Have you ever wondered what the heck those statues are that are positioned outside of Kanto’s gyms? So have the devs who worked on Pokemon Pokopia, apparently. Theories abound, which we’ll get into in a sec, but the important part is that Omega Force, and quite possibly even Game Freak themselves, took the opportunity when designing the asset as a usable art piece to ask the same question we’ve all had for decades.
Pokopia stands tall with an 88 on Metacritic, which is one of the highest achievements the franchise has ever reached. Players love it for its in-depth gameplay systems, its ceaseless sense of whimsy, its bright and poppy aesthetic, and so much more. The occasional sense of irreverence—as demonstrated by lampshading the great gym statue mystery—is just one more perk.
Personally, It’s Always Looked Like A Chibi Marowak… With Wings
As Twitter user @KirbyCheatFurby (quite the name) points out, examining the statue prompts the following text: “It seems nobody knows exactly what this statue is of…” Yeah, pretty much. Well, theories have run rampant for ages. The statues appear beyond Kanto, too, though they’ve been far less prevalent in recent generations, doubtless thanks in large part to how much more detailed they’d need to be, and thus, all the questions they’d raise. (They do appear in Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, however!)
Speculation has abounded that they’re based on Rhydon, which is said to have been the first Pokemon that Game Freak ever designed. I’ve seen conflicting statements on that, however—but some research on my part has led me down the proverbial Buneary hole (I’ll never say that again), and it appears that Ken Sugimori himself has confirmed that Rhydon was his first design. It’s also the first Pokemon to have been coded into Red and Blue.
Even in Sword and Shield, the statue appears outside a stadium; a real blast from the past. Fans have ceaselessly speculated: is it a baby Kangaskhan? A Cubone without its helmet shell? An amalgamation of multiple Pokemon? To me, it’s looked like a chibi Marowak, with, uh, wings… for whatever reason. But the Rhydon theory does strike me as the strongest, so whatever. I’ll take it.
Either way, I dig that Pokemon Pokopia had a bit of fun with this. If only the devs had been given the go-ahead to provide canon confirmation once and for all… but that’ll always be wishful thinking, won’t it?
There’s A Poster Referencing Pokemon Winds & Waves In Pokopia
Pokopia keeps up its time honored tradition of teasing future games in its new releases.
