Newly revealed Pokémon Scarlet and Violet gym leader Iono debuted her partner Pokémon on a livestream broadcast Friday. The newest Pokémon’s name is Bellibolt, and it generates electricity from its very cute, expandable belly. Specifically, the electricity is generated in that yellow circle that looks like a belly button, according to The Pokémon Company’s YouTube description.
Bellibolt is an electric frog that’s very round with two adorably small eyes and a big smiley face. That means the bumps on the sides of its head aren’t actually its eyes, but they’re not just decoration; that’s where the electricity is expelled.
Here’s what The Pokémon Company has to say about Bellibolt, via a news release.
Bellibolt expands and contracts its elastic body to generate electricity in an organ that looks like a belly button. The huge amount of electricity generated this way is then discharged from the two bumps on either side of its head that resemble eyeballs. Its actual eyes are adorably small and round. Bellibolt’s Ability, Electromorphosis, is appearing for the first time in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet. Bellibolt becomes charged when hit by an attack, boosting the power of the next Electric-type move it uses.
Category: EleFrog Pokémon
Type: Electric
Height: 3’11” (1.2 m)
Weight: 249.1 lbs. (113.0 kg)
Ability: Electromorphosis / Static
The Pokémon Company said it is “difficult to train Bellibolt to initiate a battle,” unless it’s attacked first. One of its abilities, Electromorphosis, is new to the series; it charges up Bellibolt when it’s hit by an attack, “boosting the power of the next Electric-type move it uses.”
Iono and Bellibolt battle out of Paldea’s Levincia Gym, but Iono is more than just a gym leader: She’s also a streamer with a live broadcast called “Iono Zone.” The Pokémon Company called Levincia one of Paldea’s “prominent cities.”
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launch on Nintendo Switch on Nov. 18. The games are part of the ninth generation of the Pokémon franchise, transporting players to the new Paldea region, which is inspired by the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal.
The Pokémon Company has already revealed more than a dozen of Paldea’s new creatures, including Grafaiai, Fidough, Paldean Wooper, Cetitan, Cyclizar, Smoliv, Lechonk, and Pawmi. There are the new starters, too — Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly — alongside Legendary Pokémon Koraidon and Miraidon, as well as Wiglett, a squirmy-looking Pokémon that’s a lot like Diglett.
