Hoothoot is a round, owl-like bird with two stubby wings and a short, fan-shaped tail. It has large red eyes with beady pupils, which aid its incredible night vision. Its feathers are mostly brown with a beige underbelly. Hoothoot has a large black, mask-like crest, which encircles both eyes and covers the face. The crest features two protrusions at the top resembling the hands of a clock, while the lower parts have notches similar to the teeth of clockwork gear. Hoothoot has a small, hooked beak and two feet with five clawed digits. Although it will typically only stand on one foot at a time, it alternates between the two at speeds too difficult to track with the naked eye.
Hoothoot hoots at exactly the same time each day because of a special organ that senses Earth's rotation, allowing it to keep track of time. Hoothoot is well known for its ability to keep rhythm by precisely tilting its head in time, much like a metronome. As a result, Hoothoot was considered a divine messenger of time and was raised to serve as clocks across communities a long time ago. Hoothoot is most commonly found nesting in forest trees.
Major appearances
Multiple Hoothoot made their main series debut in Illusion Confusion!, under the ownership of Hagatha and Nagatha. The two rented their Hoothoot to Trainers, including Gary Oak, so they can get through a haunted forest.
Falkner, the Gym Leader of Violet City, has a Hoothoot, which debuted in Fighting Flyer with Fire when he used it in his Gym battle against Ash. It defeated Chikorita with ease before being defeated by Pikachu. It reappeared in a flashback in Why? Wynaut!. It was sometimes seen outside of its Poké Ball.
Wings Alexander used to have a Hoothoot before it evolved, as seen in a flashback in Throwing in the Noctowl.
A Hoothoot appeared in A Staravia is Born!, where it teamed up with Ash's Starly to hypnotize Meowth into helping the other Flying-type Pokémon escape. It was later seen flying away with the other Flying-type Pokémon, waving goodbye to Ash's newly-evolved Staravia in the process.
A Hoothoot appeared in Pikachu and the Pokémon Music Squad. It was one of the Pokémon living in a forest.
Minor appearances
Hoothoot debuted in Pikachu's Rescue Adventure.
A Hoothoot briefly appeared in Mild 'n Wooly, where it was seen getting blown across the screen by the approaching storm.
A Hoothoot appeared in Tricks of the Trade as one of the Pokémon seen at the Pokémon Swap Meet in Palmpona.
A Hoothoot appeared in Pikachu and Pichu as a resident of Big Town.
A Hoothoot appeared in Celebi: The Voice of the Forest.
Two Hoothoot appeared in The Legend of Thunder!. One was standing in the hollow of a tree outside the Pokémon Center, while the other one was inside the Center with its Trainer.
A Hoothoot appeared in A Bite to Remember.
A Hoothoot appeared in Gonna Rule The School!, under the ownership of the Pokémon Trainers' School.
A Hoothoot appeared in Less is Morrison.
A Coordinator's Hoothoot appeared in Spontaneous Combusken!, where it was seen participating in the Chrysanthemum Contest.
A Hoothoot chased Team Rocket while they were searching for Ho-Oh in some underground ruins in Battling the Enemy Within!.
Two Hoothoot appeared in Dawn of a New Era!.
Multiple Hoothoot made a brief appearance in Coming Full-Festival Circle!. They were among the Pokémon listening to Nando as he played his music.
A Hoothoot appeared in Zoroark: Master of Illusions.
A Hoothoot made a brief appearance in Memories are Made of Bliss!.
A Hoothoot appeared in Mewtwo — Prologue to Awakening.
A Hoothoot appeared in The Dream Continues!.
A Hoothoot appeared in SS027.
A Hoothoot appeared in a flashback or a fantasy in The Forest Champion!.
A Hoothoot appeared in A Fashionable Battle!.
A Trainer's Hoothoot appeared in A Giga Battle with Mega Results!.
A Hoothoot appeared in A Watershed Moment! in a flashback.
Multiple Hoothoot appeared in The Power Of Us.
Pokédex entries
Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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EP121
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Hoothoot
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Ash's Pokédex
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Hoothoot, the Owl Pokémon. Hoothoot stands on one leg, but uses both its powerful eyes to see clearly even through the darkest night.
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In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Hoothoot debuted in The Legend. Two were seen hanging under some tree branches when Green had finished her message to Silver in Johto.
In Murkrow Row, a Hoothoot is seen flying at night while Gold was playing cue balls in his room. It was later seen again when Gold asks Joey if he recorded the DJ Mary's song.
Hoothoot was used by a trickster in Who Gives a Hoothoot?. He claimed to use Hoothoot as an accurate timekeeper to regulate a prize-winning game he was hosting, when in fact he was prompting Hoothoot to declare the time limit whenever a participant was on the verge of winning, thus preventing anyone from winning his game. He was busted however, by Gold and his Aipom. The same man and his Hoothoot are seen in Really Raikou & Entirely Entei I and The Last Battle XIII.
Two Hoothoot were seen at night near the forest Gold was sleeping in, in Gilgar Glide.
Crystal mentioned that she caught a Hoothoot on her way to Professor Elm's Lab in Three Cheers for Chikorita.
A Hoothoot appeared in The Last Battle XIII as one of the Pokémon sent to participate in the fight in Ilex Forest.
A Hoothoot appeared in Out-Odding Oddish, under the ownership of a Pokéathlon participant.
Pokédex entries
In the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga
In The Golden Boys, Hoothoot is one of the Pokémon owned by Chris. She uses it as a lookout, helping her see where things are in the distance.
In the Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All manga
Shū has a Hoothoot in the Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All manga.
- In Fighting Flyer with Fire, Falkner's Hoothoot stands on both legs, even though Hoothoot supposedly only ever stands on one leg at a time.
- In Nintendo Power Vol. 134, Ken Sugimori stated in an interview that Hoothoot is his favorite Pokémon because he had a pet bird as a child that would stand on one foot.[1]
- Hoothoot has a unique fade-in animation that is programmed into Pokémon Gold and Silver but goes unused.
Origin
Hoothoot seems to be based on a combination of an owl—more specifically the Eagle Owl—and a clock, as its crest's prongs are shaped like the hands of a clock; in addition, it has the ability to keep track of time.
Name origin
Hoothoot is derived from hoot, an onomatopoeia for the sound an owl makes. It may also be a combination of hoot and cuckoo, as in a Cuckoo clock, referring to Hoothoot's keen ability to keep track of time.
Hoho is derived from hoo, another onomatopoeia for the sound an owl makes.