Girafarig
Encyclopedia
Girafarig, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo
and Game Freak
's Pokémon
franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori
, Girafarig first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver
and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
. If a person gets near the head, it reacts to the person's scent and bites. The head doesn't need to sleep, so it watches over its surroundings twenty four hours a day. Girafarig's name is a palindrome
in both English and Japanese, although the Japanese name's palindromic nature is not evident in Romanized form.
as well as its remakes Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
. It is obtained in the wild and does not evolve into or from anything. It has since appeared in every title in the main series, including the remakes of Gold and Silvers predecessors Pokémon Red and Blue
titled Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
. Outside of the main series, Girafarig has appeared in Pokémon Channel
, Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire
, Pokémon Trozei!
, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
titles, and the Pokémon Ranger
titles.
's Jack DeVries included Girafarig on his list of "Do Not Want" Pokémon. He joked that "his mom was a giraffe and his dad was a Chain Chomp from Super Mario Bros 3" and that he hasn't "been this weirded out since I saw that show about that man in China with the extra face growing out of the side of his real face". IGN's Pokémon Chick wrote that was awesome for having a "posterior sports a second, wickedly fanged head" and that "the first time that thing's arse hissed at me in Pokémon Stadium 2
I must admit I was a tad intimidated". She also made a comparison of its second head to the Chain Chomp and wrote "I do heartily recommend that you give Girafarig a chance". She also wrote that it was a better "Baton Passer" than Pokémon such as Spinda and Aipom though inferior to Umbreon. An IGN guide gave specific suggestion that readers capture a Girafarig. GamePro
s McKinley Noble wrote that Girafarig was the representative "circus freak" Pokémon for Gold and Silver. Destructoid
's Jim Sterling listed Girafarig as one of the six things that bothers him about Pokémon and wrote about it "I mean honestly ... what the Hell?". Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll ranked Girafarig the eighth best Psychic type Pokémon as of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
. GamesRadar
's Heidi Kemps wrote that while Psychic types sometimes have problems with Ghost Pokémon, Girafarig does well due to its Normal type being immune to Ghost attacks.
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...
, Girafarig first appeared in the video games 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...
and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
Concept and characteristics
Girafarig is a herbivore that resembles a giraffe. It is yellow with dark brown spots for the front half, while the back half is dark brown with yellow spots. The back section is smaller on the females. Most notably, the end of Girafarig's tail has a simplistic head. The head has a small brain of its own, but can only rely on instinctInstinct
Instinct or innate behavior is the inherent inclination of a living organism toward a particular behavior.The simplest example of an instinctive behavior is a fixed action pattern, in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a...
. If a person gets near the head, it reacts to the person's scent and bites. The head doesn't need to sleep, so it watches over its surroundings twenty four hours a day. Girafarig's name is a palindrome
Palindrome
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers....
in both English and Japanese, although the Japanese name's palindromic nature is not evident in Romanized form.
In the video games
Girafarig first appeared in Pokémon Gold and SilverPokémon 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...
as well as its remakes 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...
. It is obtained in the wild and does not evolve into or from anything. It has since appeared in every title in the main series, including the remakes of Gold and Silvers predecessors 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...
titled 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...
. Outside of the main series, Girafarig has appeared in Pokémon Channel
Pokémon Channel
Pokémon Channel, released in Japan as is a virtual pet video game for the GameCube, developed by Ambrella. Its focus is the adventures the player has with Pikachu, most of them involving a new television network...
, Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire is a pinball game developed by Jupiter and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld game console. It was first revealed at E3 in 2003, and was released in the same year – on August 1, August 25, and November 14 in Japan, North America, and PAL regions...
, Pokémon Trozei!
Pokémon Trozei!
, released as Pokémon Link! in Europe, is a Pokémon-themed puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan on October 20, 2005, in North America on March 6, 2006, in Australia on March 30, 2006, and in Europe on May 5, 2006.-Gameplay:...
, 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.-...
titles, and 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...
titles.
Reception
IGNIGN
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...
's Jack DeVries included Girafarig on his list of "Do Not Want" Pokémon. He joked that "his mom was a giraffe and his dad was a Chain Chomp from Super Mario Bros 3" and that he hasn't "been this weirded out since I saw that show about that man in China with the extra face growing out of the side of his real face". IGN's Pokémon Chick wrote that was awesome for having a "posterior sports a second, wickedly fanged head" and that "the first time that thing's arse hissed at me in Pokémon Stadium 2
Pokémon Stadium 2
Pokémon Stadium 2, known as in Japan, is a video game for the Nintendo 64. It features all 251 Pokémon from the first and second generations. It was released in North America as simply Pokémon Stadium 2, as it was the second Stadium game to be released there. In Japan, Pokémon Stadium Kin Gin was...
I must admit I was a tad intimidated". She also made a comparison of its second head to the Chain Chomp and wrote "I do heartily recommend that you give Girafarig a chance". She also wrote that it was a better "Baton Passer" than Pokémon such as Spinda and Aipom though inferior to Umbreon. An IGN guide gave specific suggestion that readers capture a Girafarig. GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
s McKinley Noble wrote that Girafarig was the representative "circus freak" Pokémon for Gold and Silver. Destructoid
Destructoid
Destructoid is an independent video game-focused blog based in San Francisco, California that was founded in March 2006. It has since grown into one of the most widely read video game sites on the Internet, reaching more than 3 million unique visitors per month...
's Jim Sterling listed Girafarig as one of the six things that bothers him about Pokémon and wrote about it "I mean honestly ... what the Hell?". Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll ranked Girafarig the eighth best Psychic type Pokémon as of 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,...
. 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...
's Heidi Kemps wrote that while Psychic types sometimes have problems with Ghost Pokémon, Girafarig does well due to its Normal type being immune to Ghost attacks.