Talk:Cubone (Pokémon)

Death

Has anyone here ever given thought that in the anime and the games, that Pokémon can't die. Even in the movie, Celebi is revived. But here Marowak and Cubone wear the skulls of their DEAD mom. Am I the only one seeing this inaproppriate?--Machamp ion 16:41, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

...yes Pokémon can die...just not in gameplay, and occasionally in the anime. Latios, Lucario, and Darkrai are all dead. Also, in order to become a fossil, you need to die, and we have lots of Pokémon brought back through fossils.

Pokémon can die. You, the player, just can't make them die yourself.--Ｌｏｖｅはドコ？ (talk • contribs) 17:04, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

Well Lucario didn't DIE DIE, he just is in suspended animation. But I toatoly forgot about Latios, but how did Darkrai die? He didn't even make an appearance yet and he's dead? Whoa cruel.--Machamp ion 17:09, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

Latios "sacrifices himself" to block that tsunami Annie and Oakley made. I'm pretty sure Darkrai ends up dead, anyway...--Ｌｏｖｅはドコ？ (talk • contribs) 17:21, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

Dialga vs Palkia vs Darkrai. It appeared, just not outside of Japan yet. TTEchidna 20:52, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

I see you're all forgetting the most obvious death of all. The Marowak in Pokémon Tower. System Error 22:18, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

And all of the other graves in Pokémon Tower. -Happy Mask Man 22:49, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

What gets me, personally, is that you can breed Cubone from other Cubone and I assume - though I haven't done it yet - that the mother doesn't die in the process. So, whence the skulls? But that's the same complaint as "whence the other two Magnemites?" and "whence the other Beldum, and then the other Metang?" - a quibble, more than anything else. (I assume the following is a signature. I've forgotten how to edit things.) --Kadrin 12:47, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

The problem with Cubone is that the backstory it is given works for the one Cubone in the plot of Red and Blue but would be terribly inefficient if applied to the whole species. --FabuVinny ^{|Talk Page|} 14:54, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

i took that backstory with a grain a salt. Boywonder01 14:57, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Maybe it is just folklore... --FabuVinny ^{|Talk Page|} 16:13, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

And besides, put Darkrai under Celebi. He's been revived too.BlueJirachiWishMaker 14:59, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Isn't it possible that it's refering to the skull the mother used to wear as a Cubone, as opposed to say, its' actual skull? It's entirely possible and heck, even more likely that the mothers simply pass their old skulls down to their children as Marowak don't wear them any longer. The alternative would be Cubone being sad for it's mother, but then deciding to cut her head open and steal her skull to parade around as a fancy hat. The pokedex entry was likely referring to that one Cubone as far as the dead mother parts, but maybe not quite the way it sounded with the skull. -Flameblight 14:29, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

The Skull

Ok, we know it wears the skull of it's dead mother, but which skull does it wear. Does it remove the helmet it's mother is wearing, or does it wear the skull right out of its mother's head?

If it wares the skull helmet of its dead mother, then if its mother is a Marowak someone (in the Pokémon word)surly must have seen a Cubone wearing a Marowak helmet unless they evolve straight to a Marowak.

If it wears the skull out of its dead mother's head, then the inner skull of a Cubone and/or Marowak must be shaped like the Skull helmet of a Cubone. That mean that even if the Cubone evolves, the helmet has only changed in the evolution and the skull in its head is still the shape of a Cubone Helmet.

So which is it. The helmet or the actual skull? Yami 21:56, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

My input here, but am I the only person who things would be a little... err, too grim for Nintendo if Cubone actually, at birth, rips open its mothers head, tears off it's skin, and rips out its skull, then wears the blood covered skull on its head? ~~Takoto - サソデイ 22:12, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

Since Marowak is the Bone Keeper pokemon, I'd guess it probably holds onto the skull it wore as a Cubone somehow which gets passed down like an heirloom from mother to child or something. The mother Marowak may not ever actually WEAR her old skull anymore so much as just keep it...somewhere on her person and that boney-looking head is actually just that, the head since we've seen it move its' lower jaw when Marowak appear in the anime and it seems to be part of the upper gray head, unlike Cubone who has a separate-looking brown lower jaw. Just a guess though.--Flameblight 05:21, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

I just realized... Oh my god It's true!

Or is it? I wouldn't know. Anyways, you ought to check this out, if it's true it's definately notable. LOOK!!! [1] --GEN1KING 12:06, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Right....--ForceFire 12:20, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Speculation...and not really plausible. I couldn't see the connection. Oh, well. Time will tell.--Clarky13 12:25, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Without a statement from the game developers, we can't include that. —darklordtrom 19:22, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

This better not be true... CuboneKing 22:09, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

I know it's just speculation, but I do see a resemblence. I was wondering if someone knew if it had been confirmed, or something of the sort. I guess not... --GEN1KING 08:41, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

I do agree with this. Needs more developer statement. Odd how it took us like 12 years to figure it out. http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/960099-pokemon-heartgold/51775952?page=1 Lold. PoketoaTheFirefox 18:57, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

It is unconfirmed, but it is heavily rumored among the fandom that cubone evolves to kangaskhan, and thus is worth mention. Mikkim 05:10, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Except looking at their bulbapedia entries, neither of those sprites are there.Lord of Origami :) 14:46, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

I,ve heard of this theory from many places, we could say somthing like "It is a populer theory amung fandom that cubone is an orphaned Kanghaskhan whose evelution was alterd due to the skull it placed on its head". If not could the Orphan/Baby Kangaskhan theory at least be put in the fandom section under Fake Pokémon (it is definatly worth noting). EpicShadow 19:00, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

I read somewhere that there was apparently an interview with Satoshi by Nintendo Power where it was mentioned that a Cubone->Marowak->Kangaskhan evolution line was the original idea until they decided Kangaskhan would be better stand-alone. However, those sprites in that picture are fan-made. Also, most of the official artwork I see of Kangaskhan shows that her baby is gray.Scorponis 01:36, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

A pretty decent look at its face?

I was just made aware of a set of cards released by Bandai in 1997 with unique art done by Sugimori. Cubone's can be seen here:

Source here: http://community.livejournal.com/prtcg/8417.html This is, to my knowledge, the best look at its face that I've ever seen. The fact that it was illustrated by Sugimori would lend some credibility to it being canon - could this be implemented in the article somewhere? Silverlucario 08:59, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

German meaning

<<A combination of [...] and oss, a form of the Latin word for bone>>. Actually in the declination of the latin os, ossis there is no oss... I think it does not actually comes from there--CiaobyDany (talk) 20:56, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

Elephant

Could one of its origins be the elephant? Elephants are large and formidable creatures and therefore are hard to take down, like a Cubone and Marowak due to their high defense stat. They are also one of the most powerful creatures alive today similar to how Marowak currently has the highest attack capability. The biggest similarity between Cubone's family and elephants are their reactions to death. It has been shown that elephants are vary sensitive to the death of their family or even others of their own species and have some kind of feeling to bones of dead elephants. In one particular examination of elephants a matriarch of a family of African elephants died devastating them all, but most surprising of all her calf began to weep and scream at the dead mammal as a Cubone is said to do in numerous pokedex entries. Also in the crystal pokedex entry for Marowak it references a mass Marowak graveyard hidden in the world a reference to the modern myth of the elephants graveyard. - unsigned comment from Toymoo (talk • contribs)

Potential trivia?

The inroduction of Alolan Marowak makes Cubone the only other Pokemon besides Eevee that can completely change its typing upon evolution. TheFatPanda (talk) 04:40, 29 August 2016 (UTC)

If it's no longer unique, it's not notable--ForceFire 04:57, 29 August 2016 (UTC)

My input: I'd say it's notable, it would just need to be reworded, like "Cubone's type changes completely upon evolution." As long as we don't write anything saying it is the only one apart from Eevee, I think it's fine. As per the trivia policy: "Information widely considered being interesting that does not fit into another section of the article." --Celadonkey 02:03, 16 February 2017 (UTC)

Alolan Evolution

It has come to my attention that you must have your Happiness high/possibly max on a Cubone before evolving it at level 28 at night. It cannot just be, as stated, to level it to 28 at night. I have experimented with this myself in Pokemon Sun. I don't know how this hasn't been listed before, but almost nowhere else on the internet mentions it either.--AtomicBugg (talk) 03:47, 23 February 2017 (UTC)AtomicBugg

How did you test it? At night, go catch a brand new Cubone at Wela Volcano Park, and then immediately level it up to level 28. (Using Rare Candy is easiest, or else train it at Poni Gauntlet, especially with a Lucky Egg.) It will evolve at level 28 exactly, which it wouldn't do if you needed high friendship. If you check it at the friendship rater after evolving, you should also see that the phrase she uses is nowhere near the max phrase. Tiddlywinks (talk) 11:14, 23 February 2017 (UTC)

False trivia in the section.

My ban's still in effect.

" Cubone is the only Pokémon that can evolve into a dual-type Pokémon that doesn't share any types with its evolution." Not true: Eevee. ¿¡Unowninator?! (talk) 00:14, 10 June 2017 (UTC)

I don't clearly know about it, but none of Pokémon in Eevee's family is "dual-type". - unsigned comment from Xzonn (talk • contribs)

*facepalm* (Edit: *double facepalm*¿¡Unowninator?! (talk) 01:19, 10 June 2017 (UTC)

Cubone and Clefairy Name possible name origins

So Apparently Cubone and Clefairy were Orphon and Aria. Shoudl this be add into name origins or trivia? Here is source https://nintendoeverything.com/pokemon-cubone-and-clefairys-early-english-names-have-been-found/ --Jacob9594 (talk) 23:03, 17 April 2020 (UTC)

Both these names are already mentioned in right trivia sections. Also, this is a very badly written article that only mentions these two while every Pokemon from generation 1 had some prototype name we know about for years and it claims that Sing is a singature move of Clefairy what isn't true.--Rocket Grunt (Report To Me) 23:21, 17 April 2020 (UTC)

Curse Trivia

I'm just going to stick this here to see whether people think it could should be added. Cubone evolving into Alolan Marowak is the only example of an individual Pokémon changing its variant of the move Curse (from the non-Ghost variant to the Ghost-type variant), excluding temporary type-changing shenanigans like Trick or Treat and Soak.--Gou (talk) 04:54, 21 February 2021 (UTC)

What about Nincada and Dartrix?--Rocket Grunt 19:54, 21 February 2021 (UTC)

Nincada doesn't learn it, but cubone and rowlett both only get it through breeding so no go Pallukun (talk) 21:46, 21 February 2021 (UTC)

Huh, I could've sworn I checked Rowlet's learnset and it couldn't learn Curse. Oh well, false alarm.--Gou (talk) 23:13, 21 February 2021 (UTC)

Reptile or mammal

Is there any conclusive evidence that would reasonably support the idea that Cubone is based on a reptile? I believe its design is intentionally vague, leaving room for interpretation as either a reptile or a mammal. The ambiguity surrounding Cubone's identity is a central aspect of its character.

• Points supporting a mammal origing:
  • The skull structure appears more mammalian, lacking a third eye hole and featuring diverse teeth.
  • Cubone demonstrates a strong familial bond with its mother, which is atypical for reptiles.
  • It is bipedal, similar to Pokémon like Scraggy, although there is no doubt that Scraggy is a lizard.
  • The brown coloration, while not a definitive argument, aligns more commonly with mammals based on existing depictions.
  • The implied connection with Kangaskhan, observed through SOS battles and the beta design of Guardia, suggests a potential link. This connection may be one of the mysteries intentionally left unconfirmed but designed to seem logical.
• Points supporting a reptile origin:
  • It is possible that Cubone could be interpreted as a lizard due to its general appearance.

Regarding references to Pokkén and Detective Pikachu made by Vaati, it is important to note that these are derived Pokémon products and may adopt different styles that do not allow for the same level of vagueness as in the main series.

Overall, it remains uncertain whether Cubone is definitively based on a reptile or a mammal, and the mystery surrounding its true nature is an intentional aspect of its design.--Rocket Grunt 15:49, 3 June 2023 (UTC)

• There are some reptile and dinosaur skulls that don't have a pineal eye-hole & reptile teeth are also species specific, just like mammalian teeth are too. There are plenty of brown reptiles btw.
• Familial bonds aren't mammal specific, prehensile-tailed skinks form family groups & protect their young & female alligators stay with their young & guard them for six months, even avians are known for familial bonding.
• The implied connection with Kangaskhan is already disputable due to their index numbers being far apart, Kangaskhan (with Baby included) was designed first and Cubone was designed much later. As for that "Beta Sprite", no official sources have confirmed it to be real as #1; it was shown-off in a rom-hack and #2; the folks who uploaded it have refused to even say who leaked it to them in the first place, creating reasonable questionable doubts on it's validity.
• If you zoom in on Cubone's Textures from Pokken in a photo viewing program, you can clearly see saurian scales all over Cubone's body! It may be derived works, but their still official Nintendo products.
• Kangaskhan's skull is too large to fit on top of a Cubone's head, their body dimensions are too far apart and a Kangaskhan's femur would be too big of a weapon for a Cubone to properly utilize. --Vaati (talk) 16:33, 3 June 2023 (UTC)

Looks like there's no hard evidence for either.--Rocket Grunt 16:39, 6 June 2023 (UTC)