Farfetch'd
Encyclopedia
Farfetch'd, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo
and Game Freak
's Pokémon
franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori
, Farfetch'd first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue
and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
Farfetch'd was one of several different designs conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori
for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue
. Originally called "Kamonegi" in Japanese, Nintendo decided to give the various Pokémon species "clever and descriptive names" related to their appearance or features when translating the game for western audiences as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children. According to IGN
, its name comes from the word "farfetched", while the origin of its design is from a Japanese joke; in Japan, Kamonegi is a noodle dish consisting of duck and spring onions. According to Destructoid
's Jim Sterling, Farfetch'd is based on the story of a "duck who goes to get an onion for somebody preparing a meal, only to be thanked for his kindness by being cooked up along with the vegetable he procured".
Farfetch'd, known as the Wild Duck
Pokémon, is a duck-like Pokémon with brown plumage, and a small crest. It also bears black plumage on its forehead that resembles eyebrows. Its wings are a bit more versatile than most birds' as their feathers can be used as "fingers," allowing it to carry a stalk or spring onion, not a leek. They sometimes choose to hold it in their beaks instead, and hold it in their feet when flying. Farfetch'd cannot live without its stick for unknown reasons, and will defend their stick with their life. The stick is also known to be used as nesting material and as a weapon. In case of an emergency situation where the Farfetch'd is starving, it will eat its own stick and hurry off to find a new one. They are known to be picky in the kinds of sticks they accept. Farfetch'd have been known to fight each other over one 'good' stalk. Farfetch'd are found in grasslands, but it always has to be near water. Farfetch'd are also very good swimmers and are often found swimming in ponds. Farfetch'd are rarely seen, so some have tried to prevent its extinction by breeding them.
and later in its remakes Pokémon Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen
, where it can only be obtained by trading a Spearow for it. It appears in Pokémon Gold and Silver
and subsequent main titles in the series; at one point, the player has to help someone find their Farfetch'd. Farfetch'd makes multiple appearances in other Pokémon titles, including Pokémon Pinball
, Pokémon Trozei!
, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
titles, Pokémon Rumble
, and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure.
manga, Farfetch'd is owned by an Azalean boy, who fell victim to the onslaught of Pryce's Pokémon in the depths of Ilex Forest. Bill is later seen in Volume 10 riding a Farfetch'd as a mode of transport to pass Crystal the Portable Pokémon Transporter.
called it a "fine choice at low levels" and good HP and "fairly balanced overall stats", but lacks staying power. IGN's Pokémon Chick called it "really, really terrible". She recommended that anyone who wanted a Normal/Flying type pass it over and wrote "there's nothing Farfetch'd can do that some other Pokemon can't do about twenty times better". She did however write that players who were "in search of a unique Pokemon with loads of personality" might want to give Farfetch'd a try. She also wrote that even Farfetch'd was a preferred Pokémon to Togetic and Hoothoot and described it as "quirky". Destructoid
's Jim Sterling included it in his list of 30 "rubbish" Pokémon. He wrote that while it was a great idea to have a Pokémon based on the aforementioned Japanese story Farfetch'd is based on, Farfetch'd is "kind of shit". GamesRadar
's Carolyn Gudmundson included Farfetch'd in her analysis of the most overused Pokémon designs, particularly as evidence of the abundance of duck or duck-like Pokémon. GamesRadar's Brett Elston wrote that "there's a decent Pokemon buried under the silliness". 1UP.com
's Richard Li wrote that Farfetch'd was a "funny looking bird with a even funnier looking Celery attack weapon" as well as a Pokémon that is "completely average in stats". Author Loredana Lipperini wrote that Farfetch'd was “mischievous”. An editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
wrote that Farfetch'd is his favourite Pokémon and described it as a "wild duck Pokemon that carries a curious weapon a green onion sprig".
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
and Game Freak
Game Freak
is a Japanese video game developer that currently creates games exclusively for Nintendo. It has developed the Pokémon series of role-playing games and several other games.-History:...
's Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori
Ken Sugimori
is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, and director. He is most famous as the character designer and art director for the Pokémon franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, including Pulseman. Sugimori drew all of the original 151 Pokémon...
, Farfetch'd first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
Concept and characteristics
Ken Sugimori
is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, and director. He is most famous as the character designer and art director for the Pokémon franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, including Pulseman. Sugimori drew all of the original 151 Pokémon...
for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
. Originally called "Kamonegi" in Japanese, Nintendo decided to give the various Pokémon species "clever and descriptive names" related to their appearance or features when translating the game for western audiences as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children. According to IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, its name comes from the word "farfetched", while the origin of its design is from a Japanese joke; in Japan, Kamonegi is a noodle dish consisting of duck and spring onions. According to Destructoid
Destructoid
Destructoid is an independent video game-focused blog based in San Francisco, California that was founded in March 2006. It has since grown into one of the most widely read video game sites on the Internet, reaching more than 3 million unique visitors per month...
's Jim Sterling, Farfetch'd is based on the story of a "duck who goes to get an onion for somebody preparing a meal, only to be thanked for his kindness by being cooked up along with the vegetable he procured".
Farfetch'd, known as the Wild Duck
Wild duck
Wild Duck can refer to:*The Wild Duck, play by Henrik Ibsen*mallard, species of wild duck...
Pokémon, is a duck-like Pokémon with brown plumage, and a small crest. It also bears black plumage on its forehead that resembles eyebrows. Its wings are a bit more versatile than most birds' as their feathers can be used as "fingers," allowing it to carry a stalk or spring onion, not a leek. They sometimes choose to hold it in their beaks instead, and hold it in their feet when flying. Farfetch'd cannot live without its stick for unknown reasons, and will defend their stick with their life. The stick is also known to be used as nesting material and as a weapon. In case of an emergency situation where the Farfetch'd is starving, it will eat its own stick and hurry off to find a new one. They are known to be picky in the kinds of sticks they accept. Farfetch'd have been known to fight each other over one 'good' stalk. Farfetch'd are found in grasslands, but it always has to be near water. Farfetch'd are also very good swimmers and are often found swimming in ponds. Farfetch'd are rarely seen, so some have tried to prevent its extinction by breeding them.
In the video games
Farfetch'd first appears in Pokémon Red and BluePokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
and later in its remakes Pokémon Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
are enhanced remakes of the original Pokémon Red and Blue video games, which were released in 1996. The new titles were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance and have compatibility with the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter, which originally came bundled with...
, where it can only be obtained by trading a Spearow for it. It appears in Pokémon Gold and Silver
Pokémon Gold and Silver
are the second installments of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color. The games have dual-mode capabilities allowing them to also be played on earlier Game Boy models. They were first released in Japan in 1999 and to...
and subsequent main titles in the series; at one point, the player has to help someone find their Farfetch'd. Farfetch'd makes multiple appearances in other Pokémon titles, including Pokémon Pinball
Pokémon Pinball
is a pinball-based Pokémon spin-off video game for the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on April 14, 1999, and in North America on June 28, 1999. In it, the ball is a Poké Ball, and most of the objects on the table are Pokémon-related....
, Pokémon Trozei!
Pokémon Trozei!
, released as Pokémon Link! in Europe, is a Pokémon-themed puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan on October 20, 2005, in North America on March 6, 2006, in Australia on March 30, 2006, and in Europe on May 5, 2006.-Gameplay:...
, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
- Manga :*Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team, manga adaption of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team*Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blazing Exploration Team, manga adaption of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness, and Explorers of Sky.-...
titles, Pokémon Rumble
Pokémon Rumble
Pokémon Rumble is a Pokémon video game for WiiWare. It was developed by Ambrella. Pokémon Rumble was rated "E10+" by the ESRB, making it the first Pokémon video game to be given an ESRB rating higher than "E" for Everyone...
, and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure.
In other media
Farfetch'd made its first anime appearance in So Near, Yet So Farfetch'd under the ownership of Keith. It was also showcased in A Farfetch'd Tale where Team Rocket planned to eat it, an aspect of Pokémon world rarely touched on in the anime. Farfetch'd has also made many minor appearances since then. In the Pokémon AdventuresPokémon Adventures
Pokémon Adventures, released in Japan as , is a Pokémon-related manga based on the video games. Satoshi Tajiri once stated that the Pocket Monsters Special series is closest to what he imagined the Pokémon world to be:...
manga, Farfetch'd is owned by an Azalean boy, who fell victim to the onslaught of Pryce's Pokémon in the depths of Ilex Forest. Bill is later seen in Volume 10 riding a Farfetch'd as a mode of transport to pass Crystal the Portable Pokémon Transporter.
Reception
IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
called it a "fine choice at low levels" and good HP and "fairly balanced overall stats", but lacks staying power. IGN's Pokémon Chick called it "really, really terrible". She recommended that anyone who wanted a Normal/Flying type pass it over and wrote "there's nothing Farfetch'd can do that some other Pokemon can't do about twenty times better". She did however write that players who were "in search of a unique Pokemon with loads of personality" might want to give Farfetch'd a try. She also wrote that even Farfetch'd was a preferred Pokémon to Togetic and Hoothoot and described it as "quirky". Destructoid
Destructoid
Destructoid is an independent video game-focused blog based in San Francisco, California that was founded in March 2006. It has since grown into one of the most widely read video game sites on the Internet, reaching more than 3 million unique visitors per month...
's Jim Sterling included it in his list of 30 "rubbish" Pokémon. He wrote that while it was a great idea to have a Pokémon based on the aforementioned Japanese story Farfetch'd is based on, Farfetch'd is "kind of shit". GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
's Carolyn Gudmundson included Farfetch'd in her analysis of the most overused Pokémon designs, particularly as evidence of the abundance of duck or duck-like Pokémon. GamesRadar's Brett Elston wrote that "there's a decent Pokemon buried under the silliness". 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
's Richard Li wrote that Farfetch'd was a "funny looking bird with a even funnier looking Celery attack weapon" as well as a Pokémon that is "completely average in stats". Author Loredana Lipperini wrote that Farfetch'd was “mischievous”. An editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News, which is published from the eastern half of the Metroplex. It is owned...
wrote that Farfetch'd is his favourite Pokémon and described it as a "wild duck Pokemon that carries a curious weapon a green onion sprig".