Foongus
Foongus is a Grass/Poison-type Pokémon, the Mushroom Pokémon, number 590 (#0590) in the National Pokédex. It was introduced in Generation 5 and comes from the Unova region. It is 0.2 m tall and weighs 1 kg.
Foongus is the Mushroom Pokémon, a small Grass and Poison type whose cap is painted like a Poké Ball. It uses the lookalike to lure people in, then fills the air with poison spores; why it looks that way, the Pokédex admits, nobody knows.
How to pronounce Foongus
Foongus is pronounced FOON-gus. The capital letters show the stressed syllable.
Listen to Foongus said out loud:
In Japanese it is タマゲタケ (Tamagetake).
Hear every other name on the Pokémon pronunciation guide.
Lore
Biology
Foongus is a white Pokémon shaped like a mushroom, 0.2 m tall and 1 kg, with a Poké Ball pattern on its cap, stubby arms without fingers, pinprick dark eyes and a small mouth with big pink lips. Bulbapedia says it moves by hopping or by rolling on its cap.
Behaviour
Foongus lures people and Pokémon in grassy places with its pattern before releasing a cloud of poison spores. One Pokédex entry says the spores are for repelling anyone who tries to catch it, and thoroughly dried spores make a stomach remedy.
Habitat
The Pokédex says it prefers damp places, and Bulbapedia adds around trees. In Scarlet and Violet it is found in Paldea's North Province (Area Two), West Province (Area Three) and Tagtree Thicket.
Powers
Foongus has Effect Spore, which may paralyse, poison or put to sleep an attacker that makes contact, with Regenerator hidden. It learns Stun Spore at level 8 and Giga Drain at 28, and its status moves make up for a base Speed of only 15 against 69 HP.
Name origin
Foongus may combine 'fool' (to deceive) and 'fungus'. With Amoonguss it twists the phrase 'fungus among us', which an NPC in Scarlet and Violet confirms. The Japanese name is Tamagetake (タマゲタケ), possibly from tamageru, meaning to be astonished, and take, meaning mushroom.
Design inspiration
Ken Sugimori said Foongus, Amoonguss, Ferroseed and Ferrothorn all came from the same designer. Bulbapedia does not name them. The look may draw on the fly agaric or Agaricus mushrooms, and the Poké Ball disguise resembles a mimic, the RPG monster that poses as treasure. These are fan readings.
Evolution notes
Foongus evolves into Amoonguss at level 39.
In the games
Foongus hides on Routes 6, 7 and 10 in Black and White, where it debuted, both in tall grass and as a fake item lying on the ground. In Legends: Z-A it appears in the wild only in the Mega Dimension DLC's Hyperspace Lumiose.
In the anime
Foongus debuted in 'Facing Fear with Eyes Wide Open!', where a group poisoned the Pokémon of Ash and his friends after Scraggy headbutted one.
Fun facts
- Scarlet's Pokédex floats a theory that whoever developed today's Poké Ball was a fan of Foongus, though it has never been confirmed.
- Foongus and Amoonguss share the species name Mushroom Pokémon with Paras, Parasect, Shroomish and Breloom, and Bulbapedia says all six can use Spore and have Effect Spore.
- Unlike Voltorb and Electrode, which are shaped like Poké Balls, Foongus only wears the pattern, but it copies the whole design, centre button included.
Base stats
- HP: 69
- Attack: 55
- Defense: 45
- Sp. Atk: 55
- Sp. Def: 55
- Speed: 15
Foongus’s base stat total is 294. Its highest stat is HP.
Type matchups
What is Foongus weak to?
Foongus takes extra damage from Fire (2×), Ice (2×), Flying (2×), Psychic (2×) moves.
It resists Grass (¼×), Water (½×), Electric (½×), Fighting (½×), Fairy (½×).
Evolution
How does Foongus evolve?
Foongus evolves into Amoonguss at level 39.
The whole family: Foongus, Amoonguss.
Abilities
- Effect Spore: Has a 30% chance of inflcting either paralysis, poison, or sleep on attacking Pokémon on contact.
- Regenerator (hidden ability): Heals for 1/3 max HP upon switching out.
Moves
Moves Foongus learns by level up in Scarlet / Violet
| Level | Move | Type | Category | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Absorb | Grass | Special | 20 |
| 1 | Astonish | Ghost | Physical | 30 |
| 4 | Growth | Normal | Status | — |
| 8 | Stun Spore | Grass | Status | — |
| 12 | Mega Drain | Grass | Special | 40 |
| 16 | Synthesis | Grass | Status | — |
| 20 | Clear Smog | Poison | Special | 50 |
| 24 | Sweet Scent | Normal | Status | — |
| 28 | Giga Drain | Grass | Special | 75 |
| 32 | Ingrain | Grass | Status | — |
| 36 | Toxic | Poison | Status | — |
| 40 | Rage Powder | Bug | Status | — |
| 44 | Solar Beam | Grass | Special | 120 |
| 48 | Spore | Grass | Status | — |
TM moves (24)
Foongus can learn 24 moves from TMs in Scarlet / Violet: Protect, Facade, Magical Leaf, Venoshock, Endure, Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Bullet Seed, Foul Play, Body Slam, Sleep Talk, Seed Bomb, Grass Knot, Rest, Substitute, Giga Drain, Energy Ball, Pollen Puff, Grassy Terrain, Sludge Bomb, Leaf Storm, Solar Beam, Tera Blast, Toxic.
Egg moves (4):Defense Curl, Poison Powder, Rollout, Worry Seed.
Breeding & training
- Gender: 50% male, 50% female.
- Egg groups: Grass.
- Egg cycles: 20 (steps to hatch, Scarlet/Violet: 2,560).
- Catch rate: 190 out of 255.
- Base friendship (Gen 8 onward): 50.
- Growth rate: Medium (1,000,000 experience points to reach level 100).
- Defeating it gives 1 HP effort value.
- Base experience yield: 59.
Pokédex entries
The spores released from this Pokémon's hands are highly poisonous, but when thoroughly dried, the spores can be used as stomach medicine. (Shield)
No one knows what the Poké Ball–like pattern on Foongus means or why Foongus has it. (Sword)
It lures Pokémon with its pattern that looks just like a Poké Ball then releases poison spores. (Black 2, White 2, Y, Alpha Sapphire)
It lures people in with its Poké Ball pattern, then releases poison spores. Why it resembles a Poké Ball is unknown. (Black, X, Omega Ruby)
For some reason, this Pokémon resembles a Poké Ball. They release poison spores to repel those who try to catch them. (White)
Names around the world
| Japanese | タマゲタケ |
|---|---|
| Romaji | Tamagetake |
| French | Trompignon |
| German | Tarnpignon |
| Spanish | Foongus |
| Italian | Foongus |
| Korean | 깜놀버슬 |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 哎呀球菇 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 哎呀球菇 |
Trivia
- Shortest Poison type: 0.2 m, shared with 2 others.
- Slowest Poison type: 15 Speed.
- Shortest Grass type in Gen 5: 0.2 m.
- Lightest Poison type in Gen 5: 1 kg.
- Shortest Poison type in Gen 5: 0.2 m.
- Slowest Poison type in Gen 5: 15 Speed.
- Taller than 1% of all Pokémon (0.2 m).
- Heavier than 3% of all Pokémon (1 kg).
- Base stat total 294, ranked #888 of 1,025.
- One of 14 Pokémon that are both Grass and Poison.
- One of 88 white Pokémon.
- Number 97 of 156 Pokémon introduced in Generation 5 (Unova).
- Part of an evolution family of 2 Pokémon.
- Can learn 39 different moves in Scarlet / Violet.
- Catch rate 190: about 24.8% per Poké Ball at full health.
- Appears in 5 distinct Pokédex entries.
Sources and fact-checking
- Stats, types, abilities, moves, evolutions, forms and Pokédex entries: PokéAPI open game data.
- Lore: written by pokee.si in our own words, researched from Bulbapedia: Foongus (Pokémon), Serebii: Foongus (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex).
- Pronunciation (FOON-gus): it follows how the English anime, games or official videos say it.
Last checked: . Every sentence of the lore was checked against Bulbapedia, Serebii and the game data.
Explore
Grass-type Pokémon · Poison-type Pokémon · Grass/Poison weaknesses and matchups · Unova region guide · Effect Spore ability · Regenerator ability · Compare Foongus · Full Pokédex · Type chart · All moves
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Gen 5 Grass-type Pokémon · Gen 5 Poison-type Pokémon · Gen 5 Pokémon list · White Pokémon list · Grass egg group · Pokémon that start with F
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