Fairy-like Event Legendaries = 5 Classical Chinese Elements?

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Jeffery Mewtamer
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Fairy-like Event Legendaries = 5 Classical Chinese Elements?

Post by Jeffery Mewtamer »

Just an observation I made recently, but I noticed that among the "fairy-like" event Legendaries(Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Manaphy, Victini...), 4 represent 4 of the 5 classical Chinese elements.

Celebi is a Grass type and associated with Forests, giving it a connection with the wood element.
Jirachi is a steel-type and associated with Meteors(which tend to be rich in uncommon metals) giving it a connection with the metal element.
Manaphy is a water-type and associated with the Seas, giving it a connection with the Water Element.
Victini is a fire-type, which makes it associated with the fire element even if it's not connected to anything else symbolic of fire.

I don't know much about Gen 6 mons, but if the sixth gen counterpart to the above mention has a connection to Earth, that would complete the set.

As for Mew, the first of this group, it's ability to learn any TM means it can wield any of the Classical Chinese Elements with the 4 move limit being the only thing preventing it from wielding all 5 at once in-game. Plus, Psychic, which it shares with at least 3 of the above mentioned(I can't remember if Manaphy is pure Water or dual-type and too lazy to look it up at the moment) was the closest Gen I had to an Infinity plus one element. Making Mew a good candidate for representing unity/harmony of the 5 elements.

Did look up the order of the elements, and the order these mons were made available doesn't correspond to any out of the cycle of generation, the cycle of destruction, or their order in the Chinese Zodiac.

Just something that came to me at random, and I can't remember reading such an observation before on the internet.
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Re: Fairy-like Event Legendaries = 5 Classical Chinese Eleme

Post by ShadriaFan »

wow, that's cool. Never noticed.
And for their types
Mew: Psychic
Celebi: Grass/Psychic
Jirachi: Steel/Psychic
Manaphy: Water
Victini: Fire/Psychic

Also, in the game, Vicitini was kept in a lighthouse where his flame kept it lit (I believe...).
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Re: Fairy-like Event Legendaries = 5 Classical Chinese Eleme

Post by Jeffery Mewtamer »

Looking up the Gen 6 event mons on Bulbapedia, while Diancie doesn't have straight 100 base stats, it does sound like it has the same "small, cute, and stronger than it looks" thing going on, and being part rock type and associated with gems, it definitely fits for Earth.
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Re: Fairy-like Event Legendaries = 5 Classical Chinese Eleme

Post by Mamkute »

That is a pretty interesting observation. I wonder how much thought they put into their cross generational trends of pokemon, other than "Quite Tiny Awesome Event Legends."
I was just about to bring up Diancie, although it doesn't quite fit into the cycle, for reasons such as base stats that you mentioned. But rock type definitely puts it as a reasonable contender.

Unfortunately, Gen VII will either give us a more fitting Earth member, or more likely, be completely outside of that cycle.
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Re: Fairy-like Event Legendaries = 5 Classical Chinese Eleme

Post by Jeffery Mewtamer »

If they had been released in order of either the cycle of generation or the cycle of destruction and we didn't have Shaymin as a candidate as a second wood, I'd be thinking it deliberate.

Though, if what I read years ago about the original 151 having been narrowed down from over a thousand designs has any truth to it, who knows how long some mons had been circulating gameFreak's design department before making it in as an official Pokemon. I don't know how far in development Gold and Silver were when the anime started in Japan, but the very first episode featured a prototype version of Ho-oh more than a year before the first Gen 2 mons were officially revealed, so there's really no knowing how many future mons are already on the drawing board and waiting to be programmed into the next new generation.
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