The Untold Secrets of Pokémon’s Monster Mythology | Monstrum

Pokémon are inspired by flora and fauna, science, religion, yokai and other supernatural beings. But the series is teeming with not just Japanese folklore, but versions of monsters from across the globe made cute with softened features.

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Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Editor/Animator: Steven Simone
Editor/Animator: Jordyn Buckland
Illustrator: Evangeline Manou Estimable
Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
Additional Footage: Shutterstock
Music: APM Music

Consultants: Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt

Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program

Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.

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Allison, Anne. Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination, University of California Press, 2006.

Alt, Matt. Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World. Crown, 2020.

Alt, Matt, and Yoda, Hiroko. Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. Tuttle Publishing, 2013.

Asian Popular Culture: The Global (Dis)continuity, edited by Anthony Y. H. Fung, Taylor & Francis Group, 2013.

Bollotta, Anthony. "Entertainment Perspectives: The Pokemon Phenomenon." Special Events Magazine, 2016.

Clements, Jonathan. Anime: A History, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Drazen, Patrick. Anime Explosion!: The What? Why? and Wow! of Japanese Animation, Revised and Updated Edition, Stone Bridge Press, 2014.

Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. University of California Press, 2015.

Haiven, Max. “Can Pikachu Save Fannie Mae?: Value, Finance and Imagination in the New Pokéconomy.” Cultural Studies (London, England), vol. 26, no. 4, 2012, pp. 516–41.

Sorensen, Sue. “Battle or Gratitude? Attitudes Conveyed to Children by Pokémon, Bakugan, and Magic Tree House Books.” Peace Research, vol. 41, no. 2, 2009, pp. 5–27.

Zsila, Ágnes, et al. “An Empirical Study on the Motivations Underlying Augmented Reality Games: The Case of Pokémon Go During and after Pokémon Fever.” Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 133, 2018, pp. 56–66.

[pbsstoried]

When I was a kid, there were only 151 Pokémon to keep track of but now with over 1000+ in canon at this point, I got a bit mixed up. The Fakemon shown at 1:16, Pyorpse, is fan-made by ReallyDarkandWindie (and fooled me!) but that just goes to show you how monsters and folklore develop as living traditions!--Dr. Z

[FlagCutie]

My boomer, Mexican mom is not "geeky" in the slightest, so when Pokemon GO first came out and I had to explain to her why I was upgrading my phone " just to play a game" was hilarious. In any case, I was already an adult with my own money. She then got more curious about it and downloaded it herself to see if she could use it as motivation to walk outside more after work. Well wouldn't you know it, she became obsessed and ended up being perpetually a level ahead of me lol. We both even have the little badge for making it to level 40 before a certain date. This past week we took a trip to a concert, and part of our exploring downtown involved hatching as many eggs as we could and loading up on gifts from historical pokestops.

[sodium_and_scales]

I never expected a pokemon episode in Monstrum. But dang was it a cool surprise

Also, just a note, I've noticed a couple of inaccuracies in the little section at 1:07.

-That Pokemon asigned to Mothra is beautifly, they are not inspired by Mothra, they're regukar butterflys. But there's a different pokemon who is, it's named Volcarona.

-Same case with the banshee. Those are Golett and Golurk, they're based on Golems. Missdreavus, Hattena, and their evolutions are the actual banshees.

-The Kasha pokemon ain't even a real pokemon, that little guy was drawn by a fan.

[majinsole]

I love that the canon origin for Monstrum is that little Dr. Z really loved Pokémon and is still finding a way to catch ‘em all.

Quite the evolution 😊

~_~

[rickaaayyyhoffman]

The comparisons starting at 1:07 had me REELING
Comparing Beautifly with Mothra is one thing, but calling Golett and Golurk banshees instead of golems is another mess. And the the Kasha "Pokémon" is definitely not a real Pokémon

[AntVazAri]

I was so confused when I saw the last example in 1:15 lol. It's called Pyorpse and it's actually a Fakemon, I wonder whether it was intentional.

[lilbasenji]

This is I was wondering if Pokémon would make it into monstrum. As a person who also grew up playing Pokémon games this video warms my heart. It’s funny how much culture, folklore, history, and religion is represented in the Pokémon games and franchise. I think that it was the help of Pokémon that kept my interest of animals alive and helped me become a biologist. It’s amazing how a simple game in 1996-1998 became such a big global icon. I remember going to a store this month to buy some Pokémon cards and seeing a dad and his five kids all searching through the cards for specific Pokémon cards which I helped. It was such a great feeling seeing so many generations loving the same franchise. Thank you for making this video Dr. Z and monstrum staff. This video has made my day. Also I love the anime animation made for this video.

[WolfsbaneX]

First off, glad you caught the Fakemon.

Second off, this franchise means a lot to me and frankly was likely my stepping stone into the world of monsters. I’m glad it’s getting covered as Pokemon is where ecology meets folklore, horror, and sci-fi, and it’s packaged in a very cute way. I’ve heard of people being inspired by Pokemon to be folklorists, engineers, archaeologists, and biologists.

So, thanks, Dr. Z. Many of us millennial monster-lovers have Pokémon to thank for why we’re interested in monsters today.

[ReynaSingh]

Never thought we’d see a Pokémon episode

[AMoniqueOcampo]

I am so happy that you mentioned how you got into the Pokémon fandom. And I love that Pokémon has such a universal appeal. This gives my inner 6th grade such joy.

[tecpaocelotl]

1:16, thats not a pokemon.

6:54, that green one is a counterfeit.

[michaelturner]

Absolutely dying over all the pronunciation in this episode.

[andrescalderonsanchez]

Golerk line is based on golems the misdreavus line is banshee and a few other stuff

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

My favorite Pokémon inspiration thus far are the Treasures of Ruin from Paldea. They're based off the Four Perils of Chinese mythology: Wo-Chien's name is a combination of 蜗/wō (snail) and 簡/jiǎn (bamboo slips). Bamboo slips were used in China for writing documents before paper was introduced. Its idea comes from a Chinese idiom, 罄竹难书 (qin zhu nan shu), describing people with so much sin that even using all the bamboo to make tablets wouldn't be enough to record all of their wrongdoings.

Chien-Pao's name is a combination of 劍/jiàn (sword) and 豹/bào (leopard). Chien-Pao connects to warmongering and alludes to 虎符/hǔfú (tiger tally), the proof of imperial authorization in ancient China for implementation of troop orders.

Ting-Lu's name is a combination of 鼎/dǐng (an ancient Chinese cauldron) and 鹿/lù (deer). This also refers to two different idioms, 问鼎(wen ding) and 逐鹿(zhu lu). Dating back to the Warring States period (around 300 BC), both of these words mean over ambition and hunger for power.

Chi-Yu's name is a combination of 鯽魚/jìyú (goldfish) and 玉/yù (jade). Something many don't know, goldfish actually come from China! During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), it was very popular for the rich to keep them in ornamental ponds. Jade is also historically a symbol of wealth.

[cjtunidau]

Dr. Z growing up with Pokemon and then PokemonGo through my teen years and now on my fave show on YouTube I can't believe that a Pokemon episode was made. I love it. I'm from a tiny island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (Fiji) and Pokemon allowed me to be relateable over the years with international students. I'm loving this Dr Z keep it up

[Wolfiyeethegranddukecerberus]

1:15 That one's a Fakemon i think

[dpr]

I love how Monstrum started with putting random Pokémon trivia (like "hey, this monster inspires that Pokémon") to having an entire video about Pokémon

[bradwalls]

@1:06 Apologies for asking/saying this, but how is Golurk & it's pre-volution, Golett, at all like a banshee? They're more like the mythical golem then the Pokémon literally named Golem.

[JurassicLion]

You know Dr. Z I think it was definitely Pokemon that started a lot of my interests. My interest in wildlife, my desire to travel and explore different places, and my love of creatures and folklore.

[eusou]

This episode really makes me wonder about the accuracy of the research and presented content in every other...