Cursola #864: The Bleached Coral That Turns Touch to Stone

A dead coral that still haunts the shores. Cursola (Corayôme in French) is the Coral Pokémon of the eighth generation, discovered in the Galar region: one meter tall and barely 400 grams, a white core trapped in ectoplasm, and a reputation that sends the curious backing away.

Contents

• Who Is Cursola?
• Pure Ghost Type, Stats and Abilities
• Evolution: Galarian Corsola, at Level 38
• Bleached Coral, the Gorgon and a Full-Moon Ritual
• Cursola Fact Sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who Is Cursola?

Listed as #864 in the National Pokédex, Cursola is a Ghost type Pokémon that arrived with Pokémon Sword and Shield. Its lower half looks like a broken Galarian Corsola that opens up onto a ghost-shaped ectoplasmic "body."

This ectoplasm surrounds its core, a white sphere whose face shows through an oval opening. Two half-moon slits sit above it: together, these three openings create the illusion of a face screaming in pain. Two small branches serve as its arms, a bigger one as a horn, and three long coral branches line each side of its head.

The Pokémon Sword Pokédex describes it this way: "Its heightened otherworldly energy has spilled out of its shell. It protects the soul of its core with its ectoplasmic body." The Shield entry warns that "anyone unlucky enough to touch the ectoplasmic body protecting its core will find themselves unable to move, as if turned to stone ».

Pure Ghost Type, Stats and Abilities

Pure Ghost is a comfortable type: Cursola is completely immune to Normal and Fighting, and it halves damage from Poison and Bug. Only two types hit it for double damage, namely Ghost and Dark, and the other twelve deal normal damage to it.

Its stats paint the picture of a glass-cannon special attacker: 145 in Special Attack and 130 in Special Defense, but 50 in Defense and 30 in Speed, for a total of 510 points. It hits very hard and crumbles in the face of physical attacks.

Its only regular ability is Weak Armor : when it is hit by a physical move, its Defense drops but its Speed sharply rises. On a Pokémon this slow and this frail, it is a double-edged gamble.

Its hidden ability, on the other hand, belongs to it alone. Perish Body is Cursola's signature ability, and it exists only as a hidden ability: when it is hit by a contact move, both the attacker and Cursola faint after three turns, unless they are switched out in the meantime.

Don't mix it up: it is neither Sturdy, the ability that lets a Pokémon survive a fatal hit at full HP, nor Cursed Body, its pre-evolution's hidden ability. Cursola punishes contact, rather than surviving it.

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Evolution: Galarian Corsola, at Level 38

Cursola is the evolution of Galarian Corsola at level 38. Nothing more: no held item, no trade, no time-of-day condition. It closes out the line and has no evolution of its own.

The trap lies elsewhere. The classic pink Corsola, a Water and Rock type, does not evolve and is not the evolution of any Pokémon: leveling it up to 38 will never do a thing. Only the Galarian form, bleached and turned pure Ghost, leads to Cursola.

Evolution does more than change its silhouette. Defense plunges from 100 to 50 while Special Attack leaps from 65 to 145. Cursola also grows from 60 centimeters to one meter… while losing weight, going from 500 to 400 grams, since it is now made almost entirely of ectoplasm.

It has no Mega Evolution and no Gigantamax form, and it exists in only one appearance. The only Mega ever granted to a Pokémon of the eighth generation is that of Falinks, triggered by theFalinksite in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

It likewise has no signature move : from Power Gem to Strength Sap, all of its moves are shared. What is exclusive to it is an ability, not a move. On this last point it joins Sirfetch’d, another single-type evolution of a Galarian form whose original does not evolve — except that Sirfetch’d does have a signature move, Meteor Assault.

Bleached Coral, the Gorgon and a Full-Moon Ritual

Cursola is inspired by a very real phenomenon, coral bleaching. Its pre-evolution holds the key: the Pokémon Shield Pokédex describes Galarian Corsola as "a Corsola that died long ago because of a sudden change in its environment."

Its ectoplasm is the result of a long process: relentlessly absorbing the life energy of other creatures. This energy is so powerful that it overflows from its body, and anyone who touches it is turned to stone. Its silhouette and this power point to Medusa the Gorgon.

A gentler detail: Cursola are known to gather under the full moon and stretch their branches toward the sky, probably to release pent-up energy. Some see it as a way of communicating with one another; the event itself is considered a one-of-a-kind spectacle.

In the games, you have to earn it: in the wild, you only come across it in Pokémon Shield's Max Raid Battles. Allister, the Ghost-type Gym Leader of Stow-on-Side, also fields one at level 35. This haunted coral has everything it takes to join a display case of Pokémon figures or, far more reassuringly, a shelf of Pokémon plushies.

Cursola Fact Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do you get Cursola in Pokémon Sword and Shield?
  The normal route is evolution: just level up a Galarian Corsola to 38, with no item and no trade. In the wild, Cursola only appears in Pokémon Shield's Max Raid Battles, in the Pokémon Dens of several zones of the Wild Area and then of both expansions. In Pokémon Sword, you have to trade for it, since Galarian Corsola can't be encountered there either.
• Can the classic pink Corsola evolve into Cursola?
  No, and it's the most common mix-up. The regular Corsola, a Water and Rock type, has no evolution and is not the evolution of any Pokémon, whatever its level. Only its Ghost-type Galarian regional form evolves into Cursola, at level 38. The two share number 222 and the Coral Pokémon category, but not the same fate.
• What are Cursola's weaknesses?
  As a pure Ghost type, it has only two weaknesses, Ghost and Dark, which deal double damage to it. It is completely immune to Normal and Fighting, and it halves damage from Poison and Bug. The other twelve types deal normal damage to it. Its real fragility comes from its 50 Defense and 30 Speed, not from its type matchups.
• What are Cursola's abilities?
  Just one regular ability, Weak Armor: when it is hit by a physical move, its Defense drops but its Speed sharply rises. Its hidden ability is Perish Body, which dooms both the attacker and Cursola to faint three turns after it takes a contact move, unless one of them is switched out. Cursola has neither Sturdy, the ability that lets a Pokémon survive a fatal hit at full HP, nor Cursed Body, Galarian Corsola's hidden ability.
• Does Cursola have a signature move?
  No. None of its moves are exclusive to it: Ancient Power, Strength Sap, Power Gem, Night Shade and Mirror Coat are all shared with other species. What truly belongs to it is an ability, Perish Body, which no other Pokémon has and which is only available as a hidden ability.
• Does Cursola have a Mega Evolution or a Gigantamax form?
  Neither. In the entire eighth generation, the only Mega Evolution that exists is Falinks's, triggered by the Falinksite in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Cursola isn't on the list of Pokémon that can Gigantamax either, and it has no regional form: its pre-evolution, Corsola, is the one that has one.

In short

Dead coral, vengeful ghost and fearsome special attacker, Cursola turns an ecological disaster into a Galar legend. Touching it will cost you dearly; watching it stretch its branches toward the full moon, much less so.