So apparently Adam of Bolt-Beam fame was sufficiently inspired by my recent broad descriptions of a pair of legendary Bug Pokémon based on Aesop’s fable of the ant and the grasshopper that he went and drew these delightful things!
The industrious legendary ant Pokémon who taught humans farming, co-operation, construction, and most of all the simple virtue of good, honest labour. She didn’t come out looking all that much like an ant, in the end, but I’m okay with this – and you can still see the inspiration in a number of places, like the six legs, the clear head/thorax/abdomen distinction, and the mandible-like protrusions on the head. I think what I like most is the simultaneously ‘rocky’ and ‘muscly’ appearance of her features. My head is calling this Pokémon ‘Myrmindure,’ from the Greek word μύρμηξ (myrmex), ant, and the English word endure, though I’m not sure I’m entirely happy with that. She’s probably Bug/Rock, like if Shuckle learned to drive a bulldozer.
This one is the refined legendary grasshopper Pokémon who, like Meloetta, was once a great teacher of song and dance, along with all other forms of art and culture – essentially, his sphere is the love of all things beautiful. I’ve got to say, I love the harp design built into his wings, and the rather frail, wispy appearance he has next to his counterpart. The curls remind me almost of scrips of paper. I don’t think I’m 100% sold on that moustache, but it’s not too egregious. Adam drew this one with Bug/Fairy in mind, and although I haven’t yet formed any opinion on what exactly ‘Fairy’ means as a type, I’m happy to go with that. His name, at the moment anyway, is Cicantor, from cicada (ancient taxonomy is notoriously vague, so the exact species of the insect in the fable is open to interpretation) and the Latin word cantor, singer.
Pokémaniacal 