I’m Luke Summerhayes and I love Binacle.
Barnacles and the similar but not closely related limpets are about the closest thing in real life to rock-type Pokemon. Incredibly strong shells, attaching themselves immovably to ships, whales and rockpools, it’s sometimes hard to tell if they’re living beings or geological features.
While limpets appear entirely motionless from outside their shells, using teeth of iron to scrape nutrients from the rocks they attach to, Barnacles do display some outward signs of life – reaching into the waters with tiny hands to grab the plankton on which they feed.
Binacle is a rock and water type Pokemon with two claw-like heads emerging from one shared rock, each with a tiny, grumpy face curled up in the palm.
X
Two Binacle live together on one rock. When they fight, one of them will move to a different rock.

Interestingly, in-game we only ever see two heads coexisting, but the pokedex continually refers to the two individually as Binacle, and describes complex relationship dynamics.
Sword
After two Binacle find a suitably sized rock, they adhere themselves to it and live together. They cooperate to gather food during high tide.
Shield
If the two don't work well together, both their offense and defense fall apart. Without good teamwork, they won't survive.

Binacle specifically seems to draw inspiration from Goose Barnacles, also known as stalked barnacles or claw barnacles, thanks to the extending neck and subsequent range of motion.
Y
They stretch and then contract, yanking their rocks along with them in bold hops. They eat seaweed that washes up on the shoreline.

The Japanese name of the Pokemon, Kametete, is very similar to Kame-no-te, the Japanese name for the Goose Barnacle. It also contains an additional pun, as Te is Japanese for hand while tete is French for head. The English name, Binacle, is of course referring to a binary barnacle, but also sounds similar to Binnacle, a device on a powered ship which uses two weighted sides to help the helmsman steer.
Several more Binacle join the collective when, at level 39, it evolves into Barbaracle.
Worming their way through a pair of rocks, seven Binacle form a humanoid form with four arms, two legs and one being allowed to continue operating as the head.
X
When they evolve, two Binacle multiply into seven. They fight with the power of seven Binacle.
Y
Barbaracle's legs and hands have minds of their own, and they will move independently. But they usually follow the head's orders.

Goose-neck barnacles do combine a claw and a head into one unit, and of course binacle’s Japanese name was all about the te and tete pun, but there is another potential inspiration for the hand-with-an-eye-in it; the Hamsa. Known by many different names, this spiritual symbol is almost as old as the origin of civilization itself, and has been incorporated in big or small ways into all the major religions as a way to ward off the evil eye.
Shield
Having an eye on each palm allows it to keep watch in all directions. In a pinch, its limbs start to act on their own to ensure the enemy's defeat.

Barbaracle is a Barbarian Binacle, and it has some potential for a berserker rage. It relies a little too much on gimmicks to be viable in competitive leagues, but particularly after a little set-up and using the move shell smash to trade defense for more speed, it can sweep.
Binacle may be based on a multilingual set of puns, a misunderstood creature and an ancient spiritual symbol, but to many fans it’s just one of the ugly later generation monsters. A real shame, as this is the creature creators firing on all cylinders.
Music for Luke Loves Pokemon is by Jonathan Cromie. Artwork for the show is by Katie Groves. If you enjoy the podcast, find out about my other shows at podcastiopodcastius.org, get in touch on bluesky @podcastpodcast, or support the show at patreon.com/podcastiopodcastius.
I love hearing from Listeners! Up next are Skrelp and Clauncher, so hit me up about those or any other Pokemon. Even if you don’t feel like doing any of that, thank you so much for listening.
I love Binacle. And remember, I love you too