Introduced in generation seven with the Pokemon Sun and Moon games, Popplio is a monotype water Pokemon. It is the base evolution of Primarina and evolves into Brionne after meeting a specific level threshold. Popplio is the water starter of the Sun and Moon games and, like its classification as the Sea Lion Pokemon implies, it resembles a sea lion. This guide will showcase Popplio’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime, as well as other general facts about Popplio.
About Popplio
As the water starter representative of the generation seven games, it only makes sense that it maintains the three stage evolution chain like every other starter in the games. Popplio will evolve into Brionne at level 17 which will evolve into Primarina from level 34 onwards. It was featured in the first episode of the Sun and Moon season in the episode Alola to New Adventure!. Popplio also managed to get a decent chunk of screen time thanks to its inclusion on Lana’s team. The Pokedex mentions its capabilities as an acrobat as well as being a diligent fighter.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Series: Sun and Moon Alola to New Adventure! |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Sun and Moon |
| Region | Alola |
| Evolution | Base evolution of Primarina, evolves into Brionne |
| 1st Evo level | 17 |
| 2nd Evo level | 34 |
| Pokedex Entry | It creates special bouncy balloons to send at its opponents. When the balloons pop, the sheer force of their bursting is what deals damage. |
Popplio Base Stats
| HP | 50 |
| ATTACK | 54 |
| DEFENCE | 54 |
| SP. ATTACK | 66 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 56 |
| SPEED | 40 |
| TOTAL | 320 |
Appearance
Popplio is classified as the Sea Lion Pokemon and its resemblance to this real life animal translates well. Its body is mostly blue with white accents and it also has a bright red nose to balance bubbles or special balloons. It has a white frill around its neck and it moves around on four flippers. As a base evolution Pokemon, it is rather small at only 1 foot and 4 inches, or 0.4 meters, tall.
Behavior
Known to be a happy and playful Pokemon, it is often depicted playing with other Pokemon and has been seen clapping in excitement. The Pokedex states that it can blow bubbles or balance special balloons for battle or for recreation. That also showcases the work ethic of Popplio as this behavior is very difficult to pull off correctly. In the anime it is shown to be jealous whenever another Pokemon gets too close to its trainer.
Strengths and Weaknesses
At its base evolution there is not too much to expect from Popplio. Its best stat is in its special attack stat and it has a fair amount of bulkiness to go along with this. While it is not particularly fast, it is helped by the fact that it’s not very weak to many types. As a monotype water Pokemon it is only weak to grass and electric type moves. Popplio will also resist steel, fire, water, and ice type moves.
Shiny Popplio
You would be hard pressed to find a more indistinct shiny Pokemon than Shiny Popplio. The colors between regular Popplio and Shiny Popplio are indistinguishable and you will likely need to rely on the game’s markers for telling you whether it is shiny or not. Shiny Popplio has a slightly darker color palette than regular Popplio as all of the colors remain the same but are just a pinch darker than the regular form. Like all shiny Pokemon, Shiny Popplio will have a starry animation upon entering battle.
Best Moveset
Since Popplio is in its base evolution, the only competitive bracket it is potentially viable in are special brackets, like LC (Little Cup), where every Pokemon is its base evolution. Even in this bracket it has not seen much competitive play. Instead, you should consider running Primarina if you want to run this Pokemon in competitive brackets. A decent moveset for Primarina would involve Hydro Pump, Moonblast, Sparkling Aria, and Psychic. All of these moves are for sweeping out your opponent and with Choice Specs, as your held item, it can increase the odds of One Hit KO’ing your opponent’s Pokemon.
| Hydro Pump | Moonblast |
| Sparkling Aria | Psychic |
How to Catch Popplio in Pokemon Go
Unfortunately, at this point in time, Popplio is not available for capture in Pokemon Go. The developers have recently released a generation six update to the game which included the starters of that particular generation. It is likely that Popplio will be added to the game with time and as generation six was the last major update, Popplio should be coming to the game soon whenever Niantic releases a generation seven update to Pokemon Go.
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Trivia
- Popplio’s design likely comes from circus animals capable of balancing balls on their noses.
- Every Pokemon is given a general shape that they are supposed to be modeled after and Popplio is the only starter Pokemon to have the piscine shape.
- The name Popplio is likely a combination of the words pop, pup, and sea lion.
FAQ
What does Popplio Evolve into?
Popplio will evolve into Brionne upon reaching level 17. You do not need to do anything specific or unique in order to evolve your Popplio. It will evolve naturally upon reaching the correct level threshold while Brionne evolves into Primarina starting at level 34.
Is Popplio a boy or a girl?
Despite Popplio’s final evolution Primarina resembling a mermaid, Popplio are 87.5% likely to be male. There is no strict gender requirement for Popplio and you can find a male or female Popplio in the games. However, it is just much more likely that any Popplio you find is a boy.
Is Popplio a good Starter?
For casual playthroughs, any starter will function just fine on your team. As a monotype water Pokemon, it is considered to be a more defensive Pokemon than anything else. Luckily for fans of this water starter, it has also made the biggest impact on competitive battling as compared to the other two starters.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this sea lion Pokemon. Popplio is the generation seven water starter representative and its evolution line has also made the biggest impact on competitive play compared to the other two starters of the generation. If you reserve a spot for Popplio on your team you will not be disappointed.
