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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 Tapu Fini.
Seemingly for as long as people have been sailing the sea, they’ve been telling tails of mermaids, sirens and water nymphs. Perhaps it is simply a side effect of a group of men stuck on a boat together for extended periods of time and craving some female company. Perhaps it is the alluring beauty of the sea itself, the true mistress of any sailor. Or maybe, just maybe, they really are out there waiting for the sailor brave enough to find them.
Hawaii and other Polynesian cultures are islands, first populated by some of the most impressive ocean navigators of all time. Naturally, they have their own share of myths very similar to mermaids of the western canon; from ocean goddesses and alluring sirens, to the dragon-like, but feminine, Mo’o we’ve already encountered a couple of times.
A water and fairy type Legendary Pokemon, Tapu Fini resembles a mermaid sitting inside an open clam, a classic motif. When the outer shell is closed, the pointed tip makes the Pokemon resemble a swordfish or similar relative.
Moon
The guardian deity of Poni, it can control water. People say it can create pure water that will wash away any uncleanness.
Tapu Fini is the finned tapu, and the Japanese name Kapu Rehire also uses the Japanese word for a fin, hire. Of course, this Pokemon is much more than just a fish.
Ultra Sun
This guardian deity of Poni Island manipulates water. Because it lives deep within a thick fog, it came to be both feared and revered.
Like the other Tapu, Tapu Fini draws inspiration from one of the four primary Hawaiian gods. In this case, it is Kanaloe. Kanaloe is a god of the sea, often associated with the squid or the octopus.
Ultra Moon
Although it's called a guardian deity, terrible calamities sometimes befall those who recklessly approach Tapu Fini.
For island nations like Hawaii, or indeed Japan and England, the sea is a bounty but also a danger. Like they say in Avatar the Way of Water, The sea is your home, before your birth, and after your death.
Sun
The dense fog it creates brings the downfall and destruction of its confused enemies. Ocean currents are the source of its energy.
As god of the sea, Kanaloe is a counterpart to Kane, the god of the land. She also has a role as counterpart to Kane as god of life; Kanaloe is the god of death. Tapu Fini is the same. In English, we meet the Pokemon in the Ruins of Hope but in Japanese they are the Ruins of the Other Side. In the anime, the mists of Tapu Fini are said to be the barrier between life and death.
A mermaid goddess of the sea and of death sounds pretty terrifying, but did Tapu Fini live up to all that? Like the other Tapu, it uses a terrain, in this case Misty Terrain, preventing itself and others from being afflicted with statuses like poison. Like Tapu Bulu, it has good bulk and defenses, along with especially strong typing defensively. Topped off with excellent special attack, Tapu Fini was a competitive monster.
Just like that, we’re done with the Tapus and close to being done with the seventh generation. It almost feels like something to Mourn, but Tapu Fini doesn’t want us to regret what we’re leaving behind, but to have hope for the other side.
Music for Luke Loves Pokemon was composed by Jonathan Cromie. Artwork for the show is by Katie Groves. Funding is by supporters at patreon.com/podcastiopodcastius.
I love hearing from listeners! Get in touch on youtube, social media or email and let me know about your favorite Pokemon. Coming up next are the box legendaries and the ultra beasts, so let me know your thoughts about those or any other monsters.
Even if you don’t feel like doing any of that, thank you so much for listening.
I love Tapu Fini. And remember, I love you too.