Dondozo is a giant piscine Pokémon. Its body has three colors: light blue at the top; dark blue in the middle; and white belly, upper lip, and fins. It has a pair of pectoral fins and a large tail fin surrounded by two smaller fins. On top of its head is a ring of six frills arranged in a circle; the two rightmost frills on the head are much longer and end in flat tips, while the other four are shorter and rounded. It has three gills on either side of its body. Its face has a short protrusion resembling a nose, dark blue lips, a blue tongue, a pair of long barbels above its upper lip, and five barbels on its lower jaw, with one of them being longer and curled, located just below its lower lip.
Dondozo is a heavy eater. Although powerful, Dondozo is dull and not very good at hunting, so it teams up with Tatsugiri to catch prey. The Tatsugiri would bait their prey by playing dead, and then commands Dondozo to attack. Dondozo is loyal to Tatsugiri and acts as its subordinate, protecting it inside its mouth from enemies. Basculin is among the species Dondozo preys upon.
Dondozo is the only known Pokémon capable of learning the move Order Up.
A giant Dondozo, together with a giant Tatsugiri, are together known as the False Dragon Titan, one of the Titan Pokémon found in the Paldea region.
Origin
Dondozo seems to be based on a catfish, such the wels catfish that is native to Europe and was introduced to Spain. Dondozo may also be based on a sushi chef, considering its relationship with Tatsugiri and the frills on its head which resemble a bandana or headband commonly worn as part of a sushi chef's uniform.
Dondozo may draw inspiration from the Banyoles monster, a lake monster — sometimes described as a dragon — that lives in the Lake of Banyoles in Catalonia.
Name origin
Dondozo may be a combination of don (Spanish for lord) and どうぞ dōzo (Japanese for "please (help yourself)"; typically said when offering something).
Heyrusher may be a combination of へいらっしゃい e irasshai ("Come on in"; typically said by store attendants when greeting customers) and the agentive suffix ~者 -sha.