The Strange Souvenir Pokémon

[Zeb]

I'm interested to see how these guardians develop. Tapu Koko is certainly interesting for a number of reasons: involvement in the start of the story, ability, typing, design and even its name is the first to not be all one word I think. So the others could turn out pretty unique too. I'm just hoping they don't get the genie treatment and all look pretty much exactly the same except one or two little features.

 

[Necrozma]

Someone suggested that the rest of the guardians are typed Fairy/Fire, Fairy/Water and Fairy/Grass - I like that idea!

After all, those four types are the basic ones.

 

[Silktree]

Someone suggested that the rest of the guardians are typed Fairy/Fire, Fairy/Water and Fairy/Grass - I like that idea!

After all, those four types are the basic ones.

Read my previous posts. Grass would ruin the relationship with the four Hawaii gods.

A simple theme is not necessarily the way to go here.

 

[Mitchman]

Read my previous posts. Grass would ruin the relationship with the four Hawaii gods.

A simple theme is not necessarily the way to go here.

While true, fertility could tie into Grass/Fairy for Kane if they really wanted to. Of course the 4th Guardian could not be Kane and easily be something else, with Kane as the Arceus to all 4. No idea who would fit in that case. Either way, its no coincidence that we have a yellow deity for the "Yellow" Island, and going by Gamefreak's design philosophy, I cannot see them doing Green/Red/Blue legendaries in the same vein without using the type triangle when Tapu Koko is so on the nose.


On another note, I wonder if the 4 dieties form a totem pole of sorts.s


Edit: Ignore me I am an idiot for some reason I remember the islands being Yellow/Res/Green/Blue when its really Red/Orange/Yellow/Blue. So.....maybe Fire/?/Electric/Water. No idea for thst orange one though.

 

[Silktree]

While true, fertility could tie into Grass/Fairy for Kane if they really wanted to.

That's extremely loose. If anything, water is the symbol of life, and Kane is associated with it:

Ka-ne and Kanaloa were the water-finders, opening springs and pools over all the islands, each pool known now as Ka-Wai-a-ke-Akua (The water provided by a god).

In one of the very old Hawaiian newspapers the question was asked, "What are the waters of Ka-ne?" The answers came: The heavy showers of life-giving rain, the mountain stream swelling into a torrent lifting and carrying away canoes, the rainbow-colored rain loved by Ka-ne, the continually flowing brooks of the valleys and the fresh waters found anywhere-these were the waters of Ka-ne.

With Kane being the creator and Kanaloa the underworld rebel, Water/Fairy and Water/Ghost would make sense.

Tapu Koko is so on the nose.

On the nose? Most people didn't guess its type before the official video, despite the thunders in the background. They can use the colors regardless of the types.

 

[Garren]

Tapu Koko's pretty rad looking---I know this is a bit overused right now but he honestly reminds me of like a Stand or something.

Anyway we see him fighting the Starter Pokemon, I wonder if this is gonna be Pokemon's first time doing an unwinnable fight since I imagine he'll easily be able to overpower the Starter.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

Okay, but what if...Tapu Koko and the other three guardians act as a TOTEM POLE. Then the four combined fuse into the Strange Souvenir Pokemon.

 

[Jolty94]

Okay, but what if...Tapu Koko and the other three guardians act as a TOTEM POLE. Then the four combined fuse into the Strange Souvenir Pokemon.

I was thinking something similar earlier, but now that I've gotten to know it's design better, I feel they'll be distinctively separate for some reason... I do like the idea of each having a secondary Fairy typing though. If they did fuse, what do you suggest the other parts of it would represent? (Like Tapu Koko has the bird-looking head for it's outer arms ect)... definitely something alluding to the strange souvenir in general though, just not so sure of the fusion aspect atm.

 

[Garren]

Tapu Koko's name seems to be basically be "Sacred Cock-A-Doodle-Doo" in Japan according to Dogasu---I wonder if they'll go for a loose "Sacred Guardian" theme here with a dragon, bird, turtle, tiger, Tapu being the bird.

 

[Mitchman]

I'm interested to see how these guardians develop. Tapu Koko is certainly interesting for a number of reasons: involvement in the start of the story, ability, typing, design and even its name is the first to not be all one word I think. So the others could turn out pretty unique too. I'm just hoping they don't get the genie treatment and all look pretty much exactly the same except one or two little features.

Each one is likely to be a unique animap totem head. Squid for Kanaloa, Bear for Ku and whatever animal the SS Totem represents.

 

[Silktree]

Each one is likely to be a unique animap totem head. Squid for Kanaloa, Bear for Ku and whatever animal the SS Totem represents.

Ape? Where did you get bear from?

 

[Tuoko]

The Strange Souvenir most likely pertains to another guardian. I'm still betting on Kane being its basis. Fairy being the common secondary type is likely, too.

Perhaps the Strange Souvenir might be relating to this?

Then together, the three Gods created the Menehune, the lesser spirits to be their messengers and servants. Next they created the world to be a foot stool for the Gods. Finally they gathered red clay from the four corners of the world, they mixed the clay with their spittle, and molded it into the shape of a man. Then Kane took a special magical white clay and formed it into a head. Then the three Gods breathed life into the statue and created the first man. The first man was created in the image of Kane.

 

[Mitchman]

Ape? Where did you get bear from?

I am starting to wonder if perhaps the spirituality talked about comes from a mixture of cultural inspirations for the legendaries. More precisely, I am wondering if they are taking the basis of the 4 guardians from Hawaiian legends through the 4 gods, but the totem inspiration from Native American Mythology. More importantly after reading up some lore, perhaps the reason for Tapu Koko and Zygarde getting coverage near simultaneously is because of the Native American lore of the Thunderbird, and its adversary, the Horned serpent.
Horned Serpent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[8BitPoipole]

Tapu Koko

 

[Silktree]

So the four Alola islands turn out to be associated with yellow, red, pink and purple. It's pretty much a given that the colors correspond to the guardians, especially since each Kahuna is linked to a guardian and an island symbol (even Hala's attire is yellow).

Pink should mean a pure Fairy typing, which honestly makes more sense than Grass/Fairy for a Kane-based guardian. Purple is either Dragon or Ghost, and the latter would make more sense for a Kanaloa-based guardian (Fairy could still be the secondary type).

 

[Mitchman]

Electric, Fairy, Fire, and Ghost. So uh, two new terrain types or no?

 

[Silktree]

Electric, Fairy, Fire, and Ghost. So uh, two new terrain types or no?

It would be cool for Ghost, but we already have Sunny Day.

Edit: Oricorio's forms are island-dependent and their primary types are Electric, Fire, Psychic and Ghost. So the pink color probably refers to Psychic for the respective guardian, as well. The pink Oricorio even dances to "express its gratitude to the guardian deity Pokémon." I wouldn't be surprised if the Kahunas each used the respective Oricorio.

So we might get a Psychic terrain move, as well. I hope that the Psychic and Ghost guardians have an antagonistic relationship, much like Kane and Kanaloa.

 

[Silktree]

I'm "double posting" because it's been three months since the last post.

My current theory about the Strange Souvenir is that it represents what the Tapu quartet used to collectively form when Alola was a single island. The "Guardian of Alola" Z-move animation shows the gigantic body of the Strange Souvenir Pokemon, but not the face since the quartet (and the islands) are still separate.

It's basically the new original dragon. I'm fine with not seeing it this generation, if ever. I care more about the lore than a humanoid giant rivaling Arceus in power.

 

[Scarftail]

It comes full circle.

 

[Silktree]

I think it's a bit weird to say that a distinctly humanoid statue is in the image of pixies (Tapu Bulu looks neither like a human nor a pixie), but maybe I'm being nitpicky. I do wish that the giant from the Guardian of Alola animation had been given some context.