Donphan

Donphan
File:Donphan.png National Pokédex Phanpy - Donphan (#232) - Porygon2 Johto Pokédex Phanpy - Donphan (#196) - Mantine Hoenn Pokédex Phanpy - Donphan (#166) - Pinsir
Japanese name	Donfan
Evolves from	Phanpy
Evolves into	None
Generation	Second
Species	Armor Pokémon
Type	Ground
Height	3 ft 7 in (1.10 m)
Weight	264.6 pounds (120.0 kg)
Ability	Sturdy

Donphan (ドンファン, Donfan in original Japanese language versions) is a fictional character from the Pokémon franchise.

Donphan's name is a portmanteau of "don" and "elephant". "Don" may refer the Spanish word for "lord", or possibly the word "mastodon". It may even refer to a root word for "teeth", as in "hyperdontia" or "mastodon".

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Donphan looks very much like an elephant. Its armored hide has an unscratchable structure similar to a tire, supporting its ability to use its "Rollout" attack to battle its opponents. Male Donphan also use their "Rollout" attack to impress female Donphan; in fact, many Donphan compete for females by battling each other with "Rollout". This Pokémon possesses the tackling strength to knock over a large building just by ramming it, and it possesses the supportive strength to haul a dump truck. In any given herd of Donphan, the rank of an individual is measured by the size and length of its tusks, so one can identify the leader of that herd by looking at its tusks. When travelling among mountains, Donphan uses its massive strength to clear away rock and mudslides that may block mountain trails.

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Donphan is a Ground-type Pokémon, evolving from Phanpy at level 25. Donphan is available in Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.

It can be found in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and Pokémon Emerald in the Safari Zone, and on Seven Island in Pokémon Fire Red and Pokémon Leaf Green.

Donphan, like all other Ground Pokémon, is invulnerable to Electric-type moves, while, as with all Ground Pokémon, it is weak against Water, Grass, and Ice moves. Other moves such as Normal, Psychic, and Fire should have no particular advantage or disadvantage against Donphan, though its Special Defense is quite low.

Donphan is seen as having exceptional value in competitive battling, and is used quite often. It is usually used as a "phazer;" that is, it negates stat changes and returns enemy Pokémon to their original condition. Donphan has good Defense and Attack, which is very useful, particularly since it doesn't really need its low Special stats. It's Hit Points, however, is below average. Donphan is also somewhat useful for getting rid of Spikes, which damage Pokémon as they enter or leave the field of play.

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Donphan holds a place in Pokémon culture for being one of the "preview" Pokémon of the Gold and Silver generation. Its first official appearance in America was in Pokémon: The First Movie, where it was used by a trainer in a Pokémon battle with Ash Ketchum and his Bulbasaur in the movie's opening theme. In this appearance, Donphan's name was not revealed, so it was unidentified to American moviegoers until the release of the Gold and Silver versions of the game (though, its name was revealed in the novel form of the story).

Later, in the Johto episode Roll On, Pokémon, Ash encounters a trainer with several Donphan. Later, in the episode Date Expectations, Ash and his friends visit an island filled with Donphan during the mating season. One of these Donphan is shiny. And in the episode Reversing the Charges, Ash's Phanpy evolved into a Donphan, and Ash has used it in many battles since then; and even though Ash's Donphan is really young and still has a playful, childlike personality, it is still a tough opponent to defeat.

After completing the Battle Frontier challenge, Ash leaves Donphan (as well as Corphish, Sceptile, and Swellow) at Professor Oak's lab before heading off to Sinnoh.

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File:Donphan TCG.jpg

Donphan as featured in the Pokémon Trading Card Game

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Donphan has made five Stage-1 Fighting-type appearances in the following sets:

• Neo Genesis
• Neo Destiny (as Dark Donphan)
• Aquapolis
• EX Ruby and Sapphire
• EX Deoxys

In addition, a Japanese-only Donphan card named "Chuck's Donphan" resides within the untranslated expansion set known commonly as "VS". It, like all the other cards in the set, is a Basic Pokémon, meaning that while it can be played right away, it is generally weaker than its Stage-1 counterparts. Donphan has two tusks and uses rollout attack.

Trivia

• Donphan is the first Pokémon to make its anime debut before the rest of its generation IN THE MOVIES. The first Pokémon to make it anime debut before the rest of its generation was Togepi, originally introduced in the show itself.

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

Notes

Publications

• Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-439-15404-9.
• Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-930206-15-1.
• Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed & Pokémon LeafGreen Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 1-930206-50-X
• Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4761-4
• Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1-930206-58-5

External links

• Official Pokémon website
• Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki) ’s article about Donphan as a species
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• Pokémon Dungeon Pokédex entry, full of statistics analysis
• PsyPoke - Donphan Pokédex entry and Usage Overview
• Smogon.com - Donphan Tactical Data
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