I’m Luke Summerhayes and I love Salandit.
Salamanders are amphibians, found in temperate zones across the Northern hemisphere. Many species look lizards but actually, a lizard is more closely related to you or I than it is to salamander. We separated from the amphibians more than 300 million years ago, when vertebrate life first crawled onto the land.
The second Pokemon family I ever covered on this podcast was Charmander, where I spoke about the unusually common association in mythology between Salamanders and fire. Salamanders would often be found inside firewood, then surprising people in their escape from the fireplace. Real life salamanders have no mastery of fire, but several species are in fact venomous.
Salandit is a fire and poison type Pokemon, a black salamander with purple eyes and a firey red pattern on its back.
Moon
Volcanoes or dry, craggy places are its home. It emanates a sweet-smelling poisonous gas that attracts bug Pokémon, then attacks them.

The rough-skinned newt, a species of Salamander, produces one of the most toxic substances in nature, able to poison predators from every kingdom of life. This is replicated in Salandit’s ability corrosion, which allows it to poison any opponent, regardless of usual type restrictions.
Sun
It burns its bodily fluids to create a poisonous gas. When its enemies become disoriented from inhaling the gas, it attacks them.

The name Salandit combines Salander with Bandit. The Japanese name Yatoumori also combines a word for salander, imori, with a criminal, yato. The Pokemon does engage in some bandit behavior.
Shield
This sneaky Pokémon will slink behind its prey and immobilize it with poisonous gas before the prey even realizes Salandit is there.

Scarlet
It taunts its prey and lures them into narrow, rocky areas where it then sprays them with toxic gas to make them dizzy and take them down.

These roving gangs of Salandit are led by the females of the species.
Violet
Only female Salandit can produce gas laden with pheromones. Males entranced by this gas will do whatever the females tell them.
The whiptail species of Salamander have a disproportionate number of males to females, which explains the pokemon’s odd gender dynamics.
Ultra Sun
The males will do whatever the females tell them. They give the females most of their food. Due to malnutrition, the males can't evolve.

A female Salandit, however, can evolve and at level 35 will become Salazzle.
In Hawaiian myth, there is a lizard-like spirit called the Mo’o, known to take on the form of a beautiful human female to entice prey. The dragon warrior elements of the creature, and the actual name, will be reflected in a later Alolan Pokemon but the female form is reflected in Salazzle.
Salazzle is still very repltilian, but it has a slightly more humanoid, hunched form, and its eyes and hips are of a very deliberate feminine shape. Its flame pattern is a slightly more pinkish hue, and also has extended around the front to form an illusion of additional female parts.
Sun
For some reason, only females have been found. It creates a reverse harem of male Salandit that it lives with.
Moon
Filled with pheromones, its poisonous gas can be diluted to use in the production of luscious perfumes.
Some of this sounds almost pleasant in a way, but we must remember this is not a devoted mother figure but a bandit leader.
Sword
Only female Salazzle exist. They emit a gas laden with pheromones to captivate male Salandit.
Shield
The winner of competitions between Salazzle is decided by which one has the most male Salandit with it.
Of course, on the competitive scene Salazzle couldn’t win through the size of her harem, but she did still make a niche for herself thanks to the incredible coverage of her typing and her ability to poison all comers, combined with decent special attack and speed to make the most of it.
Salazzle is a Salamander able to dazzle her suitors and sizzle her opponents. In Japanese the name is Ennewt, combining the English newt with the en either from flame or bewitching, both equally appropriate.
Scarlet
Salazzle makes its opponents light-headed with poisonous gas, then captivates them with alluring movements to turn them into loyal servants.

Salazzle using feminine wiles and underhanded poisonous tactics would be a fairly ordinary trope if she were a human sorceress in a normal fantasy story. As a cool predatory salamander creature, she makes a unique and powerful pocket monster.
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 Stufful and Bounsweet, 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 Salandit. And remember, I love you too.