Snubbull

Snubbull's trivia and design

Despite its intimidating bulldog appearance, Snubbull is cowardly and playful, and is a popular companion among women. It was the earliest Pokémon to evolve on screen in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, and early Mewtwo Strikes Back merchandise, including the Pikachu's Vacation novelization, misspelled its name as Snubble, an error repeated on the title card for the episode Snubbull Snobbery, while the Pokémon the First Movie trading cards called it Buru. Its design draws on bulldogs and pampered pets with dyed fur and clothes, and possibly on the Cù-sìth, a dog fairy from Celtic myth.

Snubbull across the eras

Snubbull's earliest cards were the 2000 Neo Genesis Common illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita and a 2001 Neo Revelation Common from Tomokazu Komiya, followed by a Skyridge Common from Hisao Nakamura. Ken Sugimori drew its HeartGold SoulSilver Common, and Naoki Saito illustrated both the Kalos Starter Set and McDonald's Collection 2014 cards. Later printings included two XY trainer kit cards tied to Sylveon, a Detective Pikachu Common illustrated by Framestore, a Darkness Ablaze Common by otumami, and a Mega Evolution era Phantasmal Flames Common by Gapao.

Cards to know

• Snubbull (Neo Genesis #74)

  One of Snubbull's earliest cards, a 2000 Neo Genesis Common illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita.

• Snubbull (HeartGold SoulSilver #82)

  A HeartGold SoulSilver Common illustrated by Ken Sugimori.

• Snubbull (Detective Pikachu #15)

  A Detective Pikachu Common illustrated by Framestore.

• Snubbull (Phantasmal Flames #037)

  A Phantasmal Flames Common by Gapao, part of the Mega Evolution era.