Sinistcha is a Pokémon made of matcha tea. As such, its main body is entirely green, except for its mouth and swirly eyes, which are yellow in color. Its arms are thin and its hands have three digits, and it has two small legs. It inhabits a 茶碗 chawan, a tea bowl used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. The chawan it inhabits is black and white, with a few cracks sealed with green all over it, and a swirling, face-like pattern on its side. Atop its head, Sinistcha wears a 茶筅 chasen (a bamboo whisk used to prepare and stir matcha tea)[1], which is broken and missing a few of its teeth. Despite appearances, Sinistcha is not biologically related to Polteageist.
Sinistcha lives in cool, dark areas such as the back of a shelf or beneath a house's floorboards. In the past, Sinistcha would sneak into houses and pretend to be tea in order to trick people into drinking it, so it can absorb their life force. However, because the chawan Sinistcha inhabits had fallen out of use, this act became largely unsuccessful. In recent times, instead of sneaking into houses, Sinistcha roams towns and suburbs in search of prey. It is generally active after sunset, and will attack anything that approaches it with a life-force-draining splash of tea. In order to prepare itself for battle, Sinistcha builds up its energy by using the chasen on its head to stir itself.[1]
Sinistcha is the only known Pokémon capable of learning the move Matcha Gotcha. Additionally, Sinistcha and its pre-evolved form, Poltchageist, are the only known Pokémon that can have Hospitality as an Ability.
Forms
Sinistcha has two separate forms: Unremarkable Form and Masterpiece Form. Telling either of these forms apart requires careful inspection; a Masterpiece Form Sinistcha bears a stamp of authenticity on the base of its chawan, while an Unremarkable Form Sinistcha lacks it.
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| Masterpiece Form
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Evolution
Sinistcha evolves from Poltchageist.
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- Despite being an apparent counterpart of Polteageist, Sinistcha's name resembles that of Polteageist's pre-evolution, Sinistea. The reverse is also true with its pre-evolution, Poltchageist. They are the only ecologically similar Pokémon with this distinction.
- The Sinistcha and Polteageist families are the only ecologically similar Pokémon that share a type and the only ones to share Egg Groups with each other.
- Additionally, Sinistcha and Polteageist have similar evolution methods, as they both require being exposed to one of two specific items depending on their form.
- Sinistcha and its pre-evolution are the only ecologically similar Pokémon to have multiple forms.
Origin
Sinistcha appears to be based on matcha tea that has been prepared into a drink in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Its design incorporates several utensils used in the aforementioned ceremony, namely the 茶碗 chawan (tea bowl) and 茶筅 chasen (tea whisk). It may also be based on a tsukumogami, being an inanimate household object come to life — in this case, equipment used in a Japanese tea ceremony.
Sinistcha's overall design resembles Polteageist, having similar eyes and a similar body. This may be a reference to convergent evolution or parallel evolution, which can lead to separate organisms independently developing similar or identical characteristics and body plans.
Sinistcha's forms may be based on stoneware forgeries. One historical way to combat stoneware forgeries was to create a stamp of authenticity on products, hence the stamp under Masterpiece Form Sinistcha. It may also be a reference to the difference between unremarkable household objects and rare variants of them which are seen as antiques or masterpieces. Another origin for Sinistcha's forms may be the different grades of matcha, or matcha imitations.
Name origin
Sinistcha may be a combination of sinister and 抹茶 matcha, following the same naming pattern as Sinistea.
Yabasocha may be a combination of やばい yabai (dangerous; terrible), ヤバチャ Yabacha (Sinistea), and 粗茶 socha (low grade tea, coarse tea).
For other sprites and images, please see Sinistcha images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
