Hoopa Report

Hoopa (the Mischief Pokémon as Hoopa Confined and the Djinn Pokémon as Hoopa Unbound) is a legendary Psychic/Ghost-type or Psychic/Dark-type Pokémon occasionally spotted within the Kalos and Hoenn regions, though the location of its true home is unknown. Mischievous to the extreme and tricky beyond their sheer appearances, Hoopa are powerful little beasts that can more than make life difficult for those unable to outsmart them and their incredible teleportation abilities. These little fiends might not look that dangerous, but don’t let your eyes deceive you; they may be small, but when it comes to getting the drop on the opposition, there are few other monsters that can play the disappearing game quite as well as these monsters…if you can even catch them to begin with!

To say the least, Hoopa are mysterious creatures whose true physical makeup is still the subject of some debate, as they do not appear to even exist. X-ray analyses of these creatures have revealed literally absolutely nothing; when an image is taken, not even an outline shows up, as if the creature never even existed to begin with. From what can be told, this would mean that the creature is in a constant flux of existence and non-existence, or perhaps even another state of being unlike anything that the human race is capable of understanding or studying; without further data, it is impossible to say for certain. It is hypothesized, however, that Hoopa are in fact a special, sentient form of psychic energy that has a true mind and consciousness but no biological connection to this world, granting it the unique type properties of the Psychic-type. Their secondary Ghost-type assignment come from the fact that they not only display the characteristics of the type but, as Hoopa Confined, seem to be partially tied to the ethereal plane. This is not the only surprise, however, as it seems that their unique state of being allows Hoopa to do something that few other Pokémon can actually do: create wormholes. They can do so by focusing large amounts of psychic energy in the rings that adorn their body, and once they create a wormhole, they merely have to push an object through the ring to teleport it to a location of the creatures’ choosing. It has even been observed that these rings can be made to grow in size to the point of being able to encompass entire islands, absorbing and teleporting them in an instant when at full power. This incredible ability seemingly defies the laws of physics, and it is unknown how Hoopa are actually able to achieve this without destroying the objects, as wormholes are generally quite unstable; all that can be said is that the beasts have mastered this ability so well that they can even teleport themselves, which they can use to their advantage in their Confined state to attack opponents directly from behind without them knowing about it; this signature attack, the Hyperspace Hole attack, is not quite as powerful as moves like Psychic but has the added benefit of being able to break through barriers like Protect and Detect quite easily. The only real limitation that these creatures have to the power is that they can only teleport one item at a time through a portal as long as they are in their Confined Forme.

This unique power, unfortunately, is generally used not for good but for the sheer sake of mischief, as Hoopa by nature love to steal things and play pranks on others. It is said that Hoopa are attracted to valuable objects and will steal priceless items, no matter what they may be, and teleport them back to their lair, which is located somewhere far, far away from the Kalos and Hoenn regions in the middle of the desert in Eurasia (though this is only what legend tells; in truth, no one has ever been able to locate the lair of a Hoopa). Nonetheless, it can be speculated that these lairs are likely filled to the brim with treasures taken from people of all social classes from across the world, being hoarded as if it all will play a vital role of importance in the near future. It is even said that this ability has been used to scare some criminal organizations into disbanding by slowly taking all of their supplies, but this only seems to be the case when Hoopa feel that they or their treasure is in danger of being attacked or taken away. In addition, it is said that Hoopa are extremely good at pulling pranks and will do just about anything to get a laugh, even if it means dropping things on people or simply appearing out of nowhere and scaring the heck out of them. Despite this mischievous side, however, it can at least be said that Hoopa are not violent creatures; in truth, while they might enjoy taking things and pulling pranks, they will never intentionally try to hurt someone unless they feel that their life is actually being threatened. As such, Hoopa can be difficult to control most of the time but it is possible to make friends with them, though their extreme rarity might otherwise make such a partnership very difficult to form.

However, all of the limitations that have been stated do not seem to apply whatsoever in cases where Hoopa are allowed access to their true power. From what can be observed, it seems that the small, cute form that Hoopa are traditionally seen taking is actually a Confined Forme, meaning that much of their true power has been bound out of their reach. This is further confirmed by their ties to the ethereal plane, as it is not a plane that Psychic-types are traditionally attached to (which is why Hoopa Confined are the only Psychic/Ghost-type Pokémon known to exist). According to legend, the true form of Hoopa is so powerful that they were considered too strong to exist in the world, so they were tied to the ethereal plane using a device known as a Prison Bottle (formed from the combined power of a Flame, Splash and Earth Plate under the light of Arceus), which were then hidden from the view of their associated Hoopa. These bottles are considered priceless today as ancient pieces of pottery, but few people realize that inside each bottle is the full power of a Confined Hoopa. When a Hoopa is exposed to the contents of the bottle, the ‘spell’ that has been placed upon them will weaken enough for the creatures to regain their full power and transform into Hoopa Unbound for three days (though it seems that the jar can be as many times as one wants). In their true Unbound Forme, Hoopa grow cataclysmically in size and possess six arms that can be detached from their body freely to attack multiple targets from numerous angles; moreover, their once cute face is now adorned with a mouth guard against sand and their mouths grow to reveal a cruel smile filled with razor-sharp teeth. They further change from Psychic/Ghost-types into Psychic/Dark-types to reflect their freedom from the imprisonment of the ethereal plane. In turn, their stats increase to a large degree in reflection of their true power, with their base Speed stat slightly increasing, their base Special Attack stat moderately increasing, and their base Attack stat astronomically increasing. In addition, they gain access to the Knock Off and Dark Pulse attacks in place of the Phantom Force and Shadow Ball attacks, respectively (though they are also denied access to the Zen Headbutt and Nasty Plot moves), and the cute but otherwise lackluster Hyperspace Hole attack utilized in their Confined state is converted into the devastating Hyperspace Fury attack, a monstrously powerful attack that can break through defensive barriers like Detect and Protect while dealing huge Dark-type damage in the process, though the move also forces Hoopa to lower their Defensive guard in the process to properly surprise the opposition (and is completely impossible for them to use outside of their Unbound state). As far as the ability to transport objects goes, it has been observed that Unbound Hoopa have little to no limitations on their wormhole-generating powers and can transport huge buildings and other large structures and even teleport multiple objects at the same time (which their Hyperspace Fury attack takes great advantage of) using the six large rings on their arms; moreover, they seem to get pleasure in doing so and will often use their powers to plot sinister pranks and attacks on others that otherwise go beyond the normal moral boundaries seen in their Confined Forme, even going so far as to seriously hurt or potentially kill anything that gets in their path. There are even tales of one particular specimen carrying off an entire castle just to get all of the treasures contained within it, though why it would go to such an act of avarice is still uncertain. It is thus a thankful thing that these creatures are generally restricted to their Confined state most of the time, as the sheer power they possess in their Unbound Forme is almost too much to comprehend and approaches if not matches some of the powers possessed by deity-class legendaries.

While Hoopa are incredibly rare creatures to see and are usually good at hiding themselves from direct observation, one particular specimen is well-known due to its association with the recent Dahara Incident. Over a century ago, a Hoopa in its Unbound Forme appeared in the Dahara, then only a small village, and proceeded to eat all of the food of the locals; in return, however, it showered them with gold that allowed them to develop the small village into a thriving city, and a fast friendship formed between the towering monster and the occupants of the land. As a sign of their gratefulness, the humans built Hoopa a home, and Hoopa returned the favor by granting any wishes that the humans desired. Eventually, however, the humans asked Hoopa if it would fight other Pokémon; spurred on by this, Hoopa began summoning and battling against powerful Pokémon using its wormhole-generating abilities for the entertainment of itself and the humans. However, when Hoopa began to summon dangerous legendary Pokémon over 100 years ago, it lost control of itself and let its and their power wreak havoc, completely destroying the city. In desperation, a man known as Ghris used a Prison Bottle, created with the power of Arceus' Splash, Flame and Earth Plates, to trap the majority of the monster’s power (as well as somehow taking away its power to move through its own rings in case it wanted to escape), reverting it to its Confined Forme; from there, the Hoopa was forced to live alongside Ghris and his descendants until it learned how to control the mannerisms and emotions that led to the city’s destructive finale. In time, this same Hoopa became the childhood friend of Ghris’s great-grandchildren, Meray and Baraz, and had learned how to responsibly use what power it had left. However, shortly after the recent arrival of a group of trainers into the area, Baraz discovered the location of the Prison Bottle that Ghris had hid before his death. However, Baraz made the mistake of physically touching the object, at which point the evil power contained inside possessed his body and forced him to release the power inside, briefly granting Hoopa its full Unbound powers again and causing it to go on a minor rampage before Meray was able to confine the power again. The power was released a second time due to the intervention of a trio of rogue Team Rocket members, but after attempting to contain Hoopa’s power for a second time, the power combined with the creature’s repressed emotions of anger for being denied its power to form a dark Unbound shadow that proceeded to sow mass chaos by summoning a Lugia and then Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Kyurem and Primal Groudon and Kyogre, the original Prison Bottle shattering in the process. While a team of trainers was able to form a new Prison Bottle using the power from a Frogadier, Braixen and wild Hippopotas, another trainer was able to team up with the summoned Lugia and the real Hoopa who summoned help of their side in the form of a Latias, Latios and Rayquaza, all of which Mega Evolved to take on the opposition. After a hard battle, the shadow of Hoopa was sealed within the new Prison Bottle, and while the young trainer that had defeated the shadow was possessed for a short time to release it again, the real Hoopa defeated it once more and regained control over its full power. Though it had conquered its evil side, the presence of Palkia and Dialga generated a special disturbance that threatened to destroy Dahara City. Hoopa was able to help get the citizens of the city and the summoned Pokémon back to where they belonged before the spacetime disturbance destroyed the city, though, saving everyone. In the aftermath of this incident, reconstruction of the city has begun, and while it may take some time for the city to be fully repaired, it is likely that the operation will go smoothly as long as the Hoopa that lives there is able to use its power for the good of the people once more.

While they might seem like more of a handful than they are worth and too mischievous to control, Hoopa are powerful beasts that can more than put up a fight against anyone that dares to stand in their way. With the highest base Attack, Special Attack and base stat total (tied with Yveltal) out of all Dark-type Pokémon, the highest base stat total out of all Psychic-type Pokémon (tied with Mewtwo, Lugia, Solgaleo and Lunala and not including Ultra Necrozma) in their Unbound state, and a nasty habit of literally popping up where they are least expected, Hoopa are incredible beings that push the boundaries of what can be considered real and not real and in turn challenge everything that we thought we knew about the universe around us. Do yourself a favor and try to be nice if you ever manage to encounter one of these strange beasts; they can be made an easy friend if you keep them happy, but if you try to make them angry, you had better be prepared to lose everything that you have ever owned, one piece at a time!

Professor Wormwood