| Ekans and Arbok | |
|---|---|
| Series | Pokémon series |
| First game | Pokémon Red and Blue |
| Designed by | Ken Sugimori |
Ekans and Arbok, known in Japan as Arbo (アーボ Ābo) and Ābokku (アーボック), are Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Ekans and Arbok first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
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Ekans and Arbok were two of several different designs conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue.[1][2] Originally called "Arbo" and "Abokku" in Japanese, Nintendo decided to give the various Pokémon species "clever and descriptive names" related to their appearance or features when translating the game for western audiences as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children.[3] Ekans' Japanese name, Arbo, is a reversal by morae of the word boa. The name Ekans and Arbok are reversals of the words snake and cobra (the latter spelled with a k instead of c).
Ekans is known as the Rattlesnake Pokémon. This reptilian Pokémon has a rattle at the tip of its tail, and is mostly purple while its underbelly, eyes, rattle, and the "bands" on it are yellow. They swallow whole the eggs of small bird Pokémon, such as Pidgey or Spearow.[4] Ekans are able to detach their jaws to swallow large prey whole, although this makes their bodies heavy.[5] Its highly poisonous fangs make it a hazard in the wild as they slither through the grass and unexpectedly strike.[6] Ekans also shares other characteristics as snakes, such as using its tongue to test the air for the presence of prey,[7] and shedding its skin.
Arbok, known as the Cobra Pokémon, are a larger and stronger form that Ekans take when they gain enough experience. In the main Pokémon game series, an Arbok is only acquired when an Ekans evolves. Arbok is a reptilian with purple scales over most of its body. It has lost the rattle it had on its tail as an Ekans. Like a cobra, it can spread out its ribs into a hood. On its "hood", it has a design much like an angry face. The frightening patterns on its hood have been studied and six variations have been confirmed.[8] Each design is native to a certain area.[9] It has a nasty bite with deadly venom. Terrifically strong, it is capable of crushing opponents by coiling its body around them and constricting. It can even flatten steel oil drums.[10] Rather vicious, Arbok are territorial. If it encounters an enemy, it raises its head, intimidating the opponent with the frightening pattern on its body, then they lash out at intruders with long fangs tipped with deadly venom.[10] With a vengeful nature, it won't give up a chase after prey or an opponent, no matter how far, once it targets it prey.[10]
Ekans and Arbok first appear in Pokémon Red and Blue and later in its remakes Pokémon Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen though they can only be captured in Red and FireRed. Ekans is typically found in the wild and eventually evolves into Arbok through leveling up. They have appeared in every subsequent main title since. Outside of the main series, Ekans and Arbok appear in Pokémon Pinball, Pokémon Trozei!, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon titles, Pokémon Ranger, and Pokémon Rumble. In Pokémon Stadium, Ekans featured in its own mini game called "Ekans Hoop Hurl", in which players must toss as many Ekans around as many Diglett as they can.
In the anime, the most notable Ekans was owned by Jessie, who had received it for her birthday. For most of the original series, it was her only Pokémon. It was extremely loyal to her and eventually evolved into an Arbok just to make her happy. In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out Of The Gate!, Ekans serves as a male character and one of the members of the Team Meanies, in which it was commanded by Gengar to eat all the berries Team Go-Getters collected.
IGN's Pokémon Chick wrote that Arbok was a favourite among players looking for a "pure Poison" type and/or players who like Arbok for being an enemy toward Pikachu and Ash Ketchum in the Pokémon anime. She added that she falls in the former group and wrote that while its stats are lacking, it has "personality to spare and can add a splash of much-needed color and originality to any team". She also wrote that it is "one of the few pure Poison types that isn't a butt-ugly mass of undefined tissue" and referenced Muk and Weezing as examples.[11] She wrote that Team Rocket kept Ekans and Arbok "far longer than Ash kept practically ANY of his Pokemon" and that "they might have been ridiculously horrible in battle, but you had to admire that stick-to-it-iveness".[12] She also called Arbok her "beloeved".[13] She wrote that while she liked the Pokémon Seviper for being a snake, she will "always love Arbok just a little bit more simply because I was introduced and subsequently latched onto him first".[14] IGN's Pokémon of the Day Guy called it a "swell first Pokémon" and compared it to "Q-Bert's arch-nemesis".[15] UGO Networks featured Ekans and Arbok as part of its "Snake Week" and expressed joy that Pokémon had "at least one snake". They called Ekans a "killer Pokemon" and "a chalky purple snake with a penchant for being defeated". They added that "as reward for sucking so consistently, Ekans was allowed to evolve into 'Arbok,' bigger, badder and more purple than ever" and that Arbok "didn't fare much better than his lower form on the battlefield, but he sure looked cute whenever one of the more heroic Pokemon zapped the crap out of him".[16] Author Loredana Lipperini described Ekans as “treacherous”.[17] Author Phillip Marcus called Ekans "amazingly epic".[18]