Buzzwole #794: The Bodybuilder Mosquito from Another World

A 2.4-meter mosquito, bodybuilt to the point of absurdity. Buzzwole (Mouscoto in French) is one of Alola's eleven Ultra Beasts, creatures that came from another world. Under the code name UB-02 Absorption, it packs 333.6 kilos of muscle swollen with red fluid.

Contents

• Who is Buzzwole?
• An Ultra Beast from Ultra Space
• Bug and Fighting: a quadruple weakness
• No evolution, no Mega, no signature move
• A tiger mosquito striking a pose
• Buzzwole at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Buzzwole?

Listed as #794 in the National Pokédex, Buzzwole is the "Swollen Pokémon" of the seventh generation. At 2.4 meters and 333.6 kilos, it is the heaviest Bug-type Pokémon in the entire series.

Its head is small and flat, topped by two long black-and-red antennae, and a long silver proboscis hangs down below its compound eyes. Its muscles aren't really muscles, either: they are sacs filled with a red fluid shot through with tiny bubbles.

The Pokédex is torn about its intentions. Pokémon Sun admits that no one knows whether it shows off its muscles to be admired or to intimidate; Pokémon Moon says it was reportedly seen smashing a dump truck to pieces with a single punch.

Its six stats are all prime numbers — 107, 139, 139, 53, 53 and 79 — a trait shared by almost every Ultra Beast, with Naganadel's Speed (121) the only exception. Its 107 HP is, incidentally, the highest mark among all Bug-type Pokémon.

An Ultra Beast from Ultra Space

The Ultra Beasts form a family of eleven Pokémon from somewhere else: Ultra Space, from which they arrive through Ultra Wormholes. Old Alola legends tell that the four island guardians once drove them back.

The Aether Foundation studies them, and the UB Task Force has given them code names: Buzzwole is UB-02 Absorption. The number is no coincidence: it shares it with UB-02 Beauty, Pheromosa, the only other Ultra Beast with exactly the same two types.

The two are version counterparts: Buzzwole is exclusive to Pokémon Sun and Ultra Sun, Pheromosa to Pokémon Moon and Ultra Moon. You can track it down at level 65 in Melemele Meadow, and at level 60 in the Ultra Jungle, its home world.

Catching it takes a special item, since ordinary Poké Balls have trouble recognizing these creatures. So the Aether Foundation designed the Beast Ball, whose catch bonus climbs to 5 on an Ultra Beast but drops to 0.1 on any other Pokémon.

Bug and Fighting: a quadruple weakness

This dual typing costs it dearly against attacks from the sky: it takes four times more damage from Flying moves than normal, since Bug and Fighting are both weak to them. Three other types deal double damage — Fire, Psychic and Fairy.

The rest is more flattering. Five types deal it only half damage — Fighting, Bug, Grass, Ground and Dark — and the remaining nine hit it normally. No immunities, but a Defense of 139 that matches its Attack.

As for Abilities, all eleven Ultra Beasts share the same one: Beast Boost. Buzzwole has no other, and no Ultra Beast has a hidden ability.

Don't misread it: Beast Boost doesn't reduce any damage. It raises the Pokémon's highest stat by one stage when it knocks out an opponent, the highest of the six being determined with IVs, EVs and Nature factored in.

💪 Looking to spoil an Alola fan? The creatures of Ultra Space and their friends are waiting for you in our Pokémon gift ideas.

No evolution, no Mega, no signature move

Quick answer: Buzzwole does not evolve and is not the evolution of any Pokémon. It can't breed either, since it is genderless and placed in the Undiscovered Egg Group.

No Mega Evolution either, no regional form and no Gigantamax form: no Ultra Beast appears among the 93 recorded Mega Pokémon. The only Megas of the seventh generation belong to Crabominable, Golisopod, Drampa, Magearna and Zeraora.

It likewise has no signature move — all sixty-five moves in its movepool are shared with other species. The trickiest of them is Reversal, whose power climbs as its HP drops.

This movepool reflects its dual nature. The bodybuilder learns Power-Up Punch, Bulk Up and Superpower; the parasite, for its part, has Fell Stinger and Leech Life, which restores HP equal to half the damage dealt.

A tiger mosquito striking a pose

Buzzwole is inspired by the tiger mosquito, an invasive species worldwide, and by a bodybuilding enthusiast. Its French name, Mouscoto, reportedly blends "moustique" (mosquito), "costaud" (beefy) and "biscoto" (slang for biceps); its design is by James Turner.

According to Wicke of the Aether Foundation, its most notable trait is its ability to strengthen itself — it absorbs its opponents' energy by piercing them with its proboscis, which makes its muscles swell to an unimaginable degree.

Before taking any action, it strikes a bodybuilder pose — it's thought to be its main way of communicating, but what it's trying to say remains a mystery. In the Ultra Jungle, even the giant trees look like bodybuilders striking poses.

It bursts into the anime in the episode A Mission of Ultra Urgency!, which aired in France on September 6, 2018, and it's playable in Pokémon UNITE. A build like that earns it pride of place among the Pokémon plushies and the figures.

Buzzwole at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does Buzzwole have an evolution?
  No. Buzzwole does not evolve and is not the evolution of any Pokémon: its evolution chain contains only itself. It is genderless and classified in the Undiscovered Egg Group, which also keeps it from breeding. Of the eleven Ultra Beasts, only one can evolve, Poipole, and Buzzwole is not that one.
• What are Buzzwole's weaknesses?
  As a Bug and Fighting type, it fears Flying above all, which deals four times the usual damage because both of its types are weak to it. Fire, Psychic and Fairy deal double damage. Conversely, five types deal only half damage: Fighting, Bug, Grass, Ground and Dark. The remaining nine types hit it normally, and it has no immunities.
• What does the Beast Boost Ability do?
  It raises Buzzwole's highest stat by one stage when it knocks out an opponent during its turn. The stat in question is the highest of the six once IVs, EVs and Nature are taken into account, which lets you steer the boost through breeding. Contrary to a common belief, this Ability doesn't reduce any damage taken. It is the Ability shared by all eleven Ultra Beasts, and none of them has a Hidden Ability.
• In which version can you catch Buzzwole?
  Buzzwole is exclusive to Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Ultra Sun. Its counterpart, Pheromosa, designated UB-02 Beauty, is reserved for Pokémon Moon and Pokémon Ultra Moon. In Pokémon Sun, you encounter it at level 65 in Melemele Meadow; in Ultra Sun, at level 60 in the Ultra Jungle, its home world, reached through Ultra Warp Ride. It later reappears in the Dynamax Adventures of the Max Lair, in The Crown Tundra expansion for Pokémon Sword and Shield, this time in both versions.
• Does Buzzwole have a Mega Evolution or a signature move?
  Neither. No Ultra Beast appears among the 93 recorded Mega Pokémon: the only Mega Evolutions of the seventh generation are those of Crabominable, Golisopod, Drampa, Magearna and Zeraora. Buzzwole has no regional form or Gigantamax form either. And none of the sixty-five moves it can learn is exclusive to it, so it has no signature move.
• Why do you need a Beast Ball to catch an Ultra Beast?
  Because regular Poké Balls have trouble recognizing these creatures from another world and become very ineffective on them. The Aether Foundation therefore developed the Beast Ball, a Ball whose catch bonus is 5 on an Ultra Beast but only 0.1 on any other Pokémon. Watch out for the translation trap: in French, this ball is called the "Ultra Ball," and it has nothing to do with the English Ultra Ball, which French players know as the "Hyper Ball."

In short

A parasitic mosquito on one side, a bodybuilder on the other, Buzzwole embraces the contrast all the way: the heaviest Bug-type Pokémon makes sure it shows. A visitor from another world who talks by striking a pose.