Tepig is a quadrupedal, pig-like Pokémon that is primarily orange. It has oval eyes, a red nose, and a thick yellow stripe on its snout. The upper portion of its head is dark brown, and its long, pointed ears are positioned closely together. Tepig has short legs, and its front feet are dark brown. A dark brown band covers its lower back and rear. Its curly tail is tipped with a ruddy red sphere.
Tepig is a nimble Pokémon capable of blowing fire from its snout. Tepig can use its speed to both dodge and confound enemies before striking back. Instead of flames, it will spout thick, black smoke when ill. Tepig is a well-known ravenous glutton for food. Tepig will roast berries before eating them but occasionally gets overexcited and burns them. It has been recently seen living in the Terarium of Blueberry Academy.
Tepig can use the flames it creates inside its body to shoot fireballs out of its nose! It also has a keen sense of smell, and it’s skilled at tracking scents to search for food.
A Tepig appeared in The Plan, under the ownership of Hilda. It was shown playing with her in Accumula Town before they went to listen to Ghetsis' speech.
Tepig, along with Oshawott and Snivy, appears when Black accidentally drops his box containing the Pokémon. The Tepig eventually joins his team and is named "Tep". He first appeared in Fussing and Fighting.
White also has a Tepig in her possession called "Gigi" that is an actress for the BW Agency. She and Tep get along very well and, eventually, Tep becomes an actor for the BW Agency as well. She first appeared in Lights, Camera...Action.
NA: Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokémon. Instead of breathing fire from its mouth or ears, Tepig does so from its nostrils. Powerful in battle, Tepig's fire is also great for roasting berries, though it can get carried away and char them. Even as clumsy as it can be, who could possibly resist such a cute Pokémon?
PAL: Tepig is a Fire Pig Pokémon. It blows fire through...its mouth? Nope... Its ears? That's not right either... Oh, of course - its nose! That skill's not just handy in battle - it also lets Tepig roast its favourite food, berries! Sadly, it sometimes gets a little too excited about the idea and accidentally burns them to a crisp. Ahh, Tepig, you're too adorable!
Tepig appears as one of the player characters in PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond. He's very ambitious and has a big heart for a small Pokémon. His dream is to become strong and powerful like his mentor, Emboar, who watches over and protects the Crag Area. When he first meets Pikachu, Oshawott, and Snivy, he challenges them to a battle after having been fired out of a cannon. He later forgives them and decides to accompany them in saving the PokéPark to gain experience and skill to make himself stronger. His special skill is to smash through specially marked boulders and various other obstacles.
Tepig and its fellow Black and White first partner Pokémon were first revealed as silhouettes on the May 9, 2010 episode of Pokémon Sunday. They were later completely revealed in the June 2010 issue of CoroCoro.
Tepig was designed by Lee HyunJung.[1] Tepig in particular was the first Generation V first partner Pokémon to be created.[2]
In Pokémon Black and White, Tepig, along with Snivy and Oshawott, has the lowest experience yield of all Pokémon, with a base value of 28. This was done specifically for the first two battles of the games, so the player's first partner Pokémon wouldn't level up after defeating Bianca and thus have a level advantage over Cheren.
Tepig is based on a piglet. Its ability to shoot fire out of its snout is inspired by the fact that pigs often have trouble regulating their body temperature.[1] The specific breed of pig that Tepig is based on may have been the British Saddleback.
Ken Sugimori has said that Tepig, Pignite, and Emboar were designed in a Chinese style.[2] Because of this, Tepig may be based on Zhu Bajie, a pig demon from the Chinese tale Journey to the West. Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott's evolutionary lines are collectively based on Western, Chinese, and Japanese culture respectively, to represent the diversity of the Unova region.[2]
Tepig's Typing might be a reference to war pigs, more specifically incendiary pigs, a form of ancient warfare reported by a couple of Greek military writers.
Name origin
Tepig may be a combination of tepid (lukewarm) and pig.
Pokabu may be a combination of ぽかぽか pokapoka (warm) and 豚 buta (pig) or ブー bū (oink).
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.