Talk:Skeledirge (Pokémon)

Regarding Skeledirge's inspirations

Because this keeps going back and forth i want to mention why i think some of the origin ideas user Toucannon733 put on the page don't fit Skeledirge at all (and why i think some of their removals are really weird):

• Cocollona: So from what i've gathered, the Cocollona is a crocodile with butterfly wings (which Skeledirge doesn't have) who was once the ghost of a nun. I see why it's tempting to compare Skeledirge to Cocollona because "ghost crocodile", but idk. There doesn't seem to be any more connection between the two for reasons i've mentioned (no butterfly wings, also Skeledirge is a singer, not a nun).
• Lizard of Magdalena: From my research this is a story about: a giant people-eating lizard who terrorized a small town but was eventually killed by being tricked into eating gunpowder and exploded. Again, like, why was this mentioned? Was it because gunpowder and that Skeledirge is a Fire type? Like... no? The connection just isn't there, Skeledirge doesn't eat people nor does it learn explosion moves.
• Regarding mariachi/rock music: How many rockers do you see wear suits regularly? Plus I don't see how mariachi can't be an inspiration, given Crocalor's appearance and JP name, and Skeledirge's suited look resembling the attire. The Dia de Muertos inspiration helps too.

To close, I just want to say i appreciate user Toucannon733's edits to Bulbapedia (the one they made for Crocalor connecting it to Mona de Pascua is actually really good), but personally i think they need to rein back a little bit on trying to connect every Gen 9 mon to every single possible Spanish idea. I know it's weird coming from Gen 8 where almost every mon is British in origin, but not every Gen 9 mon has to have an explicitly Spanish origin, and that's okay. Sometimes they're based on Iberia in general; sometimes they're based on the greater Mediterranean area like Greece and Egypt; sometimes they're just based on Latin America which speak Spanish and Portuguese; and sometimes they're just based on silly jokes the staff thought of that day (like how Toedscool and Toedscruel were based on Japanese puns). Plus it's not like there's no precedent for this kind of design philosophy either (kangaroos in Japan, pandas in France, koalas and orangutans in Hawaii, etc).

Anzasquiddles (talk) 03:27, 12 December 2022 (UTC)

Hi! First of all, thank you so much for your kind words and the opportunity to talk and write about all of this. Also, sorry if I could have been a little bit rough or harsh, I feel bad for it. Now, in regard of the questions:

- About the Cocollona and the Lagarto de la Malena: I know they're not the main inspiration for Skeledirge, but I see really possible for them to have influenced the idea. One is a ghost crocodile (I mean, it has to be a big coincidence to have a Ghost crocodile Pokémon just introduced in Paldea, a region based on the Iberian Peninsula, which have a really known myth about a ghost crocodile, and for it not to be influenced by that idea at all) and the other is a legendary crocodile (because it is said the legend was originated by a crocodile. All the main sources about the Lagarto de la Malena are in spanish, so I don't really know how it is talked by english sources) that is said to have being killed with gunpowder in some versions of the tale, but in others by setting it on fire. So, Spain has various legends about mythological crocodiles related to ghosts and fire (the Drac the na coca is also related to it. In the Sant Sebastià festival, a giant fire-breathing crocodile that represents the Drac is brought up to fire wood and other things). They may not be the main inspirations (except for the Drac de na coca, I really think Skeledirge is strongly based on it), but I do think they definitely took part on the desing process for the Pokémon, and I not see the bad thing about superficially mentioning them. I think it all makes sense.

- About the mariachi inspiration: yeah, you may be right. I just didn't see the ressemblence to a mariachi.

Now, about other issues I'd like to talk:

- I think the iberian inspirations are a little "understimated" (if that's the word). For example, I could really see why they decided to name Garganacl after El Gargantúa. It has a french origin, yeah, but El Gargantúa is a separated basque giant creature. So, why not take inspiration (at least, for the name) from a giant Iberian mythological creature for a Pokémon that stands out for being a giant? I know that, just like with Alola, whose designs take inspiration not only from Hawaii, but also from other archipielagos and islands (Komala and Australia, Oricorio and the Galapagos, Passimian and Madagascar, etc.), Paldea serves as a Mediterranean region in general (Garganacl and some hebrew countries, Mabosstiff and Italy, Espathra/Rabsca and Egypt, Arboliva has a little bit of Greece, etc.), but that doesn't mean some Iberian possible inspo should automatically be discarded.

Lastly, thank you again for letting me say all of this. And also thank you for all the work you're doing for the site; in due course, I took a look at your contributions and you make a great work. I will be really happy to help again everytime I can in the future, I have some new things to write, and I hope my contributions will be well received and helpful to the community. Toucannon733 (talk) 02:20, 19 January 2023 (UTC)