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. We just went through GO Fest, yet the fun doesn’t end here as this weekend we have a community day to look forward to. So without further ado, let’s have a look at the star of this month’s community day, Tynamo!
Tynamo
Franchise History
Source: Official Pokémon Community Day Info
Tynamo and its evolution made their debut in Generation Five. Generation Five encompasses the Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, and Pokémon White 2 lineup of games. This generation was noteworthy for several reasons. Firstly, it was the last Pokémon generation to be released in the immensely popular Nintendo DS system. It was also the first generation to feature a region not inspired by a Japanese location. As all 4 games in this generation take place in Unova, a region inspired by the real-life city of New York.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Generation Five is often seen as a soft reboot by the fans. The base game of Pokémon Black and White had an original roster of 151 Pokémon. Many of which many trainers have compared to act as potential counterparts to certain Generation One Pokémon. As such, I have been trying to wrap my head around what is Tynamo’s Generation 1 equivalent.
And I believe the closest equivalent is the Bellsprout line. Which will hopefully make sense as this article continues. As a final note, Tynamo also makes a rather important appearance in Pokémon the Series: Black & White Episode 50 being under the ownership of the Electric type gym leader Elesa.
Etymology and Design
Tynamo
Etymology
Source: Pokémon GO Community Day Banner
Tynamo seems to be a combination of “Tiny” (Meaning small) and “Dynamo” (A type of electric generator). Quite a fitting name for the first of a three-stage electric type Pokémon line. But what is it meant to be a tiny version of?
Well, for that we need to check its Japanese name, Shibishirasu. Very likely a combination of “Shibire-Unagi” (Meaning electric eel) and “Shirasu” (A name for a school of immature fish). So there you have it, Tynamo is a tiny electric eel!
Design
So we established that Tynamo is an eel. But it doesn’t quite look like an eel just yet though, right? And it doesn’t look particularly similar to its evolutions either. With Tynamo having a completely different color scheme. So what’s up with that? Well to understand that, we need to get something clear. Literally.
As Tynamo isn’t actually meant to be a white-colored critter. It’s actually meant to be somewhat transparent. Much like an eel larva. Which is what Tynamo is supposed to look like. Take a look:
Source: Photo by Kils at the English-language Wikipedia
Honestly, I’d say it’s pretty 1:1 with Tynamo. Down to the line going down in the middle between the top and bottom parts. Speaking of which, the yellow line on Tynamo’s body is interesting itself. It is definitely meant to represent the tube on the eel larva posted above. But it also looks like common depictions of electricity or even wavy electric/light tubes.
Yellow Line on Tynamo Source: Official Site
Eelektrik And Eelektross
Eelektrik
Eelektrik
Source: Official Site
We’re not gonna take too deep of a look into Eelektrik’s etymology as both its English and Japanese names are pretty simple. Both referring to the fact that it’s an eel and it’s Electric. And indeed, Eelektrik IS starting to look more like an eel now.
So that brings up the question, why are electric eels called electric eels? Well, as it turns out it’s not hyperbole this time. Electric eels do have electricity running through their bodies and they use it to hunt. This ability, from my understanding, is called “Electrogenesis”. What a cool name!
Now here’s a little tidbit. I don’t know if this is common, but over here being raised in Asia, my idea of eels was just electric eels. Probably due to how common their depiction was in fiction. So I was surprised when I found out while researching for this article, that Electric eels aren’t even eels. They’re knifefish!
That Mouth Though
That little tangent aside, something that is very much not like an electric eel is Eelektrik’s mouth. And that toothy mouth is exactly why I think this line is supposed to be the Gen 5 equivalent to the Bellsprout line. It seems more like that of a leech or a lamprey. Both can be found in the water and have a long “noodly” physique similar to an eel. So it makes sense to add elements from them to add to Eelektrik’s design. Not only that, Lamprey’s are also referred to as eels in Japanese!
Lampreys with suction mouths. Source: Public Domain Image Collected from Wikipedia
Eelektross
Eelektross
Etymology
This time let’s actually look at Elektross’s name. It has “Electric” and “Eel” in its name much like Eelektrik. But now there’s also “oss” which is very likely referring to the word “Boss” (Meaning a person who is in charge or in a leadership position). This is similar to its Japanese name Shibirudon. Which keeps “Shibire-Unagi” (Again, meaning electric eel) and adds in “Don” (The Spanish word for “Lord”, a person in power).
These names are very likely this way to refer to the fact that Eelektross is the fully evolved form of this line. Hence the most powerful, the boss!
Design
Source: Eelektross from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Okay, so let’s not beat around the bush. Most of Eelektross’s design is similar to that of Eelektrik’s. With one key difference. THOSE. ARMS. It even learns arm-based moves such as Crush Claws and Focus Punch. What on earth is going on with those? Neither electric eels, lampreys, nor leeches have arms. So why does Eelektross suddenly have them?
Well, one reason could be found in its Japanese name. Shibirudon ends with “don”. And that “don” suffix is common to dinosaurs. So perhaps it has arms to refer to how during prehistoric times aquatic creatures came out of the sea and eventually became land-dwellers. But I have an alternate theory. For that let’s look at a Pokédex entry. This time, from Pokémon Black:
They crawl out of the ocean using their arms. They will attack prey on shore and immediately drag it into the ocean.
The part about dragging its prey into the ocean in particular catches my attention. It tickles the imagination to think of sea monsters in folklore. The type that lures prey in and then drags them into watery bodies, never to be heard or seen from again. In particular, I am reminded of the Kelpie:
Source: Photo by Thomas Nugent / Globe fountain detail
Conclusion
And there we go! Another dashing design under wraps. The Tynamo line represents an important turning point in the modernization of Pokémon design I believe. For starters it is mainly inspired by an aquatic creature, despite not being a Water type. Something I hinted at in a prior article. Not only that, the Tynamo line also seems to take inspiration from multiple sources. And this is why, Tynamo’s design, is quite dashing!
Goodbye for now, Pokémon trainers. Priom-out!
