The Entomological Diversity Of Pokémon
The entomological diversity of PokémonRebecca N. KittelMuseum Wiesbaden, Hessisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Natur, Wiesbaden, Germany.Email: rebecca.n.kittel@gmail.com.Pocket Monsters or as they are betterknown, Pokémon, are playable monsters whichfirst appeared in the 1990’s as a video game inJapan, but soon expanded worldwide. They arestill very successful with numerous games, a TVseries, comic books, movies, toys andcollectibles, additionally to the trading cardgame and video games. Most recently therelease of Pokémon GO, an augmented realitygame for smartphones, meant that Pokémonbecame as popular as never before. The gamelaunched in 2016 and almost 21 million usersdownloaded it in the very first week in theUnited States alone (Dorwald et al., 2017).The games and TV series take place inregions inhabited by humans and Pokémon.Each Pokémon lives in a specific environment(forests, caves, deserts, mountains, fields, seas,beaches, mangroves, rivers, and marshes). Thehumans try to catch Pokémons with Pokéballs,a device that fits even the largest Pokémon butthat is still small enough to be placed into apocket, hence the name Pocket Monster(Whitehill et al., 2016). After Pokémon havebeen caught, they are put to fight against eachother, just like in the real world, in whichhumans (unfortunately) let cockerels, crickets,or dogs fight (Marrow, 1995; Jacobs, 2011;Journal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. 2018.Gibson, 2005). The origin of Pokémon goesback to the role-playing game created bySatoshi Tajiri and released by Nintendo for theGame Boy (Kent, 2001). Tajiri was not only agame developer, but like many Japanese adults,grew up catching insects as a child. He wantedto design a game so that every child in Japancould play and let their critters fight, even ifthey lived in areas which are too denselypopulated to find insects in the wild. Thisresulted in the 151 Pokémon in the firstversions of the game (“first generation”), witheach version adding more Pokémon.Today, there are 807 Pokémon (seventhgeneration). Almost all are based on realorganisms (mostly animals, but many plants aswell), while some depict mythological creaturesor objects (e.g., stones, keys). Each Pokémonbelongs to one or two of the following 18 types:Normal, Fire, Fighting, Water, Flying, Grass,Poison, Electric, Ground, Psychic, Rock, Ice, Bug,Dragon, Ghost, Dark, Steel, and Fairy(Bulbapedia, 2018). All Pokémon in the gameare oviparous, which means they all lay eggs;probably because the creator was fond ofinsects or just for practical reasons.Certain Pokémon also evolve; however, thiskind of evolution is not the same as the19
Kittel, R.N.biological concept of evolution. In s, such as when a caterpillarturns into a butterfly. As this is the coreconcept of the game, almost all Pokémonevolve, not only the insects, but also mammals,rocks, and mythological creatures. Usually, theyevolve with a complete or incompletemetamorphosis: either they just grow larger, ortheir look differs significantly between theadult and the young stages.Insects are the largest group of organismson earth (Zhang, 2011). There are more thanone million described species of insects, of atotal of 1.8 million known organisms (Zhang,2011). They occupy all terrestrial environments(forests, fields, under the soil surface, and inthe air) and freshwater; some are even found inthe ocean. Additionally, they show a wide rangeof morphological and behavioral adaptations.This biodiversity is not reflected in thePokémon world. In the present Generation VII,only 77 of the 807 Pokémon are “Bug type”:about 9.5% of all Pokémon. The aim of thiswork is to describe the entomological diversityof Pokémon based on taxonomic criteria of theclassification of real insects.METHODOLOGYThe Pokédex was the source of primaryinformation on Pokémon (Pokémon Website,2018). The criteria to identify insects are eitherbased on the type (Bug type) or morphology(resembles a real insect). Afterwards, the insectPokémon were classified to the lowest possibletaxonomic level (family, genus, or species)according to their real world counterparts. Thisclassification of the Pokémon allowed theJournal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. 2018.comparison of their biological data (such asecological or morphological traits; Bulbapedia,2018) with the current knowledge of realinsects. The information of the biology of realinsects is largely based on Borror et al. (1981).RESULTSNot all Bug types are insects; many of themrepresent other arthropods, like spiders, whilesome are from other invertebrate groups (Table1). Also, five insect Pokémon do not belong tothe Bug type (e.g., Trapinch (#328) is a Groundtype; Table 2). In total, insects represent only62 of the 807 Pokémon. In comparison, thevertebrate groups are overly well-representedby birds (61), mammals (232), reptiles (57),amphibians (23), and fishes (39) (Table 3).Eleven insect orders are represented in thePokémon world, namely Blattodea (with 1Pokémon), Coleoptera (11), Diptera (3),Hemiptera (7), Hymenoptera (6), Lepidoptera(22), Mantodea (4), Neuroptera (3), Odonata(2), Orthoptera (2), Phasmatodea (1). They arelisted below in systematic order.Order: OdonataFamilies: Libellulidae and AeshnidaeGenera: Erythrodiplax and AnaxYanma (#193) evolves to Yanmega (#469).Yanma is a large, red dragonfly Pokémon.Like all dragonflies and damselflies, it lives nearthe water and hunts other insects for food.Yanma is territorial and prefers wooded andswampy areas. Based on its appearance, itbelongs to the dragonfly family Libellulidae, andfurther to the genus Erythrodiplax Brauer,1868.20
Entomological diversity of PokémonTable 1. List of the 20 Pokémon that are Bug type, but are not insects. Mostly, they belong to other groups within thephylum Arthropoda.Pokédex uanidWimpodGolisopodTypeBug / PoisonBug / PoisonBug / RockRock / BugRock / BugPoison / BugBug / PoisonBug / PoisonBug / PoisonBug / RockBug / RockBug / ElectricBug / ElectricBugBugBug / SteelWater / BugWater / BugBug / WaterBug / nidaArachnidaMalacostracaMalacostracaYanmega on the other hand is a large, darkgreen Pokémon. It is actually a different realworld species. Not only the colors are different,but also the morphology, like the appendageson the tip of the tail. Based on this, it belongsto the dragonfly family Aeshnidae, and to thegenus Anax Leach, 1815. One could argue thatit is based on Meganeura Martynov, 1932, avery large (wingspan up to 70 cm) but extinctdragonfly genus from the Carboniferous Period.However, the size alone should not be theindicator to classify the species, as manyinsectoid species are larger in the Pokémonworld compared to the real world.Order: MantodeaFamily: MantidaeScyther (#123) evolves to Scizor (#212, incl.Mega-Scizor).Journal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. mily, Genus, SpeciesTheridiidae, Theridion grallator (happy-face spider)Salticidae, jumping spiderpossibly an endolithic fungiAnomalocarisAnomalocarisgeneralized scorpionwoodlousewoodlousecentipedehermit crabhermit crabtickTheraphosidae, tarantulanautilusnautilusman-made insectoid creatureDictynidae, Argyroneta aquatica (diving bell spider)Dictynidae, Argyroneta aquatica (diving bell spider)isopodisopodScyther is a bipedal, insectoid Pokémon. It isgreen with cream joints between its three bodysegments, one pair of wings and two large,white scythes as forearms. Scyther camouflagesitself by its green color. Based on itsappearance, it is classified as a praying mantis(or possible a mantidfly).Scizor is also a bipedal, insectoid Pokémon.It is primarily red with grey, retractableforewings. Scizor’s arms end in large, roundpincers. It appears to be based on a prayingmantis, maybe with some references to flyingred ants and wasp-mimicking mantidflies.Although Scizor evolves from Scyther, theyare very different and would actually be twodifferent real-world species. Not only are thecolors different, but also the morphology: thearms end in either scythes or pincers; Scytherhas one pair of wings, Scizor has two.21
Kittel, R.N.Table 2. Taxonomic classification of the insect Pokémon (Arthropoda: Hexapoda: Insecta). All images are official artworkfrom Pokémon games (obtained from Bulbapedia, 2018). An asterisk (*) denotes Pokémon that are not Bug type.Pokédex reeBug / FlyingLepidopteraPapilionidae13WeedleBug / PoisonHymenopteraTenthredinidae14KakunaBug / PoisonHymenopteraTenthredinidae15BeedrillBug / PoisonHymenopteraTenthredinidae46ParasBug / GrassHemipteraCicadidae47ParasectBug / GrassHemipteraCicadidae48VenonatBug / PoisonLepidopteraGeometridaeJournal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. 2018.Figure22
Entomological diversity of PokémonTable 2. (cont.)Pokédex #Name49TypeOrderFamilyVenomothBug / PoisonLepidopteraArctiidae123ScytherBug / FlyingMantodeaMantidae127PinsirBug / FlyingColeopteraLucanidae165LedybaBug / FlyingColeopteraCoccinellidae166LedianBug / FlyingColeopteraCoccinellidae193YanmaBug / ychidae205ForretressBug / SteelLepidopteraPsychidae212ScizorBug / SteelMantodeaMantidae214HeracrossBug / FightingColeopteraScarabaeidaeJournal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. 2018.Figure23
Kittel, R.N.Table 2. (cont.)Pokédex ae267BeautiflyBug / raSaturniidae269DustoxBug / PoisonLepidopteraSaturniidae283SurskitBug / PoisonHemipteraGerridae284MasquerainBug / FlyingHemipteraFulgoridae290NincadaBug / GroundHemipteraCicadidae291NinjaskBug / FlyingHemipteraCicadidae292ShedinjaBug / GhostHemipteraCicadidaeJournal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. 2018.Figure24
Entomological diversity of PokémonTable 2. (cont.)Pokédex dae314IllumiseBugColeopteraLampyridae328Trapinch *GroundNeuropteraMyrmeleontidae329Vibrava *Ground / DragonNeuropteraMyrmeleontidae330Flygon *Ground / 12BurmyBugLepidopteraPsychidae413WormadamBug / Grass / Ground /SteelLepidopteraPsychidae414MothimBug / FlyingLepidopteraPsychidaeJournal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. 2018.Figure25
Kittel, R.N.Table 2. (cont.)Pokédex #Name415TypeOrderFamilyCombeeBug / FlyingHymenopteraApidae416VespiqueenBug / FlyingHymenopteraApidae469YanmegaBug / FlyingOdonataAeshnidae540SewaddleBug / GrassLepidopteraTortricidae541SwadloonBug / GrassLepidopteraHesperiidae542LeavannyBug / raElateridae589EscavalierBug / SteelColeopteraElateridae632DurantBug / SteelHymenopteraFormicidae636LarvestaBug / FireLepidopteraSaturniidaeJournal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. 2018.Figure26
Entomological diversity of PokémonTable 2. (cont.)Pokédex #Name637TypeOrderFamilyVolcaronaBug / ivillonBug / Lucanidae737CharjabugBug / ElectricColeopteraLucanidae738VikavoltBug / ElectricColeopteraLucanidae742CutieflyBug / FairyDipteraBombyliidae743RibombeeBug / FairyDipteraBombyliidae753Fomantis *GrassMantodeaMantidaeJournal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. 2018.Figure27
Kittel, R.N.Table 2. (cont.)Pokédex #Name754FigureTypeOrderFamilyLurantis *GrassMantodeaMantidae794BuzzwoleBug / FightingDipteraCulicidae795PheromosaBug / FightingBlattodean/aTable 3. Comparison between the diversity of Pokémon“species” and their respective representatives in thenatural world (Zhang, ibiansFishes# of “species”62 (13.1%)61 (12.9%)232 (48.9%)57 (12.0%)23 (4.9%)39 (8.2%)NatureGroup# of speciesInsects1,020,007 (66.0%)Birds9,990 (0.9%)Mammals5,750 (0.5%)Reptiles9,413 (0.9%)Amphibians7,694 (0.7%)Fishes31,958 (2.9%)Fomantis (#753) evolves to Lurantis (#754).Fomantis is a plant-like and, at the sametime, an insect-like Pokémon. Its main body ispink, with green hair, green tufts on the head,and green leaves as a collar. Fomantis issomewhat bipedal and is likely based on theorchid mantis Hymenopus coronatus Olivier,1792 (Fig. 1), which is known for being able tomimic the orchid flower, along with the orchiditself.Lurantis is also plant- and insect-like. It ispink, white, and green. Lurantis looks andsmells like a flower, to attract and then attackJournal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. 2018.foes (and prey). It also disguises itself as a BugPokémon for self-defense. Lurantis is likelybased on the orchid mantis as well as theorchid flower itself, as it is impossible to saywhere the flower ends and the insect starts.Orchid mantises mimic parts of a flower, bymaking their legs look like flower petals. Wellcamouflaged, they can wait for their prey,which will visit the flower for nectar.Order: BlattodeaPheromosa (#795).Pheromosa is a bipedal anthropomorphicPokémon. It has a rather slender build and ismostly white. Pheromosa originates from theUltra Desert dimension in Ultra Space.Pheromosa is based on generic cockroachesjust after they have molted (Fig. 2); during thisstage, the animals are pale and vulnerable untiltheir exoskeleton hardens and darken.28
Entomological diversity of PokémonFigure 2. A freshly-molted cockroach (family Blattidae),leaving its exuvia behind. Credit: Donald Hobern (2010),Wikimedia Commons.Figure 1. Adult male of Hymenopus coronatus. Credit:Sander van der Wel (2010), Wikimedia Commons.Order: OrthopteraFamily: GryllidaeKricketot (#401) evolves to Kricketune (#402).Kricketot is a bipedal, bug-like Pokémon. Ithas a red body with some black and whitemarkings. By shaking its head and rubbing itsantennae together, it can create a sound that ituses to communicate. Based on its appearance,it is a cricket.Kricketune is also a bipedal Pokémon withan insectoid appearance, also primarily redwith some black and tan colored markings. Itcan produce sound by rubbing its arms on theabdomen. Kricketune appears to be based oncrickets due to their sound-producing ability,but it somewhat resembles a violin beetle.Both Kricketot and Kricketune are depictedwith only 4 limbs, whereas insects are largelydefined by having exactly six legs.Journal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. 2018.Order: HemipteraFamilies: Gerridae and FulgoridaeSurskit (#283) evolves to Masquerain (#284).Surskit is a blue insectoid Pokémon withsome pink markings. It produces some sort ofsyrup, which is exuded as a defense mechanismor to attract prey. This Pokémon can alsosecrete oil from the tips of its feet, whichenables it to walk on water as though skating.Surskit usually inhabits ponds, rivers, andsimilar wetlands, where it feeds onmicroscopic, aquatic organisms. This Pokémonis based on water striders. However, a waterstrider does not ooze syrup and neither does itneed oil to walk on water; it can walk on waterdue to the natural surface tension.Masquerain is a light blue Pokémon withtwo pairs of wings. On either side of its head isa large antenna that resembles an angry eye.These eyespots are used by many real-lifemoths and lantern-flies to confuse and29
Kittel, R.N.intimidate would-be predators. Masquerain isin fact based on a lantern-fly.Both “species”, water striders and lanternflies, are only distantly related, belonging totwo different families within the “true bugs”(Hemiptera).Family: CicadidaeNincada (#290) evolves to Ninjask (#291) andthen to Shedinja (#292).Nincada is a small, whitish, insectoidPokémon. The claws are used to carve the rootsof tree and absorb water and nutrients.Nincada builds underground nests by the rootsof trees. It is based on a cicada nymph, whichlives underneath the soil surface. However, acicada nymph usually does not have fullydeveloped wings. Instead, they have short wingstubs which eventually will become fullyfunctional wings – as usual amongsthemimetabolous insects.Ninjask is a small, cicada-like Pokémon withtwo pairs of wings. Its body is mostly black withsome yellow and grey markings. Ninjask is avery fast Pokémon and it can seem invisible dueto its high speed. It is based on an adult cicada,with the colors somewhat resemblingNeotibicen dorsatus (Say, 1825) (Fig. 3).Shedinja is a brown and grey insectoidPokémon. A hole between its wings reveals thatits body is completely hollow and dark, as itpossesses no internal organs. It is based on theshed husk (exuvia) that cicadas and otherhemimetabolous insects leave behind whenthey molt.Journal of Geek Studies 5(2): 19–40. 2018.Figure 3. Adult female of Neotibicen dorsatus, the bushcicada. Credit: Yakkam255 (2015), Wikimedia Commons.Paras (#046) evolves to Parasect (#047).Paras is an orange insectoid Pokémon withan ovoid body. On the top it has two little redand yellow mushrooms known as tōchūkasō.The mushrooms can be removed at any time,and grow from spores that are doused on thisPokémon’s back at its birth by the mushroomon its mother's back. Tōchūkasō is anendoparasitoid that replaces the host tissueand can affect the behavior of its insect host.The base insect is based on a cicada nymph.The real-world tōchūkasō live on hepialidcaterpillars in Tibet. However, there are many30
Entomological diversity of Pokémonmore species of entomopathogenic fungi in theworld, most notable the genus Cordyceps (L.)Fr. (1818).Parasect is an orange, insectoid Pokémonthat has been completely overtaken by thetōchūkasō mushroom. The adult insect hasbeen drained of nutrients and is now under thecontrol of the fully-grown tōchūkasō. Parasectcan thrive in dank forests with a suitableamount of humidity for growing fungi. The baseinsect is a deformed version of what is probablya cicada nymph, the parasitic mushroom havingcaused a form of neoteny, when the adults looklike a juvenile form.and are therefore often mistaken for eachother.Flygon is a desert-dwelling insectoid dragonwith a green body and one pair of wings. Itswings make a “singing” sound when they areflapped. It uses this unique ability to attractprey, stranding them before it attacks. It isbased on the winged, adult stage of the antlion.Order: ColeopteraFamily: LucanidaeOrder: NeuropteraFamily: MyrmeleontidaePinsir (#127, incl. Mega-Pinsir).Pinsir is a bipedal beetle-like Pokémon witha brown body and a large pair of grey, spikypincers on top of its head. Pinsir is based on astag beetle.Trapinch (#328) evolves to Vibrava (#329) andthen to Flygon (#330).Trapinch is an orange, insectoid Pokémon.This Pokémon lives in arid deserts, where itbuilds its nest in a bowl-shaped pit dug in sand.It sits in its nest and waits for prey to stumbleinside. Once inside, the prey cannot climb backout. It is based on the larval stage of theantlion, which lives in conical sandy pits beforematuring into winged adults.Vibrava is a dragonfly-like Pokémon.Vibrava’s wings are not fully developed, so it isunable to fly very far. However, it is able tocreate vibrations and ultrasonic waves with itswings, causing its prey to faint. Vibrava is asaprotroph – it spits stomach acid to melt itsprey before consumption. Vibrava is based onthe adult stage of an antlion. Adult antlions anddragonflies look from a distance quit
168 Ariados Bug / Poison Chelicerata Arachnida Aranae Salticidae, jumping spider 213 Shuckle Bug / Rock n/a n/a n/a possibly an endolithic fungi 347 Anorith Rock / Bug n/a Dinocaridida Radiodonta Anomalocaris 348 Armaldo Rock / Bug n/a Dinocaridida Radiodonta Anomalocaris 451 Skorupi Poison / Bug Chelicerata Arachnida Scorpiones generalized .
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Silat is a combative art of self-defense and survival rooted from Matay archipelago. It was traced at thé early of Langkasuka Kingdom (2nd century CE) till thé reign of Melaka (Malaysia) Sultanate era (13th century). Silat has now evolved to become part of social culture and tradition with thé appearance of a fine physical and spiritual .
Ash ran into a Pok emon on his way to Viridian City. Missing all of his Pok e Balls, he had no way to capture the creature. Only the sounds it made before it escaped were recorded. Normally, Ash would be able to recognize the Pok emon by its appearance, but this species didn't appear in his Pok edex. Given its sounds, Ash hopes to identify the
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tion diversity. Alpha diversity Dα measures the average per-particle diversity in the population, beta diversity Dβ mea-sures the inter-particle diversity, and gamma diversity Dγ measures the bulk population diversity. The bulk population diversity (Dγ) is the product of diversity on the per-particle
