Pokey


 * Not to be confused with Porky Minch.

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
Although absent in Super Mario Bros. 3, Pokeys reappeared in Super Mario World. This time, Pokeys were yellow and could not be defeated in the same way as in Super Mario Bros. 2. Throwing a Shell or a Grab 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 and its remake. Here Mario can destroy each body segment with a punch, kick or by throwing a Bob-omb at it, but a jump will injure him. If he manages to attack the head, it will cause the whole body to fall apart. They give Blue Coins when defeated. If Mario gets hit by a Pokey, he will lose two wedges of health.

''Super Mario Sunshine
A smaller variety 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. If they are hit in the head, they get defeated instantly. 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. They are now red, and appear in the Dusty Dune Galaxy. They attack by trying to crush Mario, similar to in Super Mario Sunshine, except that now they don't get stuck in the ground. They could be defeated by destroying all their body segments by Spinning, or jumping on their head when they are low enough. Pokey Sprouts also appear, but now they are green. There are also Giant Pokeys appearing in the Good Egg Galaxy and the Dusty Dune Galaxy. These Giant Pokeys can only be defeated by sending a Coconut at its body and then jumping on or spinning its head.

''New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Yoshi can eat them one section at a time, as in Super Mario World, but eating the head defeats them instantly. Fire Flowers again are effective, and the Ice Flower can freeze them. Whenever a "Bah" is heard in the music, Pokeys will turn into an alternate non-spiked form, making each body segment resemble an orange. Yoshi can eat an entire Pokey instantly in this form, and if it does so, it will lay an egg with a power-up inside. However, even in their non-spiked form, Mario still can't safely jump on them.

Pokeys only appear in 2-5. Unlike their most recent appearances, in this game, a Pokey's head has 3 spikes instead of a flower.

''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. These are the only enemies where projectiles get reflected when Mario Superguards and gives the same amount of damage it would've given Mario. The game introduces a new sub-species of Pokeys, the Poison Pokeys, appearing in Riverside Station. Pokeys are unique in this game in that performing a Superguard on a thrown body segment will send it back to the Pokey, doing the same amount of damage to it as it would have done to Mario.

''Super Paper Mario
Pokeys appeared in Super Paper Mario in places such as Gap of Crag. The Poison Pokeys from the prequel also appeared, and they appeared in places including Castle Bleck and the Flipside Pit of 100 Trials. A new sub-species was introduced, the Dark Pokeys, that only appeared in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials. They drop Horsetails sometimes when defeated.

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 competition 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 competition. Oddly enough, the player faces another giant Pokey for September 2009's 2nd competition.

''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
Pokeys also re-appear in Super Princess Peach. In this game, Pokeys are always of three segments (including the head), and only appear in Wavy Beach. They are resistant to Perry, so they could only be defeated with Rage. There were also Vibe infused Pokeys, known as Mad Pokeys, that were simply angry Pokeys that stretched vertically to block Princess Peach from passing them by.

Mario Golf series
In Mario Golf: Advance Tour a Pokey appears in Dunes Club Practice Center. The player must shoot three shots at him, to earn a Custom Ticket B.

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.

Pokeys also appeared in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island DS, but with different English names (much like Cheep-Cheep). Blow Hard, Cactus Jack, and Spiked Fun Guy are all of the Pokey family.

Gallery
For pictures, see this subject's gallery.

🇵🇲