So, where does Farfetch'd come from? My research suggests that the true origin actually isn't a million miles away from the version above; only rather than being inspired by a legend, it comes from a certain Japanese saying: Kamo ga negi wo shotte kuru (鴨が葱を背負って来る), literally meaning 'a duck comes bearing green onions'. The phrase can be shortened simply to kamo negi (鴨葱)... which, when written in katakana, is Farfetch'd's Japanese name (カモネギ).

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There is a second meaning to the phrase, however. A duck bearing a green onion is a creature walking naïvely towards a nasty fate, and the idiom has come to refer to individuals who are easy to deceive. One dictionary gives the meaning 'along comes a sucker just begging to be parted from his money'. As a result, somebody who is easy to take advantage of can be referred to in Japanese as a kamo (鴨) or 'duck'.

Perhaps this, too, has relevance to Farfetch'd. Trading away a Spearow in order to get the otherwise-unobtainable Farfetch'd seems like a very good deal indeed. But Farfetch'd doesn't evolve, has quite poor stats all round and is of very limited use. Spearow, on the other hand, evolves into the far-superior Fearow, which proves to be a viable competitor throughout the game. Viewed in this context, might the duck in question be the player themselves, having traded away a potentially strong Pokémon for one that's all but useless?

Farfetch'd stands out amongst the Generation I Pokémon as one of the few that still have no evolution family. People have been calling for an evolution to Farfetch'd for years now, but in a way, I hope this never happens. It seems to me that Farfetch'd's poor battle potential reflects wonderfully the phrase that spawned its creation: the unsuspecting duck, unaware that it could be made into a delicious meal at any time. And if the perpetual loser can rise up and defeat a stronger opponent despite their handicaps, then doesn't that make victory all the sweeter? Here's to Farfetch'd, then: a celebration of the loser in all of us.