#cubone myth

[pkdex-log]

Cubone Does Not Wear It's Mother's Skull

Many people believe Cubone wears itself mother's skull however I don't think this is true.

So this idea originates from the PokeDex which claims this. FireRed "It wears the skull of its dead mother on its head. When it becomes lonesome, it is said to cry loudly." SoulSilver "It always wears the skull of its dead mother, so no one has any idea what its hidden face looks like." X "It wears the skull of its dead mother on its head. When it becomes lonesome, it is said to cry loudly." Y "It always wears the skull of its dead mother, so no one has any idea what its hidden face looks like." Moon "The skull it wears on its head is that of its dead mother. According to some, it will evolve when it comes to terms with the pain of her death" Ultra Moon "It wears its mother’s skull on its head, so no one knows what its bare face looks like. However, it’s clear that it’s always crying." Let's Go "Wears the skull of its deceased mother. Its cries echo inside the skull and come out as a sad melody." Shield "This Pokémon wears the skull of its deceased mother. Sometimes Cubone's dreams make it cry, but each tear Cubone sheds makes it stronger."

However, I don't think this is reliable information. So one thing you notice is that when your Cubone hatches from it's egg, your Marowak doesn't disappear. They could implement such a thing into the game like how Nincada evolves, or Slowbro devolves. Adding on to this while it's not canon to the games Pokemon Origins does mostly tell the events of Red's story and the Cubone is running around with their mother before Team Rocket get to her.

So with that information I would note the hypothesis that the PokeDex is written by the trainers thus leading to inaccurate information at times and exaggerations. I think that the Cubone thing is a myth or urban legend in the Pokémon World, and that trainers put this urban legend into the Dex. This would also fall in line with casual people like in the Detective Pikachu Movie remarking about the Cubone thing.

[nerdpokemonheadcanons]

What has been the WORST pokemon fact you've seen media repeat? Like what one thing makes you grit your teeth when a movie or book mindlessly repeats? like the Lycanroc Alpha/beta thing.

Hm, that's hard to say! There's a lot that irritate me

Banette being a living doll, Cubone all being orphans, Goldeen having a three second memory span...

But the one that probably causes the most trouble is the myth that Haxorus' tusks are unbreakable! A lot of trainers try to show off by having their Haxorus cut something like steel or concrete, only to shatter their poor Pokemon's tusks

Haxorus' tusks are very strong, but they're designed to cut through other Pokemon, and meat and bone is a lot softer than we think. They're not indestructible at all, and they don't grow back

[girlbob-boypants]

im a fake pokemon fan but a real Sasha stan ☝️😺 in your infinite wisdom what you would assign yori and lho'a

OK OK OK well first of all I'm giving the answer I showed you in discord cause I think its nest but I will give more unique answers under the cut as a more serious thing

Espurr is a weird little dude with two evolution variants, male and female. Male Meowstics are much more protective and supportive of their allies while females are more cold. They "disregard the safety of their enemies" in battle and its said that "unfriendliness is part of their charm."

With the differences you've described between them as siblings, I'd say male espurr for Yori and female for Lho'a (which I also think works out well given their gender identity/journies).

Lho'a:

Assigned Purrloin/Liepard. A dark type line that looks like it's "secretly" judging you and is most known in the competitive scene for that time it could always go first with the massively damaging moves of other teammates using the move Assist and its hidden ability Prankster. Also for added funsies, Purrloin is shown on all fours in most material despite the fact that it can stand on its back legs which is just fucking hilarious. I feel like the idea of seeing its silhouette standing on two legs in the middle of the night after only ever seeing it on all fours during the day is just hilarious and in character for its owner

Yori:

This was a lot harder imo. I looked at a ton and almost settled on cubone for NONE of the reasons I was looking into things for. I just thought a cute little guy would be nice.

But I gave another look and had a pretty cool idea, I think.

So Galarian Ponyta is based on the myth of the unicorn. A magic creature that heals people with its horn and only trusts those it finds kind. Combine that with the white mage unicorn mount you can get and its ability to protect itself and allies from poison in battle (except Nanamo) and you've got a very thematically correct pokemon.

That and there's a lot of discussions out there about how psychic types could be used as aide pokemon!

I think Yori going out into the woods and coming back with a pokemon that's supposed to be rare as hell to even see is very fitting of him. Whatcha got there a smoothie moment.

[my-fankid-daycare]

NamelessShipping for the meme (If they have a kid meme)

Sorry, this was sitting in my inbox. I was gonna answer it and then fell to sleep. I work in education so the past week I've just been working hard as kids come back. Anyway childhood OTP let's goooo!!!

Name: Noel

Gender: Male

General Appearance: Black hair (I miss OG Red's black hair in the games T-T), His eyes are a a goldish brown color like Blue's. He also has spikey hair that swoops more to the side instead of going up like Blue's or down like Red's (with the hat)

Personality: This kid has bad wanderlust. At least he remebers to contact his loved ones before disappearing on a MOUNTAIN- Noel studies Pokemon Myths.

Special Talents: He like's to doodle things he sees. He has a pretty good memory because

Who they like better: Red. Noel can go on and on about what he's seen and learned and quiet dad Red is a good listener. Of course, Red DOES talk to Noel but Noel feels comforted by that strong silence.

Who they take after more: Probably Blue. Can be a bit arrogant without realizing it, but other than that he is pretty chill.

Personal Headcanon: Not a headcanon per-say...but I just want you to know his whole team is built around internet legends surrounding Pokemon.

Face Claim:

Inspo's for each of his pokemon under the cut:

Dratini: Reference to that one issue of Nintendo Power that claimed you could evolve the Dragonite line into Yoshi. I chose Dratini specifically because it was featured in the article picture.

Marill: Remeber when bitches thought this guy was gonna be named "Pikablu"? I have the anime card where they call Marril "Pikablu"

Porygon-Z: Choosing this specific evolution is a nod to Porygon being banned in the anime (RIP) and Missino the popular glitch pokemon!

Barbaracle: Does anyone else remember the Albino Pokemon glitch from XY? I remember when I saw someone posted an all-white Barbaracle it made me think of the white hand in generation one which also kind of became it's own creepypasta. That's fun.

Marowak: Is my representative for not just Lavander Town and it's rumors but also for fan theories that connect pokemon together like Kangaskhan and Cubone.

Ravavroom: This pokemon can become a truck and the ultimate pokemon urban legend is catching Mew under the truck!

[trainerlynda]

📢 cubone

A very cute pokemon, I wish that there wasn't so much misinformation about it's skull in the WHOLE FUCKING DEX.

SERIOUSLY 'Dead mother' this and 'Dead mother' that!! CUBONES IN THE WILD LIVE WITH THEIR MOTHERS TILL THEY'RE GROWN!!!

THE SKULLS ARE FROM LONG PAST POKEMON OR RELATIVES IN THE CUBONE'S GROUP AS A WHOLE!!!

CUBONE DON'T KILL THEIR MOTHERS FOR THEIR SKULLS OR THEIR BIRTH KILLS THEIR MOTHER IT'S JUST A STUPID MYTH CAUSED BY THE LAVENDER TOWN ROCKET TAKE OVER INCIDENT! UGHHH!!

[kimnowls]

Faketober day 11, "Colossal"

Notes from Professor Tallo:

"Breeding captive cubone easily reveals that the children don't actually take their mothers' skulls. The myth that such is the case comes from the fact that recently orphaned cubone cry loudly, and are therefore more likely to be discovered by trainers. The actual source of cubone armor is still quite mysterious.

Cubone armor is not a part of their body. Ultrasounds reveal that they do not develop alongside the cubone in the egg. And yet, they seem to magically appear the moment it hatches. The DNA of the bones reveal them to be from the same species, but does not match the wearer.

Another disturbing revelation through raising cubone and marowak is that the old ones tend to wander off and disappear. It must be an instinct similar to that which causes bulbasaur to gather for their evolution ceremony. But it does line up with the fact that cubone and marowak remains that aren't being wielded by one of their kin are nigh impossible to find.

Wherever cubone go to die must be the same place that their armor and weapons comes from."

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

heard a brand new variation of the cubone myth from my little cousins where they’re orphaned charmanders and the skull is a charizard skull glad to hear playground theorising is still alive and well

[rat-loves]

some extras/companions for the pokemon au 😳

these three are locals to where gabes parents live/ run their pokemon daycare/nursery and farm!

jada runs a coffee truck down the road from the pokemon nursery gabriel's family oversees, and she tends to slip Nico a free pastry every now and then, from one zorua enthusiast to another 👉👈 she can be a bit sarcastic, but she means well enough, and she always has gabes regular order ready as soon as she sees him coming down the road lmao

her team consists of scion the zorua, tess the milcery, and vince the ampharos!

jake is a student, who runs a food blog and often runs into gabe at the coffee truck, typing up new articles and doing his homework last minute at the picnic tables jada has set out- hes taken an interest in journalism too, and is something of a myth fanatic

his team consists of a vivillion, cubone, dunsparce, masquerain, azurill, and swinub!

and then there's evelyn, who is the neighbor closest to the reyes nursery, her farm is right across the street, and her family runs a giant fruit orchard! evelyn is pretty young, and she doesn't go to school, so she spends alot of time helping on the farm or going across the street to help at the nursery- she loves to bring pies with her and she's branching out with her baking to try more complicated recipes too!

her team consists of a small form pumpkaboo, murkrow, appletun, growlithe, haunter, and cramorant!

[professormint]

ik the whole "cubone wear their mothers skulls" thing is a myth, but like, where DO they get the skulls?

Simply put: wherever there are skeletons.

For further elaboration, a Cubone mother will lay her egg underneath the skull of a deceased Pokemon. They tend to prefer skulls that are already barren of flesh, but should it still have some meat on it, then they won't pass up a free meal (though they do prefer living prey over dead). They also aim for the skeletons of relatively small Pokemon to get the best fit possible for their hatchling.

As the Cubone gets bigger, the need for a bigger skull arises. This moment also correlates with them learning how to hunt. Predictably, it's their mother who teaches them how to both kill their prey and how to best clean the bones for use. She does this alone initially, letting her child hide nearby to watch her, before letting them join after the first few observances. From there, the Cubone is able to retrieve skulls on its own.

Now, I know what you're thinking: if Cubone have free range of what skulls they use, why do some have the skulls of Marowak? There are two reasons for this. The first is that sometimes the Pokedex is correct, and the skull and bone that specific Cubone wields once belonged to its deceased mother. These Cubone are more reluctant to replace these bones when that time inevitably comes, whether due to growth or due to wear, and they often chose to keep these bones with them even after replacing them as a form of remembrance. The other stems from the Cubone in question having hunted and successfully killed a Marowak, though it should be noted that the Marowak in this case is never the one that raised it. The bond the two share is simply too strong for this to ever occur.

[prof-peach]

I live near a psychic forest, so I've never seen a maroak before, is it true that the skull they wear is their mothers? Are maroak baby kangaskhan that weren't so lucky, or are they their own species and that skull thing is just a myth..

It's kind of true. Cubone and Marowak are their own species, but are within the same family group as Charizard genetically, hence their lenience towards fire tying in Alola. Almost all Cubone are born with two skulls, one in their body, and one that is outside, technically it is fused to them upon hatching, and slowly comes loose, detaches, and becomes a removable item, rather than a part of them. This process takes several months. In the wild, Cubone trade, win, and scavenge for more interesting helmet skulls. A victor in battle may claim the skull of another as a prize, forcing a trade for it. If they find a deceased pokemon with a skull that is particularly impressive or decorative, they may try to get that one, usually burying them in secret locations to decompose naturally, returning for the clean skull later on. Cubone Will also inherit skulls of elders, should they be worthy, or related to them. The idea that all of them have their mothers skull, though morbid, isn't untrue. Many hold family in high regards, and so to inherit moms skull is a very proud yet sad moment for Cubone. They do however have clutches of 2-4 eggs normally, so its often the oldest, strongest, or wisest to receive that special item. The rest are left to find their own skulls with varying importance to them. Upon evolution the skull helmet they have will become part of them, re-fusing, they cannot come off until the pokemon perishes and its reduced to near nothing. This practice does allow for some mighty cool looking Marowak, some with Druddigon skulls, Nidoking, Haxorus, even Sharpedo have been seen, though very rarely. Their skulls as a Cubone dictate the shapes they take on as Marowak. Fascinating stuff. Maybe one day you'll get a chance to meet some, they're super fun pokemon, Greys first official mon was a Cubone, Harley, still part of the family, has several skulls he's won or gained through various means, each with its own purpose.

They value them highly, and it's an honour to wear the skull of your fallen loved on in their communities.

[draftingteacups]

The only thing that appear on my mind about the Halloween event is “man wouldn’t it be fun to have the whole ‘Cubone’s mom’s ghost scene from let’s go eevee/pikachu’ during this?”

(Anyways this is my excuse to bring out one of my favorite scenes from that game into this lol)

Oh heck yes, I would love that in here 🤣 just the thought of everyone thinking that the spirit of Cubone's mom is a myth; imagine the Magicam Monsters try to take the offerings to one of the Ghost Types because they were Berries and the Ghost type of their choosing would chase them out for taking their food

I can also see the scene from LGP/LGE being done to those who really screwed up and this happening:

TWST Boys: "Wow, that's quite devious of you to make something that scary Prefect!"

Soni hits them with the hard truth, "Nah, it's true. It's said to have the skull of its dead mom on its face. Although there's evidence saying that it forms naturally. Basically, the Egg from the shell is absorbed and forms the skull-"

TWST Boys: "Wait, go back and tell us that last bit-!"

Soni: "Oh yeah, Team Rocket tried to pull this crap when they were bigger when I was younger and there was a Pokemon Spirit that was running rampant. Turns out it was a Marowak that'd been-"

TWST Boys: "We get it! Why is it so sad?!" (T.T) "So it's real?!"

Soni: "Do you expect me to lie about these things??"

[irritatedandroid]

The Fire Burns Bright

A Personal Essay From an Alolan Marowak -Jasper (@irritatedandroid, @irritatedDroid)

Summary: Below the cut, this is a personal essay written by Jasper on his experiences with being an Alolan Marowak fictherian and fictionkind. Personal experience, discussion of awakening, shifts, instincts, animality, culture and spirituality are elaborated on alongside a critical view on community narratives and boundaries.

CWs: In-depth look on death, personal experiences with death

   I find there isn’t enough discussion on the fact that nonhumanity can be approached from multiple different angles and axis, instead treated like a hard binary of animality vs humanity - or if you’re lucky, a two-way spectrum. I’m someone who is nonhuman through and through, but the way in which I can experience being “other” from humanity can shift wildly. A strong sense of animality is brought on when shifted towards my Alolan Marowak fictotype - enough that I tend to strongly identify with the word fictherian. Though that sense of animality is its own thing, and is a wholly separate scale from the nonhumanity I experience when shifted towards my android kintype. But the experiences drawn from being an android could fill an essay of their own. We’re here to discuss the Marowak.

   Both very not human, both very “other”, but a wholly different view upon what it means to be human and not human respectively. And I suspect the scale my Marowak self experiences may be different as well from the scale any given earthen animal may experience. Similar enough to where therianthrope discussion rings loud mental bells of familiarity and understanding, but still something else worth acknowledging. After all, how many earthen animal therianthropes feel the raw instinct of fire breath? Were-dragons however may understand that one well. And yet that animality is not something to be ignored or to set aside entirely even if the axis runs at a slightly off angle in comparison.

   My name is Jasper, and some of you might know me, I’ve been around the community for a couple of years. Some folks even remember the internal grapple with identity and understanding that I had when I started being unable to deny I am an Alolan Marowak. The moment when the Alolan Marowak design was teased, and I had pointed out the familiarity as well as the typing before it was actually shown. There was a moment then when experiences and vague, blurry memories I’d held onto quietly for years without the priority of digging in deeper - as I was already busy with questioning and understanding my android kintype - became an absolute priority of mine to understand further.

   I often half-joke about how my “awakening” as discussed in nonhuman communities was completely rocky, as it was. It was less a solid awakening, and more multiple years of slowly accepting and embracing aspects of my life that had always been present, which I had denied either to ease my own responsibility to myself or to appease others. Folks in the community may recall seeing me step into denial, and to substitute in any possible reptilian, fire-based creature I could in order to try and understand the experiences. Because how could I be a Pokemon? I’d been critical of fictionkin while diving into the community, something which when looking back was likely a compensation for already having been something odd and to be met with criticism - the android. I ran through a number of species when questioning: everything from earthen lizards, to draconic entities, to the elemental spirits of salamanders.

   There were multiple aspects absolutely vital to communicating what I was experiencing, those being a) instinct-driven and wild, reptilian, and b) inherently connected to the elements of fire and spirit. My thoughts could be as unflattering as a scavenger’s instinct, growing frustrated at any leftover food or uncleaned-up animal remains (which sure made living in a populated city interesting, with abandoned scraps of food everywhere and the leftovers of unfortunate urban creatures who tried their luck at crossing Yonge Street), or curious to try and make a meal for myself out of the live insects I keep to feed to my own little old leopard gecko, Saleen. Yes, she was named after a car. No, that is not important. Having her around does however provide an up close frame of reference to draw out my own lizard drives. In terms of food instincts, raw eggs are absolutely another tempter of mine, as my carnivorous scavenger self would have been ecstatic to see a nest of unattended eggs to make a meal of. As I’ve learned due to that raw eggs absolutely suck, please cook them. It’s much better that way. But embarrassing nonhumanity stories will always be embarrassing.

   Some of us Marowak - especially the males like myself - could become quite territorial. And that territorial feeling is something I’ve had to settle in my mind over life. Nowadays it’s decently well integrated, but it does now and then try my patience especially when it comes to setting out what is for me and what belongs strictly to me. Renting a small apartment in a populated city, once again, does definitely force you to keep the “this land is mine and it belongs to me, so screw off before you chase off my dinner” thoughts in check. A bit of human humbling for an animal’s self thought. I’ve of course needed to remind myself a number of times that the tourists in the train station on my way to work, while annoying, won’t manage to chase off the Tim Hortons I’ll be eating on my break.

   But in the wild frontier of the Pokemon world, predator and prey dynamics were absolutely important to know and understand - and those dynamics reach beyond game mechanics such as elemental types and abilities. Even as a carnivore, scavenger and troublesome predator that I was when I reached the age of a full-grown Marowak, I still was in a dangerous spot on the food chain. The worst predators I’ve had to deal with while working to survive in my ecosystems were other Fire types, intriguingly. Even as a small Ground type Cubone. The fact that Cubones wear the skull of their lost mothers was something I am familiar with, my own having been taken down by a Charizard. This natural order of predation is both a major part of my animalistic experiences as a Marowak, but also did tie into my more sophisticated or spiritually-focused aspects that stemmed from my Pokemon identity and lifetime.

   All of this lead to an animality-focused time in figuring out what I was, to the point where when I was in denial of the possibility of being a Pokemon, I identified myself as a theriomythic, fire-oriented reptile. And the animality definitely tends to lead the discussion upon how I live and experience being an Alolan Marowak. I sometimes joke that you could strip that side of my life down to the bare essentials and I’d be a lizard hanging out by a campfire. Though it certainly isn’t every aspect of me, as the Marowak.

   At times I think on the term theriomythic, and how it could be extremely valuable in describing more than just “animal but from myth”, but to also communicate experiencing the self on a spectrum of animality and mythicality. In my case this spectrum is very much there, and the aspects of experience that make up me as the Marowak are scattered along it. All aspects are important to me and how I live as myself, as well as how I understand my own fictional animality and nonhumanity.

   The Marowak, despite being a wild animal in how I recall and experience my species, do have a displayed aspect of culture and even spirituality. Setting aside the fictional wildness of being able to summon up fire at will to defend one’s turf, we’re shown to be able to interact comfortably with each other when it comes time for rituals, such as fire dancing at the sun rise and to mourn the lost. Mourning the lost is a large part of how one can experience being the Marowak as well, as it’s a pretty integral part of the species’ canon lore, starting from when we’re little baby Cubones. For those unfamiliar with Pokemon lore, a Cubone wears the skull of its dead mother Marowak. Adorning bones in a sort of ritual to mourn is something that I can’t say I’ve seen an earthen animal do. If you have then please do let me know, because it interests me a lot. But all I can say about it in my own drives and thoughts is that it’s just what we do, it’s cultural. To cite the Pokedex, “MAROWAK is the evolved form of a CUBONE that has overcome its sadness at the loss of its mother and grown tough. This POKéMON’s tempered and hardened spirit is not easily broken” (Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, 2002).

   The donning and weaponizing of bones is both symbolic and an act of mourning, but also an example of tool using similar to some of our world’s apes. The Pokedex talks of this vaguely, stating “It has been seen pounding boulders with the bone it carries in order to tap out messages to others” (Pokemon Gold, 1999). The various Pokedex entries theorize on where the bone clubs come from, some entries mentioning a graveyard specifically for Marowak existing in the world, where Cubone and Marowak get their bones. Some entries state this like fact, such as Pokemon Crystal, meanwhile others bring up this as a rumour, such as Pokemon Silver. In my experience, it’s a rumour. I’ve not seen a Marowak graveyard, my bone club first came from my mother. But the main referenced use of the bone club is as a weapon, and also as a method of overcoming grief and turning to viciousness. “It is small and was originally very weak. Its temperament turned ferocious when it began using bones.” (Pokemon X, 2013). In my case, the symbolic use of them is as a tool of war, transforming grief into a vicious will to fight on and survive. Due to this, I hold bones and particularly skulls as a sacred object and have my small collection of skulls I keep as comfort objects. With time, having a large femur bone similar in shape is a life goal.

   Though it does then get taken a step further, when peering in through the eyes of an Alolan variant Marowak. A spirituality that incorporates the dead and lost is brought in and becomes an extra step of important, crediting the Ghost type aspect alongside the Fire. Newer Pokedex entries focused on specifically this variant states “The bones it possesses were once its mother’s. Its mother’s regrets have become like a vengeful spirit protecting this Pokémon” (Pokemon Sun, 2016) and “It has transformed the spirit of its dear departed mother into flames, and tonight it will once again dance in mourning of others of its kind” (Pokemon Let’s Go, 2018). Spiritual awareness is very much accepted to be something that the Alolan Marowak possess and engage with openly, even building monuments to the lost as stated in the Generation 7 Pokedex entry: “Its custom is to mourn its lost companions. Mounds of dirt by the side of the road mark the graves of the Marowak” (Pokemon Moon, 2016).

   Culturally there is a lot to the Marowak’s experience, comparing and including both Alolan and Kantonian variants of the species. The species as I remember are mostly solitary but I do recall clan dynamics and groups especially among the Alolan variant. These groups were less for survival and more for the purpose of those ritual gatherings, mentioned above. At times I was very foreign to these clans, being a Kanto-born Cubone evolved in Alola (a fact supported in canon and proven in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon via the ability to evolve a Kanto Marowak in Ultra Space). Behaviorally and culturally there are differences between Kanto and Alolan Marowak, brought on by how each looks at their situation differently. While an Alolan Marowak processes mourning in a more spiritual way, a Kanto Marowak becomes hardened by anger. “A MAROWAK is the evolved form of a CUBONE that has grown tough by overcoming the grief of losing its mother. Its tempered and hardened spirit is not easily broken,” (Pokemon Emerald, 2004). Because of this there was a separation between myself and the local Marowak that reinforced my solitary nature, and also influenced my introverted and almost outright nomadic nature in my current life and self. The fire dance under the sunrise was one known in canon. These rituals and dances are a custom humans in canon have taken notice to, and can even speculate the reasoning for. “This Pokémon sets the bone it holds on fire and dances through the night as a way to mourn its fallen allies” (Pokemon Sword, 2019). The fact that that cultural dynamic prevailed even through the difficulty of communicating is something that may be surprising, but a number of nonhumans know well that body language and tone of animal vocalizations can go a long way in communicating

   Ignoring these experiences would be a step towards cutting down and denying important experiences that affect me as a fictherian and as a Marowak. There’s important parts of how I experience being this Pokemon that are heavily grounded in a context of a mystical world where visibly potent acts of fantasy are possible unlike the world we are living in here. Some of these aspects can be emulated in more subtle ways through exploration of spirituality, religion and the occult. To dive deeper into that, I used to identify as Pagan, however now I practice what is called chaos magic. Chaos magic is a magical practice that developed in England in the 1960’s, working off of Austin Osman Spare’s occult practice and ideas. Chaos magic gave me an approach and freedom to incorporate what I know and remember as an Alolan Marowak into my every-day spirituality. Tailoring my spiritual beliefs and practices to focus on working with the element of fire, with spirits and the energy of death, bones, and to the very fabric of fiction crossing over into reality was extremely important as an avenue for me to explore the way my fictotype affects me in the modern day, and in the human body. This practice also gave me a bit of freedom to accept working with an entity from my source - Giratina - as a patron deity in pagan circles, which ultimately proved to be extremely valuable in exploring my own Pokemon identity. Practices like energy work, meditation, spirit work and visualization hit close to satisfying that need to be delved into the magical world we see in animation. And yet, even in these more sophisticated and fantastical experiences lie links back to the animality and to an inherent disconnect to humanity.

   One thing I always enjoy in therianthrope and non-humanoid otherkin discussions is an openness to discuss the instincts that are ugly, disturbing or outside of what one’s human morals would ever agree with in this life and time. And in a lot of cases these instincts and memories can become a lot more “ugly” than a scavenger’s drive to eat carcasses or the awareness and cynical eye needed to survive in a completely wild world. At times, a wild creature can have defense mechanisms or behaviors that to our human minds would seem outright malicious. And Pokemon, even in the whimsical canon, are no exception to that. Once again I’ll drag up a few Pokedex entries - as honestly the Pokedex is a wonderful thing for exploring the deeper aspects of a wild Pokemon - to illustrate my point. “When it beats opponents with its bone, the cursed flames spread to them. No amount of water will stop those flames from burning,” (Pokemon Ultra Moon, 2017) and “The cursed flames that light up the bone carried by this Pokémon are said to cause both mental and physical pain that will never fade” (Pokemon Shield, 2019).

   Yes, even the fun and magical world of Pokemon is no stranger to wild animals who inflict effects upon others that seem absolutely awful, and in some cases cruel. But, that’s survival in the animal kingdom, or in this case the Pokemon kingdom. It can be surprising to some that a person who’s fictotype hails from the fun and upbeat franchise that defined a number of childhoods may be hardened to the need to survive in a natural world. The things I know I had done to creatures who my childhood Pokemon fan self would have only wanted to hug, at least at a baseline mental state. In a shift, that’s a different story after all.

   But ultimately, this blend of experiences causes an interesting time in exploring myself within the general nonhuman community as it can be quite split up. Certain narratives of individual communities I can’t find myself fitting into, or find myself sitting in between. I settle into spaces focused on everything from therianthropy, to mythical otherkinity, and to fictionkinity, though there’s narratives and cultural aspects in every separated community that either are foreign to me or that I might confront as they expect clear-cut boxes between them which individuals can fit into. In therianthrope communities I’ve been one to criticize the expectation of a solid line between human and animal experiences, or in general animal vs non-animal with regards to forcing a further divide from the otherkin community. I’ve also been involved in discussion criticizing therian community narratives such as a shifting focus and the model of integration. The model of integration is interesting to me, as I experienced it in a way that I was unaware of at the time, particularly with my android kintype. My android kintype is almost fully integrated into me - I barely shift at all at least mentally. However my Marowak fictotype provides less integration, and my mental shifting will be a lot more noticeable against my baseline self. At times it can be as stark as appearing like a different person, or more accurately like a wild animal. But ultimately the differences in the closeness of each kintype draws up issues for me with the integration model, as well as having found it normalized a severe mental health issue I had with my traumagenic plurality at the time of “least integration”.

   The therianthrope community is far from the only community with narratives that put a barrier between me and relating, especially as members of each community push for further separation between individual branches of nonhuman experience and identity. I have trouble relating to humanoids when heavily shifted towards my Marowak self, and that puts a bit of a barrier between myself and the otherkin community’s more humanoid side - such as elven, fae, divine, angelic, etc. - as well as the fictionkin community’s focus on humanoid or completely story-driven fictionkind. I have no use for prioritized experiences within the fictionkin community such as finding canon-mates and creating aesthetics. Even in some Pokemon fictionkin specific communities I find I cannot relate often. My experience with my “Pokemanity” is heavily wild and animal-based as I was never caught, socialized with a human, or trained. In no way shape or form is my Pokemanity adjusted to interaction with humans, nor is it something that is settled down or subdued for human consumption unlike what my source was created for.

   In both otherkin, therian and even fictionkin communities there is a push towards prioritizing the narrative of a solid awakening. That’s one more focus in the communities that I struggle with, as like I said before, mine was a process of accepting bits of myself which spanned multiple years. Every part of me that is nonhuman has always been present within my life, though for almost two decades muted heavily.

   To draw back into my spiritual practice here, consider a practice known as shadow work. Shadow work is a practice that hybridizes spirituality and psychology, and describes the process of becoming aware of one’s shadow (the id, shadow archetype, or shadow aspect drawn from Carl Jung’s psychology) and working to integrate it into oneself by accepting the repressed parts of oneself that are pushed back and merged into the shadow. The shadow can be known as the unknown dark side of the personality, and I theorize that more nonhumans have undesirable aspects of their nonhumanity pushed onto their shadow than they might think they do, like I had done to my own Pokemanity for a number of years. In my case, I was slightly forced to tear into and meet my shadow aspects of my nonhumanity due to the fact that even upon immediately breaking into nonhuman communities, the specifics of what I was were already viewed with hostility and disbelief. In a way, it strengthened me. But with my shadow opened wide and not much held back, I can be a bit of a fire-starter in spaces where I speak my mind whether others want to hear it or not. And part of that is directly confronting the forced separation of animal vs non-animal, or the arbitrary ideas of what is a human experience and what is not.

   I can only best put forward my experience as a Pokemon through in-depth discussion, which I find tends to come across better in spaces where the experience of being by-and-large a feral animal is allowed without restraint. Ultimately a space I will thrive in most and be most open about my experiences and life as someone who is spiritually and psychologically an Alolan Marowak is one where I can discuss both my animality, my experience with fiction, my spiritual practice and the combination of these things that seem to be pushed into separate boxes. The Marowak serves a lot to my sense of self and to my life, and has psychological affects on me as well. It’s been a part of me that has fought through and survived when my life hit a rocky start early on, witnessing the death of my brother in childhood, and having loss and grief be present all around as I grew. The Marowak is both an inherent part and vital context in my life, as well as a symbol of my own endurance.

   Through it all, the fire burns bright.

Citations

Marowak POKÉDEX: Stats, MOVES, evolution & locations. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://pokemondb.net/pokedex/marowak

Chryssides, George D. (2012). Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements (2 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-8108-6194-7.

Jung, C.G. 1938. "Psychology and Religion." In Psychology and Religion: West and East, Collected Works of C.G. Jung 11. p. 131

Roberts, Gwilym Wyn, and Andrew Machon. 2015. Appreciative Healthcare Practice: A guide to compassionate, person-centred care. M&K. ISBN 1907830936. p. 71.

[adventures-on-foster-island]

How to care for your Kantonian Cubone or Marowak

A popular ground type, Cubone and Marowak have a lot of mythconceptions surrounding their nature and care, so today I'm going to set the record straight.

The Pokedex entries on this evolutionary line are extremely outdated and contain a lot of information that the scientific community has known to be false for quite some time. Cubone and Marowak are a highly social species with tribal cultures that date back centuries. These reptilian Pokemon wear the skulls of their respected ancestors, and communicate using rhythms and other sounds to share stories of their history. The myth about Cubone wearing the skull of their dead mother came about because one scientist just happened to find one whose skull helmet did belong to the Pokemon’s mother who had passed, but this isn’t common. The skulls most Cubone wear belong to their ancestors, as a way to remember those who came before them. Cubone and Marowak have a strong sense of community and often become depressed when taken from their families, which is why Cubone are so often depicted as crying. In the wild, Marowak don’t typically leave their homes to start a new tribe until at least a year after they’ve evolved, and may get homesick if taken too early. Strong trainer - Pokemon bonds can happen with young Cubone if the Cubone was actually an orphan, and if the trainer can actually provide the proper care.

As reptiles, who mostly inhabit desert like climates, your Cubone will need a heat lamp and a heat pad in different places to regulate its body temperature. If you live outside of Cubone’s natural habitat, make sure you have a room dedicated to them with plenty of rough rocks to rub off shed skin and sharpen claws as well as warm spots. Because they are accustomed to an arid climate, you may need to invest in a dehumidifier if there is lots of rain in your area. Some ground types are prone to growing a slimy algae if they can’t dry out all the way. Despite needing dry living conditions, your Cubone or Marowak will still need access to fresh drinking water. You may not see them drink very often, but when they do, they might sit there for half an hour sipping until they are full. They only need bathing if they get really dirty or injured, but if you do have to bathe them, make sure to use warm, distilled water, a soft cloth, and only ground-type safe soap if necessary. Cubone are omnivores, preferring to hunt bug-types and eat desert grasses in the wild, however will generally be okay to just eat ground-type food until they evolve. They also enjoy berries; offer them a few kinds to find out what their favorite is.

When you first meet your Cubone or Marowak buddy, you will need to show compassionate dominance. Their tribes have ranks, and your new partner needs to learn to respect you, but it never will if it feels you don’t care for it. Take lots of time to spend with just your new buddy, even if you have other Pokemon. Show your Cubone or Marowak that you are in charge because you take care of them. Communicate with them with the help of a Porygon, Rotom, or psychic Pokemon to show them you really care to bond with them. Once you feel comfortable, start introducing your other Pokemon. This will curb any dominance fighting amongst your team members, as they respect you more than their need to be on top.

Upon evolving into Marowak, your buddy may not be as cuddly as you are used to for a little while. Try to respect their space, as culturally evolution is a big deal to their species. Marowak need time to hunt and be independent, so take them somewhere every few days where they are free to hunt wild bug types and smaller Pokemon for a few hours. It could be a good time to let your other team members out to exercise as well. On top of the hunt, provide your Marowak with high protein ground type food, and supplement every other day with fruits, vegetables, boiled eggs (shells on for calcium), and cooked meats.

For enrichment, both members of this line enjoy target practice. Set them up some targets at various heights and distances around your yard or a park or gym and let them throw their bone club until they tire themselves out. Cubone and Marowak also both enjoy team activities like battles and sports, although they may try to boss your other team members around. Give everyone a role, and things should be alright.

[magicalfxgirl]

LO Characters as Pokemon Trainers: Primordial Gods/Titans

We reach the end with the finale with the remaining titans in LO. This includes; Helios, Nyx, Prometheus, Metis and Styx. No Leto as she is in a different blog and the other titans appeared in the previous entry. This is it. Side note Prometheus entry is based on greek myth. Let's begin with the one person Zeus never dared to cross, Nyx.

Nyx: the premordial goddess of night

Nyx the premordial goddess of night, mother of Hypno and Thanatos. Nyx team is based around darkness and death. Darkria nicknamed Night has been by her side for longer than anyone can remember. Nyx like Darkrai are not evil, yet are feared by others. Its pokemon Saphire pokedex entry state "It can lull people to sleep and make them dream. It is active during nights of the new moon." Thus a perfect fit for goddess of night and mother of the god of sleep. Hydriegon and Glararian Moltres nicknamed Strife take after her brutal nature and those of her children. As some myths indicate that is the mother of Eris (goddess of Strife) and the Erinyes (the furies). Her Hypno a gift from her son Hypnos, while her Dusknoir was a gift from her son Thanatos. Murkcrow is eyes and ears in Olympus. Her Mawhile, Chomp is adored by Nyx due to its cunning nature. Thanatos does not like Chomp as the pokemon likes to sneak up and bite him.

Styx: goddess of the underworld River Styx

Styx is literally a river, but sense she still appears in LO, I thought she deserved her own pokemon team. It also should be noted that she "the spirit (diamon)personification of hatred (stygos)( theoi.com). Styx is filled with souls and her pokemon team is made up of almost entirely of ghost types. Marshadow is her ace and represent her more vicious nature. Her Cubone is sadly trying to find its mom among the spirits. Styx took pity on the pokemon and decieded to care for it. Along with all cubone, despite them avoiding water due to being to week to it. Yamask are also sacred to her due to the fact its pokedex states "Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry." Phantump pokedex Y entry states "According to old tales, these Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest." Need I say more. Her remaining pokemon include Glararian Corsola and Polteageist.

Metis: Titan-goddess of good counsel, planning, cunning and wisdom

Metis poor and her team have been trapped since Zeus ate them. Before you ask yes she tried to use Teleport to get out and it never worked. Her ace is Reshiram as the pokemon "helps those who want to build a world of truth". Her team also contains the Lake Guardians: Mesprit (The Emotion Pokemon), Uxie (The Knowledge Pokemon) and Azelf (The Willpower Pokemon). All three being aspects needed to be a wise person. Metis' Latias telepathic ability helps Metis comunicate with her daughter Athena and give advice to Zeus. Although Zeus just claims he did it all himself, but no one believes him. Latias ruby pokedex entries states "Latias is highly sensitive to the emotions of people" while its saphire entry states "Latias is highly intelligent and capable of understanding human speech." Making it perfect for the mother of the goddess Athena. Rumors has it Metis and her Pokemon team taught Athena everything she knows while Athena was child inside of Zeus. Cutiefly was the pokemon that she was pokemon she was tricked into tranforming into by Zeus. He then ate her along with the poor Cutiefly she used as reference and the rest of her pokemon team. None of Metis' team have managed to escape to Zeus on either. So they now provided her company in her tragic fate.

Helios: The God of the Sun

Helios team is filled with pokemon related to sun which means Solrock makes its third appearance. His ace is Solgaleo the personification of the literal sun. Helioptile is literally named after the sun, while Espeon is refered Sun Pokemon. The two also evolve due to the sun as Helioptile evolves into Heliolisk with a Sun Stone. Eevee evolves into a Espeon through level up with high friendship during the day. He also has ponyta and a Blaziken. Astreas has noted that despite is serly nature, Helios loves his pokemon dearly. His anger is partly due to no longer be able to play with them, like he did in the past. Helios used to have a Volcorona, but gave it Prometheus. As he wanted to annoy Zeus by supporting someone who went against him.

Prometheus: Titan god of forethought and crafty counsel, Creator of Mankind

Prometheus's pokemon team was considered lost until Heracles freed them and their master. His ace is Deoxysis as it is the DNA pokemon and Prometheus was the creator of Mankind. Two other pokemon that reference Prometheus creation of mankind include Mew (the first Pokemon) and Reuniclus. Moltres is was born from the flame that Prometheus gave to humans. Volcorona and Gigantamax Coalossal are reference to how Prometheus saved the humans by giving them fire. As both pokemon having pokedex entries where they helped save people. Volcorona's pokedex entries indicates " When volcanic ash darkened the atmosphere, it is said that Volcarona's fire provided a replacement for the sun." Coalossal pokedex entry mentions that "When Galar was hit by a harsh cold wave, this Pokémon served as a giant heating stove and saved many lives." His Volcorona was a gift from Helios. Although he still confused that Helios gave him a gift as the two are not friends.

Wow I did it. This blog series has been a blast to do and I hope you enjoyed it.

[nerdpokemonheadcanons]

If a cubone is taken in by a different pokemon from a young age, would it wear the skull of that parent once they pass? Or are Marowak too protective of their young to just leave them alone like that

The skull is a helmet made of carapace. It’s not actually the skull of a Marowak, that’s just a myth

[victoryroadburnout]

the urban legend of the cubone wearing the skull of its mother is a grim myth, but ultimately an oversimplification of what is actually complex defensive behavior. the marowak naturally develops a bony plating, shedding it seasonally. as its juvenile form does not grow any armor of its own, its parent will save some pieces of its own shedding for its child, often the large and intact piece of its 'helmet’. the cubone will then wear these pieces until their own plating starts coming in.

however, marowak raises its children as a single parent; should something happen to the mother, the child will be left alone with only her skull to remember her by. these days, this is more likely to happen due to trainers capturing one or the other, rather than an untimely death.