• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

SwSh Galar Regional Variants aka Galarian Forms

Do You think We'll see Galar Regional Varients of Past Pokemon and would you want them


  • Total voters
    172
Galarbro´s ability might give priority to some moves, likely the moves that use the shellder gun. It might work on poison type moves, like a poison type Gale wings. Its speed stat is likely low regional variants usually dont have very different stats, just minor differences, at least for what we know so far.
 
The newest regional variants feel somewhat strange to me in that I don't feel as though they're really based off of anything in particular. I mean, maybe it's just a lack of knowledge on my part, but most regional variants have a pretty direct and obvious basis in some part of the way of life in the location that the region is inspired by. And even the ones that don't still seem to try reworking that Pokémon into a real-world concept that shares certain similarities. Arctic foxes don't live in Hawaii, but it's still a direction that you could rework an existing fox Pokémon like Vulpix into. Alolan Sandshrew looks at the original design's brick-like skin pattern and connects it to the look of an igloo, and then moves to icicles for Sandslash's spines. Mr. Mime tries out a different kind of performance art. And so on.

But Slowbro and the birds come along, and more than anything they come off to me as just remixes of the base Pokémon themselves. Slowbro simply says "What if we took the shell off of my tail and moved it somewhere else?" Zapdos I suppose clearly transforms into something like an ostrich, and perhaps someone will come along link Articuno and Moltres to other bird species (Moltres = Pesquet's parrot? But that's definitely not a British animal, and why the distinctive chest stripe and twin tails on Moltres? The only connection I can see is the coloration...), but this feels different from, say, Alolan Persian, where they didn't simply change a cat Pokémon into a different species, but did so to depict the phenomenon of selective breeding. Ultimately, I feel like these variants are mainly just trying to make old designs look more striking and colorful. I don't mean that as a negative criticism though, I just feels like a very different approach from all the other regional forms thus far.
 
The original birds may pull from the three essentials in alchemy, like the unova trio, specially with the movie 2000's plot being about how they hold the world together, but sulfur ,salt and mercury are just codenames and the actual three essentials, body, maybe represented by zapdos' fighting-type, mind, articuno's psychic, and soul, which is a bit of a stretch, in the book "dictionnary of symbols" -by J.E. Cirlot,there is a mention of a hindu story where an ogre had his soul imprisonned in a bird that lives in the top of a tree, the tree is surrounded by bears (and other animals I'm too lazy to look up what they symbolize + the fact that I don't have the book and can't bother to find all of it, the other animals: scorpions,snakes and tigers): symbols of "cruel and crude subconscious instincts" kinda against the idea of souls being consciousness, but there is also the fact that birds generally represent spiritualization,and spirits that flew off after death, and btw they also represent activation, but there has always been emphasis, specially by Diel, dunno who this guy is, that they aren't always pure clean souls, specificly when they or any othet animal comes from in flocks,like in MIGRATION, the idea behind the 3 birds. Or it could just the fact that the idea of cruel souls exists and they needed a dark type to fit the trio.
I'm not sure about the animal inspiration or what they're doing in Scotland, but I don't have time to look that up ,and I know sometimes it sounds as if I'm advertising him, but I have to credit the youtuber Austin Lockwood (Lockstin & Gnoggin) for being the reason I knew about the whole three essentials thing. And until next time, never stop using your Gnoggin.
 
Galarian Slowbro reminds me of a pirate which I suppose can be quite British.

Galarian Moltres is Moltres if it was Team Yell lol
You might like this comic
1591506386892.jpeg

(Original Reddit post)
 
I don’t really see pirate in Slowbro... there’s none of the classic pirate iconography in its design or its backstory. Honestly, Alolan Golem feels like much more of a pirate without even trying for that.

Also, I can’t believe those guys are still pushing their grand alchemy theory three years later.
 
Slowbro strikes me more as just a generic "gunner" sort of Pokemon. I mean, it really is just a Slowbro with a spike cannon- it's rad, but it doesn't really connect to anything else.
Also, I can’t believe those guys are still pushing their grand alchemy theory three years later.
My favorite part is that body/mind/spirit is honestly a sensible theory for the new forms, but then they have to go for the whole "the entire Pokemon franchise is an amalgamation of every religion ever" spiel.
 
Also, I can’t believe those guys are still pushing their grand alchemy theory three years later.
If you're referencing the "pokemon's end" theory,then no, I believe it was mentionned only thrice since sun&moon, one of these 3 occassions was as a joke. But it's almost (obligatory use of almost,until the designers confirm it themselves, which is a very rare occassion ) a fact that many legendaries are mainly based on alchemy: The light trio, type:null and silvally, arceus, the unova trio, the legendary birds.... So it's easy to see that they could base the new forms on alchemy.
 
a fact that many legendaries are mainly based on alchemy:

Being able to draw parallels between stuff one reads on the Wikipedia page for alchemy and fictional creatures that represent broad/universal archetypes does not make them "mainly based on alchemy."

the unova trio

This claim in particular I find the most dubious. The Unova trio are very obviously (and explicitly according to the design team) based on Chinese philosophy - yin and yang. Trying to weave them into some grand alchemy scheme feels extremely forced.
 
This claim in particular I find the most dubious. The Unova trio are very obviously (and explicitly according to the design team) based on Chinese philosophy - yin and yang. Trying to weave them into some grand alchemy scheme feels extremely forced.
But then there are the two contraries which are two dragons that look almost exactly like reshiram and zekrom, the only difference being the white dragon not having any limbs other than it's wings,and the black dragon having no wings, possibly reflected by reshiram having wyvern-like wings, it's a very probable inspiration, in addition to kyurem being based on sophic salt(1 of the 3 essentials ), an extremely cold shiny white crystal with a blueish shimmer. Plus IIRC the unova trio did not play any role in the theory.
Being able to draw parallels between stuff one reads on the Wikipedia page for alchemy and fictional creatures that represent broad/universal archetypes does not make them "mainly based on alchemy."
I'm sure the "broad/univesal archetypes" include alchemy, one cannot ignore it's effect on pop culture.

Neverthless, wether some other legendaries are based on alchemy or not, I still think my guess for the galarians birds inspiration has a good chance of being correct.
 
Regarding Spoilers
Hi friends,
Just a heads up that this thread will also be marked as acceptable for Expansion Pass spoiler discussion (in addition to the Expansion Pass Discussion thread here). However, please be aware that any discussion on the Expansion Pass outside of these two threads must be in spoiler tags until July 17th. This includes both officially revealed and allegedly leaked information.
Thanks for your understanding. Can’t wait for the release!!
-Video Games and Current Events Staff
 
But then there are the two contraries which are two dragons that look almost exactly like reshiram and zekrom,
1591560250711.png

????
That does not at all look like Reshiram and Zekrom to me.

in addition to kyurem being based on sophic salt(1 of the 3 essentials ), an extremely cold shiny white crystal with a blueish shimmer.
Or maybe cold, crystalline, and white/blue coloring are just common associations with Ice?

Also, you were just saying earlier that salt corresponded to the mind- how is Kyurem connected to the mind?
Plus IIRC the unova trio did not play any role in the theory.
Wait, so you're saying it's nearly a fact that they're based on alchemy, but also it doesn't matter to the theory if they are?
I'm sure the "broad/univesal archetypes" include alchemy, one cannot ignore it's effect on pop culture.
This is something that always bothers me when I hear these alchemy theories. There's always talk about how it's got such a big influence on pop culture, but then you can barely find anything about these concepts, even online.

I googled the two contraries to try to find a picture, and the first two lines of results each had a link talking about the Pokemon theory. (You can see I'm in private browsing, too, history and cookies shouldn't be swaying the results)
1591561851825.png
What's more, that first link there, Snow by Night? That's a fictional webcomic, not any kind of historical documentation. But the art is still what's being used in these Pokemon theories.

Looking through some more links, I can find mention of the concept of two contraries, but not in the form of two black and white dragons, one with limbs and one without. There's an old art piece showing it as man/woman, day/night, with a dragon unifying them. There's a 1999 book that has an illustration of three dragons, but still not with the limbs, and what's more, the book is historically inaccurate: Tao isn't the "first matter" like the book claims, it's the the order of the universe, a way of being rather than a physical object.

Doesn't this all seem odd? People like documenting stuff, including inspiration for pop culture. (That's why every Pokemon on Bulbapedia has a section for design and name origin, after all) But somehow, this major concept in a philosophy that influences a lot of pop culture doesn't have any kind of reliable articles to refer back to- instead, you're giving conflicting accounts, fictional webcomics, history books getting easily-verifiable things wrong, and links back to the very theory you were just looking up.

That's not normal for something that's supposed to be a big deal in human culture. You don't get images of the Neon Genesis crucifixion when you look up Jesus.
 
View attachment 133671
????
That does not at all look like Reshiram and Zekrom to me.


Or maybe cold, crystalline, and white/blue coloring are just common associations with Ice?

Also, you were just saying earlier that salt corresponded to the mind- how is Kyurem connected to the mind?

Wait, so you're saying it's nearly a fact that they're based on alchemy, but also it doesn't matter to the theory if they are?

This is something that always bothers me when I hear these alchemy theories. There's always talk about how it's got such a big influence on pop culture, but then you can barely find anything about these concepts, even online.

I googled the two contraries to try to find a picture, and the first two lines of results each had a link talking about the Pokemon theory. (You can see I'm in private browsing, too, history and cookies shouldn't be swaying the results)
What's more, that first link there, Snow by Night? That's a fictional webcomic, not any kind of historical documentation. But the art is still what's being used in these Pokemon theories.

Looking through some more links, I can find mention of the concept of two contraries, but not in the form of two black and white dragons, one with limbs and one without. There's an old art piece showing it as man/woman, day/night, with a dragon unifying them. There's a 1999 book that has an illustration of three dragons, but still not with the limbs, and what's more, the book is historically inaccurate: Tao isn't the "first matter" like the book claims, it's the the order of the universe, a way of being rather than a physical object.

Doesn't this all seem odd? People like documenting stuff, including inspiration for pop culture. (That's why every Pokemon on Bulbapedia has a section for design and name origin, after all) But somehow, this major concept in a philosophy that influences a lot of pop culture doesn't have any kind of reliable articles to refer back to- instead, you're giving conflicting accounts, fictional webcomics, history books getting easily-verifiable things wrong, and links back to the very theory you were just looking up.

That's not normal for something that's supposed to be a big deal in human culture. You don't get images of the Neon Genesis crucifixion when you look up Jesus.

Are you a lawyer ? You should definitely be one if you are not. I read your posts in almost every thread that i also watch, and you always defend your ideas sooo well. I would never think opening a private tab in a situation like this. You always think one step ahead and that is wonderful. I don't care if you're right or wrong but you always argue with a good attitude and success. And that is the post, me appreciating your counter arguments.
 

Are you a lawyer ? You should definitely be one if you are not. I read your posts in almost every thread that i also watch, and you always defend your ideas sooo well. I would never think opening a private tab in a situation like this. You always think one step ahead and that is wonderful. I don't care if you're right or wrong but you always argue with a good attitude and success. And that is the post, me appreciating your counter arguments.
Aw, well, thank you! I'm honestly just used to using private tabs to google stuff because I don't want to get spammed with ads about whatever the subject of the day is, lol. And I'm glad to know you think I have a good attitude, I worry sometimes that I'm coming off too harsh!
 
View attachment 133671
????
That does not at all look like Reshiram and Zekrom to me.

I googled the two contraries to try to find a picture, and the first two lines of results each had a link talking about the Pokemon theory. (You can see I'm in private browsing, too, history and cookies shouldn't be swaying the results)
What's more, that first link there, Snow by Night? That's a fictional webcomic, not any kind of historical documentation. But the art is still what's being used in these Pokemon theories.
After reading that, I came across the "double orouboros" ,after so much digging:
51lnZWGkGCL._AC_SY400_.jpg
I should have specified their similarities, the scaley vs feathery, limbs vs wings(and limbs which is weird), black vs white

Wait, so you're saying it's nearly a fact that they're based on alchemy, but also it doesn't matter to the theory if they are?
The theory isn't about the alchemical inspirations of legendaries.
It's about pokemon's end lore-wise, additionally, while it's 80% alchemy, there are other myths because pokemon is definitely not only alchemy
Or maybe cold, crystalline, and white/blue coloring are just common associations with Ice?
I don't know what you're getting at, but the salt-ice connection explains kyurem's typing

About the pop culture thing, I honetly can't think of a way to find enough proof,other than FMAB, I can't think of an efficient way to find a bunch of stuff in movies,games... that's related to alchemy, all I can think of is the philosopher's stone in Harry Potter, that one scene in the first season of gravity falls Where Dipper says that the triangle is the alchemical symbol of fire, that's all I remember cuz my memory is pathetic , and Harry Potter was all I thought of when watching the theory. And Gravity Falls, MHA, pokemon ,frozen 2(still dissappointed at them for forcing snow to be the fifth element instead of aether/soul) and Endgame are all what I can remember vividly.


Are you a lawyer ? You should definitely be one if you are not. I read your posts in almost every thread that i also watch, and you always defend your ideas sooo well. I would never think opening a private tab in a situation like this. You always think one step ahead and that is wonderful. I don't care if you're right or wrong but you always argue with a good attitude and success. And that is the post, me appreciating your counter arguments.
And that's what I like about discussing with ppl who do more research.


Anyways ,as I mentionned before, my theory about the birds' inspiration, what we were originally talking about still has a good chance of being correct no matter what other legends are based on.
And dear god isn't doing research and quoting long posts more than once just a pain when half of the sceen is frickin' keyboard. Sorry if I didn't dig deep enough,made a mistake, misspelled something or just straight-up got some facts wrong.
I'll never mentally recover from this pain...
 
Last edited:
Since the Crown Tundra is confirmed to be based off of Scotland by the Pokémon Company themselves, I wonder if we'll get some sort of Galarian Whismur evolutionary line based on Scottish music and instruments to go along with it (particularly bagpipes and accordions). Perhaps they can have an Ice/Normal dual typing since Scotland has been said to have cold winds.
Why the Whismur line over under sound based lines like the Jigglypuff line?
Whismur could use some extra love; it has become a bit obscure the past few years.

Anyway, there are lots of opportunities for new regional forms; really excited for all of it.
To be fair, they gave STAB Exploud Boomburst in Gen 6, which is the most powerful, non drawback move in the game.
 
I don’t really see pirate in Slowbro... there’s none of the classic pirate iconography in its design or its backstory.

For me, the arm kind of alludes to the prosthetic limbs that pirates are typically associated with. It's not an overt influence I must say tho.
 
Razor Shell - possibly. I’m surprised Slowbro and Slowking can’t learn it already.

Shell Trap - definitely not. It’s a very specific Fire type tied to one Pokémon. It wouldn’t fit with Slowbro.

Hey poison/psychic with a shel on hand would be perfect to learn that. Psychic is inteligent enough type and Slowbro learned fire moves in the past. It would literary shield it self with a shel trap.
Specific fire type... What about Blaze kick? If it has a shel and can use it? Come on...
Regidracos dragon mawn could be a substitute disquise like ability that activates when low on hp, below 50%
 
I should have specified their similarities, the scaley vs feathery, limbs vs wings(and limbs which is weird), black vs white
This still doesn't look like Reshiram and Zekrom to me. As you said, only one of them has wings, while both Reshiram and Zekrom have wings, and the winged one still has scales, they're just a different pattern. The only similarity is that they're black and white, and that concept is not unique to alchemy.
It's about pokemon's end lore-wise,
Doesn't that claim already seem suspicious on its own? The idea that Pokemon has a planned end, not because of financial or development goals, but because they want to adhere to a weird alchemy symbol thing, and they've planned this over at least two decades?

Plus, we've seen in the past how accurate these sorts of predictions are. A couple years ago, Nintendokusou (who promised a "carefully crafted" plan since Gen 1) was theorizing about rumors and how they would fit in with alchemy and occult symbols, and it really didn't pan out. He said that a remake of Kanto didn't make sense, and that Piuk and Plus and Minus (two fake rumors) seemed like they made sense for the next games. Last year, he fell for more fakes, including the idea of armor evolution, and suggesting the ZWolves would be based on Norse legends rather than King Arthur. If they can't even predict the next games accurately, why should we believe them when they say they know a plan spanning several games?
The theory isn't about the alchemical inspirations of legendaries.
But if there's supposed to be an end goal with alchemy symbolism, why just ignore some cover legendaries when planning it out?
I don't know what you're getting at, but the salt-ice connection explains kyurem's typing
I'm saying that's it doesn't really make sense to say that Kyurem is based on sulfur salt because the salt is "blue/white, cold, and crystalline", because those are all things that are true of ice itself. We could essentially brand anything ice-related as being a reference to sulfur salt if that's the criteria- Kyurem, Regice, Ice Beam, Elsa from Frozen, the ice queen from Sharkboy and Lavagirl...
About the pop culture thing, I honetly can't think of a way to find enough proof,other than FMAB, I can't think of an efficient way to find a bunch of stuff in movies,games... that's related to alchemy, all I can think of is the philosopher's stone in Harry Potter, that one scene in the first season of gravity falls Where Dipper says that the triangle is the alchemical symbol of fire, that's all I remember cuz my memory is pathetic , and Harry Potter was all I thought of when watching the theory. And Gravity Falls, MHA, pokemon ,frozen 2(still dissappointed at them for forcing snow to be the fifth element instead of aether/soul) and Endgame are all what I can remember vividly.
Honestly, isn't the fact that you can't easily list many examples proof enough that alchemy isn't that wide-spread in pop culture? These theories all claim that alchemy is being used for all sorts of media, but there's no easy list compiling it, and there's only a few examples you can actually point to. It seems to me that the people who make these theories just make statements like that to try to make themselves seem more legitimate- by making the vague claim that "most media takes inspiration from alchemy", they can just let their audience fill in the blanks with whatever examples they know of.

Also, the four elements in Frozen 2 isn't from alchemy- that's the idea of classical elements, which goes back to 600 BC, while alchemy originated in early CE. (Alchemy was already moving out of the idea of there only being four elements, that's why they recognized things like gold and lead as being their own element, not part of the element earth) The four classical elements is also where the idea of associating fire with triangles comes from- fire's "platonic solid" was the tetrahedron, a triangular pyramid- but Dipper does clearly refer to the alchemical symbol, so that's just a fun fact there lol.

(Funny enough, there actually is a Wikipedia page for the classical elements in pop culture)

Also, notice how all these other examples outright name their influence- Dipper says it's an alchemical symbol, FMAB has alchemist in the name, Harry Potter calls it the Sorcerer's Stone. But somehow these direct references to alchemy never make their way into Pokemon- the franchise that names a squirting turtle Squirtle, and names a magma slug Slugma. Doesn't that seem a little weird? If alchemy is really so important to Pokemon, why is it that finding the connections takes such deep digging?


Anyways ,as I mentionned before, my theory about the birds' inspiration, what we were originally talking about still has a good chance of being correct no matter what other legends are based on.
I definitely do agree with that, mind/body/soul fits perfectly!
 
Please note: The thread is from 3 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom