First revealed alongside the new Gym Leader Iono, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Bellibolt charmed the fans with its bouncy, gumdrop-like body and adorable smile. However, one aspect of this Electric-type frog's design left players a bit confused regarding the biology of this mon. The two bulbs protruding from the side of Bellibolt's head appeared to be its eyes, but upon further inspection, many were confused whether those or what were thought to be its nostrils were the real eyes. It wasn't until Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were released and players got a look at its pre-evolution that the mystery of Bellibolt's eyes was solved.
As it turns out, the protrusions on the side of its head are not Bellibolt's eyes, rather the two dots above its mouth are. Tadbulb, the pre-evolution of Bellibot, makes this clear with its lack of head protrusions and matching dots for eyes above the mouth. The fact that this mystery stumped fans of the new creature in the period leading up to the game's release just goes to show that Game Freak's design inspirations for this mon were perfectly represented in its final design.
Bellibolt Draws Inspiration from a Real-World Camouflage Technique
The false eyes on Bellibolt's head represent the real-world camouflage technique known as mimicry. Many types of prey in the animal kingdom like moths, fish, and frogs use mimicry to fool predators into thinking they are a different, more dangerous species than they actually are. Eye mimicry is a very common form of this phenomenon as it can distort a predator's perception of its prey's size. Self-mimicry is another common tactic used to draw attention away from vulnerable parts of an animal's body by mimicking a different part of its own body.
Bellibolt uses both types of mimicry to fool predators into thinking its head is much larger than it is due to the large size of its false eyes. It seems Game Freak's design choice with this Pokemon worked a little too well as it successfully fooled many into thinking the false eyes on the side of its head were indeed its real eyes. Although Tadbulb does not utilize this type of mimicry, some part of its evolution must have made it necessary to grow these false eyes upon becoming a Bellibolt. The Pokedex doesn't offer any reasoning behind this use of mimicry yet, but it's possible it will come into play as new Pokemon are introduced in future generations.
The Complexity of Bellibolt's Biology Goes Beyond its Use of Mimicry
As Electric types, both Tadbulb and Bellibolt are able to generate electricity within their bodies. According to the Pokedex, Tadbulb will shake its tail to generate electricity which it can then store in its body. As a result, these Pokemon will float higher off the ground than usual when a thunderstorm is overhead. It also has the ability to make its head blink to warn others of danger, but it is unclear if this is possible due to the electricity stored in its body or some other biological force at play.
As Bellibolt moves, its wobbly body generates electricity through the dynamo on its belly that takes the place of its belly button. Thanks to its unique ability Electromorphosis, Bellibolt can also generate power when hit with an opposing attack which offers the in-game advantage of powering up its next Electric attack in battle. Aside from being used to distract potential predators, the false eyes on Bellibolt's head also act as conduits for discharging the electricity stored in its body, delivering the deadly one-two punch of confusing opponents and then hitting them with a bolt of electricity while they're distracted.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
