Wailmer was one of the first Generation 3 Pokémon, along with Azurill and Kecleon, that Trainers were introduced to back in early March 2001. Its spherical shape and big grin have made it a strong fan-favorite and it’s very easy to see why.

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With a bright blue upper half, a peachy bottom half and the aforementioned comically large grin make it almost universally beloved in the Hoenn region. This round Water-type Pokémon lives in the sea and can only survive on land for a short period of time, but has survived in the hearts of Trainers for nearly 20 years.

10 When Does Wailmer Evolve?

If Trainers want to evolve their Wailmer into a Wailord, it might take a while. Wailmer has the highest single-stage evolution level found in Generation 3, alongside the Fossil Pokémon Anorith and Lileep. It will evolve into Wailord at level 40, so players must make sure they bring a lot of Hyper Potions and Rare Candies to help with the grind. It's worth it for the great moves it can learn.

If Pokémon Go Trainers want to level up their Wailmer, they have even more of a grind ahead. Wailmer is one of the few Pokémon that need 400 candies to evolve, so they best strap on their walking boots.

9 His Shiny Form Is A Meme

Wailmer’s Shiny Form lends a pretty pink/purple shine to this Water-type Pokémon. In 2018, around the release of the first Avengers: Infinity War trailer, some galaxy-minded Pokémon Trainers noticed the similarities between the lead antagonist, Thanos, and this lovable beach ball of a Pokémon. The small eyes, purple color scheme, and indented chins make Thanos and Shiny Wailmer look like twins.

This led to some amazing Pokémon x Marvel fanart that saw Wailmer standing in for the Mad Titan. Some fans were split though. They felt bad for Wailmer, claiming that a Pokémon as special as a Shiny Wailmer shouldn’t be compared to a character as evil as Thanos. The fandom was divided. Or you could say it was perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

8 Wailmer’s Egg Group Combination Is Unique

Wailmer's evolution family are the only Pokémon in the Field egg group to have a Field and Water 2 combination. This has led some Pokémon Breeders to some… disturbing discoveries.

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Wailmer is known for being a large lad, measuring in at 6'07", or approximately 2.0 meters. Despite this, a giant-sized Wailord can breed with a number of smaller Pokémon, like Diglett and Skitty. Some artists online have explored this topic further and there’s even a name for it: Hot Skitty on Wailmer Action (HSWA). There are some great drawings and memes elaborating, but please Google at your own risk.

7 It Evolves Into The Second Biggest Pokémon

As mentioned before, the average Wailmer is about 6'07", or 2.0 meters long. That’s big for a basic Pokémon, but not the biggest out there. Onix has it beat, coming in at a whopping 28 feet, 10 inches. But Wailmer's evolution, Wailord, is the largest non-legendary Pokémon in the world (excluding Dynamaxing).

Wailord is 47 feet, 7 inches (14.5 meters), which is only beaten by Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Legendary Eternatus which is 65 feet, 7 inches (20 meters). It wouldn't be a stretch to think the biggest Pokémon in the world would also weigh the most, but Primal Kyogre is the heaviest Water-type. Wailord is so big, players are unable to catch it in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. It even had to be resized for games like Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness and Pokémon Colisseum to fit into the arena!

6 Players Need This Pokémon To Catch Sudowoodo

To be precise, the Wailmer Pail is needed to catch Sudowoodo. The Wailmer Pail is a watering can in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald that looks just like a Wailmer. This key item lets players water any Berry trees they find. This way, they can increase the Berry yield and can pick more Berries to use and store however they choose.

If the player is playing a copy of Pokémon Emerald, they can use the Wailmer Pail for another reason. If they have a Pokémon that can get them to the popular Battle Frontier they can water a fake tree that is revealed to be a wild Sudowoodo that attacks the player.

5 It Has A Modified Surf Sprite

In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Wailmer is one of the only Pokémon to have a unique Surf model that allows players to travel around on its back and underwater.

There’s a glitch that could be caused by this sprite though. If players Surf on water around Mossdeep City using their Wailmer and fish up a Pokémon that causes that Wailmer to level up and evolve, their game will soft-lock. It’s easy to fix though and won’t harm your save data. If players press the Home button on their DS to return to the main menu or perform a soft reset (L+R+Select+Start), the game will un-freeze.

4 It’s Based On A Beach Ball

There have been some interesting designs in Generation 3, but Wailmer might be one of the best. It might be a formidable foe in battle, but this bouncy Pokémon's looks are actually based on a beach ball. The more water Wailmer swallows, the bouncier it becomes. Considering that this colossal aquatic Pokémon can be found swimming through Hoenn oceans with its mouth open to catch a ton of food, that’s a lot of water it must swallow.

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Its bounciness has led to Wailmer Watchers traveling the region to try and see the impressive splashes when it becomes too light and breaches the water. Its evolution, Wailord, is labeled as the "Float Whale Pokémon." Wailord weighs less than 900 pounds, which is less surprising when players remember his body is partially composed of air.

3 It Has French Origins

Pokémon is well-known for its clever name mash-ups and Wailmer is no exception. Some fans think that its name is a combination of the English word “whale,” off of which is the animal the Pokémon is based and the French word for sea “mer.” This would make sense considering Wailmer is a Water-type Pokémon who lives in the ocean and only occasionally bounces up onto the shores of Hoenn to play with children.

Some other fans think that “Wail” refers to a whale’s song that is said to be hauntingly beautiful.

2 Wishiwashi Is Its Favorite Prey

Wailmer swiming near beast in Pokemon anime

The Pokédex entry in Pokémon Sun and in Pokémon Moon claims that “It shows off by spraying jets of seawater from the nostrils above its eyes” and “it eats a solid ton of Wishiwashi every day.” An individual Wishiwashi is small and weak, measuring only 8 inches in total.

This all changes when its "Schooling" ability activates, though. Wishiwashi’s School Form is only a bit smaller than Wailmer's evolved form, the biggest Pokémon in existence aside from Eternatus. Wishiwashi in School Form measure 26 feet, 11 inches (8.2 meters) whilst Wailord is 47 feet, 7 inches (14.5 meters). A Wailmer would struggle to either eat or defeat this Leviathan of a Pokémon.

1 It Leaked Before The Reveal Of Generation 3

In early March 2001, 3 Pokémon were leaked over a year before Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire's official release on November 21, 2002. These 3 Pokémon were Azurill, Kecleon and our favorite whale, Wailmer.

More recently, Generation 3 game code revealed more information on what was planned to be included in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. According to these leaks, the game was supposedly scheduled for March 17, 2003. It only released 4 months early because the development of the game was completed a lot quicker than anyone thought it would be. This would've meant Wailmer leaked almost exactly 2 years before players got to see it in a game.

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