#209 - #210: Snubbull & Granbull

Snubbull first appeared as the leader of a group of antagonists in
the Pikachu short "Pikachu's Vacation". This short was shown
in movie theaters before the main film (Mewtwo Strikes Back).

Okay, Granbull used to be treated like trash. It wasn't very popular, but ever since it went from a nondescript normal type to a dragon-slaying fairy type in Pokémon X and Y, people have come to love it. I have to admit that I'm one of those people. Because, let's face it, having an edge against dragon types and losing a weakness to fighting-type really helps Granbull in the competitive scene; heck, it's even better to use it in-game now that it's pure fairy. I started to use a Granbull in one of my Pokémon X or Y playthroughs (I forgot which one), and because of its strength and versatility it was the MVP of my team. I've absolutely come to love this thing, and I think its typing fits its pink design much better than it did prior to X and Y. Of course, the same counts for Snubbull, although I have to say I don't really care for that Pokémon in the slightest: it's kinda ugly and it doesn't stay around for long anyway, as it evolves into Granbull at the early level of 23. The best thing about Snubbull is its appearance in the anime, in which it was in the possession of Madame Muchmoney (I swear to Satan I'm not making this name up). However, she - it was a female Snubbull who wore ribbons on her ears - was not happy with her life at all and started roaming about Johto chasing Meowth's tail, until she evolved into Granbull, bows and all, and returned to her owner.

Little Snubbull in a Granbull onesie. That's adorable.

While Snubbull might look gruff and grumpy, it is actually kind, affectionate, caring, playful, devoted and loyal and therefore very popular among women. Its fierce appearance is just a façade and it tends to hide from fights rather than engage in them, growling eagerly to hide its fear from its opponents and trying to scare them away. It is saddened that others run from its frightening appearance. Damn, that is sad, poor thing. I pity you. Luckily Snubbull still have women like Madame Muchmoney (I still can't get over the name, seriously), who think they're cute rather than scary, although I can imagine that Snubbull have a desire to play with other Pokémon as well and not only with their snobbish owners. And although Granbull looks much more frightening than its pre-evolution, it is actually a timid Pokémon that only bites when it is startled. It will not bite indiscriminately, and if it's attacked it will flail about to fend off its attacker. If enraged, it will use its huge tusks for powerful fang attacks. These tusks are so heavy that Granbull has trouble keeping its head upright, tilting it a little.

Snubbull and Granbull made of fusible plastic beads. 

Snubbull and Granbull's classification and fairy typing might be a reference to the Celtic myth of the Cù-Sìth, which translates to 'dog fairy', and it is found in Scotland and the Hebrides (a chain of more than 100 islands and small skerries about 45 miles from mainland Scotland). There's a similar hound creature in Irish folklore called the Cú Sídhe. It is said to be the size of a young bull with the appearance of a wolf, and was feared as a harbinger of death that would appear to bear away the soul of a person in the afterlife, similar to the Grim Reaper. According to legend, the Cù-Sìth was capable of hunting silently, but it would occasionally let out three terrifying bays that could be heard for miles by those listening to it, even far out at sea. Those who hear the baying of the Cù-Sìth must reach safety by the third bark or be overcome with terror to the point of death. Here comes the interesting part, though: the baying was a warning to lock up nursing women lest the beast abduct them and take them to a fairy mound to supply milk for the daoine sìth (daoine sídhe in Irish), a supernatural race in Celtic mythology comparable to fairies and elves. You know, Pokémon is a great and interesting way to learn about folklore of different cultures or just learn about other cultures in general; and now that I've learned about the Cù-Sìth, Snubbull and Granbull's fairy typing makes a whole lot more sense.

I'm calling you a fairy, Granbull. You don't have to
be ashamed of it... 

I hope this knowledge lets you have more fun using Granbull, because it is honestly an amazing Pokémon to use. It has a tolerable defense stat and some mediocre special defense, but they're backed up by a pretty good HP stat, so it might be able to take a few hits. Of course, its base 120 attack is its best stat, but it can be quite zippy if you give it a Toxic Orb. Why? Well, Granbull has access to the ability Quick Feet, which raises its speed by 50% when inflicted by a status condition, although Intimidate helps improve its bulk due to the opponent's attack drop. Both are great, although it stands to reason that an Intimidate Granbull shouldn't carry a Toxic Orb, but rather a Life Orb, Choice Band or the Leftovers. In spite of its reasonable bulk, an offensive set on Granbull is much more common, and it has the attack stat and wide movepool to benefit from such a set. A selection of the usable moves that Granbull can learn: Play Rough, the elemental fangs (a little on the weak side), the elemental punches, Crunch, Earthquake, Brick Break, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Wild Charge, Power-Up Punch, Close Combat, Focus Punch (works well in conjunction with Substitute), Iron Tail and Super Fang. I just don't understand why it learns Outrage naturally, as it's a dragon-type moves that only covers dragon-type Pokémon. It's redundant, because Granbull has access to STAB Play Rough to take care of those pesky dragons. Anyway, the moves I just mentioned are only its attacking moves. It also learns a bunch of helpful support moves, especially when you run an Impish Granbull rather than an Adamant one: Charm sharply lowers the opponent's attack by two stages and gives Granbull a bit of momentum, Taunt lures the opponent into using only damaging moves so that they can't set up with moves like Swords Dance and Nasty Plot, Heal Bell cures the entire team of annoying status conditions, Toxic and Thunder Wave can be used to inflict status conditions on the opposing Pokémon yourself, Reflect and Light Screen help boost your entire team's defenses, and the Rest/Sleep Talk combo helps Granbull's durability even more.

Granbull 'bout to Thunder Punch the shit out of its opponent. "Who's a fucking fairy?
Yeah, you are!" 

I don't want to repeat myself too often, but I absolutely love Granbull. I feel bad that I've only started to love it since it became a fairy type in X and Y, but to the people who have always loved it no matter what: does it soothe the pain if I tell you I never hated it? I liked it, but I just thought it wasn't a special Pokémon at all. Come to think of it, I think it's only a positive thing that I've come to adore Granbull due to its newly acquired fairy typing, because fairy is my second favorite type behind steel. And it's always a good thing when a Pokémon grows on you, right? Well, at least it shouldn't surprise you that I award Granbull a perfect rating, something it would never have gotten if it hadn't been changed into a fairy type in the first place.

Rating: 5/5