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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 Alomomola.
Zoos something of a dilemma for me. I love to see animals, but I hate to see them looking sad in their small little enclosures. I’m a little more conflicted when it comes to aquariums. A lot of the fish seem quite content with the big tanks which they can explore in all three dimensions. It’s also all to easy to convince myself that these animals which are further from me on the evolutionary map are therefore less intelligent. The truth is though, Octopus have shown intelligence on a par with apes, and sharks can live for centuries, developing a wisdom I’ll never know. I finally got that sad, zoo animal feeling when I went to a coastal aquarium in Japan and saw an Ocean Sunfish, alone in its tank, drifting so bored it bumped up against the glass.
The Ocean Sunfish, known scientifically as the Mola Mola, is a gentle giant, often seen slowly wondering through the ocean eating up jellyfish. With their great size, there are few animals which feed on them. Sharks may, or orcas, and particularly seals. Seals have been seen taking chomps out of Sunfish who just swim merrily on, seemingly not feeling or noticing any pain.
Alomomola is a big, pink water-type Pokémon that resembles an ocean sunfish with a heart-shaped main body. The pink color and heart motif lead many fans to speculate that this Pokémon evolved from Luvdisc, but when Black and White were released, this turned out not to be the case. The Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Pokédex photo for Alomomola does show it swimming with Luvdisc, however.
Some Pokédex entries describe Alomomola swimming around being docile, very like a real-life Sunfish.
White
Floating in the open sea is how they live. When they find a wounded Pokémon, they embrace it and bring it to shore.
A lot of the others, however, talk about a mucus membrane unique to this Pokémon.
Black
The special membrane enveloping Alomomola has the ability to heal wounds.
Alomomola lays the most eggs of any fish in the world, up to 3,000 at a time, and each infant is born barely milimeters across. They are born surrounded by a star-shaped membrane which protects them from predators and other hazards as they grow to their enormous size.
Black 2
It gently holds injured and weak Pokémon in its fins. Its special membrane heals their wounds.
White 2
Sun
It uses its special mucus to close the wounds of injured Pokémon. The reason for this behavior remains unknown.
A question which is answered in ultra moon.
Ultra Moon
The reason it helps Pokémon in a weakened condition is that any Pokémon coming after them may also attack Alomomola.
ltra Sun
Fishermen take them along on long voyages, because if you have an Alomomola with you, there'll be no need for a doctor or medicine.
This makes Alomomola sound like a very valuable companion and, as it happens, despite is slow, docile vibe it is a helpful Pocket monster.
Alomomola, like a real Mola Mola, is able to take a licking and keep on ticking, having an enormous HP stat and an excellent defensive typing. On top of that, everything the Pokédex said about its membranes is not just talk; Alomomola has the ability Regenerator, which recovers its health when it switches, and the move wish, which heals an ally in the next turn. This reliance on switching a lot was nullified when, in generation nine, it gained the move Flip Turn, which lets it attack and then switch with an ally, meaning it can bring someone else in completely safely.
This switching and changing style is much more useful in one-on-one matches than in the two-by-two format used in competitive videogame competitions, but players have gotten very good mileage out of Alomomola.
The name Alomomola takes the animal’s scientific name, the Mola Mola, and makes it a palindrome to match the Pokémon’s symmetrical shape. The Japanese name, Mamanbou, combines Manbo, the Japanese name for this ship, with the word mama, referring to its protective habits.
The more we learn about the other animals who share our planet, the less unique our thoughts, feelings and consciousness feels. I hope one day humans will treat all life on Earth with a spirit of friendship, and in the meantime I hope the Mola Mola I saw sadly drifting lazily and alone in a tank far too small is happy, wherever it floats today.
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 Joltik and Ferroseed, so please get in touch about those or any other monsters. If you want to hear me complain more about seaworld and how people misunderstand animals, listen to the upcoming episode of the podcast Films and Filth about Jaws 3. It’s a podcast in which we watch the top 100 and bottom 100 films on IMDB.
Even if you don’t feel like doing any of that, thank you so much just for listening.
I love Alomomola. And remember, I love you too.