Games - Sneasel

	Games - Sneasel

Sneasel (ニューラ Nyūra in Japanese, Sniebel in German and Farfuret in French) is a fictional character of the Pokémon franchise.

Sneasel's name is derived from sneaky and weasel, references to its temperament and appearance. It's possible that the "Sn-" part of its name refers to snow as it's also an ice type.

Appearance

Sneasel is based on the weasel- more specifically the kamaitaka (Japanese kama- "sickle" and itaka- "weasel") from Japanese lore. Kamaitaka were said to be weasel-like creatures with scythes for hands that lived in cold mountains waiting for unwary travelers. Sneasel is feline in appearance, with black fur. It has two small yellow oval markings, one on its chest and another on its forehead. In lieu of a tail it has three pink leaf-shaped protrusions. Its forepaws have long, sharp claws. The fact that Sneasel is an Ice Pokèmon may also show in the fact the pronunciation of "sneeze" is in it's name.

Biology

Sneasel is a nocturnal Pokémon that lives in mountains. It hunts under the cover of chilly darkness, which allows it to sneak up on foes or lost prey. It has dangerously sharp claws, which it can conceal in its paws. It will suddenly unseathe these claws in order to startle enemies and buy it time to attack. Many Sneasel have been seen standing at the peak of icy mountains when there is a Solar Eclipse, but why this is or how they know has not been explained.

Like its real counterpart, the weasel, Sneasel includes eggs in its diet. It tends to seek out unguarded nests or to scare away bird Pokémon that inhabit them in order to steal and eat the nest's eggs. Even if the nest is located high up in a tree's branches, Sneasel can reach it by scaling the tree's trunk by punching it with its claws.

In the video games

Sneasel can be found in Route 28 and the Silver Cave in Pokémon Gold and Silver. In Pokémon Crystal, it can be found in the Ice Path. In Pokémon Colosseum it is a Shadow Pokémon and can be Snagged in The Under Subway. In Pokémon LeafGreen Sneasel is encountered in the Icefall cave.

Sneasel has very good attack and speed stats. Unfortunately, its Dark/Ice type combination would benefit for a high special attack (which it doesn't have) and is weak against physical attacks (a weakness punctuated by Sneasel's low defense). Even a moderately powerful physical hit, not to mention a super-effective one, may be enough to defeat Sneasel.

Defensive or disruptive moves such as Reflect, Attract or Double Team are useful to Sneasel's survival in battle. In terms of offensive moves, physical attacks such as Slash work best. Moves like Shadow Ball and Brick Break can help broaden Sneasel's effectiveness against more elemental types.

In the animé

Sneasel first appeared in the fourth Pokémon movie, Celebi: Voice of the Forest, as one of the three Shadow Pokémon used by the main villain (the other two being Scizor and Tyranitar).

Another one caused trouble for the Silver Conference of Johto when it blocked people access to the Sacred Fire of Ho-oh, which was needed for the festivities (compare with Olympic Flame). It was captured by a trainer from Hoenn named Harrison and subsequently used in the Conference.

Sneasel was also in the episode Sneasel and Mr.Mime! Which Restarant?

In the trading card game

Sneasel has made 5 appearances in the card game, all as Basic Dark types:

Neo Genesis
Neo Revelation
Aquapolis
EX Ruby & Sapphire (as Sneasel EX)
EX Team Rocket Returns (as Rocket’s Sneasel EX)

In addition, a card named Rocket’s Sneasel was released in the theme of the fourth Pokémon movie.

The Neo Genesis version of Sneasel was banned from tournament play soon after it was released due to its incredible potential for power. Its Beat Up attack requires two Dark energy, and due to the cheap cost of the attack/the damage added by the Dark Energy card's effect, ends up doing twenty for each heads of a coin flip, and the number of coins flipped match the number of Pokémon on the user’s side of the field. That way, on six successful flips of a coin, Sneasel can do 120 damage in one turn, excluding the Darkness Energy Card's special effect.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Sneasel ]

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