Pokémon: Are the Ultra Beasts Based on the Seven Deadly Sins?

Pokémon, short for Pocket Monsters, is a Japanese media franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori in 1995. It is a fantasy franchise set in a world where humans live together with creatures called Pokémon, who take on different shapes and sizes. It started off as a series of video games for the Game Boy console but soon expanded to other media. The individual Pokémon species are various, diverse, and very specific. Still, in this article, we will talk about a specific group of creatures known as the Ultra Beasts, as we will tell you whether they are based on the Seven Deadly Sins.

Officially, the Ultra Beasts in Pokémon are not based on the Biblical Seven Deadly Sins. This theory appeared online but has not been confirmed by the creators. Namely, there are more Ultra Beasts than there are Deadly Sins, and the interpretations are quite liberal at best. This is why we cannot confirm that the Ultra Beasts are actually the Seven Deadly Sins incarnate.

The rest of this article is, of course, going to be dedicated to Ultra Beasts. We will explain what they are, how they came to be, and whether they are based on the Biblical Seven Deadly Sins. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about this intriguing group of creatures, and we hope to make things clearer for you with this article.

What are the Ultra Beasts in Pokémon?

Ultra Beasts hail from another dimension known as the Ultra Dimension. However, they can travel to other worlds through so-called Ultragates. Their tremendous powers threaten humans and other Pokémon, so they are researched by the Aether Foundation and monitored by the International Police, who have given them various species-specific code names. Their aggressive demeanor is believed to be related to the confusion they suffer when being pulled into another dimension through an Ultra Wormhole.

For this reason, too, they are attracted to people who radiate Ultra Wormhole energy, as they are looking for a way back to their homeland. Such people are called marked ones. Ultra Beasts are considered a separate group of Pokémon and are not a subgroup of Legendary Pokémon. However, both groups share many characteristics: all belong to the Unknown Egg group and are of unknown gender, all have special combat music and specially colored Pokédex entries, and all show the maximum value when catching at least three individual strengths.

The Global Trade Station filter for special Pokémon also applies to Ultra Beasts. In the Alola region, tales are told of spooky Pokémon climbing through Ultragates and the patron saints of Alola fighting them. A few years before Pokémon Sun and Moon began, Mohn published a treatise on these portals, which he traveled, and Anego, which he observed there. The mysterious Pokémon caught the interest of the Aether Foundation, which in response created a new type of Pokémon, Type: Null, which would be able to fight Ultra Beasts. However, the project failed, and the three specimens of the Pokémon were put into a deep artificial sleep. In addition, the Foundation developed the Ultraballs in the strictest secrecy.

The International Police, represented by Looker, monitored the activities of the Ultra Beasts through a special unit. Your task is to study the way of life of beings and avoid them harming anyone. Ten years before the events of Sun and Moon, Looker, Nanu, and an unknown marked woman used as bait found themselves again on the hunt for a wild gorilla, and the unknown woman died.

The police call the Ultra Beasts by code names. A total of eleven different species of Ultra Beasts are known, all of which were introduced in the seventh generation of the game. Seven species appear for the first time in Pokémon Sun and Moon, and four appear in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. With one exception, Ultra Beasts have no pre-level and cannot evolve. Only Poipole can evolve into Naganadel by leveling up after mastering the Dragon Pulse attack. The known Ultra Beasts are:

• Nihilego (codenamed UB-01 Symbiont)
• Buzzwole (codenamed UB-02 Absorption)^SUS
• Pheromosa (codenamed UB-02 Beauty)^MUM
• Xurkitree (codenamed UB-03 Lighting)
• Celesteela (codenamed UB-04 Blaster)^MUM
• Kartana (codenamed UB-04 Blade)^SUS
• Guzzlord (codenamed UB-05 Glutton)
• Poipole (codenamed UB Adhesive)^USUM
• Naganadel (codenamed UB Stinger)^USUM
• Stakataka (codenamed UB Assembly)^UM
• Blacephalon (codenamed UB Burst)^US

What are the Ultra Beasts based on?

Before the Pokémon Sun and Moon games were released, it seemed unclear whether Ultra Beasts were actually Pokémon or entirely new creatures. This impression in fan circles resulted from the extraordinary design of the Ultra Beasts and their design, which is unusual for Pokémon. In an interview for the official Pokémon website, GAME FREAK’s Kazumasa Iwao and Shigeru Ohmori explained that Ultra Beasts had been designed in a new way, embracing the concept of opposites.

For example, Nihilego is based on a particularly soft jellyfish, but its body is made of very hard glass. Pheromosa represents a cockroach, which is considered a particularly unclean and aesthetically unappealing animal while being considered a particularly beautiful Pokémon that avoids touching dirty surfaces. Another example is Buzzwole, which is reminiscent of a tiny mosquito but is covered with mountains of powerful muscles. The respective edition-specific Ultra Beasts represent contrasts while also sharing many similarities: Pheromosa and Buzzwole share the typing and beetle-like appearance while stereotypically exaggerating the differences between males and females.

Celesteela and Kartana, on the other hand, both belong to the steel type but are as contrasting as possible in terms of size and weight. Celesteela is not only the largest and heaviest Ultra Beast but also one of the largest and heaviest Pokémon ever. The opposite is true for Kartana, the smallest and lightest Ultra Beast. Many theories have spun around the common origins of the Ultra Beasts, spanning from the solar system’s planets to the seven deadly sins. Only one is confirmed: In an interview in the official guide to Pokémon Sun and Moon, Shigeru Ohmori emphasizes that ultra beasts are based on invasive species⁠, i.e., creatures that penetrate foreign habitats and cause damage there.

As you can see, the Ultra Beasts are not based on the Seven Deadly Sins. The creative process was complex, and they were mostly modeled after some animals or concepts, but not the Seven Deadly sins. This is only a fan theory that appeared online and was based on the fact that their leader, Guzzlord, was given the nickname UB-05 Glutton. On the other hand, no other Ultra Beast is nicknamed after a Deadly Sin, which is why there is no official basis for this theory.