Gotta catch em' all! Who doesn't know the famous mantra of the Pokemon series? There are currently 898 Pokemon available to catch in a myriad of types. It's hard to deny that with this many pocket monsters out there it can be a bit difficult to remember everything about each one.
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One unique Psychic-type in the series is Espurr. It was introduced back in Generation VI and has been the fuel for constant memes ever since. This purrky Poke-Friend has a lot of interesting quirks in how it evolves, its origins, and much more that players will want to know before trainers try to raise one of their own.
It's incredibly easy to evolve Espurr in Pokemon GO — just give it 50 Espurr candy! In Pokemon Sword and Shield, players simply train Espurr until it reaches level 25. There are no fancy tricks, evolving this psychic kitty is as simple as teaching a Metapod harden!
Depending on if an Espurr is male or female, it will look incredibly different when it evolves into Meowstic. The colorations are different, it has a different number of tails, and even its ears are shaped differently. It's by far one of the more interesting gender differences in Pokemon in terms of looks and style.
Depending on the gender Espurr is when it evolves, its evolution will learn different kinds of moves and abilities. A male Espurr will evolve and learn a lot more status causes moves. Plus, it has the Hidden Ability Prankster.
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In contrast, a female Espurr will evolve to have far more moves based on dealing damage through attacks. It also has a different Hidden Ability called Competitive. It can be seriously worth getting these Hidden Abilities as they buff up Meostic and Espurr considerably.
Espurr's shiny is particularly adorable and certainly worth tracking down for any hunters out there. Its lavender/pink color scheme just screams kawaii in the best way. Not to mention, when it evolves to Meowstic, it looks even better somehow. Seriously, Pokemon shouldn't be allowed to be this gosh darn adorable!
Espurr has a cute name that is a bit of a pun. Extrasensory Perception, otherwise known as ESP, is combined with the sound cats make, purring, to create this adorable Pokemon's equally adorable name. The cat and psychic related puns are kept up across multiple languages as well. Here are some examples:
- Japanese: ニャスパー Nyasper
- French: Psystigri
- German: Psiau
- Korean: 냐스퍼 Nyaseupeo
- Cantonese Chinese: 妙喵 Miuhmīu
- Mandarin Chinese: 妙喵 Miàomiāo
In Pokemon GO, Espurr is easiest to capture in one-star raids. Espurr isn't exclusive to either Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield, making it easy to acquire on there in the following areas:
- Route 5
- Hammerlocke Hills
- Motostoke Riverbank
- Watchtower Ruins
- Stony Wilderness (In Max Raid Battles)
Espurr is potentially based on two things. The first is a Nekomata, which comes from Chinese and Japanese folklore. They are a kind of cat yōkai with two different types, some that live in the mountains and others that resemble domesticated cats. This might have been where the two separate evolutions came from.
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The other potential inspiration is the Scottish Fold cat breed. Comparing one to Espurr makes the similarities quite apparent. The folded ears, the owl-like eyes; these two could easily be cousins. Espurr is certainly one of the cutest cat Pokemon around.
Espurr is actually used in a cool deck in the Pokemon TCG that is perfect for players that don't want to spend tons of cash on cards. It uses the Espurr from Unbroken Bonds combined with the Weezing from the same set. Weezing stacks on damage counters while Espurr uses Ear Kinesis to then knock the opponent out. It's a solid deck that's worth seeing in action.
Lots of Pokemon can learn unique moves from breeding and Espurr is no exception. While the moves it can learn aren't exactly mindblowing, players might potentially want them for their utility.
- Yawn: Can learn from breeding with Wooper, Quagsire, Dunsparce, Hippopotas, Hippowdon, Munna, and Musharna.
- Tickle: Can learn from breeding with Minccino and Cinccino.
Passing down egg moves can look complicated at first but it's actually surprisingly easy. While Tickle might not be all that impressive, Yawn can be a curious move to have, especially once Espurr evolves into a female Meowstic as it has less access to status causing moves.
As much as it's fun to bring little buddies into battles, Espurr just isn't very strong competition in Little Cup. In Pokemon GO, it's outclassed by other Psychic types; in Sword and Shield, there's little reason to use Espurr over the faster and stronger Abra. There are still sets and teams that try to incorporate it, but the sad truth of the matter is that there are stronger Pokemon in the format.
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