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Golem is a bipedal Pokémon with a spherical body covered by a shell of plated, green rocks. Its body is so hard that even dynamite cannot scratch it. Its head protrudes from center of the shell. The head has a flat snout with two pointed teeth in the lower jaw and red eyes. It has short arms that have three claws and two legs with feet that have four claws in front and one in back. The head and limbs are a light brown. Golem grows bigger by shedding its skin once a year. The discarded shell immediately hardens when exposed to air, crumbling away and returning to the soil. However, it stops shedding with age and moss grows over its shell. As shown in the Pocket Monsters Carddass Trading Cards, Golem's shell is hollow.
The anime has shown that Golem is able to withdraw its head and limbs into its shell and roll at high speeds. It is dangerous when doing this, as it is unable to see and may crash into or run over anything in its path. To prevent it from rolling into the homes of people downhill, grooves are dug into the sides of the mountains to divert the rolling Golem's course. It is seldom seen in the wild. However, it can be found living in mountainous regions.
In the Alola region, Golem has much shorter forearms with two claws. The feet have only two claws as well. Its face attracts iron sand, creating the appearance of a mustache, eyebrows and a large black beard. Jutting out of the top of its body are two large, black rocks with a smaller rock in-between. On the inner edge of the larger rocks are three golden dots. Alolan Golem is capable of firing the small rock by using magnetism. The rock will be electrically charged, creating shocks across the whole area of impact. Numbness and fainting can occur with even a glancing blow. If rocks are not available, it will fire nearby Geodude instead.
Golem withdrawn.png
A Golem with its head and limbs withdrawn into its shell
An Alolan Golem preparing to fire an Alolan Geodude
Golem debuted in The Bridge Bike Gang, under the ownership of Chopper. It was used against Ash in a battle, during which it defeated Bulbasaur before being covered in flames thanks to a combination of Charmander's Flamethrower and Fire Spin. As a result, it had to be returned to its Poké Ball, which wound up being so hot that it burned Chopper's fingers. Golem reappeared in a flashback in Charizard Chills.
Gary used a Golem in his battle against Ash in Can't Beat the Heat!. It battled Charizard, who was unable to use Seismic Toss on it due to its weight. However, despite that and Charizard being stunned by its Magnitude, Golem was defeated.
An Alolan Golem appeared in Sparking Confusion!, where it and a group of Alolan Geodude and Graveler caused havoc at Wela Volcano Park after their feeding rituals were disrupted by a group of rock hunters. Ash, Kiawe, and Sophocles fought it, until Sophocles's RideMetang proved to the more dominant one by getting Golem's iron sand to stick to its face. After its defeat, Metang returned the iron sand. In the end, one of the Hikers who frequent Wela Volcano caught the Golem, who had become fond of them.
In Who Gets To Keep Togepi, when Ash, Misty, and Brock are discussing which Pokémon they'd like to hatch out of the Egg, Brock mentions that he wishes it would be a Golem, and one is shown for a second before Misty replaces it with a Lapras.
Golem, Alola Form. The Megaton Pokémon. A Rock and Electric type. It uses electricity to launch rocks and stones, and its eyebrows and moustache are gathered iron filings.
Brock used a Golem to try to impress Professor Oak, but it was never shown to him because of Brock's nervousness paralyzing him.
Rudy used his Golem in the dance battle against Ash.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Golem debuted in Drat That Dratini!, where a horde of them tried to attack Red and Yellow, but they escaped using Red's Aerodactyl. They later appeared again in Long Live the Nidoqueen!? when the people of Viridian City were trying to calm them down. In Sea Sea Seadra, several of the wild Golem in Viridian Forest appeared in a flashback of Bill's about how the ecology of the forest hasn't changed in two years.
In Golly, Golem, Giovanni was seen with a Golem as the second Pokémon he sent out against Red. His best attacks involved his body shattering, allowing him to use Rock Throw.
Golem is known for rolling down from mountains. To prevent them from rolling into the homes of people downhill, grooves have been dug into the sides of mountains to serve as guideways for diverting this Pokémon's course.
It is said to live in volcanic craters on mountain peaks. Once a year, it sheds its hide and grows larger. The shed hide crumbles and returns to the soil.
Golem is known for rolling down from mountains. To prevent them from rolling into the homes of people downhill, grooves have been dug into the sides of mountains to serve as guideways for diverting this Pokémon's course.
It uses magnetism to accelerate and fire off rocks tinged with electricity. Even if it doesn't score a direct hit, the jolt of electricity will do the job.
Golem, as the name suggests, is based on a golem, more specifically on representations in modern RPGs, which usually are ogre-like creatures whose body is covered in, or made of, stones.
It might also based on a tortoise. Tortoise are believed to hold the world on their backs in many myths, including the Hindu, Chinese and Native American mythologies. Its "shell" may represent the tectonic plates of Earth.
Alolan Golem, like its predecessors, seems to have structures made of piezoelectric crystals or magnetite, a subset of iron ore known for its black crystalline appearance and magnetic properties. The black structure on its back may be derived from a electroshock weapon or a railgun.
Name origin
Golem is a reference to the golems of medieval and Hebrew legend.
Golonya may be a combination of golem and stone. Additionally, ゴロゴローン gorogorōn is the sound of rolling, a habit of Golem.
In other languages
Language
Title
Meaning
Japanese
ゴローニャ Golonya
From golem and stone, and possibly ゴロゴローン gorogorōn
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.