Just about every creature in Pokemon has some roots in a real-world concept. Many come from mythological concepts, such as Magikarp and Gyarados' roots in a Chinese story about a carp's transformation into a dragon.
Others are simpler, such as Vanillish's basis in ice cream or Palossand's imitation of a sand castle. Still, some Pokemon get their roots in other foms of culture, such as Kadabra carrying a spoon in recognition of the many human psychics who claim to be able to bend spoons with
. Read more on gamerant.com