Marowak (ghost)
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This article is missing information on this character's Japanese voice actor. Please feel free to edit this article to add this information. |
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 The ghost Marowak in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! | ||||||||||||||||||
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The ghost of a Marowak haunts the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town. This ghost is the mother of a Cubone.
In the games
In Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, LeafGreen, Let's Go, Pikachu!, and Let's Go, Eevee!, 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 money. 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 appears as a ghost that prevents the player from ascending to the top floor until they obtain the Silph Scope to identify her.
In Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen, the player has to battle Marowak to calm her down. Once she is defeated, her soul is calmed, and she departs to the afterlife, granting the player passage to the top floor.
In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, if the player does not have the Silph Scope and finds Marowak as an unrevealed ghost, the partner Pikachu or Eevee will be scared and stop the player from trying to go near her. If the player has the Silph Scope in the Bag, then a cutscene will start where Trace reminds the player to use it. Once the player reveals Marowak, her child Cubone calms Marowak's spirit and Marowak departs without a battle.
Battle mechanics
In Generation I and III, the ghost Marowak is a level 30 wild Pokémon found on Pokémon Tower 6F, blocking the stairs to the seventh floor. She is not seen in the overworld, but approaching the stairs automatically triggers a battle against her.
If the ghost Marowak is unidentified because the player does not have the Silph Scope, much like other Pokémon Tower ghosts, she is named "Ghost" in battle, with a ghost image in place of the Pokémon sprite. Her level and full HP bar are shown normally. In these battles, the player's Pokémon fail to use any moves because they are too scared, instead failing without spending any PP. The ghost Marowak will not attack them either. The player can still recall their Pokémon, but any Pokémon switched in their place will be unable to attack as well.
If the player has the Silph Scope in their Bag, a regular battle starts with a short animation where the ghost is revealed as Marowak (although other ghosts found in Pokémon Tower lack this transition). This Marowak is not treated as a Ghost-type Pokémon despite the fact that she is a ghost, and thus is still affected by Normal- and Fighting-type moves while being immune to Electric-type moves (being a Ground-type).
In battles against the unidentified ghost Marowak, the player's Pokémon are normally affected by all non-volatile status conditions, such as losing HP from poison every turn, or sometimes failing to attack due to paralysis instead of being too scared to move. It is still possible to use items normally in battles against her, except she always dodges and wastes all varieties of Poké Balls, being unable to be caught.
If the player battles against her multiple times in the same game, Marowak will always start each battle fully healed. If the player escapes from or blacks out during the battle, Marowak will remain blocking the way until she is defeated. Even if Marowak faints when the player blacks out (such as from Self-Destruct), this does not count as defeating her.
Generation I
In Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, the ghost Marowak's individual values are randomly generated like those of any wild Pokémon, with new values generated in each battle against her. Although Marowak's gender and Shininess are not visible in Generation I, she can spawn with IVs that would make her either male or female, with a chance of being Shiny, if she were in the Generation II games.
Due to a glitch, if the player uses a Poké Doll against Marowak (revealed or not), this will make her flee the fight and allow the player to pass on as if she were defeated. This glitch allows the player to completely skip the Team Rocket Hideout in Celadon City because there will be no need to obtain the Silph Scope. The player can also break the gameplay sequence and go to the Team Rocket Hideout at any point later. Similarly, if the player finishes the battle by using Roar, Teleport, or Whirlwind on Marowak (only possible after being revealed), the game treats her as being defeated as well.
As with other Pokémon Tower ghosts, the Pokédex still records Marowak as "seen" if the player tries to start a battle against this Pokémon without the Silph Scope.
The player's Pokémon cannot hit itself in confusion against the unidentified ghost Marowak.
Although no other wild Marowak can be legitimately found in the Pokémon Tower, there are some quirks as a result of how this was programmed in this generation:
- A battle against any wild Marowak found on Pokémon Tower 3F-7F would start with a ghost revealing animation.[3]
- Any wild Marowak found on Pokémon Tower 6F would be unable to be caught, dodging and wasting all Poké Balls thrown at it.[4] Although no wild Pokémon in Pokémon Tower can learn Transform either, its original species would have been used to determine whether it can be caught, not its transformed species.
Generation III
In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the ghost Marowak is always female, with a perfect 31 in all IVs, no held item, and her Nature is Serious. This Marowak's personality value is randomly generated like that of any wild Pokémon, except it rerolls as many times as needed until Marowak has the correct gender and Nature.[1][2]
If the player battles the ghost Marowak multiple times in the same game, her personality value is randomly generated again in each battle, allowing her to alternate between Shiny and non-Shiny, and her Ability to alternate between Lightning Rod and Rock Head. Even if the ghost Marowak is Shiny, she does not display the usual sparkling animation at the start of the battle (the game only shows the ghost revealing animation instead). She starts each new battle with no held item, regardless of any items given to her in previous battles by using Trick.
Like other ghosts, if this Marowak is unidentified because the player does not have the Silph Scope, then the gender and Poké Ball icon (which normally appears if the species is recorded as caught in the Pokédex) are absent, and being Shiny makes no visible difference because the ghost sprite remains the same color palette. The Pokédex does not record Marowak as "seen" if the ghost Marowak is unidentified.
In battles against the unidentified ghost Marowak, the weather-related Abilities (such as Sand Stream), stat-changing Abilities (such as Speed Boost), and held items (such as Leftovers) are activated normally. A Pokémon with Truant will still loaf around every second turn. Exceptionally, Intimidate and Trace are not activated. As with other Ground-type Pokémon and unidentified ghosts, she is not damaged by sandstorms.
In this generation, the ghost Marowak will remain blocking the way even if the player finishes the battle by using the Poké Doll or Fluffy Tail (regardless of Marowak being revealed), or by using the moves Roar, Teleport, or Whirlwind on Marowak (only possible if she is revealed).
The player's Pokémon can hit itself in confusion (possibly inflicted by a held Aguav Berry, Figy Berry, Iapapa Berry, Mago Berry, or Wiki Berry) against the unidentified ghost Marowak.
Unlike in previous games, since Key Items cannot be stored in the PC anymore, it will not be possible to battle the ghost Marowak in her disguised form once the Silph Scope has been obtained.
Movesets
Quotes
- Directly before encountering the Marowak ghost
- "Be gone... Intruders..."
Sprites and models
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| Ghost sprite from Generation I |
Sprite from Red and Green |
Sprite from Red and Blue |
Sprite from Yellow |
Ghost sprite from FireRed and LeafGreen |
Sprite from FireRed and LeafGreen |
Model from Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! |
In animation
Pokémon Origins
The Marowak ghost appeared in File 2: Cubone, where she played 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, Marowak haunted the Pokémon Tower to warn people of Team Rocket, who had taken it over. When Blue went inside to drive Team Rocket out, he saw the ghost and ran away from her, terrified. Red, however, decided to be brave and fight Marowak 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 reveal 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 calmed down and moved on to the afterlife.
Voice actors
| Language | Voice actor | |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ||
| English | Laura Post | |
| European Spanish | Milagros Fernández | |
In the manga
Pokémon Zensho
In PZ05, the ghost Marowak appeared when Satoshi was being attacked by Giovanni at the Pokémon Tower. Due to her immunity to physical moves, she defeated the Machamp spirit that Giovanni had summoned, leading him to withdraw Team Rocket from the tower. Afterwards, Mr. Fuji was able to calm the ghost down and allow her to pass on into the afterlife.
Unlike other depictions of the ghost Marowak, the Zensho manga's version of the ghost Marowak had her initially take the form of a Haunter and even gave her the abilities of one, allowing her to use Dream Eater.
In the guidebooks
The Official Pokémon Handbook
In The Official Pokémon Handbook: Deluxe Edition, Marowak's Pokédex entry includes this excerpt about the ghost Marowak: "According to legend, an angry mother Marowak, upset by the cruel deaths of her children, haunts Pokémon Tower. If you defeat her in battle, her spirit will finally be at peace."
Trivia
- Marowak's quote of "Begone... Intruders..." was used at the beginning of the song Ghost Dive.
- This ghost Marowak is one of the few wild Pokémon encountered by the player after the player has access to Poké Balls that is impossible to catch. However, unlike the other cases, it is possible to throw Poké Balls at the ghost Marowak. The only others that share this trait are:
- The Black KyuremB2/White KyuremW2 in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2,
- Nihilego at Aether Paradise in Pokémon Sun and Moon,
- Dusk ManeUS Necrozma/Dawn WingsUM Necrozma (Altar of the SunneUS/Altar of the MooneUM) and Ultra Necrozma (Ultra Megalopolis) in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
- Unfused Calyrex and either Glastrier or Spectrier at Freezington in Pokémon Sword and Shield.
- Twenty years after this ghost Marowak's appearance, a Ghost-type Marowak would be introduced in Sun and Moon as a regional form.
- In Pokémon Origins, her Cubone offspring is shown wearing its skull in the flashback, despite the Marowak not even having died yet.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://github.com/pret/pokefirered/blob/69e963fbb844afc8124ba343894f2e9aeef5c4aa/src/battle_setup.c#L327
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://github.com/pret/pokefirered/blob/69e963fbb844afc8124ba343894f2e9aeef5c4aa/src/pokemon.c#L1877
- ↑ https://github.com/pret/pokered/blob/9441f1aafe96c1bb8160b94936a29207ad6a12c3/engine/battle/common_text.asm#L58
- ↑ https://github.com/pret/pokered/blob/9441f1aafe96c1bb8160b94936a29207ad6a12c3/engine/items/item_effects.asm#L174
Related articles
For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Marowak.
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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. |
- Characters with an unknown Japanese voice actor
- Game characters
- Red, Blue and Yellow characters
- FireRed and LeafGreen characters
- Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! characters
- Pokémon Origins characters
- Pokémon Zensho characters
- Pokémon characters
- Deceased characters
- Female characters (Pokémon)
- Mothers
- Ghosts