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Was Hatterene line partially based off of autism?
Okay first off, I know that the main inspiration for the Hatterene line is witches in European folklore, and the design of Hatterene itself was also inspired by Rapunzel.
But as someone who has Asperger syndrome, I personally am pretty convinced that autism was another one of the inspirations behind these Pokemon - namely, their explicit dislike of loud noises and strong emotions.
Because here's the thing. In addition to often being intellectual, feeling perpetually misunderstood, and having kind of an otherworldly air about them (like many Psychic & Fairy types!), it's a common misconception that Aspies do not feel emotions, but as I can attest, the real problem is that we feel others' emotions too strongly to cope. And it's kind of implied in the Pokedex entries that the reason Hatterem & Hatterene will attack anyone making too much noise around them is because they literally feel pain from it due to the way their senses are fine tuned somehow. And although I have long since learned self control, punching somebody in the face on an impulse for being too loud sounds exactly like the kind of thing I would've done myself at say, age 6, before I was officially diagnosed.
Also, there are the rumors (none confirmed) that Satoshi Tajiri himself actually has autism, and that this was what helped him to come up with the idea for Pokémon from bug catching.
So what do you all think about this?
