Professor Runa

A historian currently residing in the Galar region. Just here to share some of the cool stuff. //pokemon worldbuilding blog

[historianofgalar]

Introduction Post

Hello members of Rotomblr. I am Professor Runa, a historian in the Galar region. I study ancient cultures, myths, and religions across the world.

More about me under the cut

I was born in the Crown Tundra, but moved to the Wild Area in mainland Galar to raise my kid, @quillpokebiology . I'm in my 50s and go by she/her pronouns. I'm a fan of Dragapult, if it isn't already obvious. Never participated I the gym challenge, so I've never had a traditional pokemon journey, but by my logic, I've still had one. Just involved a bit of illegal stuff and legendary hunting, which I will NOT be getting into!

Team

I actually have a lot of pokemon, since I own a small farm, and i had to csre for my husband's pokemon after he died. But I'm really fond of ghost types and ancient pokemon, which shows with my team. Some of their names might be hard to pronounce, and I apologize for that. I'm not good with names, so they'll be a bit basic.

Aosmhor-Dragapult

(Pronounced Aosh-war). Aosmhor was my first pokemon, which I hatched from an egg when she was a dreepy. Her name translates from old southern Galarian, meaning "old" or "senile." She can seem intimidating, but she's a super sweet girl, albeit a bit naughty. The dreepy are named Sky and Stormy, btw.

Mallaithe-Runerigus

(Pronounced Mall-ee-hay) Mallaithe is my Runerigus that I caught as a Yamask after accidently breaking an old cursed tomb. A lot of stuff happened, and long story short, she forgave me, and I caught her. I didn't name her myself, but I somehow just knew this was her name.

Kronos-Golurk

Kronos doesn't do much, just sitting around my house all day and guarding from whatever. I've had him since I was a kid, and he was the second pokemon I caught. I just leave him to his own devices.

Toki-Claydol

I found them as a Baltoy in these creepy ruins in Hoenn, and that's what the tag translated said, so I just named them Toki They mostly stay in their pokeball since they creep a lot of people out.

Osiris-Sigilyph

Osiris is one of the more confusing pokemon I have. He mostly just flies around looking and scanning things. But he'll sometimes bring me back artifacts he finds, which is nice.

Anyways yeah, that's my intro post. Feel free to stay if you want to hear cool history.

Ooc

Hello 👋. This is a blog I made to talk about my headcanons on pokemon history and the pokemon world. This is kinda a spinoff of my main rotomblr blog, @quillpokebiology , since that focuses more on biology.

Rules

1. My character is still in development, and some stuff may change! I'll try to acknowledge the contradictions

2. Keep asks and submissions SFW! This blog is run by a minor and is a PG area. Don't be gross!

3. Some of the stuff might be based on real history, but just a pokemon version of it. I'm a history nerd irl, and this is me combining 2 things I love

4. This blog is just for fun, and I'm not trying to offend anyone. If you find something offensive, please tell me and I'll look at it

5. If your account has the default tumblr pfp, is untitled, has no description, has a pornographic name, or pornagraphic imagery, I'll assume that you are a bot and you will be blocked

[historianofgalar]

While there are reports of people across history purposely breeding pokemon for domestic reasons (pkmn like Mareep, Miltank, and Wooloo have been with us for thousands of years), pokemon breeding didn't become popular until the 19th century, and that was only for canine pokemon in the Galar region (where those famous dog shows started, and how we got modern-day Snubbul and Granbull). Humans didn't start purposely (mass) breeding non dog/cat/sheep/horse/cow/chicken/horse/just look down a list of domesticated farm pokemon until the 1940s. It's how we got a lot of our modern battle breeds today.

[mintaikk]

Meet the Artist

Hey there 👋. Making the obligatory introduction post, yippee! You might know me from my other blogs, @quillpokebiology , @pokemonpetfinder , @historianofgalar , and @cookie-lore-keeper . I'm the one making all the art for those blogs. I also have a ramble account @mintaikkcorpse , but that is a bit of a mess and I'm giving you a warning for suggestive topics.

This account is made so I can post fanart and OC art that doesn't fit with the blogs I mentioned. I had an art account before, but I deleted it a while ago bcuz of anxiety lol. If you like my art from those blogs, stick around if you'd like!

[historianofgalar]

It surprises me how little people know of Hisui, especially in Sinnoh. Despite popular belief, it wasn't that long ago. Hisui was in the 19th century, so not THAT long agonin the grand scheme of things. How weird are your history lessons?

[historianofgalar]

Hello Runa!

Fellow Galarian here.

Recently read your introspective on the older myths regarding certain species being evil and doing your own debunks, and it got me thinking.

Aegislash also has a very harrowing tale surrounding it regarding Aegislash draining a king of life and the kingdom falling afterwards.

I was always skeptical of this, as while Aegislash was used by more cruel kings in the past to manipulate their people and Pokémon, this is the only instance I'm aware of where an Aegislash actively acts against its king, whilst the dex tells people absolutely nothing about the nature of this supposed king.

I did some digging myself and my findings regarding this myth...don't exactly paint this king in a good light let's say.

It concerns me how many people take the Galar Pokedex's statement at face value and try to weaponize it against people who are bonded with an Aegislash. (I think we all remember the backlash there was, and still is to an extent when Leon first used an Aegislash on his team.)

If you would like I would love to discuss this more in private to construct an answer that settles this once and for all.

Thank you for your consideration.

- History, and haunted sword enthusiast. @enjoyerofswords

Thank you for sharing this! I would love to discuss this

[historianofgalar]

Runa's Quick History Facts #30

In 1960s Kalos, an Espurr named Claire was taken to space with her trainer. Claire did quite well in space, keeping her composure in the rocket, and while her psychic powers could've ripped the rocket, she only ripped her seat belt. In space, she spent most of her time looking out the window and being confused over the fact that she wasn't making herself float. She and her trainer had a safe flight back and she was awarded "Best cat of the year."

[historianofgalar]

h-how does…chosen-ness work?

Like how? How does a legendary choose someone? Is it permanent?

Just..uhm…̶T̶r̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶f̶i̶g̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶r̶o̶n̶g̶..”curious.”

(@magmaticmeratopz)

It depends. There's multiple cases of "chosen-ness" throughout history, and it can come in many forms. Tap on the head, giving an item, giving them visions, etc. But, you'll always know that you're the chosen one. The legendary will make sure.

It could be permanent. Sometimes it might just be to do a specific task, but other times, it's for life.

[historianofgalar]

When was the first recording of Charizard,if you know ofc-

(@magmaticmeratopz)

Hmm, that would be a while ago. The earliest recording that we have of a Charizard was in Kanto, around 10,000 years ago, through cave drawings on walls. But, Charizard back them were a lot more ferocious looking, and not as friendly and cute as they are now. I can see why they were afraid of them.

[historianofgalar]

This is Amal and her family. My children are living under bombardment in the war 😭 Please consider them your children and help them 🙏🙏 Stand by my side to save and protect my children. They haven't gone to school for a year 🙏😢😢 Donate to save my children's lives 🍉 🙏🇵🇸 We live in very difficult and desperate circumstances, and what is worst of all is that the fear that haunts me increases day by day. Help me provide them with basic life needs. @gazavetters is verified, my verified number in the list is (#55)

//I'm so sorry that this is happening to you. I don't have anything to donate, and I'm very sorry. :(

Donate to Support the family of little Amal to get an urgent operation, organized by Brooke Cole

Hello, my name is Brooke Cole and I am organizing this fundra… Brooke Cole needs your support for Support the family of little Amal to get a

[historianofgalar]

I just read that in Typhlosion myth everybody seems to be talking about. It was quite interesting, and I do love reading old folklore. However, ne thing that struck to me was the ending.

"That's how people found out.

"Bakufun (Typhlosion) is half human."

This was written at a time when knowledge of pokemon was very limited, and it's safe to assume that people back then thought that Typhlosion might've been part human, part pokemon. It makes sense. Typhlosion has very human eyes, is the same height as a human, and sometimes walks on its hind legs. The story could've been written to explain how that happened.

It wouldn't be the first time we've heard stories like this. Kadabra once being human is a more recent one, but that's obviously false. There's also plenty of myths of Zorark (both Unovan and Hisuian) transforming into beautiful women to seduce men. But, I guess more people are shocked to hear this due to it being a very well-known pokemon.

[historianofgalar]

Perhaps the myth is also stating that Typhlosion is evil. This was written at a time when people still distrusted pokemon. Perhaps the myth is, "Look! Typhlosion kidnapped a girl and tricked her into having a child with him! See? This is why you can't trust typhlosion!"

[historianofgalar]

With Typhlosion trending, I think it's time to bring up the, "Humans and pokemon were one in the same," and the implications that humans uses to breed with pokemon. Please do not worry, this post is as SFW as it can be, but I do apologize for some other stuff that mighr be brought into it. I'm just discussing the origins of where these ideas came from.

"Did people mary pokemon?"

Yes, and while I'm sure there are some... different cases, most of the marriage worked differently than human marriages. The marriage itself was about the union; not the romance or the children that were expected of from marriage at the time. I explained it in this post, but the Diamond and Pearl clans of Sinnoh would "mary" their lord or lady pokemon, not in a romantic sense, but in a union sense. The wardens would still be allowed to have relations with or marry humans. Even outside of the clans, there were some instances of people marrying their pokemon to show a union between them that wasn't romantic.

In modern day, marrying your pokemon partner is considered taboo due to the modern ideas of marriage focusing on the romantic aspect of it only. Modern-day members of the Diamond and Pearl clans will still sometimes have the practices of weddings with their lord or lady pokemon, even if they are not legally married. It's important to know that, if you're meeting a warden who is married to their lord or lady, that they are bonded in marriage, but not in the way that modern society sees marriage.

The clans have always seemed to view pokemon as one of them. There are instances of people calling their partner pokemon their brothers, sisters, parents, or children. While I do not originate from these clans, I do follow a similar belief. I have been partners with my Dragapult, Aosmhor, since I was 10 years old, and she feels like a sister to me. I do not use pokeballs on my pokemon (accept for Mallaithe the Runerigus, but that was a catch-or-die situation) because I follow a similar belief that they can be used to control your pokemon. These pokemon feel like family to me, and I do not wish to put them into tiny balls.

"Can humans and pokemon have kids?"

Theoretically? Yes. But not with just any pokemon. It's assumed that humans could potentially make a successful embryo with related species to us, like Oranguru or Gardevoir, but no one (that we know of) has ever tried to make an embryo in a lab or anywhere else. There could've been some potential hybrids in history, but nothing ever fully concrete.

//Don't come at me, I didn't just pull this outta my ass. There was a successful human/chimpanzee embryo in a lab

"Where did the myths of humans having children with pokemon originate?"

One reason is that it was most likely to explain why a pokemon looks the way it does. Typhlosion can be mistaken for human from a faraway distance (same height as a human, very human-like eyes, sometimes walks on 2 legs), and people back then must've thought it was part human/part pokemon. It's also why there are so many myths of Ghost Types once being human; to explain their odd behaviours. While I'm actually a believer that some ghost types were once human (Yamask, Spiritomb), pokemon like Gengar most likely weren't human. But, there are myths of it once being human because it follows humans, hides in human's shadows and, despite its wideness, it is the same height as a small human.

The stories could also just be for entertainment or to teach a lesson. A common theme amongst a lot of folklore is, "don't be tricked by seduction." Since fairytales love their symbolism, they'd often use pokemon such as Foxmon or Humanoid-mon as the symbolism for seduction, since many foxes are able to do magic or are just very sneaky, and some humanoid-mons can be easy to mistake for human women. It's why there's so much folklore of Zoroark turning into beautiful women, Primarina luring men to their deaths, and Kantonian Ninetales luring men into the woods with illusions of beautiful women. It's not literal; it's all a metaphor.

Some do have a grain of truth, though. Zoroark would use their illusions to look like humans, but Hisuian Zoroark rarely did this since they wanted to avoid humans. Primarina have beautiful voices that would enchant any sailor, but since they were still wild Pokemon, the Primarina must've felt threatened or scared by the sailors and would harm them in self defense. Ninetales create illusions from fire, and will sometimes use these illusdions to keep people away. But, they rarely ever do it to keep people in the forest, since they dont like anyone in their territory, and the illusions were often scary. But, for the sake of storytelling snd explaining things they couldnt understand, they would change it.

Then there's Frolass, who will just lure men away and freeze them. That one's real. Beware of Froslass if you're a man or too masculine presenting. Unless you're my kid apparently. Froslass just get confused looking at them...

[historianofgalar]

I just read that in Typhlosion myth everybody seems to be talking about. It was quite interesting, and I do love reading old folklore. However, one thing that struck to me was the ending.

"That's how people found out.

"Bakufun (Typhlosion) is half human."

This was written at a time when knowledge of pokemon was very limited, and it's safe to assume that people back then thought that Typhlosion might've been part human, part pokemon. It makes sense. Typhlosion has very human eyes, is the same height as a human, and sometimes walks on its hind legs. The story could've been written to explain how that happened.

It wouldn't be the first time we've heard stories like this. Kadabra once being human is a more recent one, but that's obviously false. There's also plenty of myths of Zorark (both Unovan and Hisuian) transforming into beautiful women to seduce men. But, I guess more people are shocked to hear this due to it being a very well-known pokemon.

[pokemonshelterstories]

got to go to the hammerlocke university archives and saw some incredible manuscripts today! i loved this bunnelby knight so much i got permission to take a picture to share with you guys hehe

[ogy-gia]

I found this old Galarian drawing that shows how they used to kill hatterene for being "witch" pokémon

They would tear off their tentacle-claws, cut their hair and separate them from their "skirt" to reveal their bodies and burn them :((

This practice was done both to wild hatterene and to hatterene with trainers (many times killing the trainers as well)

[historianofgalar]

Shuppet and Banette History

(Art by Azurane on Deviantart)

Shuppet are ghost type pokemon originating in Hoenn, first being documented officially in the Hoennese Edo Period (1600s). They were said to be teru teru bōzu (small little paper dolls) come to life, playing pranks on the children that would mistreat them when they were still dolls. The Shuppet of this era had a slightly different appearance, being white and having paper instead of cloth cover them.

It wasn't until the 1940s that things began to change. During this time period, a popular brand of toy known as "ragged monsters" came out, which resembled what we know now as Banette. These toys quickly grew in popularity, subverting the expectation of regular humanoid dolls and appreciating the more creepy side of toys. These dolls were shipped to many other regions, with hundreds to thousands of them being made. Different variants of them were made as well to fit many occasions, and they became the staple of alternative toys at the time. (While I wasn't alive at that time, my ma did take part in this craze and I do have some of these dolls she decided to pass onto me).

But, like any craze, the popularity soon died out, and many of the dolls were abandoned and thrown away.

After that happened, complaints about seeing these dolls move on their own began to circle the region. Parents would say that their kids would see these strange toys move in the night and stand at the foot of their bed , almost with a vengeful energy. These dolls were recalled as to not anger anyone and to do more research on them. After extensive studies, it was revealed that these dolls were pokemon and the evolution of shuppet. This was a surprise to most, especially with it being the evolution of Shuppet, who was thought to have a rare evolution unrelated to these dolls. These pokemon were then named Jupetta, or Banette for Galarian speakers.

[thy-dragon]

I made a regional form based off this idea.

Regional shuppet- grass ghost type, in this region shuppet’s cloak is comparable to parchment and have a ribbon/vine wrapped around their neck holding them together. Shuppet’s head glows with an ethereal light when they use their power. Shuppet hate the rain sometimes even causing the sun to shine to dissipate it, they are very tidy and love to clean up after children.

Regional banette- grass ghost type, banette in this region are often kept to protect gardens from Pokémon and weather. It is rumored that the ribbon/vines on it’s body never stop growing. Mimikyu often hunt banette to make their disguise.

[historianofgalar]

Hammerlock & Their Views on Dragons

Old Hammerlocke Galarian views on Pokemon are so interesting to me. While many cultures of Galar viewed Pokemon as a part of nature and something to live side-by-side with, Hammerlocke Galarians believed that they were above pokemon; that they were something to be controlled. It's the entire reason they used pokeballs.

In the Hammerlocke Empire, killing a dragon was seen as the highest honor a knight could receive. Combine this with the fact they were living in a kingdom that saw themselves above pokemon. A lot of it adds up. Many knights would go out of their way to actively hunt dragons, which, in turn, would make dragon types more defensive and weary of humans. These dragons would now become defensive or aggressive to any human they saw, which would give the Hammerlocme Empire more reasons to hunt them. Pokemon like Dragapult and Noiverm were greatly affected by overhunting, and their populations still haven't fully recovered. Salamence in Galar went completely extinct, and pokemon that were hunted by dragons would now be overpopulated and eat all the crops, leaving nothing left for the other pokemon.

Anyways, the defensiveness of dragons over the centuries would end up leading to Hammerlocke Galarians being weary of all pokemon that wasn't a Wooloo or a Purrloin or anything like that. It's why Hammerlocke has an entire wall around it; to keep pokemon out. And while the dragon head today is used a symbol letting people know that Hammerlocke is "The Dragon Capitol of Galar," it's original purpose was meant to scare dragons off.

It's difficult to explain Old Hammerlocke's views on other pokemon, other than "We are above them and they need to be controlled." That's pretty much the gist of it. That belief has died out a lot today, but their old worldview definitely affected Galar's history.

(I have just realized I've been spelling Hammerlocke wrong this entire time. I'll fix that later)

[wishmaker-astra]

Is that why some Galarians are so damn weird about the fact that in Unova we have wild Nidoran on common hiking routes in the woods?

[historianofgalar]

I guess, lol. A lot of the populated cities (Motostoke, Galar, and Wyndon) were made to keep Pokemon out, and since the Wild Area is completely optional, not many Galarians are used to interacting with wild pokemon when they don't have to, so a lot of them end up thinking wild pokemon are dangerous, when most will just sniff your leg or leave you alone. Give them some time though when they're visiting; they're out of their element, and they'll get used to it

[wishmaker-astra]

Yeah, obviously give them time, just we get freshman students from Galar, and a good deal of time you get comments like "you straight wilding" when you talk about basic things such as having to set up food bags hanging from trees instead of it being in your tent if camping is brought up.

[historianofgalar]

I imagine that would get frustrating over time, lol

[wishmaker-astra]

Let's just leave it at once had one of them try to call campus cops on a pidove.

[historianofgalar]

They what? On a small little Pidove? Ha, I can't imagine what they would've done if it was an Unfezant

[wishmaker-astra]

Yeah. And a lot of people have pet Vulpix, that they love to leave off a leash without being from areas crowded enough to give training for that. So I have no idea how they'd react to one of those guys chasing some paper that caught in the breeze bumping into them.

[historianofgalar]

Oh arc, I imagine a big freak out lol

[historianofgalar]

Hammerlock & Their Views on Dragons

Old Hammerlocke Galarian views on Pokemon are so interesting to me. While many cultures of Galar viewed Pokemon as a part of nature and something to live side-by-side with, Hammerlocke Galarians believed that they were above pokemon; that they were something to be controlled. It's the entire reason they used pokeballs.

In the Hammerlocke Empire, killing a dragon was seen as the highest honor a knight could receive. Combine this with the fact they were living in a kingdom that saw themselves above pokemon. A lot of it adds up. Many knights would go out of their way to actively hunt dragons, which, in turn, would make dragon types more defensive and weary of humans. These dragons would now become defensive or aggressive to any human they saw, which would give the Hammerlocme Empire more reasons to hunt them. Pokemon like Dragapult and Noiverm were greatly affected by overhunting, and their populations still haven't fully recovered. Salamence in Galar went completely extinct, and pokemon that were hunted by dragons would now be overpopulated and eat all the crops, leaving nothing left for the other pokemon.

Anyways, the defensiveness of dragons over the centuries would end up leading to Hammerlocke Galarians being weary of all pokemon that wasn't a Wooloo or a Purrloin or anything like that. It's why Hammerlocke has an entire wall around it; to keep pokemon out. And while the dragon head today is used a symbol letting people know that Hammerlocke is "The Dragon Capitol of Galar," it's original purpose was meant to scare dragons off.

It's difficult to explain Old Hammerlocke's views on other pokemon, other than "We are above them and they need to be controlled." That's pretty much the gist of it. That belief has died out a lot today, but their old worldview definitely affected Galar's history.

(I have just realized I've been spelling Hammerlocke wrong this entire time. I'll fix that later)

[wishmaker-astra]

Is that why some Galarians are so damn weird about the fact that in Unova we have wild Nidoran on common hiking routes in the woods?

[historianofgalar]

I guess, lol. A lot of the populated cities (Motostoke, Galar, and Wyndon) were made to keep Pokemon out, and since the Wild Area is completely optional, not many Galarians are used to interacting with wild pokemon when they don't have to, so a lot of them end up thinking wild pokemon are dangerous, when most will just sniff your leg or leave you alone. Give them some time though when they're visiting; they're out of their element, and they'll get used to it

[wishmaker-astra]

Yeah, obviously give them time, just we get freshman students from Galar, and a good deal of time you get comments like "you straight wilding" when you talk about basic things such as having to set up food bags hanging from trees instead of it being in your tent if camping is brought up.

[historianofgalar]

I imagine that would get frustrating over time, lol

[wishmaker-astra]

Let's just leave it at once had one of them try to call campus cops on a pidove.

[historianofgalar]

They what? On a small little Pidove? Ha, I can't imagine what they would've done if it was an Unfezant