Meowstic #678: Two Cats, One Name, and a Mega to Unite Them

One name, two Pokémon. Meowstic (Mistigrix in French) takes gender differences much further than most: the male and the female don't share the same color, the same hidden ability or the same learnset. And since Pokémon Legends: Z-A, a Mega Evolution has come along to reunite the two.

Contents

• Who is Meowstic?
• Male and female: two Pokémon in one species
• Type and abilities
• Evolution and Mega Evolution
• Breton stripes, beret and chimera cat
• Meowstic fact sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Meowstic?

Listed as No. 678 in the National Pokédex, Meowstic is the "Constraint Pokémon" of Generation VI. It stands 0.6 meters tall, weighs 8.5 kilograms and remains pure Psychic type, just like the little gray ball it evolves from.

Whatever its gender, it has the same build: a bipedal feline with curled ears, a small collar of fur and a tuft on top of its head. Above all, it has gained a second tail.

The organs it hides under its ears are no longer fragile at all: the psychic energy they give off is enough to wreck a ten-ton truck. It keeps its ears folded down to hold that power in check, but raises them without hesitation the moment it feels threatened.

A word on spelling, since mix-ups are common: the canonical French name of Meowstic, Mistigrix, is spelled with an i, not a y. "Mystigrix" doesn't exist, and it shouldn't be confused either with Psystigri, the French name of its pre-evolution Espurr.

Male and female: two Pokémon in one species

The male Meowstic's fur is dark blue, its eyes are green on light blue sclerae, and a white tuft sits between its ears. Its ears and tails are pointed, tipped with white.

The female reverses almost everything. Her fur is mostly white, her ears are plain and end in a curve, and her eyes are red on yellow sclerae. Her head tuft and collar are blue, and her tails end in white curls.

The difference goes beyond the paintbrush: the two genders have different learnsets. The male gets a rather defensive toolkit, with Helping Hand, Quick Guard and Misty Terrain; the female gets a far more offensive arsenal, with Charge Beam, Extrasensory and Shadow Ball.

The Pokédex embraces this contrast. Pokémon Shield describes a male whose defensive instinct is highly developed, ready to strike at full power to protect its own, and a female whose psychic powers could destroy a tanker if she used them without restraint.

🎁 Team male or team female? Kalos's Psychic cat has a spot waiting for it in our Pokémon gift ideas.

Type and abilities

As a pure Psychic, Meowstic resists Fighting and Psychic but takes double damage from Bug, Ghost and Dark. It has no immunity.

Its two regular abilities are shared by both genders: Keen Eye, which prevents its accuracy from being lowered, and Infiltrator, which lets it strike through the opponent's barriers and substitutes.

The male's hidden ability is Prankster : its non-damaging moves gain +1 priority, a boon for a Pokémon that sets up Light Screen and Safeguard. Be careful, though: since Generation VII, Dark-type Pokémon have been immune to it.

The female's is Competitive : every time an opponent lowers one of her stats, her Special Attack rises by two stages. Two philosophies in a single species — the male protects, the female punishes.

Evolution and Mega Evolution

Meowstic evolves from Espurr at level 25, with no stone, item or trade. The form you get depends solely on the Espurr's gender, which is split fifty-fifty.

Its stats peak at 104 Speed, for a total of 466 points, identical for males and females. Fun fact: it's the only Pokémon in the games with that exact total.

Since Pokémon Legends: Z-A, it can go even further. Holding a Meowsticite, it Mega Evolves into Mega Meowstic, a Psychic-type Mega Pokémon that levitates thanks to its amplified powers. The Mega Stone is obtained in the game's Mega Dimension expansion.

This Mega merges the two genders: its white and blue body combines the colors of the male and the female, its ears stand up to reveal a yellow eye on each one, and its main eyes, usually closed, are two different colors. One of its tails stays pointed, while the other ends in a curl.

Its Special Attack jumps by 60 points, and its Special Defense and Speed by 20 each: 566 in total, once again a total unique in the Pokédex. With 48 Attack, it's also the weakest Mega Pokémon of all on the physical side.

Breton stripes, beret and chimera cat

Its French name packs in several ideas: mistigri, a common French nickname for cats, mystique (mystic), the Greek ónyx meaning "claw", and of course tigre (tiger). The English name Meowstic, for its part, sticks to "meow" and "mystic."

Bulbapedia points out a very French nod: since Kalos is based on France, the male's white and blue are said to evoke a Breton striped shirt, while the female's dark tufts suggest a beret-and-scarf outfit.

Mega Meowstic takes that logic all the way: its body, split down the middle, recalls chimera cats, born from the fusion of two embryos. It even switches categories, becoming the Clairvoyant Pokémon.

In the anime, Meowstic appears as early as episode XY001, and XY045 features a male and a female belonging to two brothers. This photogenic duo also comes as super-soft plushies and as figures to display.

Meowstic fact sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the difference between male and female Meowstic?
  Almost everything except their stats. The male has dark blue fur, green eyes, and pointed ears and tails, and its hidden ability is Prankster. The female has white fur, red eyes, rounded ears and tails that end in curls, and its hidden ability is Competitive. Their learnsets differ too: rather defensive for the male, rather offensive for the female. Their base stats, however, are identical.
• Does Meowstic have a Mega Evolution?
  Yes. Since Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and more precisely its Mega Dimension expansion, Meowstic can Mega Evolve into Mega Meowstic by holding a Meowsticite. Both genders give the same Mega, which stays pure Psychic type and takes the Trace ability. It is also the only Generation VI Pokémon to have received its Mega in the expansion rather than in the base game.
• At what level does Espurr evolve into Meowstic?
  At level 25, simply by leveling up: no stone, no held item, no trade. Espurr's gender determines which form you get, male or female.
• What are Meowstic's abilities?
  Both genders share Keen Eye, which prevents its accuracy from being lowered, and Infiltrator, which lets it strike through barriers and substitutes. The hidden ability differs: Prankster for the male, which gives its status moves priority, and Competitive for the female, which raises its Special Attack by two stages when an opponent lowers one of its stats. In its Mega form, it takes Trace.
• What type is Meowstic, and what are its weaknesses?
  It is pure Psychic type, in both its regular form and its Mega form. It is vulnerable to Bug, Ghost and Dark, which deal double damage to it, and it resists Fighting and Psychic. It has no immunities.
• Are you more likely to get a male or a female?
  Neither: the split is perfectly even, fifty percent male and fifty percent female, for both Espurr and Meowstic.

In short

Few Pokémon can tell two stories at once: the protective Meowstic on one side, the vengeful Meowstic on the other. It took a Mega Evolution to finally bring them together in a single body.