Okay, I’m not going to beat about the bush: we are in the presence of Geodude, Graveler and Golem, version 2.0. They are great big bulky living rocks, and their distinguishing feature is that they are great big bulky living rocks. Nintendo even seems to have hinted that they knew that and just didn’t care by giving them an identical evolutionary path: both Geodude and Roggenrola evolve once upon reaching 25th level, and then once more when traded. It’s going to take a lot to convince me of these ones… here I go. Continue reading “Roggenrola, Boldore and Gigalith”
Category: Unova Pokédex
Lillipup, Herdier and Stoutland
Right, so, more of the early-game trash we have to get through before being allowed to find anything interesting. Well, I guess that was inevitable. So, what are we being offered this time?
Oh. Oh, that’s… well, okay, that’s actually kind of cute. Dogs have been done before, but I guess if I let Purrloin live I should give Lillipup a chance too. No promises though.
Lillipup, I say with little fear of contradiction, is extremely cute, while his adult form, Herdier, has more of a “loyal sheepdog” vibe. The final evolution, Stoutland… well, I thought Stoutland looked a little silly at first, but I have to admit he’s grown on me. That moustache is nothing short of magnificent. Now, like I said, dog Pokémon have been done to death, but they haven’t exactly been all the same. Houndoom from Gold and Silver is probably my favourite, and he had an interesting devil dog theme (as well as a type combination, Fire/Dark, that remains unique to this day, which is something I’m very obvious about liking). Ruby and Sapphire gave us Mightyena, who’s just about the closest thing we have so far to a wolf Pokémon – come to think of it, why isn’t there a wolf Pokémon? Eh. The point is that he’s a savage little thing with good cooperative hunting skills. And I guess there’s also Manectric, but Manectric’s whole background pretty much boils down to “woo, look at me, I have electrical powers,” (yeah, great, get in line) so I’m going to ignore Manectric. He is silly. Continue reading “Lillipup, Herdier and Stoutland”
Archen and Archeops
…hang on, didn’t we do this already? Like, way back in Generation One? There was this prehistoric aerial predator, and it was a Rock/Flying-type, and it was really fast, and- oh, wait, no, that was Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl is a pterosaur and Archeops is, well, an archaeopteryx, so there you have it. Personally, as something of a dinosaurs-and-other-Mesozoic-beasties buff, I think that there’s quite enough of a distinction between an archaeopteryx and a pterodactyl to warrant having separate Pokémon, but that’s just me. I suspect many (read: normal) people might disagree. So, anyway, if we fire up the old Pokémadex, we learn that Archeops is the “First Bird” Pokémon from which all modern bird Pokémon supposedly descend. This… raises more questions than it answers, actually. Like, how come all prehistoric Pokémon were Rock-types? Continue reading “Archen and Archeops”
Frillish and Jellicent
Today I’m going to take a flying leap into the second half of the Unovan Pokédex to look at one of the Pokémon I used in my play-through of Black: the undead jellyfish Pokémon Frillish and Jellicent. Yes, you read that right: undead. See, they may not look it, but Frillish and Jellicent are actually Ghost-types. This is not only an immediate defence against any accusation that Frillish is just Tentacool 2.0, it also means that they possess a unique type combination, Ghost/Water, and therefore an inherently interesting set of powers. From a mechanical perspective, this is clearly a good start, so let’s look at the flavour. Continue reading “Frillish and Jellicent”
Pidove, Tranquill and Unfezant
…great. Another Normal/Flying bird Pokémon. I have a message for Nintendo, which I shall include here on the off chance that it should somehow make its way before the board of directors in the fullness of time:
YOU GOT IT RIGHT WHEN YOU DID STARAPTOR. YOU CAN STOP NOW.
*sigh* All right. Let’s have a look at you, then. Mmm-hmm… mmm-hmm… Okay, so Pidove is kinda cute, Tranquill’s all right, and Unfezant is… quite interesting, actually; the designers have put in an effort to give it the kind of sexual dimorphism that’s so common in real-world birds, and I really have to applaud this. The male version might be considered a bit over-the-top, but frankly there are some real male birds that look even more ridiculous. Overall, I think it’s quite a good design for a Normal/Flying bird Pokémon. But for heaven’s sake, we’ve already had a dozen different quite good designs for Normal/Flying bird Pokémon! Time for a walk down memory lane… Continue reading “Pidove, Tranquill and Unfezant”
Blitzle and Zebstrika
Today’s Pokémon are the electrical zebras, Blitzle and Zebstrika. To begin with, I have to say that I love the designs of these Pokémon. Blitzle manages the rare feat of looking cute while undeniably battle-ready, and Zebstrika is just plain badass. If you ask me, out of all the Electric-type Pokémon I’ve ever seen, Zebstrika is the one the looks the most like it would kick you into next Wednesday if you so much as looked at it in the wrong tone of voice. This is quite plainly not a Pokémon you want to mess with unless you’re particularly enamoured with the idea of having its hoof-prints burnt into your back. Real-world zebras, I am led to understand, are next to impossible to tame (not that this stops people from trying) and extremely dangerous to ride because they’re just so very, very unpredictable. Zebstrika, I feel, succeeds in channelling this flavour very well, but without losing all of Blitzle’s appeal. Based solely on design, Zebstrika is probably one of my favourite new Pokémon. Continue reading “Blitzle and Zebstrika”
Pansage, Pansear, Panpour, Simisage, Simisear and Simipour
Six Pokémon all at once!? What could be happening? Well, just sit still for a minute and allow me to introduce you to the three elemental monkeys of Black and White. I’ve decided to do these Pokémon as a group, for three reasons: first, they’re strongly associated as a group, second, my major grievances against them are shared by the whole trio, and third, they’re just so unforgivably bland I don’t think I could possibly come up with enough material if I took on each one separately. So, without further ado: the elemental monkey Pokémon!
I appreciate the thought behind these Pokémon; I really do. For a bit of context, let’s all think back to Red and Blue. A big chunk of a Pokémon game’s storyline is, and always has been, travelling the countryside to obtain shiny bits of metal from trainers who have far more self esteem than you do in order to make yourself feel better about the fact that you are, in essence, an extremely violent prepubescent hobo. Continue reading “Pansage, Pansear, Panpour, Simisage, Simisear and Simipour”
Munna and Musharna
Does everyone remember Dumbo? Y’know; the Disney movie about the baby elephant who could fly by flapping his stupidly large ears? Remember that one scene where he gets wasted and hallucinates about a parade of pink elephants?
Yeah, I blocked it out for a while too, but trust me, it happens. Well, with more than six hundred Pokémon now, we’ve got a Pokémon for just about everything… including trippy Disney dream sequences. Meet Munna and Musharna, the imaginary pink elephant Pokémon.
Yeah. It’s kinda like that. Continue reading “Munna and Musharna”
Purrloin and Liepard
In the interests of having a bit of experience with the Pokémon I’m talking about before jumping into them, I’ve decided not to go through them in order but start with the ones I’ve used already, starting with the first new Pokémon I caught: Purrloin.
Purrloin is, as you can see, a cat Pokémon. Cat Pokémon have been done to death but I’ll try to keep an open mind here. Purrloin and Liepard are reminiscent of Meowth and Persian, and Purrloin is a dead ringer for Diamond and Pearl’s Glameow, although significantly less ridiculous-looking – Liepard, though, couldn’t be more different from Glameow’s horrendously obese evolved form, Purugly (to my immeasurable relief). Skitty and Delcatty from Ruby and Sapphire are something else entirely and go for cuteness rather than Persian’s elegance. I suppose I’d be slamming Purrloin and Liepard for having too much in common with the original cat Pokémon, but for one thing: while their predecessors have all been Normal-types, these two are Dark-types, with the shift in emphasis that comes with it. Continue reading “Purrloin and Liepard”
Snivy, Servine and Serperior
…and where else to start but with my very own starter Pokémon? Before the English versions of Black and White were released, Snivy was given the fan nickname “Smugleaf,” and you can see why. My gods, he looks pleased with himself, doesn’t he? Honestly, I think Smugleaf would have been a better name than Snivy as it fits with the impression of haughtiness that Nintendo seems to have been aiming for with this entire evolutionary line, but it was not to be. Ah well. It certainly works anyway, in my opinion (except that the name “Servine” is a little unfortunate – it makes me think “servile,” when he is anything but). All three of these Pokémon clearly think not only that they’re smarter than you, but also stronger, more important and infinitely more handsome. You will want to strangle them within about five minutes. Continue reading “Snivy, Servine and Serperior”
Pokémaniacal 