Pokemonhas been an unfailingly successful franchise ever since the first games released on the Nintendo Game Boy in 1996. The series has since gone on to become the most successful single media franchise in history, even beating out the likes ofStar WarsandMickey Mouse. WithPokemon’s success have come newer video games and, as the series tag line is “Gotta Catch ‘Em All,” these new games have also introduced waves of newPokemon.
Even the most dedicated fans would have trouble remembering everyPokemonnow, asthe current number ofPokemonis up to a staggering 898. Almost all of the 151 originalPokemonfrom generation one are now seen as icons of the series, and many of them are recognizable even to those that have never played aPokemongame.
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While the likes of Pikachu and Charmander will usually still get top billing, generation one did introduce a lot of memorablePokemondesigns. One suchPokemonis Cubone, which has now been paid homage to through a creative decoration in aPokemonfan’s terrarium. Redditor CPT_Nemo1870 shared a series of photos of theirPokemon-themed terrarium display which prominently features the skull helmet that a Cubone is never seen without. Cubone’s skull helmet at first just seems like a striking bit of character design, but it raises some questions about where the skull comes from. These questions lead toone of the many creepy backstories inPokemon.
The Cubone’s skull is actually from its dead mother, which it will continuously cry for. CPT_Nemo1870 titled the images of the terrarium “Marowak’s final resting place,” which recontextualizes the terrarium from a creative decoration into a respectful shine to the Cubone’s mother. A Marowak is the evolved version of a Cubone, so it stands to reason that it would be the mother that a Cubone gets its skull helmet from.
When a Cubone evolves into a Marowak, the skull helmet it once wore fuses to its head and can no longer be removed. Essentially, its skull helmet becomes part of the new Marowak’s own skull. But if every Cubone wears the skull of its Marowak mother, this would imply that a Cubone’s skull helmet is not only its own mother’s skull, but an entire lineage of mothers' skulls continually fused and re-fused into one. However, there are manyfan theories revolving around the origins ofPokemon’s Cubone.
It would add another poignant element to CPT_Nemo1870’s terrarium, however, if each Marowak is meant to pass down its ancestral skull to its Cubone offspring. Seeing a Cubone’s skull perched on a plant in its final resting place would imply that either a Cubone has lost its helmet somewhere or has died itself. Something aboutPokemon’s cheerful presentation does seem to attract creepy fan theorieslike these.
Pokemon ScarletandVioletwill release in late 2022 for the Nintendo Switch.
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