Shedinja is a Pokémon based on a cicada's shed exoskeleton. Most of its body is light brown, but the abdomen is gray. It has four protrusions on its underside instead of legs; the top pair is brown, while the lower is gray. There are round protrusions on the side of its head with narrow slits for eyes. Two lines encircle its abdomen and a white halo floats above its head. On its back is a pair of tattered wings divided into three wingtips. A hole between its wings reveals that its body is completely hollow and dark, as it possesses no internal organs.
Shedinja is said to be a very strange and peculiar Pokémon due to how it is created from an empty shell. It has the ability to inhabit an empty Poké Ball after it evolves from Nincada. It is said that looking into this empty space will steal one's spirit. Its shell is very hard, which gives it strong defense but renders it incapable of movement. It does not breathe and floats without moving its wings. It lives in tropical and temperate forests.
Appearances[]
Main Pokémon games[]
Other Pokémon games[]
In the anime[]
Origin and inspiration[]
Shedinja appears to be based on the shed husk that cicadas leave behind when they finish their metamorphosis into adults. It also appears to be a reference to the fabled ninjutsu technique 空蝉 utsusemi, where a ninja uses a dummy or replica of themselves 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 and its Wonder Guard Ability.
Shedinja's hard body doesn't move - not even a twitch. In fact, its body appears to be merely a hollow shell. It is believed that this Pokémon will steal the spirit of anyone peering into its hollow body from its back.
Shedinja is a peculiar Pokémon. It seems to appear unsought in a Poké Ball after a Nincada evolves. This bizarre Pokémon is entirely immobile - it doesn't even breathe.
Shedinja’s hard body doesn’t move—not even a twitch. In fact, its body appears to be merely a hollow shell. It is believed that this Pokémon will steal the spirit of anyone peering into its hollow body from its back.
Shedinja is a peculiar Pokémon. It seems to appear unsought in a Poké Ball after a Nincada evolves. This bizarre Pokémon is entirely immobile—it doesn’t even breathe.
It is a discarded bug shell that came to life. Peering into the crack on its back is said to steal one's spirit.
Game locations[]
In the main games, Shedinja is only obtainable by evolving a Nincada with an extra slot in the party and a spare Poké Ball from the fourth generation onward.