Spiritomb (Japanese: ミカルゲ Mikaruge) is a dual-type Ghost/Dark Pokémon introduced in Generation IV.

It is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon.

Biology

Spiritomb is a ghostly purple Pokémon attached to a stone. Although lacking a physical body, Spiritomb projects its appearance out of a small rock called the Odd Keystone. The rock is trapezoidal in shape and has two small dots. There is a fissure running down the middle, splitting in two near the bottom. The crack in combination with the two dots appears to form a frowning face. Spiritomb's projected appearance is an ethereal composition of swirling purple energy of an unknown kind. Its face is set in the middle of the purple, and contains green, crescent eyes that are connected to its jagged mouth. Its pupils are composed of a spiral and it is sometimes only seen with one. Swirling around its face are green orbs with yellow centers.

Spiritomb is formed by a collection of 108 spirits, some of which are ill-natured. This collection of spirits is known for its misdeeds; thus, as punishment, the spirits were trapped to its Odd Keystone by a traveler using a mysterious spell. Several Pokédex entries state that Spiritomb was sealed roughly 500 years before the present time. The Pokémon lays curses with its wicked thoughts. It will lash out at anyone with little thought, often exercising short-sightedness in its pursuit of vengeance. It is rarely encountered in the wild. In most media, Spiritomb moves its body primarily through telepathy and the ability to float; though in the core series games, it can only appear to do so through dragging the Odd Keystone across the ground.

Spiritomb is able to control and interact through the Odd Keystone without manifesting its ghostly appearance, seemingly able to emit an eerie presence in the absence of a Keystone; as found in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire at Sea Mauville. It will stalk the player upon entering a specific room on the ship with the message "It feels as though you’re being watched...", appearing behind the player and battling them through the Odd Keystone the moment the screen fades from black, provided the player is in the very top left of the room. Papers in the room state that it was donated from the Oreburgh Mine, suggesting that several Odd Keystones meant to contain Spiritomb can be found in the Underground of Sinnoh. Professor Cozmo's father, Raizoh, was responsible for misplacing it when working on the ship.[1]

In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Spiritomb's 108 spirits appear in the form of Wisps, small purple entities scattered across the Hisui region after a seal was broken. When 107 Wisps have been taken to a large Odd Keystone shrine at the Crimson Mirelands' Shrouded Ruins as per Vessa's request, she will provide the player with the final Wisp and disappear, where a wild Spiritomb will appear. This may imply that Spiritomb, (or otherwise, a single of its spirits) have the power to directly affect or possess those in the world of the living.

On the occasion that a wild Spiritomb is found as an Alpha Pokémon through a Massive Mass Outbreak in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, its eyes on both its actual face, as well as the entire "face" within the Odd Keystone will glow a deep red.

As depicted in The Keystone Pops!, Spiritomb can be just as aggressive and destructive as the spirits that it is composed of. The Spectral Express! also revealed that anyone possessed by one of Spiritomb's spirits will start to cause misdeeds, and their face will eventually start to resemble Spiritomb. Losing one of these spirits will cause Spiritomb to go on an uncontrollable rampage until the lost spirit is returned.

Encountering Spiritomb at Sea Mauville A Wisp associated with Spiritomb in Pokémon Legends: Arceus The Odd Keystone structure at the Shrouded Ruins

Game data

NPC appearances

Pokédex entries

This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation IV.
Generation IV Sinnoh #108 Johto #— Diamond A Pokémon that was formed by 108 spirits. It is bound to a fissure in an Odd Keystone. Pearl It was bound to a fissure in an Odd Keystone as punishment for misdeeds 500 years ago. Platinum Its constant mischief and misdeeds resulted in it being bound to an Odd Keystone by a mysterious spell. HeartGold It was formed by uniting 108 spirits. It has been bound to the Odd Keystone to keep it from doing any mischief. SoulSilver
Generation V Unova #— Black Its constant mischief and misdeeds resulted in it being bound to an Odd Keystone by a mysterious spell. White Black 2 Its constant mischief and misdeeds resulted in it being bound to an Odd Keystone by a mysterious spell. White 2
Generation VI Kalos #— Hoenn #— X A Pokémon that was formed by 108 spirits. It is bound to a fissure in an Odd Keystone. Y It was bound to a fissure in an Odd Keystone as punishment for misdeeds 500 years ago. Omega Ruby A Pokémon that was formed by 108 spirits. It is bound to a fissure in an Odd Keystone. Alpha Sapphire It was bound to a fissure in an Odd Keystone as punishment for misdeeds 500 years ago.
Generation VIII Galar Crown Tundra #047 Sinnoh #108 Hisui #139 Sword Exactly 108 spirits gathered to become this Pokémon. Apparently there are some ill-natured spirits in the mix. Shield All Spiritomb's mischief and misdeeds compelled a traveler to use a mysterious spell to bind Spiritomb to an odd keystone. Brilliant Diamond It is a Pokémon that was formed by 108 spirits. It is bound to a fissure in an odd keystone. Shining Pearl It was bound to a fissure in an odd keystone as punishment for misdeeds 500 years ago. Legends: Arceus It lays curses by thinking wicked thoughts. Writings tell that this Pokémon was born out of the assembly of five score and eight malevolent spirits.
Generation IX Paldea #302 Kitakami #— Blueberry #— Scarlet Its constant mischief and misdeeds resulted in it being bound to an Odd Keystone by a mysterious spell. Violet It was formed by uniting 108 spirits. It has been bound to the Odd Keystone to keep it from doing any mischief.

Game locations

This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation IV.
Generation IV
Generation V
Generation VI
Generation VII
Generation VIII
Generation IX

In side games

This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation IV.
Generation IV
Generation V
Generation VI
Generation VII
Generation VIII This Pokémon is unavailable in Generation VIII side games.
Cross-Generation

In events

Held items

Stats

Base stats

Pokéathlon stats

Type effectiveness

Under normal battle conditions in Generation IX, this Pokémon is:

Damaged normally by:

Immune to:

Resistant to:

Learnset

By leveling up

Generation IX

Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Spiritomb Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Spiritomb Click on the generation numbers at the top to see level-up moves from other generations

By TM

Generation IX

Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Spiritomb Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution or an alternate form of Spiritomb Click on the generation numbers at the top to see TM moves from other generations

By breeding

Generation IX

Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must be chain bred onto Spiritomb Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Spiritomb Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Spiritomb Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Egg moves from other generations

Side game data

Pokémon Rumble Rush Walking Speed: 2.33 seconds Base HP: 48 Base Attack: 78 Base Defense: 61 Base Speed: 60

In Pokémon GO, Spiritomb could be obtained by completing 2/4 of the time-limited Special Research, A Spooky Message Unmasked.

Evolution data

Sprites

This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation IV.
Generation IV
Generation V
Generation VI
Generation VII
Generation VIII
Cross-Generation

In the anime

Major appearances

Spiritomb debuted in The Keystone Pops!. Ash and Buizel were having a training match with Dawn and Aipom when Buizel accidentally knocked down Hallowed Tower, upon which Spiritomb emerged from the tower's keystone. It then wreaked havoc on a nearby town until Ash succeeded in defeating and resealing it.

A Spiritomb appeared in The Spectral Express!. When Ash touched its keystone, one of its spirits entered his body and possessed him into doing mischievous deeds. Angered by this, Spiritomb went on a rampage until the lost spirit was returned to it. It reappeared in a flashback in The Winding Path to Greatness!.

In Bewitch, Battle, and Bewilder!, Cynthia used her Spiritomb in her Masters Eight Tournament match against Ash. It battled Dragonite and Gengar, defeating them both before losing to Pikachu, although not without taking him down with it thanks to Destiny Bond.

Minor appearances

Pokédex entries

Episode Pokémon Source Entry DP056 Spiritomb Dawn's Pokédex Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokémon. As punishment for misdeeds 500 years ago, it was imprisoned in the fissure of an Odd Keystone.

Episode Pokémon Source Entry JN091 Spiritomb Goh's Rotom Phone Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokémon. A Ghost and Dark type. Spiritomb are Pokémon made up of 108 spirits. Some of those spirits can be ill-natured.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

A Spiritomb first appeared in Ring Around the Roserade II, under the ownership of Cynthia. It helped Platinum train for her upcoming Gym challenge against Gardenia. With her Psychic abilities, she was able to seal Tru's Razor Leaf alongside Prinplup's Water attack and used them to save Rad Rickshaw, inadvertently getting Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum a set of bicycles when Rad mistook them as his helpers. Spiritomb was later used against Cyrus, where she defeated his Honchkrow, but was then defeated by Weavile.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blazing Exploration Team

A Spiritomb appeared in BET3.

Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition ~ Ranse's Color Picture Scroll ~

A Spiritomb appeared in The Scarlet Scroll: Kunoichi's Situation, under the ownership of Hanzō.

In the TCG

Main article: Spiritomb (TCG)

Trivia

• Spiritomb is heavily associated with the number 108, a number considered sacred in Indian religions.
• Prior to the introduction of the Fairy type in Generation VI, Spiritomb had no weaknesses under normal conditions. It shared this distinction with Sableye.
• As of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the main body of Spiritomb's model is opaque, and its normals (the direction of the model's faces) are flipped. Due to backface culling, the outside can be seen through, but the inside cannot, allowing for its green orbs (which are three-dimensional and swirl within its body) to be seen with an opaque background from any angle. This is in contrast to previous 3D games, in which Spiritomb's main body is slightly transparent and has normals pointing outwards. The difference can be most easily seen when viewing Spiritomb from the side.

• Uniquely, because of this, whenever Spiritomb is Terastallized, the souls gain the crystal look, not the swirls.

Origin

Spiritomb may be based on a Jibakurei, a spirit bound to a single place, or a Deildegast, a Norwegian folklore spirit that is forced to haul around a boundary stone as punishment for moving one while it was alive. It might also be based on a Buddhist tradition performed on New Year's Eve in Japan in which a bell is rung 108 times to chase away the 108 temptations in order to achieve Nirvana. The wisps of spirits surrounding its face also resemble a set of prayer beads, a possible reference to Japa.

Spiritomb may also be based on Water Margin, one of the Classic Chinese Novels, which is also very well known in Japan. In the novel's first chapter, a foolish army marshal orders the removal of a stone monument guarded by monks for generations, causing the spirits of 108 demons sealed therein to be released. These 108 souls, having atoned for their sins, become the 108 Stars of Destiny. They are reincarnated centuries later as 108 outlaws, the heroes of the novel.

Name origin

Spiritomb may be a combination of spirit and tomb. It may also be a play on the Latin spiritum.

Mikaruge may be a combination of 御影石 mikageishi (granite) and 軽石 karuishi (pumice). It may also involve karma.

In other languages

More languages Hindi कब्रौकिक Kabraukick From क़ब्र kabr and kick Thai มิคารูเกะ Mikharuke Transcription of Japanese name

References

↑ "The file folder holds a stack of ragged papers.
Official Statem— of Apolog—
I, —izo— Co—mo, am respon— for the los— of the Odd Keystone dona—d...by the Oreb—gh Mine..."

↑ Interview with Nob Ogasawara by ANMTV. Posted on YouTube on September 28, 2022.

Related articles

External links

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