Mantium

**Type**

 **Ability**

**Mantium** is a Rock/Bug-type Pokémon.

It evolves from Toyeen.

It is one of the fossil Pokémon of the Johto region designed by Lockstin for hypothetical use.

## Speculative Statistics

Mantium has a signature Rock-type move called Whac-A-Yo. Whac-A-Yo is a physical move that doesn't deal physical contact. It's a multi-hit move, hitting 2-4 times. If there are multiple opponents on the field, it chooses which opponent to hit at random.

## Trivia

### Design origin

Mantium, akin to the other three hypothetical Johto fossils, has Chinese origins rather than the Japanese origins you'd expect of a Japan-inspired region.

Mantium is inspired by a silverfish, a primitive insect. Silverfish are often considered to be "living fossils", not changing for roughly 400 million years. Silverfish were a huge pest in Japan, due to them having a penchant for eating paper (which was invented in China). To retaliate, Japan had made essential oil from *Cryptomeria* trees, or Japanese cedar, which grows across Kansai and parts of China. It also bears resemblance to ants, which are famous for spending long hours laboring. In particular, it's based on the *Rhyniognatha hirsti*, the world's oldest known insect, which resembles a cross between an ant and a silverfish. Mantium is also inspired by the *Ceratomyrmex ellenbergi*, which is an extinct species of ant, with unusual mandibles that are located on the top of its head, inspiring the similar biology of Mantium.

It's also inspired by amber, or fossilized tree resin. Amber is typically observed in paleontology, as amber is typically used for preserving the remains of extinct insects. Amber has been a common symbol of fossilization in media. In Jurassic Park, a mosquito encased in amber is seen in the very beginning, making it one of the more memorable moments of the series. Aerodactyl is also revived from an Old Amber, which is shown to have a mosquito kept within it in its official Generation I artwork.

Its wings are reminiscent of kites, airborne toys that have been used in China for eons. These wings also act as solar panels, absorbing the sun's light to gain nutrients. Its rectangular, black-spotted abdomen is reminiscent of dominoes, a family of tile-based games, and the tiles used in said game. Dominoes were invented in China, and they are mainly used to form long patterns and proceed to topple them down. Porcelain, also originally made in China, is what its body resembles, explaining the cracks around its, head, thorax, and lower abdomen to reveal the amber within its body, which makes Mantium also look like a Kintsugi pot. Kintsugi is the art of repairing shattered pottery using gold. Its antenna hold a wooden/rocky spinning top that tends to break off easily. This is reminiscent of a yo-yo, a classic children's toy which is a string connected to two discs. Specifically, it resembles the diabolo, a Chinese variant of the yo-yo which involves attaching two sticks to a detached yo-yo to spin around. Its signature move, Whac-A-Yo, is inspired by the skill-based arcade game Whac-A-Mole.

Mantium's futuristic design is meant to convey the idea of a technologically-advanced ancient civilization. East Asian cities were known for being much more advanced than most other cities of the time.

Mantium and its counterpart, Swaysosore, are meant to exhibit adverse personalities to the creatures they originate from, as well as representing the concept of "work versus play". While ants are famous for being some of the most sedulous creatures in the animal kingdom, Mantium loves to play with others, and enjoys having a leisurely time. This is the contrary to Swaysosore's concept, making Mantium play the "play" role of the "work versus play" paradigm.

### Name origin

Mantium comes from **蚂** *ma* (Chinese word for *ant*), *ant*, and *otium* (an abstract Latin term that can be loosely translated to fun-filled leisure time).