Polteageist is a Pokémon made of black tea. Its body is purple with yellow accents, as well as yellow eyes and mouth. Its arms are thin and its hands have three digits, and it has two small legs. Polteageist inhabits a large, white teapot with cracks and holes on it, exposing parts of its body. The teapot has a yellow handle, as well as yellow accents on its cover and bottom. There are light blue swirly patterns surrounding the teapot. Most of the teapots that Polteageist inhabit are forgeries, but occasionally an authentic one is found.
The black tea that composes Polteageist's body has a distinctly delicious flavor, but can cause strong chills when swallowed, and may also induce indigestion, stomach aches, and even death if drunk in excess. Only a Trainer it trusts is allowed to drink its tea.[4] There are gourmets who drink Polteageist's tea everyday, showing no fear of the side effects. Polteageist attacks by shooting the tea at its enemy's mouth.
Polteageist live in hotels and restaurants, disguising themselves as tableware and infecting leftover tea to create more of their own kind.[4] As such, Polteageist is a gender-unknown species. A Polteageist's personality is dependent on the type of tea it possesses; the teapot it lives in doesn't affect it. Despite their similar appearances, Polteageist is not related to Sinistcha.
Polteageist has two separate forms: Phony Form and Antique Form. Telling either of these forms apart requires careful inspection; Antique Form Polteageist has a stamp of authenticity on the bottom of its teapot, whereas Phony Form Polteageist lacks it. This stamp appears as a teal colored emblem on the bottom inside rim of the teapot.
Polteageist has two separate forms: Phony Form and Antique Form.[1] Its form is maintained through evolution from Sinistea and cannot be changed.
The Antique Form is rarer and has a stamp of authenticity hidden on the underside of its base. The only functional difference between the two forms is the Evolution item used by Sinistea to evolve into Polteageist: Phony Form Sinistea requires a Cracked Pot, while Antique Form Sinistea requires a Chipped Pot.
Antique Form Polteageist does not obey typical form inheritance rules when breeding, and therefore cannot produce Eggs that contain Antique Form Sinistea. All Sinistea that hatch from Eggs will always be Phony Form, regardless of the parent's form.
In Japanese, the name of Polteageist's forms use 「フォルム」 form, the term otherwise primarily used in the names of forms localized as Forme in English.
Polteageist made its debut in HZ030, where one wandered aboard the Brave Olivine. It, alongside a Sinistea it had created, later properly joined the Rising Volt Tacklers on their travels after befriending the Pokémon aboard the airship.
Additionally, Polteageist and Sinistcha have similar evolution methods, as they both require being exposed to a specific item to evolve into a specific form of their evolved counterparts.
Origin
Polteageist is based on a ghost (possibly a poltergeist, a mischievous ghost that possesses objects) possessing a teapot full of tea, which has historical and cultural significance in the United Kingdom, the country Galar is based on.[5][7] It may also be inspired by genies, which are often depicted residing in oil lamps that resemble teapots. Additionally, Polteageist may be based on the yokai Morinji-no-okama or Narigama, which both take the form of possessed kettles.
Polteageist's forms may be based on porcelain forgeries. One way porcelain makers historically combatted forgeries was to create a stamp of authenticity on their products, hence the stamp under Antique Form Polteageist.
Name origin
Polteageist may be a combination of poltergeist and tea.
Potdeath may be a combination of pot and death, as well as a pun on ポットです potto desu ("It's a teapot").
For other sprites and images, please see Polteageist images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
