Rowlet, Dartrix and Decidueye

Rowlet
Rowlet

Bloody hell, if I don’t hurry this up they’re going to announce another damn generation before I’m done with this one; we’re already expecting whatever this bull$#!t is supposed to be and I’ve got eighty whole Pokémon to evaluate in the next couple of months, as well as talking about Team Skull and the Aether Foundation, and Hau, and maybe Lillie too, and whoever I decide counts as the Champion, not to mention answering the neverending tide of ridiculous banal questions that keep pouring out of my goddamn inbox (obviously, gentle reader, I’m not talking about any questions you might have submitted, which are of course consistently insightful and thought provoking; it’s all those other bastards that are the problem).

I’M FINE

Let’s talk about Rowlet. Continue reading “Rowlet, Dartrix and Decidueye” →

Anonymous asks:

The Gen I Fighting-types are all martial artists or athletes, but.. what the heck makes Primeape a Fighting-type? Can’t be its temper because hey, Gyarados ain’t a Fighting-type. If anything its temper should make it a Dark-type, along the lines of Tyranitar, Sharpedo, or Hydreigon.

Well, there was no Dark-type in generation I, and to be honest I think that’s probably the main reason Primeape isn’t Dark/Fighting or something (that’s probably what I would do with him).  Given that Primeape is humanoid in shape and has no particularly spectacular magical abilities, it makes sense that his fighting style would wind up having some resemblance to martial arts techniques, even though Primeape doesn’t appear to be influenced by an specific martial art like many other Fighting Pokémon are.

Anonymous asks:

Can you offer a reasoned guess behind the Dark secondary typing to Crawdaunt & the star-shaped crest included in its design? Bulbapedia suggests “Crawdaunt’s shell may be based on batesian mimicry in association with Sharpedo, as it resembles an open shark mouth with a star on the nose.”

Well, the Dark type has to do with Crawdaunt’s violent, aggressive nature and its habit of driving other Pokémon away from its territory.  Dark Pokémon are linked with malice, so fighting purely for the sake of violence (contrast Fighting-types, who fight to improve their skills) seems like a reasonable Dark-type trait.  You can compare here Tyranitar, Hydreigon, and Incineroar.  As for the star thing, I don’t think I’d read too much into it.  It looks like a starfish, and Crawdaunt is an aquatic Pokémon, so the motif is on-theme.  It looks a little like a crown, which expresses Crawdaunt’s higher status compared to Corphish.  It adds a little more variety to the colours of the design, and some interest to the contours of Crawdaunt’s head.  I don’t think it needs to be more than that.

Anonymous asks:

What would you study if not Classics/archaeology?

Well, when I was a kid I wanted to be a palaeontologist.  I sort of wrote that off as unrealistic when I was in high school, but actually, now that I’m a real archaeologist and dig stuff up and do proper scholarly research, honestly I do think I probably could have pulled it off if I’d kept going with biology and geology.  Evolutionary history is a fascinating rabbit hole.  I’m not sure I’d have the patience for taxonomic debates, though.  I mean, people can literally spend years arguing about whether a single jawbone represents a new species or not.

Monstarfunk asks:

you don’t like oranguru??? why is it the stalker pokémon??

I didn’t say I didn’t like Oranguru, but it is indisputably the Stalker Pokémon.

Go to Tapu Village and check out the oasis area with the caravans.  Next to the oasis, there is a man who will confide in you that he “[feels] like someone’s eyes are burning into the back of [his] head” and that it’s “giving [him] the creeps!”  Directly behind him, hiding behind an old oil drum, is an Oranguru.  Watching him.  Just… watching.

Anonymous asks:

In your opinion, what Pokémon best represent each type and what they’re all about? So like, what’s the most representative Normal-type, Ice-type, Dragon, Ghost, Fairy, Ground, and so on?

Hmmm… wellllll, I’m going to hedge my bets by saying that there are several types, like Normal and Ground, where I don’t know “what they’re all about” and I’m honestly not sure a convincing answer exists, perhaps not even in the minds of Game Freak’s designers, but let’s give it a shot… Continue reading “Anonymous asks:” →