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Revision as of 08:33, 16 August 2013 by Pumpkinking0192(talk | contribs)(→Name origin: I thought we'd purged the "feminine" opinion from this page ages ago...)
Misdreavus is a dark bluish-green, ghost-like Pokémon. While it has no visible arms or legs, its lower half has several small appendages and resembles a ruffled dress. It has a several round, red gems around its neck, which are used to absorb fear as nourishment. It has long, flowing lilac-tipped "hair" which it can manipulate. Misdreavus's large eyes are yellow with red irises.
A group of wild Misdreavus were causing a ruckus in at the Silver Conference Hotel in Johto Photo Finish. Ash and his friends found that one of them was trapped under a fallen tree and helped it out.
Misdreavus appeared in Misdreavus Misgivings as one of Morty's Pokémon, and one of his strongest battlers, able to both exploit its own abilities and those of its opponents using non-damaging attacks like Spite. Having used it in the Gym Leaders' Tournament match (which ended in a draw due to it using Destiny Bond), he still keeps it in his team to this day.
Misdreavus frightens people with a creepy, sobbing cry. The Pokémon apparently uses its red spheres to absorb the fearful feelings of foes and turn them into nutrition.
Misdreavus' nocturnal habits of wailing to frighten people and its similarity in appearance to a disembodied head are shared by various mythological creatures. One of these is the Nukekubi, which shares the similarities of nocturnal habits, flying about as a decapitated head, and wailing to increase its victims' fright. Another possible origin is the banshee, a female spirit from Gaelic folklore who was known for its unearthly wailing and screaming. It is also possible that it was based on a langsuir, a type of vampire in Malaysian mythology known to appear as a flying decapitated female head.
Name origin
Misdreavus is a corruption of mischievous. It may also be any combination of mistress, miscreant (due to the way it always scares people), dream, dread, dreary, and reave (to rob).
Muma may be a corruption of 夢魔 muma (nightmare or a demon in a dream).
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.