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A weekly Pokédex Podcast from Bald Man in Japan Luke Summerhayes. A different Pokémon family every week.
I’m Luke Summerhayes and I love Dhelmise.
Deep, dark waters are scary for a number of reasons, some logical and some not. Legends tell of fearsome sea monsters and terrifying ghost ships – lost souls sailing the seas for all eternity on damned vessels like the Flying Dutchman, or hauntingly empty craft like the Mary Celeste.
Even when they aren’t telling tales around the campfire, sailors will scare one another with the dangers of storms, the slower danger of being caught adrift, or the dangerous creatures which swim in the depths. Even a deep lake, with no animals living in it, can entangle someone in seaweed and pull them to their dhemise.
Rising from the depths, but ghost and grass in type, Dhelmise is a pokemon made of a ship’s wheel and anchor, the curve of one and the compass of the other forming a face very much like the skull and crossbones of the famous Jolly Roger flown by pirate ships. In reality, the Pokemon is neither the wheel nor the anchor. but seaweed which entangles it.
Sun
Swinging its massive anchor, it can KO Wailord in a single blow. What appears to be green seaweed is actually its body.
Moon
The soul of seaweed adrift in the waves became reborn as this Pokémon. It maintains itself with new infusions of seabed detritus and seaweed.
The name Dhelmise combines the depths and the demise they cause with the helm, the ship’s wheel that makes up the top part of its body. The Japanese name is Dadarin, with Tatari being curse and Darin being the Japanese name for a helm.
Ultra Sun
It wraps its prey in green seaweed and sucks away their vitality. It only likes to go after big prey like Wailord.
Dhelmise has very high attack and quite low speed, but with decent bulk and defense, lots of moves which heal like absorb, and potential to boost its attack even higher with moves like swords dance and the ability Steelworker, Dhelmise has the potential to become a real monster with skillful play.
Although Dhelmise has never been a top-tier Pokemon in the main competitive videogame scene, it does have a career in both the trading card game and Pokemon Unite.
Although I was born in the famous sea-faring nation of Britain, with family by the coast in Cornwall, I’ve never been much of a salty sea dog. I don’t like seafood, I can barely swim, and the thought of the ocean depths is pretty spooky. It would be even more so if I knew Dhelmise were down there!
Music for Luke Loves Pokemon was composed by Jonathan Cromie. Artwork for the show is by Katie Groves. Funding is by supporters at patreon.com/podcastiopodcastius.
I love hearing from listeners! Get in touch on youtube, social media or email and let me know about your favorite Pokemon. Coming up next are Jangmo-o Tapu Koko
, so let me know your thoughts about those or any other monsters.
Even if you don’t feel like doing any of that, thank you so much for listening.
I love Dhelmise. And remember, I love you too.