In this subseries, I will analyze the potential origins of the Pokemon in order to discover hidden details and potential. As part of a recently revealed trailer, we saw several Pokemon revealed including Rolycoly.

At first glance you’re immediately able to tell that this is a lump of coal that can roll around.

Coal is a fascinating base for a Pokemon, and its cultural relevance to England makes it the perfect time to introduce what seems to be a low-level Rock-type Pokemon to the series.

For the individual household, coal was an important way to keep people warm during the winter months. They’d often get deliveries of coal and burn them in a coal stove.

While the combustive properties of coal had long been known, the need to harness their energy was not needed much until the Industrial Revolution required massive amounts of energy to power new machines and turn water into steam.

The Industrial Revolution is thought to be generally between the late 18th to the early 19th century, with a second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century which further improved steel processes and allowed for electricity generation on a large scale.

However, the widespread burning of coal had negative health effects on those living nearby. Coal soot created air pollution and led to higher rates of infant mortality and the development of black lung. The environmental movement started primarily to reduce the amount of coal pollution.

Coal burning has had wider environmental impacts. Burning coal leads to carbon dioxide to be released and enter the atmosphere. This is causing global warming, and has a greater climate impact compared to similar energy generation methods.

Today, coal usage and mining is decreasing. The knowledge that coal burning is damaging the planet’s environment has led many governments to invest into alternative energy sources and create goals to close down coal plants over the next decades.

This is the story of coal, and the story of Rolycoly. The Pokemon website states:

Its red eye can illuminate dark areas, while it uses the lump of coal attached to its body like a wheel to move through coal mines and caves. It seems to be able to travel smoothly even over rough terrain. Until about one hundred years ago, every household in the Galar region had a Rolycoly. The families would use the coal that dropped off its body for cooking and heating their homes. Even in the modern day, Rolycoly is a very popular Pokémon to take for outdoor activities!

We learn that Rolycoly is able to roll around as its body physically contains a smooth piece of coal. It was able to help families with heating, presumably by heating the Pokemon’s body. Hopefully Rolycoly’s body is able to regenerate the coal that is burned off. But as it has Heatproof as an ability, this process is probably not painful.

In the description, we see that a hundred years ago, the Pokemon world must have realized the implications of mass burning coal and taken steps to stop it. Maybe we’ll see a modern energy generation place like Alola’s Geothermal Power Plant. Wind power is popular in present day UK, and may serve as Galar’s power plant.

I wonder if Rolycoly knew the damage it was doing. The Pokemon doesn’t seem to be endangered, but its role has changed a lot. It is taken for outdoor activities, as having Rolycoly in an enclosed environment would probably be too hazardous.

I imagine Rolycoly will be a popular Pokemon to find in caves, as Great Britain had a large number of coal deposits throughout the nation. They employed hundreds of thousands to extract them from deep caverns, with the employed often including children. Many later closed a century later once the coal sources were completely exhausted.

It would be unnerving if Galar’s caves included a number of youngsters, or perhaps a ghost story about a child miner who died in a tunnel collapse.

The Pokemon’s design leaves a lot of opportunities for evolutions. Perhaps it will evolve into a coal wheelbarrow and then coal mine cart, or perhaps it will gain a Fire typing later. It has Steam Engine as a second ability, which boosts its speed three stages when bit by a Water or Fire-type move. Could this hint at its final evolution?

Overall, the design of Rolycoly has a lot of thought and a lot of potential. Its description directly relates to the rise and fall of coal in British history and its role in the Industrial Revolution. I look forward to seeing how Rolycoly is incorporated into the region.