What is it, Lassie?

303: Mawile

If Ludicolo and Shiftry weren't enough yokai Pokemon for you, here's another one! This odd pure Steel type, now Steel/Fairy, was a Pokemon that seemed peculiar to anyone not in the know about it, presented as a small, beaked creature with a huge maw poking out of the back of its head, integrated with its "hair". We've always found it neat from a fake-zoology perspective that this fake mouth apparently evolved from what used to be a set of steel horns, now configuring itself into the shape of a big mouth to act as a facade for this creature way smaller than said fake mouth would suggest. Clever!

It does still function as a mouth though, with the Pokedex stating it eats prey whole with it. The facade isn't as much of a facade as you'd think! A facade's facade! This is likely because the yokai this Pokemon is based on is the kutakuchi-onna, or "two-mouthed woman". A woman who had a second mouth hidden in her hair. Mawile overall works best as a yokai-inspired creature for how evocative it is of said yokai but still having its own twist on it. The big bitey ponytail is a cool visual! It also helps that it looks feminine without being so overt about it that it doesn't ruin the thing's look as an animal. And again, points for looking like not like any animal in particular.

Just had a thought - THREE pigtails!

Mega Mawile:

Mega Mawile was one of the first Megas ever revealed, actually. And as far as it goes for design, it pulls a rather simple "multiply the thing" approach and gives it a second false-mouth. We don't like it as much as its base form, but it's still neat! If one mouth-pony tail is cool, then why not two bitey pigtails! The added gnarliness and snaggled look to the mouths really help as well. Could take or leave the pink bits, but it doesn't ruin anything.