Nihilego (Pokémon)

For Pokémon GO information on this species, see the game's section.
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This article is about the species. For a specific instance of this species, see Nihilego (disambiguation).

Nihilego Parasite Pokémon ウツロイド Uturoid #0793 Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Type Rock Poison Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown	Ability Beast Boost Cacophony Cacophony Cacophony Hidden Ability Cacophony Hidden Ability Cacophony Cacophony
Gender ratio Gender unknown	Catch rate 45 (11.9%)
Breeding Egg Group No Eggs Discovered Hatch time 120 cycles Egg not obtainable
Height 3'11" 1.2 m Nihilego 0'0" 0 m {{{form2}}} 0'0" 0 m {{{form3}}} 0'0" 0 m {{{form4}}}	Weight 122.4 lbs. 55.5 kg Nihilego 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form2}}} 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form3}}} 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form4}}}
Mega Stone [[|]] [[|]]
Base experience yield Unknown Gen. IV Unknown IV 257	Leveling rate Slow
EV yield Total: 3 Nihilego 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 3 Sp.Def 0 Speed 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed
Shape	Footprint {{{form2}}}
Pokédex color   White	Base friendship 0
External Links On Smogon Pokédex: Generation VII Generation VIII Generation IX Artwork on Bulbagarden Archives

Nihilego (Japanese: ウツロイド Uturoid) is a dual-type Rock/Poison Ultra Beast introduced in Generation VII.

It is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon.

It is code named UB-01 Symbiont (Japanese: ＵＢ０１　Ｐａｒａｓｉｔｅ).

Biology

Nihilego attaches itself to the cranium of a host, causing abnormal behavior from them

Nihilego is an Ultra Beast that resembles a jellyfish. The bell is semi-translucent and encircled with several white, star-shaped markings. The wavy rim of the bell flares outward and is bright blue. Its tentacles appear gelatinous and give it a vaguely humanoid shape. Several tentacles mesh together forming the appearance of a cape or long hair, while four shorter tentacles resemble shorter hair and arms. Two long tentacles make up the legs of the human shape. According to its concept art, Nihilego's body is made of various types of glass.

Nihilego was the first Ultra Beast to be discovered by Professor Mohn of the Aether Foundation. He was also the one who coined Nihilego's name. Nihilego live in another world named Ultra Deep Sea. Although its exact levels of intelligence are unknown, it is believed to act upon a self-preservation instinct^[1]. However, in addition to its human-like shape, it is sometimes seen acting like a young girl. According to Wicke from the Aether Foundation, Nihilego's most distinctive feature is its parasitic capability. When Nihilego latches on to a host's head, it does not manipulate its actions directly. Instead it awakens the host's own capabilities and boosts them to an extreme extent in order to protect itself. It injects the host with a sort of neurotoxin to achieve this effect. This neurotoxin of Nihilego's is incredibly stimulating and inspires feelings of extreme excitement and a lack of inhibition in its host. Anything or anyone that Nihilego latches on to will have its native skills forcibly activated to their fullest extent and will then act as it naturally desires to. Pokémon Adventures also elaborates upon Nihilego's neurotoxin, explaining that its venom turns their negative emotions into happiness and pleasure. It's also said that Nihilego mostly feed on those who feel intense worry or anxiety.

Wicke also claims that like all Ultra Beasts, Nihilego stores Z-Power, the same energy possessed by Totem Pokémon, within its body, which takes the form of a red, flaring aura^[2]. As seen in the games and in The Homecoming Crown!, Nihilego are capable of creating illusions, such as making itself and its allies vanish and are even capable of seeing the memories of humans. That same episode also showed that Nihilego can demonstrate emotions other than self-preservation and the ability to heal people.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Nihilego merged with Lusamine

Nihilego is capable of physically merging with its host, such as with Lusamine in various media. In this "merged" state, the Nihilego's bell loses its stars, developing several iridescent spots across its surface. Its eight tentacles become long and flattened and have numerous deep black spots with various colored diamond-shapes inside. Four of the tentacles are connected to the bell via frilly white structures; these tentacles have four spines protruding from them that can be used similarly to hands. The remaining four tentacles each terminate in a single larger spine. Lusamine's body also changes and is visible within Nihilego's bell as her legs dangle beneath it. Her hair turns black with golden lines, her eyes turn yellow, half of her legs and dress become black as the other half becomes purple.

The toxins produced by Nihilego may remain in the host's body, even after Nihilego has left their body. This can leave the former host to remain ill for unspecified amounts of time and treatment may be necessary. Nihilego leaving a host's body can also cause unconsciousness, as is the case with Lusamine, however it unknown whether or not this is because of Nihilego's toxins, the stress of fusion or the overwhelming amount of Z-Power within her body. As depicted in 10,000,000 Reasons to Fight!, its lower tentacles inject its toxins into the ground while sharp rocks grow below. While the same episode shows that Nihilego can willingly end this merger and it may be disrupted in other ways as well, the lingering toxins and the shock of the separation can leave the host in critical condition, both physically and psychologically. The same episode also shows that Nihilego can take full control of the fusion and form an orb with its own mass to prevent its host from escaping the fusion.

• 

  Nihilego preys on both human and Pokémon

• 

  Both Nihilego and Lusamine's bodies look different while fused

• 

  Nihilego taking over its fusion with Lusamine and trapping her inside it

	Spoilers end here.

Game data

Pokédex entries

Nihilego in the Alola PokédexSM	Nihilego in the Alola PokédexUSUM

Game locations

In side games

Held items

Stats

Base stats

Type effectiveness

Learnset

Nihilego is available in Sword and Shield Version 1.3.0+.

By leveling up

By TM/TR

Generation VIII Other generations: VII - IX

TM   Move   Type   Cat.   Pwr.   Acc.   PP  TM14 TM14 Thunder Wave Electric Status 0000— 090}}90% 20 TM17 TM17 Light Screen Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 30 TM19 TM19 Safeguard Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 25 TM21 TM21 Rest Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM22 TM22 Rock Slide Rock Physical 07575 090}}90% 10 TM24 TM24 Snore Normal Special 05050 100}}100% 15 TM25 TM25 Protect Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM32 TM32 Sandstorm Rock Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM39 TM39 Facade Normal Physical 07070 100}}100% 20 TM48 TM48 Rock Tomb Rock Physical 06060 095}}95% 15 TM70 TM70 Trick Room Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 5 TM71 TM71 Wonder Room Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM73 TM73 Cross Poison Poison Physical 07070 100}}100% 20 TM74 TM74 Venoshock Poison Special 06565 100}}100% 10 TM76 TM76 Round Normal Special 06060 100}}100% 15 TM77 TM77 Hex Ghost Special 06565 100}}100% 10 TM97 TM97 Brutal Swing Dark Physical 06060 100}}100% 20 TR01 TR01 Body Slam Normal Physical 08585 100}}100% 15 TR08 TR08 Thunderbolt Electric Special 09090 100}}100% 15 TR09 TR09 Thunder Electric Special 110110 070}}70% 10 TR11 TR11 Psychic Psychic Special 09090 100}}100% 10 TR20 TR20 Substitute Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TR22 TR22 Sludge Bomb Poison Special 09090 100}}100% 10 TR25 TR25 Psyshock Psychic Special 08080 100}}100% 10 TR26 TR26 Endure Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TR27 TR27 Sleep Talk Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TR54 TR54 Toxic Spikes Poison Status 0000— 00—}}—% 20 TR57 TR57 Poison Jab Poison Physical 08080 100}}100% 20 TR63 TR63 Power Gem Rock Special 08080 100}}100% 20 TR69 TR69 Zen Headbutt Psychic Physical 08080 090}}90% 15 TR73 TR73 Gunk Shot Poison Physical 120120 080}}80% 5 TR74 TR74 Iron Head Steel Physical 08080 100}}100% 15 TR76 TR76 Stealth Rock Rock Status 0000— 00—}}—% 20 TR77 TR77 Grass Knot Grass Special 0000— 100}}100% 20 TR78 TR78 Sludge Wave Poison Special 09595 100}}100% 10 TR81 TR81 Foul Play Dark Physical 09595 100}}100% 15 TR83 TR83 Ally Switch Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 15 TR91 TR91 Venom Drench Poison Status 0000— 100}}100% 20 TR92 TR92 Dazzling Gleam Fairy Special 08080 100}}100% 10

Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Nihilego Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Nihilego

By breeding

By tutoring

By transfer from another generation

Side game data

Pokémon Shuffle Poison Attack Power: 70 - 116 7 #768 Possession Delays your opponent's disruptions. Swappable Skill(s): Beast Power

Pokémon Rumble Rush Walking Speed: 1.5 seconds Base HP: 61 Base Attack: 83 Base Defense: 57 Base Speed: 70

Pokémon GO Base HP: 240 Base Attack: 249 Base Defense: 210 Egg Distance: N/A Buddy Distance: 20 km Evolution Requirement: N/A Fast Attacks: Acid, Pound, Poison Jab* Charged Attacks: Power Gem, Sludge Bomb, Rock Slide, Gunk Shot

Evolution data

Unevolved Nihilego  Rock  Poison

Sprites

This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation VII.
Generation VII Sun Moon Ultra Sun Ultra Moon Front Back Front Back
This Pokémon is unavailable in Generation IX.
Cross-Generation HOME

For other sprites and images, please see Nihilego images on the Bulbagarden Archives.

In animation

Nihilego in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

Nihilego fused with Lusamine in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

Shiny Nihilego in Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Main series

Major appearances

Nihilego (anime)

In Faba's Revenge!, Faba managed to summon a Nihilego from an Ultra Wormhole. Lusamine, Gladion, and Ash briefly battled the Ultra Beast before it took Lusamine into the Ultra Wormhole and disappeared. They were given the proper name Nihilego in The Professors' New Adventure!.

In The Homecoming Crown!, a Shiny Nihilego, nicknamed Lillie, was revealed to have rescued Mohn after he had disappeared into an Ultra Wormhole and made him see it as Lillie after he developed amnesia. Once Mohn's memory of his real family was restored, Nihilego was invited into the family and caught by Gladion.

Other

Nihilego debuted in a flashback in A Masked Warning!, where Gladion revealed to Ash that Lillie was once attacked by one when she was younger, resulting in her present fear of touching Pokémon. It reappeared in a flashback in Mission: Total Recall! and The Homecoming Crown!.

Multiple Nihilego appeared in Rescuing the Unwilling! in Ultra Deep Sea. They reappeared in a flashback in The Professors' New Adventure!.

Minor appearances

GOTCHA!

A Nihilego briefly appeared as a silhouette in GOTCHA!.

In the manga

Nihilego in Pokémon Adventures

Nihilego fused with Lusamine in Pokémon Adventures

Pokémon Adventures

Nihilego debuted as a silhouette in The Final Match and a Surprising Finale!. Nihilego physically debuted in Truth and the Mastermind Behind Team Skull. It was one of the Ultra Beasts summoned to Po Town by Guzma via an Ultra Wormhole. It proceeded to kidnap Guzma and drag him into a wormhole with it. Nihilego reappeared in a flashback in An Urgent Task and the Capture of an Ultra Beast. It was later captured by Lusamine.

Multiple Nihilego appeared in the Ultra Deep Sea in Summon the Emissaries of the Moon and the Sun.

In the end of Darkness!! The Mysterious Claws of Necrozma!, Lusamine fuses with one of her Nihilego and in the next chapter, the merging concludes and she attacks Necrozma with her army of Ultra Beasts.

In the TCG

Main article: Nihilego (TCG)

Other appearances

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Nihilego appears as a Spirit.

Trivia

• In Pokémon Sun and Moon, Nihilego has a base experience yield of 114.
• Excluding Arceus holding a Stone Plate, Nihilego is the only white Rock-type Pokémon.

Origin

Nihilego is inspired by jellyfish, with its body made of glass to contrast the soft bodies of real jellyfish.^[3] It being Rock-type may be inspired by the fact that artificial glass is usually made out of sand. The specific species of jellyfish it is based on may be the Aurelia aurita or the Phyllorhiza punctata; the Ultra Beasts have been stated to be based on invasive species,^[4] and the Phyllorhiza punctata is an invasive species in the waters surrounding Hawaii. It may also draw inspiration from Myxozoa, a class of microscopic parasites in the phylum Cnidaria (which includes jellyfish). In particular, the Myxobolus cerebralis is known to cause the infectious "whirling disease" in various fish species. The disease causes the fish to develop bone and neurological abnormalities that cause them to swim in a corkscrew-like "whirling" motion.

Nihilego may have also been inspired by Lillie and vice-versa. Throughout the games, Lillie mentions how her Ultra Beast-obsessed mother, Lusamine, chooses what clothes she wears and how she wears them, with both characters mentioning dress-up and outfits throughout the game. This implies that, in-universe, Lusamine has intentionally dressed her daughter up to resemble the Pokémon. Lillie's white sunhat resembles Nihilego's bell, with each of Nihilego's tentacles resembling Lillie's hair, legs, sundress, braids, and arms. Nihilego's white coloring with a blue accent is reminiscent of both of Lillie's outfits seen in the games. Furthermore, Nihilego's shiny coloration has a yellow hue, making it resemble Lillie's long blonde hair. Nihilego's Pokédex entry in Pokémon Moon states that "sometimes it can be observed behaving like a young girl." The Pokémon Journeys: The Series episode The Homecoming Crown! notes the similarities between a shiny Nihilego and Lillie.

Name origin

Nihilego may be a combination of nihil (Latin for indefinite nothing) and ego (Latin for I), which together roughly translates to "I am nothing" or "I have nothing". Ego may also refer to the part of the psychic apparatus that governs rational decision-making, and together with nihil reflects how the creature may have no ego, and only have an id (the survival and instinctual part of the psyche). The former may reflect its victims' lack of will outside their focus on Nihilego, while the latter may represent Nihilego's role in dominating the desires of its victims.

Uturoid may be a combination of 虚ろ utsuro (void) and void. It might also involve asteroid or meteoroid, 鬱 utsu (depression), 移ろい utsuroi (transience), the suffix -oid (meaning "of similar form"), and id.

In other languages

Language Title Meaning Japanese ウツロイド Uturoid From 虚ろ utsuro, asteroid, meteoroid, void, id, and possibly the suffix -oid (meaning "of similar form") French Zéroïd From zéro, id, and suffix -oïde Spanish Nihilego Same as English name German Anego From ἀν- an- (ancient Greek prefix indicating "not" or "without") and ego Italian Nihilego Same as English name Korean 텅비드 Teongbid From 텅빈 teongbin and id Mandarin Chinese 虛吾伊德 / 虚吾伊德 Xūwúyīdé From 虛無 / 虚无 xūwú , 吾 wú, and possibly 佛洛伊德 Fóluòyīdé / 弗洛伊德 Fúluòyīdé Cantonese Chinese 虛吾伊德 Hēui'nghyīdāk From 虛無 hēuimòuh, 吾 ngh, and possibly 佛洛伊德 Fahtlokyīdāk

More languages Hindi निर्वाइड Nirwide From निर्वात nirvāt and wide Russian Нихилего Nikhilego Transcription of English name Thai อุทซึรอยด์ Utsueroi Transcription of Japanese name

UB-01 Symbiont

Language Title Chinese Cantonese ＵＢ０１：寄生物 UB01: Geisāngmaht Mandarin ＵＢ０１：寄生物 UB01: Jìshēngwù Danish UB-01 Symbiont Finnish UP-01 Symbiontti French UC-01 Parasite German UB-01 Schmarotzer Indonesian UB-01 Simbion Italian UC 01 Parasitus Korean UB01 패러사이트 UB01 Parasite Norwegian UB-01 Symbiont Polish UB-01 Symbiont Portuguese Brazil UC-01 Parasita Portugal UF-01 Simbionte Russian УЧ-01 UCH-01 Spanish UE-01 Parásito Swedish UB-01 Symbiont

Related articles

• Ultra Beast
• Ultra Beasts (anime)
• Lillie
• Lillie (anime)
• Lusamine
• Pokémon fusion

References

External links

Ultra Beasts

Related: Cosmog • Cosmoem • Solgaleo • Lunala • Necrozma

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Pokémon

#0794: Buzzwole →

This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.