Skuntank is a medium-sized mammalian Pokémon that resembles a skunk with the face of a cat. It has purple, spiky fur with several tan stripes. The whiskers present on its pre-evolution have since vanished or have been replaced by furry purple tufts on the sides of Skuntank's face. Its legs are tan, and the tan coloration of its underside now forms a spiky pattern. Its nose is larger than its pre-evolution. Its massive tail with a cream colored stripe, sits on top of its back and head.
Skuntank is known for its noxious fluid which smells dreadful. It can spray this fluid over 160 feet, and the longer it allows the liquid to ferment within its belly, the more powerful the smell. Unlike its pre-evolution and real-life skunks, Skuntank spray this from its tail tip, which can open, instead of its rear. The stench of Skuntank's fluid varies depending on its diet. Skuntank prefers to nest in large, prickly bushes in heavily wooded areas and digs holes in the ground to make its nest. While Skuntank can use its poisonous fluids to take down prey, ironically it cannot handle the smell of its own stench, abandoning potential defeated meals as a result.
A Skuntank appeared in flashbacks in The Rival under the ownership of Jupiter. She first used it in a battle against Barry and his Prinplup at Lake Acuity when she was attempting to capture Uxie and won thanks to its Smokescreen. Later, the two had a rematch at the Spear Pillar where Barry's fully evolved Empoleon put up a much stronger fight and defeated Skuntank.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky: Skuntank is the leader of Team Skull, a band of thieves. When he first appears, he uses his stench to knock out the player. With Koffing, he can perform a noxious gas combo attack, and uses that to knock out the player's team with a horrible stench several times over the course of the game, but this fails against Wigglytuff later on. Toward the end of the game when he steals the Relic Fragment, his team's lives are saved by the player's team and he gives the relic back.
Pokédex entries
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation IV.
Due to the censor that prevents Pokémon with offensive nicknames from being traded on the GTS, an English-language Skuntank cannot be traded on the GTS without a nickname in Pokémon Black and White.
Origin
Skuntank is based on a hog-nosed skunk and a tank. Its appearance and notoriety of being incredibly foul-smelling is a trait also similar to the honey badger. Its stylized tail bears similarity to a pompadour, a hairstyle that is commonly associated with Japanese delinquents. It also bears similarities to cats.
Name origin
Skuntank and Skutank may be a combination of skunk, stank (past tense of stink), and tank.
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.