Mareanie's spiky ecology and predatory behavior
Mareanie is a Pokémon with a purple, stalk-like body and head. It has blue eyes with yellow pupils and sclerae, and three pointed teeth. The body consists of two sections; the top section is slightly smaller and overlaps the lower. On top of its head is a starfish-like collection of ten tentacles. All of the tentacles reach the ground, except for the one directly in front, which is shorter and leaves its face exposed. The tentacles are light blue and covered in purple spines. On top of its head is a purple area with a collection of spikes with a larger, yellow spine in the center.
Mareanie is able to regenerate any body part overnight, except its head. The lost limbs have a very bitter, astringent flavor, and thus they cannot be eaten as food. Bruxish feeds on Mareanie, which in turn eats the branches of Corsola — except in Galar, where it has not yet learned to prey on them. Mareanie also eats broken-off Pincurchin spines, despite the risk of getting electrocuted. It uses the spike on top of its head to poison its prey and uses its tentacles to either trap its prey or deal the final blow. In the Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon episode, The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!, it is seen attaching itself with all of its tentacles and releasing poison through its spines. The poison causes numbness and intense itching. Mareanie live in groups and are found in beaches and the bottom of oceans.
Mareanie and its evolution, Toxapex, are the only known Pokémon that can have Merciless as an Ability.
Evolution
Mareanie evolves into Toxapex.
(For specifics on this Pokémon's Evolution in the games, refer to Game data→Evolution data.)
Differently colored Mareanie in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon
Major appearances
A female Mareanie debuted in The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!, where she was caught by James. She has a very strong affection for James.
Other
A differently colored Mareanie appeared in Fighting Back the Tears!, where he evolved into a Toxapex. He used to have a crush on James's Mareanie. This one has purple tentacles, and green irises, which gives it a slight resemblance to James.
Minor appearances
Multiple Mareanie debuted in The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!, where they scared off a group of Corsola that Ash was hoping to catch. Kiawe warned Ash that they were dangerous, causing them to flee.
Pokédex entries
Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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SM012
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Mareanie
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Rotom Pokédex
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Mareanie, the Brutal Star Pokémon. A Poison and Water type. Their head spikes are poisonous and when they attack, they turn upside down and trap prey with their 10 legs.
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- When encountered in an SOS Battle as an ally called by Corsola, Mareanie will attack the wild Corsola instead of attacking the player's Pokémon.
Origin
Mareanie appears to be based on a crown-of-thorns starfish, a venomous starfish that preys on coral polyps (similar to how Mareanie preys on Corsola). The pointy top of its head appears to be based on a crown. The lighter colors of its Shiny variant, in comparison to its normal colors, may reference how juvenile crown-of-thorns starfish have brightly-colored bodies that darken as they age.
Name origin
Mareanie may be a combination of marine and meanie.
Hidoide may be a combination of 酷い hidoi (cruel) and 海星 hitode (sea star).