Staryu’s body is mostly composed of a pliable, golden-brown star-shape, from which Staryu derives its title as the Star Shape Pokémon. Between its five appendages, at the very center of its body, an exterior organ called the core is held in place by a gold piece. The core resembles a red jewel and functions similarly to a madreporite. Lopped around its left leg is a golden ring that seems to hold the core in place. Staryu is hermaphroditic.
Its core can be used to reflect and refract light and energy. This grants it the power to use moves like Power Gem and Light Screen.
Behavior
The core of a Staryu acts as a heart for the Pokémon. It glows brightly when it is healthy and happy. When it is excited, scared or angered it will flash, increasing as the emotion intensifies. If a Staryu becomes weak, its core will grow faint and will also flash slowly when it is very sick or near death.
Staryu become most active at night. When the sun goes down the core will glow its brightest. Many will float from the seafloor to the surface and align themselves with stars of the night sky as their core flickers, displaying a connection with the celestial bodies of space.
Most Staryu can be found at the very bottom of the ocean on the seafloors. There are also many found in the waters of caves which are attracted by the dark, calm waters. There are times, however, when Staryu find themselves in rivers that lead into the ocean. Staryu will almost never be found during the day, when they are in the deepest parts of the ocean, but at night they freely move throughout the oceans' waters and even rest at the surface. They can be found throughout the waters of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Unova, but are more elusive in Sinnoh.
Crystal encounters a herd of twelve Staryu during her journey. The dozen Staryu hound after Bill in an attempt to play with him, encasing him and his Farfetch'd in a dodecahedral shell not even Crystal's Cubone could penetrate. Crystal was eventually able to capture and calm the Staryu down by breaking them up from the inside, using the new Pokémon Portable Transport System to send her Natu inside.
When released from a Poké Ball, Staryu will target one of the opponents, spin towards them and shoot Swift. Each hit only does 1% damage but it is hard to avoid once caught in Swift so the maximum damage of 23% is common.
Melee trophy information
These starshape Pokémon that evolve into Starmie are found in large numbers at the seashore. At night, Staryu's red center glows and blinks on and off. It's said that as long as its red center remains, it can regrow its limbs. Whether it's related to Cleffa, another Pokémon with a vaguely star-shaped appearance, is unknown.
Brawl trophy information
"A Star Shape Pokémon. It gathers in groups and flashes the red jewel in the center of its body in time to the twinkling of the stars in the night sky. If it loses appendages, it can regenerate them right away. It can also use Camouflage, which allows it to change its type to match the surrounding terrain. If a Water Stone is used on it, evolves into Starmie."
Game data
NPC appearances
Pokémon Pinball: A Staryu appears on the Red Table; however, it is merely decoration.
Pokédex entries
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation I.
Staryu's center section has an organ called the core that shines bright red. If you go to a beach toward the end of summer, the glowing cores of these Pokémon look like the stars in the sky.
Staryu apparently communicates with the stars in the night sky by flashing the red core at the center of its body. If parts of its body are torn, this Pokémon simply regenerates the missing pieces and limbs.
It gathers with others in the night and makes its red core glow on and off with the twinkling stars. It can regenerate limbs if they are severed from its body.
Staryu shares the same species name with Cleffa. They are both known as Star Shape Pokémon.
Despite being a genderless Pokémon, Staryu and Starmie were still able to learn Egg moves in Gold and Silver. This was fixed in Crystal, in which they could no longer breed with any Pokémon except Ditto.
They also have a chance of holding valuable items, Stardust/Star Piece and Pearl/Big Pearl, respectively. Staryu is exclusive to LeafGreen, while Shellder is exclusive to FireRed, with both Pokémon found by fishing in the same locations in their respective versions.
PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond erroneously states that Staryu is a "he," despite it being a genderless Pokémon.
Despite many of its Pokédex entries stating its ability to regenerate, Staryu cannot have Regenerator as its ability in any way.
Origin
Staryu's design is based off the common starfish. The large gem attached to its body is held on by a bracket similar to a ring mount.
Name origin
Staryu is derived from star (referring to its shape) and yu (possible corruption of you, in opposition to the mie in Starmie). Yu is also the Chinese word for fish (魚).
Hitodeman is probably derived from an alternate reading of 海星 kaisei (starfish), ヒトデ hitode, along with the combination of man or possibly demon.
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.
TM33 (Ice Punch) (100%)
Stardust (25%)
Star Piece (8%)
Water Stone (Beyond the Sea only, 100%)
For other sprites and images, please see Staryu images on Bulbagarden Archives.
