Spidops hanging upside-down using a thread secreted from its abdomen
Spidops is an arachnoid Pokémon resembling a net-casting spider. It has eight long, slender, cylindrical legs, bunched together into pairs to evoke a humanoid stance. All eight feet possess white circular ports that serve as spinnerets, which Spidops can use to string silk tripwires and nets. Spidops can alternate at will between separating its legs or clustering them together for a quadrupedal crawl. These pairs of legs converge upon spherical joints nestled within the sides of its body, two positioned like shoulders near its head and two beside the ring-shaped intersection dividing its chest and abdomen.
Spidops's body is mostly beige brown, with pine green colorations on its face, forelimbs, and chest — the latter patterned to resemble a vest or overalls. Its ovular head is adorned with two large black eyes with squinted white pupils, along with four eye-like protrusions on either side. It also has rhombus-shaped pedipalps protruding from its sides to evoke a mustache, and two chelicerae bunched together to form a shield shape, which hides a circular mouth. Spidops's abdomen is cylindrical and cloaked in bands of its white silk to resemble a spool of yarn, ending at the tip with a flat conical peg containing its ninth spinneret.
Spidops is a covert ambush predator that utilizes its sticky and resilient silk threads to cling upon any surface and move without making a sound. It spins a silk thread from the spinneret on its abdomen, which it uses to hang upside-down from tall places. It then spins a net between its top four legs which it uses to smother its prey, striking before the prey has time to react. It prefers sticking onto the sides of trees, and strings its territory with silken hazards to trap intruders. It actively spars against its rival, Scyther, to maintain its ground and ensure the safety of its Tarountula young.
Spidops made its debut in HZ040. It was first seen attacking a group of Sprigatito in a flashback, only to be stopped by Liko's Sprigatito, who managed to free its friends, but accidentally hurt them by doing so. In the present, it attacked Liko's Hatenna and Terapagos and was once again defeated by her Sprigatito—this time, dealing damage only to Spidops with her newly-learned Magical Leaf.
Spidops shares its category with Stunfisk. They are both known as the Trap Pokémon.
Spidops is the only Pokémon with a base stat total of 404.
Origin
Spidops may be based on the ogre-faced spider or related members of the Deinopidae family (also known as net-casting spiders), who are known to hold their legs together in pairs and cast nets. Its segmented wooden-like body and association with strings may derive cues from marionettes, and the string wrapped around its abdomen resembles a spool of thread. The way it weaves its thread traps seems to be inspired by cat's cradle, a game of making figures using a loop of string held between the player's hands.
Spidops also seems to draw inspiration from special operations forces, as well as popular media depictions of secret agents. Its appearance seems to be inspired by the tactical gear of special ops forces: its eyes resemble ballistic eyewear or night-vision goggles, and its chest plating resembles a bulletproof vest — which can utilize the elasticity of spider silk as a protective material. Spidops's standard color palette seems to allude to military camouflage while Shiny Spidops utilizes red silk that make its webs evoke infrared lasers, deployed both for alarm-based traps and securing aim on mobile targets. Spidops being able to hang upside-down using its thread evokes the trope of secret agents using cables to hang from ceilings, although it is also a behavior showcased by real-life spiders.
Spidops may also draw inspiration from the Tsuchigumo, a race of spider-like yōkai in Japanese folklore. The Tsuchigumo were said to have the face of an oni (a creature commonly equated to ogres in English translations) and the body of a spider, and were known to disguise themselves and capture travelers with strings.
Name origin
Spidops may be a combination of spider, spy, ops (abbreviation of "operations"), and Deinopis (genus of the ogre-faced spider).
Wanaider may be a combination of 罠 wana (trap), spider, and Schneider (German for "tailor" and "long-legged arachnid").
For other sprites and images, please see Spidops images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
