#163 - #164: Hoothoot & Noctowl

Yes, Hoothoot resembles a clock. Noctowl, not so
much. 

While Pidgey and Spearow were the generic bird Pokémon of the first generation, Hoothoot is the generic bird of the second generation. In Gold and Silver it is only found at night-time, so it's not all that common as Pidgey and Spearow - or maybe that's just because kids usually play during the day rather than at night. While Hoothoot - which, of course, is derived from 'hoot', an onomatopoeia for the sound an owl makes - might not seem like something special, its design is interesting enough: time is a recurring theme in its flavor. Not only does Hoothoot have clock-like elements in its design, like the mask-like crest around its eyes that looks like they're clockwork gears with the hands of a clock protruding from them, but it also has an internal organ that senses the Earth's rotation. This organ allows Hoothoot to keep track of time, cocking its head rhythmically like a metronome as aid, and start hooting at precisely the same time every day. I wish I had a clock like that; Hoothoot is 100% accurate and doesn't need batteries or charging. I'll just have to make sure it doesn't evolve into Noctowl, because nothing in its flavor indicates that Noctowl can do the same thing Hoothoot can. If anything, it behaves perfectly like a normal-ass owl, having exceptional hearing and eyesight and the ability to fly silently. The only difference is that it rotates its head 180° to sharpen its intellect, but even then I'm not impressed in the slightest: normal owls can rotate their heads up to 270°, which is much further than Noctowl can. But is Noctowl worth it in the end? Why, it might be better for me to keep Noctowl around, because I won't be able to hear Hoothoot hooting with my poor hearing, anyway. I can't hear shit without my hearing aids...

A Noctowl with a bunch of Hoothoot.

Do you remember that I said that Furret isn't the best fighter but that it still did a good job in my Pokémon X playthrough? Well, Noctowl's special attack is a decent 76, the same as Furret's attack stat, although it's still nothing out of the ordinary. Furthermore, its HP and special defense are much better than its special attack, which makes it a special wall rather than an offensive threat. That's why a Calm nature is much preferred over any other nature, as it boosts special defense and lowers attack, a stat it isn't gonna use in the first place. With EV training in HP and special defense, the Leftovers as a held item, and an excellent support moveset (Roost for healing, Defog to remove entry hazards, Toxic to cripple foes and Night Shade to deal damage equal to Noctowl's level), Noctowl can be quite the tough Pokémon to take down. It still can't handle a physical hit with ease, though, so watch out with that. To top it off, you might want to have the ability Insomnia on your Noctowl, which - if that wasn't already quite obvious - prevents it from falling asleep by sleep-inducing moves. Keen Eye prevents the loss of accuracy and negates opponents' evasion boosts, but it's practically useless in competitive play, while Tinted Lens boosts not-very-effective moves, which is only handy when you're doing a regular playthrough. Speaking of which, a Modest Noctowl with Air Slash, Uproar, Psychic and Shadow Ball (or maybe Hypnosis) will suffice; you don't need support Pokémon in an LP.

Ash's shiny Noctowl, who he caught in "Fowl Play!"; season 3, episode 38.

However, Noctowl isn't a forgettable Pokémon by any means: Ash's shiny Noctowl will be forever etched into my memory (I don't know about yours, obviously). In the episode "Fowl Play!", Ash comes across a mad scientist who wants to capture the Noctowl by setting up traps - because Poké Balls are too mainstream - but is outsmarted by it time and time again. After Team Rockets stirs things up and then blast off for the 756,388th time, the Noctowl challenges Ash to a battle, who then captures it. Shiny Pokémon were definitely a thing back then, as they were introduced in Gold and Silver and were still brand new. Of course, their popularity has only increased since then, and we can't imagine any games without their presence.

Noctowl is a decent Pokémon all around, but of course you shouldn't put it up against an Articuno or something. That's why it resides in the PU tier, one of the lowest Smogon tiers, but at least it's good in what it does. Personally, Noctowl is not one of my favorite Pokémon, but it's still not bad and it deserves a 3.5-star rating.

Rating: 3.5/5