Pokio

Pokio
Artwork of a Pokio from Super Mario Odyssey.
First appearance	Super Mario Odyssey (2017)

“Huzzah! It's one of those animals with the stretchable beak! I have so wanted to see one up close!”

—Bonneter biologist, Super Mario Odyssey

Pokios are pheasant-like enemies found in Seaside Kingdom, Bowser's Kingdom, and Darker Side in Super Mario Odyssey. They wander around and poke Mario with their beaks when he approaches them. According to the Bonneter biologist, their beaks are normally short due to being in an extremely folded state, but shoot outwards when they are opened. To capture them, the player must first knock off the samurai helmet that they wear. Once captured, Mario can poke enemies with his beak. If Mario pokes at a wall, he can cling onto it and fling himself any desired direction; this is useful for climbing up walls. Additionally, with his beak, Mario can flick incoming bombs the opposite direction, which can be used to chuck bombs at destructible blocks. Spinning fast enough makes Pokio perform a spin attack, which, if used while poking a wall, causes the Pokio to jump about the height of a Backwards Somersault. Some Power Moons are unlocked by poking a Pokio's beak in holes.

These two skills are necessary in the first boss fight against RoboBrood, as Mario (under Pokio form) must flick bombs at the RoboBrood's legs, topple it, and then climb on top of it with his beak to poke the Broodals in their domes or ground-pounding them as Mario.

The Pokio's name is a play on the words "poke" and Pinocchio, a character whose nose grows whenever he lies. Their design is based on the Japanese green pheasant, though the red-crowned crane was considered. The Prima guide mistakenly classifies them as woodpeckers.

Gallery

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  Artwork of a Pokio without a hat

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  Artwork of a captured Pokio

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  Concept art of a Pokio

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  Model of a Pokio

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ツックン[?] Tsukkun	Contration of「突く」(tsuku, "to stab") and the honorific「~くん」(-kun)
Chinese (simplified)	啄啄儿[?] Zhuó zhuó er	From a partial repetition of「啄木鸟」(zhuómùniǎo, "woodpecker")
Chinese (traditional)	拮拮[?] Jié jié	From the Japanese name
Dutch	Pokio[?]	-
French	Pikonio[?]	From piquer ("to prick") and rearrangement of "Pinocchio"
German	Piekmatz[?]	From pieken ("to sting") and piepmatz ("birdie")
Italian	Picchiolo[?]	Diminutive form of picchio ("woodpecker")
Korean	찌르군[?] Jjireugun	From "찌르다" (jjireuda, "to poke") and "~군" (-gun, an honorific for "young boy"), similar to「~くん」(-kun) in Japanese; shared with Jabit
Russian	Тыклик[?] Tyklik	Diminutive of тыкать (tykat, "to poke")
Spanish	Picarito[?]	From pico ("beak") and pajarito ("birdie")