I’m Luke Summerhayes and I love Goomy.
When Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson were creating dungeons and dragons in the 1970s, they drew inspiration from across fantasy – Tolkien novels, comic books, old myths and legends from around the world. They also took inspiration from horror movies and novels, to give us werewolves and vampires. From HP Lovecraft ever-changing Shogoths and 1958’s The Blob, they created Ooze.
Tabletop roleplaying games directly inspired the first waves of role-playing videogames, including the grandaddy of the Japanese RPG, Dragon Quest. Dragon Quest started the trend of having a slime as the weakest, earliest monster, in the form of Akira Toriyama’s adorable smiling droplet. The lowly slime became ubiquitous as the starting creature – just as the dragon remained ubiquitous as the mightiest.
Goomy is a deceptively dragon-type monster, a drippy, round, pink blob with green cheeks and antennae like bunny ears.
X
The weakest Dragon-type Pokémon, it lives in damp, shady places, so its body doesn't dry out.

Shield
Their horns are powerful sensors. As soon as Goomy pick up any sign of enemies, they go into hiding. This is how they've survived.

Although Goomy does have a low spread of stats, particularly for a dragon-type monster, it also has exceptionally high special defense relative to everything else.
Moon
Its source of protection is its slimy, germ-laden mucous membrane. Anyone who touches it needs some thorough hand-washing.

Y
It's covered in a slimy membrane that makes any punches or kicks slide off it harmlessly.
A slimy membrane and sensory protrusions suggest this Pokemon is related to a slug or snail from our world, and Goomy could look like one if you stretched out its back end a little.
The English name, Goomy, just combines gooey and slimey, and similarly the Japanese name Numera is a combination of numeru, the onomatopoeia for slippery and nura nura, the onomatopoeia for slimy.
Sword
Because most of its body is water, it will dry up if the weather becomes too arid. It's considered the weakest dragon Pokémon.

Water isn’t always a weak thing in the world of Pokemon, and Goomy won’t stay quite so humble forever. Stick with it until level 40, and it can evolve into Sliggoo.
Sliggoo looks a little less like a fantasy slime and more like a real world gastropod – its front rises up from a stretching rear which has a small, spiral, resembling a shell under the skin – as some real-life slugs have instead of the large shells of their cousins, the snail.
Ultra Sun
It crawls along sluggishly. The swirly protrusion on its back is filled with its brain and other organs.

Other pokedex entries talk about its equally weird sensory organs.
Y
Its four horns are a high-performance radar system. It uses them to sense sounds and smells, rather than using ears or a nose.

X
It drives away opponents by excreting a sticky liquid that can dissolve anything. Its eyes devolved, so it can't see anything.

This melting acid is reminiscent of the Blob, or the gelatinous cube from dungeons and dragons, two classics of the slime or ooze genre.
The name sliggoo again combines slime and goo, this time perhaps with slug as well. The Japanese name, Numeil, takes the previous evolution Numera and combines it with snail.
Sliggoo isn’t necessarily that snail-like when we meet it in Kalos in Pokemon X and Y, but in Legends Arceus we were introduced to the dragon and steel type Hisuian Sliggoo, which protrudes from a metallic spiral shell.
Legends: Arceus
A creature given to melancholy. I suspect its metallic shell developed as a result of the mucus on its skin reacting with the iron in Hisui's water.

Whichever version of Sliggoo one is raising, leveling it up to level 50 or higher during rain will see it evolve into Goodra.
Goodra stands up on two legs and has grown two arms, as well as growing out the protrusions on its head to beautiful horns. From the lowliest of slimes to a mighty dragon, and the sixth generation’s entry into the club of strong, late-evolving Pokemon with stats that total 600 – called Pseudo-Legendaries by English-speaking fans or The 600 Club in Japan.
Y
It attacks with retractable horns. It throws a punch that's the equivalent of the force of a hundred pro boxers.

Moon
It gets picked on because it's meek. But then, whoever teased it gets to feel the full force of its horns and a good swatting from its thick tail.

Violet
This Pokémon is uncontrollable when enraged. It rampages on and on, lashing its tail with enough power to send a dump truck flying.

Alas, among these powerful monsters and dragons, Goodra has not been especially successful in the competitive scene. It has high defense and bulk, but lacks the strong attacking power a dragon is usually called upon for. It isn’t much use being a bulky dragon in the generation which introduced the fairy type.
Friend of the show Mikey from PCR got in touch about Goodra in the tcg
Goodra never saw any real play in the TCG but its Hisuian cousin has. Hisuian Goodra VSTAR from 2022’s Lost Origin rolls on in with its heavy 270 HP. This Dragon type Pokemon has a single attack called Rolling Iron that costs three energy and requires a Metal and Water energy. It does 200 damage and will allow Hisuian Goodra VSTAR to take 80 less damage during the next turn. It also had the VSTAR Power in the form of the Moisture Star ability. This will heal all damage off Hisuian Goodra VSTAR.

Players would try to make Hisuian Goodra VSTAR work on its own by using Arceus VSTAR or Lost Box Engine to help powerful Hisuian Goodra VSTAR’s attack. All in hope to do heavy damage while tanking damage using Rolling Iron. Then heal it all off with Moisture Star.

Though, these decks only did okay. It wasn’t until Regidrago VSTAR finally got its act together in 2024. Then Hisuian Goodra VSTAR finally could be a star. Regidrago VSTAR could copy the attacks of any Dragon type Pokemon in the player’s discard thanks to its Apex Dragon attack. So players would put Hisuian Goodra VSTAR into their decks to use the Rolling Iron attack to do damage and hopefully allow their Regidrago VSTAR live for another turn to attack again. Thanks to Hisuian Goodra VSTAR, it started the great Regidrago VSTAR invasion of early 2024.
Thanks Mikey!

Of course, being strong in battle is not all we can judge a Pokemon by. Goodra is an adorable partner.
X
This very friendly Dragon-type Pokémon will hug its beloved Trainer, leaving that Trainer covered in sticky slime.

Ultra Sun
It's very friendly toward people. If you grow close to it, Goodra will hug you with its sticky, slime-covered body. Don't get mad.

The name combines goo and dragon, while also making sure we know Goodra is good. The Japanese name Numelgon just adds the suffix from the word dragon to the family’s naming convention.
Hisuian Sliggoo will evolve into the dragon and steel type Hisuian Goodra. It looks similar to its Kalosian counterpart mostly, but it keeps its big metal shell on the end of its tail.
Hisuian Goodra
Legends: Arceus
Able to freely control the hardness of its metallic shell. It loathes solitude and is extremely clingy—it will fume and run riot if those dearest to it ever leave its side.

This more snail-like form makes even clearer another inspiration for the whole family. In France, on which the Kalos region is based, there is a myth of a man-eating serpent snail called Lou Carcolh. In the land famous for indulging in escargot, it’s no wonder there is a myth of a snail that bites back.
I’m sure the Lou Carcolh was a partial inspiration for Sliggoo and Goodra, and certainly informed their Hisuian counterparts. In the first Pokemon game set in Europe, with a starter trio based on a classic adventuring party, what better Pseudo-Legendary could there be than a lowly slime that evolves into a mighty dragon. Indeed, what better way to encapture the whole spirit of Pokemon?
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 Klefki and Phantump, 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 Goomy. And remember, I love you too