Pokey

Pokeys are cactus-like creatures that are commonly found throughout the Mario series as recurring enemies. Pokeys, like Shy Guys, and Bob-ombs originate from the non-Mario game Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, which later became Super Mario Bros. 2.

Appearance
Pokeys are tall, yellow creatures with numerous green spikes festooning their bodies. They are made up of several round balls combined together to form a wiggly structure. The spikes around its body act as defense against predators. Well known for a having a flower growing on their head, it is commonly shown to be growing off to the side, with spikes prominently covering the top of their head.

Method of Attack
Pokeys are very slow but nonetheless, they try to chase Mario and attack him. If Mario touches one anywhere on its body, it will poke him with a spike and Mario will be hurt.

Super Mario Bros. 2
Pokeys first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 2. In this game, Pokeys were green and could be defeated by throwing objects at their body segments. This is one of the few games that jumping on their head does not injure the player.

Super Mario World
Pokeys reappeared in Super Mario World. They were absent from Super Mario Bros. 3. This time, Pokeys were yellow and could not be defeated in the same way as in Super Mario Bros. 2. Throwing a Shell or Block at them would defeat them all at once. Mario and Luigi could also defeat a Pokey by sliding up or down a hill at the cactus. Another option was to defeat them with Yoshi, who could eat their body segments one at a time. The number of body segments present depends on if Mario has Yoshi or not. If he does, Pokeys have five body segments. Without Yoshi, Pokeys only have three segments so that Mario can Jump over them. They only appear in a special world level and Yoshi's Island 4 in a secret area.

Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS
Pokeys appear in Super Mario 64 and are only found in the Shifting Sand Land level.They Seem to have a 2d body in the n64 version but not in the ds version. Pokeys are defeated by having all of the sections of their body punched away by Mario until only the head remains. Once Mario punches the head, it will defeat the Pokey and leave behind a Blue Coin.

New Super Mario Bros.
These guys appear in New Super Mario Bros. in World 2-1.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, they appear in World 2-5, but without a flower on their head. They also turn into fruits everytime there's a "wamp" in the background of the song, which could be good points if Yoshi eats them. They also may reward Mario with a power-up or a 1-up mushroom, depending on the Pokey's height.

Super Mario Sunshine
Pokeys Reappear in Super Mario Sunshine In Bianco Hills. The come out of flowers around the area.They Are much Simular to Pokey Sprouts, as they are smaller versions.

Super Mario 3D World
Pokeys will reappear as enemies of World 2 of this game. A new version of Pokeys called Snow Pokeys will appear in this game as well.

Mario Kart series
In the Mario Kart series, these Pokeys reoccur a few times.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
In Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Pokeys only appear in one course. Dry Dry Desert. They are creatures which will cause you to slip out if you hit them.

Mario Kart DS
In Mario Kart DS the Pokeys also appear doing the same thing to you. You hit them, you slip out.

Mario Kart Wii
In Mario Kart Wii the Pokeys appear in the Dry Dry Ruins course and also in the retro course, Desert Hills, for the Nintendo DS. The effect on the character when hitting the Pokey is also the same as the previous two.

Paper Mario
There are many Pokeys around in the deserts of Paper Mario. They follow Mario when they see him, and may prove a challenging adversary. Another species of Pokey, Mummy Pokey, appears in Tutankoopa's tomb.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Both types of Pokeys return in this game (Pokey Mummny's name is now changed to Poison Pokey). Aside from the Pit of 100 Trials, regular Pokeys are only seen in the Glitz Pit and Poison Pokeys are only seen at Riverside Station.

Super Paper Mario
Both Pokeys once again return in Super Paper Mario. Regular ones are found in the Gap of Craig and the Poison ones are found in Castle Bleck. They act the same by launching their body segments from its distance trying to damage Mario and company.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Regular Pokeys are seen in World 2 of Paper Mario: Sticker Star. An extreamly large version of a Pokey appears at the end as the World's main boss. This Pokey has a massive 300 HP and requires the Bat Thing sticker to easily take it down. There is also green Pokeys that appear on certain levels of World 2. The biggest difference they have from the regular yellow Pokeys is that the green Pokeys do not have spikes.