Shedinja is a dual type Bug and Ghost Pokemon introduced in Generation III. It is considered a special evolution of Nincada, appearing only when Nincada evolves into Ninjask starting at level 20, as long as there is an extra space in the player’s party and an extra Poke Ball in the player’s bag. An extra Poke Ball is not necessary to obtain Shedinja in Generation III. Take a look below for 30 fun and fascinating facts about Shedinja.

1. Shedinja is a Pokemon based on a cicada’s shed exoskeleton.

2. Most of its body is light brown, but the abdomen is gray.

3. It has four protrusions on its underside instead of legs; the top pair is brown, while the lower is gray.

4. There are round protrusions on the side of its head with narrow slits for eyes. 

5. Two lines encircle its abdomen and a white halo floats above its head. 

6. On its back is a pair of tattered wings divided into three wingtips.

7. A hole between its wings reveals that its body is completely hollow and dark, as it possesses no internal organs.

8. It is said that looking into this empty space will steal one’s spirit. 

9. Its shell is very hard, which gives it strong defense but renders it incapable of movement.

10. It does not breathe and floats without moving its wings.

11. It lives in tropical and temperate forests.

12. From Generation IV onwards, a basic Poké Ball (a requirement for evolution) is removed from the Bag upon evolution to produce a Shedinja. In Generation III, Shedinja instead copied the ball Nincada was in; this is the only legitimate way to get a Shedinja in a non-standard Poké Ball until Generation VIII, where Shedinja can be caught in Max Raid Battles.

13. No other Pokémon has the same type combination as Shedinja.

14. Shedinja has the lowest base stat total of all Ghost-type Pokémon, is tied with Duskull and Galarian Yamask for the lowest base Special Attack of all Ghost-type Pokémon and is also tied with Dreepy for the lowest base Special Defense stat of all Ghost-type Pokémon.

15. Shedinja is the only evolved Pokémon that has a lower base stat total than its pre-evolved form.

16. Shedinja is one of only three Pokémon (other than baby Pokémon) to have a different Egg Group than its evolutionary relatives, being in the Mineral Egg Group while Nincada and Ninjask are in the Bug Egg Group. (The other two Pokémon that share this trait are Nidorina and Nidoqueen.) However, because it has no gender, it cannot breed with Pokémon other than Ditto.

17. Shedinja inherits the same game of origin, personality value, IVs, EVs, OT, Trainer ID number and Secret ID number, and met location as the Nincada that shed it. It also inherits the Pokérus if the Nincada had it. Among other things, due to keeping the same game of origin, personality value, and Trainer and Secret ID numbers, Shedinja will be Shiny if and only if the Nincada was Shiny.

18. The Shedinja shed from a Nincada has no nickname, and the player is not given an opportunity to nickname it. The only way to give Shedinja a nickname is to take it to a Name Rater.

19. Shedinja’s Wonder Guard Ability renders it immune to 13 of 18 attack types, the most of any Pokémon; four of these immunities (to Ice, Bug, Steel, and Fairy) are entirely unique to Shedinja.

20. Prior to Generation V, if Nincada learns a move upon evolving into Ninjask, Shedinja will also know this move. This means that Shedinja can learn any of Ninjask’s level up moves starting at level 20, but can only simultaneously have multiple of them if they are learned at the same level. From Generation V onward, Shedinja starts with the moves Nincada knew prior to evolution.

21. Shedinja is the only genderless Pokémon that can learn Egg Moves (as a Nincada). Staryu and Starmie have Egg Moves programmed into their data in Pokémon Gold and Silver, but there is no way for them to learn these moves.

22. Even though looking into the crack on Shedinja’s back is said to steal one’s spirit, all of Shedinja’s back sprites display it perfectly, yet no negative effects happen to the player in-game.

23. Shedinja is the only Pokémon in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team to be able to change its name.

24. In Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, wild Shedinja will spawn on any tile where a wild Nincada was defeated after several turns have passed. They move once every two turns and do not attack. Additionally, other wild Pokémon will try to attack the wild Shedinja if they are nearby, allowing them to evolve without defeating the player or their allies if they succeed in causing it to faint.

25. Shedinja is the only Pokémon with a base stat total of 236.

26. Shedinja’s barrier in Max Raid Battles requires the most hits to break, with 8. However because it still faints from one hit, and there is no way to hit it with False Swipe, breaking the barrier is impossible.

27. Shedinja is based on the shed husk that cicadas leave behind when they finish their metamorphosis into adults. Concerning its species’ ninja theme, it also appears to be a reference to the fabled ninjutsu technique utsusemi, where a ninja uses a dummy or replica of itself to evade and escape from threats, and where its namesake also alludes to the cast off shed husk of a cicada. It may also be based on a guardian angel, due to the halo-like object floating above its head. Its Wonder Guard Ability probably alludes to this.

28. Shedinja is a combination of shed (to cast off skin or exoskeleton) and ninja.

29. Shedinja debuted in The Princess and the Togepi, under the ownership of Colonel Hansen. It was his main battling Pokémon. It reappeared in A Togepi Mirage!, where it was eventually defeated by Misty’s Gyarados‘s Flamethrower.

30. A Coordinator’s Shedinja made cameos in Hi Ho Silver Wind! and Deceit and Assist, where it was seen competing in the Hoenn Grand Festival. Another Shedinja also appeared in a cameo in a visualization in the former episode.