Article: The Everyday Legendaries: Dunsparce

[Charlie Brown]

Learn about the legends behind that oft-forgotten Normal-type, Dunsparce!

Check it out!

Cover image by Rivvon

 

[BlazingCobaltX]

I LOVE DUNSPARCE

It's the cutest thing and actually surprisingly useful; both times I used it it was the MVP of my team. I don't regret seven days hunting it in Silver at all. It's an underappreciated Pokémon and I think maybe my second favourite Pokémon (or at least top 5). One thing that midly terrifies me is it's length, because it's so big (in my head I never imagined it being longer than 70 centimeters or something). Not sure if I'd want to own one in real life... Maybe a dwarf Dunce.

Nice article. Gives some well-deserved love to this Pokémon. :)

 

[icycatelf]

Dunsparce is my favorite, but it seems most articles I've read about its origin leave out the fact that its design is a pun. In north-eastern Japan, the tsuchinoko has another name: bachi hebi (bee-snake). (I assume the name refers to its stubby tail that, in relation to its plump body, resembles a bee's stinger.) That's why Dunsparce looks so much like a bug -- the creators fused a bee with a snake.

 

[TequitoClown]

I love dunsparce! He was on my team in X! People tend to look at his stats and lack of evolution, but he'll always be a special pokemon in my opinion.

 

[icycatelf]

Another fun fact, its classification of "Land Snake" is a mistranslation.

Tsuchinoko means "child of hammer" or "hammer's spawn," referring to the similarity between its shape and a traditional Japanese mallet (tsuchi):

In the Japanese games, Dunsparce is classified as the "Tsuchi Hebi" Pokémon. Although tsuchi can be translated as land, given what Dunsparce is based on, it should've been classified as the "Hammer/Mallet Snake" Pokémon (although, if you ask me, "Bee Snake" would've caused a lot less confusion).

One thing that midly terrifies me is it's length, because it's so big (in my head I never imagined it being longer than 70 centimeters or something). Not sure if I'd want to own one in real life... Maybe a dwarf Dunce.

I prefer imagining all Dunsparce being the size of those from the anime episode "The Dunsparce Deception."