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A weekly Pokédex Podcast from Bald Man in Japan Luke Summerhayes. A different Pokémon family every week.
I’m Luke Summerhayes, and I love Vullaby.
Vultures are a family of birds known for scavenging dead animals. They have a grim reputation in human culture, often being portrayed as harbingers of death due to their uncanny habit of hovering around things which will soon die, or as unclean and unpleasant creatures due to their association with dead bodies.
In reality, vultures are actually really key to their ecosystems, able to eat rotted flesh and absorb bacteria which would otherwise spread disease. They mate for life, share with their fellows and generally do a service for their habitat. Just as with human funeral work, vultures taking the burden of handling the dead is something to be thankful for, not something to deride.
Vullaby is an infant vulture, a dark and flying type Pokémon with the black feathers and bald pink head of many culture species. It wears an upside-down animal skull like a diaper, at once macabre and comedic, cute and ghoulish.
White
They tend to guard their posteriors with suitable bones they have found. They pursue weak Pokémon.
Vullaby, despite its flying typing, cannot yet fly.
Black
Its wings are too tiny to allow it to fly. As the time approaches for it to evolve, it discards the bones it was wearing.
Found only in Pokémon black, Vullaby is a counterpart to that game’s Rufflet. Rufflet are all male, while all Vullaby encountered in game are female. Rufflet are bright and colourful, Vullaby are dark and edgy. Both are based on birds found widely across the Americas, although where eagles are beloved, vultures are despised.
The name Vullaby combines vulture and baby, while also sounding like lullaby, appropriate for an infant. The Japanese name is a little less clever, Vulchai, from Vulture and Child. And it stays a child for a long time. Also like Rufflet, this Pokémon does not evolve until level 54, when it becomes Mandibuzz.
Mandibuzz has the long, snakelike pink neck of a vulture, as well as the black and white feathers. Just as vultures consume the dead, so human societies around the globe first developed tools, weapons and jewellery from animal bones. Mandibuzz reflects this with a skirt and hairpin of bones.
Alpha Sapphire
Watching from the sky, they swoop to strike weakened Pokémon on the ground. They decorate themselves with bones.
Sun
They adorn themselves beautifully with bones. This is supposedly an effort to attract males, but no male Mandibuzz have ever been found.
Shield
They adorn themselves with bones. There seem to be fashion trends among them, as different bones come into and fall out of popularity.
Mandibuzz is a dark type, and although vultures are associated with death they are friendly and communal creatures in their own way. Mandibuzz also reflects this.
Sword
Although it's a bit of a ruffian, this Pokémon will take lost Vullaby under its wing and care for them till they're ready to leave the nest.
Ultra Moon
It's always searching for food for Vullaby. When it finds a weak Pokémon, Mandibuzz swoops it right off to its nest.
ANDY
We may not want to eat what Vullaby serves on Come Dine With Me, but Mandibuzz had a much more successful competitive career than its counterpart Braviary. It uses all the trickery associated with dark types, boosting its own team, hindering opponents and striking with Foul Play, a move which uses the other monster’s attack stat.
It started strong and only became stronger as the dark type was afforded more boosts, and the Pokémon with which it worked developed. Mandibuzz has made it to second place in a world tournament, and plenty of other impressive league positions.
The name Mandibuzz combines mandible, a bone in the lower jaw, with the buzz from buzzard, a colloquial term for scavenger birds like vultures. The Japanese name is Vulgina, a regal vulture, though it sounds a little inappropriate as a name for an all-female bird Pokémon to an English speaker.
Its unfair that the eagle, a predator, is seen as a brave and noble creature while the vulture, which only eats what is already dead, is so often depicted as somehow villainous. Perhaps with more education, and with a move away from war and towards peace, these feathered friends will be given the respect they deserve.
Original music for Luke Loves Pokémon is by Jonathan Cromie. Artwork is by Katie Groves. Funding is provided by listeners at Patreon.com/PodcastioPodcastius. For just a dollar a month, supporters can listen to episodes a week early and also help cover hosting and fees, making it possible for me to keep making episodes every week.
I love hearing from listeners! Get in touch about upcoming Pokémon on twitter or facebook at LukeLovesPKMN. Drop a comment if you’re watching the video, or a review on apple podcasts or spotify. Coming up are Heatmor and Durant, so please get in touch about those or any other monsters.
Even if you don’t feel like doing any of that, thank you so much just for listening.
I love Vullaby. And remember, I love you too.