Bizarre Pokemon Becomes a Literal Bear Trap for Trainers in Pokemon Sword and Shield

An already bizarre Pokemon gets even weirder (and more dangerous) in Pokemon Sword and Shield. The new Pokemon games take place in the Galar region, a new area of the Pokemon world inspired by the British Isles. As with Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, the new games feature several existing Pokemon species that have new forms (and typing) thanks to the unique environment of the Galar region. One of these new variant forms is the Galarian Stunfisk, a new version of the bizarrely flat Pokemon that first appeared in Pokemon Black and White. While Stunfisk was originally inspired by the stargazer fish, a flat fish that buries itself in the sand, its new Galarian form is much, much more dangerous. The new version of Stunfisk is a Ground/Steel-type Pokemon that resembles a bear trap, complete with sharp claws and a nasty surprise to lure in trainers.

Players will first encounter the Galarian Stunfisk in Galar Mine No. 2 shortly after defeating Nessa, the second gym leader. Stunfisk doesn’t pop up in the overworld map like other Pokemon…instead it lurks underground with only its mouth visible. Players likely won’t realize that they’re encountering a Stunfisk at first, as the Pokemon’s mouth resembles a Pokeball. While we’ve seen Pokemon with Pokeball-like markings before, Galarian Stunfisk’s disguise and nasty teeth/claws makes it clear that the Pokemon’s main prey is trainers who greedily look for discarded items in the wild.

Oddly enough, the Pokedex doesn’t reference Stunfisk’s appearance at all, noting only that the Pokemon absorbed nutrients from the iron rich soil in Galar to change its form. That’s probably because the Pokedex doesn’t want trainers to know that there’s a Pokemon out there who’s trying to bite off their hand…or because no trainer has ever encountered Stunfisk and survived. Still, this might be one of the Galar region’s most horrifying Pokemon yet…and has turned a generally laughed at Pokemon into a true nightmare.

You can find Galarian Stunfisk in Pokemon Sword and Shield, which is available now.