Pokemon Fan Rediscovers One Monster’s Spiritual Origins

With the newest season of Pokemon following Ash Ketchum on a victory lap after winning the Alola League Tournament and the latest video game, Pokemon Sword and Shield being released on the Nintendo Switch, more details about pocket monsters new and old continue to arrive for Poke-fans everywhere. Now, the creature known as “Shiftry” has been examined by one fan that has deciphered the origins of this eccentric Pokemon, harkening back to the days of yesteryear Japan wherein folklore focusing on magical creatures known as Tengu clearly had an influence on this monster’s origin.

Twitter User and Pokemon Fan Dr. Lava YT shared this background of the origin of Shiftry and how the design and aesthetic of this monster was taken from the creature of the past that also used large leaves and dance like movements in order to control and confuse beings that witnessed it in action:

Shiftry was first introduced in the third generation of Pokemon, acting as the ultimate evolutionary form of Seedot. In the anime, the first appearance of Shiftry was in the episode titled “Jump For Joy!” wherein the pocket monster had kidnapped Nurse Joy in an effort to save a Nuzleaf that had seen better days. Many Pokemon have had a number of unique origins and inspirations for their creations, many of which are steeped in Japanese folklore and with the franchise seemingly not stopping any time soon, it will surely continue into the future.

What do you think of the origins of Shiftry? What other unique inspirations do you like the most for pocket monster creations? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Pokemon!

Pokemon: The Series, is now airing new episodes weekly in Japan, but unfortunately is still not officially licensed for an English language release as of this writing. Staff confirmed for the new series include Daiki Tomiyasu serving as chief director for OLM, Maki Odaira as series director, Kunihiko Yuyama as creative supervisor, Shoji Yonemura overseeing series construction, Shuhei Yasuda serving as character designer, Masafumi Mima as sound director, Yuki Hayashi as series composer. Voice cast members include Daiki Yamashita as Go, Yuichi Nakamura as Professor Sakuragi, Kana Hanazawa as Koharu, Megumi Hayashibara as Jessie, Shinichiro Miki as James, and Inuko Inuyama as Meowth.