Ekans (Japanese: アーボ Arbo) is a Poison-type Pokémon introduced in Generation I.
It evolves into Arbok starting at level 22.
Biology
Ekans is a purple, serpentine Pokémon. Its eyes, underbelly, the thick stripe around its neck, and rattle are yellow. Ekans has three pairs of black lines encircling its body, as well as another line that connects to each slit-pupiled eye and curves toward its nose. Its large mouth has a round, pink tongue and no visible teeth. While painful, a newborn Ekans's bite is not venomous. This Pokémon grows longer with age.
Ekans lives in grassy savannas and plains, where it moves stealthily through grass. It can also be found in forests and desolate wastelands, where it preys on Eggs from Pidgey and Spearow nests, but will strike other prey from behind. By flicking its tongue out, it is able to detect danger and the scent of prey. Its jaw can detach to swallow large prey, but such a meal can make Ekans too heavy to move or become stuck and cause it to faint. It wraps itself around tree branches at night to rest. If not in a tree, it will coil itself up—a position in which it can defend itself from all directions. It was also shown in the second movie to possess some swimming abilities. Its former signature move is Glare.
In the anime
In the main series
Major appearances
Jessie received an Ekans as a chūgen gift (a birthday gift in the dub) prior to the start of the anime. It debuted in Pokémon Emergency!, which also marked the species' debut. It was extremely loyal to her and eventually evolved into an Arbok in Dig Those Diglett! just to make her happy.
Ekans was part of Team Meanies in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate!. Gengar commanded the Poisonous Snake Pokémon to eat all of the Berries Team Go-Getters had collected. At one point, Ekans was incorrectly referred to as Arbok by Gengar. While this was an intentional error that Ekans rebuked in the original version (due to the similarities between the Japanese names), this came across as a general mistake in the dub and was corrected in reruns of the episode.
Other
In A Poached Ego!, multiple Ekans were captured by Rico. Jessie released her Arbok along with James's Weezing so they could protect these Ekans and a group of captured Koffing.
In Turning Heads and Training Hard!, a Team Skull Grunt's Ekans was quickly defeated by Ilima and his Eevee. In Battle Royal 151!, it competed in the Manalo Conference, only to be defeated by Ilima's Eevee again.
Minor appearances
In Mewtwo Strikes Back, a Trainer's Ekans was defeated by Mewtwo while it was serving Giovanni.
In Pikachu's Vacation, an Ekans was at the Pokémon Theme Park.
In The Power of One, multiple Ekans sensed the disturbance caused by Lawrence III.
An Ekans appeared in the Japanese credits of Pikachu's Rescue Adventure.
In Carrying On!, a sick Ekans was in Way Away Island's Pokémon Center.
In Different Strokes for Different Blokes, an Ekans was a resident of Bewilder Forest.
An Ekans appeared in a fantasy in A Dancing Debut!.
In The Power of Us, Ash caught an Ekans in a special blue Poké Ball for the Pokémon Catch Race.
In Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution, a Trainer's Ekans was at Old Shore Wharf.
In a flashback in Enter Pikachu!, an Ekans attacked Pichu, only to be scared off when Pichu retaliated.
In JN020, Goh caught an Ekans during a Pokémon Orienteering competition. It reappeared in JN023.
In Pokémon Origins
In File 1: Red, an Ekans was one of the Pokémon seen in Professor Oak's introduction.
An Ekans appeared in File 3: Giovanni.
In the manga
In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
- Main article: Jessie's Ekans
Jessie's Arbok first appeared as an Ekans in Pikachu's Excellent Adventure.
In the Magical Pokémon Journey manga
- Main article: Ekans Brothers
A pair of Ekans known as the Ekans Brothers are part of the supporting cast in Magical Pokémon Journey. Led by Arbok, they are originally antagonists, but later befriend the main characters when Arbok gets a crush on Wigglytuff.
In the Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure manga
An Ekans appeared in JBA4, under the ownership of a Team Rocket Grunt.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Ekans debuted in Go for the Golbat, under the ownership of Koga. It appeared on his arm.
An Ekans appeared in a flashback in Growing Out of Gengar, where it was driven away from its home after the Power Plant had been abandoned.
Harry of the Team Rocket Elite Trio has an Ekans, which first appeared in The Coming of Slowpoke (Eventually).
A Team Rocket Grunt in Johto owns an Ekans, as seen in Sneasel Sneak Attack.
An Ekans was one of the Pokémon pitted against Gold when he offered to help out at the Day Care near Goldenrod City in Quilava Quandary.
An Ekans appeared in The Final Battle IV, where it was one of the Pokémon that helped Emerald with his disabilities.
Team Skull Grunts were seen with an Ekans in Flash and Cosmog's Secret.
In the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga
An Ekans appeared in The New Pokémon Is Hatched!!.
In the Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All manga
An Ekans appeared in GDZ21.
An Ekans appeared in GDZ23.
An Ekans appeared in GDZ27.
An Ekans appeared in GDZ34.
In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
An Ekans appeared in Catch That Pokémon Thief!!.
An Ekans appeared in Marill's Special Training to Surpass Pikachu!!.
An Ekans appeared in To the Dragon's Den!!.
In the Pokémon Ranger the Comic: Double Mission manga
An Ekans appeared in Pokémon Ranger the Comic: Double Mission Episode Two as one of the Pokémon that Solana captured with her Capture Styler. It reappeared in Pokémon Ranger the Comic: Double Mission Episode Four and was released in Pokémon Ranger the Comic: Double Mission Episode Five.
In the Pokémon Zensho manga
An Ekans appeared in a fantasy in PZ01.
In the TCG
- Main article: Ekans (TCG)
In the TFG
One Ekans figure has been released.
Game data
NPC appearances
Pokédex entries
| Generation I
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Kanto
#023
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| Red(ENG)
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Moves silently and stealthily. Eats the eggs of birds, such as Pidgey and Spearow, whole.
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| Blue
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| Yellow
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The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest.
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| Stadium
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Slithers silently through grass, searching for its favorite food—Pidgey and Spearow eggs.
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| Generation II
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Johto
#050
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| Gold
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It can freely detach its jaw to swallow large prey whole. It can become too heavy to move, however.
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| Silver
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It always hides in grass. When first born, it has no poison, so its bite is painful, but harmless.
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| Crystal
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It flutters the tip of its tongue to seek out the scent of prey, then swallows the prey whole.
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| Stadium 2
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It can freely detach its jaw to swallow large prey whole. It can become too heavy to move, however.
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| Generation III
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Hoenn
#—
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Kanto
#023
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| Ruby
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Ekans curls itself up in a spiral while it rests. Assuming this position allows it to quickly respond to a threat from any direction with a glare from its upraised head.
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| Sapphire
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| Emerald
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An Ekans curls itself up in a spiral while it rests. This position allows it to quickly respond to an enemy from any direction with a threat from its upraised head.
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| FireRed
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A very common sight in grassland, etc. It flicks its tongue in and out to sense danger in its surroundings.
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| LeafGreen
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Moving silently and stealthily, it eats the eggs of birds, such as Pidgey and Spearow, whole.
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| Generation IV
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Sinnoh
#—
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Johto
#050
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| Diamond
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It sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind.
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| Pearl
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| Platinum
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| HeartGold
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It can freely detach its jaw to swallow large prey whole. It can become too heavy to move, however.
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| SoulSilver
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It always hides in grass. When first born, it has no poison, so its bite is painful, but harmless.
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| Generation V
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Unova
#—
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| Black
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It sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind.
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| White
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| Black 2
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It sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind.
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| White 2
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| Generation VI
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Kalos
Mountain #037
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Hoenn
#—
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| X
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The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest.
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| Y
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Moving silently and stealthily, it eats the eggs of birds, such as Pidgey and Spearow, whole.
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| Omega Ruby
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Ekans curls itself up in a spiral while it rests. Assuming this position allows it to quickly respond to a threat from any direction with a glare from its upraised head.
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| Alpha Sapphire
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| Generation VII
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Alola
USUM: #061
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Kanto
#023
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| This Pokémon has no Pokédex entries in Sun and Moon.
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| Ultra Sun
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By dislocating its jaw, it can swallow prey larger than itself. After a meal, it curls up and rests.
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| Ultra Moon
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The eggs of bird Pokémon are its favorite food. It swallows eggs whole, so sometimes an egg gets stuck, and Ekans faints.
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| Let's Go Pikachu
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The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest.
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| Let's Go Eevee
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Game locations
In side games
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| Generation II
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| This Pokémon is unavailable in Generation II side games.
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In events
Held items
Stats
Base stats
| Stat
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Range
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| At Lv. 50
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At Lv. 100
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35
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95 - 142
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180 - 274
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60
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58 - 123
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112 - 240
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44
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44 - 105
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83 - 205
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40
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40 - 101
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76 - 196
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54
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53 - 116
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101 - 227
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55
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54 - 117
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103 - 229
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Total: 288
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Other Pokémon with this total
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- Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and (if applicable) a hindering nature.
- Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and (if applicable) a helpful nature.
- This Pokémon's Special base stat in Generation I was 40.
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Pokéathlon stats
Type effectiveness
| Under normal battle conditions in Generation IX, this Pokémon is:
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Learnset
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This Pokémon is unavailable within Generation VIII.
Click on the generation numbers above to see Ekans's learnsets from other generations.
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Side game data
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Pokémon Ranger
| Group:
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Poké Assist:
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Field move:
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None
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| Loops: 5
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Min. exp.: 28
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Max. exp.: 42
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Browser entry R-151
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| If it spots a Capture Disc, Ekans will slither straight toward it.
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Pokémon Rumble Rush
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Walking Speed: 2.33 seconds
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Base HP: 43
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| Base Attack: 67
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Base Defense: 48
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Base Speed: 60
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Evolution
Sprites
Trivia
- In the Pokémon Red and Blue beta, Ekans was originally known as "Arbo", its romanized Japanese name.
- In early official art of Ekans, all of the bands on its body were colored yellow instead of just the one on its "neck". This was changed in later art.
- An Ekans was originally going to be featured in Pokémon Snap, as shown in an early test shot of an environment that was never featured in the final product. This is also true of its evolution, Arbok.
- Ekans is one of fourteen Pokémon that one can collect foreign Pokédex entries for in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.
- Ekans has never been scanned with a Pokédex in the anime, despite debuting in the second episode of the original series. As such, this makes it the Pokémon who appeared in the most episodes without getting a Pokédex entry.
Origin
Ekans appears to be based on a boa and rattlesnake, and its facial markings resemble an Indian cobra's hood. However, its lack of teeth, ability to swallow large prey, preying on Pokémon Eggs, and reaction to threats are more akin to an egg-eating snake. The yellow band around its neck may refer to the ring-necked snake. Ekans and Arbok may also be inspired by the legendary basilisk since they were originally the only Pokémon to learn Glare. The basilisk was said to be a poisonous, serpentine dragon that would kill people with its stare, which may explain Ekans's place in the Dragon Egg Group.
Name origin
Ekans is snake spelled backwards.
Arbo is an anagram of ボア boa.
In other languages
| Language
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Title
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Meaning
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 Japanese
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アーボ Arbo
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Anagram of ボア boa
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 French
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Abo
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Anagram of boa
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 Spanish
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Ekans
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Same as English name
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 German
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Rettan
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Natter spelled backwards
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 Italian
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Ekans
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Same as English name
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 Korean
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아보 Abo
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Anagram of 보아 boa
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 Mandarin Chinese
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阿柏蛇 Ābóshé
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Transliteration of the Japanese name, with the character for "snake" added at the end
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 Cantonese Chinese
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阿柏蛇 Ábaaksèh
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Transliteration of the Japanese name, with the character for "snake" added at the end
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| More languages
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 Hebrew
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אקנס Ekans
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Transcription of English name
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 Hindi
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एक्नस Ekans
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Transcription of English name
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 Lithuanian
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Ekansas
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From English name
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 Russian
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Эканс Ekans
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Transcription of English name
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 Thai
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อาร์โบ Arbo
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Transcription of trademarked Japanese name
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Related articles
External links
For other sprites and images, please see Ekans images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
