Gardevoir
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gardevoir | |
|---|---|
 National Pokédex Kirlia - Gardevoir (#282) - Surskit Hoenn Pokédex Kirlia - Gardevoir (#031) - Surskit |
|
| Japanese name | Sirnight |
| Evolves from | Kirlia |
| Evolves into | None |
| Generation | Third |
| Species | Embrace Pokémon |
| Type | Psychic |
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) |
| Weight | 106.7 lb (48.4 kg) |
| Ability | Synchronize / Trace |
Gardevoir (サーナイト Sānaito?, Sirnight in original Japanese language versions) is one of the 493 fictional species of Pokémon from the Pokémon Franchise - a series of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri.
Its main purpose in the games, as with all other Pokémon, is to battle both "wild" Pokémon, which are untamed creatures encountered while the player passes through various environments, and "tamed" Pokémon that are owned by Pokémon trainers.
The name "Gardevoir" is thought to originate from the French terms garde (guard, defence) and voir (to see). It may also be a portmanteau of the words guard and devoir (Deh-Voo-Ar), which is French for "duty" or "to have to", so that it could mean "duty to guard" or "it has to guard". Both refer to the fact that Gardevoir will protect its trainer regardless of risk to its own life and well-being.
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[edit] Biological characteristics
Gardevoir has an appearance noteworthy both for its elegance and its humanlike femininity, regardless of what gender it actually is. It has a long, thin, limber body with a pair of thin white legs, both covered by an equally thin billowing dress that is white on the outside and is green underneath. It has a relatively large head with a pale, white face, large red eyes, and a green bouffant-like hairstyle that obscures this Pokémon's mouth. It has long, green, featureless arms and two red half-valentine-like outgrowths on its front torso and its back. There is a green swoop that extends from arm to arm and gives the impression that Gardevoir is wearing some form of a vest. These add up to a body that is rather frail. It is often considered a feminine counterpart to Erlade.
Gardevoir carries a sense of concern for its trainer that is unmatched by any other Pokémon; it is said to do anything to help or aid its trainer, even at the risk of its own life. Its ability to do this is allowed by its perplexingly strong psychic powers. Gardevoir's brain is highly developed and surpasses that of a human, and it apparently allows it to see into the future (compare with Xatu). Using this ability, it can detect when its trainer will be in any possible danger and will then employ its psychokinetic powers at full force. A Gardevoir will risk its life not just for its trainer, but for its own offspring as well. It is also one of the few Pokémon to fully understand the human language; whether or not it is capable of speaking it is unknown. (Most intelligent psychic pokemon can use telepathy to communicate with humans using human words, however.)
Gardevoir’s adeptness at psychic power allows it to achieve other spectacular effects. With psychokinetic manipulation, it can literally distort the dimensions and create, in effect, a small black hole, which it can use as a weapon in battle. Also, it consistently uses small amounts of its reserves to support itself upright (compare with Alakazam) to the effect that it apparently does not feel gravity’s pull. (This may also be what Kirlia, its pre-evolved form, does, as it is always on its tip-toes). Because of its frail and weak body, it prefers to use its psychic abilities to teleport to its destination rather than to simply walk there, even if it cannot feel gravity's pull.
[edit] In the video games
Gardevoir must be evolved from a level 30 Kirlia, which in turn must have been evolved from a Ralts. Ralts can only be captured in the wild in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. It can be obtained in Pokémon XD by evolving the Kirlia from the shadow Ralts. Gardevoir appears in the Pokémon XD retail store demo as a playable Pokémon. In Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, the trainer Wally has a Ralts that eventually evolves into a Gardevoir. In Colosseum, Nascour has one.
Gardevoir has high Special Attack and Special Defense, good Speed and low hit points (HP), Attack and Defense. Gardevoir is frequently used in the Battle Tower as a Special Sweeper, and sometimes in competitive battles as an annoyer. Some Trainers prefer Gardevoir over Alakazam for this reason: Gardevoir evolves twice from its lower forms, Ralts, and Kirlia through naturally leveling up and and gaining experience, whereas Alakazam evolves only once from Abra into Kadabra at Level 16, then must be traded to evolve again. Gardevoir is also stronger in hit points, defense and special defense, and though Gardevoir is slower its Special Attack is nearly as high.
With Diamond and Pearl's new system of classifying moves,Gardevoir's effective movelist has changed considerably. The Elemental Punches are no longer viable options, being Physical Attacks, but Hyper Beam and Shadow Ball are now Special Attacks giving Gardevoir two very powerful new attacks. It can learn Magical Leaf as a Kirlia via the Move Maniacs in Fallarbor Town and on Two Island, and the new Grass-type move Energy Ball via TM.
In Diamond and Pearl Gardevoir has acquired a "brother", Erlade, which evolves from a male Kirlia and the Awakening Stone. Psychic and Fighting, Erlade is the opposite of Gardevoir, being a superb physical battler as opposed to Gardevoir's awesome special abilities. Male and female Kirlia will still evolve into Gardevoir at level 30, however, meaning that there can still be Gardevoir of both genders whereas Erlade is 100% male.
In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Gardevoir belongs to a human that grabbed one of Ninetales's tails. Before the human received the curse, Gardevoir jumped in the way and took the full force of the curse. Gardevoir is a spirit who tells the player why he or she has become a Pokémon. After the main plot ends, the player has an option to help Team Meanies' Gengar to talk to Ninetales on Mt. Freeze. Ninetales reveals that he is the human from the legend. Gengar wants to reverse the curse on Gardevoir, but does not fully reveal it to the player, and Ninetales gives him the 9-Tailed Crest and then tells him to go to the Murky Cave. At the end of the cave, a mysterious voice tells the player to speak for Gengar, and the curse is not broken. Gengar speaks for himself and tells the voice why he came. The voice finally accepts Gengar's wishes and releases Gardevoir's physical form, but it erases her memory of Gengar being her former trainer. The player then has the option of Gardevoir joining the Rescue Team, starting at Level 5.
[edit] In the Pokémon anime
The Pokémon anime series and films are a set of adventures separate from most other versions of Pokémon, featuring Ash Ketchum as the main character, and following his quest to become a Pokémon Master. He and his companions travel around the Pokémon world battling other Pokémon Trainers.
Like all Pokémon in the anime (except Mewtwo, a particular Meowth, Lucario, and a certain Slowking), Gardevoir cannot speak and are only able to communicate verbally by repeating their species name ("Gardevoir"), using different pitches, tones and body language to convey moods. From this, however, a Gardevoir’s Trainer can usually understand what it is saying.
Gardevoir's first appearance is in the episode "Do I Hear A Ralts?", in which a Gardevoir is the mother of a Kirlia and the Ralts referred to by the title. Gardevoir loses her Ralts, which became ill after somehow falling in a lake. Ash and his friends soon discover the Ralts and attempt to help it recover, but to no use. Max takes on the task of escorting the Ralts to a nearby Pokémon center. On his way there, he encounters the Gardevoir and Kirlia mentioned earlier. Gardevoir sees Max and Snorunt with Ralts and believes they are trying to take Ralts away from them. In this episode, not only are they pursued by Team Rocket, but also by Gardevoir. Additionally, in this same episode, Team Rocket's Jesse dresses up as a Gardevoir in a failed attempt to seize the ailing Ralts not once, but twice.
In the opening for Pokémon Advanced Challenge, May's Combusken and Ash's Pikachu are shown fighting a Gardevoir and a Hariyama.
Gardevoir also appears in an episode of the Diamond and Pearl Season, Pokémon Hunter J!(Japanese Title)
[edit] In the Trading Card Game
EX Dragon Frontiers
There are currently six Gardevoir cards available outside of Japan:
- EX Ruby & Sapphire, as Gardevoir, a Psychic-type holographic card (#7)
- EX Sandstorm, as Gardevoir ex, a Psychic-type Pokémon-ex card (#96)
- EX Emerald, as Gardevoir, a Psychic-type holographic card (#4)
- EX Delta Species, as Gardevoir, a Psychic/Metal dual-type holographic card (#6)
- EX Dragon Frontiers, as Gardevoir ex, a Fire-type Pokémon-ex card (#93)
- EX Power Keepers, as Gardevoir, a Psychic-type holographic card (#9)
Gardevoir has two qualities that make it distinguishable - it always has a Retreat Cost of two, and it always has 100 Hit Points (as a Pokémon-ex, however, it always has 150 HP). The Gardevoir in EX Power Keepers is a reprint of the Gardevoir in EX Ruby & Sapphire - in other words, all its qualities are exactly the same, with only the illustration differing.
[edit] References
- The following games and their instruction manuals: Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue; Pokémon Yellow; Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2; Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal; Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald; Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen; Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
- Publications
- Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-439-15404-9.
- Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-930206-15-1.
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed & Pokémon LeafGreen Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 1-930206-50-X
- Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4761-4
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1-930206-58-5
[edit] External links
- Official Pokémon website
- Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)’s article about Gardevoir as a species
- Gardevoir’s fourth-generation Pokédex entry on Serebii.net
- PsyPoke - Gardevoir Pokédex entry and Usage Overview
- Smogon.com - Gardevoir Tactical Data
- WikiKnowledge.net’s entry for Gardevoir Previously hosted by Wikibooks
