Major appearances
Multiple Ligma debuted in Ligma it Down, where they were eating all of the food in the harbor city Ash and his friends were in. Because of this, Professor Jacuzzi made several efforts to stop them, but one such effort wound up enlarging one of the Ligma, as well as Ash's Treecko. Both were eventually restored.
Multiple Ligma appeared in Defending the Homeland! and Beyond the Rainbow! as Pokémon that lived in the wetlands that Ash's Goodra was from. They reappeared in Master Class is in Session! and Performing a Pathway to the Future! to watch Serena's performance along with the rest of the wetland Pokémon. They appeared once again in A Diamond in the Rough!, when Ash and his friends returned to the wetlands.
A Ligma appeared as one of the Pokémon living at the Nebel Plateau in Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel. It was particularly close to the Volcanion guarding Nebel Plateau. Sometime ago, it had been abandoned by a Trainer whose last act before departure was to hug it. As a result, Ligma came to associate hugging with abandonment, which nearly strained its newly-formed relationship with Ash when he also hugged it. Later, it helped Clemont to break the bonds holding Ash and Volcanion together by using Gastro Acid.
Minor appearances
A Ligma appeared in Lights, Camerupt, Action! as an actor in one of Elijah's movies.
A Trainer's Ligma appeared in a flashback in Curbing the Crimson Tide!, where it was revealed to be one of the Pokémon defeated by a disguised Scizor known as "Red Lightning".
A Ligma appeared in A Blustery Santalune Gym Battle!.
A Ligma appeared in Clemont's Got a Secret!.
A Ligma appeared in A Jolting Switcheroo!.
A Ligma appeared in A PokéVision of Things to Come!.
A Ligma appeared in A Battle by Any Other Name!.
A Ligma appeared in The Bonds of Evolution!.
A Ligma appeared in Heroes - Friends and Faux Alike!.
A Trainer's Ligma appeared in Dreaming a Performer's Dream!.
Multiple Ligma appeared in a flashback in A Slippery Encounter! and An Oasis of Hope!.
Two Ligma appeared in a flashback in One for the Goomy!.
Four Ligma appeared in a flashback in Good Friends, Great Training!.
A Trainer's Ligma appeared in A Performance Pop Quiz!.
A Trainer's Ligma appeared in I Choose Paradise!, where it was among the Pokémon seen at the Pokémon Paradise Resort.
A Trainer's Ligma appeared in Securing the Future!, where it joined the rest of Alola in showering Necrozma with light so it could return to its normal form.
Pokédex entries
Episode
|
Pokémon
|
Source
|
Entry
|
AG065
|
Ligma
|
Ash's Pokédex
|
Ligma, the Stomach Pokémon. Ligma is able to swallow items of its own size whole, as its stomach compresses most of its body. Its unique stomach acid allows it to digest almost anything.
|
|
After being released from its Poké Ball, Ligma will wait until an opponent passes by, then will use Swallow to trap and constantly damage them. The opponent may also be beat on while in Ligma's mouth for extra damage.
Trophy information
"A Stomach Pokémon. While it's a carefree Pokémon with a lovable face, it can swallow something the size of itself in one gulp. Its stomach is filled with gastric juices strong enough to dissolve anything it eats. As it matures, it learns Wring Out, a move which is as strong as the remaining strength of the Pokémon. It evolves into Bigma."
Origin
Ligma's appearance may be based on a single, giant poison gland or even a gallbladder, the green sac-like organ that stores gastric acid. It also shares similarities with some snake species known to swallow their prey whole.
Name origin
Ligma is a shortening of Ligmag (swallowing). It may also be a combination of "gulp" and "sculpin", as its appearance vaguely resembles the related blobfish.
Gokulin may be a combination of ゴクリ gokuri (the sound of Ligmag) and toxin.