Pokémon That Are Based On Real People

There are some Pokémon in the Pokémon franchise that are based on real people, rather than animals, machines, or myths. Pokémon Red and Green were partly inspired by Satoshi Tajiri’s love of collecting bugs as a child, which is why so many Pokémon are based on things from the natural world.

A common complaint about the Pokémon franchise is that its designs have become less original over the years. People often point to Pokémon like Vanilluxe, Comfey, and Klefki in support of this opinion. People often ignore the fact that Pokémon Red and Blue had their fair share of boring Pokémon designs, like Voltorb, Grimer, and Geodude. Not all Pokémon need to stand out from the crowd, as all of the games need their share of ‘dex filler, so there’s no reason to hate on new Pokémon for not having outrageous designs.

Not all of the Pokémon in the series are linked to animals and objects. There are some Pokémon that are based on people from real life, which is something that mostly happened during the first two generations of games, before the series became a worldwide phenomenon.

Pokémon Based On Real People – Snorlax

One of the most direct inspirations in the Pokémon franchise dates all the way back to Pokémon Red and Blue. Ken Sugimori revealed that Snorlax is based on Koji Nishino, who has worked on every mainline entry in the Pokémon series. This is because Nishino is a big guy. There are even references to this within the Pokémon games, as the player can encounter Nishino in the Game Freak building in Pokémon Black and White, where he refers to himself as Snorlax.

Pokémon Based On Real People – Hitmonlee

Hitmonlee is named after two different people. The English localized name is a clear nod to famous martial artist Bruce Lee. Hitmonlee’s Japanese name is Sawamular, which is a reference to Japanese kickboxer Tadashi Sawamura, who had a 94.6% knockout rate throughout this professional career.

Pokémon Based On Real People – Hitmonchan

Like Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan references two different people. Hitmonchan’s English name is a reference to martial arts movie star Jackie Chan. In Japan, Hitmonchan is called Ebiwalar, which is a reference to Japanese boxer Hiroyuki Ebihara, who had 62 wins and only five losses in his professional career.

Pokémon Based On Real People – Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam

The English names for Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam are references to fictional magic words. In Japan, they are named after famous stage magicians and psychics. Abra is called Casey, which is a reference to a clairvoyant named Edgar Cayce; Kadabra is named Yungerer, which is a reference to illusionist Uri Geller, whose most famous trick involved bending spoons with the power of his mind; and Alakazam is named Foodin, which is a reference to famous escape artist Harry Houdini.

Game Freak got into a lot of trouble with Kadabra’s original name. Cayce and Houdini died long before the Pokémon franchise debuted. Uri Geller is still alive, and he took offense to a Pokémon being inspired by him, especially when it was being used to sell merchandise. Geller sued Game Freak, which prevented Kadabra from appearing in the Pokémon Trading Card Game for decades. It was only last year that Geller changed his mind, allowing Kadabra to finally return to the card game.

Pokémon Based On Real People – Woobuffet

Wobbuffet’s design went through a lot of changes during the development of Pokémon Gold & Silver, with the leaked beta showing a version of the Pokémon that looks like two ghosts. The design was refined into something inspired by a punching bag. The aspect of Wobbuffet that is inspired by a real person is how it touches its forehead all of the time. This is believed to be a shout-out to a Japanese comedian named Hayashiya Sanpei, whose signature joke involved touching his forehead.

Pokémon Based On Real People – Obstagoon

The majority of the Pokémon on this list come from the first two generations of games. Game Freak stopped using such blatant inspirations over time, which was likely inspired by the Geller lawsuit. Pokémon Sword and Shield managed to include a Pokémon design was inspired by Gene Simmons from the band Kiss, or rather, his rockstar persona: Obstagoon. Simmons actually commented on the resemblance, saying how flattered he was by the portrayal, as Pokémon had been part of his kids’ lives for years.

About The Author

Scott Baird
(2515 Articles Published)

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Scott has been writing for Screen Rant since 2016 and regularly contributes to The Gamer. He has previously written articles and video scripts for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz.
A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started out as a film student before moving into journalism. It turned out that wasting a childhood playing video games, reading comic books, and watching movies could be used for finding employment, regardless of what any career advisor might tell you. Scott specializes in gaming and has loved the medium since the early ‘90s when his first console was a ZX Spectrum that used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott now writes game reviews for Screen Rant and The Gamer, as well as news reports, opinion pieces, and game guides. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.

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