Anyway, one rule I made for myself in this story was that there had to be no Fire-types allowed in the pride lands. However, since Emboar (which I made Pumbaa), a muscle-bound warthog with a fiery mane, is part Fire-type, I would allow him to stay.
For Timon, however, I made him a Mienfoo, which is based on the Indian relative of the meerkat, the mongoose. I know that Watchog is based on a meerkat, but its previous stage, Patrat, is based on a prairie dog, an American rodent who fears the coyote.
For the hyenas, many people would probably think I would choose Poochyena and Mightyena, but I felt like they are more like wolves. So instead, I made the hyenas Growlithe, even though that Pokemon has traits of a domestic dog.
For Zazu, I made him a Xatu, a bird Pokemon with creepy red eye-shaped markings on its chest.
For all the lion characters (except for Scar), I used Shinx, Luxio, and Luxray.
For Scar, I made him a Persian, the evolved form of Meowth, because it would be too confusing with so many characters of the same Pokemon species.
And finally, for Rafiki, I originally made him an Ambipom, an evolved form of the fan favorite Aipom with two tails. However, when I discovered that the 5th generation of Pokemon introduced three elemental monkeys, I changed Rafiki to a Simisage, the Grass-type monkey. I didn't choose Simisear, the Fire-type monkey, because I was afraid it would burn down the pride lands, and I didn't choose Simipour, the Water-type monkey, because Water-type Pokemon are weak against Electric-type attacks. If a Simipour tried picking up a Shinx, it could get electrocuted badly.
For all the other characters, I used many different Pokemon, but since this story will take place in Unova, the main location in Pokemon Black and White, there will be absolutely no Generation 6 Pokemon.
The names were probably the hardest part in making the story. It wasn't until I found out on the website TV Tropes that some of the characters in The Lion King were named after terms in Swahili. Simba means lion, Nala means gift, Pumbaa means simpleton, Rafiki means friend, Shenzi means savage, and Banzai means skulk. And so, I decided that the characters in The Shinx That Would Be King should be named after Japanese terms, since Pokemon itself is Japanese. I also renamed Simba Kimba, after the cult anime Kimba the White Lion. For everyone else, I will list their names down below.
Nala- Gifuto, which means 'gift' in Japanese
Mufasa- Raion, which means 'lion' in Japanese
Sarabi- Messua, named after Mowlgi's mother in The Jungle Book book
Scar- Kizuato, which means 'scar' in Japanese
Zazu- Xazu
Rafiki- Yujin, which means 'friend' in Japanese
Timon- Kyatto, derived from Miakyatto, which means 'meerkat' in Japanese
Pumbaa- Baka-sha, which means 'idiot' in Japanese
Shenzi- Yabani, derived from yaban, which means 'savage' in Japanese
Banzai- Akuto, derived from Akuma, which means 'devil' in Japanese
Ed- Oroka, which happens to mean 'stupid' in Japanese
Also, instead of saying 'Hakuna Matata', Kyatto and Baka-sha will say Shimpai Nai, which means 'no worries' in Japanese.
I wrote this story back in March 2015, and will start being posted on June 3rd.
