Meet the man who is writing one song for each of the 700+ Pokémon

When Pennsylvania-based songwriter Jacob Newman was looking for inspiration, he turned to one of his favorite things: Pokémon. 

That was more than seven months ago, and he hasn't looked back since. The 24-year-old, who goes by the stage name Jacob Norman Chainsaw-Arm, found troves of material within some of his favorite characters, eventually vowing to craft an individualized tune for each of the more than 700 types that populate the Pokémon universe. 

So far, he's written and recorded about 100 songs using a variety of different instruments, as The Washingtonian first reported. In an interview with Mashable, he discussed how it all started, and the ability for Pokémon to act as metaphors for human behavior. 

Via Giphy

"It sort of began as I improvised a line about Bastiodon," he said, referring to a Pokémon character that gets a lot of hate (pictured above). "As it developed, the theme of the song was: 'Bastiodon is my least favorite character, but I still like it, because I love all Pokémon.' I can use this as a metaphor for loving someone who is flawed quite heavily."

The idea took hold. "I need to do this, or it's going to destroy me," Newman said. 

After that, no matter how a tune started, it almost always turned into a Pokémon song.

"I thought after a while: let me take a break from writing songs about Pokémon. I'm going to write about how I'm a klutz," he said. "I tried different recording techniques, and then I realized: There's a Pokémon that's whole thing is kind of being clumsy. I wrote a Pokémon song by accident."

"It feels like King Midas curse. Everything I touch turns to Pokémon." 

That may be true, but there is also something relatable embedded within most of the songs. Take, for example, "Eevee," a song ostensibly about the fluffy and adorable Pokémon, but also about a relationship. "So many possibilities/And yet you see the best in me/I can be anything you want me to be/Grass, water, ice, or even electricity," Newman croons on the track. 

For the most part, he says his friends and band members -- he's also in Great Plain, a band he says doesn't specialize in Pokémon tunes — have been supportive of the effort. 

"A lot of my friends know I'm obsessed with Pokémon," he said with a laugh. "So, it's been good." 

You can follow Newman's lyrical process on the Tumblr page dedicated to his project and browse the 100 completed songs below through his Bandcamp. 

H/T: The Washingtonion 

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