Few legendary or mythical Pokemon are weak, often they epitomize their status in these categories by being far more powerful than those around them. But then there are those who show their difference from other Pokemon in different ways. One of these uniquely different Pokemon is Jirachi, the steel/psychic mythical Pokemon which is based entirely around not battles, but wishes.
About Jirachi
| First appearance in anime | In the Pokemon movie “Jirachi: Wish Maker” |
| First appearance in game | Ruby and Sapphire |
| Region | Hoenn |
| Evolution | None |
| Pokedex Entry | Once every 1,000 years, the singing of a pure voice will rouse this Pokémon from its near-perpetual slumber. It wakes for only seven days. It's believed that when this Pokémon wakes from its 1,000-year slumber, it will grant any wishes written on the notes attached to its head. |
Jirachi’s Base Stats
| HP | 100 |
| Attack | 100 |
| Defense | 100 |
| Sp. Attack | 100 |
| Sp. Defense | 100 |
| Speed | 100 |
Appearance of Jirachi
Jirachi is star-shaped, similar to other Pokemon which are known to come from space, like Cleffa. However, it takes that a step further. Jirachi is the design embodiment of wishing on a star, not only being star-shaped but featuring little hanging parts on its points which resemble tanzaku, or strips of paper with wishes written on them made during the Japanese Tanabata, or Star Festival. It even reinforces the magic side of its wish-granting with the ‘third eye’ on its stomach.
Behavior of Jirachi
Jirachi, like other small mythical Pokemon, acts almost like a child, exploring the world and not quite understanding its powers. It makes them incredibly endearing and it's no wonder that most plots centering around Jirachi are often about protecting it. Jirachi has some immense power but it doesn’t reach its potential due to its childish nature, and its stories show that that's ok. It's often the antagonist who wants Jirachi to be powerful and our band of heroes who want to let Jirachi keep its innocence.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Jirachi has incredible typing, having tons of resistances and few weaknesses compared to it. Firstly, it's completely immune to poison-type moves. It also takes quarter damage from psychic type moves and takes half damage from 8 total types! Including; normal, flying, rock, steel, grass, ice, dragon, and fairy types. Though it's not just resistant, Jirachi does have weaknesses. It takes double damage from ground, ghost, fire, and dark type moves.
Shiny Jirachi
Shiny Jirachi is the rare, recolored version of Jirachi. There are few differences in Shiny Jirachi but the main one is its paper attachments. Instead of being blue, these little wish papers are red on a Shiny Jirachi. Shiny Jirachi also has a subtle difference in the color of its body, being a bit pinker.
Pokemon Jirachi Wish Maker
Pokemon Jirachi Wish Maker is the first appearance of Jirachi and a movie devoted entirely to the Pokemon. Pokemon Jirachi Wish Maker centers around Ash and his friends heading to a festival and discovering the legend of Jirachi, where it appears once every 1000 years. It turns out, during the events of Pokemon Jirachi Wish Maker, those 1000 years have passed and Jirachi appears and quickly becomes attached to Ash and the gang.
Jirachi GX Collection
The Jirachi GX Collection is a large box set of cards for the Pokemon Trading Card Game. The Jirachi GX Collection features 2 foil cards of Lucario and Decidueye and 2 metallic coins. The Jirachi GX Collection also contains 10 booster packs. And of course, the main card in the Jirachi GX Collection is the foil Jirachi GX card.
Best Moveset for Jirachi
Fast and Offensive: Jirachi may not seem like a powerhouse but its defensive capabilities are massive due to its typing. And its stats still aren’t something to scoff at, so when combined with a Choice Scarf, Jirachi can deal some major damage to opponents. It's also an effective utility when using Healing Wish to recover a Pokemon which your opponent thought they got rid of.
| Iron Head | U-turn |
| Healing Wish | Fire Punch |
How to Catch Jirachi in Pokemon Go
Jirachi is one of the few Pokemon in Pokemon Go which are only found after a string of Research quests. After completing the string of missions a Jirachi can be encountered and then captured.
Video Guide
Trivia
While its tradition now, Jirachi was the first special event Pokemon distributed over wi-fi.
Due to its event, however, Jirachi is the only Generation 3 Pokemon that is only obtained through an event in the original Hoenn games.
Jirachi’s powers have been used to create monsters that resemble legendary Pokemon, creating a Kyogre monster in the manga and a Groudon monster in the movie ‘Jirachi: Wish Maker.’
FAQs
Q. Is Jirachi legendary?
Jirachi is a mythical Pokemon, which is a category similar to legendary but is often given to Pokemon which are only obtained through special events.
Q. How rare is Jirachi?
Due to its mythical status, Jirachi tends to be difficult to obtain; however, rarity is debatable. Events guarantee a Pokemon so it can be argued that even if the event is hard to activate, the Pokemon is always given.
Q. Is Jirachi a good Pokemon?
Jirachi is not a spectacular fighter but in the right hands, its stats and moves can be used to makes it a real tank of a Pokemon.
Conclusion
Jirachi is adorable, clumsy, powerful, and just all-around a great and interesting Pokemon. It can be your adorable best friend as well as your super powerful competitive ace. Jirachi is desired by antagonists exactly for this reason, so remember to be nice to your tanky wish-granting friend and let them be a little childish sometimes.
