LOOK: New Pokémon based on impact of climate change on corals

The Pokémon Company introduced a new version of one of their games’ many creatures, which appears to be based on bleached corals due to climate change.

The Pokémon, called Corsola, is originally a pink-and-blue coral-like creature that was first included in the “Gold” and “Silver” versions of the popular video game, which were launched in 1999.

The original version of the Pokemon Corsola  (Image: Pokemon’s official website)

In the newest installations to the game franchise, “Pokémon Sword” and “Pokémon Shield,” the gaming company seemed to have used climate change as the inspiration behind the new version for the coral-like Pokémon.

The Pokémon’s new form, which is exclusive to the Galar region in the Pokémon world, now sports a ghostly-white look in place of its original pink and blue color scheme. It has also changed from a water and rock type to a pure ghost type, which seems to be a reference to the dead corals brought about by rising sea temperatures.

The new version of the Pokemon Corsola  (Image: Seribii)

Meanwhile, the Pokédex entry for the new Galarian Corsola states that the Pokémon was wiped out by “sudden climate change.”

It also resembles many corals affected by the severe bleaching that damaged the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 2016 and 2017. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the government agency that manages the reef, recently stated in its report that its outlook for the corals’ condition has been changed from “poor” to “very poor” due to the warming oceans.

The new Galarian Corsola can only be caught in the “Pokémon Shield” version of the newly released games.  /ra

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