Porygon is a Pokémon made completely out of programming code. It has a pink polyhedral body with a blue stomach, blue triangular prism feet, and a blue rectangular prism tail. It has a pink, polyhedral head that ends in a blue beak and has hexagonal eyes. Built into this code is Silph Co. copyright protection preventing duplication through electronic means. Due to its man-made origins, Porygon does not need to breathe or eat, though it can still accept food if given.
Porygon has two signature moves at its disposal. It can change type into one of its own moves* with Conversion or to resist the last move that hit it with Conversion 2. It is also capable of changing its appearance using Sharpen, which is a former signature move. Because it is man-made, it is generally found in computers or in labs and other buildings where people work.
In the anime
Porygon in the animePorygon in Aim to Be a Pokémon Master
Major appearances
Porygon made its first and only major anime appearance in EP038, where two specimens created by Dr. Akihabara appeared, one of which was stolen by Team Rocket, but eventually returned.
This episode caused more than 600 children in Japan to have seizures due to a flashing strobe effect, and was therefore banned and never aired again anywhere in the world. Since then, Porygon and its evolutions have never played a main role in another episode, despite the fact that it was actually Pikachu who caused the strobe effect which gave children seizures.
Minor appearances
Although it did not appear, a Trainer was attempting to send out their Porygon to fight the Diglett and Dugtrio in Dig Those Diglett!. This was only present in the dub.
A Porygon made its dub debut in a brief appearance during a graphic display in A Chansey Operation.
A Porygon made a cameo during the "World of Pokémon" opening narration of the fourth and fifth movies, oddly being the only Pokémon in the shot appearing behind a wire fence.
Porygon appeared in a "Who's That Pokemon?" segment in A Way Off Day Off.
Blue obtains a Porygon during his time in Celadon City, and it has since then become a core member of his team. Prior to Volume 13, it has since evolved into Porygon2.
In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
Team Rocket uses multiple Porygon as sentries for their hideout.
Porygon pops out of a door on top of the Silph Co. building in the Saffron City stage. It damages players that come into contact with it.
Porygon's only appearance in Melee is that of a Poké Float. When the fighting is on Slowpoke's tail, three will travel across the top of the screen. However, they move too quickly to land on and so are little more than decoration in practice.
Porygon is capable of reverting itself entirely back to program data and entering cyberspace. This Pokémon is copy-protected so it cannot be duplicated by copying.
Porygon will not appear in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team until a rescue mission involving it has been completed, using the following Wonder Mail code:
Porygon is the only Pokémon that evolves by trade twice: Once holding the Up-Grade into Porygon2, and a second time (as Porygon2) into Porygon-Z when holding a Dubious Disc. It is also the only Pokémon in a three-stage evolutionary line that does not require levelling up to trigger any of its evolutions (i.e. it is possible to acquire a Porygon-Z at Lv.1) .
EP038, which featured Porygon, caused seizures and irritated eyes. It was not Porygon itself, but Pikachu's Thunderbolt, which caused the problematic blue and red flash - even so, none of Porygon's evolutions have had any appearance in the anime since, except for the intro of the fourth, fifth and fifteenth movies and re-runs using the Pokérap.
Porygon's evolutionary line is the only three-stage evolutionary line whose members can all learn both Giga Impact and Hyper Beam, as all three were considered fully-evolved during their respective debut generations.
In Generation II, it is possible for Porygon to use both effects of the move Curse. Simply using the move would cause Curse's effect for non-Ghost types. Using either Conversion or Conversion 2 could change Porygon's type to Ghost and cause Curse to have its effect for Ghost types. This is also possible for Porygon2 and Smeargle.
In the 3D games, Porygon's animation reveals that it can detach its limbs and head when necessary. It can be seen thrusting its head forward until it breaks off for a brief second.
In Pokémon Ranger and Pokémon Snap, it is shown that Porygon can make itself transparent or camouflaged. It cannot learn the move Camouflage, however.
Despite being man-made, composed of only computer data, Porygon can be hatched from an Egg.
Porygon is heavier than both of its evolutions, possibly referencing how new technological devices have become lighter than old ones.
Origin
It appears to be based on the concept of an origami crane made with primitive 3D graphics software.
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.
For other sprites and images, please see Porygon images on Bulbagarden Archives.
