Pokemon birds and their real-life counterparts
As the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet release date approaches, let’s look at the inspiration behind some of the birds from the franchise
You probably know that after 25 years, Ash, the Pokemon anime protagonist, has finally become a Pokemon champion. If you haven’t checked up on Pokemon since 2014, the birds from this article may be a surprise for you — and even if you do know them, you may not know everything about their real-life counterparts.
Fletchling — Japanese Robin
Fletchling is a small bird introduced in Generation VI. It’s one of the small birds often present at the beginning of the game. The Japanese robin is also a common sight in Japanese isles, being classified as Least concern conservation status.
The sound of the Japanese robin is intriguing — it screams the first note significantly louder than the rest. For the human ear, it’s hard to call it a song — it’ bears resemblance to the telephone ringing.
Cramorant — Cormorant
Cramorant is another bird-like Pokemon introduced in Generation VIII. By the looks and its name, we can tell that it was inspired by the cormorant, but there’s another interesting aspect of this bird.
Pokemon can have special abilities. Cramorant’s unique ability is called Gulp Missile. The bird pokemon catches something in its beak and spits it out on the attacker causing damage.
This behavior is most likely inspired by cormorant fishing — a practice present in Japan but also in other parts of the world, where cormorants were trained to catch fish and then spit it out.
Oricorio — Hawaiian honeycreeper
Oricorio is a dancing Pokemon introduced in Generation VII. Oricorio can change forms by sipping the nectar of certain flowers, changing their appearance and abilities.
Oricorio may be inspired by Hawaiian honeycreepers, small birds endemic to Hawaii.
Their great morphological diversity is the result of adaptive radiation in an insular environment. Hawaiian honeycreepers feed on the nectar of various plants, but each species favors a specific flower that its beak is adapted to.
There are many other birds in the Pokemon franchise — but I will tell you that what I enjoy the most is collecting entries in real-life Pokedex. You can use Merlin or iNaturalist app to track species you’ve already spotted in the wild. Even though it’s easier to catch them all via Nintendo Switch — the enjoyment of seeing a new species in real life is bigger!
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