Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: ekans, Niantic, Niantic Labs, pokemon, pokemon go

Poké Spotlight: Getting To Know Ekans Outside Of Pokémon GO

Part of the fun of the main series Pokémon games is the lore of each species, which Pokémon GO recreates with short descriptions in their Pokédex entries. However, looking into the roles these Pokémon play in other games, and even the anime, can enrich the experience of hunting these creatures in Niantic's mobile game. In honor of tonight's Ekans Spotlight Hour, let's take a deep dive into this Pokémon's lore.

Dex entry number 023, Ekans is a pure Poison-type species from the Kanto Region, introduced into the world of Pokémon with Generation One. This Pokémon can be encountered as either male or female and it has no discernible gender difference. Referred to as (this is going to be a shocker) the "Snake Pokémon," this is what Ekans Dex entry says:

Ekans curles itself up in a spiral while it rests. Assuming this position allows it to quickly respond to a threat from any direction with a glare from its upraised head.

Ekans is the first stage of a two-stage evolutionary line. It evolves into Arbok. Both of these Pokémon have names that, when spelled backward, show what real-life species it is based on: Snake for Ekans obviously, and Kobra (Cobra) for Arbok. A less-known fact than that, though, is that in the original beta versions of Red and Blue, Ekans was known as "Arbo."

For fans of the anime, Ekans is one of the most iconic species in the entire series. It debuts in the second episode under the ownership of Team Rocket's Jessie and evolved into Arbok in Dig Those Diglett! It stays by Jessie's side as a recurring villain until Jessie eventually released it to save its life in A Poached Egg! In an earlier episode, Island of the Giant Pokémon, Ekans has a rare non-combative moment with Ash's Pokémon when they are stranded together. It tells them that there are no bad Pokémon and that it is just a matter of how trainers use them.

Other Pokédex entries offer new information about Ekans:

• Red/Blue: Moves silently and stealthily. Eats the eggs of birds, such as Pidgey and Spearow, whole.
• Yellow: The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest.
• Gold: It can freely detach its jaw to swallow large prey whole. It can become too heavy to move, however.
• Silver: It always hides in grass. When first born, it has no poison, so its bite is painful, but harmless.

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