The Harvest Festival marks the debut of Hydrapple (and Dipplin) in Pokémon GO, and this Grass/Dragon species enjoys a thriving fanbase among the community. With this, Applin goes on to have the most evolutions of any Pokémon till date, and it’s quite an exciting affair.
I analyzed the lore and origins of Applin, Flapple, and Appletun previously, and promised to get to Hydrapple on its release, and here we are!
So buckle up your seatbelts as we explore the lore of Hydrapple, as we find out why it’s one of the most fascinating dragons in the franchise (more than Hydreigon, maybe?).
What really is Hydrapple?
Right off the bat, it’s pretty obvious that Hydrapple is, well, a hydra. It’s a mythical multi-headed water serpent, depicted as early as 700 BC in Greece. This is essentially the Lernaean Hydra from the ancient Greeks.
Modern representations of the hydra incline towards the draconic nature of the creature, but classical depictions show them significantly more serpentine.
This snake-like nature of the hydra is pivotal to Hydrapple’s lore. In the same vein, let’s talk about the most well-known ability of the hydra: regeneration. If you cut its head off, two more would grow in its place, resulting in a large draconic beast with more and more heads.
Not surprisingly, one of Hydrapple’s abilities is Regenerator, wherein it restores a little HP every time it is withdrawn from battle (but not fainted).
Looking at Hydrapple, it makes you wonder if all its heads are attached to the same body inside the large, syrupy apple, or is it just multiple heads entangled together like a wyrm in an apple (hey Applin).
Thankfully, we have the Pokédex to give us more insight into this.
Hydrapple’s Scarlet entry says:
Seven syrpents live inside an apple made of syrup. The syrpent in the center is the commander.
Syrpent, eh? Wow, just wow… “syrpent” is just an amazing concept! Give its creator a raise!
But wait, there’s one more thing… seven heads?! Don’t we always see only five heads, as illustrated beautifully by Pokémon TCG artist Jerky in this Illustration Rare card:
So… the two tails are two syrpents, who stay concealed inside the apple?! That’s hilarious!
To sum up, they are basically seven syrpents interwined together is a large, sticky, syrupy apple. These are the sort of things that make Pokémon amazing!
Now, speaking about the apple, let’s go to Dipplin for a while.
| Regular Dipplin | Shiny Dipplin |
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Dipplin is an Applin that got stabbed with a stick and then dipped in syrup to make candy apple. Caramel apples are a hit in the West, commonly found in candy stores. In Japan, these are iconic festival sweets. No coincidence that Dipplin was introduced in Kitakami during a summer festival. The shiny colors also reflect its rarity in Japan.
But there’s a twist to this.
You see, while these syrupy sweet apples are associated with Japan, they were invented in New Jersey! And that’s why Hydrapple was first introduced in the Blueberry Academy, located off the coast of the Unova region (based on New York). New Jersey is just across a river from New York, and even Dipplin fits here.
And New York is the… *drum roll*… Big Apple!
The apple part is suitably addressed, but why a hydra or a dragon? Or even a serpentine monster?
Horned serpents are widely talked about in American First Nation stories. In particular, the Iroquois, the nation in what today is around New York, and the Cree, just north and northwest of them, have a serpentine beast called the Oniare.
There are more varieties, notably the Uktena of the Cherokee, having its crystalline horns charged with power and, as a result, breathing poisonous flames. This is akin to Hydrapple shooting out syrupy ‘flames’ from its mouth.
Poison is a common theme among hydras, by the way. The Learnean Hydra has poisonous blood.
Now, many people from these regions believe that two to four of these horned serpents would tie themselves together to form a new beast, a tie-snake.
And about horned serpents, the main syrpent in Hydrapple has horns.
Now, can Hydrapple be connected to the Iberian Peninsula (Paldean region) in any way? Oh, you bet!
Meet the Ladon, which may appear more draconic than serpentine, but when you cut its head off, more grow in its place, and it becomes what is essentially a hydra.
This ancient Greek hydra is also the guardian of golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides. No one knows for sure where this garden is located, but the ancient Greeks believed it to be in the Canary Islands, just off the coast of Morocco and Portugal, and owned by Spain.
Finally, there’s another thing that has seven heads, horns, and is draconic?
Satan. From Revelation 12:3 NIV in the Bible:
Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.
Satan is depicted as a seven-headed dragon. There’s also the forbidden fruit. While the Bible makes no direct reference to the identity of the fruit, an apple has always been shown in paintings and illustrations through the ages. In fact, in Latin, malum means apple and also means evil.
So move aside, Giratina (and Pikachu, lol)… we have a new Pokémon taking over as the Satan of the Pokémon world: Hydrapple!
If you’re interested in checking out more lore, design, and scientific articles on some popular Pokémon, here you go:
Dragapult | Kommo-o | Darkrai | Cresselia | Applin | Mega Salamence | Dialga & Palkia Origin | Giratina | Rillaboom, Cinderace & Inteleon | Garchomp | Baxcalibur | Hydreigon | Skeledirge | Annihilape | Zygarde | Tinkaton | Gardevoir | Druddigon | Hisuian Zoroark | Naganadel | Drampa | Enamorus | Wooloo & Dubwool | Hatterene | Morpeko | Aegislash
