It was not officially revealed until February of 2008, when it was listed as a star of Giratina and the Sky Warrior. In early June of the same year, its Sky Forme was revealed, which takes on the Template:Type2 as a secondary type.
Shaymin is a small, hedgehog-like creature. Its body is pure white. Its back is covered with green fur and has a pink flower on each side of its head. Its legs are short and its underside is plump. Shaymin is the smallest legendary Pokémon to date. According to the Pokédex height of 0'08", it is also among the smallest Pokémon in existence, with its comrades being Diglett, Natu, Azurill, Budew, Burmy and Chingling.
As first revealed by Japan's CoroCoro Magazine, Shaymin has two forms. The first (Land Forme) is the original form seen in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Versions. The second is the Sky Forme which debuted in Giratina and the Sky Warrior. Shaymin will change into Sky Forme and back if it touches a Gracidea. Shaymin can't be in this form at night or if it has contact with ice. Shaymin's Sky Forme has a canine-like appearance. It has a small, slender body. The fur on its back appears to have shifted into a mohawk; it has a red flower petal on the right side of its neck, looking like a scarf or cape, and flat wing-like ears. It has a small ruff on the front of its neck and a stumpy tail.
Gender differences
Shaymin is genderless.
Special abilities
Shaymin have the ability to instantly purify any ruined land of all pollutants in the air and transform it into a lush field of flowers. They can take in polluted air, purify it inside their bodies, break it down into water and light, and release the purified substance in a violent, explosive burst. This ability is known as Seed Flare, their signature move. Its power varies on the type of pollution is absorbed. Shaymin can also communicate with telepathy and sense the gratitude of others.
Shaymin have a habitual trait called "Flower Bearing". Each season, Shaymin gather in a flower field somewhere and migrate from there. This behavior is called Flower Carrying because a new field of flowers grow where they land. Shaymin are also attracted to areas where there is a lot of gratitude. Their personalities are almost opposite with each form-- Land Forme is shy and easily scared, while Sky Forme is courageous and playful.
Habitat
Shaymin live in fields of flowers. Since a Shaymin camouflages by curling itself up, it can easily escape people's notice, similar to Geodude on rocky terrain.
Bold indicates a move that gets STAB Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only from an Evolution of this Pokémon A colored initial indicates that the move is not available to be tutored in this game, while a colored background indicates that the move is available.
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Shaymin's Land Forme is the smallest legendary Pokémon, and one of the shortest Pokémon overall, tying with Diglett, Natu, Azurill, Budew, Burmy, and Chingling.
Like Darkrai, despite being an event-exclusive legendary Pokémon, both the Surf glitch and tweaking are able to allow the player to access the Flower Paradise without the event having been activated.
This has been rectified in Pokémon Platinum, as neither Pokémon will appear without the event, even if the player manages to access their area.
Land Forme Shaymin is the first pure Grass-type legendary Pokémon.
Although Shaymin is a legendary Pokémon, normal wild Pokémon battle music plays while battling it. It shares this with Cresselia, Latias, and Latios.
Shaymin is implied to be behind the creation of Floaroma Town, as one person notes it was a barren wasteland until one day flowers mysteriously covered it all.
Shaymin seems to appear only when someone gives thanks for a significant blessing in their life. A girl in Floaroma Town states that the flowers the town is famous for appeared after someone gave thanks for nature's blessings. With Oak's Letter Shaymin will lead the player to Flower Paradise after they give thanks for their Pokémon journey at the white rock on Route 224.
Unlike most legendary Pokémon, Shaymin needs only 1,059,860 Exp. to get to level 100, whereas others need 1,250,000. It shares this trait with Mew and Celebi.
Shaymin's Sky Forme has a different cry than its Land Forme, making Shaymin the first Pokémon to have different cries for different forms, and the first Pokémon to change its cry since Pikachu in Pokémon Yellow.
Shaymin is one of two legendary Pokémon capable of using the F.E.A.R. strategy (the other is Mew).
In Sky Forme, Shaymin is the only legendary Flying-type Pokémon weak to Flying-type attacks.
In 'Pokemon Crater', now 'Pokemon Battle Arena', a slow-loading online clicking game, revealed Shaymin(Land)to be catchable at about 2006 or 2007 before Shaymin was officially revealed. As to how the creator of the game know about Shaymin is unknown.
Origin
Shaymin is based on a hedgehog. Its white body and the grass-like fur on its back makes it somewhat resemble a Chia Pet. Its Sky Forme shares most of its traits with a young terrier, but has a few features of a reindeer.
Name origin
Its name is possibly a combination of 謝 sha (thanks/gratitude) or ジェイド jeido (jade), which is one of Shaymin's most dominant colors, and 蝟 harinezumi (hedgehog). Also, shaman can be pronounced like Shaymin, so it may be like a mythical shaman. In addition, the name Shaymin may be a corruption of the Hebrew word Shamayim, which means "sky" and is the name of the first heaven in Jewish mysticism. This correlates directly with Shaymin's Sky Forme.
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.
