I’m Luke Summerhayes and I love Dewpider.
Bugs and insects are, for the most part, very small. This allows them to operate on a completely different set of rules from us. Their hard shells make them sturdy but would crush them if they were our size. An ant can lift many times and its size, a bee can fly on tiny wings and a thin strand of spider-web has the tensile strength of steel cords.
When these traits are applied to the human scale we get superheroes like Spider-man and horrors like Shelob. Sometimes, it isn’t as grand as all that, it’s just a bit weird. Many oxygen-breathing bugs are able to survive underwater thanks to a thin bubble of air. We’ve seen photos of swimmers just before the water tension breaks, but a huddle of ants acting as a living raft can stay right in that moment indefinitely.
Water and bug type Dewpider is an aquatic Pokemon which walks on land by wearing a bubble of water like a helmet. It has six limbs, but it uses three to walk and the other three to hold its bubble in place.
Sun
It crawls onto the land in search of food. Its water bubble allows it to breathe and protects its soft head.

Violet
It supports the water bubble that envelops its head with three of its legs. Sometimes it secretly swaps which legs are holding up the bubble.

The real-world Diving Bell Spider is actually the opposite of the Pokemon – it can’t breathe underwater, so it creates a bubble of air under the water’s surface using its webs.
Scarlet
Dewpider uses sticky threads to create the water bubble that covers its head, so the bubble very rarely bursts.

Ultra Sun
When two Dewpider meet, they display their water bubbles to each other. Then the one with the smaller bubble gets out of the other's way.

The name Dewpider of course combines Dew, the water droplets found on leaves in the morning, with spider, but it also sounds like Jupiter, alluding to the Pokemon’s spaceman appearance. The Japanese name, Shizugumo, is a combination of water drop and spider while also being close to the Japanese name of the diving bell spider.
Moon
When it comes across enemies or potential prey, this Pokémon smashes its water-bubble-covered head into them.
This sounds pretty cute, and for the most part Dewpider doesn’t get into the more unsettling end of oversized spiders. That opinion may change when, at level 22, it evolves into Araquanid.
Araquanid stalks around on long, spider-like legs and has a more pronounced body, with separate head. When I first encountered one in game, I thought it was an incredibly unique and scary design – an alien spider monster with a breathing helmet.
Sun
It delivers headbutts with the water bubble on its head. Small Pokémon get sucked into the bubble, where they drown.

Sword
It launches water bubbles with its legs, drowning prey within the bubbles. This Pokémon can then take its time to savor its meal.

Of course, this isn’t Earth Defence Force and no Pokemon is truly evil. In fact, it’s quite tragic.
Moon
Despite what its appearance suggests, it cares for others. If it finds vulnerable, weak Pokémon, it protectively brings them into its water bubble.

Shield
It acts as a caretaker for Dewpider, putting them inside its bubble and letting them eat any leftover food.

The name Araquanid combines Arachnid and Aqua, as this is a water spider, but again it also alludes a little to the word Astronaut. The Japanese name, Onishizukumo, adds a demonic element to the previous form. Japanese myths do feature various spider demons and yokai, and this drowning bubble-headed example could fit in easily.
Araquanid can make itself quite a demon competitively. It has good defence and special defence, as well as the ability water bubble, preventing burns and generally lowering the power of fire type moves. This eliminates a common bug weakness, while the bug typing eliminates one of water’s main weaknesses, making this a really solid defensive monster.
A long time ago, when the atmosphere was different, our world was inhabited by many large and bizarre bugs. Today, they are mostly reduced to tiny sizes, but they remain incredibly fascinating creatures. And out there in space, or deep in our oceans, who knows what weird and wacky invertebrates we may still find?
Music for Luke Loves Pokemon was composed by Jonathan Cromie. Artwork for the show is by Katie Groves. Funding is by supporters at patreon.com/podcastiopodcastius.
I love hearing from listeners! Get in touch on youtube, social media or email and let me know about your favorite monsters. Coming up next are Fomantis and Morelull, so let me know your thoughts about those or any other monsters.
Even if you don’t feel like doing any of that, thank you so much for listening.
I love Dewpider. And remember, I love you too.