Convergent species

The subject of this article has no official name.
The name currently in use is a fan designator; see below for more information.

Convergent species is a fan term for Pokémon introduced in Generation IX that are described as closely resembling previously discovered species yet are otherwise completely different Pokémon. The concept was first introduced alongside the reveal of Wiglett before the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.^[1] They are often compared to or mistaken for regional forms. So far, six of these Pokémon have been introduced.

These Pokémon's names are puns on their original counterparts, although Poltchageist and Sinistcha are named in reverse Evolution order from Sinistea and Polteageist.

Members of this group have appeared in the spin-off games Pokémon Café ReMix and Pokémon Masters EX, the animated series Pokémon Horizons: The Series, the animated mini-series Pokémon: Paldean Winds, and the manga Pokémon Adventures.

Terminology

While there is no official name for this group of Pokémon, it is noted on the official Pokémon Scarlet and Violet site that, though they closely resemble (in the case of Wiglett)^[2] or are ecologically similar (in the case of Poltchageist)^[3] (Japanese: 生態は似ている^[4] ecologically similar) to previously known species, they are completely different Pokémon.

Fans most commonly refer to these Pokémon as convergent species or convergent Pokémon, relating the concept to convergent evolution in biology. Fans have also referred to them as regional fakes, due to their similarity to regional forms, which are different forms of the same Pokémon.

History

These Pokémon were first identified by the World Pokémon Ecological Society after the discovery of Wiglett during a survey.^[1] Wiglett was initially mistaken as a possible Paldean form of Diglett before it was determined that it was a different species entirely and that the similarities were merely coincidental. Jacq is known for his research on these Pokémon in collaboration with the World Pokémon Ecological Society.^[1]

List of convergent species

Toedscool line

Toedscool's similarities to Tentacool are noted in Toedscool's Pokédex entry, which emphasizes that they are nonetheless completely different species.

Ndex	Convergent species	Ecology	Ndex	Original counterpart	Ecology
#0948	Toedscool Ground Grass	Inspiration: Wood ear mushroom Habitat: Forests Body: Edible mushroom Diet: Clings to tree roots Behavior: Jumps around, can run at a speed of 30 mph	#0072	Tentacool Water Poison	Inspiration: Jellyfish Habitat: Shallow seas Body: Virtually composed of water and can regenerate Diet: Constricts and poisons its prey Behavior: Drifts in sea currents and alerts others by flashing its orbs
#0949	Toedscruel Ground Grass	Inspiration: Wood ear mushroom Habitat: Forests Body: Edible mushroom, has 10 tentacles Diet: Constricts its prey and sucks out their nutrients Behavior: Jumps around and dislikes strangers	#0073	Tentacruel Water Poison	Inspiration: Jellyfish Habitat: Complex rock formations on the ocean floor Body: Virtually composed of water, can regenerate, has 80 tentacles (most are hidden) Diet: Constricts and poisons its prey Behavior: Alerts and weakens others by flashing its orbs

Wiglett line

The "convergent species" concept was introduced with Wiglett, which, while initially mistaken for a Paldean form of Diglett, was determined to be an entirely different species due to living and eating differently.^[1] Their similar bodies are said to be a coincidental result of environmental adaptation, as both species burrow in the sand and ground.

Ndex	Convergent species	Ecology	Ndex	Original counterpart	Ecology
#0960	Wiglett Water	Inspiration: Garden eel Habitat: Coastlines and seas Body: Stretchy, gooey feel, and it is unknown what it looks like under the sand Diet: Unknown Behavior: Hides in the sand when sensing danger	#0050	Diglett Ground	Inspiration: Mole Habitat: Tunnels and caves under the earth, also resides in forests Body: Thin skin, it is unknown what it looks like under the ground Diet: Plant roots Behavior: Toils and manures the soil perfectly and dislikes the sunlight
#0961	Wugtrio Water	Inspiration: Garden eel Habitat: Coastlines and seas Body: Stretchy and gooey, triplets sharing one body, and is unknown what it looks like in the rock Diet: Wraps around its prey and drags it to its den Behavior: Vicious temperament and hides from humans	#0051	Dugtrio Ground	Inspiration: Mole Habitat: Tunnels and caves under the earth, also forests Body: Triplets sharing one body, it is unknown what it looks like under the ground Diet: Each head fights over who gets to eat first Behavior: Toils and manures the soil perfectly, burrows rapidly, causing earthquakes, and attacks unexpectedly on occasion

Poltchageist line

In addition to bearing a close resemblance, Poltchageist is noted in particular as being "ecologically similar" to Sinistea.^[3]

Unlike other convergent species, Poltchageist and Sinistcha are named in reverse Evolution order from Sinistea and Polteageist. Poltchageist bears some similarities to Polteageist in that they both inhabit large containers used for storing and serving tea, and Sinistcha is similar to Sinistea in that both possess vessels for drinking tea. Poltchageist and Sinistcha are more similar to their counterparts than other convergent species, with both Evolution lines being Ghost-type tea-based Pokémon, even sharing the same Egg Groups. However, it is emphasized in their Pokédex entries that the two lines are entirely unrelated.

Ndex	Convergent species	Ecology	Ndex	Original counterpart	Ecology
#1012	Poltchageist Grass Ghost	Inspiration: Living matcha inhabiting a tea caddy Habitat: Old houses in towns and their outskirts Body: Powdery, its swirl pattern is not a weak point Diet: Drains the energy of those who touch or ingest its powder Behavior: Nocturnal, tends to scatter matcha powder to fix broken objects, and attacks anyone who breaks things	#0854	Sinistea Ghost	Inspiration: Possessed tea inhabiting a teacup Habitat: Hotels and houses Body: Liquidy, the swirl pattern is its weakness, tastes awful Diet: Absorbs the life-force of those who drink it Behavior: Patiently waits for its victims
#1013	Sinistcha Grass Ghost	Inspiration: Living matcha inhabiting an Unremarkable or Masterpiece Teacup Habitat: Dark places, such as the back of a shelf or the space beneath a home's floorboards Body: Powdery Diet: Drains the life-force of those who drink it Behavior: Searches for prey after sunset and pretends to be tea, trying to fool people into drinking it to drain their life-force	#0855	Polteageist Ghost	Inspiration: Possessed tea inhabiting a Cracked or Chipped Pot Habitat: Hotels and houses Body: Liquidy and has a distinct and enjoyable flavor Diet: Absorbs the life-force of those who drink it Behavior: Patiently waits for its victims

Descriptions

The relationships between convergent species and their original counterparts have been described in Pokédex entries and other sources.

Pokémon	Description
Toedscool	Pokédex entry from Pokémon Violet: Though it looks like Tentacool, Toedscool is a completely different species. Its legs may be thin, but it can run at a speed of 30 mph.

Pokémon

Description

Wiglett

Pokédex entry from Pokémon Violet:

Though it looks like Diglett, Wiglett is an entirely different species. The resemblance seems to be a coincidental result of environmental adaptation.

Jacq's memo from the World Pokémon Ecological Society conference:

This Pokémon that lives on the beach or in the sea of the Paldea region would be Wiglett. Although they appeared to be the Paldean Form of Diglett, we've learned that they live and eat differently as if they are entirely different Pokémon. According to the research, it is said that it is a coincidence that they have similar bodies, as they both burrow in the ground and the sand.

Official Pokémon Scarlet and Violet website:^[2]

It’s said that Wiglett’s resemblance to Diglett might be a mere coincidence—a result of its adaptation to its environment.
Though It May Closely Resemble Diglett, It’s a Completely Different Pokémon: It may look like Diglett, but it’s actually a completely different species of Pokémon. Wiglett pokes a part of its body out of the sand to feed in the ocean. It’s still unclear what the rest of its body hidden in the sand is like or how long it might be.

Wugtrio

Pokédex entry from Pokémon Violet:

A variety of fish Pokémon, Wugtrio was once considered to be a regional form of Dugtrio.

Pokémon

Description

Poltchageist

Pokédex entry from Pokémon Violet:

Poltchageist looks like a regional form of Sinistea, but it was recently discovered that the two Pokémon are entirely unrelated.

Official Pokémon Scarlet and Violet website:^[3]

It may resemble Sinistea at a glance, but Poltchageist is actually an entirely different species of Pokémon.
Though Ecologically Similar to Sinistea, It’s a Completely Different Pokémon: Poltchageist has a swirl pattern similar to the one that’s known to be Sinistea’s weak point. However, one thing that sets these species apart is that Poltchageist’s swirl is not its weak point. After a target is sprinkled with some of Poltchageist’s powdery body or eats food dusted with it, Poltchageist drains their life-force and absorbs it as energy.

In the core series games

In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the Toedscool line can be found in Paldea and Kitakami, while the Tentacool line can be found in Blueberry Academy. The Wiglett and Diglett lines can both be found in Paldea, while Alolan Diglett can be found in Blueberry Academy. Sinistea can be found in Paldea and Blueberry Academy, and Poltchageist and Sinistcha can be found in Kitakami.

Base stats comparison

Convergent species tend to have similar base stats to their original counterparts. Toedscool, Toedscruel, Wugtrio and Poltchageist have identical stats to their counterparts. Wiglett has almost identical stats to Diglett, with only its Special Defense stat differing. Sinistcha and Polteageist do not share any individual stats except Speed, but do share the same base stat total.

Convergent species

Pokémon	HP	Atk	Def	Sp. Atk	Sp. Def	Spd	Total
Toedscool	40	40	35	50	100	70	335
Toedscruel	80	70	65	80	120	100	515
Wiglett	10	55	25	35	25	95	245
Wugtrio	35	100	50	50	70	120	425
Poltchageist	40	45	45	74	54	50	308
Sinistcha	71	60	106	121	80	70	508

Original counterparts

Pokémon	HP	Atk	Def	Sp. Atk	Sp. Def	Spd	Total
Tentacool	40	40	35	50	100	70	335
Tentacruel	80	70	65	80	120	100	515
Diglett	10	55	25	35	45	95	265
Dugtrio	35	100	50	50	70	120	425
Sinistea	40	45	45	74	54	50	308
Polteageist	60	65	65	134	114	70	508

In animation

Pokémon Horizons: The Series

The relationship between convergent species and their original counterparts has been touched on a couple times in Pokémon Horizons: The Series. In Transform! Hero of the Seas, Palafin, a wild Wiglett was mistaken to be a white Diglett by Roy. In Professor Friede's Pokémon Seminar bonus segment of HZ051, a wild Toedscool and Tentacool were shocked to encounter each other and fled.

Trivia

Convergent species are similar to the Paradox Pokémon, in that they bear a striking resemblance to certain Pokémon but are nonetheless completely different species.
These Pokémon are all part of a two-stage evolutionary line.
The Poltchageist and Sinistea lines are the only convergent pairing that share a type, the only ones to share Egg Groups with each other, and the only ones to have multiple forms.
- They are the only convergent species that are not based on Pokémon from Generation I; instead, they are based on Pokémon from Generation VIII.
In the code of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Toedscool and Toedscruel are referred to as "OKAKINGU" (hill king, from Koiking, Magikarp's Japanese name) and "OKAGYARADOSU" (hill Gyarados), respectively, suggesting that they may have replaced a scrapped evolutionary line based on Magikarp and Gyarados.
The newer Pokémon of each convergent pairing always have the type advantage against their original counterpart. For example, the Water type of Wiglett's line is strong against the Ground type of Diglett's.
- In Poltchageist's case, however, both its line and its counterpart's are super effective against each other, since Ghost-type moves are super effective against Ghost-type Pokémon.
The Pokédex entries for the Galarian legendary birds imply that their similarities to the Kantonian legendary birds could be a coincidence, and that they might actually be completely different Pokémon that were given the same names based on their physical appearance. Despite this, they are still categorized as the same species.
Samson Oak alludes to these Pokémon in Pokémon Masters EX.^[a]
The Diglett line are the only Pokémon to have both regional forms and convergent counterparts.

Origin

While Poltchageist and Sinistea are described as "ecologically similar",^[3] the two other pairs of similar Pokémon in this group may be more accurately described as "morphologically similar", as they have similar physical characteristics but occupy very different ecological niches. The concept resembles convergent evolution and parallel evolution in evolutionary biology, both of which can lead to separate organisms independently developing similar or identical characteristics and body plans.

In other languages

Though It May Closely Resemble Diglett, It’s a Completely Different Pokémon


Language		Title
Japanese		ディグダによく似た、全く別のポケモン Digda ni yoku nita, mattaku betsu no Pokémon
Chinese	Cantonese	與地鼠非常相似，卻是完全不同的寶可夢 Yúh Deihsyú fēisèuhng sēungchíh, keuksih yùhnchyùhn bāttùhng dīk Pokémon
Chinese	Mandarin	與地鼠非常相似，卻是完全不同的寶可夢 Yǔ Dìshǔ fēicháng xiāngsì, quèshì wánquán bùtóng de Bǎokěmèng* 与地鼠十分相似，但种类完全不同的宝可梦 Yǔ Dìshǔ shífēn xiāngsì, dàn zhǒnglèi wánquán bùtóng de Bǎokěmèng*
Dutch		Hij ziet er misschien uit als Diglett, maar het is echt een compleet andere Pokémon
French		Une ressemblance à Taupiqueur trompeuse
German		Eine täuschende Ähnlichkeit zu Digda
Italian		Somiglia a Diglett, ma è un Pokémon completamente diverso
Korean		디그다를 닮았지만 완전히 다른 포켓몬 Digda-reul dalmatjiman wanjeonhi dareun Pokémon
European Portuguese		Embora se pareça muito com o Diglett, é um Pokémon totalmente diferente
Spanish		Aunque se parece a Diglett, es un Pokémon completamente diferente

Though Ecologically Similar to Sinistea, It’s a Completely Different Pokémon


Language		Title
Japanese		ヤバチャに生態は似ているが、全く別のポケモン Yabacha ni seitai wa niteiru ga, mattaku betsu no Pokémon
Chinese	Cantonese	生態和來悲茶相似，但卻是完全不同的寶可夢 Sāangtaai wòh Lòihbēichàh sēungchíh, daahn keuksih yùhnchyùhn bāttùhng dīk Pokémon
Chinese	Mandarin	生態和來悲茶相似，但卻是完全不同的寶可夢 Shēngtài hé Láibēichá xiāngsì, dàn quèshì wánquán bùtóng de Bǎokěmèng* 生态类似来悲茶，却是完全不同的宝可梦 Shēngtài lèisì Láibēichá, quèshì wánquán bùtóng de Bǎokěmèng*
French		Une ressemblance à Théffroi trompeuse
German		Trotz äußerlicher Ähnlichkeit zu Fatalitee ist es ein völlig anderes Pokémon
Italian		Seppur ecologicamente simile a Sinistea, è un Pokémon completamente diverso
Korean		데인차와 생태는 비슷하지만 완전히 다른 포켓몬 Deincha-wa saengtaeneun biseutajiman wanjeonhi dareun Pokémon
European Portuguese		Embora ecologicamente semelhante a Sinistea, é um Pokémon completamente diferente
Spanish		Aunque se parece a Sinistea desde el punto de vista ecológico, es un Pokémon diferente

Notes

↑ "At times, Pokémon thought to be the same species because of similar appearances turn out to be completely different species!" Samson Oak, Pokémon Masters EX

Convergent species

Contents

Terminology

History

List of convergent species

Toedscool line

Wiglett line

Poltchageist line

Descriptions

In the core series games

Base stats comparison

In animation

Pokémon Horizons: The Series

Trivia

Origin

In other languages

Notes

References

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