Gameinformer posted a very small part of their interview with the devs on their thoughts behind Grookey. As you would imagine they didn’t say much at all about his evolutions but it’s a pretty cute interview. Ohmori seemed to be enjoying himself during it and I just thought it was worth posting for anyone who may have 2 minutes to spare.
So quick facts about Grookey:
- Grookey likes to climb trees (and probably other tall structures). It instills life wherever it taps its stick (as seen in the Galar Starter debut when it grew grass that Scorbunny burned). However, the stick may not be that important of a factor when it evolves.
- It's a mood maker whose bright demeanor makes people happy. The opposite of Sobble which is more depressed.
- While it's another monkey Pokemon, just as there's many kinds of different monkeys in real life, Grookey will be a different kind of monkey Pokemon.
- The kind of trainer who would like Grookey are ones who: like to dance or go to parties. They want to go out and have fun; really bright and jovial.
So, where to start? Well, I think point 3 is a pretty solid statement: it won't be like any other monkey Pokemon. So, let's list all the monkey Pokemon, what kind of money they are, and their personality:
Mankey/Primeape: Baboon-ish. Foul temper & easy to anger.
Aipom/Ambipom: Generic monkey. Playful pranksters but friendly.
Slakoth/Vigoroth/Slaking: Baboon for Vigoroth, gorilla for Slaking. Slakoth are lazy & easy going, Vigoroth are hyperactive & aggressive, and Slaking are lazy & apathetic.
Chimchar/Monferno/Infernape: Mostly Chimpanzees but is a mixed with other monkeys; also based on mythical monkey figure Sun Wukong & the Monkey Kung Fu martial arts style. Mischievous & confident.
Pansage/Simisage, Pansear/Simisear, & Panpour/Simipour: Mostly chimpanzees; Sages visual pun on leaf monkeys; Pours visual pun on sea monkeys; possible Three Wise Monkey motif. As Pans they all are joyful, when they evolve they differ in temperament: Simisage is rebellious, Simisear is excitable but irritable, and Simipour remains cheerful.
Darumaka/Darmanitan: Orangutan-ish. Cheeky & gutsy.
Oranguru: Orangutan. Calm & wise.
Passimian: Lemur. Cooperative & Coordinated.
With what we're told about Grookey's personality, at the moment it would probably closely match Aipom family and the Elemental Monkeys basic stage. If it's true what they say and its evolution will not be like a Pokemon we've seen, then at least Grookey's final evo won't be a prankster, rebel, agitated, or cheerful. Huh, kind of ran the whole gambit there, and honestly it staying cheerful would make the most sense. Well, maybe it's a different kind of cheerful. Simipour looks like its happy just to hang out and go on a nice walk. So Grookey's evo would be more lively and energetic. They don't just want to be happy, they want to make everyone around them happy.
We've done baboons, chimpanzees, orangutans, and lemurs plus some monkey-based puns. Galar is based on Britian/UK and they don't really have any native monkey species from what I can tell, closest would be I guess the
old world monkies. But which one? I'm kind of leaning toward a Macaque. It's a large group genus with many species with a distinct appearance. However if we were to pick a
new world monkey, I see a strong pick with the howler monkey.
Finally, being a Starter you know it's not going to just be a monkey. No, it has to have a secondary theme. Well, going back to it's demeanor and wanting to make people happy, maybe an entertainer of some sort? And with the ideal trainer being someone who likes to dance and/or go to parties, how about a musician? Like a drummer... WAIT. They said it's stick isn't going to be much of a factor when it evolves, and it becoming a drummer would make the stick sort of important. Well, maybe instead of a musician it could instead be a singer. It could still have its stick but now just use it as a microphone, it's voice now being the thing instilling life and energy, making people and Pokemon want to stand up and dance & parteh. A singer would also want to be the center of attention so would probably climb up the highest place, and a holler monkey is well known for its loud yells.
So here's my prediction for Grookey's final evo: A Holler Monkey Rock Singer.
Guess I've seen it enough to accustomed to the creepiness of the rest of the design, but the one nostril is a new feature so it stood out? Seems about as creepy as Gollum, which we're also all used to by now, but even Gollum had two nostrils! (Also for the record, Impidimp also only has one wing on the back of its head!) :P
