#023: Ekans
Ekans has at some point in human history been used to represent everything from evil to medicine, from wisdom to deceit. There's something about this pokemon that seems to fascinate us, causing it to crop up in mythology, symbolism or metaphoric language over and over again. Recent connotations have been increasingly negative: perhaps it's a coldness in the eyes, or in the blood, but many seem to find Ekans unnerving.
This decline in reputation may have come about because, as the default relationship between pokemon and humans has grown closer to a partnership or a friendship – master and pokemon nearer to an equal footing than ever before – Ekan's personality is viewed as more of a shortcoming. See, Ekans are completely non-social, they will never bond with a trainer the way a Growlithe will, no matter how much you pamper, or try to befriend them. Not that they're disloyal: an Ekans is perfectly willing to take part in battles in order to keep its food-dispenser happy.
Trainers less capable or less inclined to show affection favour Ekans, for unlike many species, a friendship or understanding between trainer and pokemon is not required to attain the best battling results. They're popular with members of Team Rocket and other organised crime groups for this very reason... and also a certain style factor that comes with dumping ones foes into Ekans-filled pits.
