Smeargle
Smeargle, known in Japan as Doble, is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Smeargle first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and most of its subsequent sequels. Designed by Game Freak's development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori, it has also appeared in various spin-off titles, such as Pokémon Go and the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and animated adaptations of the franchise, where it is primarily voiced by Koichi Sakaguchi.
Resembling a Beagle with a beret-shaped head and a paintbrush at the end of its tail, Smeargle is classified as a Normal-type Pokémon. In the franchise's fictional universe, it uses paint-like fluid that flows from its tail to paint, creating paint markings and graffiti to mark its territory. It has the signature move, Sketch, which allows it to permanently learn any move used by the opponent. An additional variant of Smeargle, dubbed Smearguru, was introduced for the upcoming video game Pokémon Pokopia.
Since its debut, Smeargle has been used to promote various merchandise as well as in a variety of collaborations with events and brands, including Expo 2025 and Van Gogh Museum. Its design has been received positively by critics and fans, with some comparing it to the Pokémon Grafaiai. Sketch caused Smeargle to receive prominent use in competitive play, going on to win to multiple tournaments as well as being banned in certain tournaments due to its overuse and unpredictability.
Concept and creation
Smeargle is a species of fictional creatures called Pokémon created for the Pokémon media franchise. Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Japanese franchise began in 1996 with the video games Pokémon Red and Green for the Game Boy, which were later released in North America as Pokémon Red and Blue in 1998. In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon. Some Pokémon can transform into stronger species through evolution via various means, such as exposure to specific items. Each Pokémon has one or two elemental types, which define its advantages and disadvantages when battling other Pokémon. A major goal in each game is to complete the Pokédex, a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading with other Trainers to obtain individuals from all Pokémon species.Smeargle was first introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver. When developing the games, around 300 individual Pokémon designs were drafted by various development team members, with each deciding their names and features and revising the drafts as needed. During this process, the team actively tried to avoid vague design concepts, as they felt this had caused difficulty creating completed Pokémon during the development of Red and Blue. As the team selected which Pokémon would be included, they were drawn and finalized by lead artist Ken Sugimori. To maintain balance, however, many of the newer species did not appear in the early stages of the game. Additionally, many of the Pokémon were designed with merchandise in mind, taking into account the related Pokémon toy line and anime series. As a result designs often had to be kept simplistic, something that caused strain for Sugimori and affected his approach to the next Pokémon franchise titles, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. Compared to the species introduced in the first generation, many of the second generation species have more obvious origins based on animals, plants or myths; they were also designed with a rural Japanese influence due to a significant amount being based on animals known to live in "temperate forest environment."
Smeargle is a bipedal dog-like Pokémon with floppy ears, a beret-shaped head and a brown collar around its neck. Once an adult, it will allow fellow Smeargle to plant footprints on its back. It has an elongated tail which ends in paintbrush-like structure. Though commonly depicted as green, different colored paint-like fluids are secreted from the tip of its tail, with the color predetermined for each individual Smeargle. A Smeargle's emotions can determine the hue of the fluid. Its shiny form gives Smeargle a golden tint and turns the colored fluid on its tail from green to orange; prior to the third generation, Smeargle's standard and shiny color schemes were reversed. Smeargle is believed to be based on the Beagle breed, with additional origins to French artist stereotype due to its beret. Smeargle's English name is a combination of "smear" and "beagle". Its Korean name, Lubeudo, is believed to originate from the Korean spelling and pronunciation of the French art museum Musée du Louvre.
In-universe, it uses its tail like a paintbrush in order to paint, using one of five-thousand different paint markings to mark its territory. In towns populated with Smeargle, the walls are typically covered in graffiti. Smeargle is only capable of naturally learning the move "Sketch", its signature move, which it learns ten times. When used in battle, Smeargle is able to permanently learn the move last learnt by the opposing Pokémon. However, the move can only be used once per battle.
Appearances
Smeargle first appeared in the 1999 video game Pokémon Gold and Silver; it is classified as a Normal-type Pokémon with only one stage, meaning it has no pre-evolutions and is not known to evolve. Smeargle are an uncommon encounter; in its debut appearance, it can only be encountered in the wild at the Ruins of Alph, secluded to a remote island where the player needs to use another Pokémon to access it. A similar encounter can occur in Pokémon Emerald, only appearing in the Artisan Cave. It has since gone on to appear in multiple games, including the enhanced version of Gold and Silver, Pokémon Crystal, and the remakes Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. During Golden Week in 2006, Japanese Pokémon Centers distributed Smeargle to customers who brought in their copy of Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed or LeafGreen. In Pokémon Sun and Moon and its enhanced versions, a Smeargle is used by Trial Captain Ilima as his ace Pokémon, who teaches it a move that is strong against the player's Starter Pokémon. Although initially absent from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it was later added in the The Indigo Disk DLC expansion pack. Artwork of Smeargle also appears on a poster in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.Smeargle can be seen in other spin-off Pokémon video games, such as Pokémon Stadium 2, Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon Rumble World, and Pokémon Smile. Pokémon Channel features a Smeargle-themed TV show, Smeargle's Art Show; the player can paint on still scenes of various programs within the game, in which a Smeargle will display the art in an art gallery. In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team ands its 2020 remake, a Smeargle can be recruited onto the Rescue Team after saving it from the Howling Forest area during a quest. He can also create new flag designs for the team. It would later re-appear in the games' sequels Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness and Explorers of Sky. During Pokémon Battle Revolution, a Smeargle is used by two different opponents during Colosseum mode. Whilst initially missing from the lineup of second generation Pokémon added to Pokémon Go, speculated to be due to its signature move, it was eventually added during an update in 2019. Unlike most Pokémon, Smeargle can only be encountered through Gos Snapshot mode, where by using the camera on another Pokémon, a Smeargle will occasionally photobomb the image before appearing on the in-game map for the chance to catch it. Its shiny form also has the chance to appear during in-game events, such as during a promotional event for New Pokémon Snap. Pokémon Pokopia will introduce a new variant of Smeargle called Smearguru, where multiple colors from its tail are splashed all over its body, making it look more like a painter. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Smeargle appears as a collectable in the form of a spirit. To obtain the Smeargle spirit, the player is required to beat a pre-set match against an Inkling from the Splatoon series.
It has been featured in multiple card sets in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. In the 2021 set Sword & Shield–Evolving Skies, a card depicting a Smeargle leaving a green paint trail with its tail; the paint trail connects other cards within the same set as well as the set Sword & Shield–Fusion Strike and Japanese exclusive set Eevee Heroes by having other cards depict other Pokémon species observing it. Smeargle would later prominently feature in the Pokémon Go set, acting as a mascot for the set as well as referencing its function in Go. Some cards as well as an emblem appearing in the mobile game Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket. A secret mission dedicated to Smeargle, called "Smeargle's Colorful Collection", also appears in Pocket. Smeargle has appeared in multiple episodes of Pokémon: The Series primarily as a background cameo, although it has appeared prominently as the focus of the episodes "The Art of Pokémon" and "Smashing with Sketch!". In the series, it is voiced by Koichi Sakaguchi. Smeargle has also had roles in the short film Pikachu & Pichu and the feature film Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us, with the latter being voiced by Kenta Okuma.
Promotions
Smeargle has been featured on a number of merchandise, such as a figurine, a shirt, and plushes. In 2019, a menu item based on Smeargle, the "Smeargle Drawing Pancakes", were added at the Japan exclusive Pokémon Café; the dish allowed customers to draw on pancakes using a chocolate pen. The pancakes was later removed from the menu in January 2020. It had a program at the Japanese Pokemon EXPO Gym at Expocity in Suita, Osaka called "Smeargle's Promo Studio", where a Smeargle invites participants to audition as backup dancers for a promotional video for its debut in battles. Smeargle was one of a handful of Pokémon picked to represent "monpoké", The Pokémon Company's brand targeted for babies and toddlers; being featured on merchandise such as T-shirts, finger puppets, plushies, charms, and picture books. As part of this promotion, Smeargle appeared in a tie-in short anime series on the Japanese Pokémon Kids TV YouTube channel, as well as a web series titled Fun Times on monpoké Island, which used puppets. The Smeargle was voiced by Aoi Gōda.Smeargle has also been used in a number of collaborations with other companies and events. Between July 2019 and June 2020, Tokyo Monorail operated "Pokémon Monorail", which were Tokyo Monorail 1000 series units decorated with Pokémon-themed liveries; Car 6 of Pokémon Monorails featured a Smeargle with a group of Pikachu. In 2022, a Smeargle card was one of multiple Pokémon Trading Card available in Happy Meals as part of a collaboration with McDonald's. This collaboration was extended into 2023 in Latin American countries. As part of a collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in 2023, promotional trading cards were distributed depicting Smeargle, Pikachu, Eevee and Sunflora replicating paintings by Vincent van Gogh, with Smeargle's card based on Self-Portrait as a Painter. A statue of Smeargle was erected at the venue of at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan as part of a collaboration with Pokémon Go, with the statue being used as part of an in-game stamp rally.