Talk:Smeargle

Breeding

From WP:NOT: "Instruction manuals - while Wikipedia has descriptions of people, places, and things, Wikipedia articles should not include instruction - advice ( legal, medical, or otherwise), suggestions, or contain "how-to"s. This includes tutorials, walk-throughs, instruction manuals, video game guides, and recipes."

I reomved most of the "Breeding" section because I felt it fell under this. If anyone disagrees, please mention it here. User:Maxistheman 22:08, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Shiny Smeargle?

In colosseum do you automaticly get a shiny smeargle? Because both me and my brother do. If so, should this be added to the article?—Preceding unsigned comment added by Purple Pikmin (talk • contribs) 21:49, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

It's a mistake in the game. The Smeargle looks shiny, but I transfered it to a GBA game and it's the normal colour. Maybe this can be added to the article if someone can find a source suitable under Wikipedia's policy (i.e. not a user).--Cyberdude93 01:17, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

How could we do that?

Moveset Corrections

I noticed that this article stated that smeargle couldn't learn a few moves via sketch. however, i have read (haven't tested, plan to as soon as my egg hatches) that the moves listed can be learned via Taunt then Sketch.-Melles Lord of Badgers —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.210.209.100 (talk) 06:37, 6 January 2007 (UTC).

They can't be. Taunt would prevent you from using Sketch, in the first place... -Amarkov ^blah_edits 15:41, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Double Battle, Ally uses Taunt on Enemy, Smeargle uses sketch on taunt, taunt only affects target, target attack fails, smeargle sketches failed attack. i hope i understood your objection and explained suffiecently.-Melles, Lord of Badgers

I just tried it out right now. Smeargle CAN Sketch Taunt. I tested it out on Pokémon Diamond. Ron Stoppable 09:20, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

NORMAL-type STAB

The NORMAL-type STAB does not exist, only the other 16. Sabre Knight 16:55, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Please disregard my comment. I had misinformation. Sabre Knight 15:49, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Lots and lots of game-guide content...

Smeargle is notable for his Sketch move, this I realize. But I feel the current section on his Sketching is far too detailed. Does anyone else think so? Bhamv 14:28, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

D/P?

It tells where to get it in G/S/C, R/S/E, and Fr/Lg, but where do you find it in D/P?

You use the PokéRadar at the patch of grass on Route 212 below Mr. Backlot's mansion but before the rainy area. They're very rare. Expect to waste hours upon hours. Ron Stoppable 09:38, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

Moves

Wich moves are impossible to it to learn? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.26.236.65 (talk) 15:02, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

GA review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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This review is transcluded from Talk:Smeargle/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Captain Galaxy (talk · contribs) 23:51, 30 November 2025 (UTC)

Reviewer: Olliefant (talk · contribs) 17:37, 15 January 2026 (UTC) Can't believe I missed this! I love this little guy

Lead

• "events and brands, such as with the" -> "events and brands, including the"

 Done

• Infobox image needs alt text

 Done

• "calls for it to be banned" it was banned

 Done

Concept and creation

• Paragraph three mixes the description with in universe info

 Done Moved the in-universe info to paragraph 4.

• "However, the move can only be used once." but I thought it could be learned ten times?

 Done Clarified.

• "Musée du Louvre, being Lubeudo"

 Done Removed.

• "related Pokémon toy line and anime series" link to Pokémon (TV series) (or the specific season if the source named one)

 Done

Appearances

• "Pikachu & Pichu" should be italicized

 Done

• I'm not certain, but I think in "Smeargle would later prominently feature in the Pokémon GO set", "Pokemon Go" should be italicized. Also it's wrongly stylized as "Pokemon GO"

 Done Technically speaking, the set is capitalised in the "GO" but I'm going to assume it has something to do with MOS:CAPS so I changed it anyways. CaptainGalaxy 15:59, 17 January 2026 (UTC)

• Italicize "Smeargle's Art Show"

 Done

• "During Golden Week in 2006, Japanese Pokémon Centers distributed Pokémon such as Smeargle, due to them being hard to find, to customers who brought in a copy of a third generation Pokémon game" anything special about this Smeargle? Also those unfamiliar with Pokemon may not know what games are in Gen 3. Also by Gen 3 does it include Fire Red and Leaf Green?

 Done Clarified.

• "including the games' enhanced version" given what the previously mentioned game it seems to imply Crystal is an enhanced version of Emerald, this is further supported by the fact that Gold and Silver are mentioned in the second half of the sentence

 Done Clarified

• "Pokémon Pokopia introduced a" Pokopia isn't out yet

 Done Changed.

Reception

• "with writers from Inverse and Paste" says Inverse and Paste yet cites Inverse and The A.V. Club

To clarify, the article was originally published on Paste, however, the Paste gaming department was transferred to the independent website, Endless Mode, before later being bought out by The A.V. Club.

Can you mark the source as being "Paste via The A.V. Club"?

@Olliefant:  Done CaptainGalaxy 17:57, 21 January 2026 (UTC)

• [Mythical Pokémon] [Darkrai] is an MOS:SOB violation

 Done Changed.

• "Smeargle is often excluded from use in tournaments due to its wide potential" this is almost immediately contradicted, the source is from September 2001 (two weeks after 9/11) so it may have been true at the time, it should be noted that this has changed

 Done Added context.

• "although it was later made available the following year which caused some players to become concerned due to finding it hard to counter some of the moves Smeargle could learn" this could use a rewrite

 Done Changed.

• Link Pokémon World Championships on first mention

 Done

• "In the following generation, Dark Void had the accuracy of it working on the opponent drop from 80% to 50%," this feels clunky

 Done Reworded.

• "as well as having Darkrai be the only Pokémon be able to learn the move" Its already stated that Smeargle lost access to the move and (AFAIK) was the only other Pokemon who could use it

 Done Removed.

• "experience at a tournament, Mike Rougeau" clarify that Rougeau is a journalist and not a competitive player

 Done

• "When asked in an interview with Famitsu what got him into competitive Pokémon, Kinugawa responded that a Smeargle his brother fought with was what inspired him and in turn made him like Smeargle" huh?

I didn't really know what you wanted me to do with this sentence so I just trimmed and reworded it.

• "making it impossible to use in tournaments as Legendary and Mythical Pokémon from competitive play" they were what? Also this is technically wrong, Legendaries are sometimes banned and sometimes allowed depending on the format

 Done Removed.

• "multiple different moves such as Last Respects" why is Last Respects mentioned and not any others?

I didn't want to list a lot of moves, and as mentioned in the article, the main move for the whole strategy is Last Respects: "It all revolves around the move Last Respects – a unique Ghost-type attack which starts with a base power of 50, but is increased by 50 each time one of your Pokemon gets knocked out in a battle."

References

• Not seeing any problems in spotchecks
• Why is "Hobby Watch Impress" a reliable source?

Hobby Watch Impress is the sister site of Game Watch Impress, a reliable source per WP:VG/S and falls under the same company.

• Why is "Gamebiz" a reliable source?

It is a Japanese website that reports on industry financial news with an editorial team and has been approved on multiple GA reviews in the past.

• Can you justify the use of Newsweek per WP:NEWSWEEK? It's a fairly simple fact, surely theres something else that confirms this

I have replaced the source with a Prima Guides book. CaptainGalaxy 13:20, 21 January 2026 (UTC)

@Olliefant: I have gone ahead and applied all the recommendations you laid out in this review, let me know if you had any further recommendations that need to be made. CaptainGalaxy 13:20, 21 January 2026 (UTC)

I see no more problems so I'll pass this. Good job, I recommend having this and Heracross added to Wikipedia:Good topics/List of generation II Pokémon Olliefant (she/her) 18:51, 21 January 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. You can locate your hook here. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by HurricaneZeta (talk) 00:50, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

• ... that the Pokémon species Smeargle had been used in collaboration with multiple real world events such as Expo 2025 and the Van Gogh Museum?

• Source: Impress Watch, Anime News Network

• • ALT1: ... that the Pokémon species Smeargle had been banned from multiple competitive tournaments due to being able to learn almost any move in the series? Source: RPGFan, TheGamer, The Escapist
  • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Jack Kimble
  • Comment: I'm wanting to hold this DYK off until February 27, 2026, per this proposal

Improved to Good Article status by Captain Galaxy (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 11 past nominations.

CaptainGalaxy 19:56, 21 January 2026 (UTC).

General: Article is new enough and long enough
New enough: Long enough:

Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems
Adequate sourcing: Neutral: Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing:

Hook: Hook has been verified by provided inline citation
Cited: Interesting:

QPQ: Done.

Overall: Approved for Alt 1 --3family6 (Talk to me|See what I have done) 14:43, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

Syntax

It's been pointed out on an unnameable external site that this article contained numerous syntax errors when it appeared at DYK. The section then headed "In competitive", in particular. That appears to me to be an obvious example; is there a gaming usage that simply uses that phrase, rather than "in competition" or "in competitive play"? The section has been cleaned up, but the article still contains the passage: "speculating whether it would lead a similar legacy in competitive."; note that that also seems to require either "to" after "lead", or substitution of "have". There were several such missing or slightly wrong words in the section, and possibly still are elsewhere in the article; I don't feel qualified to copyedit here, because I'm not sure what much of the article is trying to say. Olliefant, in the GA review you critiqued a number of sections, but not that one. Did you simply miss it? Or, since you mainly noted problems of formatting and referencing, do the GA criteria not explicitly include the English being clear and correct? I don't think this is an ENGVAR problem so much as a need for copyediting; I would have expected someone to note that issue during evaluation for Good Article status. Yngvadottir (talk) 00:03, 28 February 2026 (UTC)

I thought "In competitive" is fine, probably due to my familiarity with competative pokemon, I failed to consider others might not be as familar Olliefant (she/her) 06:23, 28 February 2026 (UTC)