…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”
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. 
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. 
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?
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.
…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. 
Pokémaniacal 