The Origins of Corphish?

[GaryJoaker]

Hey people. I'm fairly new here and had this thought I wanted to share regarding the origins of one particular Pokemon. It's said Yungoose is not from Alola naturally, Exeggcute is said to be from Alola, but Corphish caught my eye last night. I'm writing my third fanfic (it's not on this site... YET... but the link is in my signature) and am going over all the Pokemon to find interesting Dex data when I landed on Corphish and noticed it's not from Hoenn. Its Hoenn, Kanto, Johto, and Alola dex all state it is imported, from afar, and not from those regions. But the Kalos, Sinnoh and Unova dex mention nothing about this. So in trying to narrow down where it's from, I have concluded they are from one of these regions. Unova was then easily ruled out because it isn't there in the origins of the Unova games, only after the post game when the freak accident lets loose the other region Pokemon into Unova. So Corphish is found in both Sinnoh and Kalos in small areas, related to ancient history, but nothing noteworthy to pinpoint where it's from. Except for this line in the Ruby Pokedex stating: "Corphish were originally foreign Pokémon that were imported as pets." These fish were imported, and from that word alone tends to mean trades cross country. Sinnoh is closer to the regions than Kalos is, and also we know Johto, Kanto, Hoenn and Sinnoh are all based in Japan, with Kalos being France. Anything from there would truly be an import. Corphish would be pretty "foreign." And they're "pets." This is a bit of a stretch but there is an aquarium in Kalos. It's possible they may have Corphish there, too. You'd want to be sure they are healthy, and what better place than an aquarium? And lastly, Corphish was introduced in Gen 3, and Gen 3 was remade during Gen 6, the Kalos Generation. Is it all really just coincidence?

Curious on what people think of this possibility. Thanks.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Corphish is supposed to be based on a crayfish, which is similar to a lobster, but smaller and living in freshwater rather than saltwater. Some crayfish escaped from their native habitats and invaded other countries, where they're considered to be pests (tasty pests at that).

It's a similar situation with Yungoos, who is based on a mongoose. Hawaii (the real-life analogue of Alola) had a terrible rat infestation in years gone by, where they ate all the sugar cane, and mongooses were imported from Asia to help deal with the problem. The mongooses outnumbered the rats, however, and today mongooses are sort of native to Hawaii, even though they're actually not.

Other real-life situations reflecting this is the introduction of rabbits to Australia, where they soon bred like rabbits (obviously) and took over the whole country, and the accidental release of pet parakeets into Britain some 30 or 40 years ago, where they've sort of gone native.

 

[lolipiece]

Where exactly is it stated the Exeggcute line is from Alola? They're "originally from the tropics", which could easily mean Hoenn, which is also a tropical location (though Hoenn is where that line comes from, but whatever).

I doubt any of the known regions are ever where any imported Pokemon are from. It'd spoil the mystery if it was ever revealed.

Also, speaking of "originally from the tropics", Gible's Pokedex entries say the exact same thing in the Sinnoh Dex entries, but Ultra Moon's Dex entry states it's original home is even hotter.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

I doubt any of the known regions are ever where any imported Pokemon are from. It'd spoil the mystery if it was ever revealed.

Also, speaking of "originally from the tropics", Gible's Pokedex entries say the exact same thing in the Sinnoh Dex entries, but Ultra Moon's Dex entry states it's original home is even hotter.

So the Gible family isn't originally from Sinnoh either?

Speaking of not being originally from Sinnoh, in her villa at the Battle Resort, Cynthia says her actual home is in another region far away from Sinnoh, though her grandparents are from Celestic Town. She has another villa in Undella Town in Unova, which could be her 'real' house.

There's also Fantina, who apparently isn't from the nation that the Pokémon games and anime are set in, but could easily be from Kalos due to her French accent and Kalos being inspired by France.

 

[malcolm_n]

So the Gible family isn't originally from Sinnoh either?

Speaking of not being originally from Sinnoh, in her villa at the Battle Resort, Cynthia says her actual home is in another region far away from Sinnoh, though her grandparents are from Celestic Town. She has another villa in Undella Town in Unova, which could be her 'real' house.

There's also Fantina, who apparently isn't from the nation that the Pokémon games and anime are set in, but could easily be from Kalos due to her French accent and Kalos being inspired by France.

Hotter than Sinnoh? Hmm. If we can find a mostly jungle/desert region that kinda fits Africa as a theme, maybe we'll see it there. But, then again I could be In de Nile!

 

[lolipiece]

So the Gible family isn't originally from Sinnoh either?

Speaking of not being originally from Sinnoh, in her villa at the Battle Resort, Cynthia says her actual home is in another region far away from Sinnoh, though her grandparents are from Celestic Town. She has another villa in Undella Town in Unova, which could be her 'real' house.

There's also Fantina, who apparently isn't from the nation that the Pokémon games and anime are set in, but could easily be from Kalos due to her French accent and Kalos being inspired by France.

The villa is Caitlin's. She's just borrowing it.

Also, Fantina is only French in the English translation. In the original Japanese, she speaks English instead.

 

[Orphalesion]

They're "originally from the tropics", which could easily mean Hoenn, which is also a tropical location (though Hoenn is where that line comes from, but whatever).

Hoenn, like it's real life inspiration, appears to be subtropical. It's the difference between Southern France and Reunion, Brisbane and Darwin, or in this case, Kyushu and Hawaii. But yeah, as far as the Pokedex intro is concerned "Alolan" Exeggutor should live everywhere in the tropics. So if we get, for example a region based on Reunion, it should have Alolan Exeggutor.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Hoenn, like it's real life inspiration, appears to be subtropical. It's the difference between Southern France and Reunion, Brisbane and Darwin, or in this case, Kyushu and Hawaii. But yeah, as far as the Pokedex intro is concerned "Alolan" Exeggutor should live everywhere in the tropics. So if we get, for example a region based on Reunion, it should have Alolan Exeggutor.

An Australian-inspired region seems more likely, possibly for Gen 8. But one of the guys from Game Freak was in Spain for 'research', so maybe Gen 8's region will be based on Spain? The fact that Ash has Spanish-flag colours on his jacket in the newest movie just sort of hints at it further.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I want a region based around Brazil and the Amazon. I think it would look cool and the possibility for new Pokémon are endless.

 

[Spider-Phoenix]

Hotter than Sinnoh? Hmm. If we can find a mostly jungle/desert region that kinda fits Africa as a theme, maybe we'll see it there. But, then again I could be In de Nile!

Alolan/upcoming region Gible confirmed to be half-dragon lol

 

[nickdt]

Yes, Exeggutor is confirmed too be native in Alola. Imo, all Pokemon that can be exclusively be found in the Safari Zone in Kanto, are Native too another region and there was the early concept of a Alolan Exeggutor in gen 1, meaning this might be its original design.

Tauros can be caught in the wild in Johto and is considered too be a counterpart of Miltank, meaning Tauros can be Johto native. Same with Chansey.

Rhyhorn racing is apparently a big deal in Kalos, which means Rhyhorn can be Kalos native.

Dratini can only be obtained in the Safari Zone or Game Corner coins, meaning its not Kanto native at all. Its Johto native.

Lapras is a gift Pokemon in Kanto. It can be obtained in Johto on Fridays, which makes me think its not Johto native since it migrates. I think Lapras is either from Kalos or too a yet to identify region (Region based on UK), since it has the Whole Loch Ness design.

Then we have Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, which are both Johto native, since you cannot obtain them in the wild and you can only have them by evolving Tyrogue.

And we have more pokemon that debut in a generation, but are not native too that exact region: Houndour can only be obtained in Kanto for example.

Corphis is based on the Red Swamp Crayfish, which are native too northern Mexico and both southern and southeastern US.

Yungoos is another invasive species, brought too Alola too deal with the Rattata and Raticate pest, which resulted in the latter adapating. Since Mongooses live in Southern Asia, Africa or Southern Europe its possible they are imported from those regions, although i kinda expect Yungoos too be imported from Kalos, considering they don't need it there because of lack of rats.

 

[lolipiece]

Yes, Exeggutor is confirmed too be native in Alola. Imo, all Pokemon that can be exclusively be found in the Safari Zone in Kanto, are Native too another region and there was the early concept of a Alolan Exeggutor in gen 1, meaning this might be its original design.

That wasn't "concept art". It was just something someone drew for the TCG.

Exeggutor is partially based on a palm tree, so it wouldn't be reasonable to assume it could grow that large.

Dratini can only be obtained in the Safari Zone or Game Corner coins, meaning its not Kanto native at all. Its Johto native.

The reason certain Pokemon can only be caught in exclusive locations or obtained as gifts are that they're supposed to be rare or you can only get one.

Lapras is a gift Pokemon in Kanto. It can be obtained in Johto on Fridays, which makes me think its not Johto native since it migrates. I think Lapras is either from Kalos or too a yet to identify region (Region based on UK), since it has the Whole Loch Ness design.

Lapras is also explicitly stated to have been hunted to near extinction. Of course you can't find it in the wild that easily.

Then we have Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, which are both Johto native, since you cannot obtain them in the wild and you can only have them by evolving Tyrogue.

By the logic of "you cannon obtain this Pokemon in the wild means they must be from somewhere else", then all gift Pokemon, such as starters, are not native to their regions.

Corphis is based on the Red Swamp Crayfish, which are native too northern Mexico and both southern and southeastern US.

OK? Tons of Pokemon live in regions that are based off of locations where their animal counterparts can't be found. The Pokemon world isn't our world, and I find it really limiting trying to make it the same when they're clearly not supposed to be.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Lapras is also explicitly stated to have been hunted to near extinction. Of course you can't find it in the wild that easily.

As of Gen 7, however, Lapras is no longer endangered. It's been bouncing back in population because of all the fish in Alola, and protection measures.

 

[lolipiece]

As of Gen 7, however, Lapras is no longer endangered. It's been bouncing back in population because of all the fish in Alola, and protection measures.

I'm fully aware. My point was that it was endangered at the time of the Kanto Safari Zone's first introduction.