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Delibird

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Delibird
Pokémon character
Delibird artwork by Ken Sugimori
First gamePokémon Gold and Silver (1999)
Designed byKen Sugimori (finalized)[1]
Voiced byEN: SungWon Cho[2]
JA: Katsuyuki Konishi[3]
In-universe information
SpeciesPokémon
TypeIce and Flying

Delibird (/ˈdɛlɪˌbɜːd/ ⓘ; Japanese: デリバード), is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Delibird first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and most of its subsequent sequels. Designed by Game Freak's development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori, it has also appeared in various spin-off titles, such as Pokémon Go and Pokémon Stadium 2, and animated adaptations of the franchise. Delibird are penguin-like, Santa Claus-inspired Pokémon with a tail that resembles a sack. In the Pokémon anime, Delibird has been voiced by SungWon Cho and Katsuyuki Konishi for the English and Japanese dubs respectively.

Following its debut, Delibird had mixed reception. Its weakness in battle, owed partially to the unreliability of its "Present" move, was universally criticized. Reactions to its appearance were more split, with some believing Delibird to have an endearing appearance, while others described its appearance as off-putting and criticized its sack-like tail as an odd design choice. Iron Bundle, a robotic Pokémon directly inspired by Delibird, became well-known for its high level of combat power, dwarfing that of its inspiration.

Conception and design

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Delibird is a species of fictional creatures called Pokémon created for the Pokémon media franchise. Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Japanese franchise began in 1996 with the video games Pokémon Red and Green for the Game Boy, which were later released in North America as Pokémon Red and Blue in 1998.[4] In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon. Some Pokémon can transform into stronger species through a process called evolution via various means, such as exposure to specific items.[5] Each Pokémon have one or two elemental types, which define its advantages and disadvantages when battling other Pokémon.[6] A major goal in each game is to complete the Pokédex, a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading with other Trainers to obtain individuals from all Pokémon species.[5]

Delibird was first introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver. When developing the games, around 300 individual Pokémon designs were drafted by various members of the development team, with each deciding their names and features, revising the drafts as needed. During this process the team actively tried to avoid vague design concepts, as they felt this had caused difficulty in creating completed Pokémon during Red and Blue development. As the team selected which Pokémon would be included, they were drawn and finalized by lead artist Ken Sugimori.[1] To maintain balance however, many of the newer species did not appear in the early stages of the game. Additionally, many of the Pokémon were designed with merchandise in mind, taking into account the related Pokémon toy line and anime series. As a result designs often had to be kept simplistic, something that caused strain for Sugimori and affected his approach to the next Pokémon franchise titles, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.[7]

Delibird is a red and white penguin Pokémon with a tail resembling a gift sack,[8][9] standing at 2 ft 11 in (90 cm) tall.[10] Described as the "Delivery Pokémon", it likes to deliver letters and presents that it stores in its tail across the Pokémon world.[11] Delibird are also capable of flight, despite penguins being flightless birds.[11] They also like to store food in their tails, which Delibird hand out to travellers who they believe are lost. They prefer colder climates, nesting on the edge of sharp cliffs, although they can withstand significantly warmer locations. Due its colour scheme, sack-like tail and gift delivery, Delibird is likely inspired by Santa Claus.[12][13] Its name is a combination of "delivery" and "bird".[8][11][14] On its own, Delibird is capable of learning two moves naturally. One of these is its signature move, Present.[a] When in battle, using this move leads to Delibird pulling out a present and lobbing it at an opponent, dealing a light, medium or heavy amount of damage at random. Sometimes this move is capable of healing the opponent rather than dealing damage to them.[8][16]

Appearances

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Delibird made their debut appearance in the Pokémon series as one of one hundred new Pokémon added in the 1999 video game Pokémon Gold and Silver, which is set in the Johto region. It is classified as an Ice- and Flying-type Pokémon and it has only one-stage, meaning it has no pre-evolutions and is not known to evolve.[12] They have since gone on to appear in several games in the series such as Pokémon X and Y,[17] Pokémon Sun and Moon,[18] and Pokémon Sword and Shield.[19] A Paradox Pokémon heavily resembling Delibird appears in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Named Iron Bundle, it is a robotic version of Delibird holding a water cannon instead of a sack.[20] In the same game, a series of shops are spread across the Paldea region called "Delibird Presents", which specialises in selling items for battles and merchandise.[21]

Delibird has appeared in various spin-off video games. It first appeared in Pokémon Go in December 2017, with the Pokémon only reappearing in an exclusive holiday event.[12][22] Pokémon Stadium 2 features a mini-game called "Delibird’s Delivery",[23] where each player controls a Delibird that must collect and deliver presents.[24] It has also made appearances in New Pokémon Snap,[25] Pokémon Masters EX,[26] and Pokémon Sleep.[27] Delibird has also made multiple appearances in other Pokémon-related media; appearing in the Pokémon Trading Card Game,[28] multiple episodes of the Pokémon anime, in one of many shorts from the Pichu & Pikachu's Winter Vacation 2001 collection, as well as in Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us.[12] In the anime it is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi in Japanese,[3] and in English by SungWon Cho.[2]

Reception

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Media outlets negatively compared Iron Bundle (left) to Delibird (right), feeling its strengths only emphasized the weaknesses of the latter.

Delibird has received generally negative reception. Robert Grosso from TechRaptor, stated "It’s hard to find a starting point as to why Delibird simply fails as a design", finding the character's core appearance of a penguin combined with Santa Claus imagery to be "off putting". Moreso however he criticized how it appeared to be built around the singular Present move, and that attack's randomness combined with its unreliability further hampered Delibird even in casual gameplay, making it "a poor Pokémon on all fronts".[29] Devin Ellis Friend, writing for Screen Rant, called Delibird "a complete joke" since its introduction, attributing it to its lack of an evolution and how its typing weaknesses made the Pokémon "one of the worst single-stage Pokémon in the series".[20] While describing it as a "cute Santa penguin", GamesRadar+'s Jordan Gerblick nevertheless asserted that Delibird was "the butt of the joke in the Pokémon community". He was surprised that Iron Bundle, a robotic Pokémon based directly on Delibird, was so much stronger than the original that it had been banned from several fan-made competitive Pokémon battling scenes such as Smogon.[30] Friend similarly commented on the contrast between Delibird and Iron Bundle, describing the power gap as "almost comical in its scale".[20]

Conversely, Screen Rant's Jack O'Keeffe described Delibird as "the gambler's Pokémon". He believed that because of Present's random nature, it made the Pokémon a fun addition to a player's team and believed it could add "drama and suspense" to more boring Pokémon battles.[31] TheGamer's Joshua Robertson expressed sadness at the community overlooking Delibird, stating that it went against the Pokémon's purpose to spread cheer for Christmas.[9] Eva Padilla of RPGFan commented on their podcast how unusual and "strange" Delibird was due to its abilities and how much it stood out amongst the game's roster as a result. She attributed that such characters were bound to be made in casts as large as Pokémon's, which the other website staff agreed.[32] In an article for Kotaku, Gita Robinson reported on a player who found a creative use for Delibird in one of the series' recurring minigames, finding that due to its design and gameplay it was inherently well adapted for such events compared to battling.[33]

Due to the tail's design, it has often led to many in the Pokémon community to believe it was just a sack separate from its body, with some exclaiming it took them years to correct the misconception.[9] Robertson called it a "cute little penguin",[9] but TheGamer's Editor in Chief, Stacey Henley, expressed disgust at the design of Delibird's sack like-tail. She commented on Delibird's nature to store food in its tail and handing it out to passers-by, describing the act as gross.[15] Additionally, she noted on the fact that Delibird often creates the presents it hands out to people from its tail, calling this aspect weird and equating the presents to its droppings.[34] Henley was also particularly critical of Delibird's overall design. She felt that because Delibird are based on penguins, it should not be associated as a Christmas Pokémon, denying Delibird the title outright.[34] Instead of Delibird, she chose Pokémon Stantler and Fletchling; Pokémon based on reindeers and robins respectively, which she claims are animals more commonly associated with Christmas.[35]

Starting in 2013, following the release of Pokémon X and Y, many Pokémon players founded Operation Delibird, a campaign where they would trade rare Pokémon to others on Christmas and Boxing Day. The campaign was created to fight back against negativity in the community as well as a previously similar troll campaign involving the Pokémon Zubat. The decision to choose Delibird as the face of the campaign was due to its association with Christmas and giving gifts to others.[36]

In 2020, a collaborative marketing campaign between The Pokémon Company and Japanese food delivery service menu, called "Pokémon Delivery", was introduced and featured Delibird as its mascot due its association with delivering gifts.[37]

Notes

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  1. ^ Delibird was the only Pokémon capable of learning this move until the ninth generation, where the Pokémon Iron Bundle was also able to learn this move too.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b 『ポケモン金・銀』の 開発者に話を聞きました! [We Spoke to the Developers of Pokémon Gold and Silver!]. 64 Dream (in Japanese). February 2000. p. 73.
  2. ^ a b @ProZD (September 8, 2023). "had a good time joining the Pokemon family as the voice of Delibird and Carnivine, check out Pokemon: To Be a Pokemon Master on @netflix" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2023-09-08. Retrieved October 4, 2024 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b こにし かつゆき 小西克幸 [Katsuyuki Konishi]. まうまう [Maumaumau] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2023-12-13. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  4. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (December 25, 2016). "Pokémon Red & Blue – A Look Back At The 20-Year Journey To Catch 'Em All". Game Informer. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Allison, Anne (May 2006). Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination. University of California Press. pp. 192–197. ISBN 9780520938991.
  6. ^ Pokémon Deluxe Essential Handbook. Scholastic Inc. July 28, 2015. p. 5. ISBN 9780545795661.
  7. ^ ポケットモンスター ルビー・サファイア 大ヒット記念 ロングインタビュー [Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire: A Long Interview to Celebrate Their Huge Success]. Nintendo Dream (in Japanese). No. 84. February 2003. pp. 117–126.
  8. ^ a b c Harding, Xavier (March 17, 2017). "'Pokémon Go' Delibird Update: Everything you need to know about the gift-giving Pokémon". Mic. Archived from the original on September 11, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d Robertson, Joshua (January 12, 2023). "Pokemon Fans Are Just Realising Delibird's Sack Is Actually Its Tail". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  10. ^ "Delibird Gives The Best Presents". Kotaku Australia. December 20, 2020. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c Brady, Shannon (January 19, 2023). "10 Best 'Punny' Pokémon Names, Ranked". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d Dwyer, Theo (December 28, 2020). "Poké Spotlight: Getting To Know Delibird Outside Of Pokémon GO". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  13. ^ Plante, Corey (December 21, 2017). "'Pokémon GO' Christmas Event Promises New Generation 3 Pokémon". Inverse. Archived from the original on May 18, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  14. ^ Quesada, Daniel (March 5, 2014). "El origen de TODOS los nombres de Pokémon (II)". HobbyConsolas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Henley, Stacey (December 25, 2023). "Delbird Is Still Not A Real Christmas Pokemon". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  16. ^ O'Keeffe, Jack (July 30, 2016). "16 Most Unique Pokémon In The History Of The Franchise". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  17. ^ Sayed, Rashid (October 17, 2013). "Pokemon X and Y Mega Guide: HM, TM Locations, Maxing Out Your Pokemon, IV And EV Tips". GamingBolt. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  18. ^ Philips, Tom (November 20, 2017). "Pokémon Sun and Moon - Route 2, Hau'oli Cemetary, and the Berry Fields". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  19. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (December 20, 2019). "Pokémon Santa Delibird added to Sword and Shield's Max Raid Battles". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  20. ^ a b c Friend, Devin Ellis (January 30, 2023). "Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's Paradox Pokémon Turned A Joke Into A Monster". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  21. ^ Campbell, Alexis Renae (December 3, 2022). "Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: All Delibird Presents Store Locations". TheGamer. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  22. ^ Frank, Allegra (December 20, 2017). "Pokémon Go holiday event leak teases one Pokémon's long-awaited debut". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  23. ^ Manuel, Tim (August 10, 2023). "Pokémon TCG, Pokémon Stadium 2 Now Playable on Switch". RPGfan. Archived from the original on May 18, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  24. ^ Vincent, Britanny (March 27, 2019). "Ranking all 21 'Pokémon Stadium' minigames, from "Snore War" to "Sushi-Go-Round"". Mic. Archived from the original on September 27, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  25. ^ Lynn, Lottie (May 19, 2021). "New Pokémon Snap - Suicune's location, Wish Upon a Shining Star and how to take a four star Suicune photo explained". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  26. ^ Lada, Jenni (December 11, 2019). "RSVP for Pokemon Masters' Rosa's Party This Month". Siliconera. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  27. ^ Spiers-Unwin, Ruby (December 20, 2023). "Snuggle up for the holidays with our Pokémon Sleep giveaway!". Pocket Tactics. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  28. ^ Guest, Chris (May 1, 2024). "Pokemon TCG: The 10 Best Future Pokemon Cards". TheGamer. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  29. ^ Grosso, Robert (April 15, 2018). "The Six Worst Designed Pokemon of Generation 2". TechRaptor. Archived from the original on August 31, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  30. ^ Gerblick, Jordan (November 29, 2022). "One of Scarlet and Violet's strongest Pokemon has been a total joke for the last 23 years". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  31. ^ O'Keeffe, Jack (July 30, 2016). "16 Most Unique Pokémon In The History Of The Franchise". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  32. ^ Padilla, Eva; Fakhoori, Niki; Louis, Josh; O'Connor, Quinton; Triezenberg, Peter (March 11, 2021). "Retro Encounter 278 – Pokémon Turns 25". RPGFan (Podcast). Event occurs at 29:30. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  33. ^ Jackson, Gita (March 1, 2017). "One Pokémon Fan's Two Year Quest To Collect Every Ribbon". Kotaku. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  34. ^ a b Henley, Stacey (December 21, 2022). "Why Are There No Christmas Pokemon?". TheGamer. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  35. ^ Henley, Stacey (December 23, 2021). "Delibird Is Not A Christmas Pokemon And I Want It To Go Away". TheGamer. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  36. ^ Sledge, Ben (December 19, 2019). "Meet the Pokémon fans who send hundreds of rare monsters to kids on Christmas Day". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  37. ^ Inamoto, Tetsuya (February 25, 2022). "フードデリバリーサービスmenuがポケモンとコラボ。はこびやポケモンのデリバードを主役としたキャンペーン「ポケモンデリバリー」をスタート". 4Gamer (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
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