Mudkip, the mud fish pokemon

This is mudkip. Mudkip is a water type pokemon from the third generation of the games. It has a blue small body with large fins and orange cheeks. It later evolves into Marshtomp and Swampert.

Mudkip is based on the Axolotl.

You can see the general face structure is very similar. Obviously, you would not find bright blue axolotls in the wild, or even in captivity. They tend to be pink, black or a greeny shade.

The third generation of Pokemon was based in Hoenn, a fictional region but based in Japan. Axolotls are not native to Japan, nor do they appear in the wild. The axolotl lives in Mexico, Lake Xochimilco to be more specific. This lake isn't there anymore, and the species is critically endangered.

Axolotls are kept as pets around the world, including Japan where Hoenn is based and where Mudkip is. However, they are also eaten there. On the other hand, there are many different plushes of axolotls floating about in shops. I'm not sure why, but the plushes are very sweet.

This is an example of them. If I were more into amphibians I would definitely get one, they have cute silly faces and look very soft. I'm a bit surprised at the amount of designs for toys based on them. Maybe people are a big fan of amphibians over there? Did the lovable Mudkip cause this? If you have answers please let me know.

I hope you've enjoyed the first post of Pokemon February! I already have my lineup of Pokemon chosen, so stay tuned.
-Dari