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Mawile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mawile
Pokémon character
Mawile artwork by Ken Sugimori
First appearancePokémon Ruby and Sapphire (2002)
Designed byKen Sugimori (finalized)[1]
In-universe information
SpeciesPokémon
TypeSteel and Fairy

Mawile (/ˈmɑːwaɪl/), known in Japan as Kucheat (Japanese: クチート), is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. First introduced in the video games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the development team wanted to push the concept of what a Pokémon could look like compared to previous installments, while the design was finalized by Ken Sugimori. Since Mawile's debut, it has appeared in multiple games including Pokémon Go and the Pokémon Trading Card Game, as well as media related to the franchise. This Pokémon is noted for having a second, larger mouth on the back of its head, with comparisons being drawn to the yōkai futakuchi-onna. Beginning as a Steel-type Pokémon with no evolution, it gained a second type in Pokémon X and Y, as well as a special type of evolution called a Mega Evolution. It has been generally well-received, with multiple critics commending its design as cute. Its X and Y changes were also praised, with USgamer writer Kat Bailey stating that these changes helped increase its popularity.

Conception and development

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As well as growing a second horn, Mega Mawile gains additional height and a secondary coloration on its body.

Mawile is a species of fictional creatures called Pokémon created for the Pokémon media franchise. Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Japanese franchise began in 1996 with the video games Pokémon Red and Green for the Game Boy, which were later released in North America as Pokémon Red and Blue in 1998.[2] In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon. Some Pokémon can transform into stronger species through a process called evolution via various means, such as exposure to specific items.[3] Each Pokémon have one or two elemental types, which define its advantages and disadvantages when battling other Pokémon.[4] A major goal in each game is to complete the Pokédex, a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading with other Trainers to obtain individuals from all Pokémon species.[3]

Originally called Kucheat in Japan,[5] it was introduced in the 2002 sequels Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. When designing the games, Game Freak initially wanted to not include any of the Pokémon from the previous games, with lead artist Ken Sugimori using this as an opportunity to push the concept of what a Pokémon could look like. To this end, he wanted to try more "humanoid" designs and also emphasize "cooler" ones, due to feedback the team had received that Pokémon was seen as too "babyish". Additionally, while the previous Pokémon Gold and Silver species were bound to simplistic designs for the sake of the related anime and toy manufacturing, Sugimori stated in an interview he said "screw it" and focused on more complex and fleshed out designs with these games. As the art team developed the Pokémon species, Sugimori would finalize their work and draw the promotional art, altering details as he felt necessary.[1]

Design

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Standing 2 ft tall (61 cm) tall, Mawile is a bipedal creature with a yellow body, with its legs flaring outward and stopping just before its feet. It has three-digit black hands with the coloration extending up to the elbows, while its feet are cloven hooves. It has large pink eyes, while the hair on its head resembles a bowl cut hairstyle with two tufts of hair extending downward on each side of its brow. A large black horn extends from the back of its head resembling a crocodile maw, with visible white teeth and a yellow spot on the upper middle. Mawile is able to open and close the horn revealing a pink interior; in this manner, the horn can act as a secondary mouth to bite objects or consume them. Despite its appearance, this horn has no tastebuds or eyes, and is controlled completely by Mawile.[6][7] When introduced in Ruby and Sapphire, Mawile was originally classified as a Steel-type Pokémon.[8] With the later games Pokémon X and Y it gained a secondary typing, now classified as a Steel- and Fairy-type Pokémon.[9] Despite having a feminine appearance, Mawile is a gendered species and subjects of it can either be male or female.[5]

X and Y also introduced Mega Evolutions that allow certain Pokémon to temporarily evolve through the use of in-game items. In Mawile's case, it can become Mega Mawhile,[10] which gains additional height and now stands 3 ft 3 in (99 cm) tall while gaining considerable attack power.[11][6] It gains an additional horn maw, each now protruding from the sides of its head and having a more rugged appearance. Mega Mawhile's body also gains a secondary coloration, with pink coloring now extending up its legs to just above its waist, while its arms now flare out just before its hands like sleeves and gain a pink coloration.[12]

Appearances

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First found in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire,[13] Mawile has appeared in most Pokémon titles since, up until Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, where it was one of many previously introduced Pokémon excluded from the game.[14] In Pokémon Sword and Shield, it is used by Gym Leader Opal,[15] a Trainer that acts as a boss the player must defeat to proceed.[16] In multiple games in the Pokémon franchise, Mawile is only capturable in one version of the paired entries, including Ruby, Sword, and Brilliant Diamond.[13][17][18] In Pokémon X and Y and onward until the release of Sword and Shield, Mawhile can evolve into Mega Mawile while it is holding a Mawilite in-game item.[10][19] Mawile also appears in spin-off games in the franchise, including titles such as New Pokémon Snap, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, and Pokémon Go, with Mega Mawile available in the latter two.[20][21][22] In physical media, both have appeared in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.[23]

Mawile also appears in the related anime. In particular it appears in the episode Once in a Mawile, where it is enamored with Lombre, a Pokémon belonging to recurring character Brock. Lombre initially shows no interest in Mawile until it evolves into Ludicolo. However, Mawile now has no interest in it and moves on to give another Pokémon its affections, much to Ludicolo's surprise.[8]

Critical reception

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Mawile's design is believed to have taken inspiration from Futakuchi-onna, a mythical Japanese yōkai.[7]

Mawile has been mostly well received since its debut. The staff of Inside cited Mawile alongside Gardevoir as example of Pokémon that stood out amongst the Ruby and Sapphire's cast for how cute they were, something they felt took players by surprise especially after the realization they were not strictly female.[5] While they emphasized its cute appearance was meant as a trap for it to get food, calling its nature "truly frightening" and "unbearable", they observed Mawile was still one of the most popular and desired Pokémon by players.[24] Carolyn Gudmundson in a podcast for GamesRadar+ meanwhile praised it as "one of those Pokémon that's more interesting from a design and story perspective than from [...] a battling perspective". She felt it was a fan favorite despite what she considered "dismal" gameplay, and enjoyed its presentation in the anime. Co-host Henry Gilbert offered his own input, enjoying the contrast between Mawile's creepy "jaw ponytail" and more cute front.[8]

IGN in their "Pokémon of the Day" series of articles expressed that Mawile had become one of their favorite Pokémon, calling it "adorable yet exceedingly tough, evil", and "reminiscent" of Cubone, due to both "sporting a large and bulky headpiece". They were surprised that it did not have more fans at the time due to its Steel typing, something that had been requested for some time by players. They stated that while it was not one of the strongest Pokémon in the franchise, they felt it was underappreciated and added it "has a certain specific role to fill", and that it "fills it exceptionally well".[13]

Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen was critical of its design, calling it "terrible looking". Though he praised the design of its rear mouth, he felt that its "little, weird body" was uninteresting and felt that it was as if another character design had been spliced to the larger maw. Despite his criticisms, he felt its gimmick was cool and appreciated the lore aspects, though expressed that for the size of its horn he expected Mawile to have a more muscular design due to how easily it carried around its weight. He discussed the fandom surrounding the character, including fan art, which he remarked made it hard to find an image due to the propensity of not safe for work content.[6]

Kat Bailey in an article for USgamer cited Mawile as an example of the improvements Pokémon X and Y brought to the games and refreshed the feel of older Pokémon. Calling it "once a bit of filler" from Ruby and Sapphire "with the misfortune of having a set of jaws straight out of The Little Shop of Horrors", she felt the addition of its Fairy typing and Mega Evolution helped increase its popularity. She also emphasized how the improvements felt tailored to the character, stating that Mawile was "emblematic" of a "nuanced" approach Game Freak appeared to be taking to balance its games, one focusing on giving the characters the tools they need rather than sweeping buffs or debuffs. She further felt that Mega Mawile "represents everything Pokémon X and Y is trying to accomplish."[12]

Cian Maher writing for USA Today stated that despite the improvements, describing it as having one of the best Mega evolutions in the franchise and having "fascinatingly niche strategic values", over time the Pokémon had felt forgotten even though it had since seen usage in titles such as Mystery Dungeon and New Pokémon Snap. He attributed some of this to its classification as a Steel- and Fairy-type Pokémon as he felt its appearance fit neither, and argued that its "earthy colouration and weird snout with too many teeth" made it appear more in line with Ground- and Dark-type Pokémon in the franchise. He further expressed that the character's strengths were in its design, stating that "it's still extremely cool" that for decades people had assumed the snout-like horn on the back of its head was its true face, while its real face was "actually really lovely", and praised how its lore-based design helped make it believable as something people could encounter in the real world.[25][26]

Mawile's basis has been suggested to be that of the Futakuchi-onna, a Japanese mythical yōkai described as a woman who has a second mouth on the back of her head beneath her hair.[27] Lucas Sullivan of GamesRadar+ observed this correlation, describing Mawile's design as "as macabre as it gets [...] somehow balanced between nightmarish and adorable", and questioned how such a design seemingly based on the yōkai made it into the Nintendo-produced game.[7] Author Kate Hodges in the book Warriors, Witches, Women praised how well Mawile illustrated the concept in the Pokémon franchise, stating that "even her name echoes that of a gaping orifice."[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b "ポケットモンスター ルビー・サファイア 大ヒット記念 ロングインタビュー". Nintendo Dream (in Japanese). No. 84. February 2003. pp. 117–126.
  2. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (December 25, 2016). "Pokémon Red & Blue – A Look Back At The 20-Year Journey To Catch 'Em All". Game Informer. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Allison, Anne (May 2006). Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination. University of California Press. pp. 192–197. ISBN 9780520938991.
  4. ^ Pokémon Deluxe Essential Handbook. Scholastic Inc. July 28, 2015. p. 5. ISBN 9780545795661.
  5. ^ a b c 【特集】アドバンスに進化するルールやシステム達...ポケモンゲーム史「ゲームボーイアドバンス」編 [[Special feature] Rules and Systems Evolving on the Advance...Pokémon Game History "Game Boy Advance" Edition]. Inside (in Japanese). February 25, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Zweizen, Zack (December 15, 2020). "Mawile Will Eat You Up In One Big Chomp". Kotaku. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Sullivan, Lucas (February 4, 2014). "17 Pokemon Based on Real-World Mythology". GamesRadar+. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Gudmundson, Carolyn; Gilbert, Henry. Pokémon Monday Episode 13 (MP3). GamesRadar+. Event occurs at 21:50.
  9. ^ Khan, Calvin (October 19, 2013). "20 Changes that Make Pokemon X & Y Totally Rad". IGN. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Plafke, James (April 29, 2020). "Pokémon X and Y: How to Get Every Mega Evolution". Mashable. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  11. ^ Pokémon X & Pokémon Y: The Official Kalos Region Pokédex & Postgame Adventure Guide. The Pokémon Company. February 4, 2014. p. 334. ISBN 9780804162579.
  12. ^ a b Bailey, Kat (December 25, 2013). "2013 in Review: The Year We All Became Pokemon Masters". USgamer. Retrieved October 4, 2024 – via VG247.
  13. ^ a b c "Pokemon of the Day: Mawile (#303)". IGN. April 14, 2003. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  14. ^ Faulkner, Jason (December 14, 2023). "Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Indigo Disk Missing Pokemon List: Which Pokemon Are Still Gone?". Game Revolution. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  15. ^ Lee, Julia (November 15, 2019). "Pokemon Sword and Shield's Ballonlea gym: Guide to beating Opal". Polygon. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  16. ^ Fontes, Renan (August 23, 2020). "Pokémon Red & Blue: Every Gym Leader's Signature Pokémon (& Their Level)". TheGamer. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  17. ^ Lee, Julia (November 5, 2019). "Pokémon Sword and Shield: Complete list of exclusives". Polygon. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  18. ^ O'Connor, Quinton (November 29, 2021). "Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Version Exclusives: What are the differences?". RPG Site. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  19. ^ Tapsell, Chris (January 19, 2021). "Pokémon Sun and Moon - Mega Beedrill, Audino, Mawile, and Medicham download codes for Beedrillite, Audinite, Mawilite and Medichamite". Eurogamer. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  20. ^ Franey, Joel (March 6, 2020). "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX: How to Mega Evolve". VG247. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  21. ^ Byrd, Matthew (May 3, 2021). "New Pokémon Snap: Mythical and Legendary Pokémon Locations". Den of Geek. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  22. ^ Lada, Jenni (December 6, 2017). "Generation 3 Pokémon Heading To Pokémon GO". Siliconera. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  23. ^ Koepp, Brent (October 29, 2022). "Pokémon TCG: Silver Tempest Secret Rares We Want To See". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  24. ^ 家族にしたいポケモン21選・前編！定番のポケモンから犬・猫系ポケモンも [21 Pokémon You'd Want as a Family Member - Part 1! From Classic Pokemon to Dog and Cat Pokemon]. Inside (in Japanese). February 16, 2018. p. 3. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  25. ^ Maher, Cian (January 22, 2022). "The Top Ten Steel Pokémon, Ranked". USA Today. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  26. ^ Maher, Cian (December 15, 2022). "The Top Ten Fairy Pokémon, Ranked". USA Today. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  27. ^ Matsuura, Thersa (2023). The Book of Japanese Folklore: An Encyclopedia of the Spirits, Monsters, and Yokai of Japanese Myth. Adams Media. p. 62. ISBN 9781507221921.
  28. ^ Hodges, Kate (February 4, 2020). Warriors, Witches, Women: Celebrating Mythology's Fiercest Females. White Lion Publishing. p. 133. ISBN 9781781319260.
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