Japan is Freaking Crazy

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Welcome to the one time of the week where I tell you a little bit about the world of Pokemon and attempt to blow your mind with my knowledge and woo all you lady-readers out there with my charm and magnetic personality.

Speaking of ladies, the first question I'm going to answer in this little column here comes from a certain reader who is not a lady. Let's hear what our good friend Max D would like to know:

"I could swear that Gothitelle is based off some sort of African doll that I made in second grade art class. Is this true, and what is Gothitelle based on?"  -  Max D (Definitely probably a male)

A very good question, Max! But I'm afraid that the designer that created the Gothitelle line didn't take the same art class as you did, because that's definitely probably not what they're based on. 

Answering the question of what they're really inspired by would require us to delve deep into the dark, frightening recesses of Bulbapedia Japanese punk/pop/urban culture. You see, Gothitelle and its pre-evolutions seem to be based on what we Americans call "creepy". The Japanese word for this, however, is "Gothic Lolita". 

Some of you may know that Lolita is a subculture in Japan in which every day for participants is Halloween, except without candy. There are many different kinds of Lolita dress, but the kind Gothitelle resembles is characterized primarily by "darker make-up and clothing, red lipstick and smokey or neatly defined eyes, created using black eyeliner" (Thanks, Wikipedia!!) This is obviously where Gothitelle gets her looks, including her dark dress and red lipstick. 

So, there. Not really quite an African doll, but still equally as weird and foreign. I hope you all liked my first venture into the reader question industry. It's nice to do something around here for a change! Please email me YOUR questions at davedwtho@gmail.com or leave a comment with whatever you want to ask me! Thanks for reading, and if you need me I'll be on the couch in the PKMNcast green room.