Talking ‘Bout the Next Generation: Gen VII – Alolan Exeggutor (The Pokémon of Sun & Moon)

Welcome back to Talkin’ Bout the Next Generation, the spin-off series of Talkin’ Bout My Generation (the 6 part series we ran during #PokémonWeek). In Talkin’ Bout the Next Generation we will focus solely on all of the Pokémon coming to Sun and Moon this fall. Today we will be looking at Alolan Exeggutor!

During yesterday’s reveal of Alolan forms for previously seen Pokémon, people fell head over heels in love with Alolan Vulpix and Ninetails (including myself), and others were attracted to Alolan Sandshrew and Sandslash’s cool factor (pun intended). However, one that’s just been the butt of the jokes is Alolan Exeggutor. However, I’m here to tell you that this dopey tree makes more sense than you think.

In 1997, the Jungle expansion was added to the Pokémon Trading Card Game. On the Japanese booster box, there is art featuring Exeggutor with an extremely long neck and no legs in sight. This could be alluding to the Alolan Exeggutor we just saw announced. The image is below.

Furthermore, in Ruby and Sapphire, Exeggutor’s Pokédex entry reads, “Exeggutor originally came from the tropics. Its heads steadily grow larger from exposure to strong sunlight. It is said that when the heads fall off, they group together to form Exeggcute.” This directly coincides with what we’ve seen of Alolan Exeggutor, and as we can see from 1997 and 2002, Exeggutor’s other form has always existed, we just haven’t seen it in a video game. Is it possible that the Alolan Exeggutor is its true form?

Finally, Exeggutor’s dragon typing could be a reference to a species of tree, the Dracaena Draco, also known as the Canary Islands Dragon Tree. Though not the same species of tree that Exeggutor is based off of, it is nonetheless a subtropical tree, and the dragon typing could be a little nod to this species.

What do you think of Alolan Exeggutor? Let us know below!