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Purugly is a rotund gray and white feline Pokémon with a crescent-shaped head. Its ears are pointed and tipped purple. It has whiskers with a zigzag-like pattern at the end of them. The frilly portion of its spiraling tail is forked, but it usually keeps it clasped around its waist, which makes it appear less fat. Despite appearing very sluggish, Purugly will not be reluctant to attack if angered and can be quite fast.
Purugly attempts to make itself look larger and more intimidating by cinching its waist with its forked tail. It barges into the nests of other Pokémon and frightens them off so Purugly can claim the nest as its own. It can be found in both urban areas and heavily wooded forests.
In For The Love Of Meowth!, Mamie's Purugly evolved from a Glameow after it was hurt by James's Carnivine's Bullet Seed. Meowth had been attracted to Purugly as a Glameow, but once it evolved and had a sudden personality change, Meowth lost all interest in it.
Purugly, the Tiger Cat Pokémon, and the evolved form of Glameow. By rounding its tail around itself, it can appear to be bigger, and when locking eyes with another, it can stare forever.
A Purugly appeared in The Rival under the ownership of Mars. She used it in a battle against Lucas and his Infernape at the Spear Pillar, but was quickly defeated.
A Purugly appeared in Belligerent Bronzor, under the ownership of Mars. While bulky, Purugly is a powerful battler that aided her escape from the Valley Windworks. Mars later calls upon Purugly to battle Diamond, defeating the DrifblimFantina entrusted to him.
Purugly appears as one of Mars's Pokémon in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!. In The Mystery Boy, Jun!!, it was sent out to fight Hareta and Jun. Purugly had the upper hand when it cut the power to the Valley Windworks, but Hareta's Shinx solved the problem by restoring power with its Spark. It later battled, and was quickly defeated by, Deoxys.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity: Purugly appears as one of the chief commanders of Munna's gang that was enlisted by Kyurem to help eliminate any humans that came to the Pokémon world to stop the Bittercold. At the Glacier Palace, she gets together a group of Excadrill as part of helping to ward off the player, partner, and their teammates.
Spoilers end here.
Pokédex entries
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation IV.
Purugly is based on a wild tiger cat, though its appearance is closer to an overweight tabby cat. It may also be based on the nekomata, a type of cat-based yōkai. The way it binds its stomach with its tail is similar to a corset.
Name origin
Purugly is a combination of purr and ugly. It may also be a play on "pure ugly".
Bunyatto may be a combination of デブ debu (fat), ニャー nyā (the sound a cat makes), and cat. Bu may also derive from 不細工 busaiku (ugly).
In other languages
Language
Title
Meaning
Japanese
ブニャット Bunyatto
From デブ debu (fat), ニャー nyā (the sound a cat makes), and cat. Bu may also derive from 不細工 busaiku (ugly)
東施 comes from the idiom東施效顰 Dōngshī xiào pín. Its origin is about an ugly woman, who later earned the nickname "東施" for attempting to imitate 西施 Xī Shī, an extremely beautiful woman. 喵 is the onomatopoetic sound of a cat.
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.