Pokémon: What Happens When A Human Is Bitten By Slowking’s Shellder

A Shellder has the ability to change Slowpoke into different Pokémon, but it has an even stranger effect on a human. Shellder, Slowpoke, and Slowbro all debuted in Pokémon Red & Blue, and they are an early example of symbiotic relationships among Pokémon.

In Pokémon Red & Blue, Slowpoke evolves into Slowbro when it reaches level 37. According to the Pokédex, this change occurs when a Shellder bites onto Slowpoke’s tail. It’s even claimed that it would transform back into a Slowpoke, should the Shellder let go. There are theories regarding why the Shellder’s appearance changes so drastically, as later games claimed that poison is involved in the transformation. Pokémon Gold & Silver introduced Slowking, which requires a Slowpoke to be traded with a King’s Rock. Pokémon Sword & Shield introduced Galarian variants for the Slowpoke line, including the mighty Galarian Slowking, which is rocking a Sith Lord outfit.

The leaked beta version of Pokémon Gold & Silver revealed that the transformed Shellder was once going to be its own Pokémon, but this idea was scrapped over time. The latest series of the Pokémon anime has confirmed that a human being will also change if bitten by a Shellder, but what actually changes varies from region to region.

Pokémon Shellder: What Happens In Japanese

In the twenty-sixth episode of the Pokémon Journeys anime, Ash and Goh arrive on Slowpoke Island. A Slowking uses its psychic powers to put its Shellder crown on Ash’s head. Ash suddenly starts speaking English and declares himself the influencer who will become the Slowking Master. He also starts to perform poses that are straight out of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Goh’s Raboot manages to kick the crown off of Ash’s head, only for it to land on Goh’s head, as he declares he will capture all of the Slowpoke in the world. The crown keeps getting knocked between Ash, Goh, Pikachu, and Raboot, with the humans spouting quotes in broken English.

Pokémon Shellder: What Happens In English

The official dub of this episode localized the effects of the crown differently. Rather than talking in Japanese with subtitles, Ash starts talking in a posh British accent. Ash refers to himself as Ashking and talks about how he is on a quest to become a Slowpoke Master. When the crown falls on Goh’s head, he refers to himself as Goking. The reference to influencers is removed, but the overall context of the original scene remains. It’s funny that Ash gains a British accent when sporting a Slowking’s crown, as Sword & Shield is set in the Galar region, which is based on the United Kingdom.

The effects of Slowking’s Shellder is treated for comedy, and it’s unlikely to ever come up in the Pokémon video games. The Slowpoke/Shellder symbiotic relationship is a holdover from the early days of the series, and it’s funny to see it addressed in the anime.

About The Author

Scott Baird
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Scott has been writing for Screen Rant since 2016 and regularly contributes to The Gamer. He has previously written articles and video scripts for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz.
A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started out as a film student before moving into journalism. It turned out that wasting a childhood playing video games, reading comic books, and watching movies could be used for finding employment, regardless of what any career advisor might tell you. Scott specializes in gaming and has loved the medium since the early ‘90s when his first console was a ZX Spectrum that used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott now writes game reviews for Screen Rant and The Gamer, as well as news reports, opinion pieces, and game guides. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.

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