Crocalor is a bipedal, crocodilian Pokémon. Its stout, melon-shaped body is primarily red, but its face and chest are white simulating a mask; its hands and feet are black with three digits each. It has yellow rectangular scales covering its back and tail, and a pattern of black and yellow stripes on its chest. Its face has a long snout, red square cheeks, a pattern of two red triangles resembling nostrils, and a hook-like upper jaw. When Crocalor opens its mouth, three pairs of sharp teeth can be seen lining its lower jaw.
Atop Crocalor's head is an orange mass of fire energy shaped like a nest, with yellow squares patterning it. This "nest" contains a yellow, glowing, egg-shaped fireball on top, borne out of Crocalor's fire energy and overflowing vitality. Crocalor can control the fireball, sending it out and using it for its moves.[1] As shown in Pokémon Sleep, Crocalor and its evolutionary relatives are known to sometimes sleep with one eye open. The fireball on Crocalor's head never falls off even as the Pokémon sways rhythmically in its sleep.
Crocalor's internal flame sac has a valve that connects to its vocal cords. As a result, Crocalor lets out guttural cries as it releases fire from its mouth. Its voice can hardly be described as beautiful; moreover, its voice becomes more destructive as it breathes more powerful fire.[1]
It loves to sing and sometimes moves as though singing while it sleeps. Even when Crocalor's body sways rhythmically in its sleep, the egg-shaped fireball on the Pokémon's head never falls.
Crocalor resembles a crocodile with a calavera pattern. Its Fire typing may be inspired by the fact that crocodiles release excess heat through their mouths. Its affinity for vocal performance could be based on crocodilian behavior during nesting and breeding. Its behavior of spewing flames could also be a reference to the phrase "spitting fire" for a good vocal performance. In Pokémon Sleep, Crocalor and its evolutionary relatives are revealed to sleep with one eye open, just like real-life crocodiles.
Crocalor's overall appearance may draw inspiration primarily from Mexican or Andalusian folk traditions. Its bulbous body shape and variegated body markings may allude to a piñata. The white coloring covering its face like a skull mask suggests a loose resemblance to La Calavera Catrina, a figure associated with the Mexican holiday of Día de Muertos (literally "Day of the Dead"). The fire decorations on its head resembles a nest for the egg-shaped fireball and may be inspired by a sombrero de charro worn by mariachi musicians, or the sombrero de catite. Alternatively, the "nest" atop its head vaguely resembles a bouquet of Mexican marigold. It also resembles a Mona de Pascua, a traditional Easter cake from Catalonia sometimes served with a hard-boiled egg or egg-shaped confectionery on top.
Crocalor caring for an "egg" atop its head may also be inspired by the observed maternal behavior in crocodiles. Given this together with the typing of its evolution, its design may also draw inspiration from the Ancient Egyptian crocodile god Sobek, particularly the merged deity between Sobek and Horus or Ra, which is often crowned with an oval or disc-shaped ornament for its acquired godhood of the Sun in Hellenistic and Roman Egyptian artefacts.
Name origin
Crocalor may be a combination of crocodile and calor (Spanish and Portuguese for heat). It may also involve vocal or coloratura (an ornamentation of vocal melody).
Achigator may be a combination of あちち achichi ("hot!"), mariachi, and alligator.