It’s another month, which means it’s time for the next Mythical Pokemon to become available for download on your copies of Pokemon X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
Making its debut as a special egg that could be transferred from the excellent Pokemon Ranger to copies of Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl, Manaphy is a water type Pokemon that fits a similar role as Mew, Celebi and Jirachi before it. Manaphy’s signature attack, Heart Swap, allows it to switch stat increases and decreases with its opponent, allowing it to absorb any boosts its foe might have built up over the course of the battle. Its ability, Hydration, removes any negative status effects it receives at the end of each turn in the rain, giving it even more of a benefit on top of the attack boost rain already provides to water types. As the only Legendary Pokemon to be able to breed, pairing it with Ditto is still the only way to obtain Phione, a standalone Pokemon that does not evolve into its parent species. As a Pokemon of more than one firsts, Manaphy is also the first Mythical Pokemon to have to share the spotlight with a group of other Mythical types, being somewhat overshadowed by the eventual release of Shaymin, Arceus, and last month’s featured Pokemon, Darkrai.
Despite this, Manaphy has still made multiple appearances since its debut, being featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and 3DS/Wii U as a rare Pokemon that uses Heart Swap to switch which player controls which character mid match. Its movie, Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, has been digitally remastered and made available to download alongside Pokemon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, and is rounded out by the release of the Manaphy Pokemon TCG set, which comes with two Pokemon Generations booster packs, a promotional Manaphy card, and a collectible pin.
This has been a big week for Pokemon, with Sun and Moon details showing off its new legendaries and Pokedex. Check out the Manaphy trailer below to keep up on all the releases featuring the water type, and check back with more details on #Pokemon20 as they’re available.