I don't know. I'm not hawaiian so I can't say exactly but it definitely seems more inspired by native deities and spirits and seems to at least have some respect toward the culture that inspired it

did you play Sun/Moon?

No, just Pokémon Go

Which this Pokémon was recently added to

Makes sense.

This is one of several guardian pokemon that are revered across Alola, the region they live in

In general I’ve never been a fan of Pokémon that look humanoid, but some of them are especially problematic, intentional or not

we don't talk about jynx anymore.

but even when the game came out I never heard anyone complain about the Tapu pokemon

but again, I'm not hawaiian, so I can't say for certain.

i think you are definitely overreacting

i do'nt think it's supposed to be a human

it's not really like jynx-shaped, it doesn't have feet

it's a floating torso vaguely resembling tiki statues and rooster designs

*it doesn't have legs

the other tapus are pretty similar and are themed around various polynesian gods

tapu fini is basically a tiny person though

there's definitely cultural artistic inspiration but I'm not seeing any appropriated ancestral tattoos on it or anything like that. It's not depicting a person, just a monster design. I'm not Polynesian though and it's possible that it could be crossing a line that I'm not aware of but it doesn't seem to with I have gleaned through my own research

Maui from Moana is a better example of a racist depiction and design from what I've gathered

[headtilt?]

Other fictions aside, this has design elements, but not design/appearance appropriation in my opinion.

could be considered cultural appropriation, if nothing else

apparently the Tapus are based or at least named after gods or spirits but that's as far as my research has taken me

Tapu (Polynesian culture) - Wikipedia tapu is a traditional concept in polynesian culture, and the second half of the name of the pokemon comes from the god they were based on

google tells me tapu koko is based on kuKū - Wikipedia

you can definitely tell from that feather sculpture the colour scheme influenced the pokemon's design

I grew up in Hawaii, not native or indigenous, and while I could spot this a mile away and see it as something definitely Polynesian informed, I would say no?

large grain of salt from me though, my only expertise is exposure.

Thank you all for your thoughts