#0292 · Generation III
What Animal Is Shedinja Based On?
Shedinja is mostly a fantasy design, but its closest real animal is the Seventeen-year Cicada.
Closest animal
Seventeen-year CicadaConfidence
Broad or mixed-animal match
How Shedinja compares to the real Seventeen-year Cicada
Shedinja's official category is the Shed Pokémon. AnimalDex rates its resemblance to the Seventeen-year Cicada as a broad match, meaning the animal is one influence in a largely fantasy design. Shedinja is the empty shell left behind by Nincada. It represents the shed exoskeleton of a cicada, so the seventeen-year cicada is the nearest real animal.
The comparison covers looks and behavior cues, not biology: Shedinja is a fictional Pokémon, while the Seventeen-year Cicada (Magicicada septendecim) is a real animal. On AnimalDex the real Seventeen-year Cicada scores 3 for dominance, 34 for speed, 3 for size and 7 for intelligence, out of 100, so its strongest trait is speed.
Official category: Shed Pokemon. This page is an AnimalDex comparison for real-animal resemblance, not an official design-origin claim.
Meet the real Seventeen-year Cicada
Magicicada septendecim
Seventeen-year Cicadas feed on root fluids as nymphs, then appear in huge numbers to call, mate, and reproduce. Their timing overwhelms predators by making the whole generation arrive together.
How to recognize it
- Black body about 3 cm long
- Bright red eyes
- Orange-veined clear wings with a dark W near the tips
Real Seventeen-year Cicada facts
- It is one of three cicada species with a 17-year cycle, and separate broods emerge in different years in different areas.
- Emergence usually begins when the soil about 20 cm down warms to roughly 18 °C.
- Diet
- Nymphs drink watery xylem sap from tree roots through a piercing beak. Adults take small amounts of sap from twigs and eat little else.
- Lifespan
- About 17 years in total, almost all as an underground nymph; the adult stage lasts roughly two to four weeks.
- Predators and threats
- Birds, squirrels, snakes, dogs and fish feast on emerging adults. A fungus, Massospora, infects many and destroys the abdomen. Adults cannot bite or sting.
| Dominance | Speed | Size | Intelligence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/100 | 34/100 | 3/100 | 7/100 |
Shedinja animal FAQ
- What animal is Shedinja based on?
- Shedinja is mostly a fantasy design, but its closest real animal is the Seventeen-year Cicada. Shedinja is the empty shell left behind by Nincada. It represents the shed exoskeleton of a cicada, so the seventeen-year cicada is the nearest real animal.
- Is Shedinja a real animal?
- No. Shedinja is a fictional Pokémon. Its closest real counterpart is the Seventeen-year Cicada (Magicicada septendecim), which AnimalDex covers with real field-guide facts.
- What is the real Seventeen-year Cicada like?
- Seventeen-year Cicadas feed on root fluids as nymphs, then appear in huge numbers to call, mate, and reproduce. Their timing overwhelms predators by making the whole generation arrive together.
- Which other Pokémon are based on the Seventeen-year Cicada?
- AnimalDex also pairs Paras, Parasect, Nincada and Ninjask with the Seventeen-year Cicada.
More Seventeen-year Cicada comparisons in Generation III
| No. | Pokemon | Closest animal | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| #0290 |  Nincada | strong | |
| #0291 |  Ninjask | medium |