Starmie, like its pre-evolved form, resembles a sea star. Its main body is violet, but it retains the gold formation on its front. Starmie's red jewel core is larger than Staryu’s and has developed to resemble a cut precious stone. The major change that took place upon evolution to Starmie was the growing of a second star on its back. This second set of arms is semi-attached, being able to spin 360°.
Gender differences
Starmie is a genderless species.
Special abilities
Starmie's central core glows in seven different colors, but typically shows up as red. It can also emit electrical waves from the core that are powerful enough to reach the furthest parts of the universe. It spins the star on its back to propel itself through the water and sometimes to launch itself out of the water and fly through the air for short periods of time. It is through this behavior that Starmie uses attacks like Rapid Spin. Starmie still retains all of the abilities of Staryu including re-growing limbs and firing off energy attacks from its core.
Behavior
Much like Staryu, Starmie are nocturnal creatures and become active at nighttime. Despite this, captured Starmie have been known for surprising tenacity and enthusiasm during the daytime. It is unknown exactly why wild Starmie are mainly night dwellers, however, there has always been the conclusion that Starmie and Staryu are from an alien planet, implying that perhaps the night sky brings the species some sort of comfort in familiarity. This Pokémon has also been noted to “send electric waves into outer space”. These transmissions have also been referred to as “radio signals”. This is very possibly some type of communication between terrestrial Starmie and their alien relatives. The multi-color glowing of Starmie’s core is also believed to be a method of communication inside the species. Starmie’s core is most commonly seen as red in color, which may be a relaxed or dormant signal as according to the Starmie communication system. The core will go dark if Starmie is knocked unconscious, and will sometimes flicker, similarly to a light bulb.
Starmie are a rare sight in the wild, as they require a Water Stone to evolve from Staryu. Their nocturnal behavior also decreases the chances of one being sighted. If they are ever found in the wild, it is in the deepest parts of the ocean; wild Starmie typically share their habitat with many other Staryu. There have also been rare sightings in the waters of Unova's Route 13.
Rudy's Starmie also appears in the manga adaptation. Like in the anime, Starmie battled Ash's Squirtle, and gave the Tiny Turtle Pokémon trouble with its Thunderbolt attack.
Misty sent out her Starmie for Satoshi's second gym battle challenge. However, it could not battle as Satoshi had trouble dealing with water and the battle was officially called off.
When released from a Poké Ball, Starmie floats to the closest opponent and barrages them with Swift. Each hit does 3% damage, and touching Starmie itself does 12% damage.
Game data
Pokédex entries
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation I.
Starmie's center section - the core - glows brightly in seven colors. Because of its luminous nature, this Pokémon has been given the nickname "the gem of the sea."
Starmie swims through water by spinning its star-shaped body as if it were a propeller on a ship. The core at the center of this Pokémon's body glows in seven colors.
Starmie is tied with Floatzel for the fastest Template:Type2 Pokémon with a base speed of 115.
Despite being a genderless Pokémon, it was still able to learn egg moves in Gold and Silver. This was fixed in Crystal where it could no longer breed with any Pokémon except Ditto.
Although Starmie has been seen levitating in the anime and the games, it cannot have the ability of the same name.
Origin
It appears to be a stylized seastar. But on account of the second star on its back, it bears resemblance to a crown of thorns starfish. Starmie also bears resemblance to Mesopotamian goddess Inanna's iconography.
Name origin
Starmie is derived from star (referring to its shape) and mie, which involves 珠 mi (gem or jewel), referring to its core. In English, Mie is considered a corruption of me (the personal pronoun), in opposition to the yu (you) in Staryu. This pun is not present in their Japanese names; while Starmie shares its name in both languages, Staryu's Japanese name is Hitodeman (roughly "starfish man").
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.
Stardust (50%)
Star Piece (5%)
For other sprites and images, please see Starmie images on Bulbagarden Archives.
