Drowzee
Encyclopedia
Drowzee, known in Japan
as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo
and Game Freak
's Pokémon
franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori
, Drowzee first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue
and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
Drowzee was one of several different designs conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori
for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue
. Originally called "Sleepe" in Japanese, Nintendo decided to give the various Pokémon species "clever and descriptive names" related to their appearance or features when translating the game for western audiences as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children. As a result, Nintendo renamed it to Drowzee, deriving the name from the word "drowsy".
Drowzee, known as the Hypnosis
Pokémon, is a bipedal Pokémon that is based on the Baku
, so it resembles a tapir
. Its eyes are tired looking and it has a trunk above its mouth. Its arms are quite short in length and its hands each have three fingers. The upper half of a Drowzee's body is yellow and the lower half is brown, the two of which are separated by a wavy line. It has a round belly and its legs are quite stubby. Its feet are brown, except for its two toes, which are the same yellow color as the upper half of the body, and the bottom, which has a small, round, pink colored pad in the middle of it. Its special abilities allow it to hypnotize its enemies to eat their dreams. When it twitches its nose, it can tell where someone is sleeping and what that person is dreaming about. If a person’s nose becomes itch
y when they are sleeping, it is said to be a sure sign that a Drowzee is standing above their pillow and trying to eat their dream through the person’s nostrils. Drowzee has certain preferences for the dreams it eats, and it is known to love fun dreams and rarely eat the dreams of adults, as the dreams of children are seemingly tastier. Drowzee remembers every dream it has eaten, and may show dreams it has eaten in the past to a person that often sleeps by it.
, where it evolves into Hypno. It later appeared in several sequels, including Pokémon Gold and Silver
, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
, the Red and Blue remakes Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
, and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
. Outside of the main series, Drowzee has appeared in Pokémon Pinball
, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
games, the Pokémon Ranger
games, and in Pokémon Stadium
.
In Pokémon Stadium, Drowzee featured in its own mini game called "Snore War", in which players must use Hypnosis when the pendulum hits the center of its swing to put the other Drowzee to sleep. In Pokémon Ranger
, after the credits, a Drowzee allow the player to reexperience the events of the end of the game. In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness
, Drowzee is a resident of Treasure Town who takes Azurill hostage and makes him get treasure for him. The player's team saves Azurill and gets Drowzee arrested. Later, when Azurill cannot wake up from a nightmare, the player's team looks for Drowzee's help.
in Hypno's Naptime. Both of the Hypnosis Pokémon were used to help the members of the Pokémon Lover's Club get sleep. Hypno was causing children to act like Pokémon and draining the energy off of the Pokémon in the local Pokémon Center. Drowzee was used to fix the mess Hypno created. Drowzee made another appearance in Pikachu Re-Volts. Butch and Cassidy used a Drowzee to brainwash Pokémon into turning against their Trainers and obeying Butch and Cassidy. Drowzee was living in an abandoned mining town with several other Psychic Pokémon in Fear Factor Phony.
series, Drowzee has been met with generally positive reception. It has appeared in several forms of merchandise, including figures, plush toys, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game
.
GamesRadar
editor Brett Elston commented that while Drowzee appearance was "freakish", citing its "articulated snout and two-tone hide", the image of it "savoring a child’s dreams makes my toes shrivel into dust". In terms of gameplay, Elston noted that he has rarely seen Drowzee used in battle. Fellow GamesRadar editor Carolyn Gudmundson compared Musharna's appearance, a Pokémon from Pokémon Black and White
, to Drowzee. The book Improving Writing at KS2 getting it right for the boys and girls uses Drowzee as an example of both how names of Pokémon can come from real life words as well as a good Pokémon for use in making up attributes and stories, describing it as an "elephant
with psychic powers". Author Loredana Lipperini also described it as an elephant, specifically describing it as a "yellow elephant in his underwear."
Author Shannon Knudsen used Drowzee as an example of a fictional creature based on the mythological creature baku
, a creature who also eats peoples' dreams. IGN
commented that while Drowzee and its evolution Hypno were inferior to Mewtwo
, Mew
, and Alakazam, they were worth owning. IGN editor "Pokémon of the Day Chick" commented that while Drowzee was "fugly", she loved it. She added that she remembers catching Drowzee for the first time, explaining that while she intended to capture an Abra, she lost interest when she discovered that everyone had raised one, preferring to be original. She stated that Drowzee had an "adorable pot belly".
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo
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...
, Drowzee first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
Design and characteristics
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...
for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
. Originally called "Sleepe" in Japanese, Nintendo decided to give the various Pokémon species "clever and descriptive names" related to their appearance or features when translating the game for western audiences as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children. As a result, Nintendo renamed it to Drowzee, deriving the name from the word "drowsy".
Drowzee, known as the Hypnosis
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
Pokémon, is a bipedal Pokémon that is based on the Baku
Baku (spirit)
are Japanese supernatural beings that devour dreams and nightmares. They have a long history in Japanese folklore and art, and more recently have appeared in Japanese anime and manga ....
, so it resembles a tapir
Tapir
A Tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs: the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, Baird's Tapir and the Mountain...
. Its eyes are tired looking and it has a trunk above its mouth. Its arms are quite short in length and its hands each have three fingers. The upper half of a Drowzee's body is yellow and the lower half is brown, the two of which are separated by a wavy line. It has a round belly and its legs are quite stubby. Its feet are brown, except for its two toes, which are the same yellow color as the upper half of the body, and the bottom, which has a small, round, pink colored pad in the middle of it. Its special abilities allow it to hypnotize its enemies to eat their dreams. When it twitches its nose, it can tell where someone is sleeping and what that person is dreaming about. If a person’s nose becomes itch
Itch
Itch is a sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch. Itch has resisted many attempts to classify it as any one type of sensory experience. Modern science has shown that itch has many similarities to pain, and while both are unpleasant sensory experiences, their behavioral response...
y when they are sleeping, it is said to be a sure sign that a Drowzee is standing above their pillow and trying to eat their dream through the person’s nostrils. Drowzee has certain preferences for the dreams it eats, and it is known to love fun dreams and rarely eat the dreams of adults, as the dreams of children are seemingly tastier. Drowzee remembers every dream it has eaten, and may show dreams it has eaten in the past to a person that often sleeps by it.
In the video games
Drowzee first appears in the first Pokémon video game, Pokémon Red and BluePokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
, where it evolves into Hypno. It later appeared in several sequels, including 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...
, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
are the third installments of the Pokémon series of role-playing games, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. The games were first released in Japan in late 2002 and later released to the rest of the world in 2003 . Pokémon Emerald, a special edition version,...
, the Red and Blue remakes Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
are enhanced remakes of the original Pokémon Red and Blue video games, which were released in 1996. The new titles were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance and have compatibility with the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter, which originally came bundled with...
, 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...
, and Pokémon 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...
. Outside of the main series, Drowzee has appeared in Pokémon Pinball
Pokémon Pinball
is a pinball-based Pokémon spin-off video game for the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on April 14, 1999, and in North America on June 28, 1999. In it, the ball is a Poké Ball, and most of the objects on the table are Pokémon-related....
, 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.-...
games, 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...
games, and in Pokémon Stadium
Pokémon Stadium
Pokémon Stadium, known as in Japan, is a strategy game developed by Nintendo EAD with the assistance of Creatures and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released on April 30, 1999 in Japan, February 29, 2000 in North America, and April 7, 2000...
.
In Pokémon Stadium, Drowzee featured in its own mini game called "Snore War", in which players must use Hypnosis when the pendulum hits the center of its swing to put the other Drowzee to sleep. In 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...
, after the credits, a Drowzee allow the player to reexperience the events of the end of the game. In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness
and are a matched pair of Pokémon games for the Nintendo DS. The two games were released in Japan on September 13, 2007, and were released in North America on April 20, 2008...
, Drowzee is a resident of Treasure Town who takes Azurill hostage and makes him get treasure for him. The player's team saves Azurill and gets Drowzee arrested. Later, when Azurill cannot wake up from a nightmare, the player's team looks for Drowzee's help.
In other media
In the anime, Drowzee first appeared alongside its evolved formHypno
Hypno, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Hypno first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations...
in Hypno's Naptime. Both of the Hypnosis Pokémon were used to help the members of the Pokémon Lover's Club get sleep. Hypno was causing children to act like Pokémon and draining the energy off of the Pokémon in the local Pokémon Center. Drowzee was used to fix the mess Hypno created. Drowzee made another appearance in Pikachu Re-Volts. Butch and Cassidy used a Drowzee to brainwash Pokémon into turning against their Trainers and obeying Butch and Cassidy. Drowzee was living in an abandoned mining town with several other Psychic Pokémon in Fear Factor Phony.
Reception
Since it appeared in the PokémonPokémon
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...
series, Drowzee has been met with generally positive reception. It has appeared in several forms of merchandise, including figures, plush toys, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game
Pokémon Trading Card Game
The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a collectible card game based on the Pokémon video game series, first introduced in Japan in October 1996, then North America in December 1998...
.
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...
editor Brett Elston commented that while Drowzee appearance was "freakish", citing its "articulated snout and two-tone hide", the image of it "savoring a child’s dreams makes my toes shrivel into dust". In terms of gameplay, Elston noted that he has rarely seen Drowzee used in battle. Fellow GamesRadar editor Carolyn Gudmundson compared Musharna's appearance, a Pokémon from Pokémon Black and White
Pokémon Black and White
are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are the first installments in the fifth generation of the Pokémon series of role-playing games...
, to Drowzee. The book Improving Writing at KS2 getting it right for the boys and girls uses Drowzee as an example of both how names of Pokémon can come from real life words as well as a good Pokémon for use in making up attributes and stories, describing it as an "elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
with psychic powers". Author Loredana Lipperini also described it as an elephant, specifically describing it as a "yellow elephant in his underwear."
Author Shannon Knudsen used Drowzee as an example of a fictional creature based on the mythological creature baku
Baku (spirit)
are Japanese supernatural beings that devour dreams and nightmares. They have a long history in Japanese folklore and art, and more recently have appeared in Japanese anime and manga ....
, a creature who also eats peoples' dreams. IGN
IGN
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...
commented that while Drowzee and its evolution Hypno were inferior to Mewtwo
Mewtwo
is a fictional creature in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon media franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, it first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and their sequels, and later appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles, as well as animation adaptations of the franchise...
, Mew
Mew (Pokémon)
is one of the fictional species of Pokémon creatures from Nintendo's and Game Freak's multi-billion-dollar Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri...
, and Alakazam, they were worth owning. IGN editor "Pokémon of the Day Chick" commented that while Drowzee was "fugly", she loved it. She added that she remembers catching Drowzee for the first time, explaining that while she intended to capture an Abra, she lost interest when she discovered that everyone had raised one, preferring to be original. She stated that Drowzee had an "adorable pot belly".