Togedemaru #777: the ball of spines that draws lightning to its needle

Thirty centimeters of spiky ball, with a lightning-bolt spike on its head. Togedemaru is Alola's Electric/Steel rodent: its fourteen back spines stand on end as soon as it gets worked up, and the long needle sticking out behind its head works as a living lightning rod. As for evolving, the answer is never.

Contents

• Who is Togedemaru?
• Type and abilities
• Evolution: none, and no Mega either
• Its Totem form and former signature move
• A hedgehog, a porcupine and plenty of spikes
• Togedemaru Fact Sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Togedemaru?

Listed as #777 in the National Pokédex, Togedemaru is the "Roly-Poly Pokémon" of the seventh generation, the generation of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon. It was revealed on June 30, 2016, in a trailer for both games.

It's a small, rodent-like sphere with gray fur, except for the front of its body, which is white. Pointed snout, round ears and a round yellow marking on each cheek: the classic electric-rodent look, done as a pincushion.

Its back bears fourteen yellow and brown triangular markings that are actually spines. Flat when it's at rest, they stand up as soon as it's startled or agitated; Pokémon Sun specifies that they bristle to skewer its attackers.

The centerpiece grows behind its head: a long gray spine with a yellow tip, shaped like a lightning bolt. Pokémon Moon explains that it acts as a lightning rod and that Togedemaru stores the lightning in its electric pouch — a precious reserve, since it produces little electricity on its own.

Type and abilities

Togedemaru is Electric- and Steel-type, a combination that turns it into a little fortress: eleven types have their damage reduced against it, and Poison does absolutely nothing to it.

In detail, Steel and Flying deal onlya quarter of the damage, and nine other types (Normal, Grass, Ice, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Dragon, Fairy and Electric) only half. On the other side, Fire and Fighting deal double, and Ground hits four times as hard.

Its two regular Abilities fit its design. Iron Barbs hurts the attacker every time Togedemaru takes a direct hit, and Lightning Rod draws Electric-type moves to itself, neutralizes them and raises its Special Attack by one stage.

Its hidden ability is Sturdy : at full HP, it always survives at least one hit. None of the three is exclusive to it, and its 435 base stat points go mostly to Attack, at 98, closely followed by Speed at 96.

⚡ Want to make an Alola fan happy? The spiky little ball that catches lightning is waiting for you in our Pokémon gift ideas.

Evolution: none, and no Mega either

Let's get this out of the way right away: Togedemaru doesn't evolve and isn't evolved from any Pokémon. Its chain has just one slot, no baby comes before it, and neither level nor stone will ever change its form.

It likewise has no Mega Evolution. The seventh generation only has a handful (Crabominable, Golisopod, Drampa, Magearna and Zeraora), and it isn't one of them. Don't be misled: Mega Scolipede belongs to a Pokémon from Unova.

No regional form and no Gigantamax form either. What it gains by leveling up are moves that suit it perfectly: Defense Curl at level 5, Magnet Rise at level 35, then Spiky Shield at level 60, which hurts any attacker that makes contact.

Magnet Rise deserves a mention: by levitating for five turns, it cancels out Ground-type attacks, its only quadruple weakness. In Alola, you'll find it on Blush Mountain ; Sword and Shield place it on Route 8 and at the Lake of Outrage.

Its Totem form and former signature move

Alola has a mechanic all its own: Totem Pokémon, bigger than other members of their species, wrapped in an aura that boosts their stats and able to call for help. Togedemaru has a Totem version, but only in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

There, it replaces Vikavolt as the opponent in the fifth trial, at Hokulani Observatory on Ula'ula Island, home of Captain Sophocles. This Totem battles at level 33 with an aura granting +2 Defense, holds a Sitrus Berry, calls on Skarmory and Dedenne, and leaves behind an Electrium Z.

When it comes to moves, it long had an exclusive: Zing Zap, learned at level 40, a physical Electric-type move with 80 power that can make the target flinch. Since the eighth generation, it's no longer a signature move: Pincurchin learns it too.

A hedgehog, a porcupine and plenty of spikes

Its name already tells the whole story: Togedemaru is thought to blend toge, thorn, denki, electricity, and maru, round, in other words "round with thorns." Its design draws on the hedgehog, the New World porcupine and the Tokudaia osimensis, a Japanese spiny rat.

The rest comes down to its ball shape. Pokémon Shield says that when it's in danger, it curls up into a ball, raises its spines and fires off electric shocks at random; when it's happy, it rolls around everywhere with nothing to stop it.

Finally, it belongs to the electric rodents that fans nickname the "Pikaclones," and it's the only one of them with the Steel type. The best known is still Sophocles's Togedemaru, which showed up as early as SL001, enough to earn it a spot in the Pokémon plushies and the collectible figures.

Togedemaru Fact Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does Togedemaru evolve?
  No. Togedemaru has no evolution and isn't evolved from any Pokémon: its evolution chain contains only one member. No level, stone, item or trade will change its form, and there's no baby Togedemaru to hatch before it.
• What are Togedemaru's Abilities?
  Its two regular Abilities are Iron Barbs, which damages the attacker when Togedemaru takes a direct hit, and Lightning Rod, which draws Electric-type moves to itself, neutralizes them and raises its Special Attack by one stage. Its hidden Ability is Sturdy: at full HP it always survives at least one hit, and it's immune to one-hit KO moves. None of these three Abilities is exclusive to it, with Lightning Rod dating back to the third generation.
• What are Togedemaru's weaknesses?
  As an Electric/Steel type, it only really fears three types. Ground deals four times the normal damage to it, while Fire and Fighting deal double. Everything else struggles against it: Steel and Flying deal only a quarter of the damage, while Normal, Grass, Ice, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Dragon, Fairy and Electric are cut in half. As for Poison, it does no damage at all.
• What is Togedemaru's Totem form?
  A Totem Pokémon is a unique individual found in Alola, larger than others of its species, surrounded by an aura that boosts its stats, and able to hold an item and call for help. Totem Togedemaru only appears in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, during the fifth trial, at Hokulani Observatory on Ula'ula Island, home of Captain Sophocles. It battles at level 33 with a +2 Defense aura, holds a Sitrus Berry, calls on Skarmory and Dedenne, and leaves behind an Electrium Z. In Pokémon Sun and Moon, this trial pitted you against Vikavolt.
• What is Togedemaru's signature move?
  Zing Zap, learned at level 40. It's a physical Electric-type move with 80 power and 100 accuracy, with a 30% chance of making the target flinch. However, it was only its signature move up to the eighth generation: since then, Pincurchin learns it too, at level 50.
• Does Togedemaru have a Mega Evolution?
  No. The only Mega Evolutions for seventh-generation Pokémon belong to Crabominable, Golisopod, Drampa, Magearna and Zeraora. Togedemaru has no Mega Evolution, no regional form and no Gigantamax form: its only official variant is its Totem form in Alola.

In short

A ball of fur, a pincushion and a lightning rod on legs: Togedemaru gets along just fine withoutevolving or going Mega. And its heaviest weakness, the Ground type, it makes vanish with a single Magnet Rise.