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Smeargle

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Smeargle
File:Smeargle.png
National Pokédex
Stantler - Smeargle (#235) - Tyrogue
Johto Pokédex
Mr. Mime - Smeargle (#157) - Farfetch'd
Japanese nameDoble
Evolves fromNone
Evolves intoNone
GenerationSecond
SpeciesPainter Pokémon
TypeNormal
Height3 ft 11 in (1.2 m)
Weight128.0 pounds (58.1 kg)
AbilityOwn Tempo

Smeargle (in Japanese Doble (ドーブル Dōburu), in German Farbeagle, in French Queulorior), is a fictional character from the Pokémon franchise. It is the painter of the Pokémon world and most known for its "Sketch" attack, which is unique among Pokémon skills.

"Smeargle" is a portmanteau of the verb "smear", which usually applies to paint, and the beagle breed of dog.

Biology

Smeargle looks like a bipedal dog with a cranial structure resembling an artist's cap (or beret) and a long, possibly prehensile tail which ends in a tuft of fur similar to a paintbrush. The tuft is continuously soaked by a special coloured fluid secreted from the tip of the Smeargle's tail.

The colour of the fluid is predetermined and, one could assume, unique for every Smeargle. The Smeargle uses this hard-to-remove fluid as a pigment to mark the boundaries of its territory and print its footprints on the backs of its fellows once they reach maturity. The markings that Smeargle leaves around the boundaries of its territory have a consistent pattern of some sort to them, as in, they are not completely random; Over 5000 distinctive marks have been found.

In the video games

Availability

In Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, Smeargle can only be found in a small patch of grass near the Ruins of Alph. In Pokémon Colosseum, it can be snagged in the Team Snagem Hideout after snagging the final Johto starter in the Shadow Pokémon Laboratory. In Pokémon Fire Red and Pokémon Leaf Green, Smeargle may be found inside the Altering Cave in the Sevii Islands area through use of the E-card Reader. In Pokémon Emerald, Smeargle can be found in the Artisan Cave at the Battle Frontier, which it appears to infest, and in altering cave.

File:Pokemonemeraldscreenshot.gif
A Pokémon Emerald screenshot featuring an enemy Pupitar and Solrock fighting in a double battle against a player's Aggron and Smeargle.

Sketch

Smeargle is especially notable for its "Sketch" attack technique, which only it can learn (indeed, it is the only attack Smeargle can conventionally learn). Sketch is the only attack which has but a single Power Point. When used, it will replace itself permanently with the last attack technique used by an opponent Pokémon against Smeargle. There are a few attacks Sketch cannot copy (Struggle, Transform, Metronome, Mimic, Sleep Talk, Mirror Move, and any Shadow type attacks), but otherwise Sketch enables Smeargle to learn almost every attack in the game, making it the most versatile of all Pokémon and extremely useful in passing down unconventional attacks to other Pokémon through the process of crossbreeding.

Unfortunately, Smeargle's decidedly below-average stats discourage trainers from simply Sketching various powerful moves on it. Instead, a common Smeargle moveset focuses on buying time with disrupting (Spore) or evasion (Double Team) moves while Smeargle augments its statistics with moves like Swords Dance and Growth, finally passing these statistical benefits to one of its teammates by using Baton Pass.

Another drawback is that Sketching particular attacks may be difficult to do in the game, since:

  • The player has to use Sketch before the desired opponent attack, which requires quite a bit of luck and guesswork;
  • Smeargle has to go second in the attack interchange (otherwise there will not have been any attacks yet for Smeargle to Sketch) and
  • Smeargle has to survive the opponent's attack in order to Sketch it, which is tricky at the best of times thanks to its low defensive statistics, let alone when trying to Sketch a powerful offensive attack.

A far simpler way to Sketch attacks onto Smeargle, which is nevertheless not available to all players, is to set up a rigged link battle against a friend with the sole purpose of teaching attacks to Smeargle. In the GameBoy Advance versions of Pokemon players can engage in a double battle and have Smeargle's partner pokemon use the desired move to be sketched and then sketch it as Smeargle no longer needs to be hit.

The "Sketch" move gives it the opportunity to use one of the most coveted combos in Pokemon: Spore, Lock On/Mind Reader and Sheer Cold. Spore will put the enemy to sleep with 100% accuracy, after which Lock On or Mind Reader will make Sheer Cold next turn 100% accurate, granting an automatic One-Hit Knock-Out. However if the opponent switches after Lock On/Mind Reader the One-Hit Knock-Out move is no longer a guaranteed hit. Smeargle can sketch either of the trapping moves (prevents the opponent from switching) Mean Look or Spider Web (preferred) to avoid this though.

Breeding

Smeargle is also very useful for breeding Pokemon that you want to be born with Egg Moves (moves that can only be learned by breeding). Since Smeargle can learn any move using Sketch, a male Smeargle can also pass any combination of compatible Egg TM and HM moves to its offspring of a compatible female Pokemon species. This allows players to breed their own Pokemon with custom movesets without having to pay for TMs and allows the learning of otherwise unlearnable moves.

Here is a way to get Heal Bell to Chansey by using Smeargle, this is actually the only way without cheating:

Materials:

  • Miltank or Chimecho
  • Chansey
  • Male Smeargle
  • Female Snubbull/Granbull
  1. Raise a Miltank to level 53 so it learns Heal Bell or train a Chimecho (which is REALLY hard to find) to level 30-40.
  2. Put it in the front of your party
  3. Go to the Ruins of Alph or Studio Cave where you can find Smeargles and find a MALE one. It has to be male!
  4. Once in battle, use Heal Bell. Miltank will be faster, so she will attack first.
  5. Smeargle will then use the ability Sketch. This ability allows Smeargle to copy the last move used against it. Since you used Heal Bell last, it will Sketch Heal Bell.
  6. Catch the Smeargle.
  7. Now we'll use chain breeding to get Heal Bell from Smeargle to Chansey. Since these two cannot breed, we'll have to use Snubbull to pass the attack.
  8. First breed this male Smeargle with a female Snubbull/Granbull. All you need is a single MALE Snubbull baby with Heal Bell to make this work.
  9. Now, we'll breed this male Heal Bell Snubbull with a Chansey. All of the resulting Chansey babies will have Heal Bell.

The reason you have to do this to get Heal Bell to Chansey:

  1. Miltank and Chimecho are the only Pokemon that can learn Heal Bell.
  2. Chansey is always a female.
  3. Miltank is always a female.
  4. This means you can not breed Heal Bell directly to Chansey because the two cannot breed.
  5. Heal Bell is one of Chansey's egg moves.
  6. This is the only reason Chansey can get this move at all.
  7. That is why you have to chain breed to get Heal Bell to Chansey.

In the anime

The Smeargle species was featured in the episode "The Art of Pokémon", where three of the painter Pokémon have gone out of control in Whitestone City, relentlessly graffitiing the spotless walls of its buildings. Smeargle also made a minor appearance in Pichu Bros. in Party Panic on Pokemon Channel.

In the card game

Smeargle has appeared as a basic stage colorless type pokemon in the following expansions:

  • Neo Discovery (2 cards, One Holofoil)
  • Aquapolis
  • Promo Book Card
  • EX: Unseen Forces

The Promo Book Card was banned from professional tournaments due to Smeargle's Paint attack, which could change the Defending Pokémon's type.

References

Publications
  • Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0439154049.
  • Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 130206151.
  • Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed & Pokémon LeafGreen Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 193020650X
  • Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0761547614
  • Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1930206585
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