The Dashing Design of Stonjourner

Good day, Pokémon Trainers! Have you ever noticed how certain events in Pokémon GO give special attention to a single Pokémon or the community itself tends to hype a new Pokémon up? Have you ever wondered why this Pokémon specifically and what its origins are?

Well, that’s where the Dashing Design series comes in! I’ll be your guide as we take a look at the franchise history, concept, and potential design inspirations of specific Pokémon. With that being said, it seems Pokémon from Galar are finally getting some love in GO, as we are getting the Galarian starters and Dynamax. But that’s not all, Stonjourner is coming to GO as a regional exclusive for Merry Old England. So without further ado, let’s have a look at this new rocky friend from Galar, Stonjourner!

Stonjourner

Franchise History General icon

Source: Official Site

Stonjourner is a relatively new Pokémon. It was first introduced in Generation Eight. Generation Eight kicked off in 2019 with the release of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield for the Nintendo Switch systems. These games take place in the region of Galar, which is based on the real-life United Kingdom. This is why Stonjourner is a regional exclusive only available in the UK in GO. And as we will soon see, design-wise it makes a lot of sense for Stonjourner to be there as well.

Outside of the games, Stonjourner made its first appearance in the anime in Pokémon Journeys: The Series. It made its debut rather late into the series, first appearing in Episode 127 of the series titled “Just a Scone’s Throw From Here!”. This late appearance seems to be continuing in GO, as Gen 8 Pokémon came to Pokémon GO in 2020, and we’re finally getting more Gen 8 Pokémon, Stonjourner included, in late 2024.

Etymology And Design General icon

Stonjourner

Etymology

“Stonjourner” seems to be a combination of “Stone”(A type of very common hard mineral) and “Journer” (A temporary resident of a location). Quite direct, as Stonjourner is a Pokémon made of stone that can walk, thus being a “Journer”, as opposed to a regular rock which stays in place (hopefully).

Its Japanese name “Ishihengin” is very likely a combination of “Ishi” (Meaning stone), and “Henjin” (Meaning eccentric). “Ishiheng” might also take from “Stonehenge” which will make perfect sense as we move to the analysis of:

Design

So Stonjourner seems to be based on unnaturally occurring/manmade stone structures that can be found throughout the world. To be more precise, Stonjourner seems to be inspired by megalith structures akin to trilithons and dolmens.

Stonehenge Trilithon. Source: By Timothy Darvill in Wikipedia

Which brings us back to Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a set of prehistoric stone formations found in Wiltshire, England. They are a rather popular tourist attraction and I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve heard of them before even if you don’t live in the UK. And if the Japanese name wasn’t already a direct giveaway, Pokémon as a whole doesn’t seem to shy away from this fact at all. Just look at this image from the anime:

Source: Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Ep. 127

The Hat(?) And Arms

So Stonjourner is a Pokémon with a silly shape, and it also doesn’t have any evolutions. This opens the door to speculating each part of this oddly shaped Pokémon. So let’s start off with the pile of rocks that are on top of the horizontal slab that makes up Stonjourner’s head/body. Along with the arms, as they look like a pile of rocks stacked on top of one another as well.

Stone Gravestone in Japan. Source: Photo by Krisna Yuda on Unsplash

So what’s up with those? I think it might be based on burial stones that can be found throughout parts of Asia, including Japan. After all, the purpose of Stonehenge is riddled with mystery, and it’s quite likely that different groups of people of different ages used them for different purposes. One such use could be rituals related to burials as there have been grave spots found around Stonehenge. This is bolstered by the fact that this is what one of the first-ever Stonjourner cards’ art looks like:

Source: Official Site

To be fair, this is one of the weaker theories I have on it. Especially since if you look at the card, there are naturally occurring rock piles surrounding Stonjourner. But still, I think there’s some merit to it.

As for the rock pilings on top of Stonjourner’s head, I think it’s meant to look like a top hat. After all, Stonjourner is a Pokémon inspired by Stonehenge that was first introduced in the British-inspired region of Galar. And top hats are a pretty common British stereotype.

Source: From Cullen328 in Wikipedia

The Legs

It’s kind of hard not to put your attention to Stonjourner’s big rocky legs, perhaps the most immediately noticeable of which are those symbols near the bottom. They seem to be based on Runes.

Rune Stone. Source: Photo by Håkan Sundblad on Unsplash

Runes are alphabetical symbols that were used by Nordics and the Germanic people in general. They can be found engraved on various things including stones, and day-to-day tools these people used. There are reasons to suggest that these runes were carved onto objects to give them magical properties. As for what the runes mean on Stonjourner, they bear similarity to the “Othala” symbol, which means heritage. And, well, Stonehenge is a world heritage site.

Rune Gems. Source: Photo by petr sidorov on Unsplash

The symbols on Stonjourner also bear similarity to “ing” from a completely separate set of runic alphabets. This symbol seems to have some relation to the Nordic deity Freyr, the God of kingship. In one popular Arthurian tale, it is believed Merlin suggested a king collect specific magical rocks to build Stonehenge as a burial site for princes. So that could be another inspiration.

Though something interesting is that the Nords seemingly had nothing to do with the creation of Stonehenge, yet the Germanic people do have a history with Great Britain. This is something that the Pokémon introduced in Galar do take inspiration from (Galarian Meowth and Purrzerker as examples). And from what I’ve gathered the word “Rune” might be taken from the Proto-Celtic “rūna”, and the Celtic people did have their own rune-like symbols such as the Ogham, that can be found carved on stone. And the Celts might have had more of a history with the Stonehenge.

But What Does It All Mean?

So we know Stonjourner is inspired by Stonehenge. But why though? Why is it a living part of Stonehenge? Sure it’s an important heritage site for the UK, and Galar is inspired by the UK. But they could have just made a Stonehenge-inspired location in Galar. Why make it a living Pokémon?

Well, the matter of the fact is that the creation and purpose of Stonehenge is riddled with mystery. Many educated theories exist, and there is a lot of folklore surrounding it as well. From Arthurian fables, to their supposed use in Druidic rituals, to them being healing stones, there are many suggested purposes for their existence, some of which we took a look at today. This is exacerbated by the fact that the monuments seem to have relationships with the sun.

Sunlight Shining Through Stonehenge. Source: From Ion Tichy in Wikipedia

They face the sun-rise during the Summer Solstice, and the sun-set during the Winter Solstice. The first sunlight of the Summer Solstice even passes through one of the stones. This is actually referenced in the Pokémon Sword Pokedéx entry:

It stands in grasslands, watching the sun’s descent from zenith to horizon. This Pokémon has a talent for delivering dynamic kicks.

So perhaps Stonjourner is alive through some magical element, considering all of the lore surrounding Stonehenge. 

But hey, remember the runes on its legs? They also look like shoe-strings. Along with the mud near the bottom of its legs, this gives the impression of Stonjourner wearing big boots on its big legs! Also, remember how Stonjourner’s Japanese name refers to eccentrics? Well, as a popular attraction, Stonehenge is no stranger to eccentric characters. So that could explain Stonejourner’s strange shapes. But really, I think Stonejourner is a living piece of Stonehenge because it’s supposed to be a fun and strange Pokémon.

Conclusion General icon

And there we go! I have said this before in the Dashing Design series, but ever since Generation Five, Pokémon have based their regions around locations outside of Japan. This has allowed for Pokémon that are very heavily based on the country the region in which it debuts is inspired by. Stonjourner is a perfect example of this. It’s a goofy little fellow inspired by an important English cultural monument. And this is why, Stonjourner’s design, is quite dashing! 

Goodbye for now, Pokémon trainers. Priom-out!

Author & tags

Priom
Priom
Pokémon fan since as early as object permanence allows. Me and my Pokébuddy, PoppyGO are here to hopefully help you with all of Pokémon GO's going-ons!
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