Hope you don’t have a phobia of spiders!
This time, the random number generator takes us from birds to spiders. There’s much less of a representation of that sort of animal in Pokemon, and the Spinarak line is the one we’ve got to play with. It does at least have a more unique typing than Pidove with Bug/Poison, and a thing for faces and having the wrong number of legs. Let’s see what there is to know about these spiders!
Facts you may not have known
Spinarak, at 8.5 kg, weighs as much as
– 8500 regular female black widows
– a two-month-old German Shepherd puppy
And, at 0.5 m, is as tall as
– two one-gallon milk jugs on top of each other
– a tower of 52 stacked lego bricks
Ariados, at 33.5 kg, weighs as much as
– two four-year-old girls
– a medium-sized watermelon
And, at 1.1 m, is as tall as
– 3.9 Goliath birdeater-spiders in a row
– the wingspan of the most common falconry hawk
Spinarak’s abilities are Swarm and Insomnia. Swarm is understandable as Spinarak is a bug-type Pokémon. However, I’m sure many Spinarak are deprived of their precious sleep at late night guarding their webs with their second ability. Nevertheless, Insomnia is a useful technique they could use to avoid falling foul to Sleep Powder while attacking grass-type Pokémon. That’s why Spinarak are the most patient of hunters; they can spend sleepless nights in harmony while waiting for prey. Since Ariados gets the same set of abilities, they can use it to better effect. When they spread their thin silk out of their mouths and backs, they may find it easy to hunt down their prey. Their hidden ability is also another web of assets – Sniper. This does enhance their glory as perfect hunters, and should it come that their Poison Sting catches their enemy off-guard, it’s all the better to do it with Sniper.
Spinarak’s name seems to come from a combination of ‘spin’ (which could explain how well-spun the webs are) and ‘arachnid’ (the group which spiders come under). Alternatively, it could also have been derived from ‘spinneret’, or the Afrikaans word for ‘spider web’. Ariados’ name comes from the Greek myth of Theseus and Ariadne, wherein Ariadne gave a ball of twine to Theseus so that after he entered the Labyrinth, he may find his way back out. This line isn’t much for alternate names – Ariados remains as such in most countries, and Spinarak seemed a popular choice of name as well. It’s known as that in Spain and Italy, while Germany has ‘Webarak’. The French however called the first stage ‘Mimigal’, based on this spider.
Hello.
Though Spinarak is based off a spider, Spinarak has six legs, two short of how much a regular spider will have – they’d be better described as a spidersect. Ariados has four legs, after a pair moved onto its back. Spinarak has black spots on its abdomen, that are shown to change their expressions in the anime. Ariados’s abdomen also has black spots, however, they resemble a frown or an unhappy face. Unlike the above spider, the Spinarak line is really based off the so-called Happy face spider.
This ‘lil guy is smiling for the camera, not you.
Other Appearances in Pokémon
Spinarak Attack is an episode notable in the sense that it’s one of the few episodes where Officer Jenny uses a Pokemon other than Growlithe, that being Spinarak. She uses it to honour the Spinarak that stopped a legendary cat burglar named The Black Arachnid. Team Rocket tried to emulate said Black Arachnid, surprise surprise, Officer Jenny stopped them with her Spinarak. A shiny Ariados has been shown off in the anime as well, while groups of the Pokémon have taken to attacking the female sidekicks a number of times. For some… unknown reason.
I don’t think that counts as a fashion style, Misty.
In the games, they’ve had a few appearances on teams of more notable characters. Both Koga and Janine have used the evolved form, the former while serving as an Elite Four member. Not bad, Ariados! Spinarak has not served as a Pokemon on Bugsy’s team, but it did get to be the focus of the Gym Leader’s gym in HGSS. Ariados meanwhile was also available in Colosseum as a Shadow Pokémon. Which does make for a scary concept – a giant spider that will strike at anything, including its own trainer? Oh my.
Caring for your pet Spinarak/Ariados
It is advised that you keep your pet Pokémon outdoors. These guys have a tendency to creating webs, and although it is said that they can tell what sort of prey falls into their traps, you probably don’t want to risk it rushing forward with a Poison Sting. And it’s always awkward when a long-lost uncle suddenly turns up at your house and wanders in. A dark basement will keep them happy however, and if trained properly, they will be able to perform tasks such as clean your ceilings.
But worry not – unsurprisingly, they love the outdoors, and they have a better chance of catching stuff you don’t want in your house, like flies and postmen. You don’t have to worry about feeding them either, as they tend to do that for themselves. A few trees surrounding your home is great for them, and encourages them to make webs away from your car. For the travelling trainer, if you choose to let them out of their Poké Ball, as long as they have a place to make webs that isn’t right by your tent entrance they’ll be fine. Ariados will tend to move away to hunt however rather than sit upon its web. Otherwise, be sure to keep them fed with a variety of bugs, and keep them away from open spaces, least a Flying type decides to carry it away.
Be warned that Ariados will grow far larger than your standard spider. They will require a significant amount of space, and signs should be installed around your place of residence warning about them. Although typically nocturnal, they are quiet and so will not disturb you at night, unless they expected a meal from you. They are generally fine with being petted anywhere bar sensitive parts of the body (like their eyes), and will let you know if they’re upset with a hiss. And maybe a pinch with their fangs.
Competitive Advice
Ariados makes its way onto the competitive scene being amazingly mediocre. At first glance, a good movepool, access to toxic spikes, a usable base ninety attack stat, and useful offensive STABs would indicate that Ariados would make a good offensive lead. However, Ariados is slow. By slow, I mean a base forty speed slow. In case you were wondering, that’s a whopping total of ten points faster than the amazing Sunkern. That’s right, this weird spider moves only a little faster than a flower seed. Ariados is also plagued with a terrible defensive typing and just as bad defensive stats.
It will win this battle however…
Despite this, Ariados does have a few niches to take advantage of. With access to priority in sucker punch, Ariados can be a good revenge killer. Also, Ariados can double that speed stat with agility. It may not sound like much, but with max investment in speed, Ariados can actually end up outspeeding a majority of the metagame after just one boost. However, it’s a question if Ariados can get set-up at all. The only pokemon Ariados can safely set-up on are either defensive grass types or pure defense pokemon. In other words, Ariados can’t take a hit, nor can it dish one out. Well, it will put a dent in whatever doesn’t resist it, but if the opponent is at full health, this not so itsy bitsy spider will get washed out.
If you’re really committed to running Ariados, and I mean really committed, this set is going to be your best bet:
Ariados @ Life Orb
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly/Adamant Nature
– Agility
– Poison Jab
– X-Scissor
– Sucker Punch
Do…
– Have Spinarak do the cleaning for you on your roof and ceiling.
– Use a very secure Poké Ball to make sure Spinarak doesn’t escape.
– Employ Spinarak/Ariados in a textile factory.
– Take Ariados mountain climbing with you.
Don’t…
– Accidentally call Spinarak an insect. They’re very sensitive about that!
– Get a Spinarak facial (as Misty can attest to!)
– Challenge Ariados to a staring contest.
– Try to shake hands with an Ariados.
And you probably shouldn’t sit on them either.
As usual, you can expect a Name Rater and fanworks article to follow on this line too. Look forward to it! If you have any suggestions, do pop on the forums as well!
Written and edited by An-chan, Bay Alexison, bobandbill, Hoenn, Richard Fightmaster and Slayr231.
