Phione is a blue Pokémon with a round head and a tiny body. Phione's head is crowned by a flotation sac with a long, ribbon-like antenna. Its mouth is small, and its eyes are large with blue sclerae and gray irises. Above its eyes are two blue, circular markings connected to the eyes by a thin black line. Its long, flipper-like arms have rounded tips. Phione has a red, oval gem on its chest and a single rudimentary foot spike.
Phione inflates the sac on its head to drift in the water and search for food. When the water grows warm, it will drift in packs with other members of its species. No matter how far it has drifted, it will always return to the place where it was born. Sometimes it will be seen with Manaphy, visiting the Hisui region on rare occasions. Against natural predators, it uses a defense mechanism that allows it to blend with ocean waters. Phione are known to hatch from eggs laid by Manaphy, although the relationship between the two species is still unknown.
Three Phione debuted in Hold the Phione! as residents of Chocovine Town. One of them became attracted to Dawn's Buneary and became jealous upon realizing that Buneary had feelings for Pikachu. This Phione was also temporarily captured by Team Rocket, but it managed to escape.
Phione, the Sea Drifter Pokémon. Phione lives in warm oceans. It inflates the flotation sac on its head, allowing it to float on the waves and look for food.
Can be seen floating offshore during seasons when the seas are warm. Its azure body blends in with the ocean waters—logic suggests this is a defense mechanism against natural predators.
Phione is probably based on sea angels, specifically clione. Clione are remarkably popular in Japanese documentaries, especially in Hokkaido, on which Sinnoh is based. This may also explain their appearance in Chocovine Town.
Manaphy's trait of only being able to produce Phione as offspring may be inspired by eusociality, a biological phenomenon which usually manifests in a colony of animals having a sole breeding female, or queen, tended to by her usually infertile offspring, or an example of a highly rare and unique mutations such albinism or polydactyly. Pokédex entries, however, suggests that Manaphy are born in cold waters and are easily affected by their environment, while Phione live in warms waters and come back to their place of birth.
Name origin
Phione may be a combination of Manaphy and Clione (genus of floating sea slugs).
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 Phione images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
