#177 - #178: Natu & Xatu

Natu depicted in a hieroglyph style. I approve.

Have you ever had the desire to see into the future in order to find out what your life is going to look like?

Well, I think you should be glad you can't do that, because Xatu is probably not happy with the ability to foresee the future - with its right eye, that is. It's just a theory, but Xatu tends to stand still and watch the sun's movement all day and it is said it does so due to fears of its visions of the future coming true. And its prophecies have a high degree of accuracy, so that's a terrible future Xatu sees, then. And the past isn't exactly all that, either, so as Xatu can see the past with its left eye as well, I want to believe the poor thing is being tormented 24/7. It wouldn't be a surprise to me if it has the desire to go back to being a Natu, notwithstanding the fact that even Natu is a cautious Pokémon that is easily spooked. And Natu has this outré characteristic that it stares at something until the thing moves. I know they're classified as the 'Tiny Bird Pokémon' and the 'Mystic Pokémon' and all, and Game Freak have not been incorrect by doing so, but I think classifying Natu and its evolution Xatu as the 'Staring Pokémon' would have been way more interesting and accurate.

Isn't this Natu totem pole cute?

Of course, their designs and their ability to foresee the future are both derived from the Mayans, an indigenous people of Central America known for their rich history, culture, art and architecture, as well as their infamous calendar. The misinterpretation of this Mesoamerican Long Count calendar was the basis for a popular Western belief that the Maya people had predicted that the apocalypse would take place on December 21, 2012, when it was simply the day that the calendar went to the next b'ak'tun (a cycle of 144,000 days, which is 20 k'atun cycles of 7,200 days). It was even the inspiration for one of my favorite movies, 2012. Despite the fact that the Mayans inhabited Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, among others, Natu and Xatu's Pokédex entries state that they are mainly found in South America rather than Central America, which is technically the southernmost part of North America that connects with South America. And Xatu's design and name also refer to a xat (pronounced 'khat', although Xatu is pronounced 'ZAH-too'), a carved totem pole of Native American origin, while it certainly has some traits of kachina dolls as well; the Native American people believe that kachinas are spirits or personifications of things in the real world, and masked members of the community who represent these spirits at religious ceremonies are called kachina dancers, while the dolls are usually given to children as gifts. Even Natu and Xatu's Japanese names - Naty (ネイティ) and Natio (ネイティオ) - derive from the word 'native', although it doesn't necessarily refer to the Native American peoples. On the other hand, its behavior displays the ancient art of sungazing, which is a form of spiritual meditation practiced by the Mayans and Aztecs in the belief that it would give them supernatural power. It is not advised to try this yourselves, though, because the human eye is sensitive and prolonged exposure to direct sunlight can lead to cataracts, damage to the retina (solar retinopathy), and even blindness.

Xatu depicted as some ancient deity to the indigenous peoples of
Central and/or South America.

And how about Xatu's competitive utility? Well, it is a well-rounded Pokémon with a base HP stat of 65 and base defensive stats of 70. That makes it quite feeble, although not too frail that it can't take a hit. Its speed and special attack both sit at a solid 95, which makes them its best stats. Nevertheless, defensive Xatu do exist and the combination of HP and defense investment with a Timid nature and the Magic Bounce ability, which bounces back all status moves to the user, has proved to be quite effective. While an offensive Xatu often carries a Life Orb, defensive or mixed Xatu are better off with a Colbur Berry (weakens a super-effective dark-type attack) or the Leftovers. Should you indeed run an offensive one, you have the choice from numerous moves it can use: Psychic, Psyshock, Air Slash, Signal Beam, Heat Wave, Shadow Ball, Dazzling Gleam, Grass Knot and Giga Drain. On top of that, it has access to Roost so that it can heal half of its HP when necessary, while Calm Mind increases its special attack and special defense by one stage each and U-Turn lets it switch out so that it can gain momentum. It depends on what you want and what you're facing, but Xatu might be a decent asset to your team, if you know how to play it.

TCG art of Xatu.

I like how Natu and Xatu's designs and flavor are based on Native American and Mayan folklore, but these Pokémon never appealed to me that much. Don't think that I dislike Xatu and that I'll never gonna put it on a team, because I might just decide to pick this Pokémon up once I'm going to do an ORAS playthrough and start using it, but it never made me say, "Wow, this is such a great Pokémon!" But hey, other Pokémon have surprised me as well, so you never know!

Rating: 3.5/5