Staryu and Starmie

Staryu and Starmie
Pokémon series character
Staryu (top) and Starmie (bottom) National Pokédex Seaking - Staryu (#120) - Starmie (#121) - Mr. Mime
First game	Pokémon Red and Blue
Designed by	Ken Sugimori
Voiced by	Shin-ichiro Miki (Staryu) Ikue Ōtani (Starmie)

Staryu and Starmie, known in Japan as Hitodeman (ヒトデマン) and Sutāmī (スターミー), are two Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, they 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

Staryu and Starmie 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 "Hitodeman" and "Sutāmī" 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, Staryu and Starmie's English names are based on a combination of "star" and either "you" or "me".^[4][5]

Staryu, known as the Star Shape Pokémon, is a basic, water-type Pokémon which resembles a starfish. At its core is a red jewel like Starmie's, but Staryu's is circular. The jewel acts as the Pokémon's eye, and flashes whenever it talks. Instead of speaking using syllables within its own name, Staryu makes grunting/gargling noises, probably because it doesn't actually have a mouth. It has the power to regenerate its points if any of them break off. It evolves into Starmie once a Water Stone has been used on it. It can use several water-type moves, as well as its signature Rapid Spin.

Starmie, known as the Mysterious Pokémon, resembles a sea star. Its body is violet with a gold formation on its front. Starmie appears to have a second star growing on its back, which is semi-attached, being able to spin 360°. It uses its second star to propel itself through the water and even to launch out of the water and fly through the air for short periods of time. Starmie has a red jewel core, which resembles a cut precious stone, and seems to shine with the seven colors of the rainbow when looked at from different angles,^[6] but usually shows up red more than any other color. It can also emit electrical waves from the core that are powerful enough to reach the furthest parts of the universe.^[7]

Appearances

In the video games

Staryu and Starmie first appear in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and later in its remakes Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. Staryu evolves into Starmie by means of a special evolutionary item. They have since appeared in each main Pokémon title. Outside of the main series, Staryu and Starmie also appear in Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Channel, the Pokémon Pinball titles, Pokémon Trozei!, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon titles, the Pokémon Ranger titles, Pokémon Rumble and Pokémon Black and White 2, while Staryu itself appears in Pokémon Puzzle League and PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond; in the latter, it is one of only four Pokémon of the first four generations to not have previously appeared in PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure. Staryu appears as both a Pokémon that can be summoned from the item Poké Ball as well as a collectible trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl while Starmie appears as a Poké Ball Pokémon in the original Super Smash Bros.

In other media

In the anime, Staryu and Starmie are two of the Pokémon used in Misty's team during the most of the Kanto arc. Misty also often used Starmie outside of battle for transportation through water or for fire-fighting purposes. Rudy, the Gym Leader of Trovita Island, used a Starmie in his battle against Ash's Squirtle. In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Starmie is one of Misty's Pokémon, and is used against Red in a gym battle.

Reception

Staryu and Starmie are a very good selection when playing through the game, having a very versatile movepool, who, in the Kanto region alone, can stand up to almost all of the eight gyms. However, in competitive use, Starmie is very predictable, usually having a movepool of Hydro Pump/Surf, Thunderbolt, Rapid Spin/Psychic, and Ice Beam/Blizzard, making it relatively easy to counter. IGN listed Starmie as one of the best Water types alongside Blastoise, Cloyster, and Gyarados. They also listed it as one of the best Psychic types.^[8] IGN wrote that while Staryu "starts off slow" but becomes an "interesting dual type that's totally worth your effort".^[4][5] IGN's Pokémon Chick wrote that Starmie was "probably my single favorite Pokemon that I've never trained" which she explained could be due to its sudden popularity in Gold and Silver. She added that "this thing has options out the wazoo".^[9] She also wrote that Lapras was "rivaled only by Starmie in terms of horrendously annoying tanks with mind-boggling move compatibility".^[10] She also compared it to a fellow Water/Psychic Pokémon Slowpoke and wrote that it was overshadowed by Starmie.^[11] Destructoid's Jim Sterling, however, named Staryu one of the 30 "rubbish Pokémon" and wrote that he "can't see the appeal in this thing at all" and that it is "clearly one for the girls". He added that its evolution into Starmie was pointless and wrote "because we need two boring starfish Pokémon, don't we?".^[12] Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll ranked Staryu and Starmie the tenth and ninth best Water type Pokémon, respectively. They called Starmie "loyal and determined".^[13] GamesRadar's Brett Elston wrote that Staryu was "probably doubly familiar to fans of the anime and game" due to its common use by the character Misty.^[14]

Trivia

• The Pokémon Starmie is a speculated alien life form.

References

External links

• Staryu on Bulbapedia
• Starmie on Bulbapedia