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.
Donphan was officially revealed in the May 1997 issue of CoroCoro, along with Slowking and Ampharos.[1]
It appears to be distantly related to the Paradox Pokémon Great Tusk and Iron Treads.
Biology
Donphan is a gray, proboscid 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. While normally calm, Donphan can become enraged and start a rampage. Once it starts its rampage, it will be almost unstoppable. Donphan will chase after anyone who angers it. 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. A Donphan's tough hide is so strong, not even a car can scratch it. Despite this, the armor is extremely vulnerable to rain.
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.
Both Great Tusk and Iron Treads share a resemblance to Donphan. Great Tusk is theorized to be Donphan's ancient ancestor from the dinosaur era. While, Iron Treads is believed to be a descendent of Donphan sent to the Pokémon world by aliens as a scientific weapon.
In the anime
Main series
Major appearances
In Reversing the Charges, Ash's Phanpy evolved into a Donphan. It proved to be an excellent member of his team, showing its strength in every battle.
Other
Donphan debuted briefly at the beginning of Mewtwo Strikes Back, under the ownership of Raymond. It battled Ash's Bulbasaur and managed to land two successive hits with Rollout, only to then be defeated by Bulbasaur's Solar Beam. At the time, Donphan was an unknown Pokémon. In the film's remake, Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution, it played the same role.
Four Donphan made their main series debut in Roll On, Pokémon!, under the ownership of Rochelle. She would use them to find amberite.
In Date Expectations, a Shiny Donphan was the center of romantic attention for multiple male Donphan. Ash and his friends eventually helped one such Donphan to succeed and mate with the Shiny Donphan.
In Choose It or Lose It!, Tyson used a Donphan in his Ever Grande Conference battle against Ash. It went up against Swellow but was soon defeated.
In Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! (Part 2), Kellyn used his Capture Styler to capture a Donphan. He then had it smash through the cave-ins that were caused by an Aggron belonging to J's client.
Minor appearances
A
Shiny Donphan in the anime
In Tricks of the Trade, a Donphan was at the Pokémon Swap Meet in Palmpona.
A Donphan appeared in The Legend of Thunder!.
A Donphan appeared in Pikachu's PikaBoo.
In Gotta Catch Ya Later!, Misty's flashback featured multiple Donphan.
In Beg, Burrow and Steal, a Donphan was living in an underground paradise.
A Coordinator's Donphan appeared in Deceit and Assist.
In Battling The Generation Gap!, a Coordinator's Donphan competed in the Celestic Contest.
In Challenging a Towering Figure!, a Trainer's Donphan battled a Snover during the Festival Battle Challenge.
In An Old Family Blend!, a Trainer's Donphan was at the Lily of the Valley Conference.
In the opening of Zoroark: Master of Illusions, Ethan used a Donphan to battle Ash and Pikachu, though the outcome of that battle was left unknown.
A Trainer's Donphan appeared in Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel.
In The Power of Us, a Trainer's Donphan competed in the Pokémon Catch Race.
Pokédex entries
Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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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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Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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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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Pokémon Masters Animated Trailer
In the Pokémon Masters Animated Trailer, a Trainer's Donphan was in a town square in Pasio.
In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
A silhouette of a wild Donphan appeared in Ponyta Tale, when Professor Oak mentioned new Pokémon beyond the previously known 151 species.
In Number One Donphan, a thieving ruffian used multiple Donphan, but they were defeated by Gold afterwards. They reappeared in Bellsprout Rout.
In Quilava Quandary, the Day-Care Couple used a Donphan to train Gold.
In The Last Battle XIII, a Donphan was 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.
In a flashback in Innocent Scientist, the International Police trained a Donphan.
Pokédex entries
Manga
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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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Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys
A Donphan appeared in The Secret Of The Fighting Type Pokémon.
Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All
A Donphan appeared in GDZ40, under the ownership of a male Trainer.
Pokémon Pocket Monsters
In Clefairy, the Battle Instructor, a boy who had trouble controlling a Donphan. It 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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Generation IX
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Paldea #123
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Scarlet
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Donphan is covered in tough hide, so even being hit by a car won’t faze this Pokémon. However, it is extremely susceptible to rain.
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Violet
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Donphan is normally a calm Pokémon, but once it is enraged, it will curl its body into a ball and charge at you while rolling.
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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 or an alternate form 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
- 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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- 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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Pokémon Rumble Rush
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Walking Speed: 1.25 seconds
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Base HP: 57
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Base Attack: 80
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Base Defense: 57
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Base Speed: 60
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Evolution
Sprites
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation II.
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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-evolved forms, 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 changed in the remakes HeartGold and SoulSilver, where they follow the Japanese and Korean Gold and Silver.
Origin
Donphan seems to be based on an adult elephant, possibly the pygmy elephant or the extinct dwarf elephant due to its relatively small size (if compared to Copperajah). The ridges on its dark gray backside are similar to tire treads, causing it to resemble a spinning car tire when using its Rollout attack. Its armored body may be a reference to war elephants that were trained by humans for combat.
Name origin
Donphan and Donfan may be a combination of don (Spanish for lord or master) or -don (common suffix in names of prehistoric animals derived from the Ancient Greek word for tooth) and elephant.
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, -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 the partial transcription of the Japanese name and 甲 jiǎ
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Cantonese Chinese
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頓甲 Deuhngaap* 冬凡 Dūngfàahn*
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From the partial transcription of the Japanese name and 甲 gaap Transcription of Japanese name
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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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Thai
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ดอนแฟน Donfaen
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Transcription of Japanese 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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