Meowth is a small, feline monster with cream-coulored fur that turns brown at the tips of its hind paws and tail. Its head features four prominent whiskers, wide eyes with slit pupils, two pointed teeth in the upper jaw, and a gold oval coin embedded in its forehead. Its ears are black with brown interiors and are flanked with an additional pair of long whiskers. Meowth is a quadruped with the ability to walk on its hind legs. It can freely manipulate its claws, retracting them when it wants to move silently. The tip of its tail curls tightly.
Meowth is attracted to round and shiny objects, and has the unique ability to produce coins using ‘Pay Day’. It is known to wander about city streets and pick up anything that sparkles, including loose change. Upon finding a sparkling object, its eyes will glitter and the coin on its forehead will shine brightly. Meowth is playful with the capacity for human-like intelligence, with at least one member of the species teaching itself how to speak. Meowth tends to live in urban areas and villages.
Meowth seems to be based upon the Japanese legend of the 招き猫 Maneki Neko, also known as the lucky cat or beckoning cat. According to one legend, a cat raised its paw to welcome a lord and saved his life when a lightning bolt hit the spot where he had been standing. Maneki Neko are often used as charms in restaurants and shops to bring customers or fortune and good luck. Statues of the cat are usually depicted holding a koban, an ancient coin used in Japan, like the one on Meowth's head.
Meowth may be a combination of meow (the sound a cat makes) and mouth. Its Japanese name Nyarth may be a combination of ニャー nyā (the sound a cat makes) and the switched sounds of シャム Shamu (Siam, former name of Thailand), becoming ミャス Myasu. Siam relates to a cat breed, the Siamese, which in turn relates to Meowth's evolution, Persian, and the Persian cat breed. The ‘–th’ may also be borrowed from Nyarth, as both meow and nyā are onomatopoeia of a cat's cry.
PLEASE TAKE A LAMINATED IMAGE OF MEOWTH FROM INSIDE THE CACHE AND HOLD ONTO IT. REMEMBER TO KEEP A LOOK OUT FOR FURTHER CACHES IN THIS RANGE, APPEARING IN THE FUTURE. YOU GOTTA CACHE 'EM ALL!!
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langford lad & penny cacher
Image & information sourced from Bulbapedia (www.bulbagarden.net)
This is official artwork by Ken Sugimori & the contributor (Bulbapedia) claims this to be fair use.