Donphan (Japanese: ドンファン Donfan) is a Ground-type Pokémon introduced in Generation II.
It evolves from Phanpy starting at level 25.
Biology
Donphan is a gray, elephant-like Pokémon with a thick, black band of hide running down the length of its back and extending to the tip of its long trunk. When this Pokémon curls up, the band resembles a car tire. This tough hide prevents regular attacks from inflicting even a scratch. A pair of white tusks, which are smaller on the female, extend from the corners of its mouth. It has thin, elongated ears held out almost perpendicular to its body. Its four short legs are each encircled with a broken, black band and have three toes.
Donphan has the ability to curl up into a ball and violently roll around like a wheel. These rolling tackles are strong enough to knock down a house. Once it starts its rampage, it will be almost unstoppable. The anime shows that this ability is further used as a form of courtship. The male Donphan have rolling competitions to demonstrate their toughness to the females. It has been demonstrated that Donphan has a keen sense of smell, capable of sniffing out a gem known as amberite. Donphan travels in herds with a ranking system. The larger its tusks, the higher its rank in the herd. It lives in rough, mountainous terrain.
In the anime
In the main series
Major appearances
In Reversing the Charges, Ash's Phanpy evolved into Donphan. It proved to be an excellent member of his team, showing its strength in every battle.
Other
Donphan debuted briefly in the beginning of Mewtwo Strikes Back, under the ownership of Raymond. At the time, it was an unknown Pokémon.
Four Donphan made their main series debut in Roll On, Pokémon!, under the ownership of Rochelle. She would use them to find amberite.
Multiple Donphan appeared in Date Expectations, including a Shiny one. The Shiny Donphan was the center of romantic attention for the other Donphan. Ash and his friends eventually helped one such Donphan mate with the Shiny Donphan.
Tyson used a Donphan during the Ever Grande Conference; it debuted in Chose It or Lose It!. Donphan was used in his battle against Ash, where it went up against Swellow but was soon defeated.
In Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! (Part 2), Kellyn had a Donphan smash through the cave-ins that were caused by an Aggron belonging to J's client.
A
Shiny Donphan in the anime
Minor appearances
A Donphan appeared in Tricks of the Trade as one of the Pokémon seen at the Pokémon Swap Meet in Palmpona.
A Donphan appeared in The Legend of Thunder!.
A Donphan appeared in Pikachu's PikaBoo.
Multiple Donphan appeared in Misty's flashback in Gotta Catch Ya Later!.
A Donphan appeared in Beg, Burrow and Steal.
A Coordinator's Donphan appeared in Deceit and Assist.
A Coordinator's Donphan appeared in Battling The Generation Gap!, where it was competing in the Celestic Contest.
A Trainer's Donphan appeared in Challenging a Towering Figure!, where it battled a Snover during the Festival Battle Challenge.
A Donphan briefly appeared in An Old Family Blend!, under the ownership of a Trainer in the Lily of the Valley Conference.
A Donphan briefly appeared in the opening intro of Zoroark: Master of Illusions, under the ownership of Ethan. It battled Ash and Pikachu, though the outcome of that battle was left unknown.
A Trainer's Donphan appeared in Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel.
A Trainer's Donphan appeared in The Power of Us, where it was competing in the Pokémon Catch Race.
Pokédex entries
Entry
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EP120
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Donphan
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Ash's Pokédex
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Donphan, the Armor Pokémon. With its strong tusks and tough skin, Donphan is known for its powerful Tackle attack. The length of Donphan's tusks indicates its level.
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Entry
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AG154
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Donphan
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May's Pokédex
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Donphan, the Armor Pokémon. Donphan has razor-sharp tusks, armor-like skin, and enormous power.
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In the Pokémon Masters Trailer
A Trainer's Donphan appeared in the Pokémon Masters Trailer, where it was seen in a town square in Pasio.
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
A silhouette of a wild Donphan appeared in Ponyta Tale, where Professor Oak mentioned new Pokémon beyond the previously known 151 species.
A herd of Donphan were used by a thieving ruffian in Number One Donphan, but they were defeated by Gold afterwards. They appeared again in Bellsprout Rout.
In Quilava Quandary, the Day-Care Couple used a Donphan to train Gold.
A Donphan appeared in The Last Battle XIII as one of the Pokémon sent to participate in the fight in Ilex Forest.
In I'm Your Biggest Fan, Donphan, Wattson accidentally catches Sapphire in a trap designed to catch a wild, rampaging Donphan. After coming across New Mauville, Sapphire uses the wild Donphan to help Wattson shut down a power generator, adding it to her team in Plugging Past Electrike II and naming it Phado.
A Donphan appeared in a flashback as a Pokémon trained by the International Police in Innocent Scientist.
Pokédex entries
Chapter
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Entry
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Pokémon Adventures
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PS096
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The longer and bigger its tusks are, the higher it is ranked amongst its herd.*
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In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
A Donphan appeared in Clefairy, the Battle Instructor under the ownership of a Trainer who had trouble controlling it. Donphan would usually fall asleep and did so since its loss to Silver's Totodile.
In the TCG
- Main article: Donphan (TCG)
Game data
Pokédex entries
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation II.
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Generation II
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Johto #196
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Gold
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It has sharp, hard tusks and a rugged hide. Its Tackle is strong enough to knock down a house.
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Silver
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The longer and bigger its tusks, the higher its rank in its herd. The tusks take long to grow.
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Crystal
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Because this Pokémon's skin is so tough, a normal attack won't even leave a scratch on it.
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Stadium 2
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It has sharp, hard tusks and a rugged hide. Its Tackle is strong enough to knock down a house.
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Generation III
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Hoenn #166
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Kanto #—
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Ruby
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Donphan's favorite attack is curling its body into a ball, then charging at its foe while rolling at high speed. Once it starts rolling, this Pokémon can't stop very easily.
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Sapphire
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If Donphan were to tackle with its hard body, even a house could be destroyed. Using its massive strength, the Pokémon helps clear rock and mud slides that block mountain trails.
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Emerald
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A Donphan is so strong it can easily haul a dump truck. Its hide has toughened to a rock-hard state. An ordinary sort of attack won't even leave a scratch.
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FireRed
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The longer and bigger its tusks, the higher its rank in its herd. The tusks take long to grow.
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LeafGreen
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It has sharp, hard tusks and a rugged hide. Its Tackle is strong enough to knock down a house.
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Generation IV
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Sinnoh #—
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Johto #201
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Diamond
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It attacks by curling up, then rolling into its foe. It can blow apart a house in one hit.
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Pearl
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Platinum
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HeartGold
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It has sharp, hard tusks and a rugged hide. Its Tackle is strong enough to knock down a house.
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SoulSilver
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The longer and bigger its tusks, the higher its rank in its herd. The tusks take long to grow.
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Generation V
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Unova #—
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Black
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It attacks by curling up, then rolling into its foe. It can blow apart a house in one hit.
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White
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Black 2
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It attacks by curling up then rolling into its foe. It can blow apart a house in one hit.
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White 2
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Generation VI
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Kalos #—
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Hoenn #173
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X
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It has sharp, hard tusks and a rugged hide. Its Tackle is strong enough to knock down a house.
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Y
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The longer and bigger its tusks, the higher its rank in its herd. The tusks take long to grow.
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Omega Ruby
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Donphan's favorite attack is curling its body into a ball, then charging at its foe while rolling at high speed. Once it starts rolling, this Pokémon can't stop very easily.
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Alpha Sapphire
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If Donphan were to tackle with its hard body, even a house could be destroyed. Using its massive strength, the Pokémon helps clear rock and mud slides that block mountain trails.
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Game locations
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation II.
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In side games
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation II.
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Generation II
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This Pokémon is unavailable in Generation II side games.
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Held items
Stats
Base stats
Stat
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Range
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At Lv. 50
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At Lv. 100
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90
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150 - 197
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290 - 384
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120
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112 - 189
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220 - 372
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120
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112 - 189
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220 - 372
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60
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58 - 123
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112 - 240
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60
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58 - 123
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112 - 240
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50
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49 - 112
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94 - 218
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Total: 500
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Other Pokémon with this total
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- Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and (if applicable) a hindering nature.
- Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and (if applicable) a helpful nature.
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Pokéathlon stats
Type effectiveness
Under normal battle conditions in Generation IX, this Pokémon is:
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Learnset
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Donphan
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Donphan
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see level-up moves from other generations
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Donphan
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Donphan
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see TM moves from other generations
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- Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must be chain bred onto Donphan in Generation VII
- Moves marked with a double dagger (‡) can only be bred from a Pokémon who learned the move in an earlier generation.
- Moves marked with a superscript game abbreviation can only be bred onto Donphan in that game.
- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Donphan
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Donphan
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Egg moves from other generations
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- A black or white abbreviation in a colored box indicates that Donphan can be tutored the move in that game
- A colored abbreviation in a white box indicates that Donphan cannot be tutored the move in that game
- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Donphan
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Donphan
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Move Tutor moves from other generations
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Donphan
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Donphan
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see moves from other generations
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Side game data
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Pokémon Ranger
Group:
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Poké Assist:
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Field move:
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(Tackle ×2)
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Loops: 10
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Min. exp.: 60
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Max. exp.: 85
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Browser entry R-035
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Donphan rolls its body into a ball to charge. Its crash can shake things up!
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Evolution
Sprites
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation II.
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Japanese sprites
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Silver
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Trivia
- Donphan shares its category with Tyranitar. They are both known as the Armor Pokémon.
- Donphan and Ursaring, along with their pre-evolutions, are the only Pokémon to swap version-exclusive status between localizations. While Phanpy and Donphan are found only in the Japanese and Korean Gold, they are not found in Gold in other languages, being found in the Silver Version of those languages instead, with Teddiursa and Ursaring getting the opposite treatment. This is corrected in the remakes HeartGold and SoulSilver, where they follow the Japanese and Korean Gold and Silver.
Origin
It appears to have been based on an adult elephant, although it resembles the tire of an automobile when curled up or using its trademark Rollout attack. As both Phanpy and Donphan are much smaller compared to humans than conventional African or Asian elephants, they may have actually been inspired by the dwarf elephant or pygmy elephant.
Name origin
Donphan and Donfan are a combination of don and elephant. Don may refer to lord; a root word meaning teeth, referring to its tusks; or mastodon, a prehistoric elephant. Don may have also been included to reflect Donphan's robust physique and great strength, especially in comparison to Phanpy.
In other languages
Language
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Title
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Meaning
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Japanese
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ドンファン Donfan
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From don and elephant
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French
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Donphan
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Same as English name
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Spanish
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Donphan
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Same as English name
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German
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Donphan
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Same as English name
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Italian
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Donphan
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Same as English name
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Korean
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코리갑 Korigap
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From 코끼리 kkokkiri and 갑 (甲) gap
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Mandarin Chinese
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頓甲 / 顿甲 Dùnjiǎ
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From 頓 dùn and 甲 jiǎ
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Cantonese Chinese
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冬凡 Dūngfàahn
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[show]More languages
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Hindi
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डॉनफैन Donphan
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Transcription of English name
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Russian
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Донфэн Donfen
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Transcription of English name
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Related articles
External links
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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.
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