#102 - #103: Exeggcute & Exeggutor

Official Sugimori art of Exeggcute. Ever wondered why the
middle one appears to be so evilly happy? Well, I'll tell you why
that is: IT HAS NO CRACKS IN IT!!!

It seems like someone at Game Freak just couldn't make up their mind.

You know, I have no problem with Pokémon that look like eggs. What I do have a problem with, however, is the inconsistency in the creation of Exeggcute, explicitly referred to as the 'Egg Pokémon'. And to be honest, I understand why, because Exeggcute clearly looks like a bunch of cracked eggs gathered together (apparently, their shells are very durable, so it can survive without spilling the contents), especially since one of the six eggs that form Exeggcute is cracked open entirely and has its yolk exposed. Or is that its brain? Anyway, Exeggcute's Pokédex entries tell a whole other story by saying they're not really eggs. And then they don't. And then they do. And then they don't. Like, WHICH ONE IS IT, GODDAMMIT? Here are some of these incredibly confusing Pokédex entries, so as to give you a clue what the goddamn hell I'm talking about.

Pokédex entry Red/Blue:
"Often mistaken for eggs. When disturbed, they quickly gather and attack in swarms."

Pokédex entry Ruby/Sapphire:
"This Pokémon consists of six eggs that form a closely knit cluster. The six eggs attract each other and spin around. When cracks increasingly appear on the eggs, Exeggcute is close to evolution."

Pokédex entry FireRed:
"Even though it appears to be eggs of some sort, it was discovered to be a life form more like plant seeds."

Pokédex entry Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
"Its six eggs converse using telepathy. They can quickly gather if they become separated."

This is some awesome 'real-life' Exeggcute made out of eggs.
And yes, I'd personally like to see this Pokémon as such. 

You see what's the problem here? These Pokédex entries are clearly contradicting each other. Pokémon X and Y have made it even more confusing, as the former uses the entry from Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, and the latter uses that from FireRed. I know, right? Game Freak, will you just MAKE UP YOUR FUCKING MINDS??? Jesus Christ. Well... at least some of Exeggcute's entries explain its secondary psychic typing, a typing it desperately needs as an Exeggutor, but I'll get back to that later. In all respects, it is recommended to let Exeggcute evolve by use of a Leaf Stone ASAP, preferably at level 17. At that level, you'll be able to teach it Bullet Seed and, upon evolution, Psyshock. And as Exeggutor has a very respectable attack stat (its special attack is off the charts, though), Bullet Seed is far from unusable, at least until you get access to a better grass-type move.

Official art of Exeggutor by Ken Sugimori. Each of its heads
has a distinct face and its own character and thinks
independently from each other, which is why its cries are so
noisy. When a head grows too large from exposure to strong
sunlight, it drops off and emits a telepathic call in search of
others to form an Exeggcute cluster.

That's for regular gameplay. In the competitive scene, however, Exeggutor is a great asset in a sun team, mainly because of its ability Chlorophyll, which doubles its mediocre speed stat when the sun is up. This is necessary to make Exeggutor some sort of sweeper, especially since it is naturally slow and has a whopping seven weaknesses, which can easily be exploited. Its hidden ability Harvest would normally be an excellent ability, as it automatically recycles a used Berry, but Exeggutor actually needs the speed boost here. I'd go with a Modest-natured Exeggutor, though a Timid one will suffice as well. The latter can be used for a little extra speed at the cost of some offensive presence, but either will be fine with Choice Specs or a Life Orb attached to it. And if you give Exeggutor Leaf Storm (be cautious with this move, it lowers Exeggutor's special attack stat by two stages after one use), Giga Drain (for more reliability), either Psychic or Psyshock (the latter might come in handy to check specially bulky Pokémon, as this move hits for physical damage but uses Exeggutor's special attack stat) and a fire- or ground-type Hidden Power (to check steel and/or poison types), you'll be A-OK.

At any rate, I actually like these Pokémon. In fact, I am currently doing a grass monotype playthrough on Pokémon Y (yeah, I like being weird) and one of the Pokémon I'm using is Exeggutor. I regret nothing, because its typing is extremely useful and it is easily the strongest Pokémon on my team. Yes, I do admit that 'The Walking Jungle' (even though it is just a single coconut tree) is a weird Pokémon, but weird isn't always a bad thing. That's why I'm giving Exeggutor a well-deserved 4-star rating.

Rating: 4/5