I’m Luke Summerhayes, and I love Solosis.
All life on our planet is based on cells. The earliest form of life to appear, and the smallest still around today, is single-cellular. A cell is microscopic amorphous blob, containing the essential components to absorb some energy and replicate itself – the minimum requirements to qualify as alive.
All these single-celled organisms duplicated themselves for billions of years. Then, through some accident of fate, a cell grew another cell which stayed attached – and through the process of natural selection, advantageous combinations of cells proliferated, exploding into life as we knew it! At least, that’s the version I was taught decades ago. It’s now believed the leap from single-cellular to multi-cellular life has actually occurred multiple different times on our planet.
Solosis is a Pokémon based on a single-celled organism. While most real single-cellular organisms are so small as to be invisible to the naked eye, there are some forms of fungi or algae that can grow to a few centimeters wide, making them visible to humans. On top of that, the image of microbial life at a human scale is common in science fiction, from the amoeba-like Rovers in the Prisoner and the Tartigrade in Star Trek Discovery, to the many creatures encountered in shrunken escapades like Fantastic Voyage or Osmosis Jones.
Solosis is around the size of a football, with a cute, face-like nucleus suspended in green fluid and held in place by a spherical barrier. It’s a psychic type Pokémon, perhaps the ultimate example of physical muscles entropying in the wake of psychic capabilities.
Black
They drive away attackers by unleashing psychic power. They can use telepathy to talk with others.
Many single-celled life forms can survive in environments completely inhospitable to other forms of life. Solosis reflects this too.
White
Because their bodies are enveloped in a special liquid, they can survive in any environment.
The solo in the name Solosis refers to the solitary cell which makes up this Pokémon’s body, while sis refers to Mitosis, the process by which cells split. The Japanese name Uniran comes from the same process, with uni meaning one and ran being the Japanese word for “spawn”.
Before multicellular organisms existed, single-celled life forms only split to reproduce, with one mother cell forming two identical daughter cells. At level 32, Solosis seems to split a little, evolving into Duosion.
Duosion is still a single Pokémon, though the slight groove on the head of Solosis has become a more pronounced split down the centre. The nucleus which was previously just a head now resembles a slight body.
Black
Since they have two divided brains, at times they suddenly try to take two different actions at once.
White
When their brains, now divided in two, are thinking the same thoughts, these Pokémon exhibit their maximum power.
The name Duosion of course combines duo, or two, with explosion, the process of these cells splitting apart. The Japanese name is Doublan, keeping the ran from Uniran but combining it with Double, as there are now at least two cells.
At the start of this podcast, I didn’t just talk about the replicating of single celled life forms but the evolution of multicellular life. While it’s cool for Solosis to split into Duosion, it’s even cooler for it to reunite when, at level 40, it evolves into Reuniclus.
Reuniclus has many smaller body parts, resembling joints, ears and hands, suspended among its green membrane, making it look like an actual, huggable animal much more than the earlier two forms.
Black
When Reuniclus shake hands, a network forms between their brains, increasing their psychic power.
White
These remarkably intelligent Pokémon fight by controlling arms that can grip with rock-crushing power.

Reuniclus is not actually physically strong, but still a psychic Pokémon. It has exceptional special power, which was on display in the Pokémon White movie, Victini and Zekrom, and also the videogames. With high attack but low speed, it was able to have a strong presence in trick room teams. On top of that, exceptional HP and the ability Magic Guard, which prevents any form of passive damage like weather, poisoning or entry hazards from harming it, meant it could survive and put in a performance even against faster monsters.
The name Reuniclus incorporates reunite and nucleus, while the Japanese name Lanculus seems to be a spawned Nucleus. Another possible origin for both names could be the Cortical homunculus, a metaphorical medical diagram showing the proportion of the brain’s attention given to different body parts. Reuniclus, with its enormous hands and head relative to the rest of its body, reflects the proportions in this famous image. The example I remember most clearly was a little figurine at the Natural History Museum in London.
Whether Reuniclus represents the humblest origins of life on our Earth or the intellectual peak of the mind, it somehow does it while also being a cute and unique Pokémon. Along with its version-exclusice counterpart Gothita, its given me an excuse for some very educational podcast research.
Original music for Luke Loves Pokémon is by Jonathan Cromie. Artwork is by Katie Groves. Reuniclus was designed by Keiko Moritsugu. Funding is provided by listeners at Patreon.com/PodcastioPodcastius. For just a dollar a month, supporters can listen to episodes a week early and also help cover hosting and fees, making it possible for me to keep making episodes every week.
I love hearing from listeners! Get in touch about upcoming Pokémon on twitter or facebook at LukeLovesPKMN. Drop a comment if you’re watching the video, or a review on apple podcasts or spotify. Coming up are Ducklett and Vanillite, so please get in touch about those or any other monsters.
Even if you don’t feel like doing any of that, thank you so much just for listening.
I love Solosis. And remember, I love you too.