Chinchou (Pokémon)
Chinchou (Japanese: チョンチー Chonchie) is a dual-type Water/Electric Pokémon introduced in Generation II.
For Pokémon GO information on this species, see the game's section. | |||||||||
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
Type
| |||||||||||||||
Abilities
| |||||||||||||||
Gender ratio
|
Catch rate
| ||||||||||||||
Breeding
| |||||||||||||||
Height
|
Weight
| ||||||||||||||
Base experience yield
|
Leveling rate
| ||||||||||||||
EV yield
| |||||||||||||||
Shape
|
Footprint
| ||||||||||||||
Pokédex color
|
Base friendship
| ||||||||||||||
External Links
|
Biology
Chinchou is a small, fishlike Pokémon with a round, blue body. It has large yellow eyes with pupils shaped like plus signs, a pair of semi-transparent, light blue pectoral fins, and stubby feet. Positioned on Chinchou's rear, where its tail would be, are a pair of antennae that curve up and over its head. The antennae developed from fins and have yellow, teardrop-shaped orbs at the tips.
Prey is lured toward Chinchou by the soft glow from the orbs on its antennae. It also flashes its light to communicate with others of its kind and claim territory. Inside the antennae are electricity-generating cells that create so much electrical power that they even make Chinchou tingle slightly. By discharging positive and negative electricity, it can both defend itself and stun its prey. Chinchou lives on dark ocean floors, rarely ever coming up to the surface. However, it has demonstrated the ability to walk on land in the anime.
In the anime
Major appearances
In Takin' it on the Chinchou, multiple Chinchou, including one nicknamed Bright that belonged to Dayton, were featured as subjects of the Parade of the Chinchou, which celebrated the natural migration of newly-hatched Chinchou from the mountains to the ocean.
In The Perfect Match!, Trinity used a Chinchou in her battle against Misty during the Whirl Cup. It was able to defeat Corsola with a combination of Confuse Ray and Water Gun. It reappeared in a flashback in Espeon, Not Included.
In The Great Eight Fate!, a Chinchou was part of Juan's Sootopolis City Water Exhibit. It and Juan's other Pokémon were captured by Team Rocket, but they all worked together to escape.
In Octo-Gridlock at the Gym!, Goh caught a Chinchou while in Cianwood City. It has since made further appearances in Pokémon Journeys: The Series.
Minor appearances
In Pikachu & Pichu, a Chinchou was living Big Town.
A Chinchou appeared in Snorlax Snowman.
In The Legend of Thunder!, a Chinchou was swimming in a lake. Another was swimming in a pool in a Pokémon Center.
A Chinchou appeared in Pikachu's PikaBoo.
In As Clear As Crystal, a Chinchou was affected by a crystal that gave a lake the ability to heal Electric-type Pokémon.
In Enlighten Up!, multiple Chinchou were living in Lake Slowpoke.
In Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias, two Chinchou and a Mantine escorted Latias to Ash and his friends' boat. A third belonged to a Trainer competing in the Tour de Alto Mare.
Multiple Chinchou appeared in the opening sequence of Destiny Deoxys.
Multiple Chinchou appeared in The Relicanth Really Can.
A Coordinator's Chinchou appeared in Harley Rides Again.
In Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, multiple Chinchou witnessed the final showdown with The Phantom and his crew. They briefly reappeared in a montage in The Rise of Darkrai, which chronicled the preceding nine movies.
In One Big Happiny Family!, Jessie's fantasy featured a Chinchou.
Multiple Chinchou appeared in Giratina and the Sky Warrior.
In Up Close and Personable!, a Chinchou lived in the lake near the Pokémon Summer Academy.
Multiple Chinchou appeared in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!.
In An Undersea Place to Call Home!, multiple Chinchou made the wreck of the S.S. Cussler their home.
Three Chinchou appeared in Alola to New Adventure!.
A Chinchou appeared in a fantasy in Yo, Ho, Ho! Go, Popplio!.
A Chinchou appeared in The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!.
Multiple Chinchou appeared in Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence!.
In Love at First Twirl!, a Chinchou was attacked by Poipole and forced to defend itself.
In Securing the Future!, four Chinchou joined the rest of Alola in showering Necrozma with light so it could return to its normal form.
Four Chinchou appeared in Pikachu's Exciting Adventure!.
A Chinchou appeared in a fantasy in Dreams of the Sun and Moon!.
A Trainer's Chinchou appeared in Thank You, Alola! The Journey Continues!.
In The Sinnoh Iceberg Race!, multiple Chinchou used their lights to mark the racetrack for the Pokémon Iceberg Race.
A Chinchou appeared in On Land, In the Sea, and to the Future!.
Pokédex entries
|
Pokémon Generations

In The Cavern, two wild Chinchou were in the waters that surrounded the Seafloor Cavern.
Pokémon: Twilight Wings
In Early-Evening Waves, a Chinchou lived in a lake where Nessa was doing a photo shoot.
Pokémon Evolutions
In The Show, a Chinchou briefly appeared in the seas around the Whirl Islands.
In the manga

Pokémon Adventures
Chinchou debuted in Number One Donphan, where Gold encountered them during his search for his Poliwag. He caught multiple of them to avoid being electrocuted and later released them.
In Teddiursa's Picnic, a Chinchou appeared in its Poké Ball after a wild Granbull had spit out all of the Poké Balls that it stole to get attention on its dislocated jaw. It was later returned to its owner by Wilton afterwards.
Misty is later seen with a Chinchou in Chinchou in Charge, using her to light up the area behind the Tohjo Falls.
A Chinchou was one of the aquarium Pokémon seen in Archie's collection in Stick This in Your Craw, Crawdaunt I.
A Chinchou was one of the rental Pokémon used by Emerald in his Battle Factory challenge in Pinsir Me, I Must Be Dreaming.
The Battle Factory rented a Chinchou, which was stolen by Guile Hideout in Skirting Around Surskit I.
Two Chinchou first appeared in Well Met, Weepinbell, under the ownership of Sebastian. They were used as makeshift headlights for his carriage.
Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys
Multiple Chinchou appeared in The Truth About The Mysterious Whirl Islands!!.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
A Chinchou appeared in a fantasy in Legend? Check! Friends? Check!.
Game data
NPC appearances
- Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire: Chinchou are the main bumpers on the Ruby Field. Hitting a nearby button will change the formation from three floating in place, to three moving around, to just the one moving around. They will occasionally disappear and be replaced by Lotad or Whiscash.
Pokédex entries
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation II. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Game locations
In side games
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation II. | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
|
In events
Games | Event | Language | Location | Level | Distribution period |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GSC | Gotta Catch 'Em All Station! Light Screen Chinchou | English | United States | 5 | July 12 to August 8, 2002 |
Held items
Game | Held Item(s) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Ruby | Sapphire | ![]() | |
Emerald | |||
Diamond | Pearl | ![]() | |
Platinum | |||
HeartGold | SoulSilver | ![]() | |
Black | White | ![]() | |
Black 2 | White 2 | ![]() | |
X | Y | ![]() | |
Omega Ruby | Alpha Sapphire | ![]() | |
Sun | Moon | ![]() | |
Ultra Sun | Ultra Moon | ![]() |
Base stats
Stat | Range | ||
---|---|---|---|
At Lv. 50 | At Lv. 100 | ||
HP: 75 |
135 - 182 | 260 - 354 | |
38 |
38 - 99 | 72 - 192 | |
38 |
38 - 99 | 72 - 192 | |
56 |
54 - 118 | 105 - 232 | |
56 |
54 - 118 | 105 - 232 | |
67 |
64 - 130 | 125 - 256 | |
Total: 330 |
Other Pokémon with this total | ||
Pokéathlon stats
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
Type effectiveness
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Learnset
Chinchou is available in Sword and Shield and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
By leveling up
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
By TM/TR
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
By breeding
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
By tutoring
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
By transfer from another generation
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
TCG-only moves
Move | Card |
---|---|
Headbutt | Chinchou (Aquapolis 70) |
Pound | Chinchou (EX Hidden Legends 56) |
Side game data
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Sprites
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation II. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|

Trivia
- Although Chinchou is shown to have the ability to walk on land in the anime, in the games, it can only be caught in water, and it lacks a footprint.
- The vowel sounds in Chinchou's English name are reverse of the vowels in its Japanese name.
- Chinchou and its evolution are the only Electric-type Pokémon in the Water 2 Egg Group.
Origin
Chinchou is based on an anglerfish, more specifically the footballfish.
Name origin
Chinchou is a play on 提灯 chōchin (lantern).
Chonchie is a corruption of 提灯 chōchin (lantern). Also, チョウチンアンコウ chōchin-ankō is the name of the footballfish, a deep-sea fish similar to Chinchou's evolution, Lanturn. Notably, 調和 chōwa is Japanese for harmony, describing the balance of Chinchou's water and electric types.
In other languages
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
External links
|
|
|
![]() |
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon as a species. |