Meowscarada is a humanoid feline Pokémon with light green fur covering most of its body — stopping just above its long, dark green legs — and a short, fluffy tail. The fur is especially longer around its ears, thighs, and arms, the latter resembling poofy sleeves. Its face has lazy pink eyes and a small pink nose, and is covered in a four-pointed mask-like shape, with a pattern of three green diamonds on it. Its ears are curiously more droopy compared to its pre-evolutions, its mask instead giving the impression of perked-up cat ears. Each of Meowscarada's hands has three fingers tipped with green claws, as well as a pink paw pad. On its neck is a pink collar resembling flower petals. This collar holds together its cape, which grows from the leaves it had around its neck as Floragato.[1] The cape is lined with reflective fur, is black on the outside and green on the inside, and splits into two near the base, with both parts of the cape ending in fleur-de-lis shapes.
Meowscarda is said to be a talented magician. Meowscarada carries a four-petaled green flower, whose stem is hidden by the reflective fur on its cape, creating the illusion of floating. The flower can blossom into a round, pollen-filled flower bomb, with a two-tone green and black zigzag pattern on the outside, and six petals adorning the top. In a battle, Meowscarada uses skillful misdirection to stealthily plant these flower bombs onto various surfaces around its unaware foes before setting them off, catching their opponents off guard.[1]As mentioned in the Sleep Style Dex, Meowscarda occasionally attempts to perform magic while it sleeps. However, this performance tends to not go as planned.
Meowscarada has a proud, showy personality; however, it is also sensitive and prone to jealousy. It can often be very attached to its Trainer, and it will become upset if its Trainer gives attention to other Pokémon.[1]
Meowscarada is the only known Pokémon capable of learning the move Flower Trick.
Evolution
Meowscarada evolves from Floragato and is the final form of Sprigatito.
(For specifics on this Pokémon's Evolution in the games, refer to Game data→Evolution data.)
Origin
Meowscarada appears to be based on a feline — possibly the Iberian lynx — and a magician, with its high Speed and Dark typing likely inspired by the sleight of hand needed to create a convincing act. Its category and signature move, Flower Trick, seems to be inspired by the magic trick of making flowers appear. Meowscarada's mask and ears are also reminiscent of the cap worn by jesters, and the diamonds on its mask may be intended to evoke the Harlequin stock character and those used in French-suited playing cards. With its round shape and six prominent petals, Meowscarada's flower resembles a pomegranate, a fruit of particular cultural importance in certain regions of Spain, such as Granada. This ties into its nature as an explosive, as grenades are named for their resemblance to pomegranates.
Meowscarada also seems to take inspiration from a masquerade ball, which originated in the court culture of Burgundy in the 15th century and quickly diffused to France, the Habsburg monarchy, and Spain following succession issues. It could be also inspired by the masks commonly seen in Mardi Gras celebrations, and its round flower could be inspired by the throws typical of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Meowscarada's magician motif and Dark typing may also be a reference to the gentleman thief archetype (otherwise known as the phantom thief), a trope popularized by Maurice Leblanc's famous character Arsène Lupin, whose elaborate heists are seemingly inspired by magicians and magic shows. The Shiny colorations of Meowscarada and its pre-evolutions appear as if their regular colorations are cast under moonlight — artistic depictions of magic shows, masquerade balls, and phantom thief-style heists commonly depict the characters taking part in it bathing in the moonlight or standing under the moon.
Name origin
Meowscarada may be a combination of meow and mascarada (Spanish and Portuguese for masquerade).
Masquernya may be a combination of masquerade and ニャー nyā (onomatopoeia for meowing).