A new species of cockroach was discovered and the scientists who uncovered these insects have named them after a Pokémon. Cockroaches are rarely fun to talk about, but we’ll make an exception since it's named after one of Sun and Moon’s rare Ultra Beasts.
Singapore’s biodiversity records show that this new cockroach will be called Nocticola Pherimosa. This species of Nocticola, of which there are 25, was discovered in Singapore’s Bukit Timah reserve. It was named by Philippine entomologist Cristian C. Lucañas and Singaporean entomologist Foo Maosheng.
“The discovery, like with the other species I described, is quite enjoying and fulfilling. Honestly, though, I have been working with cockroaches since 2015, so the excitement has dwindled a bit, but again it is still fun,” Lucañas told Rappler.
Unsurprisingly, both entomologists are fans of Pokémon, so it makes sense that they would name this new cockroach after one. Maosheng even compared him and Lucañas to those Bug-type trainers in the games who go around forests to find more insect-like Pokémon.
The critter in question is Pheromosa, one of the Ultra Beasts first uncovered in Pokémon Sun and Moon. While the two don’t look exactly alike, we can see why they chose to name it after this weirdly attractive creature. It’s not like there are a lot of cockroach Pokémon in the world, so this makes sense.
Fans of Pokémon Sun and Moon will remember how the beasts invaded Alola, with some of the Totem Pokémon stopping them in an exciting climax. Once the main campaign was finished, fans could catch these Ultra Beasts in a post-game quest. We’re sure most players will have Pheromosa on their roster.
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It’s a shame that some of the Ultra Beasts haven’t made their way to modern Pokémon games. Scarlet and Violet have since added Paradox Pokémon to fit that bill, giving us familiar creatures from the past (Scarlet) or future (Violet), depending on what version was purchased.