#83: Farfetch'd

Official Ken Sugimori art of Farfetch'd.

Oh, man. THIS thing.

Okay, first things first: let's take a look at Farfetch'd's concept. It's a duck. That much is obvious, at least. It's a tasty duck at that, because Farfetch'd is a delicacy and makes for a delicous meal, especially when cooked with leek. Now, let it be the case that Farfetch'd is always carrying a leek stalk or a spring onion with it in its wings, sometimes fighting over the best sticks with other Farfetch'd. In fact, it is unable to live without one, as it serves as a weapon, nesting material and emergency food source. And its own garnish, apparently, because Farfetch'd is almost extinct due to it being hunted down for food in the first place. Survival of the fittest? Well, Darwin's evolution theory definitely does not apply to Farfetch'd. It does leave food for thought, though (pun intended). I mean, think about it: this means that the Pokémon world is pretty much like our world, in which we keep animals as a pet but also slaughter them in order to consume them. If we assume that there are no ordinary animals in the Pokémon world and the people there also eat other kinds of meat than just Farfetch'd, there is a big chance that Pokémon like Miltank and Tepig are also kept for slaughter. However, with the exception of the occasional wacko, nobody in our world keeps a cow or pig, usually animals kept as livestock, as a pet. Nor would anybody eat their dog, cat, hamster, goldfish or canary, while we're at it. Pokémon, on the other hand, are often regarded as people's friends, pets and even fighting tools. If you take that into account, I'd figure it is hard, and even somewhat callous, to eat a Pokémon you know you can have a strong bond with or you know can be useul in battle. Like I said: food for thought.

Farfetch'd repeatedly beating Psyduck on the head with its stick.
And the poor thing already suffers from severe headaches. 

Not that Farfetch'd (whose name may be inspired by a Japanese saying that can be translated as 'a duck comes bearing green onions', which means as much as 'something suprising but convenient') is much of a fighting tool, anyway. In fact, its stats are awful. Terrible. Horrendous. Disastrous. Dreadful. Horrible. Horrific. Abominable. You name it, goddammit. Its defenses are mediocre at best, but they won't help it, because its HP stat really doesn't back them up. Farfetch'd's speed is awful; it would have to take a hit from its opponent before it can make a move, which it isn't capable of in the slightest. Of its attacking stats, its physical attack stat is the best, although it still isn't all that. Farfetch'd has access to one nifty move that can raise it by two stages, though: Swords Dance. And if you manage to have the opponent lower one of Farfetch'd's stats, which I don't recommend at all, its hidden ability Defiant will raise its attack by two stages as well. Combine that with its signature item Stick, which increases its critical hit ratio, and physical moves that have a high chance to crit, such as Slash, Night Slash and Leaf Blade, and you might have a somewhat decent Farfetch'd. No success guaranteed. It's a shame Farfetch'd isn't a little bit stronger, because it also learns some nice STAB moves like Acrobatics, Brave Bird and Fly, along with Poison Jab, Steel Wing and U-Turn. That is some nice type coverage; too bad it can't make use of it well.

Farfetch'd is a terrible competitive battler. Heck, it's even disappointing when you use it in a regular playthrough. It does have an interesting flavor to it, though (in this case, pun most definitely intended), and its design and concept are funny enough, so I won't give it a bad rating because of the fact it is absolutely worthless in battle. Now, if you'll excuse me, I suddenly have an inexplicable hunger for Peking duck.

Rating: 3/5