Deoxys

Deoxys
File:Deoxys Normal.png National Pokédex Jirachi - Deoxys (#386) - None Hoenn Pokédex Jirachi - Deoxys (#202) - None
Japanese name	デオキシス (Deokishisu)
Evolves from	None
Evolves into	None
Generation	Third
Species	DNA Pokémon
Type	Psychic
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight	134.0 pounds (60.8 kg)
Ability	Pressure

Deoxys (デオキシス, Deokishisu) is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise. It is known as a promotional secret Pokémon because of its extreme rarity and extremely high stats in the games. It belongs to the Psychic type, a generally strong element that plays a role in most Pokémon battles.

Deoxys was introduced in the video games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire for Game Boy Advance and occupies the last place in the National Pokédex (#386) and place #202 in the Hoenn Regional Pokédex. However it was not 'catchable' until the release of the FireRed/LeafGreen games.

Deoxys is also one of the few Pokémon to have its own musical theme, and it is prevalent throughout the seventh Pokémon movie and when it is encountered in the games. The theme mainly consists of three primary notes delivered by bell strikes, and it carries a very extraterrestrial motif.

Deoxys's name originated from DNA—Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Although it may just be a coincidence, Deoxys's first three forms can actually be represented with the acronym DNA: Defense, Normal, Attack, and the last form, Speed, uses the S as its last letter in its name.

Availability

Currently, the only known way to obtain Deoxys (besides using a GameShark or other cheating device) is by trading from Pokémon FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald versions, where it is obtainable on Birth Island. The only way to get to Birth Island is by getting an Aurora Ticket.

These Mystery Events can be used / accessed at a Wonderspot—a special event hosted by Nintendo where a satellite allows the Tickets to be downloaded to the game cartridge.

There was once a rumour saying that completing 5 star in your trainer card (including Ruby and Sapphire) will result in a wild Deoxys appearing at the Mossdeep Space Centre. However, this rumour has not been proven.

Deoxys is obtainable in the new Mysterious Dungeon Pokémon game at the end of a twenty-floor dungeon known as the Meteor Cave. However, Pokémon from the Mysterious Dungeon games cannot be transferred to any other Pokémon titles. This means that you cannot trade the Deoxys from that game into Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, etc.

Biology

Deoxys's brain is not situated in its head but rather in the crystal on its chest. From there, Deoxys has the ability to shoot laser beams at enemies.

Deoxys' origin is also extraordinary. Deoxys's Pokédex entry and the Pokémon movie Destiny Deoxys indicate that Deoxys is actually a virus that came to earth inside a meteor and mutated into a Pokémon when it was exposed to a "laser beam".

The viral nature of Deoxys is reflected in many of its aspects. Deoxys's name is derived from deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA for short, the genetic material of most living organisms (ironicly though, virus's contain no self replicating DNA). The incredibly high offensive statistics of Deoxys coupled with its weak defensive and health statistics mirror the fragility of a virus as well as its destructive potential once inside a host.

Deoxys' Forms

To the above we add Deoxys's ability to change its form so as to adapt best to its current environment, a trait found in some microorganisms when introduced to hostile conditions. This feature of Deoxys manifests itself only in the latest Pokémon games, FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald. Each version features Deoxys with an entirely different set of statistics, moveset and appearance and as such encourages a different strategy in battle. The Deoxys of each version is unique to it: if traded to the other version, it will shift accordingly. If this technique is used properly, a single Deoxys can be traded several times to obtain the best moves and stats from each form. Moves are exchangeable, but stats recalculate when traded. For instance: in Emerald, Deoxys learns Extremespeed, a Normal-type move that always goes first. Once this move is learned, Deoxys can be traded to FireRed, where its Attack form can use the move to devastating effect.

In the recent Japanese release of Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon, (Pokemon: Fushigi no Dungeon), Deoxys resides in a special dungeon (Meteor Cave); the player will fight all forms of Deoxys as mirages. On floor 20 of the dungeon, the true Deoxys is fought, and can join your team. When playing as this Deoxys, it will randomly select one of its forms each time you enter a new floor of the dungeon.

In all four forms, Technical and Hidden Machine compatibility is exactly the same. All four forms are also banned from competitive play due to the Legendary status of Deoxys.

File:Deoxys Normal.png

Deoxys in Normal Form, as in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.

Normal Form

In the Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire games, Deoxys has what might be called its average form. Each of its arms resembles two cords arranged in a double helix pattern (quite appropriate for a creature named after DNA), which may easily change into the shape of an elastic hand. Its list of attacks contains mostly offensive techniques with a couple of more defensive abilities thrown in for good measure. At Lv. 50, Deoxys learns Hyperbeam as its final move learned.

File:Deoxys Attack.png

Deoxys in Attack Form, as in Pokémon FireRed.

Attack Form

If caught in the FireRed version or traded to it, Deoxys has its Attack form. In this form, Deoxys's head features three points akin to horns, and its cord-like arms resembling tentacles. Its offensive stats are more boosted than ever, at the expense of its defensive statistics which are among the lowest of any Pokemon. While the Ruby/Sapphire Deoxys had a few defensive abilities, the FireRed version has nothing but offensive techniques to make the most of its heightened attack power. This form of Deoxys can have the highest attack and special attack stats in the game.

File:Deoxys Defend.png

Deoxys in Defense Form, as in Pokémon LeafGreen.

Defense Form

If caught in LeafGreen version or traded to it, Deoxys assumes its defense form. In this form, Deoxys' head almost fuses with his body, its neck disappearing. Its shoulders and chest bulge and its arms become wider. This version of Deoxys features almost completely inverted statistics compared to the other two forms, having especially high defenses while featuring average at best offensive capabilities. Its moveset is similarly changed, maintaining only a couple of damaging moves while stocking up on defensive, blocking and healing skills. It is similar to Shuckle (the Pokémon with the highest defense) in that it has a relatively low base HP stat (base 50), leaving it more vulnerable to attacks that ignore defense. Still, this form is considered to be the ultimate "tank" of the Generation III games.

File:Smallspeedimage.png

Deoxys in Speed Form, as in Pokémon Emerald.

Speed Form

In Emerald, it has a speed form, where it looks much like the attack form, but with a huge horn on the back of its head instead of a trio of points. Its legs become slender and more agile, most of its excess body mass disappears. Thus, its interior gray body is exposed, though the Speed form still has more defense than the Attack form. The number of tentacles it has reduces to one per arm. In this form, its speed is its greatest asset; its attack and defense stats are balanced, but neither are especially outstanding. In addition, when in Speed form, Deoxys learns the move Extremespeed at Lv. 50 instead of Hyperbeam.

In the animé

Deoxys appeared in the 7th Pokémon film, Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys. In the film it demonstrated the ability to switch between its forms (except for speed, since the movie was released before the release of Pokémon Emerald), create shadow copies for use as drones, regenerate missing body parts, launch an aurora into the sky, and erect a city-size force field which keeps nearly every sort of machine within from operating, from computers to Poké Balls. The film also demonstrated that Deoxys is not a one-of-a-kind unique species like Rayquaza; more than one Deoxys is seen.

In the opening sequence to the eighth season of the Pokémon animé; in the United States, Pokémon Advanced Battle, Deoxys is seen in its speed form. Other than that, an official appearance in an episode of the animé, let alone in its speed form, seems unlikely, since in the movie, Deoxys leaves the planet and departs to the outer space where it came from.

Deoxys also appears in the episode Pokémon Ranger! Deoxys Crisis!, in which its speed form was finally introduced.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Deoxys is captured on the Sevii Islands by Team Rocket's leader, Giovanni, and is used to fight Red, Green, Blue, and Mewtwo, at Trainer Tower. Giovanni's main purpose for catching Deoxys is to locate his son, Silver.

Deoxys and NASA

Early 2005: NASA began a cross-promotion with Nintendo and the Pokémon company to provide an "edutainment" program to children across the United States by Internet, teaching the science behind various Pokemon characters as they appear in Trading Card Game Expansions. In the first segment of the program, based on the newly-released EX: Deoxys Trading Card Game expansion, they used the character of Deoxys to teach children about outer space, anatomy of a virus, the meaning of DNA, the existence of the Ozone Layer, and a definition of an extraterrestrial. Since then the program has had two other segments covering the next two expansions: EX Emerald and EX Unseen Forces.

(See press release link below)

In the card game

File:Deoxys deoxysnrmex.JPG

Deoxys in the Pokémon Trading Card Game (EX Deoxys set).

Deoxys is featured prominently in the Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion named after it, EX Deoxys (Speed form in EX Emerald), represented in two cards each, with one of each pair of cards as an EX Pokémon:

• Defense form,
• Normal form,
• Attack form,
• Speed form

All eight cards share the same Poké-Power, Form Change, which lets the player switch its current card form with another card form in a player's deck at any time during a player's turn.

Deoxys' four forms each make another appearance in the more recent EX Holon Phantoms set, continuing to carry the Form Change Poke-Power characteristics of the previous cards.

However, their types are different:

• Normal form is Normal type;
• Attack form it is Dark type;
• Defense form it is Steel type;
• Speed form it is Lightning type.

All cards are holographic.

References

• The following games and their instruction manuals: Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue; Pokémon Yellow; Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2; Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal; Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald; Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen; Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

Publications

• Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0439154049.
• Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 130206151.
• Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed Version & Pokémon LeafGreen Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 193020650X
• Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0761547614
• Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1930206585

External links

• Official Pokémon website
• Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)’s article about Deoxys as a species
• Serebii.net’s 3rd Gen Pokédex entry for Deoxys
• Pokémon Dungeon Pokédex entry, full of statistics analysis
• PsyPoke Pokédex entry
• Smogon Pokédex entry
• NASA press release - A press release issued by NASA about the NASA/Nintendo Deoxys collaboration.
• Template:WikiKnowledge