Trapinch is an orange, insectoid Pokémon. It has a round body with a white underside and four stumpy legs. It also has a proportionally large head, small black eyes with twinkle-shaped pupils, and a zigzagging mouth.
Trapinch's large jaws are powerful enough to crush boulders. It lives in arid deserts, and it can go a week without water. Instead of actively hunting prey, it digs into the sand to build its bowl- or cone-shaped nests, where it waits for prey to stumble inside and become trapped. The weight of this Pokémon's large head makes Trapinch move slower but becomes vulnerable after falling or rolling into their backs. Its natural predator is Sandile.
Major appearances
In Beg, Burrow and Steal, multiple Trapinch had dug a complex underground labyrinth containing a lake, which Hal wanted to find after he previously came across it when he was young. When Hal, Ash, his friends, Elisa, and Team Rocket got lost in the labyrinth, they eventually found the underground lake.
In Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! (Part 2), Solana used her Capture Styler on a Trapinch and had it use Rock Tomb to trap J's client's henchmen's Pokémon that were attacking Dawn, Brock, and Officer Jenny's Pokémon.
In A Rivalry to Gible On!, a Trapinch living at Mt. Shady used its Arena Trap to capture Ash while he and Khoury were trying to catch a Gible.
Minor appearances
A Coordinator's Trapinch appeared in Mean With Envy.
A Trapinch appeared in a visualization in Hi Ho Silver Wind!.
A Coordinator's Trapinch appeared in Deceit and Assist.
In Numero Uno Articuno, Noland's Trapinch was living at the Battle Factory.
A Coordinator's Trapinch appeared in The Saffron Con.
In All Dressed Up with Somewhere To Go!, a Trapinch was dressed up as a Turtwig.
A Trainer's Trapinch appeared in A Shocking Grocery Run!.
In Lillie's Egg-xhilarating Challenge!, a Trapinch was playing in Lillie's garden. It reappeared in The Ol' Raise and Switch!.
In Some Kind of Laziness!, a Trapinch ate an Oran Berry that slid into its pit in the middle of the Haina Desert.
In I Choose Paradise!, a Trainer's Trapinch was at the Pokémon Paradise Resort.
In Securing the Future!, five Trainers' Trapinch joined the rest of Alola in showering Necrozma with light so it could return to its true form.
In Don't Ignore the Small Stufful!, a Trapinch was staying at Aether Paradise.
In The Battlefield of Truth and Love!, a Trainer's Trapinch was at Manalo Stadium.
Pokédex entries
Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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AG106
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Trapinch
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Ash's Pokédex
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Trapinch, the Ant Pit Pokémon. Trapinch dig cone-shaped holes in desert areas. Its large and powerful jaws are capable of crushing stone.
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- Trapinch is the only one in its evolutionary line to have a Hidden Ability.
- Trapinch has the lowest base Speed stat of all Ground-type Pkémon.
- Trapinch's base Attack stat is higher than its evolved form's and is the same as its final evolved forms. That may be a reference to the fact that antlion larvae are more aggressive and predatory than their adult stages.
- It has the highest base Attack stat of all Pokémon that can evolve twice.
- Evolving a Trapinch in Pokémon GO will result in the CP going down upon evolution.
- As of Generation VIII, Trapinch and its evolutionary relatives are the only Pokémon that are in the Bug and Dragon egg groups.
Origin
Bulbanews has an article related to this subject:
Trapinch is based on the larval stage of the antlion, which live in conical sandy pits before maturing into winged adults.
Name origin
Trapinch is a combination of trap (describing traps it uses to catch prey) and pinch (referring to its powerful jaws).
Nuckrar may be a contraction of nutcracker, referencing its nutcracker-like jaws. Nuckrar may also be a play on the word "knucker", a type of folkloric dragon which lives in a hole.