Raticate is a large, rodent-like Pokémon. Although it is often depicted on its hind legs, it is a quadruped. It is primarily tawny-colored with a cream underside. It has narrow black eyes, ears with ragged edges and dark insides, and large incisors that grow constantly. There are three whiskers on each side of its face, . It has short arms with three-fingered hands and webbed feet with three toes. Its tail is long and scaly. Females have shorter whiskers.
Raticate uses its whiskers to maintain balance, so it slows down if they're cut off. It does not like having its whiskers touched, so it will bite people who do regardless of how friendly they are, and may even bite off someone's hand if provoked enough. Its feet's webbing act as flippers, allowing it to swim in rivers and even oceans to hunt for food. If attacked, Raticate stands up on its hind legs, bares its fangs, and shrieks to intimidate its enemy. Like Rattata, its teeth are strong enough to gnaw through steel and constantly grow, so it often needs to gnaw on something, like rocks and logs, to pare them down. It may even chew on the walls of houses, and is capable of chewing through cinderblocks and toppling concrete buildings. It typically lives in plains and savannas. As shown in Pokémon Sleep, Raticate is known to sleep with a log in its teeth, gnawing at it in the process. Even asleep, it grinds its teeth to trim them, but it may end up sometimes gnawing on trees if this isn't sufficient.[1]
In the Alolaregion, Raticate has mostly black fur with a brown, leaf-shaped patch on its belly and brown inside its ears. Its hands, feet, cheeks, and tail are a whitish-cream color, and its hands are much smaller. It has large, puffy cheeks with four whiskers under its chin and two sprouting sideways from the top of each cheek. Its large incisors are still visible, but its eyes are now red.
Raticate and Rattata are not native to Alola, having been brought to the region via cargo ships. Their populations grew drastically until Yungoos and Gumshoos were imported as a control measure.[2][3] It is also said that Raticate swam to Alola to escape its enemies. Alolan Raticate is heavier and darker than its Kantonian counterpart due to its urban environment and higher calorie diet. Its prefered kind of food is fresh fruits and high-class ingredients, so restaurants earn a good reputation by making use of its taste buds and having it try different dishes and select the right ingredients while shopping. It uses its nest as a food stockpile, and generally prefers to have the Alolan Rattata it commands to go out and forage for food while it remains in its nest and eats.[4] Each Alolan Raticate has its own territory, and disputes between them over food and feeding grounds happen frequently. It and Alolan Rattata are Gumshoos' favorite prey, but as they are active at different times of they day, they rarely encounter each other.
Gnaws on anything with its tough fangs. It can even topple concrete buildings by gnawing on them. (Pokémon Red, Silver, or Crystal inserted) Its whiskers help it to maintain balance. Its fangs never stop growing, so it gnaws to pare them down. (Pokémon Blue, Gold, or Yellow inserted)
Its sturdy fangs grow steadily, so it grinds its teeth even in its sleep to keep them trimmed. But this may not always be enough—Raticate apparently also gnaws on trees in its sleep sometimes.
Rattata and its evolved form, Raticate. The Mouse Pokémon. A Dark and Normal-type. When they band together, they steal food from people's homes. Long ago, they came here to the Alolan islands aboard cargo ships, and eventually grew into the Pokémon we see today. The numbers of Rattata and Raticate eventually grew so large that Yungoos and Gumshoos were brought in from a different region to chase them off.
Raticate is the only Pokémon that shares its National Pokédex number with the level at which it evolves from its pre-evolved form, although this is likely a coincidence.
Of all the Totem Pokémon that can be battled in Alola, Totem Raticate is one of the only two Totem Pokémon that is battled in only one game out of the two versions — in this case, Moon and Ultra Moon. The other is Totem Gumshoos.
During the cutscene before Totem Raticate's battle, it uses Gumshoos's cry instead of its own.
Raticate appears to be based on a rat, with inspiration from several other types of rodents. Its webbed feet are a trait of semi-aquatic rodents such as a muskrat or a coypu, its prominent and exposed incisors may be inspired by blesmols, and its scruffy ears are similar to a guinea pig.
Alolan Raticate appears to be based on the black rat, brown rat, or Polynesian rat, all of which are invasive species in Hawaii. Their attacks on sugar cane fields caused the locals to import the small Indian mongoose into Hawaii as a form of pest control, explaining the relationship between Yungoos/Gumshoos and Rattata/Raticate. Its gluttonous behavior, ability to command groups of Rattata to steal, and hostile relationship with the detective-inspired Gumshoos are reminiscent of a stereotypical crime boss. It has cheek pouches similar to chipmunks and hamsters.
Name origin
Raticate may be a combination of rat and eradicate (to destroy or exterminate) or masticate (to chew).
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.
Berry (100%)
Oran Berry (50%)
Sitrus Berry (5%)
Chilan Berry (5%)
Pecha Berry (5%)
For other sprites and images, please see Raticate images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
Red and Green art
Red and Blue art
Key art
