Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
A weekly Pokédex Podcast from Bald Man in Japan Luke Summerhayes. A different Pokémon family every week.
I’m Luke Summerhayes, and I love Deerling.
Deer are common almost all over the world – only Australia and Antarctica lack any native deer population. Perhaps owing to this geographical ubiquity, they also ubiquitous in the mythology of many cultures. It makes sense that deer find themselves in fantastical stories – they live aloof in the forests on the peripheries of the human world, and their antlers can often be far more intricate and impressive than the horns of the mythical unicorn.
In Shinto beliefs, as I mentioned when discussing Stantler and Wyrdeer, deer were the messengers of the gods. In the Norse myths, four deer were said to eat the leaves of Yggdrasill, the world tree, named Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór. Some scholars believe the four stags are the source of the four winds, while others believe they are associated with the four seasons.
Deerling is a normal and grass type Pokémon resembling a fawn, or young deer. It first appeared in Pokémon Black and White, which also happen to be the only games to feature seasons. Every month of real time, the game world would change between the new seasons, with leaves falling or snow melting changing the routes available to players.
White
The turning of the seasons changes the color and scent of this Pokémon's fur. People use it to mark the seasons.
In the spring, Deerling can be found the pink color of cherry blossoms. According to the pokedex, they have a sweet and calming scent.
Violet
Despite Deerling's adorable appearance, farmers consider it a nuisance since it loves plant shoots and will eat them all up.
In the summer, the blossoms have subsided but deerling a bright green like leaves. In this form, they smell like fresh-cut grass.
Scarlet
To prevent Deerling from entering their fields, many farmers will have several Lycanroc stand guard, as they are the natural enemy of Deerling.
As the summer turns to autumn, the leaves change their colour and deerling is a rusty red. They now have a softly sweet scent that lingers on the nose.
Scarlet
These Pokémon are not shy—they will behave as they please, even in front of people. If you feed one of them, it will quickly take a liking to you.
And in winter, the treers have lost their leaves and Deerling is a woody brown. In this form, it has no scent at all.
Violet
This Pokémon will playfully headbutt those it gets along well with. It has antlers hidden under its flower, so the headbutts are a little painful.
In subsequent games in which they’ve appeared, there hasn’t been a season system and so they were either only available in one form, as in the sixth and seventh generations, or their forms were found in different climates throughout the region. One exception is Pokémon GO, which naturally enough follows real-world seasons.
The name Deerling simply implies a small dear, while the Japanese name Shikijika combines the Japanese for the seasons, shiki, with the Japanese word for deer, Shika.
Whatever the season, and whichever color a Deerling is at the given time, if it reaches level 34 it will be able to evolve into Sawsbuck.
Sawsbuck is a proud adult deer with a pair of antlers which resemble the branches of a tree. As the plantlife is contained to the antlers, the body itself has a more realistic coat of brown fur.
Black
They migrate according to the seasons. People can tell the season by looking at Sawsbuck's horns.
White
The plants growing on its horns change according to the season. The leaders of the herd possess magnificent horns.
A deer with a plant for antlers is a striking image, and I’d wager that Deerling and Sawsbuck have had some influence. In the film Annihilation, one of the first signs of the unusual corrupted life is a deer with cherry blossoms on its antlers, very similar to Sawsbuck. In the videogame God of War Ragnarok, the four deer from Norse mythology I mentioned at the top of the episode can be located as part of a sidequest. Just like Sawsbuck, they are deer with tree branches for antlers and foliage coats, and each of the four represents a season.
In Spring, Sawsbuck’s beautiful antlers simply sport a few tastefully paced pink blossoms.
Scarlet
It seems that a Sawsbuck with many flowers on its antlers will grow at a slightly slower pace because the flowers absorb the Pokémon’s nutrients.
In Summer, a majestic bush of green leaves cover the antlers.
Violet
This Pokémon's leaves can be made into a black tea, the taste of which varies depending on the region of origin. Paldea's is especially aromatic.
In Autumn, a stylish Sawsbuck’s leaves are more abundant, red in colour and sagging, about to fall.
Violet
Sawsbuck in their Autumn Form are known for having very short tempers. The males fight each other incessantly.
In winter, Sawsbuck’s antlers are bare and bale white. It also has a bushy, white fur coat, presumably to keep it warm. Apparently, this is the least popular among in-universe Sawsbuck fanciers, but I think it looks adorable.
Scarlet
It’s said that Sawsbuck are calm and easy to tame during the season when they take on this form, so it’s the perfect time to make one your partner.
Sawsbuck is worth making one’s partner. It can be obtained fairly early in game, its appearance will keep you interested and with the ability chlorophyll to help it out on sun-based teams or Serene Grace to let it make the most of certain moves, it isn’t entirely without a competitive niche.
The name Sawsbuck takes buck, a male deer and the more likely to have antlers, and adds the initials for summer, autumn, winter and spring, saws. The Japanese name is Mebukijika, a combination of shika (deer) and this time 芽吹き mebuki (to bud).
I grew up in the UK, where the weather is mild and kind of wet all year around. Before moving to Japan, I heard people talk about the four distinct seasons and thought I knew what that meant. When I got here and experienced just how different the temperature, atmosphere and colour of a place could change from season to season, I understood what it meant to live in a place with real seasons. Cherry blossoms exemplify this with their distinct, colorful states, and Deerling and Sawsbuck combine that with a cool animal into a Pokémon so perfect its been ripped off at least twice.
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 Karrablast and Emolga, 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 Deerling. And remember, I love you too.