Dusty the Klepto Kitty

Sinnoh debut and capture early

Glameow (Pokedex slot 431) is the Normal-type Catty Pokemon introduced in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl on the Nintendo DS in September 2006 (Japan), April 2007 (English). The species appears in Eterna Forest grass and Route 222 as one of the earliest catchable cat Pokemon in the Sinnoh regional dex, with a slightly higher encounter rate in Pokemon Pearl than Diamond. The slender grey body with a tightly coiled spring-shaped tail recalls both the Cornish Rex silhouette and traditional Japanese spring-cat folklore. Gym Leader Gardenia of Eterna City fields a Glameow on her team in the early-game Grass-type Gym fight.

Purugly evolution and the body-shape inversion

Glameow evolves into Purugly at level 38. The evolution famously inverts the slim Glameow build into a notably rotund final form, a design contrast Game Freak has rarely repeated for any species line. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Pokedex entries describe Purugly as cinching its waist with its forked tail to maintain a more flattering silhouette, a flavour-text gag that has become one of the franchise's most-quoted joke entries. Gym Leader Crasher Wake notably comments on the inversion in his post-battle dialogue.

Move set and recurring appearances

Glameow's movepool includes Hypnosis at level 13, Charm at level 17, and the signature Generation IV move Slash at level 39, the combination giving it niche use as an early-game sleep-inducer in Diamond and Pearl playthroughs. The species' hidden ability Keen Eye prevents accuracy reduction. Glameow has appeared in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Pokemon Battle Revolution (2007), Pokemon Conquest (2012) as an ally for Warlord Hideyoshi, and the Pokemon Trading Card Game across Diamond and Pearl, Mysterious Treasures, and Stormfront expansions. A shiny Glameow (white body, blue ear-tips) was distributed via Pokemon Mystery Gift at the 2008 Pokemon Center Tokyo three-year anniversary event.