Goldeen
Encyclopedia
Goldeen, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo
and Game Freak
's Pokémon
franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori
, Goldeen 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.
for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue
. Originally called "Tosakinto" 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. As a result they were renamed "Goldeen". In the original Beta version, it was known as Goldy, but was eventually changed to Goldeen, which IGN stated is based on the goldfish animal.
Goldeen, known as the Goldfish
Pokémon, is a white fish Pokémon with orange markings on its tail, fins and along the top of its body. Goldeen's tail fin is admired by many for its beauty as it billows very much like a ballroom dress. Goldeen has a large horn on its forehead, which is smaller in females. Goldeen can be seen swimming upstream at a speed of five knots. Goldeen love to frolic and dance in bodies of water and dislike being kept in captivity. A Goldeen in an aquarium will use its powerful horn to smash its way to freedom. To attract mates, Goldeen swim gracefully in the water. Goldeen then lay their eggs in large groups at the tops of rivers. Goldeen are a very common sight in any body of fresh water. It is fished up in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh.
, and have appeared in every main title since, including remakes of Red and Blue titled Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
. Outside of the main series, Goldeen has appeared in the Pokémon Pinball
titles, Pokémon Ranger
, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
titles, Pokémon Trozei!
, Pokémon Rumble
, Pokémon Snap
, and Pokémon Channel
. Goldeen also appears in the Super Smash Bros. series, using Splash when released from a Poké Ball, which has no affect the battle. On the official blog, Super Smash Bros. lead designer Masahiro Sakurai
commented that Goldeen appearing at the most critical of times is in keeping with Murphy's Law
.
owns a Goldeen that is not really used for battles, but to look for things underwater
. It first appeared in Pokémon Emergency! used to distract Team Rocket. Goldeen has also had many other small appearances in the anime, such as one belonging to Gym Leader Juan.
. She also wrote that it was a "pretty Pokémon" but also that she has bad stats and is "one of the single most boring ever to be imagined". GamesRadar
's Brett Elston summed up Goldeen as rather unremarkable and wrote "What else is there to say? It's a goldfish." Author Loredana Lipperini compared Goldeen to the goldfish from the Disney film Fantasia
. Destructoid
's Jim Sterling criticized the developers and wrote "if you're just going to slap a horn on a goldfish, why even bother?".
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...
, Goldeen 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
Goldeen was one of several different designs conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken SugimoriKen 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 "Tosakinto" 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. As a result they were renamed "Goldeen". In the original Beta version, it was known as Goldy, but was eventually changed to Goldeen, which IGN stated is based on the goldfish animal.
Goldeen, known as the Goldfish
Goldfish
The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....
Pokémon, is a white fish Pokémon with orange markings on its tail, fins and along the top of its body. Goldeen's tail fin is admired by many for its beauty as it billows very much like a ballroom dress. Goldeen has a large horn on its forehead, which is smaller in females. Goldeen can be seen swimming upstream at a speed of five knots. Goldeen love to frolic and dance in bodies of water and dislike being kept in captivity. A Goldeen in an aquarium will use its powerful horn to smash its way to freedom. To attract mates, Goldeen swim gracefully in the water. Goldeen then lay their eggs in large groups at the tops of rivers. Goldeen are a very common sight in any body of fresh water. It is fished up in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh.
In the video games
Goldeen first appeared 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 have appeared in every main title since, including remakes of Red and Blue titled Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon 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...
. Outside of the main series, Goldeen has appeared in the 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....
titles, Pokémon Ranger
Pokémon Ranger
is an action/role-playing video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS video game console. The game was released at various dates, varying between continents. The game was first released in Japan on March 22, 2006 and was later released in North America and...
, 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 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:...
, 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...
, Pokémon Snap
Pokémon Snap
is a first-person rail shooter and simulation video game developed by HAL Laboratory with Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is part of the Pokémon series, and one of the first console games based on the Pokémon series...
, and Pokémon Channel
Pokémon Channel
Pokémon Channel, released in Japan as is a virtual pet video game for the GameCube, developed by Ambrella. Its focus is the adventures the player has with Pikachu, most of them involving a new television network...
. Goldeen also appears in the Super Smash Bros. series, using Splash when released from a Poké Ball, which has no affect the battle. On the official blog, Super Smash Bros. lead designer Masahiro Sakurai
Masahiro Sakurai
is a Japanese video game designer, the creative force behind both the Kirby and the Super Smash Bros. series on Nintendo platforms. He is currently Director of Software Development for the video game developer's Sora Ltd. and Project Sora. He is also the author of a weekly column for Famitsu...
commented that Goldeen appearing at the most critical of times is in keeping with Murphy's Law
Murphy's law
Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". - History :The perceived perversity of the universe has long been a subject of comment, and precursors to the modern version of Murphy's law are not hard to find. Recent significant...
.
In other media
In the anime, MistyMisty (Pokémon)
Misty, known as in Japanese versions, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise. She has appeared as a Gym Leader in the Pokémon video games, several seasons of the Pokémon anime, The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, the Ash & Pikachu manga, toys, books, and other media.-Design:Misty's...
owns a Goldeen that is not really used for battles, but to look for things underwater
Underwater
Underwater is a term describing the realm below the surface of water where the water exists in a natural feature such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, or river. Three quarters of the planet Earth is covered by water...
. It first appeared in Pokémon Emergency! used to distract Team Rocket. Goldeen has also had many other small appearances in the anime, such as one belonging to Gym Leader Juan.
Reception
Goldeen's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl has received some criticism. IGN's Pokémon Chick wrote that while she assumed that it was modeled after a goldfish due to its "uninspired name", she felt that its tail more closely resembled a koiKoi
or more specifically , are ornamental varieties of domesticated common carp that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens....
. She also wrote that it was a "pretty Pokémon" but also that she has bad stats and is "one of the single most boring ever to be imagined". 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 Brett Elston summed up Goldeen as rather unremarkable and wrote "What else is there to say? It's a goldfish." Author Loredana Lipperini compared Goldeen to the goldfish from the Disney film Fantasia
Fantasia (film)
Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...
. 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 criticized the developers and wrote "if you're just going to slap a horn on a goldfish, why even bother?".