Marowak (ghost)

The Marowak ghost before the Silph Scope unmasks it in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

In Generations I and III, the ghost of a female Marowak haunts the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town.

At a point before the player reaches Lavender Town, members of Team Rocket invade the Pokémon Tower and attempt to steal the skulls of Cubone, in order to sell them for large amounts of cash. One Cubone, however, was protected by its mother. The Cubone escaped, but its mother was killed. As a result, the Marowak's ghost remained in the Pokémon Tower, forbidding access to the topmost floor. She would appear in a disguise, avoid all thrown Poké Balls, and scare opponents so much that they would be unwilling to attack. However, the player unmasked her with the Silph Scope and subsequently battled her. Once she was defeated, her soul was calmed, and she departed to the afterlife.

In the games

Pokémon Red, Blue, and Green	Pokémon Yellow	Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
Type: Ground Unknown Marowak Lv.30 Growl Normal   --       Bone Club Ground   --       Leer Normal   --       Focus Energy Normal   --	Type: Ground Unknown Marowak Lv.30 Tail Whip Normal   --       Leer Normal   --       Bone Club Ground   --       Headbutt Normal   --	Type: Ground Unknown Ability: Rock Head Held item: None Marowak♀ Lv.30 Headbutt Normal   --       Leer Normal   --       Focus Energy Normal   --       Bonemerang Ground   --

In the anime

Marowak in Pokémon Origins

Marowak's ghost form in Pokémon Origins

In Pokémon Origins

The Marowak ghost makes an appearance in the second episode of the Pokémon Origins mini-series. Here, she plays the same role that she does in the games, warning intruders to stay away. The Marowak and her child Cubone used to live peacefully until Team Rocket began poaching Pokémon in the area. When they attempted to capture Cubone as well, Marowak stepped in to protect it, only to be killed with a stun baton while her child was running away.

After her death, she haunted the Pokémon Tower to warn people of Team Rocket, who had taken it over. When Blue went to drive Team Rocket out, he saw the ghost and ran away from her terrified. Red, however, decided to be brave and fight her with his Charmeleon, but his Pokémon's attacks wouldn't work on her. When Blue returned to give Red the Silph Scope, Red was able to identify the ghost and figure out her true identity.

Before he could continue their battle, Marowak's child Cubone came rushing in and embraced its deceased mother. Having found peace in seeing her child once again, Marowak's spirit calms down and moves on to the afterlife.

Trivia

• Even after the Silph Scope is used on it, the Marowak ghost will continue to dodge thrown Poké Balls, even Master Balls. It will even dodge thrown Balls while sleeping. This makes this particular Marowak the first wild Pokémon encountered by the player after the player has access to Poké Balls that is impossible to catch. The only other two to share this trait are the Black Kyurem^B2 and White Kyurem^W2; however, when battling against these forms of Kyurem Poké Balls cannot be used at all.
• Despite the fact that this Marowak is a ghost, it is not treated as a Ghost-type by the game, and thus is still affected by Normal and Fighting-type moves.
• In Generation I games, a glitch exists where a Poké Doll can be used against the Marowak, which will make it flee the fight and allow the player to pass on as if it were defeated. This allows the player to skip getting the Silph Scope and the Celadon Rocket Hideout completely, and was addressed in the remakes.

Related articles

For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Marowak.

This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.