Ecologically similar Pokémon

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

Dugtrio and its ecologically similar counterpart, Wugtrio

Certain Pokémon are described as ecologically similar^[1] (Japanese: 生態は似ている^[2] ecologically similar) to previously discovered species, but are otherwise completely different Pokémon. This concept was first introduced in Generation IX.

They are sometimes referred to by fans as convergent forms, convergent Pokémon, or convergent species, relating the concept to convergent evolution in biology, or regional fakes, due to their similarity to regional forms, which are different forms of the same Pokémon. So far, six of these Pokémon have been introduced. Jacq is known for his research on these Pokémon in collaboration with the World Pokémon Ecological Society.^[3]

Ecologically similar Pokémon tend to have similar, though not always identical, base stats.

In the core series games

In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the player can find Pokémon that are ecologically similar to other species across Paldea, as well as in Kitakami.

History

These Pokémon were first identified by the World Pokémon Ecological Society after the discovery of Wiglett during a survey.^[3] Wiglett was initially mistaken as a possible Paldean form of Diglett before it was decided that it was a different species entirely and the similarities were merely coincidental.

List of ecologically similar Pokémon

Ecologically Similar Pokémon
Ndex	Newer Pokémon	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
#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, but likely has clawed limbs 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, but likely has clawed limbs 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
#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 ecologically similar Pokémon 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.
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:[4] 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.
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:[1] 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.

Base stats comparison

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

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

In the anime

Main series

Wiglett in the anime

Two Wiglett made their anime debut under the ownership of two different Trainers each in Quaxly, We Can Do It.

Toedscruel made its main series debut in HZ031. It reappeared in HZ032.

A wild Wiglett appeared in HZ042.

A Wiglett appeared in HZ043, under the ownership of a old man.

Pokémon: Paldean Winds

Three wild Wiglett appeared in Breathe Together.

Trivia

• The concept of ecologically similar Pokémon was first introduced with the reveal of Wiglett before the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.^[3]
• These Pokémon 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 evolution line.
• Some ecologically similar Pokémon have several unique distinctions:
  • The Poltchageist and Sinistea families are the only ecologically similar Pokémon that share a type and the only ones to share Egg Groups with each other.
    • Additionally, they are the only ones which are named after the inverse of their counterparts, with Poltchageist's evolved form Sinistcha being named after Polteageist's unevolved form Sinistea, and vice versa.
  • Before The Indigo Disk, the Toedscool and Tentacool lines were the only ecologically similar Pokémon where the original counterparts were unavailable in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
• 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 evolution line based on Magikarp and Gyarados.
• The newer Pokémon of each ecologically similar pairing always has a type that is strong against the original counterpart's typing. For example, the Water type of Wiglett's line is strong against Diglett's line, which is Ground type.
  • This is true for Poltchageist's line as well, despite sharing a type with their counterparts, 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 is a coincidence, and that they are actually completely different Pokémon that were coincidentally given the same names based on their physical appearance. Despite this, they are still categorized as the same species.

Origin

While Poltchageist and Sinistea are described as "ecologically similar",^[1] it may be more accurate to describe the pairs of similar Pokémon in this group as "morphologically similar", as while they have similar physical characteristics, many of them 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 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 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 Spanish Aunque se parece a Sinistea desde el punto de vista ecológico, es un Pokémon diferente

See also

• Regional form
• Paradox Pokémon

References

External links

Ecologically similar Pokémon

See also:
Regional forms (Alolan • Galarian • Hisuian • Paldean)

This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.