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On the Origin of Species: Mawile: Investigating the inspirations behind Pokémon

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Since it is one of the only two pure Steel-type Pokemon (the other being Registeel which isn't as common) Mawile becomes a very useful Pokemon.

As someone mentioned before, pure Steel-type Pokemon have many resistances. Even after Jasmine, Steven Stone, and Byron all being specialists we still have yet to see it being used in a team. You would think they would at least give one to Steven Stone since he is located in Hoenn, but maybe it just didn't fit up to par with the rest of his Pokemon.

yes in the official art we are looking at his back, and his back sprite is his front, weird but awesome, mawile really needs an evolution.
Thanks for explaining that to me. I really always saw Mawile's artwork as it showing the mouth and an eye as being its front but now that I know it is the Pokemon's back it makes more sense.
 
I didn't know about Pokemon based on the Yokai until I read this. Very intriguing. They need to make more Pokemon based on the Yokai.
 
I'm very happy to understand Mawile :)

I think Mawile WAS supposed to be a dark-type but they said screw it, and made it steel. Buuut this could be part of the 'decieving' part...Or the deceitfulness is just blatent sexism hahaha. Oh, Japan.

Still love me some Mawile (and Foretress :) )
 
I've found all these "On the origin of species" articles to be quite interesting so far, and I hope they continue.

I have to admit, I never really noticed Mawile back in the days of Gen III. I don't think I ever even used one in battle (since I only needed to catch one and box it for my Pokedex, as it had no evolved form to train for), so I never got to see its back sprite. I probably just assumed those psuedo-jaws were its mouth for longer than I should've. Having recently seen her anime debut episode though, and in reading this article, I've found it to be a pretty interesting Pokemon. Kinda cute too, if a bit odd-looking.

Mawile is in need of an evolved form, though.
 
I thought its jaw was it's actual head in the beginning and didn't like it. But now i'm kinda fond of its design.

Keep these articles coming, please!
 
This was my position for a very long time... there's always the chance that a new evolution will ruin a favourite Pokemon. But Mawile seems to share design elements with Kirlia, which makes me hopeful that a future evolution would be Gardevoir-like, rather than going the usual route of just making everything bigger and meaner looking.

Then again... I hope they don't make an evolution that's too good. Otherwise there'll no longer be a place for her on my team of NU misfits...

Thank you! I hadn’t found evidence that anyone else has noticed the similarities between Mawile and the ralts evolution family before now. I have been studying for three days about the possible related or significant topics to develop a specific theory, and only thought to check for others to give credit to for the same idea this last day.
I believe that Mawile was originally planned to be the alternate evolution from gardevoir that specializes in physical attacks, now a role filled by Gallade, a gen IV pokémon. If they were to make Mawile a real evolution of Kirlia, though, they would require a dusk stone, also added in gen IV, and male ralts were probably already in the games and two feminine final-stage evolutions for a male ralts would be even weirder.
My reasoning behind the dusk stone evolution claim is this: after looking through Pokédex entries and trivia for up to gen VII pre- and post-dusk stone evolutionary stages, I’ve concluded that Doublade's responsive tactics and Aegislash's manipulative prevention of an enemy's actions are much like described future sight (Kirlia, and also Gardevoir and Gallade) changing to charm to disarm tactics Mawile utilizes. Additionally, ralts is described once as being capable of generating real heat energy simply by being near someone experiencing positive emotions, while Misdreavus gains real nutritional benefits from proximity to negative ones. Both Mismagius and the ralts family can skew the perception and senses of others, one group with hallucinations, the other with mirages and (possibly by increasingly intense heat near themselves) the ability to seemingly grow more beutiful just for previously stated positive emotions. This mirage effect may secretly be how Mawile is able to make others ignore its massive jaws (which are described as having once been two steel horns, which have since been transformed- by evolution perhaps?)
As for similar appearances and features, Mawile seems to resemble a principal dancer referenced in Gardevoir's bulbapedia origin section. Shiny Mega Mawile and Shiny Mega Gardevoir both appear to have dark gloves and a dark dress. Mawile's eyes and hairlike things on the sides of it’s head resemble Kirlia, and while Mawile's bowl cut doesn’t resemble Kirlia, it fits ralts's design almost exactly.
Is this interesting, or too long to appreciate?
 
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While I have never been a fan of Mawile, . Can't wait to read the next one.
 
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