Nihilego is a dual-type Rock/Poison Pokémon introduced in Generation VII. It is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon. It is one of the Ultra Beasts and is known by the code name UB-01 Symbiont. Take a look below for 25 awesome and fascinating facts about Nihilego.

1. Nihilego is an Ultra Beast that resembles a jellyfish.

2. The bell is semi-translucent and encircled with several white, star-shaped markings.

3. The wavy rim of the bell flares outward and is bright blue.

4. Its tentacles appear gelatinous and give it a vaguely humanoid shape.

5. Several tentacles mesh together forming the appearance of cape or long hair, while four shorter tentacles resemble shorter hair and arms.

6. Two long tentacles make up the legs of the human-shape.

7. In addition to its shape, it is sometimes seen acting like a young girl.

8. Nihilego is a parasitic organism and, by latching onto one’s head, is capable of injecting a neurotoxin that subtly alters the thoughts and actions of any human or Pokémon that becomes its host.

9. This neurotoxin stimulates intense feelings of excitement while causing a loss of inhibitions, which acts to forcibly bring out any latent potential within the host while wearing away at their minds.

10. Nihilego’s exact levels of intelligence are unknown, but according to Wicke, the Aether Foundation’s research it seems to act mainly on a self-preservation instinct.

11. As shown with Lusamine, Nihilego is capable of physically merging with a host.

12. In this “merged” state, the bell loses its stars, developing several iridescent spots across its surface. The host’s body is visible within the bell with their legs dangling beneath it. Its eight tentacles become long and flattened and have numerous deep black spots with various colored diamond-shapes inside.

13. Four of the tentacles are connected to the bell via frilly white structures; these tentacles have four spines protruding from them that can be used similarly to hands. The remaining four tentacles each terminate in a single larger spine.

14. While the anime shows that Nihilego can willingly end this merger and it may be disrupted in other ways as well, the lingering toxins and the shock of the separation can leave the host in critical condition, both physically and psychologically.

15. In Pokémon Sun and Moon, Nihilego has a base experience yield of 114.

16. No other Pokémon has the same type combination as Nihilego.

17. Nihilego is the only Rock-type Pokémon that cannot learn Rock Tomb or Rock Slide.

18. Nihilego may be inspired by a jellyfish, especially Aurelia aurita. It may also draw inspiration from Myxozoa, a class of microscopic Cnidarian parasites, particularly the Myxobolus cerebralis that are known to cause the infectious “whirling disease” in various fish species. The disease causes the fish to develop bone and neurological abnormalities that cause them to swim in a corkscrew-like “whirling” motion. Visually, and due to its status as an Ultra Beast, it may derive inspiration from Phyllorhiza punctata, an invasive species in the waters surrounding Hawaii.

19. The merged form of Lusamine and Nihilego may be based on Turritopsis dohrnii, a species of jellyfish that is biologically immortal and can revert to a young, immature state if it is too old or stressed.

20. Nihilego may be a combination of nihil (Latin for indefinite nothing) and ego (Latin for I), which together roughly translates to “I am nothing” or “I have nothing”. Ego may also refer to the part of the psychic apparatus that governs rational decision-making, and together with nihil reflects how the creature may have no ego, and only have an id (the survival and instinctual part of the psyche). The former may reflect its victims’ lack of will outside their focus on Nihilego, while the latter may represent Nihilego’s role in dominating the desires of its victims.

21. In Faba’s Revenge!, Faba managed to summon a Nihilego from an Ultra Wormhole. Lusamine, Gladion, and Ash briefly battled the Ultra Beast before it took Lusamine into the Ultra Wormhole and disappeared. They were given the proper name Nihilego in The Professors’ New Adventure!.

22. Nihilego debuted in a flashback in A Masked Warning!, where Gladion revealed to Ash that Lillie was once attacked by one when she was younger, resulting in her present fear of touching Pokémon. It appeared again in a flashback in Mission: Total Recall!.

23. Multiple Nihilego appeared in Rescuing the Unwilling! in Ultra Deep Sea. They reappeared in a flashback in The Professors’ New Adventure!.

24. Nihilego debuted as a silhouette in The Final Match and a Surprising Finale!.

25. Nihilego physically debuted in Truth and the Mastermind Behind Team Skull. It was one of the Ultra Beasts summoned to Po Town by Guzma via an Ultra Wormhole. It then proceeded to kidnap Guzma and drag him into a wormhole with it. Nihilego reappeared in a flashback in An Urgent Task and the Capture of an Ultra Beast. It was later captured by Lusamine.