Sneasel
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is a fictional character of the Pokémon franchise.Sneasel's name is derived from sneaky and weasel, references to its temperament and appearance. It's possible that the "Sn-" of its name refers to snow as it is an ice type, or to sneeze, something one might do when one is cold.
Appearance
Sneasel is based on the weasel- more specifically the kamaitachi (Japanese kama- "sickle" and itachi- "weasel") from Japanese lore. Kamaitachi were said to be weasel-like creatures with scythes for hands that lived in cold mountains waiting for unwary travelers. Sneasel is feline in appearance, with black fur. It has two small yellow oval markings, one on its chest and another on its forehead. In lieu of a tail it has three pink leaf-shaped protrusions. Its forepaws have long, sharp claws. The fact that Sneasel is an Ice Pokèmon may also show in the fact the pronunciation of "sneeze" is in it's name.Biology
Sneasel is a nocturnal Pokémon that lives in mountains. It hunts under the cover of chilly darkness, which allows it to sneak up on foes or lost prey. It has dangerously sharp claws, which it can conceal in its paws. It will suddenly unsheathe these claws in order to startle enemies and buy it time to attack. Many Sneasel have been seen standing at the peak of icy mountains when there is a Solar Eclipse, but why this is or how they know has not been explained. Sneasel has very reactive muscles much like a cats and it uses its superb agility to evade enemy attacks with startling ease; Sneasel is so agile it has been known to avoid being hit for the whole battle. Its usual method of attack is surprise and it uses its agility to launch itself at its foes head, slashing savagely at the eyes.Like its real counterpart, the weasel, Sneasel includes eggs in its diet. It tends to seek out unguarded nests or to scare away bird Pokémon that inhabit them in order to steal and eat the nest's eggs. Even if the nest is located high up in a tree's branches, Sneasel can reach it by scaling the tree's trunk by punching it with its claws.
In the video games
Sneasel can be found in Route 28 and the Silver Cave in Pokémon Gold and Silver. In Pokémon Crystal, it can be found in the Ice Path. In Pokémon Colosseum it is a Shadow Pokémon and can be Snagged in The Under Subway. In Pokémon LeafGreen Sneasel is encountered in the Icefall cave.Sneasel has very good attack and speed stats. As attacks will be based if they are physical or special attacks by the attack itself in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Ice Punch, Bite, and a new Dark-type move called Shadow Claw (all of which Sneasel can use) will now be powered by attack, making them signifcantly more effective. Sneasel is weak against physical attacks (a weakness punctuated by Sneasel's low defense). Even a moderately powerful physical hit, not to mention a super-effective one, may be enough to defeat Sneasel.
Defensive or disruptive moves such as Reflect, Attract or Double Team are useful to Sneasel's survival in battle. In terms of offensive moves, physical attacks such as Slash work best. Moves like Shadow Ball and Brick Break can help broaden Sneasel's effectiveness against more elemental types. The best Dark move it does learn is Beat Up, which allows each pokemon in your party to perform one weak attack on the opponent.
In the animé
Sneasel first appeared in the fourth Pokémon movie, Celebi: Voice of the Forest, as one of the three Shadow Pokémon used by the main villain (the other two being Scizor and Tyranitar).Another one caused trouble for the Silver Conference of Johto when it blocked people access to the Sacred Fire of Ho-oh, which was needed for the festivities (compare with Olympic Flame). It was captured by a trainer from Hoenn named Harrison and subsequently used in the Conference.
Sneasel was also in the episode Hail To the Chef!
In the trading card game
Sneasel has made 5 appearances in the card game, all as Basic Dark types:- Neo Genesis
- Neo Revelation
- Aquapolis
- EX Ruby & Sapphire (as Sneasel EX)
- EX Team Rocket Returns (as Rocket’s Sneasel EX)
The Neo Genesis version of Sneasel was banned from tournament play soon after it was released due to its incredible potential for power. Its Beat Up attack requires two Dark energy, and due to the cheap cost of the attack/the damage added by the Dark Energy card's effect, ends up doing twenty for each heads of a coin flip, and the number of coins flipped match the number of Pokémon on the user’s side of the field. That way, on six successful flips of a coin, Sneasel can do 120 damage in one turn, excluding the Darkness Energy Card's special effect.
References
- The following games and their instruction manuals: Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue; Pokémon Yellow; Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2; Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal; Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald; Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen; Pokémon Colosseum and
External links
- [Official Pokémon website]
- [Bulbapedia] (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)’s article about Sneasel as a species
- *[Serebii.net]’s 3rd Gen Pokédex entry for Sneasel
- [Pokémon Dungeon] Pokédex entry, full of statistics analysis
- [PsyPoke] - Sneasel Pokédex entry and Usage Overview
- [Smogon.com] - Sneasel Tactical Data
- *[WikiKnowledge.net’s] entry for Previously hosted by Wikibooks
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