[Pokemon Sun & Moon] Could the Tapus be partly influenced by Hippocrates' Four Humours?

I've long since recognised that it's futile to try and quash my love for Pokemon so soon after a new generation is released. The best course of action is to double down and go bonkers for 2-3 months - this way I can get it all out of my system and concentrate when Uni rolls back around.

I typed the following in a Reddit post and thought it might be of interest here. It's not terribly well-researched as an analysis, but based on quick observation:


First posited by the Greek physician Hippocrates, Humorism is a theory on how an imbalance of bodily fluids changes one's behaviour into one of four types. Though it is long-debunked, it remained popular throughout the Medieval and Renaissance Eras, embedding themselves into Shakespeare's works and even being an undercurrent of fiction today [see TV Tropes].

The 4 main personality types, according to Wikipedia's page on Humorism are:

  • Blood / Sanguine: optimistic, active and social

  • Yellow Bile / Choler: short-tempered, fast or irritable

  • Black Bile / Melancholy: analytical, wise and quiet

  • Phlegm: relaxed and peaceful

Instantly, Choler reminds me of Tapu Koko. Apart from the yellow coincidence, Tapu Koko is, well I'll be darned, short-tempered, fast, and irritable.

Secondly, Phlegm is reminiscent of Tapu Bulu. A slow, pondering creature, Bulu dislikes fighting, and is based on ungulates.

The comparisons seem a bit obscure after this. Tapu Lele likely fits Blood / Sanguine, as its mischievous and meddling nature fits the sanguine idea of being active and social. More superficially, its colour scheme is closer to the luridity of blood than the others.

This leaves Tapu Fini to sort of slot into Melancholy. In some ways it fits, but not as strongly as the others.

What do you think? I'm not claiming that Humours were at the front of the developers minds with the Tapus, but that they could be one of many sources behind their designs. Feel free to share your thoughts.