Physiology
Grimer is a purple pile of poisonous sludge. It has saucer-like eyes and a gray mouth. Grimer may be distantly related to Koffing, another Pokémon that is associated with pollution.
Gender differences
None.
Special abilities
Grimer emits a very pungent, noisome odor due to the billions of malodorous bacteria contained within its sludge. Since Grimer's body lacks a solid form, it can slip through the smallest of openings. Grimer's germ-infested entrails can also cause the ground that it passes over to be unable to bear any plant life.
As far as Grimer's skills in battle are concerned, Grimer mainly attacks by flinging poisonous Sludge (or mud) at its foes. Grimer can also wield fire, electricity, and various Template:Type2 attacks. Grimer is part of one of the four Pokémon evolutionary lines that can use Gunk Shot.
Behavior
As it moves, it loses bits of its body from which new Grimer emerge. This is said to worsen the stench around it.
Habitat
Grimer thrive anywhere there is pollution, like in very murky water and drains for example. They are most common in Kanto and Hoenn, but sightings have been recorded in Sinnoh.
Diet
- Main article: Pokémon food
Grimer tend to feed on sludge, sewage, and other filthy things.
Major appearances
Ash and co. first encountered Grimer in Sparks Fly for Magnemite. A Muk and a large group of angry Grimer were gumming up the turbines in the power plant in Gringey City causing a city-wide power loss.
Dawn temporarily trained a Grimer in Camping It Up!.
Minor appearances
In Pokémon Scent-sation!, Celadon City Gym Leader Erika told a story about when she was a youngster, she got lost one day and ran into a Grimer. However, a Gloom chased the Grimer off and saved her.
Pokédex entries
Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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DP088
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Grimer
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Dawn's Pokédex
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Grimer, the Sludge Pokémon. It was born when sludge in a dirty stream was exposed to X-rays from the moon.
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Koga wears a Grimer on his shoulder in the form of a ninja outfit in Pokémon Adventures. He used it extensively to smother Blue, preventing him from breathing and restrict his movement so that he would be unable to call on his Pokémon. He again used it in the battle with the evil Elite Four Agatha, to little effect.
His daughter, Janine, is later seen with a Grimer. She uses it against Falkner during the Gym Leader faceoff, using its Minimize attack to outwit his Noctowl.
- Grimer and Gastly are the only Pokémon who don't change weight during evolution.
- In Sparks Fly for Magnemite, Grimer's anime debut, Grimer had a very strong odor that made most people around the Grimer to cover their noses from the smell. However, in recent episodes, Grimer's smell has seemingly ceased to exist. This is most obvious in Camping It Up! where Dawn is given a Grimer to train, and it immediately hugs her, but no one complains about any smell.
- In the recent 3D games, Grimer is black instead of purple.
- Grimer is the only Pokémon to learn Shadow Punch through breeding. Coincidentally, Grimer and Muk are the only non-Template:Type2 Pokémon to learn this move.
- In all of its Pokédex entries, it says how gross or dirty Grimer is. It shares this quality with Magikarp, whose Pokédex entries all tell how weak it is.
Origin
It appears to be a pile of living sludge. Grimer may also be based on the imagined fear that heavy pollution, caused by the leakage and/or improper disposal of toxic/radioactive waste, may result in the creation of new and undesirable life.
Name origin
Grimer's name seems to be a corruption of grime, dirt. Its Japanese name may be derived from べとべと betobeto and べたべた betabeta, both meaning sticky.