| Girafarig | |
|---|---|
National Pokédex Wobbuffet – Girafarig (#203) – Pineco |
|
| Series | Pokémon series |
| First game | Pokémon Gold and Silver |
| Voiced by (English) | Rachel Lillis |
| Voiced by (Japanese) | Megumi Hayashibara |
Girafarig, known in Japan as Kirinriki (キリンリキ), is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Girafarig first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
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Girafarig is a herbivore[1] that resembles a giraffe. It is yellow with dark brown spots for the front half, while the back half is dark brown with yellow spots. The back section is smaller on the females. Most notably, the end of Girafarig's tail has a simplistic head. The head has a small brain of its own,[2] but can only rely on instinct. If a person gets near the head, it reacts to the person's scent and bites.[2] The head doesn't need to sleep, so it watches over its surroundings twenty four hours a day.[3] Girafarig's name is a palindrome in both English and Japanese, although the Japanese name's palindromic nature is not evident in Romanized form.
Girafarig first appeared in Pokémon Gold and Silver as well as its remakes Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. It is obtained in the wild and does not evolve into or from anything. It has since appeared in every title in the main series, including the remakes of Gold and Silver's predecessors Pokémon Red and Blue titled Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. Outside of the main series, Girafarig has appeared in Pokémon Channel, Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Pokémon Trozei!, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon titles, and the Pokémon Ranger titles.
IGN's Jack DeVries included Girafarig on his list of "Do Not Want" Pokémon. He joked that "his mom was a giraffe and his dad was a Chain Chomp from Super Mario Bros 3" and that he hasn't "been this weirded out since I saw that show about that man in China with the extra face growing out of the side of his real face".[4] IGN's Pokémon Chick wrote that was awesome for having a "posterior sports a second, wickedly fanged head" and that "the first time that thing's arse hissed at me in Pokémon Stadium 2 I must admit I was a tad intimidated". She also made a comparison of its second head to the Chain Chomp and wrote "I do heartily recommend that you give Girafarig a chance".[5] She also wrote that it was a better "Baton Passer" than Pokémon such as Spinda and Aipom though inferior to Umbreon.[6][7][8] An IGN guide gave specific suggestion that readers capture a Girafarig.[9] GamePro's McKinley Noble wrote that Girafarig was the representative "circus freak" Pokémon for Gold and Silver.[10] Destructoid's Jim Sterling listed Girafarig as one of the six things that bothers him about Pokémon and wrote about it "I mean honestly ... what the Hell?".[11] Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll ranked Girafarig the eighth best Psychic type Pokémon as of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.[12] GamesRadar's Heidi Kemps wrote that while Psychic types sometimes have problems with Ghost Pokémon, Girafarig does well due to its Normal type being immune to Ghost attacks.[13]