Celebi

Celebi
The Time Travel Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Grass
Official Registration #: 251
Entry: Although those from mountainous East Johto, seafaring West Johto, and rural Central Johto are in disagreement as to which is more important between Lugia and Ho-oh, each Johtonian sect is in agreement that the other most important kami to our collective belief system is Celebi. According to general Johtonian belief, Celebi is the guardian of time, forests, and young pokémon, and its domain is specifically Ilex Forest. For this reason, not only is Ilex Forest sacred ground (and thus untouched, despite a major metro area bordering it to the north), but the region is also dotted with shrines dedicated to Celebi, the largest of which is located deep in Ilex itself. Additionally, there are a number of festivals throughout the year dedicated to Celebi, including one on New Year’s Day. This festival is called Shogatsu, which was the old word for the holiday in general but is, nowadays within Johto, used in reference to Celebi’s festival specifically. On Shogatsu, it’s customary to give thanks and ask for purification from Celebi in the form of offerings (of mochi, rice, or cards) left at any of its shrines throughout the region.

Although it’s technically a religious festival, Kinjin, or residents of Goldenrod City, are a very hospitable sort and would be more than happy to accept foreigners into our celebrations. However, we also understand that many of you may not know all of our Shogatsu customs, which is why kimono girls are often seen performing demonstrations of Johtonian culture in the various Shogatsu street fairs held throughout Goldenrod City. Simply approach one and ask in Old Johtonian (that is, our language before Common became prevalent) to be shown how to give thanks, and the kimono girl will gladly teach you. For Unovans who might not know how to speak or write Old Johtonian, the author suggests something special for particularly respectful treatment. Simply present a prayer card with “助けてください私はアメリカ人です” written on it, and the kimono girl will be sure that your prayers will be sent to Celebi.

Tapu KoKo entry please!

Why stop at just Tapu Koko?

Tapu Koko
The Land Spirit Pokémon
Type: Electric/Fairy
Official Registration #: 785
Entry: The guardian spirit of Alola’s Melemele Island. Supposedly the bravest of the four Alolan guardians, Tapu Koko is known for observing islanders and bestowing blessings upon worthy trainers. These trainers are then encouraged to undertake the island challenge, a type of journey specific to Alola, geared towards the training and selection of each element’s next kahuna. While Tapu Koko tends to be the most active tapu in selecting such individuals, it is also known for being the most capricious when it comes to deciding which among them actually becomes a kahuna. For this reason, trainers on Alola may start out on a journey to become strong enough to represent their island and elemental specialties, but they could very well find their lives veering off into an entirely different direction thanks to one of Tapu Koko’s sudden change of heart. Not that the author is complaining about such a process, of course. We did get Molayne out of such an arrangement. As well as a wealth of fantasy YA novels that seem to keep the editor happy.

Once again, Bill, I don’t judge you for your literary tastes. —LH

Tapu Lele
The Land Spirit Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Official Registration #: 786
Entry: The guardian spirit of Alola’s Akala Island. It is said that this legendary pokémon scatters glittering scales as it moves and that these scales have the ability to restore one’s health upon physical contact. The latter is highly useful because as with all adorable, pink pokémon described on this blog, Tapu Lele is also infamous for being fantastically cruel and sadistic, and it’s both telepathic and capable of warping the fabric of space to create a strange and highly dangerous pocket dimension around its immediate area. In other words, you will very likely need these scales as Tapu Lele uses its psychic abilities to thoroughly destroy you.

Tapu Bulu
The Land Spirit Pokémon
Type: Grass/Fairy
Official Registration #: 787
Entry: The guardian spirit of Alola’s Ula’ula Island. Supposedly, this pokémon is extraordinarily lazy. Rather than attack an opponent head-on, it simply wills the vegetation around it to grow and ensnare the challenger before it delivers a devastating, close-range blow itself. Honestly, though, the author is intrigued by the fact that some people of Alola consider this to be evidence of Tapu Bulu’s laziness. If anything, it’s a brilliant strategy, and given how much effort the author has put into trying to will plants to do his bidding, he can safely say Tapu Bulu’s battle strategy is really much harder than it looks.

Not a good harvest, Bill? —LH

Oh, the garden was perfectly fine this year. It’s a certain half-plant, half-toad starter with a penchant for eating my crops after I explicitly tell him not to that’s the problem. —Bill

Tapu Fini
The Land Spirit Pokémon
Type: Water/Fairy
Official Registration #: 788
Entry: The guardian spirit of Alola’s Poni Island. This mysterious island guardian is supposedly the most laid-back of the four tapu. Unlike the others, who either actively seek out humans to observe (Tapu Koko) or toy with (Tapu Lele) or who actively avoid human contact altogether (Tapu Bulu), Tapu Fini prefers allowing humanity to do whatever it likes and will often only reveal itself to the truly worthy as a result. This may seem like Tapu Fini is putting in extra effort to avoid being detected, but in actuality, given the fact that her shrine is located in the highly unrelenting environment that is Poni Island, the fact that it surrounds itself with a dense fog full of danger, and the fact that the aforementioned shrine is called Ruins of Hope for a reason, it may be safe to say that Tapu Fini allows the environment to do much of the work when it comes to protecting her—much more than Tapu Bulu does, anyway.

UB-04: Celesteela and Kartana

Celesteela
The Launch Pokémon
Type: Steel/Flying
Official Registration #: 797
Entry: One of the Ultra Beasts, or strange pokémon that had appeared from another dimension. According to witness reports, celesteela possesses incredible firepower—literally. From the cannons that double as its “arms” (no pun intended there), celesteela can shoot blasts of gas so potent it can instantly set fire to an entire forest. This is unfortunate, considering the facts that celesteela is partly a steel-type, that its other type is not fire, and that forest fires can reach temperatures in excess of 1472 degrees Fahrenheit.

Kartana
The Drawn Sword Pokémon
Type: Grass/Steel
Official Registration #: 798
Entry: One of the Ultra Beasts, or strange pokémon that had appeared from another dimension. Despite its status as an Ultra Beast, kartana is not an aggressive pokémon at all. Rather, this small, origami-like pokémon lies still when in the presence of humans and avoids conflict at all times. However, its edges are razor-sharp and capable of slicing clean through steel, so humans should be warned: getting a paper cut from this pokémon is quite literally the worst fate imaginable.

Dhelmise

Dhelmise
The Sea Creeper Pokémon
Type: Ghost/Grass
Official Registration #: 781
Entry: Contrary to popular belief, this pokémon is not anchor-like but rather seaweed-like. It is essentially a seaweed spirit that wraps around a large, heavy object (usually an anchor), which it uses as part of its battling technique. Once it latches onto its chosen anchor, it can swing this object with such force it can take out even a wailord in one hit. Because of this and its tendency to lash out viciously at anything that so much floats within its field of vision, dhelmise is considered to be one of the most destructive forces in the ocean. On a separate note, due to the shape of both its real body and the object it uses, it is a popular tattoo design among Unovans, particularly when paired with the words “I will not sink.” Because Unovans apparently have perfect understanding of how anchors and aggressively violent seaweed ghosts work.

The Rowlet Line

Rowlet
The Grass Quill Pokémon
Type: Grass/Flying
Official Registration #: 722
Entry: One of three pokémon traditionally offered to new trainers at the beginning of their journeys in Alola. Generally a nocturnal pokémon, rowlet spends much of the day sleeping and photosynthesizing and is most active at night. This sleeping pattern of course makes it an ideal beginning pokémon for eleven-year-old children for whom the vitamin D obtainable via exposure to sunlight is essential in the development of mental and physical health.

Dartrix
The Blade Quill Pokémon
Type: Grass/Flying
Official Registration #: 723
Entry: The evolved form of rowlet, by battle experience. According to the Alolan pokédex, dartrix is “a bit of a dandy” who is “obsessed with preening its feathers and keeping them clean, sometimes to the point at which it may refuse to battle.” Incidentally, dartrix is also armed with an entire coat of razor-sharp feathers called “blade quills,” and it’s such an excellent marksman that it rarely misses anyone who calls it “a bit of a dandy” when it’s within earshot. (It also rarely misses anyone holding a pokédex that happens to call it the same.)

Decidueye
The Arrow Quill Pokémon
Type: Grass/Ghost
Official Registration #: 724
Entry: The evolved form of dartrix, by battle experience. Generally speaking, decidueye is known for its cool and collected demeanor. However, it’s also easily startled, and should it hear a sudden loud noise (for example, a twig snapping under the foot of a researcher studying it at a distance), it can easily fly into a panic. Incidentally, decidueye retains the impeccable aim and sharp quills its preevolved form is known for, and it has a tendency to only register what it’s shooting at after it shoots.

Sinnoh Legendaries: Part I

Shaymin
The Gratitude Pokémon
Type: Grass
Official Registration #: 492
Entry: According to Sinnoh lore, this small, hedgehog-like pokémon is the legendary of gratitude. Stories tell of its many abilities, most of which are in one way or another rewards for gracious humans. If it senses gratitude and love, it will dissolve the toxins in the air around it and cause entire fields to bloom with flowers and abundant greenery. If it’s given even a small offering of gracidea flowers, it will transform into a more powerful form capable of flight to become the defender of the people who worship it. And if it encounters gold rings, it will suddenly feel the need to paint itself blue, run really fast, and quip somewhat cheesy one-liners.

Pumpkaboo and Gourgeist

Pumpkaboo
The Pumpkin Pokémon
Type: Ghost/Grass
Official Registration #: 710
Entry: This pokémon’s body consists of a pumpkin inhabited by a spirit. According to Kalosean folklore, the spirit awakens at sunset and maneuvers its pumpkin across fields and forests to locate wandering spirits and help them to cross over into the spiritual realm. According to Kalosean custom, meanwhile, the pumpkin makes an excellent pie, but seeing as the author is lactose intolerant and therefore cannot eat a pie whose secondary ingredients include butter and evaporated milk, he will just have to take his Kalosean colleagues’ word for it.

Gourgeist
The Pumpkin Pokémon
Type: Ghost/Grass
Official Registration #: 711
Entry: The evolved form of pumpkaboo, via trading. This willowy, pumpkin-like pokémon is known for its hair-like arms, which it uses to ensnare prey. Once prey is ensnared, gourgeist sings to them, instilling on them horrific visions of shadows and demons. Unlike most ghost-types, gourgeist does not do this to feed on a human’s fear; rather, they do it because they’re entertained by human pain and suffering. Also entertained by human pain and suffering: the trainer of a certain gourgeist, who thought it would be more appropriate to film a video of his mentor being subdued by his gourgeist and then share it with many of the other storage system administrators, all of whom were equally as entertained and disinclined to untangle the poor, helpless researcher who did nothing wrong to that gourgeist.

The Seedot Line

Seedot
The Acorn Pokémon
Type: Grass
Official Registration #: 273
Entry: A small, acorn-like pokémon native to dense forests. It hangs from trees, where it’s often indistinguishable from ordinary seeds or apricorns. There, it waits until a human or another pokémon comes close, at which point it suddenly shakes violently to scare its target. There is literally no reason for this; seedot simply enjoys scaring people because that’s how it goes. As an added bonus, any attempt made by its victims to retaliate against this scaring is usually met with Bide. Because you can never be too much of a delightful sentient being.

Nuzleaf
The Wily Pokémon
Type: Grass/Dark
Official Registration #: 274
Entry: The evolved form of seedot, by battle experience. This childlike pokémon has the ability to play a grass flute, which tends to make passing humans feel uneasy. It also has the ability to drive trainers to capture only one pokémon whenever they enter new areas and abandon any pokémon that has fainted in the heat of battle, but whether or not this has anything to do with the actual flute playing is still up for debate.

Shiftry
The Wicked Pokémon
Type: Grass/Dark
Official Registration #: 275
Entry: The evolved form of nuzleaf, by exposure to leaf stone. This mysterious pokémon is said to be a forest guardian. When humans venture into its sanctum within the deepest, darkest parts of the forest, it uses the giant, leafy fans it has on its hands to whip up winds of up to 100 miles per hour to blow the foe away. Given this description, it may seem odd that shiftry would be designated the wicked pokémon, but this perhaps says quite a bit about humanity’s relationship with nature up until recently.

Phantump and Trevenant

Phantump
The Stump Pokémon
Type: Ghost/Grass
Official Registration #: 708
Entry: This small spirit pokémon is actually a stump possessed by the soul of a child who died while lost in a forest. In light of this, the author once attempted to convince the Pokémon Association to ban the use of this pokémon in battles … until it was found out that in many cases, this is a dream come true for the child-turned-phantump, and to make a long story short, the author spent the next few weeks questioning his life decisions and the world as a whole.

Trevenant
The Elder Tree Pokémon
Type: Ghost/Grass
Official Registration #: 709
Entry: The evolved form of phantump, via trading. Using its roots as a nervous system, trevenant has the power to tap into and manipulate the trees around it. It most often uses this ability to trap those who harm the forest, but every so often, it traps and confuses children as well, who subsequently die and become phantump. Because no one is more brutal towards children than the spirits of other children, apparently.

The Lotad Line

Lotad
The Water Weed Pokémon
Type: Water/Grass
Official Registration #: 270
Entry: This small, lily pad-like pokémon thrives in the fresh waters of slow-moving streams and ponds. Friendly in nature, lotad like to use the broad lily pad adorning their heads to ferry pokémon across their watery habitat from one shore to another. Unfortunately, given that lotad weigh only five and a half pounds and therefore don’t actually have the strength to support many other pokémon, this is often more difficult than they would think.

Lombre
The Jolly Pokémon
Type: Water/Grass
Official Registration #: 271
Entry: The evolved form of lotad, by battle experience. This nocturnal pokémon spends most of the day underwater, sleeping upon a bed of aquatic moss as its pad soaks up sunlight. In this position, its diminutive stature is sometimes distorted by the surface of the water, causing many anglers to mistake lombre for drowned children, particularly by the Hoennian anglers who find them. Of course, given the fact that lombre’s skin is clearly grass-green (and not in the same way that skin appears after a human body is left to decompose underwater), the fact that a lily pad is permanently affixed to its head, and the fact that lombre is not actually otherwise child-shaped, the author fails to see exactly how lombre may be mistaken for a human child, but he’s not one to question the observations of Hoennian anglers. When they’re within earshot, anyway.

Ludicolo
The Carefree Pokémon
Type: Water/Grass
Official Registration #: 272
Entry: The evolved form of lombre, by exposure to water stone. True to its species designation, ludicolo is a notoriously carefree pokémon that is prone to dancing upon hearing a good beat. Even in the heat of battle, if it hears music, it will burst into a wild, rhythmic dance, and it will not be able to stop until long after the music has ended. One would think this is a disadvantage to the ludicolo, but in truth, it’s actually more of a disadvantage to their opponents. Apparently, ludicolo can beat an opponent into the ground normally, but their power increases if they, quite literally, stomp their enemies into the ground instead. Through salsa dancing.