Hoopa #720: the mischief-maker that steals whatever it likes

A nine-kilo troublemaker on one side, a six-and-a-half-meter giant on the other. Hoopa is the Mythical Pokémon of Kalos that warps space with its golden rings to send whatever it likes far away: an object, a Pokémon, even an entire castle. A single item, the Prison Bottle, is enough to restore its true appearance — but only for three days.

Contents

• Who is Hoopa?
• Hoopa Confined and Hoopa Unbound: the Prison Bottle
• Types, stats and Ability
• Two signature moves, one per form
• From the 18th movie to the rings of Lumiose
• Hoopa fact sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Hoopa?

Listed as No. 720 in the National Pokédex, Hoopa is the “Mischief Pokémon” of Generation VI, the generation of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. In this form, it stands just 0.5 meters tall and weighs 9 kilos.

A vaguely humanoid pink body, green eyes set in yellow sclerae, two dark gray horns: its arms float detached from its body, its legs are replaced by a wispy tail, and it wears three golden rings.

These rings warp space. It sends the objects it likes to a hiding place known only to itself, says the Pokémon Y Pokédex; Omega Ruby tells how it coveted a treasure hidden in a castle so badly that it stole the entire building.

Hoopa is a Mythical Pokémon, not a Legendary: this category covers Pokémon distributed through events. It is genderless, cannot breed, and remains impossible to obtain as a Shiny.

Hoopa Confined and Hoopa Unbound: the Prison Bottle

Hoopa has two forms with very telling names. Hoopa Confined, the default form, is the small Psychic- and Ghost-type Mischief Pokémon. Hoopa Unbound is the “ Djinn Pokémon ”: Psychic and Dark type, 6.5 meters, 490 kilos, six forearms.

Switching from one to the other comes down to a single rare item, the Prison Bottle, “a bottle believed to have been used to seal away the power of a certain Pokémon long, long ago.” You select it from the Bag, then choose Hoopa to restore its true appearance.

One constraint is often forgotten: the transformation only lasts three days. Hoopa also reverts to its Confined form if it's left at the Day Care or the Nursery, if it's exposed to the Prison Bottle again, and as soon as it goes through a PC box.

And here's the subtlety: in Generation VI, it's depositing it in the PC that cancels the transformation; since Generation VII, it's withdrawing it from the box. So storing a Hoopa Unbound means taking away its large form.

Types, stats and Ability

The two forms don't have the same defensive profile. As a Psychic and Ghost type, Hoopa Confined is immune to Normal and Fighting, but takes four times more damage from Ghost- and Dark-type attacks.

As a Psychic and Dark type, Hoopa Unbound becomes immune to Psychic, takes only double damage from Fairy, and has just one real weakness: Bug, at four times the damage.

The jump in numbers is clear: from 600 to 680 points in total. Attack climbs from 110 to 160, Special Attack from 150 to 170 — the highest of any Dark-type Pokémon — and Speed from 70 to 80. The rest doesn't change.

Its Ability, on the other hand, never changes: Magician, which lets it steal its target's held item once its attack lands. It shares it with Delphox and Klefki, and has no hidden ability.

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Two signature moves, one per form

Hoopa is the only Pokémon that knows Hyperspace Hole, a Psychic-type special move introduced in Pokémon X and Y: 80 power, 5 PP, perfect accuracy, and the ability to break through Protect, Detect or King’s Shield and cancel out their effect.

Its second signature move is reserved for the large form: Hyperspace Fury, introduced in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. This Dark-type physical move hits with 100 power using its many arms, never misses, but lowers the user's Defense.

The nuance is worth knowing: Hyperspace Hole can be used in either form, whereas Hyperspace Fury can only be used by Hoopa Unbound. No copying move — Mimic, Mirror Move, Sketch, Metronome — can reproduce it.

Beyond that, Hoopa stands apart: it does not evolve and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon. And despite Pokémon Legends: Z-A, built around Mega Evolution in Lumiose, it has no Mega, no regional form and no Gigantamax.

From the 18th movie to the rings of Lumiose

Hoopa is the star of the eighteenth movie in the series, Pokémon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages (2015). A hundred years earlier, a traveler named Ghris had sealed its power inside the Prison Bottle to stop the Dahara City disaster.

The movie features two Hoopa : one summons Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre and other Legendaries to destroy the city, while the other, a prankster with a good heart, fights back with Lugia, Mega Latias, Mega Latios and a Shiny Mega Rayquaza.

In the games, Hoopa long remained strictly event-only : distributed by code in France and Belgium in 2015, then with the code HOOPA2016 through Mystery Gift until April 30, 2016, at level 50.

It took Mega Dimension, the Pokémon Legends: Z-A expansion, to obtain it in-game: a unique level 80 Hoopa in Hyperspace Lumiose, at the end of side mission 196 (“Le Djinn Déchaîné” in the French version), where it tags along with young Anya and devours her donuts.

A djinn from Arabian tales whose lamp has become a vase, the mischievous deity Nezha with his golden rings: Hoopa piles up the mythological references, and it shows in our Pokémon plushies as well as in our collectible figures.

Hoopa fact sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are Hoopa's two forms?
  Hoopa Confined and Hoopa Unbound. Hoopa Confined is the default form: the Mischief Pokémon, Psychic and Ghost type, 0.5 meters and 9 kilos, with three golden rings. Hoopa Unbound is the Djinn Pokémon, Psychic and Dark type, 6.5 meters and 490 kilos, with six forearms. Both forms share the same Ability, Magician.
• How do you turn Hoopa into Hoopa Unbound?
  You need the Prison Bottle, a rare item introduced in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Select it from the Bag, then choose Hoopa in your party to trigger the change. The Prison Bottle is handed over by a delivery man in a Poké Mart in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, by an Aether Foundation employee at Aether Paradise in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, at the Porto Marinada auction in Scarlet and Violet, and by Urbain or Taunie during side mission 196 in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
• How long does Hoopa stay in its Unbound form?
  Three days at most. It also reverts to Hoopa Confined if it's left at the Day Care or the Pokémon Nursery, if it's exposed to the Prison Bottle again, and when it goes through a PC box. On that last point, the rule has changed: in Generation VI, depositing it in the PC cancels the transformation, whereas since Generation VII, withdrawing it from the box is what turns it back to Confined.
• Is Hoopa Legendary or Mythical?
  Mythical. Hoopa is one of the Mythical Pokémon of Generation VI, alongside Diancie and Volcanion. These Pokémon can't be encountered in the regular adventure: they are released through event distributions. Hoopa was distributed by code in France and Belgium in 2015, then with the code HOOPA2016 through Mystery Gift until April 30, 2016, at level 50.
• Does Hoopa have a Mega Evolution?
  No. Hoopa has no Mega Evolution, no regional form and no Gigantamax form. Its two forms aren't Mega Evolutions: they depend solely on the Prison Bottle and persist outside of battle, unlike a Mega, which ends when the battle does. Hoopa nonetheless plays a central role in Mega Dimension, the Pokémon Legends: Z-A expansion, though no Mega Stone bears its name.
• What are Hoopa's signature moves?
  It has two, one per form. Hyperspace Hole is a Psychic-type special move with 80 power and 5 PP that never misses its target and breaks through protection such as Protect, Detect or King’s Shield. Hyperspace Fury is a Dark-type physical move with 100 power and 5 PP that never misses but lowers the user's Defense. Only Hyperspace Fury is reserved for Hoopa Unbound: Hyperspace Hole can be used in both forms, and no other Pokémon can learn either one.

In short

Mostly a little prankster, a 490-kilo colossus for three days, Hoopa remains one of the most playful Pokémon in the Pokédex. And since the Mega Dimension expansion, it's no longer limited to event distributions.