#generation 6

alt forms under the cut, beware of potential spoilers

small dump of doodles/wips over the months while i slowly recover from burnout

it fucken WIMDY

Image from: Forgotten Dex, the Lost Forms

Back when I was writing Eternal Flower Files: Sacred Geometry, I figured out that the Eternal Flower that belongs to AZ's Floette maps really well onto the Circle of Arceus.

Here's a breakdown that shows how the Circle of Arceus fits the design of the flower:

It matches so well that I don't think it's a coincidence - GameFreak probably designed this strange flower to match up with the circle.

Now, there are a lot of hexagram-based symbols in anime. This article from Comic Book Resources does a great job explaining the significance of the hexagram in the east and west, and why it's a shorthand for divinity and magic in anime.

But I think there's more to it than both shapes just being hexagrams.

I think this design choice comes down to two things. One, the Eternal Flower is probably based on the Philosopher's Stone, the divine substance in alchemy that grants eternal life.

Even though Floette is the one that was brought back to life, the machine that revived her looks like a giant Eternal Flower itself. There are definitely organic petals emanating from the center during the blast.

Two, Eternal Flower Floette is almost definitely inspired by the fleur de lys. To recap, legend has it that the first King of France, King Clovis, adopted the fleur de lys as the symbol of France after he was given a lily by the Virgin Mary during his baptism.

This divine lily is said to have sprung up from the tears of Eve as she left Eden. (Source) Like the Philosopher's Stone, lilies are symbols of rebirth.

Image from: clker.com

So if Eternal Flower Floette is partially based on this holy lily, this flower of light so entwined with the mythology of France, it would make sense to connect it to Arceus, this non-denominational Poke-god that combines myths from all over the world.

And we see this divine symbolism further with Eternal Flower Floette's signature move, Light of Ruin. It feels like something that would turn you into a pillar of salt if you looked at it. Then again, the Ultimate Weapon's power turned Pokemon to pillars of stone.

What does this mean for Legends: Z-A? I have a feeling that Z-A is more of a sequel to Legends: Arceus that we'd expect from a Kalos game. I think Arceus will still have a presence in Z-A as the Alpha to Zygarde's Zed, even if it's just in spirit.

...

This is the latest entry in The Eternal Flower Files, my series about analyzing Eternal Flower Floette, King AZ, and their part in the history of Kalos.

The Eternal Flower Files: The Sun King

The Eternal Flower Files: Flowers of the Fleur de Lys

Eternal Flower Files Short: Thismia