I’m Luke Summerhayes and I love Munkidori.
Munkidori is the second of the Loyal Three, a trio of Legendary Pokémon who defended the Kitakami region from a dangerous Ogre long ago – or a t least so the story goes. As we talked about last week, these three Pokémon are based on the three animal companions of the Japanese folk hero Momotaro. The second of these companions was a monkey, and in some tellings it didn’t get along with the dog, a testament to Momotaro’s great charisma being that he united the two.
In Japan, dogs and monkeys are seen as natural enemies due to their history with farmers. Just as farmers kept cats to eliminate mice, leading to that stereotype in the west and stories like Tom and Jerry, farmers in Japan kept dogs to keep monkeys away from their crops, leading to a similar natural enmity being portrayed in Japanese media. This can be seen in series like Star Fox, where the evil Andross and his monkey allies are the enemies of General Pepper’s dog-heavy armada, or more subtly through villager interactions in Animal Crossing.
Munkidori is a psychic and poison type Pokémon, resembling a disinterested monkey with an oversized head and a purple scarf made of interlocking rings, like a chain.
Scarlet
The chain is made from toxins that enhance capabilities. It stimulated Munkidori's brain and caused the Pokémon's psychic powers to bloom.
Psychic and Poison can do a lot of damage when put together, and on top of this Munkidori has the ability Toxic Chain, giving it a chance to inflict toxic poison with every attack, even special moves.
Violet
Munkidori keeps itself somewhere safe while it toys with its foes, using psychokinesis to induce intense dizziness.

This behaviour is similar to some other Japanese legends, like the Yamabiko, which hides in the mountains and imitates voices but is never seen – a mythical explanation for echoes, or the Satori, another mountain monkey which this time reads minds.
The name Munkidori combines Monkey with Hunky Dory, meaning everything is all okay – an ironic name after it has been turned to villainy by the poisonous chain. The Japanese name Mashimashira means a superior monkey, though as with Okidogi’s name last week it uses an archaic name for dog rather than the common translation used today.
I’ve already talked about how I briefly thought Kitakami was based on Nagano, the part of Japan I’ve lived in for almost six years. I’ve often seen monkeys while out hiking, and Nagano’s onsen monkeys, who keep warm in winter in natural hot springs, are world famous. Who knows, maybe one of Munkidori’s spooky inspirations is hiding in these very mountains.

Music for Luke Loves Pokémon is composed by Jonathan Cromie. Artwork for the show is by Katie Groves. Writing, Producing and Editing is by me, Luke Summerhayes. Funding is provided by my lovely listeners. If you’d like to join them, to help keep the show online and find other podcasts by me and my pals, head over to Patreon.com/PodcastioPodcastius.
Coming up are fezendipity and Ogerpon, so if you have thoughts about those or any other monsters, hit me up with a DM @LukeLovesPKMN or an email to LukeLovesPKMN@Gmail.com. And of course, I’d love if you could leave a 5-star rating and review on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Even if you don’t feel like doing any of that, thank you so much just for listening.
I love Munkidori. And remember. I love you too.