Piplup is def my favorite starter overall, how about you? Also BIG THANKS to Zenmarket for helping us continue to make these awesome videos. Sign Up with code "LOCKSTIN" to get 1,000 ZenPoints: rb.gy/ilpkkq. In April, you can use the shipping code "ZEN10SHIP" to get 10% Off your first parcel.

@J.S.R.Berendsen

2 ай бұрын

My favorite starter is the Snivy line followed by Scorbunny line. I hope Snivy will be in Pokémon Legends Z-A!

@Razor-dd3sf

2 ай бұрын

Turtwig 100%

@Gunter4life

2 ай бұрын

And for that answer you get a golden star 🌟

@pensador6953

2 ай бұрын

Quaquaval pushing a woke agenda? Yep i can see it. Thanks for telling. By the way did you know the girl trainer in pokemon go now looks like a guy?

@justerik2

2 ай бұрын

​@@Razor-dd3sfcorrect answer

I think the three starters are based on different myths from across the world: Infernape: Sun Wukong Torterra: the World Turtle Empoleon: French people

@dynojackal1911

2 ай бұрын

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about Napoleon Bonaparte which have spread not unlike folk tales.

@DucksAndCatnip

2 ай бұрын

@@dynojackal1911 Yes! The myth of his height was spread partially maliciously by his opponents, and partly by confusion between converting French Metric and British Imperial units

@ghifariasoka8272

2 ай бұрын

Ratatouille is a modern fairy tale

@TheMonkieKing4

2 ай бұрын

Empoleon could be based on Poseidon

@DucksAndCatnip

2 ай бұрын

@@ghifariasoka8272 So true

you could argue that the Sinnoh starters' theme is "Heaven, Earth, and Man" it's a theme I've seen in more than one chinese novel

While I get that the "Mythology" Theme isnt super strong I think that there could be some argument about the Trio being based on beings that defied the World's Natural Order, which also plays into the Creation theming of Sinnoh in general. Napoleon tried to conqure Europe. The World Turtle is a representation of animals(maybe humans) shaping the world around them and changing its landscape beyond what it should be. As well as representing nature in a controlled, docile form and the Monkey King is Famous for Kicking the Ass of all of Heaven so hard they had to call big daddy Buddah to control him

@CabiriousGames

2 ай бұрын

I like to think it's just the three kinds of "hero" stories that use cosmic forces or divine intervention. Torterra is nature vs. technology, I root for earth to win and the earth is usually protected by somekind of omnipotent overseer. Empoleon could be war stories, how we tend to idolize real people that participate in war, the terrible realities of it often giving weight to divine mantles hoisted onto the average person. And infernape being the Hero of 1000 faces. Heracles, Sun Wukong, and Thor are all Rude, flawed entities that are disgruntled by their current world. Then they're foverever changed for the better by the end of their journies. That, or it's just king of the sky. Emperor of the sea. And the Ruler of the world. Made into characters, but that's no fun!

@dejaypage1575

Ай бұрын

I do think there is a light myth theme because this is the generation with the literal *God of Pokemon* introduced.

I'll never be able to look at Monferno the same way ever again...

@sinnohperson8813

2 ай бұрын

My guy stetched it way too hard to make it uncomfortable It's like saying combusken , alleged ahem shape carries over to blaziken , with no fat thighs he looses balls 💀

@RJS2003

Ай бұрын

I mean, I can fully understand why they'd move away from the FIRE STARTER of their region having BUTTS as a main focal point of all their designs. Best to just leave that at the door with Chimchar, now everyone can say it was just a cute first stage quirk.

@niqoe.7997

Ай бұрын

I didnt expect it to be a hemorrhoid monkey too...

Son Goku is literally the Japanese reading of the characters for Sun Wukong. Iconic move by absolute legend Toriyama

I find it funny that every time he talks about the world turtle, he shows it carrying four elephants that are carrying the world, without mentioning them at all. I feel like if you didn’t know about Discworld, you’d be confused as to why the elephants were also there…

25:18 considering Quaquaval is somewhat based on a peacock, and male peacocks have vibrant colors to attract female ones. Quaquaval is the straightest one here.

@KubickQ

2 ай бұрын

with a 1/6 chance of being female

@loopsjam4713

Ай бұрын

@@KubickQ Quaquaval looks like someone who'd play the game despite the odds

@pandoratheclay

Ай бұрын

@@KubickQ 5/6 chance of being straight as hell 1/6 chance of being the bird equivalent of a makeup artist or smth lol

@Baltaczar

Ай бұрын

I don't know if I'd say straightest, but certainly the manliest

penguins can fly in water!

@leahluostarinen

2 ай бұрын

How 🤔

@TheHammerGuy94

2 ай бұрын

@@leahluostarinen if you go to the most basic definition, Flying is having an extra dimension of movement. on the ground, non flying animals can move in 2D space on the ground. and the only time you have vertical movement is when you climb stairs or trees. but swimming though, if you can hold your breath long enough, or you are an aquatic animal then you have access not only to the surface of the water, but also the depths of the sea.

So with the whole thing around 20:40 about Monferno's weird tail flame issue, I believe it could be that the tail is just a pipe to burn off those gasses further from the body, like a gas flare on oil well sites. They're pretty common here in North Dakota, its basically just a big pipe with a flame at the end to burn off excess or unusable natural gas while extracting oil.

@pokechatter

2 ай бұрын

There is also a sizable natural gas field in Hokkaido too, so that checks out.

4:27 Gentoo penguin, also know as delibird

@Gunter4life

2 ай бұрын

Also known as Gunter

@ClaimSuit

2 ай бұрын

thought that was Iron Bundle, the Gentoo-Gen Two Penguin?

@gamemasteranthony2756

2 ай бұрын

@@Gunter4life I can never see the name Gunter without thinking of Gunter Hermann from Deus Ex - Conspiracy.

@ArthAPint

Ай бұрын

I WAS LOOKING FOR THIS Hahaha

Any gen with a bird starter makes the bird starter my default choice. Empoleon, Decidueye, Blaziken, and Quaquaval are my favorite starters. Bird Pokemon are the best

@J.S.R.Berendsen

2 ай бұрын

Don't forget the little bird on Skeledirge's nose!

@noahberan6498

2 ай бұрын

@@J.S.R.Berendsen oh he's definitely included too, I love that little guy

@ChocoboKid216

2 ай бұрын

Birb Gang

@sinnohperson8813

2 ай бұрын

Ayo, one of them is a human(blaziken)

@noahberan6498

2 ай бұрын

@@sinnohperson8813 nah he's a Shamu chicken, they are upright like that lol

You can tell Lock loves Piplup when nearly half the entire video is dedicated to its evolutionary line.

Even though Fire/Fighting was repeated twice in a row, we got Grass/Ground and Water/Steel, two new type combos in a single starter trio. Pretty nice!

@ghifariasoka8272

2 ай бұрын

Still surprised that Grass/Ground isn't as common as it should be. Someone can make an earth golem piloted by carrots and I'd dig it

@pokechatter

2 ай бұрын

⁠@@ghifariasoka8272Imagining growing vegetables on a golem and then cooking them in a meal within a dungeon?

@gamemasteranthony2756

2 ай бұрын

@@pokechatter Was that in an episode of "Delicious in Dungeon" by any chance?

@tuan-chan

2 ай бұрын

​@@pokechatteris that... A DUNGEON MESHI REFERENCE?

@ghifariasoka8272

2 ай бұрын

@@pokechatter That was unintentionally a Dungeon Meshi reference, but a Dungeon Meshi reference is always a welcome one

Gen 4 easily had the best Starter Trio. Never have I loved all 3 so equally. Unova is a close second though.

I love how all the starters can be super effective against their weakness type, Torterra can use ground to counter Infernape's fire, Infernape can use fighting to counter Empoleon's steel, and Empoleon though isn't flying or ice but it can still learn those two types to counter Torterra My uncle taught me this

18:25 "Japanese macaque is japan's only primate species" bro forgot about humans 😂

@islammehmeov2334

Ай бұрын

That's racism 😢

@adamthechao9519

Ай бұрын

@@islammehmeov2334 Humans Are Literally Primates Though.

@ultimate_pleb

Ай бұрын

@@islammehmeov2334 no im not trying to be racist primate is a classification of animal that includes humans i understand the confusion but that's not how i meant it

@Andre-zz4hv

Ай бұрын

Humans are not natives of asia They are migratory species that came from Africa

12:46 "A turtle made it to the w- wait, that's a _tortoise!_ What are you doing?!"

Probably my favorite group of Starters They’ve ever done

Collectively, the gen 4 starters are my favorite. Not individually, but overall together; great designs all around.

21:48 I learned about this guy from the Persona series. Fittingly enough in SMTIII Nocturne, he even evolves into Seiten Taisei (aka The Monkey King aka Son Goku aka Sun Wukong. it's the Japanese translation of Wukong's self-proclaimed title of "Great Sage Over Heaven" ) .

@chip-toons

Ай бұрын

im pretty sure it was "great sage equal to heaven"

@Gloomdrake

Ай бұрын

@@chip-toonsdunno. I can tell you that Chinese words usually don’t have just one English translation, though

@chip-toons

Ай бұрын

@@Gloomdrake fair enough, thats just the one i see most often

I can't stop seeing Piplup as Nick from the Party Crashers now... Also I always picked Turtwig on Sinnoh games because i love the fact that a cute turtle can evolve into a litte piece of land awesome tortoise that is Torterra

@heinshaaine8153

2 ай бұрын

Same and because in the one episode of Pokemon ive seen turtwig evolved and had to deal with the fact that he is now slow and bulky instead of fast and nimble and that resonated with my pubertarian me..

Lockstin’s got Pipplups like Jaiden’s got Chiikawa’s

“And Quaquaval is pushing the woke agenda” I almost spit out my drink lmao

@TheHammerGuy94

2 ай бұрын

what about meowscarada?

@Sublime4217

2 ай бұрын

@@TheHammerGuy94what about it?

@noahberan6498

Ай бұрын

My favorite water starter

The Monkey King also has an affinity with fire, he got stuffed in a furnace as punishment for causing mischief for the gods but survives the fire for 49 days without being burnt. Also he can breathe fire? At least in the old CCTV cartoon he does.

My favorite starter trio. Infernape was my first Pokémon. Always has a place in my heart. Plus, anime awesomeness. I have grown fond of torterra after using it in Legends Arceus. Plus, the Detective Pikachu movie with the torterra garden was awesome. The regular ones are cool, but the mountain sized ones are awesome. I just want there to be a myth about a giant torterra mountain range somewhere of the coast of sinnoh in the main series games. Empoleon is not a top starter for me, but it gets points for unique typing and coolness with wing blades.

Pearl was my first game. Piplup was my first Pokemon. Empoleon, my final Pokemon standing against Cynthia’s Garchomp, is the best starter, period.

1:51 I’ve actually heard that there are people that believe penguins are mammals not birds which is hilarious

@thedragonwarrior5861

2 ай бұрын

Wow, that is definitely one of the dumbest takes I've heard in a while

@Gunter4life

2 ай бұрын

As a penguin, I'm offended

@J.S.R.Berendsen

2 ай бұрын

In the Middle Ages people thought that Penguins where fish.... so they could be eaten during Lent and Easter. Happy Easter everyone!

@TheFirstCurse1

2 ай бұрын

I can kind of see it because their feathers are so dense that they appear to have fur but even that doesn't make sense because many baby Birds have down which is fluffy.

@sinnohperson8813

2 ай бұрын

Oh they can't fly, they ought to be mammals Reminds me of those , oh we can't understand your science , earth is flat

Torterra is my favorite final form of any starter line. Just such a banger design!

I had the idea of the Sinnoh Starters being Legend Game Starters. It’s pretty obvious that Empoleon will be in ZA with a Kalos form. Kalosian? Kalosi? And it’ll be water/ice. Its name is based on Napoleon! But for Tortera I thought a Unovan form based on Native American burial mounds and would be grass/ghost. Its back would just be a burial mound. Infernape would be right at home in Johto as a fire/flying type. It would use the power of the wind to make a nimbus to fly on. Like its inspiration, the Monkey King. And Goku. It could work in another Japanese region like Kanto and Hoenn, but in my Legends Johto imagining, I thought it would be perfect in the lineup with a grass/steel Grovyle and a water/poison Greninja.

@TheFirstCurse1

2 ай бұрын

These ideas sound awesome.

Torterra was the first starter I ever had so it was great to get a video on it... And it's partner Pokemon I guess

Even if they aren't part of an overarching theme, I really like each of the Sinnoh 3's designs individually. Each of them is a complete, coherent story, just a distinct one.

I always see them as: Gen 1: Pets Gen 2: Extinct Animals Gen 3: Evolution / Adaptions Gen 4: Mythology Gen 5: Royalty

@noahberan6498

2 ай бұрын

Honey badgers and alligators are very much alive though

@uchu1700

2 ай бұрын

@@noahberan6498 Volcano, Dinosaur, Cave Man are dead or can be considered dead. Volcano - Killed off most the Dinosaurs but did not affect mammals. That's why gen 2 is Extinction animals.

@ArtsyJet

2 ай бұрын

​@@uchu1700The caveman thing is kind of iffy to me. Cavemen were still human and humans aren't extinct, obviously--

@DarkBanks3

2 ай бұрын

@@ArtsyJetactually no, most “cavemen” are an extinct species called neanderthal that was outbreed by homo sapiens, or humans

@uchu1700

2 ай бұрын

@ArtsyJet The caveman part comes from the whole line concept, and think about this if Cavemen were alligators they would differently be different like the totdile line because during the time of the great extinction, only some small creatures survived like our ancestors that later became Caveman. Also, Caveman were not human they were a subspecies the difference is that human lived in Africa.

Piplup was my first starter, and the line remains my favorite to this day. in every game i can, i have an Empoleon on my team.

It's worth mentioning that Sun Wukong is also fire related, in that all of the five main characters of Journey to the West are associated with one of China's five phases and Wukong is the one associated with fire. Also, Wukong lends huge support to the fighting type since, after the titular journey is completed, he achieves the status of Buddha and is specifically called the "Victorious Fighting Buddha"

When I bought Diamond I chose turtwig purely because of how Torterra looked, and for young me a turtle becoming a dinosaur was awesome

That's why I'm glad Platinum fixed the Fire type shortage. With at least Flareon, Houndoom, and Magmorter.

@sinnohperson8813

2 ай бұрын

It's dumb when people don't even acknowledge existence of platinum when talking about the pokedex People ALWAYS consider emerald while talking about gen3 then why not sinnoh :(

@cesarflamenco9484

Ай бұрын

Still can't make a full team of 6 out of them though (unless you repeat a previous Evo from the ones mentioned).

@sinnohperson8813

Ай бұрын

@@cesarflamenco9484 that's nothing new , right? A lot of gen has type shortage

1:22 to 1:25 I was not mentally prepared for this scene and lost my sh*t for 10 minutes straight! 🤣

17:09 Fun Fact, this artwork is done by Paul Kidby and is for the Discworld book series. The turtle is the Great A'Tuin

Infernape's design also always gave me vaguely Ancient Greek vibes and it saying the fire on its head never going out reminded me of the Olympic flame.

I will agree with the tree vs shrub idea. For example the Texas Liliac or Virtex plant. It grows naturally like a bush with multiple trunks but if as it grows you cut the small side branches to make a single trunk then it becomes a tree.

20:02 Looking at Monfernos tail on the left, it looks like a bunson burner

Torterra will always be my favorite Sinnoh Starter. Turtles being my favorite animal was already an easy pick for me, but it proved to be an absolute unit in my run, being one of the few things that can survive attacks from Cynthia's Garchomp and respond accordingly. I put so much care into it that it became my first legitimate Pokemon I trained to Level 100.

I came across a YT poll for the Sinnoh starters, 35k+ votes. I clicked my boi Chimchar and my jaw dropped. It was a perfectly even split. Tens of thousands of votes. Just another testament to how hard these starters go

The French connection in Sinoh actually makes some sense as the 2nd Empire (i.e. Napoleon III) supported the Shogunate - including building a starfort on Hokkido, the island where the opposition to the Meji had their last stand

22:15 One of the most famous incidents in the Ramayana is Hanuman's tail being set on fire. After the demon king Ravana caught Sri Rama's messenger Hanuman, he ordered Hanuman's tail to be set on fire, the mischievous Hanuman then went on to incinerate Ravana's entire kingdom with his fiery tail. This incident is used as an example of how Ravana's hubris led to the destruction of his kingdom, since in Pokemon evil is represented as dark type s the opposite of that would be fighting, Monferno and Infernape's fighting type also make sense this way.

Gens 3-4 had the most goated starter pokemon.

@Rexred09

2 ай бұрын

Most valid opinion ive seen in a while.

@Rackz437

2 ай бұрын

@@Rexred09fr

@deceptionz_

2 ай бұрын

@@Rexred09 preciate you brother.

@slowazzd2165

2 ай бұрын

​@@deceptionz_children

@deceptionz_

2 ай бұрын

@@slowazzd2165 what??

10:59 I may be the only person to get this reference, and I fuckin' LOVE IT!!!

@omnimon1996

Ай бұрын

What’s the reference? :D

@Heratic_

Ай бұрын

@@omnimon1996 history of the entire world, i guess

@omnimon1996

Ай бұрын

@@Heratic_ Awesome! ^^

@JeezAlax

Ай бұрын

@@Heratic_ That wasn't what I was thinking of, but idk if that video also referenced what I was thinking of or not. kzread.info/dash/bejne/aH6Vu5WvpMWdZpM.htmlsi=9LbSyqHPWuYVqIu6

Son Wu Kong is adapted so much, that even the Archie Sonic comics has a character and region based on it too. Monkey Khan.

Gen 4 was my first gen with Chimchar -> Infernape being my first starter ever. To this day it remains my favorite Pokemon. from its inspiration, design and how it fairs competitively, it'll always have a spot in my heart.

@TheFirstCurse1

2 ай бұрын

It was also my first Starter. Platinum was my first game. However Gen V is my favorite Gen and my favorite Starter is my girl Serperior.

19:45 When Chimchar farts on Professor Oak, I can't take it anymore. 🤣🤣🤣

Torterra is, to me, a perfection of the things I loved about Venusaur as a kid. It's in my top 3 favorite starters for sure, and would most likely end up on my ideal team.

I do think that with it getting a 1/4 x Resistantance to Ice that the Water/Steel typing of Empoleon makes sense. Honestly, I'd say that the Sinnoh Starters are one of the best, I liked Torterra enough that I sent an egg of it into my copy of Pokemon X

Lockstin you were so close to nailing the most insane part of Gen 4: Gen 4 is when they picked a FIRE TYPE ELITE 4! In the gen with NO FIRE TYPES!

Next video can you do Terapagos Lore PLEASE???

Gen 4 was when the Pokemon franchise as a whole changed. The theming of the starters of Gen 5 was made clear in the past. There's no real set theming for the first 3 gens. Rather, we have stories like how Ken Sugimori used "painted chicks" as inspiration for Torchic's line or how Pikachu was actually inspired by bunny mochi. Gen 4 having a world turtle, Son Wukong, and Napoleon honestly just makes me think someone heard someone say "The man, the myth, the legend" and based the starters on that. Napoleon is the man, the world turtle's the myth, and Son Wukong's from the legend Journey to the West. A stretch, of course, but it's as close of a theme as I can get.

I have an Infernape that wears a kings rock because the flame on an Infernape’s head looks like a crown of fire Also I originally thought Infernape was pronounced In-flame-ape

I've always loved Turtwig's entire line. My best friend is a huge Piplup fan, and my mom always picks the Fire starter, but she really loved Chimchar's line. I think there's just something special about these Pokemon, they're memorable and wonderful designs. They have tons of personality that comes through, not just from Dex entries, but from visual design and their cries.

The Sinnoh Starters, the only starter trio I love all 3 lines equally.

Worth mentioning there's a species of Langur that has bright orange babies, and one of the most notable aspects of their appearance (Aside from white sideburns) is a tall pointy hairstyle. It wouldn't surprise me if Chimchar is partially based on one of those Monkey species

Great to see a new video, been watching your videos and playing Pokemon to relax after work.

They're eating each other's ears in the thumbnail. Cute.

Piplup is my favorite of the three as well, but I will admit out of all the starters, this group was the hardest choice for me to make!

22:48 Son Goku is literally the Japanese pronunciation of the hanji aka kanji characters for Sun Wukong.

Torterra's Pokédex entry plus the myth it was based on reminded me of that scene from the Detective Pikachu movie.

25:18 made me belly laugh so loud I had to wind it back to hear what you said next

Birds mastered the sky, ostriches mastered the ground, and penguins mastered the waters. I wonder if humans has its sky and ocean variants.

All the other starters feel like co-workers but gen 4 feels like die-hard gangster friends You mess with one, you mess with all three

"emperor penguin" (keeps showing footage of *king* penguins which are completely different) for those curious, the yellow spot on king penguins is enclosed, while on emperors, it's open into a gradient to its neck and stomach.

An really sad thing about the gen 4 trio is that they are the only trio to not have any "gimmick" for them, no mega, regional, zmove, gmax or signature ability/move, making them the ones that most lack stuff

@josephbulkin9222

2 ай бұрын

gimmicks make stuff less special, give me plain ol' battling anyday.

@TriStain69

2 ай бұрын

@@josephbulkin9222 Found the genwunner lol

@josephbulkin9222

2 ай бұрын

@@TriStain69 Meh, not a genwunner, not old enough for that. I'm a genfourer, if that makes sense.

@TheFirstCurse1

2 ай бұрын

​@@TriStain69I'm someone who heavily dislikes Gen 1 and I agree with them. I started with Gen 4 and my favorite is Gen V.

@beyond7830

2 ай бұрын

@@josephbulkin9222 exactly!

The terra part in torterra can also play into how the earth’s (as in the planet) Latin name is Terra. This also plays into the whole world turtle thing

Quick correction - the macaques are not only found in Hokkaido, they're throughout Japan all the way down to southern Kyushu, they might even be in Okinawa. I saw them in Nagano in central Japan.

4:27 my first thought was "wait, there aren't any Gen 2 penguins" and then realized it was the real life animal

19:20 You only have yourself to blame for all that overthinking. I've never thought THAT deeply about Monferno's tail flame.

If this gen represented a theme, I would think it would be protectors. Napoleon became the leader of France. Whether he protected them as well as many would hope, I’m not sure. The world turtle literally keeps the land afloat. Sun Wo Kong is the monkey king because he is the king of the monkeys. His whole origin is about rebelling to protect his people. I know it is a streatch, but it works.

Penguins make me smile a lot! Next Eiscue?

The fact that Infernape is inspired by the same character who inspired Goku, is a bonus. All I needed was a fire monkey starter.

18:22 UMMM Akchually Japan has humans therefore two primate species. 🤓

I want to make a planter in the shape of Torterra. I'd make a bowl out of its back, fill it with soil, and plant stuff in it.

Gen 4 is my favorite region, and Chimchar IS my starter Pokemon!

Piplup is my favorite little buddy and I would die for him :)

10:28 I mean, all the starters are based on a myth that is also the literal king or metaphorical king-size of something, Poseidon--Sun Wukong--World Turtle. Perfect for the region of mythology (cough the best region cough)

Curiosity: the penguin of Galápagos its the the most setentrional species, living near the Equator.

6:36 "Revisiting Emperor Penguins" Shows King Penguins

This made me so happy! I liked and subscribed!

The abundance of grass and ice is probably an after effect of not having fire types

Infernape is my favorite Pokémon of all-time, it's so much fun to use in game and its story in the anime was so good! Plus I love its design, it looks so cool! I'm not even necessarily a fan of monkeys but this monkey is definitely the best in my opinion.

Really enjoyed this video, Lockstin. Thanks a lot🙏

Along with the world turtle mythology I personally believe you can even make an argument for torterra even having some Norse inspiration with the world tree, torterra represents earth or in Norse mythology where the realms and even earth is situated on

20:30 what if the tail is a specialized intestinal tract that makes it easier for monferno to direct their fart fire rather than just… farting aimlessly

a turtle who is the world, a person who was set on conquering the world, and a demi god who would gladly fight the world, all in the region with the God of pokemon with enough ties to a religion that swept the world. I think that is the rough theme for Gen 4 for sure

Amazing video🔥🔥🔥 favorite trio of starters ❤️

If I had to pick a theme for the Sinnoh starters, I'd say history. Add Blaziken to the other two Fire/Fighting starters and you have all three companion animals from _Journey to the West._ Which might even be why we have those three.

0:33 highly agree 10/10 penguins for the win

Piplup is my favorite starter with Treeko immediately behind

I remember on the "2nd Pokemon Ranger Shadow of Almia" you uses Empoleon riding on him using Aqua Jet too Crash the Iceberg!!

Maybe Monferno’s tail acts like a sort of hose from a flame sac?

My interpretation is that Piplup’s name is based on the sound water droplets make when they fall into a pool, it also happens to sound a little like “peep” which is the sound birds make. Empoleon I interpreted as a reference to Poseidon/Neptune, the Greek and Roman god of the sea who is known for wielding a trident, aka that thing on Empoleon’s face.

He said turtle and tortoise so much, it no longer feels like a word

In Norwegian we don’t have a word that differentiate between tortes and turtles. The word we use is skilpadde which ruffly translates to shell toed.