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Spiritomb resembles a swirling, purple vortex with green, varrying in size orbs of light circling the face. It has a green mouth with a crooked expression and two green eyes shaped like half-crescents. One of the eyes has a spiral-shaped pupil. Spiritomb is attached to a light-brown stone, the Odd Keystone, in which it was trapped after doing bad deeds 500 years ago. It is apparently composed of 108 separate, yet bound-together, malevolent spirits.
Spiritomb are thought to be evil Pokémon. They tend to go on destructive rampages like Gyarados. It is said to act as a hive-mind, with all of the souls that comprise it acting in unison towards the same goal.
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Spiritomb is the second out of two Pokémon in National Pokédex order to have no weakness. (Excluding when under the effects of Odor Sleuth or Foresight) The first is Sableye.
Due to this, and the fact that Spiritomb has higher stats than Sableye, it is common for hackers to make a Spiritomb with Wonder Guard.
Spiritomb has been shown levitating, but cannot have the ability.
In Pokémon Diamond, Spiritomb's entry states that it was formed from 108 spirits, Spiritomb's number in the Sinnoh Pokédex is 108, its Defense and Special Defense base values are 108, and it weighs exactly 108.0 kilograms. It also explicitly states this in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, when it shouts "We are SPIRITOMB! We are made from a fusion of spirits! One hundred and EIGHT of them!" This is based on the number of temptations a person must overcome to reach nirvana in the Buddist religion, implying that Spiritomb couldn't resist the temptations, so was bound to a stone.
Spiritomb is based on a Jibakurei, a spirit bound to a single place. It also based on a Buddhist tradition performed on New Year's Eve in Japan. A bell is rung 108 times to chase away the 108 temptations in order to achieve nirvana.
Similarly, the provenance of Spiritomb probably arises from the Chinese novel, Water Margin, whose opening chapter begins with the release of 108 spirits. This draws heavy parallels with the release of Spiritomb, comprised of 108 spirits according to the Pokédex, from the Odd Keystone.
Name origin
Spiritomb's name is derived from spirit and tomb. Its Japanese name may come from 甕 mika, meaning jar or urn, referring to it being a container of souls; and 軽石 karuishi, pumice, or 御影石 mikageishi, granite, referring to its base, the Odd Keystone. Spiritomb could also be based on 'The Elemental,' an indescribable primitive ghost that lives in Irish Mythology.
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.