(Comic by Soara. Basically, the Furret found out their species’ average height,
and there comes a “Furret” that matches the recorded height.)
When we view certain Pokémon, we get an idea on how big or small they are. Maybe when we see an insect, we would expect them to be small, but for things like dinosaurs, they would be estimated as big creatures. With the help of the PokéDex, we get the rough estimate on how big or small certain Pokémon really are. When we compare what the PokéDex mentions and what we envision, we might even be surprised at how big or small certain Pokémon actually are!
Before I go on, I should point out that you might have known or correctly guessed the actual size of the Pokémon, but that does not mean that others have guessed it. In fact, they might be surprised at the revelation at what I will mention. With that said, here are a few examples of those misconceptions.
Underestimated Height
Serpentine-based Pokémon
Serpentine-based Pokémon usually have a generally higher height than the average Pokémon, naturally. This usually takes into account the measurement from the Pokémon’s head to tail, so don’t be surprised to see Seviper’s height of 2.7 metres (8 feet 10 inches) and Serperior’s height of 3.3 metres (10 feet 10 inches). Perhaps the infamous honour goes to Dunsparce, who is itself doesn’t look like a serpentine Pokémon, but based on its ability to learn Coil (a serpentine Pokémon’s move), it is classified. For the uninitiated, Dunsparce’s height is 1.5 metres (4 feet 11 inches).
This should have been obvious, but certain people still might have thought that they are very tall, which I guess is because the Dex mentions “Height”, which implies tallness and not overall length. This also makes programs like Veekun’s height comparison misjudge a Pokémon’s height, which could cause people to mistake that these Pokémon are really tall. I haven’t checked this, but I think that the game’s PokéDex generally got the height comparison right.
Furret
Furret looks like a traditional ferret, except probably being somewhat larger than one. You would expect it to stand at around half of the height of an average person. That estimation is not unusual, but what is unusual is Furret’s measured height. Furret’s recorded height is actually 1.8 metres (5 feet 11 inches), which is odd because Furret doesn’t stand on its tail like Sentret does. A ferret as tall as 1.8 metres will be really imposing, and would probably need to eat lots of animals to keep up. Still, it’s not out of the blue in Pokémon to have ferrets this big, considering how we have gigantic dogs and insects around.
Golduck
Here’s another example of a Pokémon that one would come to expect to be small, since it is a duck, and ducks are not too large. Maybe in Pokémon they are slightly larger than the average duck, like Farfetch’d is. You would be surprised to learn Golduck’s height, I will assure you. What’s Golduck’s height, you might ask? 1.7 metres (5 feet 7 inches). Perhaps one might have used to think that Psyduck and Golduck are roughly of equal height like I thought, but Golduck actually follows the conventions of being much larger after evolution.
Gastly
Usually, an unevolved Pokémon at its earliest stage would be perceived as the smallest member of the family, but not so for Gastly! Standing at 1.3 metres (4 feet 3 inches), it is extraordinarily tall for something perceived as just a floating sphere. I suppose its gaseous body count as how tall it would be, but if you imagine the sphere being that height, it would be really gigantic. By comparison, Haunter is a bit over 5 feet, while Gengar is in between the two of them.
Wailmer and Wailord
It’s certainly justified that they are supposed to be large Pokémon, because they are based on whales, the largest animals out there. However, their sizes still threw some people off. Certain people didn’t think Wailmer would be 2 metres (6 feet 7 inches) tall, since its direct evolution Wailord is much bigger than that, being around 7 times taller than that. Wailord, yes, is really big, but if you look at its sprite in certain games (not 3D model like in Pokémon Battle Revolution), you could be fooled. Interestingly, a minority thought Wailord should be bigger, being the biggest animal out there.
Overestimated Height
Salamence, Nidoqueen & Nidoking
I put these Pokémon in one category because they share the same characteristic: they are based on monsters/dragons that are powerful. Because of this, they look like they should be imposing in their size. There are actually Pokémon that are actually imposing, such as Tyranitar and Dragonite, but I selected these three because they are shorter than five feet (they are 1.5 metres (4 feet 11 inches), 1.4 metres (4 feet 7 inches) and 1.3 metres (4 feet 3 inches) respectively). There are probably more of these type of Pokémon that are not quite big for their imposing appearance.
Rampardos and Bastiodon
Recently, we have Aurorus and Tyrantrum, whom are really large Pokémon in their own right, standing at 2.7 metres (8 feet 10 inches) and 2.5 metres (8 feet 2 inches) respectively. It’s justified in that they are based on dinosaurs, who are normally large animals. Of course, their size is made smaller than what dinosaurs are, to make them more suitable for rides I guess. With this, it is surprising that the other dinosaur pair from Generation 4 can’t hold a candle at how tall they are compared to them. Rampardos is merely 1.6 metres tall (5 feet 3 inches), while Bastiodon stands at only 1.3 metres (4 feet 3 inches). They are conceptualised as an unstoppable force and an immovable force respectively, so it’s strange that they aren’t as big as they should be.
Infernape
Here’s another Pokémon with a size that surprised certain people. Starter Pokémon, when fully evolved, tend to have large sizes. Not counting Infernape, the shortest is 1.5 metres (4 feet 11 inches), with the tallest being Serperior. Infernape, however, is surprising short for a fully-evolved starter Pokémon, standing at a mere 1.2 metres (3 feet 11 inches). For a monkey, it’s not strange (Ambipom is at the same height, with the elemental monkeys falling a bit shorter than that), but for a starter Pokémon, that is quite short, setting a new standard.
Joltik
When it comes to insect Pokémon, you can expect them to be larger than a conventional insect. It’s done probably because making them small won’t put them in the same league as other animals, so that’s why they are made to be more gigantic, such as the massive Scolipede and Yanmega. However, Joltik stands out among the insects as not only be a small Pokémon measuring at 10 centimetres (4 inches) tall, but also the smallest Pokémon to exist as a whole (that is, until we have Flabébé). That makes Joltik an adorable Pokémon to have for certain people, so that’s a plus.
Roselia
Much like Joltik, plant Pokémon usually get an enlargement from the plants they are based on, so it could be that they are made larger to match the other animals, much like the insect Pokémon. After all, if Victreebell is the size of an average real pitcher plant, would it be threatening? Still, this doesn’t necessarily apply to plants as much as insects because plants does not necessarily have a fixed size. Anyway, Roselia is a Pokémon that surprised people when they learn about its height, considering how it is expected to be larger. Measuring at 30 centimetres (1 foot), it is really very small. It’s not a bad estimate to say that Budew is smaller, but Roserade stands at a more respectable height three times taller than Roselia at 0.9 metres (2 feet 11 inches).
Torkoal
The shelled reptile is something of an anomaly, because they are indeed variable in size. You have tiny turtles, and you have giant tortoises. In Pokémon, most of the tortoises or turtles are rather large, so it’s amusingly strange to see Torkoal stand at 0.5 metres (1 foot 8 inches). That’s actually as tall as Squirtle and a bit taller than Turtwig! It may be very short, but it is surprisingly able to take more hits than either tortoise courtesy of its huge Defence, so don’t underestimate its size!
That’s all for this article. I am sure that there are other Pokémon out there that would surprise you with their size, so if there’s a Pokémon with a size you didn’t expect that I didn’t already mention, please mention them! I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I have writing it.
Thanks for reading.
