You'd think I have nothing better to do on the 31st of December, posting a review about fictive fluorescent fishies and all, but trust me when I say I'll be done reviewing these Pokémon in no time at all.
People often forget Finneon and Lumineon exist, and I have to say I was one of those people until Finneon surprisingly showed up in pretty much every body of water in Pokémon Sun and Moon, which was... more annoying than encountering Magikarp all the time. Even as Lumineon this Pokémon is bad, and there are only a couple of redeeming factors to be found in competitive: its average bulk - base 69 HP, 76 defense and 86 special defense - may allow it to take a few hits, while its access to Defog makes it one of the choices for a hazard remover, but in the end it is hopelessly outclassed by even Pelipper (oh God, I cannot believe I just said that; I hate that thing with a fucking passion). The latter somehow got Drizzle as one of its abilities, which makes it competently viable in one of the highest Smogon tiers, while Lumineon has to resort to Toxic, Scald and U-Turn alongside Defog to be somewhat useful and still doesn't hold its own in the lowest tier. I mean, you can't use a Pokémon from a high tier in a low tier, while the reverse is most definitely possible, but why would you use Lumineon if there are a ton of water types to choose from that are better than Lumineon? Sure, it is immune to water-type moves due to its ability Storm Drain, but so are - just to name a few good ones - Lanturn, Gastrodon, Politoed, Poliwrath, Jellicent, Seismitoad, Lapras and Vaporeon.
So, does Finneon and Lumineon's flavor make them more interesting to some degree? Well, um... sorta? Because of Finneon's butterfly-like tail fins, it is believed to be derived from the freshwater butterflyfish, but the purple stripe running across Finneon's horizontal length as well as its ability to let its stripe and the patterns on its tail fins shine vividly in the darkness like neon after long exposure to sunlight suggest it is actually based on the neon tetra and the cardinal tetra. These two freshwater fish have a bright blue stripe running across its length, just like Finneon, and their bright colorations make them visible to conspecifics in the dark blackwater streams of the Orinoco. Because Finneon was included in the Alola Pokédex, it also received some unique Pokédex entries: its Moon entry proclaims that its double fin tails propel its energetic jumps and that Wingull swoop down to grab it on the fly when it breaks the surface of the water (even Lumineon's pre-evolution gets owned by Pelipper's pre-evolution; I kinda sense a pattern here), while its Ultra Sun entry mentions that holiday resorts like to feed them to keep them close because they're popular with divers.
Finneon's evolution Lumineon is just better in using its bioluminescence, luring prey by flashing the patterns on its fins and usually getting into fierce disputes with Lanturn for said prey. As everyone will remember, Lanturn is an electric-type Pokémon, so that's another Pokémon that easily owns Lumineon. Unfortunately for Lumineon, the bad luck doesn't stop there: its iridescent appearance and the luminous flashes it emits also attract ferocious fish Pokémon, its natural predators, and crawling along the seafloor like a tripod fish using the fins on your chest in order to avoid your predators surely won't work if they sense you from miles away. Well, at least scavenging the seabed for your favorite food (Starmie, for whomever wants to know) makes it all worth it, right?
Well, Game Freak undeniably tried to make Lumineon a pretty fish, and in that regard I can safely say, "Mission accomplished!" If only they had made Lumineon somewhat more competitively viable, it would have been a very decent Pokémon. Now, it isn't even a good Pokémon to use in-game, as it is relatively frail compared to other bulky Pokémon and doesn't really pack a punch, either. I mean, base 69 offensive stats are nothing to write home about and will only leave you wishing for something better. Its design isn't bad at all, but I think it could have been a bit more colorful; its primarily dark blue color makes it a little bland for a tropical fish and I wish Game Freak had retained some of Finneon's purple patterns. I'm kind of on the fence about this guy's rating, but I ultimately like it less than certain other fish Pokémon and I can't see myself coming back to it all that often, if at all. It gets a safe 3-star rating, but I won't go any higher in the near future.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Rating: 3/5
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| Better watch out, Finneon, before some nasty-ass Wingull grabs you out of the sky mid-flight. |
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| Lumineon in TCG. |
Finneon's evolution Lumineon is just better in using its bioluminescence, luring prey by flashing the patterns on its fins and usually getting into fierce disputes with Lanturn for said prey. As everyone will remember, Lanturn is an electric-type Pokémon, so that's another Pokémon that easily owns Lumineon. Unfortunately for Lumineon, the bad luck doesn't stop there: its iridescent appearance and the luminous flashes it emits also attract ferocious fish Pokémon, its natural predators, and crawling along the seafloor like a tripod fish using the fins on your chest in order to avoid your predators surely won't work if they sense you from miles away. Well, at least scavenging the seabed for your favorite food (Starmie, for whomever wants to know) makes it all worth it, right?
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| Finneon (right) and Lumineon (left) showing off their bioluminescent abilities. |
Well, Game Freak undeniably tried to make Lumineon a pretty fish, and in that regard I can safely say, "Mission accomplished!" If only they had made Lumineon somewhat more competitively viable, it would have been a very decent Pokémon. Now, it isn't even a good Pokémon to use in-game, as it is relatively frail compared to other bulky Pokémon and doesn't really pack a punch, either. I mean, base 69 offensive stats are nothing to write home about and will only leave you wishing for something better. Its design isn't bad at all, but I think it could have been a bit more colorful; its primarily dark blue color makes it a little bland for a tropical fish and I wish Game Freak had retained some of Finneon's purple patterns. I'm kind of on the fence about this guy's rating, but I ultimately like it less than certain other fish Pokémon and I can't see myself coming back to it all that often, if at all. It gets a safe 3-star rating, but I won't go any higher in the near future.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Rating: 3/5
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