Gholdengo (サーフゴー)

Biology: Gholdengo is a bipedal humanoid Pokémon whose body is composed of 1,000 Gimmighoul Coins stacked together, giving it a golden, cylindrical appearance. Its face has oval eyes and a mouth displaying a crooked smile. Its body has skinny arms with large hands, and short, stumpy legs with no toes. It has three fingers on each hand and four tufts of dreadlock-like "hair", all made out of coins. It wears the strap from a Gimmighoul's chest as a belt, using it to fasten the chest to its side. The belt buckle has a stylized number 1,000 on it. Gholdengo is capable of creating a golden surfboard out of coins as a means of movement.

Gholdengo is a sociable Pokémon, able to quickly befriend anybody. It overwhelms opponents by firing coins at them in quick succession. The coins that form its body are tightly packed, making it able to withstand damage. When attacked by enemies, it can let loose some of the coins on the areas of its body that are hit, in order to absorb the impact.[1]

Gholdengo is the only known Pokémon capable of learning the move Make It Rain. It is also the only known Pokémon that can have Good as Gold as an Ability.

Size: 3'11" tall, weighs 66.1 lbs.

Evolution: Gholdengo evolves from either Chest Form or Roaming Form Gimmighoul.

Facts: Despite its Japanese name and ability to create a surfboard out of coins, Gholdengo is incapable of learning the move Surf. Gholdengo is heavily associated with the number 1,000. Its belt buckle has a stylized depiction of the number 1,000 on it. As Gholdengo's belt is fashioned from Chest Form Gimmighoul's chest, this symbol is also present on Chest Form Gimmighoul, albeit oriented sideways. Its body is made of 1,000 Gimmighoul Coins.

Gholdengo's golden humanoid appearance, together with its position as the 1,000th Pokémon in the National Pokédex, may allude to award statuettes, which are often made with gold and given to honor achievements or milestones. Gholdengo also seems to take inspiration from surfers, given the golden surfboard it rides on as well as its dreadlock-like appendages and friendly nature, befitting of the archetypal "surfer dude". It also bears some physical resemblance to a tube man. The cylindrical shape of its body is similar to a coin wrapper. The way its chest is attached to its belt resembles a tool belt.

The association of a ghost with coins may draw inspiration from Charon's obol, where the deceased are buried with coins as a preparation for the afterlife. The coins were frequently placed in the mouth or on the eyes.

Gholdengo may also be based on El Dorado, a legend described by Spanish conquistadors about a lost city of gold, originally a king whose body was covered in gold. The legend is believed to have stemmed from a ceremony done by the Muisca people in modern-day Colombia, in which their ruler was initiated by having him covered in gold dust and floated into a lake on a raft. The ruler would then plunge into the lake to wash the gold off as a ritual offering. This raft may be why Gholdengo has a surfboard-like platform. By extension, its elongated body proportions and eye hollows may be inspired by the style of tunjos, Muisca gold figurines that were commonly used to decorate burial places and shrines.

Gholdengo may be a combination of ghoul or ghost, golden, and possibly go (as in Pokémon GO, the game its pre-Evolution Gimmighoul debuted in). It may also come from tengo, the Spanish word for "I have", or from denga, an old Russian coin worth one two-hundredth of a ruble, the plural form of which became the usual Russian word for money.