apparently Iâm putting fakemon here as well
My 4th Elemental Monkey
First bit, basis. The original trio are based on the Three Wise Monkeys: see no evil (-pours), hear no evil (-sears), speak no evil (-sages). The most common addition is do no evil, since itâs part of a Confucius quote that includes the others:
âLook not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to proprietyâ
I could also do âchoose no evilâ, âsmell no evilâ, or âtouch no evilâ, other additions from a Xunzi quote or honestly no clue for the origin of the other 2, maybe people went for senses?
â[âŠ] makes his eyes not want to see what is not right, makes his ears not want to hear what is not right, makes his mouth not want to speak what is not right, and makes his heart not want to deliberate over what is not rightâ
((I could be convinced to make another monkey trio based off of choose, smell, and touch with another triangle but Iâm already belaying another idea with the elemental monkeys doing this because guess who canât stop their brain))
Now the PokĂ©mon stuff. Since the canon monkeys are a type triangle, I gotta expand it into a square. Luckily thatâs pretty easy with the Ice type. Fire is 2x to Ice, Ice is 2x to Grass, Grass is 2x to Water, Water is 2x to Fire. Added thing of Ice being 1/2x to Water while Water is 1x to Ice. This also works nicely with âfreezingâ being inaction, which the Wise Monkeys are meant to be against with the whole quote being used for those who choose to do nothing or ignore evil when faced with it.
Design. One thing that annoys me with the Elemental Monkeys, specifically the Simi-s, is that Simisear has no subcultural basis. Simisage is 50s American greaser inspired, which also inspired Japanese the subcultures bĆsĆzoku & yankee/yankÄ«. Simipour is based around 60s & 70s hippy/beatnik subculture. Simisear? For the sake of this, Iâll say Simisear is representative of the 80sâ New Romantic subculture. This leaves me with 40s or 90s. 40s is going to be difficult because WWII, with some subcultures taking a backseat during wartime and properly getting doing at the turn of the decade â no Teddy monkey for me â with an exception being Neds, who emerged from poverty in 1930s Scotland. Poverty doesnât exactly go away in wars. The way I see it my options are:
30s & 40s Neds
90s rave (possibly Gabber specifically, a subculture popular in the Netherlands).
90s Grunge
90s Punk
90s Britpop
Though punk would suit the typical stance of this line's basis, I think rave would work well for the top/trousers pattern this line would help complete: Pansage has green trousers and Simisage has green trousers, separate from the main body around the torso; Pansear's division is roughly in the middle but Simisear clearly has fully integrated red trousers with separate fur at the opposite side via shoulders; Panpour has a blue crop top thing and Simipour has a long blue top separate from main body around the torso. The -sages & -sears have furry tails as a result of their trousers, while the -pours have nakey tails until the tip. Since we can't do baggy, grunge is out; it was one of the main parts of grunge fashion to obscure silhouettes. The Pan- of this line would have a roughly middle division like Pansear, while the Simi- has integrated top pattern like a tracksuit and some distinct fur around the ankles like trainers. All the Pan- ones have upright hair-fur but Simipour's hair goes down. This Simi- would be the same.
Naming. Now with the trio being a quartet, I get to fix something thatâs bugged me with these guys for so long: the -pours differing from the others by having their second half begin with âpâ instead of âsâ. If I have the Ice Typesâ second half begin with âpâ I can be happy, especially since it gives it an alternating order! The issue: not many ice words begin with p. Polar, permafrost but shortening that to âpermâ to fit the 4 letter thing feels weird. âPackâ could work. 1 syllable, 4 letters, refers to a bunch of ice floating as one continuous mass in the ocean, works with cooking theme because âpack with flavourâ, maybe a nod to pack mentality if I want to bullshit more meaning into it. That has it, Panpack and Simipack!
Also the new brother would be Calam from calamint, a type of mint with high amounts of menthol native to the UK. Mints are supposedly cold, and calamint is used in cooking. Wouldnât join his brothers in their gym, maybe heâd just be a cook or a previous champion or E4 something. Can you tell I donât care about him as much as my new monkey friend? Iâm sure thatâll change as I try doodle designs.
Iâm gonna try draw some ideas. The one issue I have so far is I think the colour fur for this line is going to have to be white and each of the monkeys are said to release elemental stuff from their head and my brain is making relevant but inappropriate links.