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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 Golett.
In many creation myths, people are first rendered from clay before a creator deity breathes life into them. It’s in the book of Genesis, and goes back further to old legends of the Sumerians and Egyptians, as well as various cultures in Asia and Africa. In Hebrew myth, a new wrinkle is added when Rabbi are able to make Golems from clay and, by placing scriptures in their mouths, bring them to a kind of life.
Legends of the Golem are similar to other myths of automata and artificial beings. As medical, mechanical and computer science has advanced, science fiction has updated the myth in the form of Frankenstein and his monster, then later many stories of robots and artificial intelligence. The whole thing goes full circle in stories of ancient civilizations creating robots, which were buried when the civilization fell and later unearthed. Laputa: Castle in the Sky, the first Ghibli movie, features an iconic example of this kind of ancient robot, and is referenced many times in Nintendo’s Zelda series, especially the recent trilogy of Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
Golett is a Ground and Ghost Pokémon made of clay, stone or perhaps oxidized bronze. It resembles a round pot, with a crude head and limbs loosely, animated by a glowing energy which leaks through cracks and is held in by a rune strapped onto the front.
Black
The energy that burns inside it enables it to move, but no one has yet been able to identify this energy.
The name Golett combines golem, the clay creature of Jewish folklore, with the suffix -let, as this is a small one. Similarly, the Japanese name is Gobit, perhaps drawing from the Kobito, small humans from Ainu folklore.
Like the robots of Laputa, not to mention the Guardians and other robots of Zelda, it was built and left behind by an ancient civilization.
White
These Pokémon are thought to have been created by the science of an ancient and mysterious civilization.
Black 2
Ancient science fashioned this Pokémon from clay. It's been active for thousands of years.
White 2
The Robot in Laputa and the Guardians in Zelda were fearsome war machines, as are ancient technologies left by atlanteans or ancient aliens in various science fiction stories. The Golem, in its most famous form from the story of the Golem of Prague, was a strong warrior created to protect the Jewish community. Golett isn’t likely to strike fear into the heart of anyone, but perhaps it will when, at level 43, it evolves into Golurk.
Golurk stands taller and broader, with a more refined humanoid shape. It has pauldrons, gauntlets and a skirt like the armour of a bronze age warrior.
Some Pokédex entries sound very much like they could be describing the mythological Golem.
White
It is said that Golurk were ordered to protect people and Pokémon by the ancient people who made them.
Ultra Moon
When the seal on its chest is removed, it rages indiscriminately, turning the whole town around it into a mountain of rubble.
Other Pokédex entries exaggerate its strength, as well as mentioning the Pokémon flying around and shooting out beams, making it sound very much like a Robot from laputa.
Black
It flies across the sky at Mach speeds. Removing the seal on its chest makes its internal energy go out of control.
Sword
Artillery platforms built into the walls of ancient castles served as perches from which Golurk could fire energy beams.
In New Pokémon Snap, Golett and Golurk can be seen in Ancient ruins, still trundling around going about their business. In the Detective Pikachu movie, we even saw Live Action Golurks working for the police force.
In the anime, we see Golurk flying around with rocket-like jets blasting from under its skirt. We even see one stand on its arms and essentially transform into an artillery installation – very appropriate on this, the 40th anniversary of the Transformers!
In the mainline videogames, Golurk has been much less impressive. As with Claydol a few generations earlier, the ground and ghost typing give it good resistance, but slow speed mean it couldn’t really take advantage of its typing, and access to moves like stealth rock, to be a competitive mainstay.
The name Golurk is of course drawn from Golem again, this time with lurk, either because the ghost typing or because its been lurking for millennia. The Japanese name Goloogu, comes from the Japanese pronunciation of the word Cyborg.
Cyborgs and robots are something I love, but it’s often something I see as separate from my love of monsters and beasts and Pokémon. That said, Pokémon has had artificial beings since Porygon and Mewtwo in generation one, through mysterious ancient creations like the Unown and Claydol, into the robotic armies of the future in the ninth generation. Golett and Golurk are a perfect mix of Pocket Monster and Ancient Automaton.
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 Pawniard and Bouffalant, 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 Golett. And remember, I love you too.