Pokémon Legends: Arceus' Pokéshi Doll Has A Real Japanese Equivalent

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The Pokéshi Doll in Pokémon Legends: Arceus may seem like a simple item, but it’s actually based on a real Japanese doll. In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, players can learn how to craft a Pokéshi Doll during one of its many quests. Although only three pieces of wood are required to craft it, wood isn’t always so easily found around the Hisui region, so players’ inventories likely won’t be overflowing with Pokéshi Dolls.

The only purpose Pokéshi Dolls serve in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is to be sold for money, similar to items like Nuggets and Star Pieces. The item itself has a cylindrical “body” that’s painted pink, with a round “head” with ears and facial markings like Clefairy, the evolution of Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ rare and elusive Cleffa. Close inspection of the item’s icon shows a cute detail: the Clefairy’s hands are painted onto the body, with one hand with a finger pointed upwards like it’s ready to use its well known Metronome attack. Despite all these references to the Pokémon, however, the item itself is based on a real kind of Japanese doll.

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The Kokeshi doll is a Japanese doll very similar to the Pokéshi Doll. It is traditionally carved from multiple pieces of wood that are stuck together. The oldest kinds of Kokeshi have a cylindrical body and round head, just like the Pokéshi Doll. They also traditionally used only three colors of paint — red, yellow, and black — when putting the details onto the head and body. Although the craftable Pokémon Legends: Arceus item Pokéshi Doll doesn’t use those colors exactly, its very limited color palette of black, brown, and shades of pink is highly reminiscent of the real deal. Over time, some Kokeshi