I never had a teddy bear. I had a stuffed thing that I called Knuffie (literal translation: Huggie, obviously not named after the diapers), but I didn't have a goddamn teddy bear. Until I got one in the form of a Teddiursa plush, that is, but I didn't like it very much and thus I didn't have it for very long. At a later time, I think I regretted the decision to discard it a little, because I've come to like Teddiursa and Ursaring much more than I did back then. Well, I was a stubborn child with certain favorite Pokémon and I didn't want to know anything about the rest of them. What more can I say?
Why, I'm gonna say something about Teddiursa and Ursaring. That's what I'm gonna do, because that's what this whole article is for in the first place. Teddiursa loves honey, which is something that is derived from a trait of certain honey-loving bears such as the sloth bear or the Malayan sun bear. But Teddiursa doesn't just have a voracious appetite for this sticky stuff; no, it can also concoct its own honey by blending fruit and Beedrill pollen and absorbs the honey into its forepaws, which it is often seen licking. The crescent marking on its head - which might have been based on the mythology of the constellation Ursa Minor (more commonly called the Little Bear; ursa is Latin for 'bear') - begins to glow when it finds honey already made. Then it evolves into Ursaring: the crescent moon on its forehead changes into a full moon or new moon on its chest, and the aesthetic traits are more likely derived from Asian bears and grizzlies. Unfortunately, that's approximately where the interesting Pokédex entries end. Whereas Game Freak took the concept of honey bears and made Teddiursa's traits actually interesting because honey bears can't actually do what Teddiursa can, Ursaring is nothing special. I like its design, sure, and I have to admit it's a strong and useful Pokémon, but flavor-wise Game Freak really missed the mark when it comes to Ursaring. I mean, you're not gonna tell me that gathering food, sleeping in treetops, a keen olfactory sense (it can distinguish any kind of aroma), marking fruit-bearing trees in its territory with its claws and being too lazy to climb trees to pick fruit (it snaps them instead and collects any fruit and berries that fall down) is overly fascinating. The funny thing is that I never really complained about these Pokédex entries until I started this fucking blog and realized that the flavor of certain Pokémon isn't really all that interesting.
In battles the flavor doesn't matter, but it's nice to see one that matches a Pokémon's battle style (or vice versa) or one that's just an entirely different take on an already existing concept. It's lame to copy the traits of a certain animal and try to pull them off as the traits of a Pokémon based on that animal.
But enough with this lecture, let's take a gander at Ursaring's competitive abilities. Looking at its stats, I see a couple of problems: it's slow and its defenses are mediocre, although it is definitely capable of taking a hit or two due to its very decent HP stat. Furthermore, Ursaring's low speed can be compensated by one of its main abilities, Quick Feet, which raises its speed by 50% when it suffers from a status condition such as poison or paralysis. Guts does the exact same thing, only for attack instead of speed. Both are fine and allow Ursaring to hold onto one single item: the Toxic Orb. That item is the safest option, because the burn Ursaring gets from a Flame Orb halves its attack stat; and although Guts prevents that, Quick Feet does not. Both sets allow you to use Swords Dance, which sharply raises Ursaring's attack, and Facade, a move of base 70 power that doubles when - you guessed it - Ursaring is inflicted by a status condition, although the first set works better with a Jolly nature and the second set with an Adamant nature. To top it off, Ursaring has access to a variety of useful physical moves like Crunch, Close Combat, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Power-Up Punch, Play Rough, Gunk Shot, Seed Bomb and the elemental punches.
It's a shame I didn't like Teddiursa and Ursaring all that much when I was a kid, but at least I appreciate their very existence now. Although I never used it in a playthrough, I am planning on using one in a distant playthrough of Pokémon Sun or Moon. Ursaring is not one of my favorite Pokémon ever, but at least it doesn't have to worry about getting a bad rating.
Rating: 4.5/5
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| This is not the Teddiursa plush I owned, but it's so fluffy that I had to include it. |
In battles the flavor doesn't matter, but it's nice to see one that matches a Pokémon's battle style (or vice versa) or one that's just an entirely different take on an already existing concept. It's lame to copy the traits of a certain animal and try to pull them off as the traits of a Pokémon based on that animal.
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| Cute, tiny Teddiursa (right) accompanied by other bear cubs: Pancham (left) and Cubchoo (middle). |
But enough with this lecture, let's take a gander at Ursaring's competitive abilities. Looking at its stats, I see a couple of problems: it's slow and its defenses are mediocre, although it is definitely capable of taking a hit or two due to its very decent HP stat. Furthermore, Ursaring's low speed can be compensated by one of its main abilities, Quick Feet, which raises its speed by 50% when it suffers from a status condition such as poison or paralysis. Guts does the exact same thing, only for attack instead of speed. Both are fine and allow Ursaring to hold onto one single item: the Toxic Orb. That item is the safest option, because the burn Ursaring gets from a Flame Orb halves its attack stat; and although Guts prevents that, Quick Feet does not. Both sets allow you to use Swords Dance, which sharply raises Ursaring's attack, and Facade, a move of base 70 power that doubles when - you guessed it - Ursaring is inflicted by a status condition, although the first set works better with a Jolly nature and the second set with an Adamant nature. To top it off, Ursaring has access to a variety of useful physical moves like Crunch, Close Combat, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Power-Up Punch, Play Rough, Gunk Shot, Seed Bomb and the elemental punches.
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| Don't fuck with these bears. From left to right: Cubchoo's evolution Beartic, Ursaring, and Pancham's evolution Pangoro. |
It's a shame I didn't like Teddiursa and Ursaring all that much when I was a kid, but at least I appreciate their very existence now. Although I never used it in a playthrough, I am planning on using one in a distant playthrough of Pokémon Sun or Moon. Ursaring is not one of my favorite Pokémon ever, but at least it doesn't have to worry about getting a bad rating.
Rating: 4.5/5
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