It's Spooky Month! Last year I did a bunch of classic horror story characters as pokemon: Count Dracula, Victor Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde, etc...
I decided I wanted to do something like that again this year but with a little twist. First of all, instead of horror I decided to go a different direction capturing another side of Halloween: Fun (with some scariness mixed in) This year the theme is Fairytales.
I had an idea I wanted to explore: These pokemon are NOT meant to be taken as the characters from their respective fairy tales, these are kids who are wearing costumes that allow them to embody the story for which they are dressed as and gain abilities associated with their character/story, so a character might not just be the character who they resemble but a culmination of the entire story, and stories can be very powerful!
Benji or known more by his stage name Briar, is a moody Buneary with a mean streak and no intention to lighten up. Fun Fact: In pokemon, upon being caught, Buneary has a friendship level of 0 (The most common friendship level upon being caught is around 70. 0 is only matched by some legendries) and they are a pokemon that evolves via friendship. I don't know why, but this cute bunny just Hates you upon meeting you.
I thought what if I made a Buneary character that just hates you and has no intention of warming up or ever becoming a Lopunny. Briar is a rebellious edgy teen who has some notoriety in the music scene singing Punk, Rap, and Deathmetal fully leaning against the expectation that he's supposed to be cute.
Briar embodies the spirit of the story of Briar Rabbit or Br'er Rabbit also known as Brother Rabbit. These stories are actually an amalgam of African-American and Indigenous-American folktales.
The character of Br'er Rabbit is a Trickster who overcomes overwhelming enemies with his wits rather that strength, Provoking Authority figures and bending social norms as he sees fit.
The African Br'er Rabbit is actually related to the West African Spider God Anansi another trickster and god of Stories. He was brought to the Americas in much the same way as his worshipers, and became a folklore symbol for breaking the bonds of slavery.
The Indigenous American Briar Rabbit is also a trickster and shapeshifter who uses his wits to escape predators. In one story he is caught by a wolf and so he begs the wolf not to throw him in the nearby briar patch (A plant known for having lots of thorns!). The Wolf wasn't planning on doing that, he was just going to eat the rabbit, but because the Rabbit really seems to NOT want to be thrown into the briar patch he decides to add insult to injury and throws him in anyway. Briar Rabbit then teases the wolf as he disappears into the thicket that he fell for his trick, he actually grew up in a Briar patch so these thorns are nothing to him. The wolf attempts to go after the Rabbit but he gets a face full of thorns.
The Br'er rabbit is also likely the inspiration behind another trickster character: Benjamin "Bugs" Bunny.
While Benji Briar Buneary is rebellious and defiant, he does not yet have the wit or cunning to get out of trouble and tends to reply to threats with aggression whether or not he thinks he can win rather than back down or let pokemon think he is a coward. He is good at roasting though.
