The Pokemon pantheon

        In The Kingdom of Loathing, there is a quest where one has to retrieve an amulet from the ruins of a hidden city. In those ruins were altars built for ancient deities: Charcoatl, Pikachutlotal, Bulbazinalli and Squirtlcthulli.

        Charcoatl is a reference to Charmander, a fire pokemon. The “coatl” is a Nahuatl word for “serpent” and can be found in the names of several Aztec deities such as Quetzalcoatl.

        Pikachutlotal is a reference to Pikachu, an electric pokemon, and to the Aztec deity Xolotl, who is associated with lightning.

        Bulbazinalli is a reference to Bulbasaur, a grass pokemon, and to the Aztec deity Macuilmalinalli, who is associated with grass.

        Lastly, Squirtlcthulli is a reference to Squirtle, a water pokemon, and to Cthulhu of Lovecraftian lore. Cthulhu is associated with water.

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        The Kingdom of Loathing is a fun text-based online RPG. Gameplay aside, I enjoy it for its witty and humorous writing and for its references to popular culture.

        Information regarding the references to Pokemon and Aztec/Lovecraftian deities have been taken from the KoL wiki.

~ by absolute0 on July 13, 2008.