Barbaracle is a bipedal Pokémon comprising seven individual Binacle units, multiplied from two through Evolution. Its body consists of two gray rocks connected to each other by the main Binacle unit, which serves as both its waist and head. The head is brown and resembles a semi-opened left hand; there are four clawed fingers on top and a clawed thumb on its right cheek. Its face is orange with two eyes but no other distinguishable features. The other six Binacle protrude from the rocks, with four acting as arms and two acting as legs. Each arm is orange, with a brown hand with a single eye in the center of the palm, four long claws, and a brown band around the middle. The legs are also orange but have two brown bands and brown feet, with four claws and a four-pointed star on the soles.
Each limb that forms Barbaracle thinks for itself and moves independently, though they usually follow the head's orders. In an emergency, the limbs may act without orders from the head in order to defeat its enemies. Since each of its hands has an eye, Barbaracle is able to see in all directions at once.
The power of Mega Evolution causes the Binacle units to multiply even further — there are 11 distinct Binacle units that form Mega Barbaracle, being its head, eight arms, and two legs. The rocks that the units reside in have also grown larger, with deep cracks running through and black spikes protruding from the tops of the rocks. The head of Mega Barbaracle is black, with an orange face and red pupils. It has five horns on its head, which are white with orange stripes near the base. The horns are arranged like a hand: four of the horns are located at the top of its head, two extending upward and the other two jutting towards the front, while the fifth horn is located on Mega Barbaracle's right cheek as a "thumb".
Mega Barbaracle's waist and limbs are all orange with a singular, zig-zag, black band circling each limb. The legs have black feet with three white toes, the center one cloven in two. The arms have black hands, each one having a single red eye and four claws, two of which are conjoined in the middle. Mega Barbaracle uses its many arms to mess with its opponents, keeping the head busy. Mega Barbaracle can move very quickly, delivering powerful punches followed by a yellow or red beam attack.
Barbaracle seems to be based on the goose barnacle, due to their general shape and use of a connective "stalk" to cling to rocks. Considering one "main" Barbaracle survives together with others, it may possibly reference the rarer, same species symbiosis, in particular conjunctive symbiosis due to their fusion into a single body. Considering its hand-like limbs and bodies, and its eyes within its many hands' "palms", it may have also been based on the hamsa. Its limbs having minds of their own may be a reference to alien hand syndrome. Barbaracle having numerous eyes across various parts of the body may possibly be a reference to various mythological entities with a myriad of eyes such as the Greek giant Argus and Japanese legends such as the Hyakume or the Dodomeki.
Mega Barbaracle's head evokes the sign of the horns, a gesture in close association with both heavy metal and Judeo-Christian faith. Its ritualistic application in warding off the malocchio ("evil eye"), a supernatural malevolent glare prominent in Jewish rabbinic literature, may serve to represent the head's dominion over the rest of its colony's stalked eyes. The sign's alternate name, "rock on," may also double as a pun towards Barbaracle's Rock typing. Its design might also be based on mythological creatures such as the Hecatoncheires, Gegeenes, or Asuras which are portrayed with many arms as well. Some of these creatures also have many heads, which the new Binacle units technically double as despite mainly functioning as arms.
Name origin
Barbaracle may be a combination of barbaric and barnacle.
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
For other sprites and images, please see Barbaracle images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
