Pokey

A Pokey is a cactus enemy that is composed of three to five spherical body segments. To defeat a Pokey, typically each body section must be destroyed. Pokeys, like Shy Guys and Bob-ombs, originate from the non-Mario game Doki Doki Panic, which later became Super Mario Bros. 2.

Super Mario Bros. 2
Pokeys first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 2. In this game, Pokeys were green and could be defeated by throwing objects at their body segments.

Super Mario World
Pokeys reappeared in Super Mario World. They were absent from Super Mario Bros. 3. This time, Pokeys were yellow and could not be defeated in the same way as in Super Mario Bros. 2. Throwing a Shell or Block at them would defeat them all at once. Mario and Luigi could also defeat a Pokey by sliding up or down a hill at the cactus. Another option was to defeat them with Yoshi, who could eat their body segments one at a time. The number of body segments present depends on if Mario has Yoshi or not. If he does, Pokeys have five body segments. Without Yoshi, Pokeys only have three segments so that Mario can Jump over them. They only appear in a special world level and Yoshi's Island 4 in a secret area. Also, in Super Mario Advance 2, after the Player had beaten the Special World and unlocked all of the exits, Pokeys turned into a bizzarre Chainsaw creature with a face on each body segment.

Super Mario 64
A few Pokeys appear in Shifting Sand Land in the game Super Mario 64. Here Mario can destroy each body segment one at a time with a puch or a kick, but a jump will injure him. If he manages to attack the head, it will cause the whole body to fall apart, rewarding Mario with a blue coin.

Super Mario Sunshine
A smaller variety of of Pokeys called Pokey Sprouts appear in Super Mario Sunshine as well as Pokeys themselves. To defeat a regular Pokey, Mario must come close to the tall cactus, causing the Pokey to attempt to crush him, as the Pokeys are planted to the ground, and cannot move from place. However, the Pokey's spikes will get stuck in the ground and Mario can jump on its head to defeat him. One can see goopy bubbles rising from the flower on their heads as they bop up and down, so this may mean they may have some connection to Shadow Mario and his Magic Paintbrush.

New Super Mario Bros.
Pokeys also appear in World 2-1 in New Super Mario Bros. In this game, a Pokey can only be defeated by shooting fireballs at its body segments, rolling over it with Shell Mario, or by crushing the cactus monster as Mega Mario. Without these power-ups, Mario must attempt to jump over the Pokeys. Some Pokeys have over ten body segments, requiring Mario to use special platforms to jump over these tall creatures. Also, in New Super Mario Bros., the Mummipokey, an undead Pokey, appeared as the World 2 boss.

Super Mario Galaxy
Pokeys also appear in Super Mario Galaxy. A giant one appears in the Good Egg Galaxy and regular-sized, multi-colored Pokeys appear in the Dusty Dune Galaxy. These Pokeys come in green and red colors. The green Pokey, which appears first, can be defeated by jumping on its head, and the red Pokey, which appears second, can only be defeated by disassembling its body segments with the Star Spin. They can also be defeated by stomping the head when low enough. The Giant Pokeys can only be defeated by sending a coconut at its body and then jumping on/star spinning its head.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Pokeys were seen infrequently on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, where they typically appeared in episodes which had a Western setting or took place in a desert, often appearing as antagonists. On the show, Pokeys were portrayed as being capable of speaking, making themselves resemble ordinary cacti to blend in, and they also possessed primitive, arm-like protrusions.

Paper Mario
In the game Paper Mario, Pokeys gained a few new abilities. Pokeys could now use their body segments as projectiles, launching them to attack opponents. Pokeys also gained the ability to summon other Pokeys, which would rise from the ground when called for. Also, a new variety of Pokey was introduced: the Pokey Mummy. When it is defeated by Mario, the player sometimes obtain a Dried Fruit.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Pokeys also appear in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. A team of three Pokeys, known as the Pokey Triplets, are a fighting team in the Glitz Pit. Pokeys also appear in the game's Pit of 100 Trials. The game introduces a new sub-species of Pokeys, the Poison Pokeys, appearing in Riverside Station.

Mario Kart series
Pokeys also appeared in the Mario Kart series. They first appeared in Dry Dry Desert in the game Mario Kart Double Dash!!. They later return in Desert Hills in the game Mario Kart DS. Lastly, they appeared in Mario Kart Wii in the Dry Dry Ruins course.

Additionally, a giant Pokey appears in the Thwomp Desert as part of October 2008's 1st tournament in Mario Kart Wii. There, players had to defeat it by throwing Bob-ombs. Pokeys also appeared in Mario Raceway as part of November 2008's 2nd tournament.

Mario Party Advance
A Pokey appears as the guardian of Pokey Desert, a part of the Desert area of Shroom City, found in the game Mario Party Advance. When the player decides to stop in the desert, they will have to accept Pokey's quest, Mysterious Riddles, which involves answering his three riddles correctly. If the player succeeds, Pokey will reward them with the Gaddget, Tap-Tap Sumo.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Pokeys live in the Gritzy Desert. They start out as simple Pokey Sprouts with pink flowers but when engaged in battle, a Pokey will grow additional body segments. The four Mario Bros. of past and present encountered many Pokeys during their travels in the Shroob occupied Gritzy Desert. In battle, a Pokey will ram into a Mario brother to attack. Thus, to dodge this attack, the Pokey's body segments most be knocked away with Hammer strikes. This makes the Pokey shorter (allowing the Mario Bros. to jump over the cactus ghoul). The Pokey may also launch its body segments at the Mario Bros., culminating in a jump attack from the head itself. To counter this attack, the Baby Bros. should hit the body segments with their Hammers. The pokey will jump normally when hitting Mario and will spin around once when hitting Luigi. A Pokey can also spin its body and shoot spines at the Mario Bros.The Pokey will spin the individual body part to the Bro. it was wishing to attack. The player will have to jump to dodge these projectiles. In this game, only attacks to the head can damage a Pokey. The Skellokey, a new variety of Pokeys, also appears in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

Super Princess Peach
In Super Princess Peach there were Vibe Infused Pokeys, known as Mad Pokeys, that were simply angry Pokeys that stretched vertically to block Princess Peach from getting by.

Appearances in Other Games
Pokeys made appearances in some of The Legend of Zelda series, including The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (all three of them for the 8-bit Game Boy, but the two latter only for GB Color). They lived in the desert regions on Koholint Island and in the desert regions of Holodrum. Link could easily defeat a Pokey by slashing each of its body segments off with a sword.