Farfetch'd

Farfetch'd
Pokémon series character
National Pokédex Magneton – Farfetch'd (#083) – Doduo
First game	Pokémon Red and Blue
Designed by	Ken Sugimori
Voiced by (English)	Maddie Blaustein (4Kids), Tom Wayland (PUSA)
Voiced by (Japanese)	Kōichi Yamadera

Farfetch'd, known in Japan as Kamonegi (カモネギ), is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Farfetch'd 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.

Concept and characteristics

An illustration of a welsh onion, which Farfetch'd carries around with it at all times.

Farfetch'd was one 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] Named "Kamonegi" 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] According to IGN, its name comes from the word "farfetched", while the origin of its design is a Japanese joke; in Japan, Kamo Nanban is a noodle dish consisting of duck and spring leek, and the phrase kamo negi is a shortening of a saying that literally means "A duck comes bearing green onions."^[4] According to Destructoid's Jim Sterling, Farfetch'd is based on the story of a "duck who goes to get a leek for somebody preparing a meal, only to be thanked for his kindness by being cooked up along with the vegetable he procured".^[5]

Farfetch'd, known as the Wild Duck Pokémon, is a duck-like Pokémon with brown plumage, and a small crest. It also bears black plumage on its forehead that resembles eyebrows. Its wings are a bit more versatile than most birds' as their feathers can be used as "fingers," allowing it to carry a stalk or spring leek, not a leek.^[6] They sometimes choose to hold it in their beaks instead,^[7] and hold it in their feet when flying. Farfetch'd cannot live without its stick for unknown reasons, and will defend their stick with their life.^[8] The stick is also known to be used as nesting material and as a weapon.^[6][7] In case of an emergency situation where the Farfetch'd is starving, it will eat its own stick and hurry off to find a new one.^[9] They are known to be picky in the kinds of sticks they accept. Farfetch'd have been known to fight each other over one 'good' stalk.^[10] Farfetch'd are found in grasslands, but it always has to be near water. Farfetch'd are also very good swimmers and are often found swimming in ponds. Farfetch'd are rarely seen,^[11] so some have tried to prevent its extinction by breeding them.^[12]

Appearances

In the video games

Farfetch'd first appears in Pokémon Red and Blue and later in its remakes Pokémon Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen, where it can only be obtained by trading a Spearow for it. It appears in Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent main titles in the series; at one point, the player has to help someone find their Farfetch'd. Farfetch'd makes multiple appearances in other Pokémon titles, including Pokémon Pinball, Pokémon Trozei!, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon titles, Pokémon Rumble, and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure.

In other media

Farfetch'd made its first anime appearance in So Near, Yet So Farfetch'd under the ownership of Keith. It was also showcased in A Farfetch'd Tale where Team Rocket planned to eat it, an aspect of Pokémon world rarely touched on in the anime. Farfetch'd has also made many minor appearances since then. In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Farfetch'd is owned by an Azalean boy, who fell victim to the onslaught of Pryce's Pokémon in the depths of Ilex Forest. Bill is later seen in Volume 10 riding a Farfetch'd as a mode of transport to pass Crystal the Portable Pokémon Transporter.

Reception

IGN called it a "fine choice at low levels" and good HP and "fairly balanced overall stats", but lacks staying power.^[4] IGN's Pokémon Chick called it "really, really terrible". She recommended that anyone who wanted a Normal/Flying type pass it over and wrote "there's nothing Farfetch'd can do that some other Pokemon can't do about twenty times better". She did however write that players who were "in search of a unique Pokemon with loads of personality" might want to give Farfetch'd a try.^[13] She also wrote that even Farfetch'd was a preferred Pokémon to Togetic and Hoothoot and described it as "quirky".^[14][15] Destructoid's Jim Sterling included it in his list of 30 "rubbish" Pokémon. He wrote that while it was a great idea to have a Pokémon based on the aforementioned Japanese story Farfetch'd is based on, Farfetch'd is "kind of shit".^[5] GamesRadar's Carolyn Gudmundson included Farfetch'd in her analysis of the most overused Pokémon designs, particularly as evidence of the abundance of duck or duck-like Pokémon.^[16] GamesRadar's Brett Elston wrote that "there's a decent Pokemon buried under the silliness".^[17] 1UP.com's Richard Li wrote that Farfetch'd was a "funny looking bird with a even funnier looking Celery attack weapon" as well as a Pokémon that is "completely average in stats".^[18] Author Loredana Lipperini wrote that Farfetch'd was “mischievous”.^[19] An editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote that Farfetch'd is his favourite Pokémon and described it as a "wild duck Pokemon that carries a curious weapon a green leek sprig".^[20]

References

External links

• 'd_(Pokémon) Farfetch'd on Bulbapedia