Some days I get to talk about Pokémon that are just really awesome. Whether by design, or mechanics, or the way the mechanics fit the design, or some other little twist – because Game Freak do still make Pokémon like this. That’s the real reason for this blog, actually; I realise I probably give the impression that I’m here primarily to bitch about Pokémon that aren’t up to standard, but remember that I do still play these games and love them. That’s right, Game Freak, I’m on your side. I’m here to answer the people who complain that Pokémon has been going downhill since Gold and Silver (or since Ruby and Sapphire, or whatever, there’s a batch of ‘em for every generation). And some days, I get to do just that.
Other days I get Maractus.
Maractus is a dancing cactus. It could be worse; in much the same way that destitution could be worse, because at least you don’t have the plague yet. We’ve had “dancing plant” before, and we’ve had “cactus” before, but Maractus is so different from the last cactus that I’m sort of willing to let her off on that one. Cacturne, her predecessor, was a sinister nocturnal hunter whose purpose in existence is to remind you what a scary place the desert is – and in my opinion, he did that pretty well. Maractus is a bright, happy diurnal performer, and on some level I can’t help but be annoyed by making a desert Pokémon so unrelentingly cheerful. Continue reading “Maractus”
Seeing as I just finished talking about the story of Black and White, I may as well take the opportunity to look a little more closely at the two Pokémon that are central to that story: the dragons of truth and idealism, Reshiram and Zekrom. The design for these two has its roots in the Taoist concept of yin-yang, which I believe states (forgive me; I’m a little hazy on exactly how Taoism works) that the world and everything in it come into being through the interaction and harmonisation of opposites. In much the same way, Unova, the region in which Pokémon Black and White are set, is said to have been created by Reshiram and Zekrom working in harmony, as a single being (and then devastated when the two split apart and fought). To play into this theme of dualism, Reshiram is graceful, avian and feminine, with a soft-sounding name, while Zekrom is dynamic, saurian and masculine, with a hard-sounding name. This is all wonderful and I love the way the designs complement each other and develop the theme and all that, and it’s very nicely done… but there’s one thing nagging at me. They’re the wrong way around. 
Today on Pokémaniacal I have the dubious pleasure of discussing Basculin. There are red Basculin and blue Basculin, and they hate each other. That’s really all there is to it, and to be honest even that seems to be open to interpretation; the Pokédex entry for Basculin on Black version says that red and blue ones will start fighting the instant they meet, but the entry on White version contends that Basculin sometimes do mingle with schools of the opposite colour, despite normally hating each other. So, to make this clear… the only vaguely amusing thing about these Pokémon is that they hate each other… and they don’t even hate each other all that much! We don’t know why they hate each other – well, actually, they seem to hate just about everything, but we don’t know why they hate each other particularly – nor do we have any reason to care since there’s nothing else interesting about them. 
After having Sewaddle, Swadloon and Leavanny show the Bug/Grass dual-types of yester-year how it’s done, it’s time to try pushing our luck and seeing whether we can do the same for the half-dozen assorted worthless Bug/Poison Pokémon. Here’s the latest addition to this already overfull type combination: Venipede. To be honest, I don’t have a whole lot to say about Venipede or his evolved form, Whirlipede. Their main defining feature is that they’re extraordinarily ill-tempered. Beedrill were ill-tempered too, of course, but that was something they grew into – Weedle are perfectly sweet, if disturbingly pointy – and it was mainly about defending their nests from predators anyway. Venipede, on the other hand, have deep personal grudges against just about everything, which they express by repeatedly and insistently poisoning you. 
I knew it was coming. When Game Freak put together Black and White, they decided to abandon all existing Pokémon in favour of new ones, which meant it was once again time to get out their sheets of formulae on how to design standard, comfortable everyday Pokémon, and one of these old standards is the caterpillar Pokémon. So it is that we come to meet the obligatory caterpillar, Sewaddle, the obligatory cocoon, Swadloon, and the obligatory butterfly, Leava-
So, after I had such great fun last week with the unconventional Fighting-types Mienfoo and Mienshao, Game Freak now greets me with a rather spectacular return to normal by presenting these two: Sawk and Throh. These two aren’t an evolutionary family; in fact, they aren’t related at all, but they seem to be intended to be taken as a pair – they have similar designs and similar Japanese names (Dageki and Nageki), and are found in the same places, with Sawk being more common on Black and Throh on White – so that’s how I’m going to look at them. These two represent two different styles of combat: Throh practices judo, focussing on grappling and, well, throws, while Sawk practices karate, focussing mainly on strikes. Hmm. An opposed pair of Fighting-type Pokémon that dedicate their lives to two different types of martial art… I swear I’ve seen this before but I can’t for the life of me remember where. Oh well. I’m sure it will come to me. 
Aw, look at the cute widdle…
Today’s Pokémon are the expert martial artists Mienfoo and Mienshao. They- um. Wait, are we sure these Pokémon are even related? I mean… I know the names make it seem obvious, and I guess they both have features like a weasel or a mink, but I get the feeling that we’ve missed a second stage in the middle somehow; the evolution just seems like such a dramatic change, which isn’t normally something that happens without a reason (use of an evolutionary stone, or a Magikarp-to-Gyarados-style apotheosis). Between the two, I actually much prefer Mienfoo; she looks cute but determined, while Mienshao strikes me as arrogant and smug. It’s also undeniably weird that the Pokédex claims she fights by using the long fur on her arms like whips, which must be one of the most bizarre attack types ever, even by Pokémon’s standards (and remember that this is the franchise that gave us Lickitung, who licks things to death). Moreover, Mienshao learns few, if any, attacks that are related to these weird arm-whip things; her strongest techniques are typical Fighting-type stuff like Drain Punch and Hi Jump Kick. I guess you could interpret maybe Fake Out and Knock Off that way, but I just don’t think it adds to the design at all. 
The thing about Pokémon games is that they come in pairs: Red and Blue, Gold and Silver, yada yada yada, with a couple of Pokémon are missing from each one, like Electabuzz from Blue and Magmar from Red. In order to finish the god-awful errand that is supposedly the game’s framing device but which everyone actually forgets about within the first hour or so (i.e. filling the damn Pokédex), you have to trade with a friend who has the other game. Since Game Freak shows no sign of wanting to give up this concept, White version doesn’t get Cottonee and Whimsicott – what White gets instead, and Black doesn’t, is these two: Petilil and Lilligant. Now, Petilil is cute and all, and while Lilligant does feel oddly reminiscent of a Southern belle to me she doesn’t look too badly done either, but tell me… aren’t you all having flashbacks to Oddish and Bellossom? 
Whee; I get to do another Grass-type! I’m breaking from the order of the Pokédex for a bit because Whimsicott is another Pokémon I have relatively more experience with. Cottonee and Whimsicott are… fluffy… cottony balls of… stuff. Honestly I’m not sure what they are. Funnily enough, I quite like this. Pokémon don’t need to look like things, they just need to fit their powers and their character. Think back, for instance, to Red and Blue and see if you can tell me what, in the name of all that is holy, a Slowpoke is? Or, for that matter, a Nidoqueen? How about Alakazam, Marowak, Magmar, Electabuzz or Kangaskhan (hint: she’s certainly not a bloody kangaroo, I can tell you that much)? I feel that there have been, as the years go by, more and more Pokémon that insist that they need to look like something, and personally I think Pokémon that don’t really look like anything are (often) the ones that work best. Take Cottonee, for example. She looks like nothing so much as a ball of cotton with leaves, but that works. Simple designs are best when you’re looking to make something cute. Whimsicott is cute too; I’m… not exactly sure what she looks like, though it has been suggested to me that she’s a sheep, which I guess I can see. 
Pokémaniacal 