# Cubone
**Cubone** (Japanese: カラカラ, Karakara) is a Ground-type Pokémon introduced in the first generation of Pokémon games, *Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow*, where it is listed as number 104 in the Pokédex. It is a small, dinosaur-like creature that wears a skull on its head and carries a bone as a weapon, and it evolves into Marowak.[1](https://pokemondb.net/pokedex/cubone/black-white) • [2](https://www.poketools.com/pokemon/cubone)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Classification | Ground-type Pokémon, Pokédex number 104, introduced in Generation 1 (*Red, Blue & Yellow*)[1](https://pokemondb.net/pokedex/cubone/black-white) |
| Evolution | Two-stage line: Cubone evolves into Marowak[2](https://www.poketools.com/pokemon/cubone) |
| Base stats | Base stat total of 320, a low figure consistent with a pre-evolution[2](https://www.poketools.com/pokemon/cubone) |
| Signature lore | Pokédex entries state it wears the skull of its dead mother; its mournful cries echo inside the skull and emerge as a sad melody[3](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/detective-pikachu-makes-a-gag-out-of-the-saddest-p/1100-6466824/) |
| Abilities | Rock Head (protects against recoil damage) and Lightning Rod (redirects single-target Electric moves to itself)[4](https://thepokepedia.com/pokedex/cubone) |
| Signature item | The held item Thick Club doubles the Attack of a Cubone or Marowak that holds it[5](https://www.smogon.com/dex/sm/pokemon/cubone/) |
| Signature moves | Cubone and Marowak are the only known Pokémon capable of learning Bone Club and Bonemerang[6](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Cubone_(Pok%C3%A9mon)) |
## Design origin
Cubone has an unusually direct authorial explanation. In a 1997 interview in the Japanese magazine *Famimaga 64*, translated by the interpreter Jacob Newcomb, Pokémon creator [Satoshi Tajiri](https://www.edgepedia.org/satoshi-tajiri), the founder of [Game Freak](https://www.edgepedia.org/game-freak), explained that the species was conceived around the question of Pokémon mortality. Asked why Pokémon do not die in the games, Tajiri said that losing a creature a player has raised would be too sad, so defeated Pokémon only faint and can be healed at a Pokémon Center. He then added: "There's also Cubone, who was born from the thought of how sad it would be for a Pokémon to die. The bone Cubone holds is actually the bone of its dead mother. Cubone treasures it."[7](https://lavacutcontent.com/satoshi-Tajiri-1997-interview/)
This places Cubone among the few Pokémon whose defining trait was spelled out by the series creator rather than left to in-game text alone. The same interview shows Tajiri describing the Pokédex, the in-game encyclopedia, as a device to expand the game's reality: entries describe things the game cannot express directly, such as a Pokémon being smart or singing a sleep-inducing song, and make the world more fun to imagine.[7](https://lavacutcontent.com/satoshi-Tajiri-1997-interview/)
## The skull and its lore
The Pokédex entries across the games have stated since the first generation that Cubone wears the skull of its dead mother, a story that made the species one of the franchise's most recognizable tragic figures. In *Pokémon Yellow*, the cries Cubone makes echo inside the skull it wears and come out as a sad melody, a detail the film *Detective Pikachu* later turned into a plot point when the protagonists locate a Cubone by its mournful cries.[3](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/detective-pikachu-makes-a-gag-out-of-the-saddest-p/1100-6466824/)
**Internal inconsistencies.** The mother's-skull story does not hold together with the games' own mechanics, and the discrepancy has become a long-running topic of fan discussion. If every wild Cubone wore the skull of a deceased Marowak, the species' reproduction would be impossible to sustain, an argument that has repeatedly reignited debate among players.[8](https://www.dexerto.com/pokemon/cubones-biggest-mystery-has-sparked-an-age-old-discussion-among-pokemon-trainers-2741606/) Bulbapedia, the community-run Pokémon encyclopedia, records the concrete contradictions: despite the Pokédex text, Cubone are born already wearing the skull when hatched from Eggs, and *The Official Pokémon Handbook: Deluxe Edition* omits the dead-mother story entirely, saying instead that "Cubone uses the bones of ancient Pokémon to make armor and crude weapons."[6](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Cubone_(Pok%C3%A9mon))
The anime-adjacent material adds another wrinkle. In the second episode of *Pokémon Origins*, a mother Marowak is shown alive, protecting her child Cubone from Team Rocket, yet the Cubone still wears a skull.[6](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Cubone_(Pok%C3%A9mon)) A scholarly article on translation and interpretation of Pokémon likewise highlights Cubone's skull as a feature that is incoherent because it is attributed to the whole species while apparently describing a unique character.[9](https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/sss/article/download/SSS.2021.49.3-4.15/13466/21620)
Fan responses to the contradiction range widely. None of these readings is confirmed in the games themselves; the official texts leave the skull's origin as stated in the Pokédex while the game mechanics show Cubone hatching with it already in place.[6](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Cubone_(Pok%C3%A9mon))
## Game mechanics
In battle, Cubone is a physically oriented but statistically weak Pokémon, with a base stat total of 320, a figure the competitive database PokéTools characterizes as low and typical of a pre-evolution.[2](https://www.poketools.com/pokemon/cubone) It has two standard Abilities: Rock Head, which protects it against recoil damage from moves such as Double-Edge, and Lightning Rod, which draws single-target Electric moves to Cubone and raises its Special Attack when hit.[4](https://thepokepedia.com/pokedex/cubone) • [5](https://www.smogon.com/dex/sm/pokemon/cubone/)
The species' competitive identity is tied to its signature held item. The Thick Club, a bone item, doubles the Attack stat of any Cubone or Marowak holding it, which is the basis of most strategies built around the line.[5](https://www.smogon.com/dex/sm/pokemon/cubone/) The item's true function was long obscure to players: in the second-generation games it was cataloged as junk to be sold cheaply, with no in-game indication that it doubled the Attack of Cubone and Marowak.[10](https://as.com/meristation/noticias/marowak-podia-aniquilar-a-cualquier-pokemon-en-oro-plata-y-cristal-pero-nunca-conocimos-su-verdadero-poder-n/)
Cubone and Marowak are the only known Pokémon capable of learning the moves Bone Club and Bonemerang, bone-based attacks that reinforce the line's identity.[6](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Cubone_(Pok%C3%A9mon)) In the Alola region, Cubone can evolve into Alolan Marowak, a Fire/Ghost variant; a quirk of the Ability system means a Cubone's Rock Head is its first Ability, while Alolan Marowak's Rock Head is only its Hidden Ability, so a Cubone cannot retain Rock Head through that evolution.[6](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Cubone_(Pok%C3%A9mon))
## Cultural footprint
Cubone's backstory has made it a recurring emotional touchstone in the franchise. The *Detective Pikachu* film built a scene around the character's mournful cries, explicitly drawing on the *Pokémon Yellow* Pokédex description of the skull's echo.[3](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/detective-pikachu-makes-a-gag-out-of-the-saddest-p/1100-6466824/) A Japanese trading card showing Cubone using the move Growl is one of the few official depictions that partially reveals the face beneath the skull.[6](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Cubone_(Pok%C3%A9mon))
## References
1. [Cubone Pokédex: stats, moves, evolution & locations, Pokémon Database](https://pokemondb.net/pokedex/cubone/black-white)
2. [Cubone #104: stats, weakness, evolution and moves, PokéTools](https://www.poketools.com/pokemon/cubone)
3. [Detective Pikachu Makes A Gag Out Of The Saddest Piece Of Pokemon Lore, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/detective-pikachu-makes-a-gag-out-of-the-saddest-p/1100-6466824/)
4. [Cubone (#104) – Ground Pokemon, Pokepedia](https://thepokepedia.com/pokedex/cubone)
5. [Cubone | SM | Smogon Strategy Pokedex](https://www.smogon.com/dex/sm/pokemon/cubone/)
6. [Cubone (Pokémon), Bulbapedia](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Cubone_(Pok%C3%A9mon))
7. [Translation: Satoshi Tajiri Cuts Loose (1997 Interview), Lava Cut Content](https://lavacutcontent.com/satoshi-Tajiri-1997-interview/)
8. [Cubone's biggest mystery has sparked an age-old discussion among Pokemon trainers, Dexerto](https://www.dexerto.com/pokemon/cubones-biggest-mystery-has-sparked-an-age-old-discussion-among-pokemon-trainers-2741606/)
9. [Incoherencies in the Pokédex, SSS 49 (3–4), University of Tartu journal](https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/sss/article/download/SSS.2021.49.3-4.15/13466/21620)
10. [Marowak podía aniquilar a cualquier Pokémon en Oro, Plata y Cristal, AS MeriStation](https://as.com/meristation/noticias/marowak-podia-aniquilar-a-cualquier-pokemon-en-oro-plata-y-cristal-pero-nunca-conocimos-su-verdadero-poder-n/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles › In-game subjects: characters, levels, items, and locations within single games › Creatures and monster species*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license