Pincurchin #871: the Galar urchin with ever-charged spines

A sea urchin that holds its charge. Pincurchin is Galar's little sea battery: thirty centimeters, one kilo, a ball of black spines sitting on the seabed. Each of those spines stores electricity and, if one of them breaks off, it keeps giving off current for nearly three hours.

Contents

• Who is Pincurchin?
• Pure Electric type, Lightning Rod and Electric Surge
• Evolution: it has none
• Zing Zap, Rising Voltage and no signature move
• The lore: three hours of current after a break
• Pincurchin fact sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Pincurchin?

Listed as No. 871 in the National Pokédex, Pincurchin is the "Sea Urchin Pokémon" of the eighth generation, the Galar generation. It holds 353rd place in the regional Pokédex and has since made the trip to Paldea, where it's listed as No. 321.

Its body is black and bristling with sharp, gray-tipped spines: one row along its back, two more on its sides. Its yellow eyes have triangular pupils, two spherical growths serve as its mouth, and tiny little legs carry it along the seabed. In its Shiny form, its yellow parts turn orange.

Its French name, "Wattapik", tells the rest: watt, the unit of power, and "à pics" (French for "spiky"). The English name, Pincurchin, plays on sea urchin and pincushion. The model really exists: it's therock-boring urchin, and that pincushion silhouette would work wonders among our Pokémon plushies.

Pure Electric type, Lightning Rod and Electric Surge

As a pure Electric, Pincurchin has only one weakness: Ground, which deals it double damage. It takes half damage from Steel, Flying and Electric, the other fourteen types deal it normal damage, and it hasno immunity.

Its standard Ability is Lightning Rod : it draws Electric-type moves to itself, neutralizes them and gets a one-stage Special Attack boost in the process. Formidable in Double Battles, but not exclusive to it: this Ability has been around since the third generation.

Its Hidden Ability carries far more prestige. Electric Surge sets up Electric Terrain as soon as it enters battle; it was Tapu Koko's signature Ability in the seventh generation, and it's now shared with Mega Raichu X and with Pincurchin, which has it as a hidden ability.

The terrain lasts five turns : grounded Pokémon can no longer fall asleep, and their Electric moves get a 30% power boost, compared with 50% before Sword and Shield. Flying types and Pokémon with Levitate, for their part, aren't grounded.

Evolution: it has none

The point is clear-cut and verified: Pincurchin has no evolution and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon. Its line has just one member: no level, no stone, no item and no trade will change its form, and there's no baby to hatch before it.

Its 435 base stat points are all it will ever have: 48 HP, 101 Attack, 95 Defense, 91 Special Attack, 85 Special Defense… and 15 Speed. A physical bruiser that stands its ground well and almost always strikes last.

Those 15 points are a record at the bottom of the scale: out of all Electric-type Pokémon, none is slower. The second slowest, Alolan Geodude, is still at 20. For breeding, its Egg Groups are Water 1 and Amorphous, and males and females are equally common.

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Zing Zap, Rising Voltage and no signature move

Let's be upfront about it: Pincurchin has no signature move. It does, however, learn Zing Zap at level 50, an 80-power physical move that can make the target flinch — and until the eighth generation, it wasexclusive to Togedemaru.

The nuance is worth a closer look: since Togedemaru is absent from Scarlet and Violet, Pincurchin is the only one that can use it there. Fundamentally, both species learn it, and Poképédia lists it among the moves that are no longer signature moves.

Its secret weapon lies elsewhere. At the Master Dojo on the Isle of Armor, a move tutor teaches it Rising Voltage in exchange for five Armorite Ore: 70 power, doubled if the target is on Electric Terrain. And that terrain is exactly what its Hidden Ability sets up all on its own.

The lore: three hours of current after a break

Its Pokédex entries are understated. Sword sums it up: "It releases electricity from the tips of its spines," and it scrapes seaweed off rocks with its teeth. Shield adds the detail that made its reputation: a lost spine keeps giving off an electric current for three hours.

Scarlet explains the mechanism: it generates its electricity through digestion and scrapes off seaweed with five teeth. Violet reveals its personality: "It's so timid that if it so much as brushes against seaweed, it gets startled and releases a shock." And its lips don't conduct electricity.

You'll find it on Route 9 in Sword and Shield, at Loop Lagoon and Courageous Cavern on the Isle of Armor, all the way to the Frigid Sea in the Crown Tundra, and in plenty of Max Raid Dens. In the anime, it first appears in the episode Poképédia numbers LV115.

One last point to clear up: Pincurchin has no Mega Evolution, no regional form and no Gigantamax form. The only Mega Evolution of the eighth generation belongs to its Pokédex neighbor, Falinks (No. 870), thanks to the Falinksite from Pokémon Legends: Z-A. A sea urchin face that has everything it takes to end up among our Pokémon figures.

Pincurchin fact sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does Pincurchin evolve?
  No. Pincurchin has no evolution and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon: its evolutionary line has just one member. No level, stone, held item, trade or special method will change its form, and there's no baby to hatch before it either. Its 435 base stat points are therefore final, with 101 Attack as its best stat and 15 Speed as its worst.
• What are Pincurchin's Abilities?
  Its only standard Ability is Lightning Rod, which draws Electric-type moves to itself, neutralizes them and raises its Special Attack by one stage. Its Hidden Ability is Electric Surge, which sets up Electric Terrain the moment it enters battle. Electric Surge was Tapu Koko's signature Ability in the seventh generation; it's no longer exclusive, as it's now shared with Mega Raichu X and with Pincurchin, which has it as its Hidden Ability.
• What are Pincurchin's weaknesses?
  As a pure Electric type, it only fears one type: Ground, which deals it double damage. It halves damage from Steel, Flying and Electric, the other fourteen types deal it normal damage, and it isn't immune to anything. With 95 Defense and 85 Special Defense on 48 HP, it can take hits decently, but its 15 Speed guarantees it'll take the first blow.
• Does Pincurchin have a signature move?
  No, no move is reserved for it. Its most distinctive move is Zing Zap, learned at level 50, an Electric-type physical move with 80 power and 100 accuracy that can make the target flinch; it was Togedemaru's signature move until the eighth generation, and both species have learned it ever since. Worth noting, though: since Togedemaru is absent from Scarlet and Violet, Pincurchin is the only one that can use it there.
• Where can you find Pincurchin in Pokémon Sword and Shield?
  It appears on Route 9, both on the main stretch and in the bay alongside it, between levels 38 and 43. The Isle of Armor expansion places it at Loop Lagoon and Courageous Cavern, and the Crown Tundra expansion at the Frigid Sea, between levels 60 and 65. You can also encounter it in a large number of Max Raid Dens across all three areas, as well as in the Crown Tundra's Max Lair.
• Does Pincurchin have a Mega Evolution or a Gigantamax form?
  No, neither one, and it has no regional form either: its only variant is its Shiny version, whose yellow parts turn orange. The only Mega Evolution of the eighth generation belongs to Falinks, its immediate neighbor at No. 870, obtained with the Falinksite and introduced in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Pincurchin can, however, Dynamax normally in Pokémon Sword and Shield, like nearly every Pokémon.

In short

Small, slow, spiky and always charged: Pincurchin does just fine without an evolution or a Mega. And all it has to do is step onto the field to electrify every inch of it.