Goodra #706: the gooey dragon with record Special Defense

Exactly 600 points, with a hug thrown in. Goodra (Muplodocus in French) is Kalos's Powerhouse Pokémon, what players call a pseudo-legendary. Its Special Defense of 150 tops that of all its peers, but the Pokédex mostly dwells on how affectionate it is.

Contents

• Who is Goodra?
• Type, Abilities and a Special Defense record
• Evolution: level 50, and it really has to rain
• Hisuian Goodra, the heavy-hearted steel dragon
• Carcolh, snails versus knights and a fire put out
• Goodra Fact Sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Goodra?

Listed as #706 in the National Pokédex, Goodra is the "Dragon Pokémon" of the sixth generation. It stands 2 meters tall and weighs 150.5 kilograms, a far cry from the 2.8 kilograms of Goomy it evolved from.

It's a chubby biped with a mauve belly and a lavender back, and big green eyes. Two rows of retractable antennae crown its head, and drops of slimy goo drip from its chin and arms.

The Pokédex describes it as a friendly, affectionate dragon that greets its Trainer by smothering them in sticky slime. Still, be careful: according to Pokémon Shield, the blows from its horns are a hundred times more powerful than a heavyweight boxing champion's punches.

Type, Abilities and a Special Defense record

It's a pure Dragon type : Ice, Dragon and Fairy hit it for double damage, and it resists Fire, Water, Grass and Electric. No type hits it for quadruple damage, but none leaves it completely unscathed.

The ability Sap Sipper fixes exactly that flaw: it nullifies Grass-type attacks and raises its Attack in the process. Its other Ability, Hydration, heals its status conditions in the rain, which makes sense for a Pokémon that savors every shower. Its hidden Ability is still Gooey.

It ticks every box of a Powerhouse Pokémon: exactly 600 points, two pre-evolutions and 1,250,000 experience points at level 100. That label comes from the official French term, Pokémon surpuissant; "pseudo-legendary" is a fan term.

Its stat spread is unusual: 90/100/70/110/150/80. Its 150 Special Defense is the highest base stat in the entire Powerhouse group, Mega forms excluded, while its 100 Attack is, on the contrary, the group's lowest value.

🎁 Got a fan of the big sticky dragon to spoil? Our Pokémon gift ideas are sure to make those big green eyes light up.

Evolution: level 50, and it really has to rain

Goodra evolves from Sliggoo to level 50, which itself evolves from Goomy at level 40. But the level alone isn't enough: Sliggoo has to level up while it's raining in the overworld, the rain that falls on the map.

Rain summoned in battle by Rain Dance, the Drizzle Ability or Primordial Sea doesn't count. Only the seventh-generation games offered an alternative: fog. That makes Goodra the only Powerhouse Pokémon whose evolution requires more than just a level.

Finally, one stubborn misconception: Goodra has no Mega Evolution. Pokémon Legends: Z-A spoiled Kalos a lot on that front, but not Goodra, and it has no Gigantamax form either. The Mega Goodras going around are fan creations.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A does give it something else, though: once obtainable only through evolution in the sixth and seventh generations, it can now be found in the wild in the streets ofLumiose City.

Hisuian Goodra, the heavy-hearted steel dragon

Its real distinction lies elsewhere: it's the only Powerhouse Pokémon with a regional form. Introduced in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Hisuian form is a Steel and Dragon and even changes its category, becoming the Shell Bunker Pokémon.

Smaller but twice as heavy, it stands 1.7 meters tall and weighs 334.1 kilograms, with its tail and gray shell fused together. Often depicted looking sad, it hates being alone and flies into a rage if someone it cares about abandons it.

As for abilities, Shell Armor replaces Hydration and protects it from critical hits. It keeps its 600 points, redistributed as 80/100/100/110/150/60, and its 150 Special Defense ties it with Probopass for the top spot among non-legendary Steel-type Pokémon.

Defensively, it's almost insolent: only Fighting and Ground hit it for double damage, Poison can't touch it, and Grass deals only a quarter of the usual damage. Finally, it carries the family's signature move, Shelter, which Kalos's Goodra can't learn.

Carcolh, snails versus knights and a fire put out

Its French name blends mucus and diplodocus, and its inspiration may be French: the Carcolh, a man-eating snail from the folklore of the Landes region. Its Dragon type may also be a nod to medieval illuminated manuscripts, where knights battle snails rather than dragons.

Another lead, this one Japanese: the Shussebora, a yōkai in the form of a giant triton snail that turns into a dragon after three thousand years. The design is by Saya Tsuruta, who also created Goomy.

The anime gives it the finest scene in its whole line: in episode XY065, caught in a fire along with its Trainer, the Sliggoo belonging to Ash Ketchum summons rain to save him and evolves at that very moment. Deliciously ironic: in the games, that kind of rain wouldn't have triggered anything.

Two episodes later, a Rain Dance cures its paralysis and reveals its Ability Hydration. Ash's first pure Dragon-type Pokémon, it's the only Powerhouse Pokémon on his team to reach its final stage on screen, hence its popularity when it comes to Pokémon plush.

Goodra Fact Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do you evolve Sliggoo into Goodra?
  You need to get it to level 50 while it's raining in the game's overworld, not during a battle. Rain summoned by Rain Dance, the Drizzle Ability or Primordial Sea doesn't work. In the seventh-generation games only, fog was a valid alternative.
• Does Goodra have a Mega Evolution?
  No. No member of its line has one, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A didn't add one despite its wave of new Kalos Mega Evolutions. It has no Gigantamax form either. The Mega Goodras you see going around are fan-made illustrations.
• Is Goodra a pseudo-legendary?
  Yes, and the official French term for it is Pokémon surpuissant, or Powerhouse Pokémon. It meets all three criteria: two pre-evolutions, a base stat total of exactly 600, and 1,250,000 experience points needed to reach level 100. "Pseudo-legendary" and "the 600 club" are labels that came from players.
• What's the difference between Goodra and Hisuian Goodra?
  The Hisuian form is a Steel/Dragon type instead of a pure Dragon type, it's classified as the Shell Bunker Pokémon instead of the Dragon Pokémon, it measures 1.7 meters and 334.1 kilograms versus 2 meters and 150.5 kilograms, and it has Shell Armor instead of Hydration. Both have a total of 600 stat points, but distributed differently.
• What is the signature move of Goodra's line?
  Shelter, a Steel-type move introduced in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which makes the user's skin as hard as an iron wall and sharply raises its Defense. Note that only three Pokémon learn it: Goomy, Hisuian Sliggoo and Hisuian Goodra. Kalos's Goodra, for its part, can't learn it.
• What are Goodra's weaknesses?
  As a pure Dragon type, it takes double damage from Ice, Dragon and Fairy attacks, and never takes quadruple damage. It resists Fire, Water, Grass and Electric, and the Sap Sipper Ability completely nullifies Grass-type attacks. The Hisuian form, for its part, is only weak to Fighting and Ground.

In short

Cuddly, sticky and yet built to take hits, Goodra proves that a Powerhouse Pokémon doesn't need a Mega Evolution to leave its mark. All it takes is a well-timed downpour.