 7 Pokemon LGPE Eevee got a special cry like Pikachu did in Gen 6.

In Generation 8, Eevee still has a special cry like Pikachu, but it is now somewhat different as Eevee now says "EVA!".

Can Generation 9 continue the trend?
 

Primal Kyogre/Groudon's battle theme in ORAS is really cleverly and amazingly done imo. It's already a great theme that represents how terrifying and powerful they are already, but the neat detail is that while it's a remix using a 3DS soundfont, it incorporates little bits of the original GBA mix into the bit as well, and you can hear that GBA soundfont poke through here and there. It's perfect because it not only reflects the original games' roots in the GBA era, but it's also reflective of the Primal Reversion transformation itself: Kyogre and Groudon underwent Primal Reversion, in other words, transformed into their early, primal forms, and the music itself reflects that as if the theme itself underwent Primal Reversion, going back to the "primal" roots of the theme, in other words the original GBA theme from Ruby and Sapphire.

It's a really nice touch they added when they did the ORAS mix of the theme!
 
ScraftyIsTheBest said:
Kyogre and Groudon underwent Primal Reversion, in other words, transformed into their early, primal forms, and the music itself reflects that as if the theme itself underwent Primal Reversion, going back to the "primal" roots of the theme, in other words the original GBA theme from Ruby and Sapphire.
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Which is probably also another reason why Rayquaza gets its own variant of the theme, since Rayquaza goes through Mega Evolution its theme is a more bombastic version with all "real" instruments, aka an "evolution" of the original theme.
 
DrPumpkinz said:
When you beat Bugsy in Gen 2, he says:

"TM49 contains FURY CUTTER. If you don't miss, it gets stronger every turn. The longer your battle goes, the better it gets. Isn't that great? I discovered it!"

No Pokemon can learn naturally learn Fury Cutter in Gen 2, so it seems he truly did discover the technique himself.
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In earlier generations, there are a lot of Gym Leader TMs that are very rarely present in level-up movesets, or (as with Fury Cutter) are completely absent.

I wonder if the same applies for the entirety of the latter group.
 
Siggu said:
In earlier generations, there are a lot of Gym Leader TMs that are very rarely present in level-up movesets, or (as with Fury Cutter) are completely absent.

I wonder if the same applies for the entirety of the latter group.
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Yeah, in Gen 1 and 2, the moves in the Gym Leader TMs were for the most part never learned by any Pokémon through level-up or in any way outside of using the TMs. The only exeception was Thunderbolt in Gen 1 which was learned naturally by Pikachu, but only in Yellow. This whole concept changed in Gen 3 and onwards where some Pokémon could learn the Gym Leader TMs through level-up. Not sure if this is true for every new move that is a Gym Leader TM in the newer generations, but I think it is true for a majority of them at least.

Anyway, this creates an interesting in-universe explanation for the Gym Leader TM moves in Gen 1-2. It could be said that the Gym Leaders are the ones who discovered the moves that are in the TMs they hand out, like how Bugsy discovered Fury Cutter. On a similar note, Koga says in the Kanto games that Toxic is a secret technique which has been passed down in his family for over 400 years. So that's cool. There might be even more examples of this, not sure though.
 
Suspicious Derivative said:
Yeah, in Gen 1 and 2, the moves in the Gym Leader TMs were for the most part never learned by any Pokémon through level-up or in any way outside of using the TMs. The only exeception was Thunderbolt in Gen 1 which was learned naturally by Pikachu, but only in Yellow. This whole concept changed in Gen 3 and onwards where some Pokémon could learn the Gym Leader TMs through level-up. Not sure if this is true for every new move that is a Gym Leader TM in the newer generations, but I think it is true for a majority of them at least.

Anyway, this creates an interesting in-universe explanation for the Gym Leader TM moves in Gen 1-2. It could be said that the Gym Leaders are the ones who discovered the moves that are in the TMs they hand out, like how Bugsy discovered Fury Cutter. On a similar note, Koga says in the Kanto games that Toxic is a secret technique which has been passed down in his family for over 400 years. So that's cool. There might be even more examples of this, not sure though.
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The only one I can think of is Giovanni saying that he "made" the Fissure TM in RBY when he first started running the Viridian Gym long ago (which is somewhat ambiguous as to whether he created the move or just meant that he literally created the TM). Interestingly the line is retained in the remakes, though it refers to Earthquake instead.
 
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green_typhlosion said:
The only one I can think of Giovanni saying that he "made" the Fissure TM in RBY when he first started running the Viridian Gym long ago (which is somewhat ambiguous as to whether he created the move or just meant that he literally created the TM). Interestingly the line is retained in the remakes, though it refers to Earthquake instead.
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Well makes sense with Fissure since, like with other above examples, no Pokemon naturally learns Fissure in Gen I. So sounds like Giovanni did indeed create the move and I guess worked with the makers of TMs to place it in a TM.

However either explanation makes no sense with Earthquake. Plenty of Pokemon naturally learn Earthquake and since TMs are numbered I doubt he created the TM for it. The only way I think they could work around that is if maybe Giovanni discovered the way to store Earthquake in a TM, he made it possible to to so thus he "made" the Earthquake TM.
 
Suspicious Derivative said:
Yeah, in Gen 1 and 2, the moves in the Gym Leader TMs were for the most part never learned by any Pokémon through level-up or in any way outside of using the TMs. The only exeception was Thunderbolt in Gen 1 which was learned naturally by Pikachu, but only in Yellow. This whole concept changed in Gen 3 and onwards where some Pokémon could learn the Gym Leader TMs through level-up. Not sure if this is true for every new move that is a Gym Leader TM in the newer generations, but I think it is true for a majority of them at least.

Anyway, this creates an interesting in-universe explanation for the Gym Leader TM moves in Gen 1-2. It could be said that the Gym Leaders are the ones who discovered the moves that are in the TMs they hand out, like how Bugsy discovered Fury Cutter. On a similar note, Koga says in the Kanto games that Toxic is a secret technique which has been passed down in his family for over 400 years. So that's cool. There might be even more examples of this, not sure though.
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Koga: "I have a super secret ninja technique that's been only known by my clan for the past 400 years!"
Also Koga: *gives it to random kids who manage to beat him*
You'll have to remove the "secret" part in a bit, my dude.

Bouncing back on TMs: what if, in earlier generations, being appointed as Gym Leader meant you have to "push the meta", so to speak, on the Type you specialized in? Having to do research on the potential of Pokémon from that type (maybe that's why Falkner & Lance have impossibly low-level Pokémon, they just learned how to make them evolve sooner), researching rare moves, or outright creating new ones...
It would make them a bit of top-level researchers, and they dedicate their downtime between battles to research. That would also explain how Giovanni managed to get a spot as Leader despite being a literal mob boss: he has enough money and influence to easily launch and maintain such research.
 
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