In this recurring series, I’ll analyze the origins of Pokémon designs and their allusions to Mediterranean culture from Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.
Wattrel
Wattrel is an Electric/Flying-type bird whose name is a combination of “watt” and “petrel“. The European Storm Petrel lives in the Mediterranean. It will dive into the water to catch fish.
To preserve energy, petrels will glide on ocean winds between destinations. When the winds aren’t blowing, they will tend to float on the water. When storms are beginning, and the wind picks up, petrels will be seen more often. As such, sailors have often associated petrels with storms. Sometimes they have been called Mother Carey’s chickens, where Mother Carey is a witch who tries to sink ships and sailors.
When its wings catch the wind, the bones within produce electricity. This Pokémon dives into the ocean, catching prey by electrocuting them.
These Pokémon make their nests on coastal cliffs. The nests have a strange, crackling texture, and they’re a popular delicacy.
Pokédex
Petrels have been known across Europe as a symbol of anarchy and has been adopted by several anarchist groups, as its association with storms has also been associated with revolution. People throughout history have been called “stormy petrels” to allude to their disruptive views.
During the Spanish Civil War, a group of anarchists adopted the petrel as a symbol of their revolutionary views based on an older Russian song
Kilowattrel
Wattrel levels up and evolves into Kilowattrel, a fully-formed sea bird whose name combines “kilowatt” and “petrel”. A kilowatt, using the metric system, is a thousand watts.
Kilowattrel inflates its throat sac to amplify its electricity. By riding the wind, this Pokémon can fly over 430 miles in a day.
It uses its throat sac to store electricity generated by its wings. There’s hardly any oil in its feathers, so it is a poor swimmer.
Pokédex
Kilowattrel gets its power from the wind, much like a wind turbine. These are large devices which are able to convert kinetic energy to electrical energy. Large, long blades are pushed by wind to rotate a turbine and generate electromagnetic energy.
Wind has long been seen as a source of power, with the first known windmills being constructed in the Ninth Century around Persia. The large windmills were sardonically seen as dragons in the famous Spanish novel Don Quioxte.
Kilowattrel gets the signature ability Wind Power which directly ties into the Pokédex. When it is struck by a Wind attack, it gets charged up and boosts its next Electric-type attack. A number of moves have been given an additional property of being Wind-based moves.
Conclusion
Wind Power is a great concept for the time. Wind turbines are a cheap source of renewable energy and wind power has been rapidly adopted by countries in the last few years, now outpacing coal in many countries.
By introducing Wind as a new move property, it adds additional variety to attacks and I hope it can lead to more strategy in future battles.
Wattrel and Kilowattrel are one of the many birds that players have found early in the game, along with many from previous generations. They do stand out, given the petrel’s association with thunderstorms as well as their unique Wind Power ability.
Share your thoughts about these interesting bird-like Pokémon in the comments and don’t forget to join our forums and Discord server!
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