Sudowoodo
Encyclopedia
Sudowoodo, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo
and Game Freak
's Pokémon
franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori
, Sudowoodo first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver
and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
. It has a double-pronged protuberance on its head which is larger on a male than it is on a female. It also has tiny feet, a simple face, and a pair of three-fingered hands where the fingers are green spheres resembling leaves on a tree. Although Sudowoodo pretends to be a tree, its body is made not out of wood, but rock
, possibly a reference to petrified wood
. Since water erodes
stone, it severely dislikes water, and seems to disappear in the rain. It uses this as a form of camouflage
, hiding among forest areas to avoid being attacked by enemies. In the winter seasons, when trees are either white with snow or have had their leaves fall off from autumn, Sudowoodo is easy to spot as a fake because its hands remain green, making winter a more dangerous time for Sudowoodo to be in the presence of foes.
Ken Sugimori notes that when given the guidelines for creating Sudowoodo by Gold and Silvers scenario designer, he was told to create "a Pokémon that blocks the roads". After developing many images as ideas, he discussed them with the scenario designer before selecting Sudowoodo's finished design.
as well as its remakes Pokémon Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver
. In it, it appears as a tree at first sight until it is alerted to the player's presence. It has since appeared in every main Pokémon title, most notably in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
where it was given a pre-evolution called Bonsly. Outside of the main series, Sudowoodo appears in Pokémon Channel
, Pokémon Trozei!
, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
titles, the Pokémon Ranger
titles, and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure. In Super Smash Bros. Melee
, Sudowoodo appears as both an aspect of a Pokémon-themed area called "Poké Floats" as well as a collectible trophy.
captures a Bonsly in the episode From Cradle to Save, while Ash
, May, Max and himself are training at a ninja school in the Kanto Battle Frontier. Bonsly evolves into Sudowoodo to help free Brock and a Nuzleaf, defeating James's Carnivine in a battle. A golden Sudowoodo appeared in All That Glitters is Not Golden. A boy named Keenan experimented on his Sudowoodo to make it strong against Water and it turned golden, which was disliked by the Sudowoodo.
In the Pokémon Adventures
manga, a Sudowoodo disguises itself as a tree in the middle of Route 37, hiding from a Rhydon. Gold convinced Sudowoodo not to run away from its problems, and Sudowoodo went on to defeat Rhydon in hand-to-hand combat. It soon after joined Gold's team and participated in his friendly match against Silver, and later the Masked Man. A Sudowoodo is captured by Emerald at the Battle Frontier. In the Magical Pokémon Journey
manga, Pikachu
and Clefairy
battle a Prince Sudowoodo of the Stone Kingdom because he has ordered his underlings to kidnap Princess Bellossom of the Flower Kingdom, as he intends to marry her. In Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys, Gold and Whitney battle a giant Sudowoodo which is blocking Route 36 in A Huge Mysterious Tree!!. After defeating it in battle, Gold captures it, and it becomes one of his party members.
described Sudowoodo as a "fine example" of how Pokémon designs have become increasingly stranger as the series progressed. IGN wrote that Sudowoodo was "quite rare" in Gold and Silver. IGN's Pokémon Chick called Sudowoodo "odd (to say the least)". She added that it had the distinction of being the only pure Rock type at the time. while CVG
called it "one of the coolest of the new Pokémon" introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver. Official Nintendo Magazines Thomas East included Sudowoodo's name in a list of the five best Pokémon names because it makes him laugh. Prima Games
described Sudowoodo's name as "silly". GamesRadar
's Darryl Vassar wrote that "there are few Pokémon weirder than Sudowoodo". Game Informer
and UGO Networks both included Sudowoodo on their own top lists of trees in video games; UGO specifically wrote that it was odd that no one in the game figured out that it was not a tree. Author Phillip Marcus described Sudowoodo as a "bizarre Rock tree".
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...
, Sudowoodo first appeared in the video games 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 sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
Concept and characteristics
Sudowoodo, known as the Imitation Pokémon, is a bending, bipedal creature that resembles a tree trunkTree Trunk
"Tree Trunk" is a song recorded and released in 1972 by The Doors."Tree Trunk" was recorded by the surviving members of The Doors as they assembled material for their second and final album, Full Circle, following the death of Jim Morrison...
. It has a double-pronged protuberance on its head which is larger on a male than it is on a female. It also has tiny feet, a simple face, and a pair of three-fingered hands where the fingers are green spheres resembling leaves on a tree. Although Sudowoodo pretends to be a tree, its body is made not out of wood, but rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
, possibly a reference to petrified wood
Petrified wood
Petrified wood is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree having turned completely into stone by the process of permineralization...
. Since water erodes
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
stone, it severely dislikes water, and seems to disappear in the rain. It uses this as a form of camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
, hiding among forest areas to avoid being attacked by enemies. In the winter seasons, when trees are either white with snow or have had their leaves fall off from autumn, Sudowoodo is easy to spot as a fake because its hands remain green, making winter a more dangerous time for Sudowoodo to be in the presence of foes.
Ken Sugimori notes that when given the guidelines for creating Sudowoodo by Gold and Silvers scenario designer, he was told to create "a Pokémon that blocks the roads". After developing many images as ideas, he discussed them with the scenario designer before selecting Sudowoodo's finished design.
In the video games
Sudowoodo first appears in the video games Pokémon Gold and SilverPokémon 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...
as well as its remakes Pokémon Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
are enhanced remakes of the 1999 video games Pokémon Gold and Silver. The games are part of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games, and were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS...
. In it, it appears as a tree at first sight until it is alerted to the player's presence. It has since appeared in every main Pokémon title, most notably in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. With the enhanced remake Pokémon Platinum, the games comprise the fifth installment and fourth generation of the Pokémon series of RPGs...
where it was given a pre-evolution called Bonsly. Outside of the main series, Sudowoodo appears in 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...
, 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, the 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...
titles, and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure. In Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...
, Sudowoodo appears as both an aspect of a Pokémon-themed area called "Poké Floats" as well as a collectible trophy.
In other media
In the anime, Sudowoodo first appeared in Type Casting. Two Pokémon researchers were arguing whether Sudowoodo was a Grass- or Rock-type. Sudowoodo's main role in the anime starts when BrockBrock (Pokémon)
Brock, known as in Japanese versions, is a video game character in the Pokémon franchise. In the Pokémon video games, he is the Gym Leader of Pewter City and mainly uses Rock -type Pokémon; in the anime series, he left his position as a Gym Leader to travel alongside Ash Ketchum and become a...
captures a Bonsly in the episode From Cradle to Save, while Ash
Ash Ketchum
Ash Ketchum, known as for all appearances in Japan, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise owned by Nintendo. He was created by, and named after, Satoshi Tajiri as the protagonist of the anime and manga series, as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise...
, May, Max and himself are training at a ninja school in the Kanto Battle Frontier. Bonsly evolves into Sudowoodo to help free Brock and a Nuzleaf, defeating James's Carnivine in a battle. A golden Sudowoodo appeared in All That Glitters is Not Golden. A boy named Keenan experimented on his Sudowoodo to make it strong against Water and it turned golden, which was disliked by the Sudowoodo.
In the Pokémon Adventures
Pokémon 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, a Sudowoodo disguises itself as a tree in the middle of Route 37, hiding from a Rhydon. Gold convinced Sudowoodo not to run away from its problems, and Sudowoodo went on to defeat Rhydon in hand-to-hand combat. It soon after joined Gold's team and participated in his friendly match against Silver, and later the Masked Man. A Sudowoodo is captured by Emerald at the Battle Frontier. In the Magical Pokémon Journey
Magical Pokémon Journey
Magical Pokémon Journey, known in Japan as , is a shōjo manga series set in the fictional universe of the Pokémon franchise. The manga is by Yumi Tsukirino and serialized by Shogakukan in the manga magazine Ciao, and collected in ten bound volumes.The main character, Hazel , sets off to catch...
manga, Pikachu
Pikachu
is one of the species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series...
and Clefairy
Clefairy
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Clefairy first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels. They have later appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise...
battle a Prince Sudowoodo of the Stone Kingdom because he has ordered his underlings to kidnap Princess Bellossom of the Flower Kingdom, as he intends to marry her. In Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys, Gold and Whitney battle a giant Sudowoodo which is blocking Route 36 in A Huge Mysterious Tree!!. After defeating it in battle, Gold captures it, and it becomes one of his party members.
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...
described Sudowoodo as a "fine example" of how Pokémon designs have become increasingly stranger as the series progressed. IGN wrote that Sudowoodo was "quite rare" in Gold and Silver. IGN's Pokémon Chick called Sudowoodo "odd (to say the least)". She added that it had the distinction of being the only pure Rock type at the time. while CVG
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
called it "one of the coolest of the new Pokémon" introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver. Official Nintendo Magazines Thomas East included Sudowoodo's name in a list of the five best Pokémon names because it makes him laugh. Prima Games
Prima Games
Prima Games, a division of Random House, is the largest publishing company of video game strategy guides in the United States. It is an imprint of the Random House Information Group, based in Roseville, California...
described Sudowoodo's name as "silly". 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 Darryl Vassar wrote that "there are few Pokémon weirder than Sudowoodo". Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
and UGO Networks both included Sudowoodo on their own top lists of trees in video games; UGO specifically wrote that it was odd that no one in the game figured out that it was not a tree. Author Phillip Marcus described Sudowoodo as a "bizarre Rock tree".