Mr. Mime, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Mr. Mime first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. Mr. Mime is voiced by Yūji Ueda in Japanese and in English, was originally voiced by Kayzie Rogers and currently by Michele Knotz.
Known as the Barrier Pokémon, Mr. Mime are gifted with the art of miming at a young age and as they mature they gain the ability to psychically generate invisible objects such as walls and other barriers. In the anime, a Mr. Mime appears as early on as a house cleaner and helper to Delia, protagonist Ash Ketchum's mother, while others are shown as entertainers or cooks. In the Pokémon Adventures manga, its abilities are utilized to create training rooms and surround an entire city with a barrier to prevent access from the outside world.
Mr. Mime's appearance has been heavily criticized by sources such as 1UP.com due to its humanoid design, as well as for combining the worst-perceived aspects of mimes and clowns. However, the character's design has also been praised by other sources in comparison to more common series characters.
Design and characteristics
Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Pokémon series began in Japan in 1996 with the release of the Pokémon Red and Blue video games for the Game Boy. In these games, the player assumes the role of a Pokémon Trainer whose goal is to capture and train creatures called Pokémon. Players use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon, and some can transform into stronger species, or evolve, once they gain enough experience. The ultimate goal of the games is to complete the entries in the Pokémon index (Pokédex), a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading to obtain creatures from all Pokémon species.
Created for Pokémon Red and Green, the design started as pixel art by the development team first, with a single color identity chosen to work within the Super Game Boy hardware limitations, and then finalized in artwork by Ken Sugimori. the Pokémon was originally called "Barrierd" in Japanese. When the games were localized for English-speaking audiences as Red and Blue, Nintendo of America gave the various Pokémon species "clever and descriptive names" related to their appearance or features as a means to make them more relatable to American children, and renamed it "Mr. Mime" based on its masculine appearance and behavior. However, translator Nob Ogasawara voiced concern regarding giving Pokémon gender-specific names, worrying what would happen if the series were to introduce genders for Pokémon at a later date. Though the president of Nintendo of America dismissed his concerns, years Pokémon Gold and Silver would introduce the concept of gendered Pokémon, resulting in both males and females of the species being called Mr. Mime.
Appearing as an anthropomorphic creature, it has a pink head with red cheeks and blue, frizzy hair, a round, white body with a red spot in the middle, light-pink arms and legs are connected to its body by red spheres, white, five-fingered hands and blue feet that curl upward at the tips. Their hands are depicted with four fingers and an opposable thumb, with larger fingertips and red dots on their underside. However, game representations of the character featured only three fingers on each hand until the release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. When asked what to explain what exactly Mr. Mime is, The Pokémon Company responded simply "We don’t know.”
Appearances
In video games
In the video game series, Mr. Mime can be acquired from an in-game trade in Pokémon Red and Blue and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. It appeared in several sequels, including Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Mr. Mime gains a new pre-evolved form, Mime Jr., which evolves when leveled up while knowing the move Mimic. Gym Leader Sabrina uses a female Mr. Mime in every game she appears in except Pokémon Yellow, in which she does not have a Mr. Mime. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Elite Four Lucian owns a Mr. Mime.
Outside of the main series, Mr. Mime has appeared in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, the Pokémon Ranger games and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure. In Pokémon Stadium 2, Mr. Mime stars in its own minigame called "Barrier Ball". Poké Balls appear on the field and by using Mr. Mime's Barrier, send the Poké Balls to the other player's fields.